The country singer George Strait has a famous song called, “Amarillo by Morning.” In it, he sings, “Amarillo by morning, up from San Antone.”
Well, today, we’re continuing to discuss Paul’s travels.
You may recall that he was set to go to Rome.
He wanted to stop by Jerusalem first, which he was able to do.
Let’s zoom in on our map.
In today’s passage, we will see that he makes his way from Jerusalem back to Caesarea by the Sea.
In the spirit of George Strait, today’s sermon is entitled “Caesarea by Night, Up from Jerusalem.”
As we go through this passage, we want the Lord to help our minds and hearts be prepared to receive His Word. So, join me now in prayer as we prepare for this passage.
(prayer)
Ok, let’s note three experiences that Paul has in this passage.
First, let’s see that . . .I. Paul faces the council.
Look at chapter 22, verse 30 and following [through 23:10]:
30 The next day, since he wanted to find out exactly why Paul was being accused by the Jews, he released him and instructed the chief priests and all the Sanhedrin to convene. He brought Paul down and placed him before them. 23:1 Paul looked straight at the Sanhedrin and said, “Brothers, I have lived my life before God in all good conscience to this day.” 2 The high priest Ananias ordered those who were standing next to him to strike him on the mouth. 3 Then Paul said to him, “God is going to strike you, you whitewashed wall! You are sitting there judging me according to the law, and yet in violation of the law are you ordering me to be struck?”
4 Those standing nearby said, “Do you dare revile God’s high priest?”
5 “I did not know, brothers, that he was the high priest,” replied Paul. “For it is written, You must not speak evil of a ruler of your people.” 6 When Paul realized that one part of them were Sadducees and the other part were Pharisees, he cried out in the Sanhedrin, “Brothers, I am a Pharisee, a son of Pharisees. I am being judged because of the hope of the resurrection of the dead!” 7 When he said this, a dispute broke out between the Pharisees and the Sadducees, and the assembly was divided. 8 For the Sadducees say there is no resurrection, and neither angel nor spirit, but the Pharisees affirm them all.
9 The shouting grew loud, and some of the scribes of the Pharisees’ party got up and argued vehemently, “We find nothing evil in this man. What if a spirit or an angel has spoken to him?”
10 When the dispute became violent, the commander feared that Paul might be torn apart by them and ordered the troops to go down, take him away from them, and bring him into the barracks.
Now, when Luke spoke of the council here, he was referring to the Sanhedrin, which was essentially the Jewish high court. They handled Jewish religious and legal matters.
We see here that the commander didn’t know what to do with Paul, and he didn’t know why the Jews were angry with Paul, so he sent Paul to the Sanhedrin to see what would happen.
We see a variety of things happening in this passage.
Paul tries to start off by explaining that he meant no offense and he had sought to live his life in good conscious before God.
Well, the high priest didn’t like that and ordered Paul to be struck.
Paul then spoke against the ones who struck him.
Then, we see this exchange about Paul and the high priest, with Paul saying he didn’t know that he was the high priest.
Some scholars suggest that Paul was being sarcastic when he said this. Others suggest that Paul genuinely didn’t know that he was the high priest, perhaps due to not being able to see him well, or perhaps because the high priest had changed since Paul was last in Jerusalem.
In either, case, Paul apologized once he was confronted about it.
Second, we notice that Paul practices some wisdom. We learned about Paul’s wisdom last week, and we see it again here.
Notice that Paul says in verse 6, “When Paul realized that one part of them were Sadducees and the other part were Pharisees.”
You see, the Pharisees believed in the resurrection and angels and such. The Sadducees did not. The Sadducees had no hope of resurrection in the next life, which is why they were “Sad, you see.”
So, Paul sought to divide the Sanhedrin, and it worked.
We learn in verse 9, that the Pharisees actually said in verse 9, “We find nothing evil in this man.”
Well, the result of all of this was that rather than bringing resolution (as the commander wanted), more chaos resulted.
So, the commander decided to bring Paul back into the barracks for fear that he might be torn apart.
What was originally a chaotic situation became a more chaotic situation.
Don’t you know that we see that sometimes in our lives and in our world, don’t we?
However, despite the chaos around us, and despite the fact that chaos sometimes leads to more chaos, the Lord is in control, isn’t He?
That takes us to our next point.
Next, we see that . . . II. Paul receives courage.
Let’s look at verses 11-22:
11 The following night, the Lord stood by him and said, “Have courage! For as you have testified about me in Jerusalem, so it is necessary for you to testify in Rome.”
12 When it was morning, the Jews formed a conspiracy and bound themselves under a curse not to eat or drink until they had killed Paul. 13 There were more than forty who had formed this plot. 14 These men went to the chief priests and elders and said, “We have bound ourselves under a solemn curse that we won’t eat anything until we have killed Paul. 15 So now you, along with the Sanhedrin, make a request to the commander that he bring him down to you as if you were going to investigate his case more thoroughly. But, before he gets near, we are ready to kill him.”
16 But the son of Paul’s sister, hearing about their ambush, came and entered the barracks and reported it to Paul. 17 Paul called one of the centurions and said, “Take this young man to the commander, because he has something to report to him.”
18 So he took him, brought him to the commander, and said, “The prisoner Paul called me and asked me to bring this young man to you, because he has something to tell you.”
