INTRODUCTION
This episode contrasts two kinds of young men. You have a mob of angry young men and you have the wise courage of Paul’s nephew.
We live in a world inundated with manipulations and lies, and the inevitable result of this is bitterness and wrath, particularly among young men. God created men to lead and build, using their strength sacrificially for the good of those around them. But when they despair and give up hope in that potential, their strength is often twisted to destruction and evil. This is why young men must know Christ and place their hope in the power of His resurrection. God rules all the plots of men and turns them to His will.
The Text: “And when it was day, certain of the Jews banded themselves together, and bound themselves under a curse, saying that they would neither eat nor drink till they had killed Paul…” (Acts 23:12-24).
SUMMARY OF THE TEXT
Certain Jews took a vow to kill Paul, and the chief priests and elders apparently agreed to the plot (Acts 23:12-15). However, Paul’s nephew got wind of the plot and told Paul, who instructed him to tell the chief captain (Acts 23:16-19). After the young man told the chief captain about the plot, he ordered two hundred solider, seventy horsemen, and two hundred spear men to escort Paul on horseback through the night to Governor Felix in Caesarea (Acts 23:20-24).
KING JESUS OVERRULES
Chrysostom says, “Like some king whom his bodyguards escort, so did these escort Paul.” Another commentator suggests Paul is like a Mordecai who was plotted against but ends up honored publicly (Esth. 6:7-11).
God repeatedly uses the pagan empire to protect his people. The pagan politicians have their motivations, but they are all being used by the risen Jesus to direct events to His ends. “But as for you, ye thought evil against me; but God meant it unto good…” (Gen. 50:20) Just as the Herod, Pontius Pilate, the Gentiles, and Jews intended to put an end to Jesus, they only did what God’s counsel had determined beforehand would be done (Acts 4:27-28). This is the wisdom and power of God which ordained before the world for our glory, which if the princes of this world had known, they would not have crucified the Lord of glory (1 Cor. 2:7-8).
A POWDER KEG
Like the first century, we are living in a powder keg of a culture, with the primary flammable material being angry young men. God made the world for the blessing of young men, a world where ambitious young men might explore, hunt, discover, build, invent, and use their energy and strength for the good of the world (Gen. 1-2). Men were made to sacrifice their strength for the good of others (Eph. 5, 1 Pet. 3). But many of our leaders in the public square and the church have rejected the goodness of masculine strength. Many have lied and manipulated young men, whether with demands of effeminacy, or lies about history, politics, or religion. And many Christian leaders have insisted that “sacrificial strength” simply means becoming a limp rug for everyone to walk over. As in this text, many Christian leaders have compromised with the world and evil.
CONCLUSION
In addition to the courage of Paul, here we have a young man who used his strength for good, to undermine the machinations of evil men.
The center of this strength is Christ Himself. For generally gives men more physical strength, but Christ is the strength of Christian men. And by His strength they lead in obedience in every circumstance (Phil. 4).
The temptation is often to choose the wrong sacrifice, but our duty is to embrace the one Christ assigns to us. Jesus was obedient to His death, and all who follow Him must embrace the Cross He assigns. And in the face of the doubts and fears, look to the One who raised Him from the dead, the one who thwarts the plots of men and uses pagans to exalt His saints.