And having called to [him] certain two of the centurions, he said, Prepare two hundred soldiers that they may go as far as Caesarea, and seventy horsemen, and two hundred light-armed footmen, for the third hour of the night.
Paul's nephew had uncovered a plot to ambush him. That night the Roman commander in Jerusalem moved fast. He called out a force far too large for one unarmed prisoner. Why so many? The answer says much about Paul's enemies, about Roman order, and about the God who had promised him Rome.
The numbers in the order add up to a small army. One writer sees in them a refusal to take any chances:
The chief captain acted at once, deciding to send Paul to the civil governor at Caesarea. He also took care to run no risks. He knew how fierce the fury of the Jews could be where religion was at stake. So he did not make the common mistake of underestimating the danger. The force that took charge of Paul must have numbered nearly five hundred men. That is twelve to one against the would-be assassins. They showed the prisoner every consideration, even providing animals for him to ride.
The order set an hour, and the road ahead was long:
The third hour of the night would be nine o'clock in our evening. Caesarea was a journey of sixty or seventy miles from Jerusalem.
The third group in the order is the hardest to identify. The English word is an educated guess rather than a translation:
"Spearmen" is only a guess for the Greek word δεξιολάβους, which has been explained in various ways but never satisfactorily. Grasping the weapon with the right hand is not very distinctive.
The size of the guard is itself evidence. It shows what a Roman officer thought Paul's accusers were capable of:
The huge guard sent to bring a prisoner through safely — a man admitted to be guilty of nothing worth punishing — shows what the commander thought of Jewish treachery and violence. And he arranged it on the very night he learned of their plot.
after_note: DELETE How sad to see spite and deceit in the Jews, detested and blocked by the firmness of pagans who stood for earthly righteousness and order! The foundations really were out of place. The Romans were evil, yes; but God's people, the Jews, were sadly even worse.
Some read this armed column as a state honour for a great servant of Christ. One writer calls that a mistake:
All this God's providence used in favour of His servant. Some think so large an escort was meant as a special honour to Christ's minister. That is a blunder. It comes from not seeing that the true glory of the Christian is his likeness to Christ's cross.
The Lord had already promised Paul that he would testify in Rome. Paul still told the commander about the plot:
It is instructive also to notice how far the apostle was from fanaticism in the way he acted. The Lord had miraculously promised to keep him safe, so that he might have the desire of his heart and bear witness of Christ in Rome. Even so, he did not think it beneath him to tell the military chief about the plot against his life. Confidence in the word of God does not despise or dispense with legitimate means. Some men, perhaps, flatter themselves that they could be more faithful or more spiritual than he was.
Notice, too, what is absent here. No angel opens a door, no earthquake shakes a prison:
God has all things at His disposal. A nephew of Paul's, never mentioned anywhere else, hears of an ambush laid for him and warns him of it. Paul sends him to the chief captain, who hurries Paul's departure under guard to Caesarea. God watched over him, but everything is on the level of human and providential ways. There is no angel as in Peter's case, and no earthquake as at Philippi.
That ordinary machinery was carrying him somewhere:
They wanted to get hold of him, but he was to stay in their power no longer. So he is taken to Lysias, to Felix, to Festus, to Agrippa, and at last to Caesar. Such was the intention of God. And these were the means He used to bring the gospel to governors and to the great. He did not raise up men of the world to do it, as many often think. Instead God makes a prisoner His servant, so that the gospel might reach governors and kings.
- Plot. A nephew's warning about an ambush reached the commander; the size of the escort shows what a Roman officer made of that hatred.
- Escort. Close to five hundred men, with animals for the prisoner to ride — twelve to one against the assassins, and no risks taken.
- Timing. Nine at night, for a journey of sixty or seventy miles: prompt in getting Paul out, cautious in guarding him.
- Means. Paul had a promise from the Lord. He still reported the plot. Confidence in God's word does not dispense with legitimate means.
- Purpose. No angel, no earthquake, just soldiers and orders; God makes a prisoner His messenger to governors and kings.
