Quick decision of the commander

“Then the commander let the young man go, instructing him, ‘Tell no one that you have notified me of these things.’” (1) The commander ordered the boy not to tell anyone about their meeting and sent him away. (2) The commander felt the need to act immediately. His judgment was exceptionally sharp. (a) He knew that the high priest, Ananias, was a ruthless man. The information brought by Paul’s nephew was reliable. (b) He sensed that if Paul remained in Jerusalem, he would eventually be killed. (c) For him, it was entirely undesirable for a Roman citizen to be murdered while he was stationed in Judea. “And he called to him two of the centurions and said, ‘Get two hundred soldiers ready by the third hour of the night to proceed to Caesarea, with seventy horsemen and two hundred spearmen.’ They were also to provide mounts to put Paul on and bring him safely to Felix the governor.” (1) He decided to transfer Paul immediately to Caesarea, the city where the governor resided. At that time, the governor was Felix (the same position Pontius Pilate once had). (2) To escort Paul to Caesarea, a detachment of 470 soldiers was assembled. (a) 200 infantrymen, (b) 70 cavalrymen, (c) 200 spearmen. This number accounted for about half of the soldiers stationed at the Antonia Fortress. (3) At 9:00 PM, Paul and the soldiers departed from Jerusalem. The commander even arranged a horse for Paul. From this point on, Paul would never return to Jerusalem again.

God’s protecting hand

Let us learn from this passage that the way God works is often different from human expectations. (1) Roman citizenship – if Paul had not been a Roman citizen, he would likely have been killed in Jerusalem. Because of his citizenship, he was granted protection. Furthermore, it allowed him to receive a visit from his nephew and to request that a centurion escort his nephew to the commander. (2) A child – As we have seen, Paul’s nephew was a child. The Lord Jesus highly valued children (Matt. 18:2-7). Additionally, it was a child who offered the five loaves and two fish (John 6:8-9). (3) Roman soldiers – It was the Roman soldiers who rescued Paul from his enemies and transported him to Caesarea. From these examples, we see that God’s ways are different from human ways. We must not confine God’s work within the limits of our own narrow understanding.