The Apostle Paul's defense before the Sanhedrin in Acts 23 reveals the deep-seated hatred of the human heart toward Christ and the gospel, exemplified by the corrupt leadership of High Priest Ananias. Paul masterfully divides his accusers, the Sadducees and Pharisees, by appealing to the Pharisees' belief in the resurrection, thus turning their opposition against each other and ensuring his safety. Despite the turmoil and a subsequent assassination plot, God reassures Paul that his witness will continue, culminating in his testimony in Rome. The sermon highlights God's providential protection, using even a young boy to thwart the plot, and emphasizes the importance of trusting God's purpose and presence through all circumstances, urging listeners to invite Christ into their lives.
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soldiers go to Caesarea, and horsemen, three-score, and ten and spearmen, two hundred, at the third hour of the night, to provide them peace, that they may set Paul on, and bring him safe unto Felix the governor. And he wrote a letter after this banner, Flory of Hesias, unto the most excellent governor of Felix, and of Greece. This man was taken of the Jews, and should have been killed of them, and Then came I with army and rescued him, having understood that he was a Roman. When I would have known the cause wherefore they could use him, I brought him forth into their council, whom I perceived to be accused of questions of their law, but who have nothing laid to his charge worthy of death for a box.
When it was told me how that the Jews lay with the man I stood straightway to thee, and gave commandment to his accusers, also to see before thee what they had against him, Pharaoh. Then the soldiers, as it was commanded them, took Paul, and brought him by night to Antipasus, and on the morrow they left the horsemen to go to him and return to the castle. When they came to Syria, and delivered the pistol, to the governor present Paul also before him. When the governor had read letter, he asked of what province he was, when he understood that he was of Cilicia.
I will hear thee, said he, when thine accusers are also come, and he commanded him be kept in Herod's judgment law. This is a very interesting chapter, and Lord, when we'll continue in our studies until we conclude in a couple of weeks, You'll notice here how the Apostle Paul is to give his witness before the high priests, and he starts out in verse one, as you'll notice, and he speaks of his conscience, and he had a good conscience before God elsewhere, and he says before men.
Well, this was just a little more than the high priest Caiaphas could take. And so you'll notice what he said to them, that they should smite the Apostle Paul on the look for such a statement. And the Apostle Paul, evidently he must have been a little aroused over this statement, coming as it did from the man in the chair, and he said, "'Cut shall smite thee, thou whitered wall.'" Well, you stop to think of the high priest and the council of the Sanhedrin. Certainly their behavior was then becoming their dignity, or the dignity that accompanied their office.
If we were to read in verse twenty-two of chapter twenty-two, and it says, And they gave him, that is Paul audience, unto this word, and then with up their voices, and said, Away with such a fellow from the earth, for it is not fit that he should live. And as they cried out, cast off their clothes, and threw dust into the air. In other words, here are these men. The hytrics, Caiaphas, and the Sanhedrin, and a guzzle man, and infuriated over the Apostle Paul's testimony, that they tore off their clothes and threw dust into the air, not the very dignified behavior for such men occupying such a dignified office.
But it shows the hatred, the inner hatred, and bitterness, of the human heart toward Christ and the gospel. When you start to think of this passage we're reading this morning, how fierce the hostility of the Sanhedrin was to the Apostle Paul and also to this trial especially, it only goes to show you the hatred, the inherent hatred in the human heart toward the truth. or not. So in verses one to ten you have the castle and ruling over this council in Jerusalem was Caiaphas or Ananias rather the high priest and he ruled in Jerusalem from AD forty seven to fifty nine.
He was a sad you see. He was a wealthy man, a haughty man, andrupulous man and he was a very selfish man. More friend led to the Romans than he was to the Jewish nation. Finally he was assassinated by Zealots. Now that was the life and the end of a man who claimed to be the high priest of Israel. Why different from what you have in the Old Testament than the characteristics that you'd control and govern a man holding that high office? And so that there you have Ananias.
The High Briefs. If you were to read the exceeding chapter, you would read about Paul telling his conversion. He tells it very simply, but he tells it very sincerely. I don't know anything I'd sooner hear than a real converser Christ. Someone could tell me how he found a Savior, how he was born again. That thrilling story. do here. Paul makes his defense first before the people in chapter twenty two. They make his defense before the council in chapter twenty three that we have read before the Sanhedrin.
