THE LIVING CHURCH
Meditations in the Acts of the Apostles
Acts 23:12-22

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PAUL was given assurance by God in verse 11 of this chapter that God wanted him to go to Rome and testify to Christ in that city. In the light of this assurance we can see that the conspiracy amongst some Jews to kill Paul was included in the plan of God as a means of achieving the purpose that Paul should go to Rome. This is very helpful and instructive.

We see the power that Satan exerts in the world, and we may be tempted to assume that Satan has it all his own way, and that the cause of God is struggling. This is far from the truth as we see here. Satan's agenda was against God and he wants to oppose God and harm God's plans. Satan has no desire to let God know his plans but God knows all of them all the time. Satan's purpose is to oppose God, yet God uses even the wickedness of Satan to further his plans for the salvation of sinners. Satan does not know the plans of God, but God knows all the plans of Satan.

These Jews were seeking to do the business of Satan. God knew all about it and God planned to use this evil for the good of getting Paul to Rome. So we see God overruling events. First we find that Paul's nephew heard about this plot and comes to warn Paul. Then we find that the Roman commander is ready to give credit to this information when he is informed about it. Further the Roman commander is determined to circumvent this murderous plot. None of these things were by chance. God was behind them, just as he is in all history which concerns his people and progress of His kingdom.

We learn further how safe God's people are. Nothing can happen to us which is not in God's hand. If there is something of trouble and pain that happens, we can be sure that we are still safe in God's purpose, and that all is working together for good until we are brought by God's mighty power and grace to his heavenly glory. This truth Paul proves here in this incident. We should take comfort and assurance from this. Salvation through Christ is not just forgiveness of sins so that we can make a new start. Salvation is one complete whole. The goal of salvation is to free us from sin and Satan forever and bring us to God's everlasting glory. The redeemed are God's own people - see John 17. God will never allow us to fall.

The other lesson in this passage is the power of Satan to influence and use good people to do his work. The people who bound themselves not to eat until they killed Paul were not just vicious men who delighted in killing. They were devout Jews who under the guidance of their spiritual leaders, the High Priest and others, felt that the gospel Paul preached and taught was wrong and evil. Satan had given a similar spirit to Paul before his conversion, which is demonstrated to us that he was breathing out threatening and slaughter as he went to Damascus to imprison and kill Christians.

Satan manipulated and used the error and prejudices he had built up in the Jewish church to make them attack and seek to eliminate Paul. Satan's concern was to stop salvation being preached. He has no care or concern for the dupes he uses. These men seeking to kill Paul, no doubt, felt that they were doing good and upholding the truth of God, and by this justified their actions.

This action of Satan is much deeper and wide spread than we may imaging. It has been my experience in ministry that when there has been some special blessing from God - i.e. God has been glorified, and Christ uplifted so that people come to faith or believers are encouraged and strengthened, - that something that opposes follows hard upon this blessing. It is my experience also that often this opposition has come from Christians in the congregation, who have had some genuine spiritual concern stirred up by Satan so that this Christian is ready to judge and criticise the blessing and even seek to prevent it happening.

Again such a Christian believes that he or she is upholding God's will and way, and does not realise that the work of Satan is being done. All believers need to be prayerfully on guard unless we are duped by Satan in such a way. Only a close walk with Jesus, and continual seeking his presence in reading and meditating in the bible, with prayer, will keep us from this danger. When a believer does the work of Satan in this way, they do not cease to be God's people. Satan has simply used a weakness in them to help his agenda.