God’s Sovereign Care – Acts 23:11–35

PRAY & INTRO: In a movie made about Paul’s life, this would be a critical action scene sequence, with dramatic irony and intrigue, and an element of danger and narrow escape. What’s more, although packed with action, this episode in Acts also significantly enhances the thematic undercurrent of God’s sovereign care for his people while accomplishing his purposes.

I want us to be overwhelmed by the capacity of God to control all things and to care individually for his people, that we might respond in right worship to him with our thoughts and desires, with our words and deeds, with our own God-provided time and treasure and abilities.

Do you believe that God is providentially caring for you as he did for Paul?

Acts 23:11–35 ESV

¹¹ The following night the Lord stood by him and said, “Take courage, for as you have testified to the facts about me in Jerusalem, so you must testify also in Rome.” ¹² When it was day, the Jews made a plot and bound themselves by an oath neither to eat nor drink till they had killed Paul. ¹³ There were more than forty who made this conspiracy. ¹⁴ They went to the chief priests and elders and said, “We have strictly bound ourselves by an oath to taste no food till we have killed Paul. ¹⁵ Now therefore you, along with the council, give notice to the tribune to bring him down to you, as though you were going to determine his case more exactly. And we are ready to kill him before he comes near.” ¹⁶ Now the son of Paul’s sister heard of their ambush, so he went and entered the barracks and told Paul. ¹⁷ Paul called one of the centurions and said, “Take this young man to the tribune, for he has something to tell him.” ¹⁸ So he took him and brought him to the tribune and said, “Paul the prisoner called me and asked me to bring this young man to you, as he has something to say to you.” ¹⁹ The tribune took him by the hand, and going aside asked him privately, “What is it that you have to tell me?” ²⁰ And he said, “The Jews have agreed to ask you to bring Paul down to the council tomorrow, as though they were going to inquire somewhat more closely about him. ²¹ But do not be persuaded by them, for more than forty of their men are lying in ambush for him, who have bound themselves by an oath neither to eat nor drink till they have killed him. And now they are ready, waiting for your consent.” ²² So the tribune dismissed the young man, charging him, “Tell no one that you have informed me of these things.” ²³ Then he called two of the centurions and said, “Get ready two hundred soldiers, with seventy horsemen and two hundred spearmen to go as far as Caesarea at the third hour of the night. ²⁴ Also provide mounts for Paul to ride and bring him safely to Felix the governor.” ²⁵ And he wrote a letter to this effect: ²⁶ “Claudius Lysias, to his Excellency the governor Felix, greetings. ²⁷ This man was seized by the Jews and was about to be killed by them when I came upon them with the soldiers and rescued him, having learned that he was a Roman citizen. ²⁸ And desiring to know the charge for which they were accusing him, I brought him down to their council. ²⁹ I found that he was being accused about questions of their law, but charged with nothing deserving death or imprisonment. ³⁰ And when it was disclosed to me that there would be a plot against the man, I sent him to you at once, ordering his accusers also to state before you what they have against him.” ³¹ So the soldiers, according to their instructions, took Paul and brought him by night to Antipatris. ³² And on the next day they returned to the barracks, letting the horsemen go on with him. ³³ When they had come to Caesarea and delivered the letter to the governor, they presented Paul also before him. ³⁴ On reading the letter, he asked what province he was from. And when he learned that he was from Cilicia, ³⁵ he said, “I will give you a hearing when your accusers arrive.” And he commanded him to be guarded in Herod’s praetorium.

My first question for us from the text this morning is this:

Does Paul’s experience of comfort and courage in Christ apply to us? (v. 11)

Now you are unlikely to have the Lord stand beside you in a vision to comfort and to give you courage. You are not going to be told what your specific future holds, even vaguely. But you can know what your eternal future holds, and you can take comfort and courage in Christ if you read the Scriptures concerning Jesus and repent of sin and self and turn in faith to him to be restored to God. Then you can know what Jesus Christ, the Lord, has already done for you, what he is doing in you and through you by God the Holy Spirit, and what he promises to complete and to bring you home to eternal rest and grateful worship of God.

Take courage that God providentially cares for his people while accomplishing his purposes.

It isn’t just that God says to him, Paul, you will do this (testify); but he also in essence is promising to provide the means to make it happen. You will testify because I will make sure of it.

When we cannot see why things are happening as they are, we trust in God’s care. - The Roman justice system will bring Paul to Rome to proclaim Christ in the highest echelons of society there. Had Paul merely traveled to Rome as a missionary, he would have had great difficulty make inroads at the level he is able to under arrest.