They make his defense before the governor. Felix and Festus and Agrippa would be seeing in chapters twenty four and five and finally He makes his defense before Caesar at Rome the last chapter, Acts chapter twenty-eight. And here is the Apostle Paul. From the time he trusted Christ in chapter nine, right on to chapter twenty-eight, this brave soul. This large-hearted man, this man was willing to serve for Christ, laid on his life for Christ. And finally, eventually, I don't know a more thrilling story or character study than that of the Apostle Paul.
The temple in Jerusalem is much in evidence in these chapters of the Acts as the very same temple that twenty-eight years before the Lord Jesus Christ was condemned and thus ordered to be put to death. And here you find Paul in that temple standing before the council, and the very same council, the very same Sanhedrin, held it up by Ananias, that also condemned the Lord Jesus Christ, gave him order to be crucified, and also the same council that condemned Stephen and commenced Stephen to be so.
and the same council that made repeated efforts to destroy, to eliminate, to exterminate the early church. Here's the Apostle standing before this so-called August body. I think it's a stroke of genius. Paul looks at over his accuser. He looks at this man and I, but yet nothing else, content. He knew he was a Sadducee. In other words, we would say in those days, a wilderness. The Sadducee didn't believe in anything supernatural.
They didn't believe in angel or set or the resurrection. Is it any wonder they were all sad, you see? How as good, Jimmy. If you don't believe in the resurrection, if you don't believe in the supernatural, you have all the grounds in the world to be sad, you see. And so he was a sad, you see. And here you find the Apostle Paul, and he looks out, and he sees the Sadducees headed by the high priest, but he also detects a constricting of Pharisees. Now the Pharisees believe in the supernatural. They believe in the resurrection.
And Paul thought, here's my check. Now if you want to find those points out, you'll find in verse six what the Sadducees believe and verse eight in what Pharisees believe. And so the Apostle Paul, he saw this divided audience. After this moment, they were united to condemn the Apostle. But the Apostle Paul with his master's stroke, he says, I am of Pharisees. for the hope of the resurrection, I'm hearing bombs at this time. Right then he split his opposition. Right then he split his audience right down the and he turned his enemies against each other.
It was a stroke of genius because right then he set the statues the Sadducees. And the Pharisees said, Why? This man, the Pharisees we've been persecuting, and he believes in the supernatural, so do we. He believes in the resurrection, so do we. And so they took reception to the Sadducees, especially the high priest. And so fierce was the conflict between these two groups that the young the Roman governor and the centurion had to intervene, lest Paul be pulled in pieces by these brutal men, and leaders, if you will, of religion, leaders of the nation of Israel.
So Paul here was very graciously protected by the Roman centurion. You more or less have that today. You have the liberals, those I represented in that day by the Sadducees, the liberals, the modernists. They don't believe in the supernatural, but you also have those who believe in the supernatural and who also believe in the resurrection. You might speak of them as fundamentally. And today they are at odds, but straight to Satan. A lot of the fundamentals are not standing for fundamentals the way they should.
But in the midst of all this confusion, this strife that was going on, God says something to the Apostle. Here is God watching the proceedings in the Council. He listens to Paul's defense. He sees the reaction from the high priest to slap. Paul in the mouth, and he listens to Paul's rebuttal, God shall smite you, you whited wall, a reference to what Christ said in Matthew twenty-four, outwardly you indeed appear beautiful unto men, you are a whitish sepulcher, but within you full of all dead men, bones, and all unbeatenness, and you high priests, outwardly with all your white robes, like an outward sepulcher, you are That's dead and full of corruption.
You white and sick. God listened to this. And then he saw the conflict between the Pharisees and the Sadducees. He saw how close Paul came to losing his life. And it hadn't been for the roads whom God calls to intervene at this time to rescue Paul. Paul likely would have lost life. But notice what God said to Paul in verse eleven. And the night following, the Lord stood by him, that's Paul, and said, Be of good cheer, Paul, for as thou hast testified of me in Jerusalem, so must thou bear witness also at Rome.
