You know him. He used to hobnob with the elite, the
movers and shakers, the changemakers, in their eyes he could do no wrong, he
could get away with murder.
But then, he switched sides, he saw the Light, now, in
their eyes, he can do no right, they want him dead.
Who is he?
Trump?
No.
Musk?
No.
RFK Jr.
Nope.
Paul.
There you go.
After the latest assassination attempt on Paul’s life,
the Romans arrested him, mostly for his own safety.
Now, he’s spent two nights in prison. Last night was
awesome. Jesus showed up!
The Lord stood by him and said, “Be of good cheer,
Paul; for as you have testified for Me in Jerusalem, so you must also bear
witness at Rome.” Acts 22:11.
Yes! I knew it. I felt it. That’s exactly where I
wanted to go. Thank you, Jesus. Hallelujah! Okay, let’s go. Look out Rome,
ready or not, here I come.
Did you know that Peter was in that same prison years
earlier? Perhaps the very same cell, maybe he saw scratched in the wall, “Pete
was here”.
Just imagine, this could be the very place where an
angel showed up, the chains fell off, the doors opened, and Peter received an
angelic escort all the way out to the street.
Only this time, instead of an angel, Jesus Himself
showed up!
Paul must’ve been thinking, “Hallelujah! Free at last,
free at last, thank God Almighty, I’m free at last!” Then he must’ve been expecting
the chains to fall off, the doors to fling open, so he could dance and sing all
the way to Rome.
But the night went still, and dark, and cold.
Nothing happened.
Have you ever been in his position?
The answer you thought would happen, prayed would
happen, believed would happen...never happened.
Nothing.
Then, what happened wasn’t at all what you expected,
it was the complete opposite.
Welcome to the invisible, patient, hand of Providence.
Acts 23:12-13
And when it was day, some of the Jews banded together and bound themselves
under an oath, saying that they would neither eat nor drink till they had
killed Paul. 13 Now there were more than forty who had formed this
conspiracy.
These forty men twisted themselves together, bound to
an oath, the word is anathematizó: to curse, to declare anathema.
They devoted themselves to utter destruction, unless
they kill Paul.
They are saying, “let ourselves be accursed, if we
don’t kill Paul.”
To see the invisible, we must look beyond the seen to
the unseen.
2
Cor. 4:17-18:
For our light affliction, which is but for a moment, works for us a far more
exceeding and eternal weight of glory; 18 While we look not at
the things which are seen, but at the things which are not seen: for the things
which are seen are temporal; but the things which are not
seen are eternal.
Look beyond the seen to the unseen and note that,
Jesus visiting Paul in prison did not go unnoticed by the devil.
When God is on the move, the devil mobilizes a mob,
led by deception, fed by bloodlust, for the purpose of killing, stealing and
destroying.
Jesus says of them, “You are of your father the
devil, and the desires of your father you want to do. he was a murderer from
the beginning, and does not stand in the truth, because there is no truth in
him. When he speaks a lie, he speaks from his own resources, for he is a liar
and the father of it.” John 8:44.
He also says: The thief does not come except to
steal, and to kill, and to destroy. I have come that they may have life, and
that they may have it more abundantly. John 10:10.
14 They came
to the chief priests and elders, and said, “We have bound ourselves under a
great oath that we will eat nothing until we have killed Paul. 15
Now you, therefore, together with the council, suggest to the commander that he
be brought down to you tomorrow, as though you were going to make further
inquiries concerning him; but we are ready to kill him before he comes near.”
Kill, kill, kill,
we’ve heard that word three times already; and there’s two more before we’re
through.
The mindset of the demonically driven mob is obvious. They
don’t care about further inquiries, they only care about killing.
They have one focus, one goal: kill the object of
their hatred.
But the plot thickens.
Now we meet villains even more vile.
The murderous mob sees straight through the black
pious looking robes, to the black corrupt hearts of the chief priests and
elders. So, like demons seeking strength from those more wicked than
themselves, they ask them to join them, because evil loves company.
Rather than condemning
the mob as they should, the chief priests and elders are complicit with them in
deception and conspiracy to murder.
They pat each other’s back and laugh.
The father of lies,
smiles.
Perhaps Paul sits and stares
at the chains he thought should’ve been severed.
Probably he prayed, “Lord
help me see beyond these chains to Your invisible Providential plan.”
16 So when Paul’s sister’s son heard of their ambush, he went and entered the barracks and told Paul.
From out of nowhere, or better, more accurate, from
out of Somewhere, from out of the invisible, patient, hand of Providence,
a new character is introduced into the Divinely inspired Word of God. Paul’s
sister’s son.
Up to this point the only thing we’ve ever seen or
heard about Paul’s family is that he was the “son of a Pharisee” Acts
23:6.
