23 And he called for two centurions, saying, “Prepare two hundred soldiers, seventy horsemen, and two hundred spearmen to go to Caesarea at the third hour of the night; 24 and provide mounts to set Paul on, and bring him safely to Felix the governor.” 25 He wrote a letter in the following manner: 26 Claudius Lysias, To the most excellent governor Felix: Greetings. 27 This man was seized by the Jews and was about to be killed by them. Coming with the troops I rescued him, having learned that he was a Roman. 28 And when I wanted to know the reason they accused him, I brought him before their council. 29 I found out that he was accused concerning questions of their law, but had nothing charged against him deserving of death or chains. 30 And when it was told me that the Jews lay in wait for the man, I sent him immediately to you, and also commanded his accusers to state before you the charges against him. Farewell. 31 Then the soldiers, as they were commanded, took Paul and brought him by night to Antipatris. 32 The next day they left the horsemen to go on with him, and returned to the barracks. 33 When they came to Caesarea and had delivered the letter to the governor, they also presented Paul to him. 34 And when the governor had read it, he asked what province he was from. And when he understood that he was from Cilicia, 35 he said, “I will hear you when your accusers also have come.” And he commanded him to be kept in Herod’s Praetorium.
Commentary
Vs. 23-24 23 And he called for two centurions, saying, “Prepare two hundred soldiers, seventy horsemen, and two hundred spearmen to go to Caesarea at the third hour of the night; 24 and provide mounts to set Paul on, and bring him safely to Felix the governor.”
Knowing then the Jews plot against the Apostle Paul’s life, the commander now calls for two centurions and orders them to “Prepare two hundred soldiers, seventy horsemen, and two hundred spearmen to go to Caesarea at the third hour of the night; 24 and provide mounts to set Paul on, and bring him safely to Felix the governor.” And so, by dispatching Paul from Jerusalem in the night hours with such a large escort, he will safely deliver Paul to Felix the Governor; who was living in Caesarea; so that the governor himself can make a decision as to what to do with Paul.
Vs. 25-30 25 He wrote a letter in the following manner: 26 Claudius Lysias, To the most excellent governor Felix: Greetings. 27 This man was seized by the Jews and was about to be killed by them. Coming with the troops I rescued him, having learned that he was a Roman. 28 And when I wanted to know the reason they accused him, I brought him before their council. 29 I found out that he was accused concerning questions of their law, but had nothing charged against him deserving of death or chains. 30 And when it was told me that the Jews lay in wait for the man, I sent him immediately to you, and also commanded his accusers to state before you the charges against him. Farewell.
And so, in his letter the commander who identifies himself as Claudius Lysias now gives an outline of the circumstances surrounding Paul’s detention. Indicating that the Jews had seized him and were about to kill him, and so he came down with troops and rescued Paul from them, having learned he was a Roman (vs. 25-27), (and thus by saying as much he now justifies his himself before the governor in having taken Paul). He then goes on to tell how the next day he brought Paul before their council, for they were accusing him of things regarding their law, but they had nothing to say against Paul that was deserving of death or chains (28-29). However, when he heard that Jews lie in wait for Paul to kill him, he immediately sent him to him, to the Governor, and he also commanded Paul’s accusers to also appear before him so as to state before him their charges against him. It’s a brief and concise report of the events, which you would expect from a military commander, since civilian rulers generally have short attention spans when it comes to these sorts of domestic matters in their domains.
Vs. 31-35 31 Then the soldiers, as they were commanded, took Paul and brought him by night to Antipatris. 32 The next day they left the horsemen to go on with him, and returned to the barracks. 33 When they came to Caesarea and had delivered the letter to the governor, they also presented Paul to him. 34 And when the governor had read it, he asked what province he was from. And when he understood that he was from Cilicia, 35 he said, “I will hear you when your accusers also have come.” And he commanded him to be kept in Herod’s Praetorium.
Thus, the Apostle Paul was now to be taken to the governor at Caesarea who would make a decision about him, (and so this then begins fulfilling God’s Word that Paul would witness of the Lord Jesus Christ not only at Jerusalem; which he had just been; but now also at Rome, Acts 23:11). Now the trip there entailed a stop at Antipatris (vs. 31), “about thirty miles from Jerusalem and forty miles from Caesarea” (BBC), which seems reasonable given that they were now well armed, and that there was little threat of an ambush being so far from Jerusalem where they had plotted to kill Paul. And so, the next day leaving Antipatris the foot soldiers departed back to Jerusalem to their barracks, while the horsemen carried Paul onto Caesarea. Having arrived there they delivered Paul to the governor who asked what province Paul was from, and so when he understood Paul was from Cilicia, and thus a Roman citizen, he told Paul that he would hear his case once his accusers had arrived from Jerusalem, until then he commanded Paul be kept in Herod’s Praetorium (vs. 32-25). Now as to the Roman governor Antonius Felix himself, he rose from a position of servitude to rule over all of the province of Judea, ruling from A.D. 52-59. And as to his remarkable rise, this was mostly by his own brothers influence at the palace of Claudius Caesar. Now Felix himself by all historical accounts was not only an immoral man, taking several wives, but he was a brutal ruler who crushed several Jewish uprisings during his tenure, including arranging the assignation of a high priest named Johnathan who criticized him for his misrule BBC).[1] The Roman historian Tacitus wrote of Felix, saying, “Felix indulging in every kind of barbarity and lust, exercised the power of a king in the Spirit of a slave” (Histories V, 9). Taken from King James Bible Commentary. Now as to his immorality and ambition, which may have drove it, he married three princesses, one of which was the granddaughter of “Antony and Cleopatra; the third was Drusilla, the daughter of Agrippa”, [2] that is king Herod Agrippa II, the son of Herod Agrippa I, who murdered James and imprisoned the Apostle Peter (Acts 12). Now it was king Herod Agrippa II who had also married his own sister Bernice (BBC). Such then was nature of Rome’s Rulers.
Scripture Quotations
New King James (1982):Thomas Nelson.
[1]
MacDonald, W. (1995). Believer’s Bible Commentary:
Old and New Testaments. (A. Farstad, Ed.) (p. 1656). Nashville:
Thomas Nelson.
[2]
Hindson, E. E., & Kroll, W. M. (Eds.). (1994). KJV Bible
Commentary (pp. 2190–2191). Nashville: Thomas Nelson.
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