And [he ordered them] to provide beasts, that they might set Paul on them and carry [him] safe through to Felix the governor,
More than forty men had sworn to kill Paul. When the plot came out, the Roman commander in Jerusalem ordered a night march, an armed escort, and animals for Paul to ride. The order to bring him "safely to Felix the governor" raises a question the rest of Acts answers. Who was really moving Paul, and where was he going?
The guard set over one prisoner, still convicted of nothing, shows how dangerous Jerusalem had become for him. Commentators note its size, and that even Paul's comfort was planned for:
The chief captain acted at once in his decision to send Paul to the civil governor at Caesarea. He also took care to run no risks. He knew the vindictive fury of the Jews when religious matters were at stake. So he did not make the common mistake of underestimating the danger. The force that took charge of Paul must have numbered nearly five hundred men. That is a ratio of twelve to one against the would-be assassins. Every consideration was given to the prisoner, even to the point of providing animals for him to ride.
That size of guard is also a measure of something shameful. A foreign officer was doing what the leaders of God's own people would not do:
The huge guard provided to bring one prisoner through safely — a prisoner who by everyone's admission deserved no punishment — shows what the commander thought of Jewish treachery and violence. And he arranged it on the very night he heard of their plot. How sad to see the vindictiveness and deceit of the Jews hated and blocked by pagan firmness in standing for earthly justice and order! Truly the foundations were out of their proper place: not that the Romans were not evil, but that God's people, the Jews, were far worse.
The Lord had already told Paul that he would testify in Rome. Paul still warned the officer about the ambush, and the escort and mounts of this verse are the result.
It is instructive to notice how far the apostle was from fanaticism in the way he acted. The Lord had guaranteed by a miracle that he would be kept safe, so that he might have his heart's desire of bearing witness to Christ in Rome. Even so, he did not think it beneath him to tell the military chief about the plot against his life. Confidence in the word of God does not despise or do without lawful means.
This ride to Caesarea starts a chain of hearings. Commentators trace the whole sequence back to God's purpose. They see in it His chosen way of bringing the message to people no ordinary preacher could reach.
We now find the apostle in the hands of the Gentiles. There may have been no free action of the Spirit in Paul himself. Yet the providence of God cares for him, ordering everything for the testimony he was to bear, and His favour is with him. The relentless hatred of the Jews only brings about the fulfilment of the counsels of God... he is therefore taken to Lysias, to Felix, to Festus, to Agrippa, and at last to Caesar. Such was the intention of God. These were also the means He used to bring the gospel to the governors and to the great. He did not raise up men of the world to do it, as many often think. Instead God makes a prisoner His servant, so that governors and kings might hear the gospel.
The commander sent a written report with Paul. It shaded the facts in his own favour, yet it put on record that no real crime could be named.
The letter written by Claudius Lysias is quite a typical document. In it he presented his own actions in the most favourable light. On the other hand, it entirely cleared Paul of anything really evil or worthy of death. The only accusations against him were about "questions of their law." So the first Roman official into whose hands he fell was quickly convinced of two things: the charges against him concerned his faith, and there was no fault in his conduct. God clearly took care to make this very plain.
A safe arrival did not mean fair treatment. The governor at the end of the road was himself a study in corruption:
Felix was a freed slave of the Emperor Claudius, who made him governor of Judaea in A.D. 51. Paul, sent as a prisoner to Caesarea, appeared before Felix, and later before him and his wife Drusilla. As Paul reasoned about righteousness, self-control and the judgement to come, Felix trembled, and said he would send for him when he had a convenient time. He showed his greedy and unrighteous character by keeping Paul a prisoner for two years, hoping for a bribe. Then he left him a prisoner to please the Jews.
- Plot — More than forty men swore to kill Paul. The danger was real: a Roman officer sent nearly five hundred troops to move one innocent prisoner.
- Means — The Lord's promise about Rome did not make Paul reckless. He reported the ambush. Trusting God's word never rules out lawful protection.
- Providence — Rome arranged the escort and the mounts. But the road through Lysias, Felix, Festus, Agrippa and at last Caesar was God's intention.
- Testimony — This is how the gospel reached rulers. Not by great men of the world taking it up, but by God making a prisoner His servant.
- Reversal — A pagan officer's stand for plain justice protected God's servant from God's own people.