12 When it was day, the Jews made a plot and bound themselves by an oath neither to eat nor drink till they had killed Paul. 13 There were more than forty who made this conspiracy. 14 They went to the chief priests and elders and said, “We have strictly bound ourselves by an oath to taste no food till we have killed Paul. 15 Now therefore you, along with the council, give notice to the tribune to bring him down to you, as though you were going to determine his case more exactly. And we are ready to kill him before he comes near.”

16 Now the son of Paul’s sister heard of their ambush, so he went and entered the barracks and told Paul. 17 Paul called one of the centurions and said, “Take this young man to the tribune, for he has something to tell him.” 18 So he took him and brought him to the tribune and said, “Paul the prisoner called me and asked me to bring this young man to you, as he has something to say to you.” 19 The tribune took him by the hand, and going aside asked him privately, “What is it that you have to tell me?” 20 And he said, “The Jews have agreed to ask you to bring Paul down to the council tomorrow, as though they were going to inquire somewhat more closely about him. 21 But do not be persuaded by them, for more than forty of their men are lying in ambush for him, who have bound themselves by an oath neither to eat nor drink till they have killed him. And now they are ready, waiting for your consent.” 22 So the tribune dismissed the young man, charging him, “Tell no one that you have informed me of these things.”

23 Then he called two of the centurions and said, “Get ready two hundred soldiers, with seventy horsemen and two hundred spearmen to go as far as Caesarea at the third hour of the night. 24 Also provide mounts for Paul to ride and bring him safely to Felix the governor.” 25 And he wrote a letter to this effect:

26 “Claudius Lysias, to his Excellency the governor Felix, greetings. 27 This man was seized by the Jews and was about to be killed by them when I came upon them with the soldiers and rescued him, having learned that he was a Roman citizen. 28 And desiring to know the charge for which they were accusing him, I brought him down to their council. 29 I found that he was being accused about questions of their law, but charged with nothing deserving death or imprisonment. 30 And when it was disclosed to me that there would be a plot against the man, I sent him to you at once, ordering his accusers also to state before you what they have against him.”

31 So the soldiers, according to their instructions, took Paul and brought him by night to Antipatris. 32 And on the next day they returned to the barracks, letting the horsemen go on with him. 33 When they had come to Caesarea and delivered the letter to the governor, they presented Paul also before him. 34 On reading the letter, he asked what province he was from. And when he learned that he was from Cilicia, 35 he said, “I will give you a hearing when your accusers arrive.” And he commanded him to be guarded in Herod’s praetorium. (ESV)

We, yet again, hear echoes of the Jesus story in verse 29.

I found myself wondering about these Jews, ‘As they were unsuccessful, did they never eat again?!’ I thought about how we can tie ourselves up with man-made rules. That point, of course, is true; but then I read that it was not uncommon for Jews to take such oaths. But if they became impossible to fulfill, they were freed from the obligation.

Here we have a fascinating detail about Paul’s sister and nephew. It is the only time they are mentioned in Scripture. Neither are named, but this young man had an important part to play in God’s purposes. The Lord is in the small details, as well as the great.

This story shows that God is in control, and is able to foil every plot of the enemy. We are immortal, as someone asserted, until all God’s will for us is fulfilled. The Lord is able even to move the machinery of a powerful empire in order to protect His own. (When the commander heard about this plot he did not dare keep Paul under his authority. If Paul, a Roman citizen were to be killed, the commander would be blamed for not protecting him. Also, we note that, in writing to Felix, the commander was ‘economical with the truth’. He didn’t let on that he had been going to have Paul flogged!)

Tom Hale says: ‘Antipatris was a town about thirty-five miles from Jerusalem…By morning Paul was no longer in any danger from the Jews in Jerusalem, so only the seventy horsemen escorted Paul the remaining thirty miles to Caesarea…Meanwhile, he ordered that Paul be kept securely in a palace which King Herod had originally built for himself (Acts 12:1,19).’ Can’t you see the irony in that?!

‘What will not unscrupulous men do under cover of religion! It is a pleasing trait that the Roman officer took Paul’s nephew by the hand and led him aside for a private audience. How proudly would the boy recount the whole story to his mother, when he emerged from those grim walls. At nine o’clock that night there was a clattering of horses’ hoofs as seventy horsemen and two hundred soldiers went through the stone-paved streets on their way to Caesarea. Already Paul had begun his journey to Rome. Often afterward, when it seemed as though his life would be forfeited, he must have stayed on the Master’s words, So must thou bear witness also at Rome. What a life-buoy that promise was! And if God had saved him from the mob at Jerusalem and given him the friendship of Lysias, what could God not do for him in the future!’ F.B. Meyer

(You might want to compare Paul’s story with that of Ezra, recorded in the book that bears his name and the eighth chapter. God’s ability to protect is undoubtedly real, but He doesn’t always work in the same ways).