God’s Providential Help in Difficult Moments

Acts 23:1-35

Why’s it hard to be a bold witness? It’s because of sin. When we’re not living out our faith, we’ll find it hard to stand for Christ. It’s also hard to trust God in times of testing when our conscience is unclean. Now, a good conscience doesn’t make the trial easier, but it helps us react more patiently, faithfully, and confidently. Joseph was ill-treated by his brothers; falsely accused by Mrs Potiphar; and left to rot in prison - but he had a clear conscience. He endured and the Lord blessed him. God in his providence elevated Joseph. On the other hand, Esther and Mordecai weren’t the best examples. Mordecai told her to hide her Jewishness. She competed to marry a pagan king. But trouble came, they returned to God in repentance. They would’ve died, but God showed mercy to them. Even though they weren’t good, he was - he saved them.

Today, we want to see how a clear conscience gives boldness. But most of all, we want to see how God’s special providence extends to his people. There are 3 observations we can draw from this passage. Firstly, the holy witness of Christians in moments of opposition. Secondly, the unholy zeal of the world to hurt God’s people. Thirdly, God’s providential help through agents to preserve his people.

Firstly, the holy witness of Christians in moments of opposition. Paul experienced what Jesus told him would happen - he’d be arrested and tortured. In Jerusalem, the Jews kicked up such a fuss, the Roman soldiers arrested him. They were about to torture him until he revealed he was a Roman citizen. So in Acts 22:30 the chief commander tried to get to the bottom of it. He commanded the Sanhedrin to sort it out with Paul, so he’d know what the charges were. But why didn’t he just release him? There was no formal investigation or charge yet. And the reason was simple. Roman law before the second century presumed guilt until proven innocent. That’s why Claudius was willing to torture him to get the truth. But Paul was clear in conscience. He didn’t do anything wrong. So he proclaimed his innocence before the Sanhedrin, verse 1 - “And Paul, earnestly beholding the council, said, Men and brethren, I have lived in all good conscience before God until this day.” He didn’t commit the crime he was accused of. So here, he was pushing them to make a charge. The High Priest didn’t like this. He got a soldier to slap Paul, verse 2. Meaning, he rejected Paul’s innocence, presumed him guilty, and was outraged Paul dared to proclaim innocence. The fact that he appeared before the Sanhedrin should’ve afforded him a fair trial. Under Old Testament law, you were presumed innocent until proven guilty. Deuteronomy 19:15 says no one can be convicted on the testimony of one witness. The facts had to be established by two or three witnesses. But he was slapped! But Paul wasn’t afraid. As a Roman citizen and Pharisee, he knew the law. So he accused the High Priest in verse 3 -“God shall smite thee, thou whited wall: for sittest thou to judge me after the law, and commandest me to be smitten contrary to the law?” There’s no conviction! How dare you slap me! So he went from defendant to prosecutor. He called Ananias a whited-wall - a hypocrite! God will smack you in return.

Now, why was Paul so bold? Because he was right. When we have a clear conscience, we can be bold to declare God’s truth. But wasn’t he wrong in his accusation? When told he accused the High Priest, he seemed to apologize. Oh! I didn’t know it was the High Priest. Exodus 22 says no evil should be spoken of the ruler of God’s people. But was Paul really sorry? Let’s read between the lines. Firstly, how could Paul not know Ananias? They’d worked together in the Sanhedrin. Yes, it was years ago and people change. But unlikely he wouldn’t have known. Was it his poor eyesight? Was he blindfolded? Also unlikely. Secondly, he would’ve known who the High Priest was because he wore the High Priest’s robes and sat on his seat - flanked by 35 people on each side. Thirdly, Paul called him a whited wall. And this is the clearest evidence he knew. God used this term in Ezekiel 13 to address lying prophets. You see, God had sent prophets to warn Israel but false prophets told Israel not to worry. Israel was a broken wall in need of repair, instead of fixing the wall, lying prophets were just painting it. That’s why God would judge them. Ezekiel 13:11 - “Say unto them which daub it with untempered morter, that it shall fall: there shall be an overflowing shower; and ye, O great hailstones, shall fall; and a stormy wind shall rend it.” Just as God charged the lying prophets; Christ charged the Pharisees for being white washed sepulchres; Paul charged Ananias for being a whited wall. You look good but you’re fake and God will smack you. You accuse me of breaking God’s law, but you slapped an innocent man. So if we take this into consideration, Paul’s words had an edge to it - “I did not know he was the High Priest.” Meaning, he’s no high priest at all.