Here you have the quiet after the toil of all. after this story how wonderful to know we have such a God watching over us at all times under all circumstances concerning all thee you'll notice the conspiracy that took place in verses twelve to thirty five here you find that it's very strange these men and they were determined men and they had conspired kill Paul. They wanted to have the Apostle Paul brought down, and they said four of forty of us have bound ourselves under the curse.
We're not going to eat or drink until we've killed this man, the Apostle. And so here is their conspiracy. Strong, forty men, strong men, brutal men, clever men. But you know this was found out, and it's amazing as you read this. It's very thrilling to read instances like this, how God has a way. And Paul's sister's son, now however he got into the prison where Paul was, we don't know. Evidently in those days, because the Romans, in many cases, were very courteous, as we'll see a little later on, This lad got into the prison where Paul was, into the castle.
And he went and he tall told Paul. Now sometimes you don't like youngsters to hear certain things. My father used to say little pigs had big ears. Be careful what say around children. But here's at one occasion, we thank God that a lad heard something. I heard about the plot of these forty men who had found themselves under a curse. They were going to kill the Apostle Paul. And he got permission to go in, being a relative, undoubtedly. Paul's nephew, Paul's sister's son.
He got into the prison. He went and told Paul, Paul, uncle, Paul, you know what I heard. Forty men. found themselves under the curse, they're going to kill you. And they have sent word to have you brought down the Jerusalem. And when you're brought down, they're ready to kill you. They're going to ambush you. And so the apostle Paul called one of the centurions. He says, take this left unto the chief captain. he must have been a lad because it says he took the lad by the hand.
Evidently he must have been around ten, eleven, twelve years of age. And so it's remarkable when you see how important things hang upon something that he would call insignificant, just a little less. Precious lives seem sometimes hanging on the tricling events, Paul's nephew. Paul's life was in the balance here. If Mr. Gladd hadn't heard the story, the possibility is that the Apostle might have been killed because of this plot.
But it's wonderful to go through your Bible and see how God picks up boys. There are three of them on the front seat. I hope they're listening. In other words, God can use lands. He can use little girls. You remember Nehemiah had a little captive maid? And Nehemiah had leprosy. He was a dying man. And the captive maid said, with God, my master, who is the prophet that is in Samaria, for he would eat them of leprosy. There was the link. that led to the healing of Damon and his conversion to the new God.
Then you remember also another case where a little lad was very important. David and Jonathan went entered into a covenant. And Saul had determined to kill David. Saul had a feast prepared. He wanted David to attend, for he had made a blotch to have David put to death. Jonathan loved David. Jonathan had a talk, said, David, don't you be at the feast. I'll be there. And I'm going to listen to what my father, King Saul, has to say about you.
If he's mad, if he asks, where's the son of Jesse? And if he's angry at your absence, then I know evil is determined. I guess you, my father. But he says, I'm going to take the lamp, and my bow and arrow. And I'm going out to the field. I'm going to shoot those arrows. And if I say to my lamp, it is with me, run and pick up the arrow. And when he goes out so far, I'll say the arrows are beyond thee. When I make that remark, David, flee for your life.
My father has evil determined for you. Now, if you want that story, it's over in Samuel chapter twenty and verse thirty eight, and I'll read it to you. And Jonathan cried after the lad, Makes me haste, stayed up. And Jonathan's lad gathered up the arrows and came to his master. But the lad knew not anything. Only Jonathan and David knew the matter. And Jonathan gave his artillery unto the lad, and said, Let go, carry them to the city. Here is God choosing a lad again. Then you remember the case of Daniel. He was a teenager.
Are he brutal? and the three new children also. Then the land, the five loaves, and the two fishes. And here you have Paul's sister's son, Justin. What encouragement for children, young people. God has chosen the weak things to compound that which is strong, the despise to compound the might. And in order for God to use us, even to save us, we've got to become a little child, except to become as a children, we shall in no wise enter into the kingdom of heaven.
And only in the measure after we maintain the childhood disposition and simplicity that God would be able to make use of us as he did in these flats. and this lassie that we refer to in our passage. So you find how that this plot formulated by these good men was found out because of this lad, Paul's sister's son. And it was foiled. What happens? Why two centurions of a centurion means a Roman officer in charge of a hundred men.
