Secondary Players in the Drama

Sunday   10-25-15  Home in Modesto

Scripture reading:    Job 16     Acts 21-23

S=Scripture O=Observation A=Application P=Prayer  SOAP for the soul.

S.  Acts 21:31-33  As they were trying to kill him, word reached the commander of the Roman regiment that all Jerusalem was in an uproar.  He immediately called out his soldiers and officers and ran down among the crowd. When the mob saw the commander and the troops coming, they stopped beating Paul. NLT

O.  In this and the following three chapters this “commander” is mentioned 18 times.  He hears about a wild uproar and quickly orders his men to intervene.  His soldiers snatch Paul from his potential killers.  He can’t get any true accusation from the mob and assumes that Paul is a famous Egyptian criminal.  But Paul asks him for permission to address the crowd and he allows it.  Paul addresses them in Aramaic which the commander does not understand. When Paul tells that God sent him to the gentiles... once again the commander has to intervene to stop the screaming mob.  He orders Paul bound and whipped to get him to confess his crime.  Paul tells him that he is a Roman citizen and this scares the wits out of the commander.  He could be in big trouble for ordering him whipped.   He calls the Jewish council together to give Paul a decent trial.  Another uproar erupts. Finally, he is advised of a plot to kill Paul, so he sets up an entourage of 200 soldiers armed with spears plus 70 mounted soldiers on horseback.  Talk about overkill!  He even provides a horse for Paul and escorts him safely out of town 105 miles to the governor in Caesarea with a letter describing his situation. 

A.  I like this Roman commander.  Now he finally goes to get a cup of coffee and says to himself, “Whew!  I finally got this guy, Paul, out of my hair.  I wonder what this was all about anyway.”  Much like the soldiers that crucified Jesus, he was just doing his job.  But unlike the soldiers that mocked Jesus... this commander protects and seeks true justice for his prisoner.  Like the story of Jesus’ arrest, there are many players that probably have no idea what is going on.

P.  Lord, I often wonder about the Roman soldiers stationed among the Jews in those days.  In Acts 10 we met one of them named Cornelius and You gave him and his household free salvation and the baptism of the Holy Spirit.  I wonder about this commander.  Did he get enough exposure to Paul to become a believer?  Only You know.  How many people that have just happened into my life have been exposed to Your calm, Your kindness and Your message?  Lord Jesus, please make my life to so shine for You that the many secondary players in the drama will see You and find Your eternal life, too.  Amen.

Ralph