Immerse: Messiah - Flipbook - Page 114
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IMMERSE
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MESSIAH
23:11-30
That night the Lord appeared to Paul and said, “Be encouraged, Paul.
Just as you have been a witness to me here in Jerusalem, you must preach
the Good News in Rome as well.”
The next morning a group of Jews got together and bound themselves with
an oath not to eat or drink until they had killed Paul. There were more
than forty of them in the conspiracy. They went to the leading priests and
elders and told them, “We have bound ourselves with an oath to eat nothing until we have killed Paul. So you and the high council should ask the
commander to bring Paul back to the council again. Pretend you want to
examine his case more fully. We will kill him on the way.”
But Paul’s nephew—his sister’s son—heard of their plan and went to the
fortress and told Paul. Paul called for one of the Roman officers and said,
“Take this young man to the commander. He has something important
to tell him.”
So the officer did, explaining, “Paul, the prisoner, called me over and
asked me to bring this young man to you because he has something to
tell you.”
The commander took his hand, led him aside, and asked, “What is it
you want to tell me?”
Paul’s nephew told him, “Some Jews are going to ask you to bring Paul
before the high council tomorrow, pretending they want to get some more
information. But don’t do it! There are more than forty men hiding along
the way ready to ambush him. They have vowed not to eat or drink anything until they have killed him. They are ready now, just waiting for your
consent.”
“Don’t let anyone know you told me this,” the commander warned the
young man.
Then the commander called two of his officers and ordered, “Get
200 soldiers ready to leave for Caesarea at nine o’clock tonight. Also take
200 spearmen and 70 mounted troops. Provide horses for Paul to ride,
and get him safely to Governor Felix.” Then he wrote this letter to the
governor:
“From Claudius Lysias, to his Excellency, Governor Felix: Greetings!
“This man was seized by some Jews, and they were about to kill
him when I arrived with the troops. When I learned that he was a
Roman citizen, I removed him to safety. Then I took him to their high
council to try to learn the basis of the accusations against him. I soon
discovered the charge was something regarding their religious law—
certainly nothing worthy of imprisonment or death. But when I was
informed of a plot to kill him, I immediately sent him on to you. I have
told his accusers to bring their charges before you.”
