(11) “And the night following the Lord stood by him, and said, Be of good cheer: for as thou hast testified concerning Me at Jerusalem, so must thou bear witness also at Rome.”
(12) “And when it was day, the Jews banded together, and bound themselves under a curse, saying that they would neither eat nor drink till they had killed Paul. (13) And they were more than forty that made this conspiracy. (14) And they came to the chief priests and the elders, and said, We have bound ourselves under a great curse, to taste nothing until we have killed Paul. (15) Now therefore do ye with the council signify to the chief captain that he bring him down unto you, as though ye would judge of his case more exactly; and we, before he comes near, are ready to slay him. (16) But Paul's sister's son heard of their lying in wait, and he came and entered into the castle and told Paul. (17) And Paul called unto him one of the centurions, and said, Bring this young man unto the chief captain; for he hath something to tell him. (18) So he took him, and brought him to the chief captain, and saith, Paul the prisoner called me unto him, and asked me to bring this young man unto thee, who hath something to say to thee. (19) And the chief captain took him by the hand, and going aside asked him privately, What is it that thou hast to tell me? (20) And he said, The Jews have agreed to ask thee to bring down Paul to-morrow unto the council, as though thou wouldest inquire somewhat more exactly concerning him. (21) Do not thou therefore yield unto them: for there lie in wait for him of them more than forty men, who have bound themselves under a curse, neither to eat nor to drink till they have slain him: and now are they ready, looking for the promise from thee. (22) So the chief captain let the young man go, charging him, Tell no man that thou hast signified these things to me.”
Golden Text.—“The Lord stood by him, and said, Be of good cheer.” Acts 23:11.
Note.—The lesson includes the whole chapter. Learn by heart verse 11; Rom. 8:28; and Ps. 2:1-4. Outline for study: The plot to kill Paul; imprisonment at Caesarea; the vision of cheer; the plot revealed; the plot foiled; protection by guards; all ways leading to Paul's destination, Rome.
SUGGESTIVE QUESTIONS.
(1) The night after Paul's trial before the Sanhedrin, what comforting message came to Paul from the Lord? Who stood by him to deliver the message? What did the Lord tell Paul regarding the future? Verse 11. Note 1. (2) What did the Jews do on the following day? What was the purpose of their banding together? What shows the intensity of this purpose? Verse 12. (3) How many had entered into this conspiracy? Verse 13. (4) Before whom did the conspirators lay their plans? Verse 14. Note 2. (5) Who else did they seek to bring into the conspiracy? What part were the chief priests and elders to take in the matter? What were they ready to do before Paul should reach the council? Verse 15. Note 3. (6) Who heard of the plotting? What did he do? Verse 16. (7) What action did Paul take, and what did he recommend? Verse 17. (8) What did the centurion do? What report did he make to the chief captain? Verse 18. (9) How was the young man received by the chief captain? Verse 19. (10) What statement did Paul's nephew make to the chief captain? Verse 20. (11) What did he urge the captain to do? What reason did he give for this? On what did their action depend? Verse 21. (12) On departing what charge did the chief captain give the young man? Verse 22.
NOTES.
1. “The Lord stood by him.”—The encouragement to Paul was as much in knowing that “the Lord stood by him” as in the words which were said. The fact that the Lord stood by him showed that the Lord approved the stand that he had taken. The Lord always stands by those who are trying to do His will. “I will never leave thee nor forsake thee,” is the Lord's promise to His own people, whatever difficulty may arise. See Heb. 13:5; Joshua 1:5. The Lord will stand by in all times of trouble. The message which the Lord spoke to Paul at this time is a message of approval. The Lord's assurance that Paul must testify of Him in Rome as he had in Jerusalem also showed the Lord's approval of Paul's work there, and must have been an encouragement to Paul, who, so far, seemed to have seen only confusion as a result of his work in Jerusalem.
2. “They came to the chief priests.”—They were doing a similar work to that which Judas did, and they were coming to the same place, and enlisting the same persons in it—the chief priests and the elders. The fact of their putting themselves under a curse shows the unrighteousness of the act which they were conspiring to do. What they did was to invoke a curse upon themselves in case they should fail to do what they had agreed to do.
3. “Signify to the chief captain.”—A bold work of deception. They were to act as though they desired in good faith to inquire further concerning Paul when their purpose was quite different. They were to agree to propose one thing while intending to do another. This is always the part of the hypocrite, the deceiver, the conspirator. The form of words used meant to ask in a formal way for a regular investigation. This would make the ones in authority equally guilty with the actual conspirators in Paul's murder.