Now at just the right time and place, his nephew
overhears the conspirators. We don’t even know his name, but it appears this
young man was born for such a time as this.
The young man hears, and tells, and everything
changes.
The Invisible Patient Providence of God,
smiles.
The devil’s left frowning, wondering, where’d he
come from?
Notice, the serpent still uses mobs and black-robed
political figures, to deceive and murder. (Their Sanhedrin, like our Supreme
Court, isn’t always supreme. They gave us the wicked lie, “Separation of Church
and State”, banning prayer and Bibles, they invited the slaughtering of
millions upon millions of babies by abortion, they bowed to anti-Biblical
marriage, and then there’s the black robed rogue judges turning our
constitution inside out).
However, God simply uses family, to hear the Truth and
tell the Truth. Like Paul’s nephew.
When all hell breaks loose, when everything goes
sideways, do not fear; for it is then, the sidewinder is squirming the most. For
it is then, he knows the invisible, patient hand of Providence, is on the move.
When Pharaoh ordered all male babies to be
slaughtered. By the invisible, patient, hand of Providence, Moses the deliverer
was born.
When Haman prepared for all Jews to be massacred. By
the invisible, patient, hand of Providence, Queen Esther who was born for
such a time as this, stood out, spoke up, and saved her nation.
When Herod decreed every male child two years and
under be murdered. By the invisible, patient, hand of Providence, the Messiah,
the Deliverer of deliverers, Jesus the Christ, was born.
When Hitler committed genocide against six million Jews.
By the invisible, patient, hand of Providence, Israel the nation was reborn.
When it happens again, by antichrist, they will see Him whom they pierced, and all Israel will be saved. Zechariah 12:10, Romans 11:26.
When all hell breaks loose, and everything goes
sideways, do not give up. Look up. Watch and pray. For then is when, the
Invisible, Patient, Hand of Providence, is on the move.
The
invisible hand of Providence is invincible.
17 Then Paul called one of the centurions to him and said, “Take
this young man to the commander, for he has something to tell him.” 18 So he
took him and brought him to the commander and said, “Paul the prisoner called
me to him and asked me to bring this young man to you. He has something to say
to you.”
A centurion had command of a hundred Roman soldiers.
He could send a hundred men into battle with just a word.
So, why in the world would he beckon to the call of
Paul? Why would he personally carry out the request of a prisoner?
Roman citizens had certain privileges.
1. Can’t
be accused of a capital offense without substantial witnesses.
2. Can’t
be scourged, whoever did, could be killed for it. (They almost scourged Paul,
Acts 22:24-25.)
3. Can
appeal to Caesar in Rome. (Acts 25).
4. Can
request Roman officials for certain tasks. (Was this one?)
Perhaps they were walking softly since they almost
scourged Paul.
Mostly, the invisible hand of Providence was at work.
Not that God was forcing them. He doesn’t force
people, He knows people, better than they know themselves and thus, He knows
how to soften hearts.
19 Then the commander took him by the hand, went aside, and
asked privately, “What is it that you have to tell me?”
Tender moment.
The young man must’ve been early teens at most.
Otherwise taking him by the hand would’ve been way too weird.
The commander was conscientious and cautious. He took
him aside and asked privately.
Interesting how the Roman, the gentile, the one the
Jews back then would consider a Godless dog, is the one who shows more
Godliness, more common courtesy, more kindness than the ones who profess
Godliness.
Put yourself in the commander’s sandals.
You command centurions, they command hundreds, thus,
you might command thousands. Would you take the time on a moment’s notice to
talk to some prisoner’s nephew?
This commander did.
The invisible hand of God weaves His plan
through the ways of man.
I don’t know but I won’t be a bit surprised to see
this commander, in heaven.
He acted honorably, he saved Paul’s life, more than
once, he was seeking, asking, wanted to know for certain, he’s mentioned
eighteen times in Acts 21-24.
And this commander, Claudius Lysias, is the catalyst
to carry out the next step in God’s plan for Paul.
Friends, family, every person on the planet, has been
created in the image of God.
Some may be past the point of no return.
Most are not.
So, we cannot look at homeless Will and say God can’t
use him.
We should not look at that politician, or lawyer, and
say God can’t use them. (Well, maybe that’s taking it a little too far😊. Just kidding.).
We must not look in the mirror and think God can’t use
me.
20 And he said, “The Jews have agreed to ask that you bring Paul
down to the council tomorrow, as though they were going to inquire more fully
about him.
Since it was such a short walk across the courtyard from
Antonia Fortress to the hall where the council met, they’d probably just send
Paul with a guard or two.
An perfect place for an ambush.
21 But do not yield to them, for more than forty of them lie in
wait for him, men who have bound themselves by an oath that they will neither
eat nor drink till they have killed him; and now they are ready, waiting for
the promise from you.”