And here, continuing with the boldness, Paul preached Christ. Verse 6 - “But when Paul perceived that the one part were Sadducees, and the other Pharisees, he cried out in the council, Men and brethren, I am a Pharisee, the son of a Pharisee: of the hope and resurrection of the dead I am called in question.” He was questioned for preaching Christ’s resurrection. So he threw it back at them. But they were a divided council, verse 8. The Sadduccees comprised of priests and nobles were liberals who rejected the resurrection. But the conservative Pharisees accepted the resurrection. So there was an argument, verse 7. So the Pharisees said - “we find no evil in this man!” They affirmed Paul’s righteousness. “Maybe a spirit or angel told Paul! Let’s not fight God!” But a minute ago, they were against Paul. In God’s providence, he brought confusion to them. The disagreement was so bad, Claudius removed Paul by force lest he was torn to pieces. Paul was bold, not only because his conscience was clear, but because he was testifying for Christ. Jesus said to him that night in verse 11 - “Be of good cheer, Paul: for as thou hast testified of me in Jerusalem, so must thou bear witness also at Rome.” A clear and holy conscience is a powerful assurance and witness in difficult moments.

Secondly, the unholy zeal of the world to hurt God’s people. Paul was he nearly beaten to death and tortured, arrested on bogus charges, smacked in the face, and now there was a plot to kill him. The world doesn’t relent even though we are holy. In verses 12-13 there was a plot to kill him. 40 unbelieving Jews vowed they wouldn’t eat or drink until they’d killed Paul. They hated the gospel message and they hated him. We see their hateful zeal. They took an oath not to eat or drink until they killed Paul. They believed he committed great sins against God. To be fair, they truly believed he was against God. We see their zeal. They bound themselves under a curse. This was the strongest Old Testament vow - a vow to destroy - Paul was their offering to God. Leviticus 27:28 says this kind of vow had to be fulfilled. If they didn’t kill him, they’d be cursed. He dies, or we die. This is how much they hated him. They wanted to destroy him, annihilate him, end him. This is the kind of sin that religious people can resort to - ironically - making a vow to God to do this kind of thing.

Furthermore, they were willing to destroy so much that they resorted to dishonesty. In verse 14 they went to the priests and elders to seek approval. But to carry this out, they needed to go to the whole Sanhedrin - but they didn’t! They only went to the Sadducees. Why? Because the Pharisees had supported Paul. And they sucked the Sadducees into their dishonest plan. Verse 15 - “Now you and the Sanhedrin should ask the commander to bring Paul back here. Pretend you want to examine his case more fully. We will kill him on the way.” And the Sadducees, instead of denouncing it, approved it. The plan was to trick the Pharisees and also Claudius. As the KJV says, do it “as though” you want to examine him more. So it was a pretext. “You know, we were arguing and we didn’t get to examine him thoroughly, so now we really want to do it to fulfill all righteousness.” That was a lie - they said it this way so they could get to him. And the way they wanted to do it was to kill him on his way. If Paul was whisked away previously by the Romans, he’d be also brought by the Romans. They’d escort him because he was a Roman citizen. But they were going to ambush him. They were willing to face the wrath of Rome. But we must see the cosmic battle here. Behind these devious men was their father - the devil - the father of lies. Jesus had told Paul he would testify in Rome, and so the devil was using these men, not only to take Rome on, but to oppose Jesus. To prevent Paul from going to Rome to speak the truth.

But thirdly, we see God’s providential help through agents to preserve his people. Jesus had a plan for Paul - it was to go to Rome. No lies, no plot, nothing would hinder that from happening. So God uses different means and agents to help Paul sovereignly. He does it by both friends and foes. In verse 16, Paul’s sister’s son - his nephew - heard about this plot and he warned Paul. We don’t know much about Paul’s family, but this young man came to tell Paul. All these dangerous and deceitful men were against Paul, but God used a young man. Verse 19 gives the impression when Claudius took him by his hand, that the nephew could’ve been a teenager. God uses small and foolish things to confound the wise and mighty. We’re not sure how he came to know, but he did. But at the same time, Paul took what he heard and alerted the centurion in verse 17. Oi there, take this boy to Claudius! Paul gave instructions to this centurion. And we see in verse 22 that Claudius believed him. Now why would he believe the nephew? It’s Paul’s family after all! The prisoner’s family! But he believed him, and told him not to tell anyone else. Claudius would now take steps to preserve Paul to try him another day. But in Rome - this was God’s providential plan. The gospel was to be preached there.