19 The commander took him by the hand, led him aside, and inquired privately, “What is it you have to report to me?”
20 “The Jews,” he said, “have agreed to ask you to bring Paul down to the Sanhedrin tomorrow, as though they are going to hold a somewhat more careful inquiry about him. 21 Don’t let them persuade you, because there are more than forty of them lying in ambush—men who have bound themselves under a curse not to eat or drink until they have killed him. Now they are ready, waiting for your consent.”
22 So the commander dismissed the young man and instructed him, “Don’t tell anyone that you have informed me about this.”
These men really wanted Paul dead, didn’t they?
However, notice right away that we see the Lord visit Paul while he was in prison.
Now, some say that this was simply a vision of the Lord.
However, I’m not convinced. The passage says that “the Lord stood by him.”
The Greek word used here means “stand at” or “stand near.”
So, if this was simply a vision, I think Luke (the author of Acts) would have said that. There were other places where the Lord appeared in a vision, so Luke could have simply written that again if that’s what happened.
I think this is what we call a Christophany, which is the appearance of Jesus to someone outside of the time that He was alive on the earth for just over 30 years.
In either case, the overall meaning of the passage doesn’t change.
Here’s the point: There’s a lot of craziness going on, and there’s more coming as we see this plot unfold to capture and kill Paul, yet the Lord says for Paul not to be afraid. The Lord will carry out His plan and mission in Paul.
Listen, brothers and sisters: We also should not be afraid. The Lord is in control. He will accomplish His purposes in you.
The Bible is full of commands for us not to be afraid.
Deuteronomy 31:6 says, “Be strong and courageous . . . For the Lord your God is the one who will go with you; he will not leave you or abandon you.”
Isaiah 41:10 says, “Do not fear, for I am with you; do not be afraid, for I am your God. I will strengthen you; I will help you; I will hold on to you with my righteous right hand.”
Joshua 1:9 says, “Haven’t I commanded you: be strong and courageous? Do not be afraid or discouraged, for the Lord your God is with you wherever you go.”
In John 14:27, Jesus said, “Peace I leave with you. My peace I give to you. I do not give to you as the world gives. Don’t let your heart be troubled or fearful.”
Friends, as followers of Jesus, let us remember that God is in control; let us not be afraid; let us have courage.
Finally, we see that . . . III. Paul goes to Caesarea.
Remember, the name of the sermon is “Caesarea by Night, Up from Jerusalem.”
Well, let’s read about it. Let’s start in verse 23:
23 He summoned two of his centurions and said, “Get two hundred soldiers ready with seventy cavalry and two hundred spearmen to go to Caesarea at nine tonight. 24 Also provide mounts to ride so that Paul may be brought safely to Felix the governor.”
25 He wrote the following letter:
26 Claudius Lysias,
To the most excellent governor Felix:
Greetings.
27 When this man had been seized by the Jews and was about to be killed by them, I arrived with my troops and rescued him because I learned that he is a Roman citizen. 28 Wanting to know the charge they were accusing him of, I brought him down before their Sanhedrin. 29 I found out that the accusations were concerning questions of their law, and that there was no charge that merited death or imprisonment. 30 When I was informed that there was a plot against the man, I sent him to you right away. I also ordered his accusers to state their case against him in your presence.
31 So the soldiers took Paul during the night and brought him to Antipatris as they were ordered. 32 The next day, they returned to the barracks, allowing the cavalry to go on with him. 33 When these men entered Caesarea and delivered the letter to the governor, they also presented Paul to him. 34 After he read it, he asked what province he was from. When he learned he was from Cilicia, 35 he said, “I will give you a hearing whenever your accusers also get here.” He ordered that he be kept under guard in Herod’s palace.
We see that Paul was protected by these Roman soldiers, but of course, he was really protected by the Lord God, wasn’t he?
They took 200 soldiers along with 70 cavalry and 200 spearmen, and they took Paul to Caesarea.
Then the commander, whom we come to know as Claudius Lysias, writes a letter to Felix, the governor of Judea, which was the region where Jerusalem and Caesarea were.
I imagine that the commander was glad to have Paul off of his hands at that point.
Notice that the commander kind of painted himself in a good light. What he wrote in the letter wasn’t exactly the way it went down, though it didn’t contain the essence of what happened.
The governor decided to give some time for Paul’s accusers to arrive to present a case against him.
We‘ll see what happens later.
For now, we see that Paul’s mission continued and Paul’s journey continued.
That takes us nicely to our bottom line:Bottom Line: Paul’s journey continued, and so does ours.
Things happen in our lives that are outside of our control, right?
We have blessings, and we have hardships.
We have good days, and we have bad days.
We may have persecution, and we have prosperity.
We may have chaos and confusion.
We may have clarity and confidence.
In any case, the Lord is with us, and our journey continues.
Paul’s journey was not done and neither is our journey.
Challenge yourself this week in the following two ways:Weekly Challenge #1 – Ask God to give you clarity.
We need to think clearly as we journey in our Christian life.
Let us ask God for clarity.Weekly Challenge #2 – Ask God to give you courage.
Christians should not be people of fear; we should be people of courage.
Take some time this week to ask the Lord for courage.
(Gospel presentation)
(closing prayer)
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