These two centurions got two hundred horses. Then they had also two hundred more added, making altogether four hundred and seventy men to take the Apostle Paul safely to his destination. I tell you, the devil overstepped himself. And here's the Apostle Paul, instead of going along the way the business used to be taken in those days with his hands chained and his feet chained. Why, here's the Apostle Paul, he's riding like a king.
He's on horseback. There's four hundred and seventy men. There's a bodyguard. Now, God's going to look after his children, can't he? There's no persecuted Jew, the Apostle Paul. and these forty men plus the Sanhedrin and the high priests call the Sadducees and they're going to kill this man. Ha! They are. Well, just now. He's being taken care of, riding on a horse as if he were the king with four hundred and seventy others. One more snack, one of what he got.
More are they that are on our side that are against us. We have God's army. We have God's forces to protect us. Do you think the Apostle Paul was worried through all this experience? I don't think he was. Because after that turmoil, when he got in to the castle, you remember what happened. Lord, he referred to the scripture. Paul said, God said to the apostle Paul, fear not Paul. For as thou hast had won which of me here at Jerusalem, thou must also bear witness of me at Rome.
Paul, you're going to Rome. And this plot is going to fail. These forty men are not going to kill you. No one can kill you. You're going to be my representative. You're going to be my witness. after a court of Caesar in Rome. And so you see how God overrules in protecting his fickle circle. It seems very clear as you read in the Testament that the Lord Jesus Christ and the Lord God speaks in very high terms of centurions, Roman centurions. They're highly commended of the Lord and they must have been very critical.
well-trained, veiled, simple. For instance, you have four or five cases of that. You find over a connection, Matthew eight. There you have a centurion, a Roman, and in charge of a hundred men, he's got a servant who's sick, and he hears about Lord Jesus, and he goes to see the Lord Jesus, and he says, my servant is sick will you come and heal him the more he dies Lord Jesus says yes I'll come here oh the centurion says no I'm a man under authority I have been under me and I could say go and he go and others come and he come but he said I am not worthy that you should be under my roof a pride Roman Roman he could have looked with disdain upon a Jew of the Lord Jesus for the truth but know this centurion he is willing to get on his knees and say don't come don't take another step I'm not worthy to come under my roof and I live
better than the average just speak the word only and my servant shall be he the Lord Jesus turned to this such faith misread. Go thy way, thy servant, ye heal, for he liveeth. And here is a centurion, how he glorified the Lord by his faith. Then you have another case of a centurion, the one who supervised the crucifixion, the Lord Jesus Christ. For there stood that Rome centurion, giving orders, carrying out Roman law in the execution and the crucifixion of Jesus Christ.
But as he observed the whole thing, he was a very true man, and he made two statements, a dual confession, that are no more statements. Is not this a righteous man? This is the Son of God. That was a Roman centurion. Undoubtedly, he found Christ at the cross. This was a righteous man. He has no right to die. Not only is he a righteous man, this is the very son of the Lord. Then you have another centurion in chapter ten of Acts.
The first Gentile he saved was a centurion. Cranelius, by the way, a wonderful man. A number of remarkable things had about him. He had a wonderful reputation. He was a very liberal kind man. But he wasn't as Christian. And God sent Peter to Cornelius' house, to tell him words whereby he and all his house might be saved. And Cornelius had such a reputation and such influence. He got everybody in under his roof. And he says, Peter, all right. We're all here, ready to hear. All things are commanded here.
And Cornelius got saved. And was the first Gentile. Thus the door was opened to the Gentiles. The door of the gospel. Through a Roman centurion. Then you have another centurion. referred to, and it was Judas on the extra man. And he was the one who was in charge of that vessel that took the Apostle Paul, as we'll see in chapter twenty-seven, on his voyage to Rome. And he was a gentleman. He gave Paul liberty. He let Paul do as he liked.
He took the chains off him. And he regarded Paul. Paul was a man of prayer, and when a great storm came up, he rocked with it, and they thought that everybody was going to be destroyed, drowned. Paul says, don't be afraid. Two hundreds more men on that ship. He says, let's pray. And he prayed. And everybody on worship, including the centurion, was saved. There's another centurion. a Roman centurion who was saved by the grace of God. And then you've got the one in this chapter that we've been reading about.