And God would bring him there by due processes. After hearing from the nephew, Claudius took action. Verse 23 - “And he called unto him two centurions, saying, Make ready two hundred soldiers to go to Caesarea, and horsemen threescore and ten, and spearmen two hundred, at the third hour of the night.”The 40 Jews were going to ambush Paul the next day. But that evening, Claudius instructed 200 soldiers, 70 cavalry men, and 200 spearmen to take Paul to Caesarea at 9 pm. 400 fighting soldiers, all with broadswords, but 200 armed with spears to keep attackers at bay. And how they’d do it can be seen from the text. Verse 24 says that Paul should be given his own horse. With our knowledge of Roman strategy, they’d have put him in the middle of the cavalry, flanked him with the soldiers walking phalanx style. At the front and back, there would be the pikemen - with their spears and shields. Claudius was not taking any chances. They travelled all night until they got to Antipatris, verse 31, about 60 kilometers away. The next day 400 soldiers accompanied him another 40 kilometers to Caesarea.

In sending Paul to Caesarea, Claudius sent a letter to Felix the governor of Judea. He took over Pontius Pilate. In that letter, Claudius explained the circumstances and defended Paul, in verse 27-30. He explained that Paul was rescued from the Jews who wanted to kill him. He thought by bringing him to the Sanhedrin he would clear things up - because it was a question just about doctrine. But lo and behold, the Jews wanted to kill him. That’s why he’s sent to Caesarea under guard, because of the Jews, verse 30. So here, Paul was acquitted and the Jews implicated. All by facts. But due process also insisted that those who brought charges should also bring them officially. Claudius in verse 30 said, “I gave commandment to his accusers also to say before thee what they had against him.” The High Priest and elders wanted to do things in secret, from the sidelines, to kill Paul - but now, they had to appear. They were no longer the judges, but had to submit themselves to Roman process. When Felix met him the next day, verse 35, he said he’d address the issue when his accusers came. Paul would be able to preach the gospel again. Paul would spend 2 years in Caesarea, and then 2 years in Rome. With travel, he’d spend 5 years in prison. But he’d be free to preach the gospel.

What are some things we can draw from this passage for ourselves? I think there’s the immediate context. There are also some of you going through dark times now. Know that these are ordered by God in his providence. You can go through with boldness and a clear conscience. Remember these dark moments are times of witness. When Christ was about to go to the cross, he prayed - the hour is come, glorify thy Son, that they Son may also glorify thee. And he was lifted up on the cross. And there, the centurion said - “truly, this was the Son of God!” Let your dark moment produce the fruit of endurance. But in God’s providence, this dark moment may be showing the deceitfulness of your heart so you may produce the fruit of purity.

How boldly are you living for Christ? Do you have a clear conscience? Are you standing up for Christ like Paul or living in deceitfulness like the Sadducees? If you’re living in sin, you’re not a good example to the world. And perhaps that’s why you’re struggling in your dark moment. So how then, beloved, do you propose to come to the Lord’s table? For here at this Table, we proclaim Christ’s death until he come - we proclaim his atonement for the forgiveness of our sins, the holiness we ought to have; and how he has purchased for us a clear conscience. If you’re weak and sinful, and have not been living a bold Christian life, how dare you come to the Table? Dearly beloved, it’s so simple and so assuring. Come afresh to Christ in the gospel. Be assured of his cleansing. You’re not good, but Christ is. You’re weak and hypocritical, but Christ isn’t. You’re not bold, but ashamed of him! But while your conscience rightly accuses you, and Satan viciously smacks you, you have a savior that has cleansed you and assures you of his love. That’s why if any is feeling hypocritical but sorrowful, find strength here at the Table in your savior who has given himself to you. But also remember, as you pursue holy living - and truly have a conscience that is clear of wrong-doing, not just a conscience cleansed by Christ, you will have boldness to live for Christ. In your weakness now, find strength at his Table and purpose in your heart to live for Christ, to stir up your love and obedience for him.