“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. 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.” 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” (Acts 23:10–12).
Things hadn’t been going well for Paul and they were about to get worse. He had traveled to Jerusalem to worship and deliver financial aid to the church in the area. But he ends up being falsely accused of anti-Jewish teaching and of desecrating the temple. His opponents drag him away with the goal of putting him to death but he is rescued by a contingent of Roman soldiers. Once removed from immediate danger, the apostle is given an opportunity to address his accusers. That goes pretty well until he brings up going to the Gentiles and then the riot begins anew. Eventually, the Roman commander assembles the Sanhedrin and sets Paul before them, hoping to get an answer to what the fuss was all about. That gathering immediately devolves into more chaos as revealed in the verses above.
Wow! Talk about a rough day! If Jesus loved Paul, surely He would rescue him out of the struggle. But he doesn’t. Instead, He calls him to be courageous in the midst of the difficulty. Rescue doesn’t always take the form of escape. Sometimes it looks like courageously leaning on the One Who has overcome the world (John 16:33). When we are battered by the storms of life, it would be good to remember the words of the Master to his disciples on a stormy night long ago: “Take courage, it is I; do not be afraid” (Matthew 14:27).
God loves you!
Mike
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