23:10 And as a great
dissension was developing, the commander was afraid Paul would be torn to
pieces by them and ordered the troops to go down and take him away from them by
force, and bring him into the barracks.
11 But on the night
immediately following, the Lord stood at his side and said, “Take courage; for
as you have solemnly witnessed to My cause at Jerusalem, so you must witness at
Rome also."
12 When it was day, the
Jews formed a conspiracy and bound themselves under an oath, saying that they
would neither eat nor drink until they had killed Paul.
Three main characters: Paul, the Roman commander and his men,
and the Jews. Paul is trapped, the commander is confused, and the Jews are
out for blood. Into this mess comes the Lord with a simple message for Paul.
"In the same way you have witnessed for Me in Jerusalem you will also in
Rome." Contained in this message is a promise. He clearly is not going to
die in Jerusalem.
While Jesus is making this promise to Paul, some Jews are
making a pact. They are not going to eat or drink until they have killed him
which gave them less than a week to accomplish their task.
I think it's important to apply what was happening back there to
life in general. We often don't look "beyond the curtain".
Paul was truly serving God. His life was devoted to Him. The
Jews were clearly not despite their claims and if you aren't serving the God of
heaven another god has your allegiance.
The Roman commander represents the confused world. They aren't
sure what they believe and are observers of a war they don't even understand.
Paul is fighting on God's side to save lives. He is not
trying to kill anyone. He has no favourites. He is a cultural anomaly. He is
Greek and Hebrew and Roman. His very existence, attitude, and behaviour is a
fascination to the Roman commander because it just doesn't fit.
The Jews want Paul dead because he represents everything they
are not and refuse to become. They want walls and borders and classes of men.
They want an "us versus them" society. They want a God who has
favourites. Paul's very existence is a silent witness and an affront to their
way of life.
Sound familiar? Strip away the details and it's the same
reason Cain killed his brother Abel.
So where are you in this struggle? Are you the confused
bystander trying to figure who is who and what is what? Are you willing to die
to make the Lifegiver known or are you ready to kill to preserve your bubble?
Sure every day life is not that stark right now but it has
been there many times before and we're heading back there again. As hate and
anger increases around the globe lines are forming. Like minded people are
grouping together and each group is intent on preserving their ideals, their
bubble. Their goal is self-preservation and they'll buy it at any cost. Evil
only cares for itself.
Jesus died to save us. Satan's footmen will go without food
and water to eliminate any who seek Him. Life versus death. Saving others
versus self-preservation. Love versus hate.
There is a reason why religion has always lead to war. Behind
the curtain it's a battle between Jesus and Satan, between good and evil,
between love and hate and almost all religion is a brainchild of the devil
designed to fuel hatred and the "us versus them" mentality. Make no
mistake. Paul was not really being hunted by the Jews because he was a breaker
of religious law. He was hated and hunted because he took the good news to the
Gentiles.
Where are we in this cosmic battle?
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