Typically, the request would be granted.
However, this time, the invisible hand of
Providence was present.
22 So the commander let the young man depart, and commanded him,
“Tell no one that you have revealed these things to me.”
To his credit, the commander took the young man
serious.
23 And he called for two centurions, saying, “Prepare two
hundred soldiers, seventy horsemen, and two hundred spearmen to go to Caesarea
at the third hour of the night; 24 and provide mounts to set Paul on, and bring
him safely to Felix the governor.”
The invisible hand of God uses natural
means to carry out His plan.
That’s 470 soldiers, to guard one man.
They left under cover of darkness, the third hour,
that’s nine o’clock at night.
Multiple mounts to set Paul on, meaning multiple
horses to travel quickly and continuously.
That would seem to be a bit of overkill.
Unless you know that forty men have taken an oath to
kill your cargo, and you’re compelled by the invisible hand of Providence.
Caesarea is 65 miles NW of Jerusalem. A beautiful
seaside paradise on the shores of the Mediterranean. No wonder it was the seat
of the Roman government in Judea. It’s where the governor lived. Except during
Jewish festivals, then he stayed in Jerusalem, just in case he needed to quell an
uprising.
Felix is one of the three procurators or governors mentioned
in the New Testament. Pontius Pilate, then, Antonias Felix, then, Porcius
Festus.
25 He wrote a letter in the following manner:
26
Claudius Lysias,
Back then, the writer’s name was at the top of the letter.
Claudius
Lysias is the person writing the letter. The commander in Jerusalem.
Claudius is
his Roman name. He purchased his Roman citizenship (Acts 22:28). So, it’s likely he took
this Roman name in honor of emperor Claudius, for allowing him to buy his
citizenship.
Lysias,
his second name is Greek indicating he’s of Greek nationality.
Claudius
Lysias.
To the most excellent governor Felix:
Greetings.
27 This man was seized by the Jews and was about to be killed by
them. Coming with the troops I rescued him, having learned that he was a Roman.
He left out the part where he had Paul bound and
almost scourged.
How convenient.
28 And when I wanted to know the reason they accused him, I
brought him before their council.
The council, or the Sanhedrin (Jewish supreme court of
sorts).
29 I found out that he was accused concerning questions of their
law, but had nothing charged against him deserving of death or chains. 30 And
when it was told me that the Jews lay in wait for the man, I sent him
immediately to you, and also commanded his accusers to state before you the
charges against him.
Farewell.
That was the letter. Short and to the point.
31 Then the soldiers, as they were commanded, took Paul and
brought him by night to Antipatris.
Antipatris, is the midway point. A natural stopping
point, built on a little ridge between Jerusalem and Caesarea. There was an Inn
for travelers and a military outpost.
32 The next day they left the horsemen to go on with him, and
returned to the barracks.
So it appears the 400 soldiers returned to the
barracks and the seventy horsemen rode on with Paul.
33 When they came to Caesarea and had delivered the letter to
the governor, they also presented Paul to him. 34 And when the governor had
read it, he asked what province he was from. And when he understood that he was
from Cilicia, 35 he said, “I will hear you when your accusers also have come.”
And he commanded him to be kept in Herod’s Praetorium.
The invisible, patient, hand of
Providence.
Herod’s Praetorium is his palace.
Now, it may seem like Paul was sidelined, rotting away
as a prisoner.
However, the invisible hand of Providence is fulfilling
Paul’s Divine Eternal Purpose as prophesied by the Lord to Ananias at the very
beginning of Paul’s conversion, way back in Acts 9:15.
But
the Lord said to him, (Ananias) “Go, for he (Paul)
is a chosen vessel of Mine to bear My name before Gentiles, kings,
and the children of Israel.
While in Caesarea, Paul will stand trial, before Roman
governors Felix and Festus, and King Agrippa.
He will spend little time defending himself, and much
time witnessing about his faith in Christ and hope of resurrection.
I’m sure there are folks in heaven today, that
wouldn’t be if the invisible hand of Providence hadn’t led Paul to do a prison stint
in Caesarea.
During his life Paul, was always on the move,
traveling over 10,000 miles preaching the gospel.
He will indeed go to Rome, just as Jesus said.
But for now, he’s planted, in prison, for two long
years.
It takes patience to see the invisible hand of
Providence.
The hand of Providence is invisible.
It takes patience to see it.
It’s always worth the wait, for it is invincible.
Let’s pray.
Holy Lord Jesus, we ask You to open our
eyes to see Your invisible hand of Providence at work all around us. When the
night goes still and dark and cold, help us hold fast to You with faith and
patience, unwavering, knowing Your Providence is invincible.
Thank You.
We love You, forever.
Amen.
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