God At Work In Paul's Life

God’s will was that Paul testify in Rome,
E’en to the wicked Emperor Nero;
The Kingdom of God would thus get known
To movers and shakers of realms below!
Notice how each new phase oddly occurred,
Instigated by God, not as if by man;
This was no routine case, justly deterred,
But the uncommon route of divine plan!
Paul’s keen desire to preach Jesus to kings
Kept him content to suffer the abuse;
He cared not what undeserved evil things
Lay in store; his life by God was in use!
Each event that came his way was God-planned,
So that His Kingdom would live and expand!

Paul was innocent of any illegal actions against the Jews and should have been given his freedom. Note that when the Romans stood him before the Sanhedrin the day after he was pulled from the mob, they were unable to agree on a charge against him. Instead, he cleverly dropped a vocal bombshell on them by saying he was on trial only for believing in the resurrection of the dead, for that belief was held by the Pharisees and violently denied by the Sadducees; the ensuing brawl destroyed any chance they had of agreeing on a cause against him. He was held in prison for his own safety another night.

As it was those first days of his arrest, so it was to be the rest of his life, which was six or seven years later. God instigated his arrest and each occurrence that kept him imprisoned, for it was only by his remaining in Roman custody that he would be given opportunity to tell the story of Jesus Christ to governors, kings, and even the emperor of the Roman Empire. He would never have such a ministry if he remained free.

In my last blog, we left him in prison for the second night. He might have been released, except for the incensed Jewish mobs that were determined to kill him. Forty or more vowed not to eat or drink anything until he was dead. They went to the High Priest and secured his cooperation; he would request that Paul be brought back to the Sanhedrin the next day for questioning. The plotters would ambush him and the guards on the way to the assembly the next day. Paul had a sister living in Jerusalem, and she heard of the plot. Immediately she sent her son to the Roman barracks to inform Paul of the treacherous plot. Paul had his nephew tell Commander Lysias the plan. He ordered that more than 400 soldiers escort Paul on horseback to the city of Ceasarea, where Governor Felix, the Roman proconsul of Palestine, had his office. They left the city of Jerusalem the same day. This move to Ceasarea was the beginning of a new stage that would continue Paul’s incarceration more than two years. While there, he would be able to convert many Romans and Jews to belief in Jesus.

“That if you confess with your mouth, ‘Jesus is Lord,’ and believe in your heart that God raised him from the dead, you will be saved.” (Romans
10:9)