Then he called two of his centurions and ordered them, “Get ready a detachment of two hundred soldiers, seventy horsemen and two hundred spearmen to go to Caesarea at nine tonight. Provide horses for Paul so that he may be taken safely to Governor Felix.” (Acts 23:23-24)
Paul's complaint before the Sanhedrin caused a collective uproar among the Jewish masses. After the uproar, more than 40 of the Jews conspired to kill Paul, even swearing together: "We have taken a solemn oath not to eat anything until we have killed Paul." (Cf. Acts 23:12) When the commander of Rome learned that the Jews plotted to kill Paul, they marshaled their forces to escort Paul from Jerusalem to Caesarea. Because Jerusalem was the center of Jewish power, and Caesarea was the headquarters of the region where the Roman Empire ruled. Therefore, if the commander wanted to save Paul from being killed by the Jews, he must take Paul out of the Jewish sphere of influence.
It was unfortunate and confusing that Paul, a zealous servant of God, for whom he had given it all away, suffered from being arrested for no reason. But if we look at the whole story of Paul’s arrest, we can see the wonderful work of God. It is God who, through the hands of Roman officers, saved Paul more than once from being killed by the Jews.
When Paul was almost killed by the Jews during the cleansing ceremony in the temple, the commander took the officers and arrested him so that he would not be killed by the Jews. When Paul defended himself in the tower, he would also have been killed by the Jews if he was not protected by Roman officers. The day after Paul was arrested, when he complained before the Sanhedrin, he was almost torn apart by the Jews, and it was also the Roman officers who saved him from the crowd. And this time, a group of Jews formed a conspiracy and bound themselves with an oath to kill Paul. Again under the protection of Roman officers, Paul escaped from the hands of the Jews. Finally, under the escort of the Roman officers, Paul arrived safely in the city of Rome, where he testified for the Lord.
Through the arrest of Paul, we can see that everything is in the hands of God, and he has good pleasure. In all things God works for the good of those who love him (cf. Rom. 8:28).
We can see God's good pleasure through Paul's sufferings. In fact, every Christian may have a similar experience on this heavenly road. Every Christian will encounter many unexpected things that cannot be controlled, but all these things are in the hands of God. His thoughts are higher than ours, so in every experience there is God’s good pleasure. But in most cases, when we go through these things, we may be confused because we do not understand the will of God, and even may complain about God.
If we can look at what we have experienced from a different perspective, we will find many things are not good from human perspective, but God's blessing is behind them. For example, we think it is unfortunate for Christians to experience suffering, because it makes them weak and causes pain. But suffering can shape their life and enable them to rely more on God and experience God fully, so it is also called a disguised blessing.
We may not see God’s good pleasure through some experiences immediately. We need to take enough time and look at them in different ways. So no matter what we experience, we need to have faith to look up to God, wait for God, and one day we will certainly see the glory of God.
(Note: The author of this article is a co-worker of a grassroots church in Fujian)
- Translated by Abigail Wu
使徒行传灵修系列：凡事都有神的美意
千夫长便叫了两个百夫长来，说：“预备步兵二百，马兵七十，长枪手二百，今夜亥初往凯撒利亚去；也要预备牲口叫保罗骑上，护送到巡抚腓力斯那里去。”（使徒行传23:23-24）
保罗在公会面前的申诉引起犹太群众集体的骚动。骚动过后，犹太人当中有四十多人同谋要杀害保罗，甚至同心起誓说：“若不先杀保罗，就不吃不喝”。（参 徒23:12）当罗马的千夫长得知犹太人要同谋杀害保罗的时候，就召集重兵将保罗从耶路撒冷护送到凯撒利亚去。因为耶路撒冷是犹太人的势力中心，而凯撒利亚是罗马帝国统治该区域的总部所在地。所以千夫长想要救保罗不被犹太人杀害，就必须让保罗脱离了犹太人的势力范围。
原本在人看起来，保罗这样一个热心服侍神的人，为神摆上一切的人，却无缘无故遭遇被捕的苦难，这是一件不幸的事，也是令人困惑。但我们若是综合性来看保罗被捕的事件，却可以从这个事件中看到神作为的奇妙。就是神借着罗马兵丁的手，不止一次拯救保罗脱离犹太人的杀害。
当保罗在圣殿行洁净礼的时候，差点被犹太人所杀时，千夫长带着兵丁捕抓了他，使他不被犹太人所杀。保罗在城楼自我辩护的时候，若不是被罗马兵丁所保护，也会被犹太人所杀。保罗被捕的第二天，在公会面前申诉的时候，又差一点被犹太人撕碎，也是罗马兵丁将他从众人中抢出来。以及这一次，一群犹太人同心起誓杀害保罗，也是在罗马兵丁的重兵保护下，使他得以脱离犹太人的手。最后更是在罗马兵丁的护送下，保罗安全抵达罗马城，在那城为主作见证。