Well, when we hear about a deadly conspiracy, a plot to kill Paul, we are not left to wonder IF God will provide escape, but how.

Who overhears every conspiracy, sees every trap, perceives every evil intent? (vv. 12-15)

The conspiracy is secret and significant, and the threat is imminent.

Conspiracy under oath to kill Paul - basically calling down anathema, a curse upon themselves, unless they succeed - and they won’t eat or drink until it is done - And there are more than 40 of them committed to this! (I mean, 40 men to kill one guy? This is undoubtedly because Paul will undoubtedly be escorted by at least a handful of Roman soldiers. He is their prisoner, after all. So these men had to contend with trained and armed soldiers to get to Paul.)

They secure the support of the members of the Sanhedrin most opposed to Paul, who are almost certainly all Sadducees: the elders and the chief priests. Notice they keep the Pharisees and scribes out of it, who have begun to come to Paul’s defense about having done nothing deserving of imprisonment and death. (Act 23:9) - These leaders must also become complicit by asking the tribune for another hearing with Paul, at which time the plot was to intercept him on the way and kill him. (undoubtedly they had a plan for which street they devised their attack)

Not only is this a significant threat that has secured the support of the highest religious authorities, but it is imminent. They were no doubt plotting this for the very next day or days. (not eat or drink) 

So what point am I making here, that I believe Luke is drawing to our attention through this action and plotting done in secret? Conspiracies are always overheard by the One who hears all, sees all, perceives all. And He is the One with the knowledge, authority, and ability to control all things according to his will.

I was struck this week again that God always sees, always hears, even “discerns [our] thoughts from afar” (Ps 139:2). - Nobody is ever “putting one over on” God. Nobody ever bamboozles, cheats, deceive, defrauds, swindles, or sneaks anything by God.

And if God always sees, hears, and perceives all, then the question becomes, what will he choose to do about it?

Who clearly orchestrates the actors and the means to secure Paul’s safety? (vv. 17-35)

…

God’s sovereign care is underscored in the discovery of the plot.

Paul’s nephew (his sister’s son) is someone we’ve never even heard of before now, and we don’t even know how Paul’s relationships have been to his family since becoming a follower of Jesus. But the nephew hears of the plot (again how he finds out is apparently not the point, bc we are not told). He goes straight to inform Paul in the Roman barracks.

God’s sovereign care is underscored in Paul’s own activity.

For most of this, Paul is a passive player, but not entirely. For his part, Paul simply does what he can to diligently coordinate his efforts with what God seems to be doing. (Remember, Paul is willing to “not only be imprisoned but even to die in Jerusalem for the name of the Lord Jesus.” Ac 21:13 But since the Lord gave him courage that he had plans for him to testify in Rome (v. 11), Paul pursues the avenues at his disposal.)

App: As I was praying for my daughters one day this week, I found myself meditating on and thanking God that knowledge of him is what allows us to be self-controlled and cool-headed (composed) under pressure. Self-control is possible precisely because we trust in HIM. It actually allows us to think and act more clearly, and to give the whole and the parts into his care, knowing that we do not control them, but he does, and he does what is best.

What’s our part? To trust God’s promise, and to be diligent and industrious with the commands we’ve received and the opportunities he provides. We can even seek and accept help from others, knowing that God sovereignly uses secondary means to work his will.

God’s sovereign care is underscored in the deferential treatment and speedy response of the Roman authorities.

These commanders and soldiers are treating Paul so well that there is no resistance to his nephew coming to speak to him, and there is instant compliance from one of the centurions to Paul’s request to take the young man to the tribune.

Furthermore, Lysias not only responds favorably to the warning about this plot, but he acts quickly to send Paul away under significant protection. (hundreds of legionnaires and spearmen—the javelin throwers—and 70 men of the cavalry… and a horse for Paul. He makes nearly half of his military resources in Jerusalem available to ensure Paul’s safe transport to Caesarea.)

Some of these soldiers travel more than 30 miles on foot this night to bring Paul as far as Antipatris before they are released to turn back, and the horsemen proceed with Paul’s protection the rest of the way to Caesarea.

God’s sovereign care is also underscored in the letter sent from Lysias to Felix, and in Felix’s initial response.

Both of them serve as unwitting, just protectors. - They’re not doing this because they fear God or have responded to Paul sharing the gospel. And yet in this case they are clearly God’s instruments for his purpose in providential care for Paul. - Lysias leaves out some details and takes some undeserved credit in his letter, but the most important parts about Paul’s innocence and a plot against him are clearly communicated.