In fact, there are two of them here. Two centurions in charge of two hundred horsemen. And how kind they were. The one who was so willing to listen to Paul and take the left to the chief officer. How kind, how trustworthy these men. Here are centurions. I wonder if you're willing to follow these centurions. These were own soldiers. They were what we would call today men, sheriffs, in high office, higher up than that, maybe chief of police, maybe colonels or something in the army.
They were military men, trained men. and yet in each case we see them led to Christ and they were supervising or trying to keep down the people that were given to revolution the Jewish nation and yet in each case they submitted to those who they could look upon as their slaves and were led to Christ through those slaves there's something else in conclusion that is that verse eleven again I wanted to draw your attention to through it all the presence of the Lord it was night you read in that verse and what happened Paul the Lord stood by him be of good cheer upon it was night be of good cheer upon the Lord stood by him by the night to have the Lord standing by you under all circumstances yes he stands by us under all circumstances that's the presence of the Lord
at one place on my return trip I gave a message on life in a capsule and I mentioned the many things that happened to me in the last two months I'm not going into them now there was sadness, there was sorrow, there was sickness, and also some encouragement. There were some things to cause joy, some things that were, you might say a little on the humorous side, some surprises. Then the fellowship of God speaks All the things that go up to make life.
Life in a capsule. And if we're going to accept life, we're going to accept all these things. Enough that happened to me experienced in the last two months might represent the things that would happen in an entire lifetime. Life in a capsule, but in it all, the Lord stood with it. and you know makes it easy to swallow this capsule, take a good mouthful of the water of his word, and it will now be easy. And so you have God saying to Paul, be of good cheer, Paul.
The Lord stood by, and there's the presence of the Lord, and there's the word of the Lord, be of good cheer. Here's God encouraging... The Apostle Paul, and he's appreciating Paul's witness for he said, thou hast testified of me in Jerusalem. Then you have the work of the Lord. It must continue. I want you to go on to Rome, Paul. And you have it also, the purpose of the Lord. It's imperative, Paul. You must. And so you have these four things in that text, the presence of the Lord, the word of the Lord, the work of the Lord, and the purpose of the Lord.
I wonder if you know something about this Lord that we're speaking of this morning. Christ must be a wonderful seer when Paul a million sins have suffered and laid down their lives for his aim. Yes, he is wonderful. Millions have claimed Christ and Apostle. They suffered for their faith in Christ. They laid down the lives for their love in Jesus Christ. But I thought the swing of that hymn, I always loved to hear it sung.
But I was a boy going to Sunday school way up in Sacramento, Ontario. Thaw always thrills me, but at Issa, this wonderful sea, there's a stranger, and I'm speaking to you who are not Christians this morning, there's a stranger at your door, let him in. There's the same one who Paul served, the same one who protected and washed over and stood by and comforted and encouraged and delivered, Paul. He's a stranger. There's a stranger at your door, let him in. He has been there off before.
Let him in. Let him in, the Holy One, Jesus Christ the Father's Son. Will you let him in? Open now to him your heart. Let him in. And if you wait, he will depart. That's a possibility. Let him in. Let him in ere he is gone. Let him in, the Holy One. Let him in, he is your friend. He your soul will soon defend. He will give you to the end. Let him in. Hear you now, this loving voice.
Let him in. Now, hold now, make him your choice. Let him in. He is standing out through an oar. Joy to you he will restore, and his name you will adore. Let him go. Now admit the heavenly guest. Let him in. You will make for you a feast. Let him in. He will speak your sins forgiven, and with earth joys all of it, He will take you home to heaven. Let him in.
Now, will you do that? Let us pray. Our Father in heaven, in the name of our Lord Jesus Christ, we come into thy presence. We ask that let us sing upon thy word. We thank thee for such a Savior. thank me for such a story to tell all those who were with us suffer for that Savior to lay down our lives for him but we thank you this morning for the presence the power the protection the peace that is the portion of all those who know him I grant for any here the day who are not Christian how empty how lonely are How disappointing life must be with the best of all friends on the outside of their heart.
May they indeed open their heart and let the Savior in. We ask it in his name and for his aid. Amen. Let us sing in closing, Two-twenty-six. Just as I am without one plea, that thy blood was shed for me and that thou bit'ss me. Come to me, O Lamb of God, I come. You have come to Christ, but you haven't confessed publicly. We give you this opportunity. But if you haven't yet made that decision,