透过保罗被捕这件事，可以看到原来凡事都掌握在神的手中，凡事也都有神的美意，神叫万事互相效力，叫爱神的人得益处（参 罗8：28）。
保罗所经历的苦难中看见神的美意，其实在每一个基督徒在奔走这条天路的历程中，都会有类似的经历。因为每一个基督徒都会遇到许多自己无法掌控又意想不到的事，但是这每一件事都掌握在神的手中。祂的意念又高过我们的意念，所以每一个经历的背后同样都有神的美意在其中。只是绝大多数的情况下，我们在刚经历这些事的时候，会因着不明白神的旨意而感到困惑，甚至还会埋怨神。
我们若是能从不同的角度去看待所经历的事，会发现许多在人眼里看起来并不美好的事，但这背后却有神的祝福。例如基督徒经历苦难，在人看来是一件很不幸的事，会让人软弱与痛苦。但是苦难却能塑造生命，使人能够更多的倚靠神，经历神，所以苦难也被称为化了妆的祝福。
有些经历并不能让人立刻看到神的美意，还需要有足够的时间，再结合不同的角度去看待才行。所以我们无论经历到怎样的事，我们都需要有信心去仰望神，等候神，终有一天必然会看见神的荣耀。
（注：本文作者为福建一基层教会同工）
Then he called two of his centurions and ordered them, “Get ready a detachment of two hundred soldiers, seventy horsemen and two hundred spearmen to go to Caesarea at nine tonight. Provide horses for Paul so that he may be taken safely to Governor Felix.” (Acts 23:23-24)
Paul's complaint before the Sanhedrin caused a collective uproar among the Jewish masses. After the uproar, more than 40 of the Jews conspired to kill Paul, even swearing together: "We have taken a solemn oath not to eat anything until we have killed Paul." (Cf. Acts 23:12) When the commander of Rome learned that the Jews plotted to kill Paul, they marshaled their forces to escort Paul from Jerusalem to Caesarea. Because Jerusalem was the center of Jewish power, and Caesarea was the headquarters of the region where the Roman Empire ruled. Therefore, if the commander wanted to save Paul from being killed by the Jews, he must take Paul out of the Jewish sphere of influence.
It was unfortunate and confusing that Paul, a zealous servant of God, for whom he had given it all away, suffered from being arrested for no reason. But if we look at the whole story of Paul’s arrest, we can see the wonderful work of God. It is God who, through the hands of Roman officers, saved Paul more than once from being killed by the Jews.
When Paul was almost killed by the Jews during the cleansing ceremony in the temple, the commander took the officers and arrested him so that he would not be killed by the Jews. When Paul defended himself in the tower, he would also have been killed by the Jews if he was not protected by Roman officers. The day after Paul was arrested, when he complained before the Sanhedrin, he was almost torn apart by the Jews, and it was also the Roman officers who saved him from the crowd. And this time, a group of Jews formed a conspiracy and bound themselves with an oath to kill Paul. Again under the protection of Roman officers, Paul escaped from the hands of the Jews. Finally, under the escort of the Roman officers, Paul arrived safely in the city of Rome, where he testified for the Lord.
Through the arrest of Paul, we can see that everything is in the hands of God, and he has good pleasure. In all things God works for the good of those who love him (cf. Rom. 8:28).
We can see God's good pleasure through Paul's sufferings. In fact, every Christian may have a similar experience on this heavenly road. Every Christian will encounter many unexpected things that cannot be controlled, but all these things are in the hands of God. His thoughts are higher than ours, so in every experience there is God’s good pleasure. But in most cases, when we go through these things, we may be confused because we do not understand the will of God, and even may complain about God.
If we can look at what we have experienced from a different perspective, we will find many things are not good from human perspective, but God's blessing is behind them. For example, we think it is unfortunate for Christians to experience suffering, because it makes them weak and causes pain. But suffering can shape their life and enable them to rely more on God and experience God fully, so it is also called a disguised blessing.
We may not see God’s good pleasure through some experiences immediately. We need to take enough time and look at them in different ways. So no matter what we experience, we need to have faith to look up to God, wait for God, and one day we will certainly see the glory of God.
(Note: The author of this article is a co-worker of a grassroots church in Fujian)
- Translated by Abigail Wu
Devotional Series from Acts: God's Good Pleasure is in All Things.