Another irony is that, through Felix, Paul is again settled under Roman arrest for safekeeping.

God can use whomever and whatever he wills to accomplish his purposes. - And God’s care and plan for us is different and better than our own wisdom would conceive.

Take courage that God providentially cares for his people while accomplishing his purposes.

A Christian’s courage does not come from pulling oneself up by your own bootstraps. Courage comes from WHOM you know and trust (who is your confidence and whom you rely upon).

We worship a God who is capable to care for his own. The capacity of God to control all things by itself is a cold, hard truth, unless we also embrace God’s goodness and his intimate care for us.

And when God, by his perfect knowledge beyond what we can see, chooses not to remove us from the difficult circumstances, does he still care for us then? Paul’s rescue here reminds us of another early Christian who was not spared from stoning and death. Stephen proclaimed the gospel to his fellow countrymen and was killed for it, and Paul recently reviewed that he was there approving of the unjust murder of Stephen. But had God abandoned Stephen? Or was God accomplishing his will through Stephen, empowering him to boldly proclaim Christ and to be faithful at the highest cost (that of his own life)?

So I want to ask us a couple more probing questions to make sure we are applying this text from today. How can you know that God cares for you? And how do we live in light of God’s care?

How do you know God cares for you? How can you know?

By faith in Christ. Col 1:19

Colossians 1:19 ESV

¹⁹ For in him all the fullness of God was pleased to dwell,

(That is, in Jesus, God the Son, who is the image of the invisible God, Col 1:15.)

Colossians 1:20–23 ESV

²⁰ and through him to reconcile to himself all things, whether on earth or in heaven, making peace by the blood of his cross. ²¹ And you, who once were alienated and hostile in mind, doing evil deeds, ²² he has now reconciled in his body of flesh by his death, in order to present you holy and blameless and above reproach before him, ²³ if indeed you continue in the faith, stable and steadfast, not shifting from the hope of the gospel that you heard, which has been proclaimed in all creation under heaven, and of which I, Paul, became a minister.

Faith in Jesus Christ’s sacrifice and resurrection gives us peace with God, restoring us to him, giving us safety and security, both now and forever.

Followers of Jesus, how do we live in light of God’s care?

Hold the details of your plans and purposes loosely; cling tightly to the God who cares for you. (We diligently make our plans and set our purposes to please God according to what is revealed, but the specifics we hold loosely because God almost always changes or tweaks them according to his perfect knowledge and better plans.)

Know that God has already proven his care most of all in the death and resurrection of Jesus. And know that God has given us countless examples in his word of his faithfulness to both care for his saints and accomplish his purposes.

Isaiah 26:3–4 ESV

³ You keep him in perfect peace whose mind is stayed on you, because he trusts in you. ⁴ Trust in the Lordforever, for the Lord God is an everlasting rock.

Meditate on the truth of God’s character and promises from his word, and then actively lean on (depend on) Jesus as he walks with us in this yoke of rescuing love and humble ministry with him.

Matthew 11:28–30 ESV

²⁸ Come to me, all who labor and are heavy laden, and I will give you rest. ²⁹ Take my yoke upon you, and learn from me, for I am gentle and lowly in heart, and you will find rest for your souls. ³⁰ For my yoke is easy, and my burden is light.”

What about when being yoked to Jesus means suffering with him?

1 Peter 3:14–16 ESV

¹⁴ But even if you should suffer for righteousness’ sake, you will be blessed. Have no fear of them, nor be troubled, ¹⁵ but in your hearts honor Christ the Lord as holy, always being prepared to make a defense to anyone who asks you for a reason for the hope that is in you; yet do it with gentleness and respect, ¹⁶ having a good conscience, so that, when you are slandered, those who revile your good behavior in Christ may be put to shame.

When you suffer, honor Christ the Lord as holy.

Philippians 4:4–7 ESV

⁴ Rejoice in the Lord always; again I will say, rejoice. ⁵ Let your reasonableness be known to everyone. The Lord is at hand; ⁶ do not be anxious about anything, but in everything by prayer and supplication with thanksgiving let your requests be made known to God. ⁷ And the peace of God, which surpasses all understanding, will guard your hearts and your minds in Christ Jesus.

More than anything, we know we are guarded by God in Christ Jesus. The security of our eternal souls is safe in God’s care. And on this earth, God will accomplish his purposes, all the while providentially caring for each and every one of his children.

PRAY

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