The Bible Says
Acts 23:16-22 Meaning

In Acts 23:16-22, Paul’s nephew informs Paul and the Roman commander of the plot to assassinate Paul.

In the prior section, we saw that more than forty Jews had taken a vow to neither eat nor drink until they had killed Paul. The plan was for the chief priests to request a second trial to examine Paul, and while the Romans were transferring Paul to the Council chambers, the assassins would ambush him before he got near to them.

But the son of Paul’s sister heard of their ambush, and he came and entered the barracks and told Paul (v. 16).

By God’s providence, somehow the son of Paul’s sister heard of the ambush planned for the murder of his uncle. Luke, the author of Acts, does not tell us how the son of Paul’s sister heard of the plot against Paul’s life. He may have been a Pharisee like his uncle. This is the first and only mention in the Bible that Paul had a nephew or even a sister. That Luke references their identity here suggests that their station at the time of his writing was such that despite mentioning them, it would not put them in danger.

The plot against Paul’s life was organized by forty-plus men and the high priests and elders (Acts 23:12-15). The more people who know about a secret, the more likely the secret will get out. Someone obviously talked about the ambush and it pretty quickly found its way to Paul’s nephew’s ears.

There have been multiple plots against Paul’s life to this point in his ministry as a gospel preacher, and each one has been foiled by Paul learning about it ahead of time (Acts 9:23-25, 14:5-6, Acts 20:3). Here the risk is higher, as the plot is based on the collusion of forty-plus assassins and the chief priests and elders of Israel.

So the son of Paul’s sister, wanting to save his uncle’s life, came and entered the barracks and told Paul. The barracks was probably located at the Antonia Fortress, a tower at the northwest corner of the temple complex. Paul was apparently allowed to have visitors. His nephew is allowed to speak with him privately. It is only after he told Paul of the planned ambush that Paul informs the Romans about the plot:

Paul called one of the centurions to him and said, “Lead this young man to the commander, for he has something to report to him” (v. 17).

There were multiple centurions stationed in Jerusalem. Each of the centurions commanded 100 soldiers. All of the centurions were under the leadership of the chiliarch, the “commander of the Roman cohort” (Acts 21:31). Verse 26 will reveal the commander’s name was Claudius Lysias. As the chiliarch, he was commander over 1000 troops.

Paul goes up the chain of command so that Lysias will learn of this planned assassination. He tells one of the centurions to take his nephew to the commander, because Paul’s nephew has something to report to him.

It was important to the Romans to keep Paul alive and to prevent assassinations. Jerusalem had been politically unstable for years; uprisings and assassinations were not out of the norm. When he originally arrested Paul, the commander mistook Paul for an Egyptian insurrectionist who had stirred a short-lived revolt in recent years (Acts 21:37-39). Claudius Lysias’s job is to keep Jerusalem quiet, to prevent crime (especially cold-blooded murder), to keep the Roman peace.

The Romans now willingly listen to Paul’s nephew’s intel,

So he took him and led him to the commander and said, “Paul the prisoner called me to him and asked me to lead this young man to you since he has something to tell you.”

The commander took him by the hand and stepping aside, began to inquire of him privately, “What is it that you have to report to me?” (vs. 18-19).

The centurion took Paul’s nephew’s hand and led him to the commander of the Roman garrison in Jerusalem. The fact that the centurion took the nephew’s hand might suggest that the nephew was young and obviously nervous. It is fascinating to note that there are many instances in scripture of Roman centurions behaving in a noble manner:

• Jesus marveled at the faith of a Roman centurion in Matthew 8:10
• One of the centurions guarding Jesus at His crucifixion recognized Jesus as “the Son of God” by observing His conduct during His death
• The centurion Cornelius is described as “a righteous and God-fearing man” and was among the first Gentiles to receive the Holy Spirit.

Perhaps this is part of the reason Paul uses the armor and weapons of a centurion as an illustration of the spiritual armor believers ought to don and apply each day in their courageous and noble fight against Satan and his false perspectives (Ephesians 6:10-18).

The centurion repeats Paul’s request, Paul the prisoner called me to him and asked me to lead this young man to you since he has something to tell you. The centurion does not necessarily know that this is a relative of Paul. He does not know who this random friend of Paul’s is or what news he has to report. But Paul, having been prisoner for a few days and spent all of his time with these soldiers, seems to have built some semblance of trust and respect with his captors.

The Romans are clueless as to why a mob of Jews and their priests want to kill this man; they have no idea what the disturbance is about or whether Paul has done something wrong or is entirely innocent. They do know Paul is a Roman citizen. We have seen before that they are very careful not to mistreat Roman citizens (Acts 22:26).

At this point they are receptive to learn what Paul’s friend has to say, which is why Claudius Lysias the commander is willing to hear from this informant per Paul’s request. He takes Paul’s nephew by the hand and, due to the air of secrecy building around his presence and purpose there, has a private conversation. Now stepping aside, Claudius Lysias began to inquire of Paul’s nephew privately, away from other soldiers or possible spies. Now out of earshot of anyone else, the commander asks Paul’s nephew, “What is it that you have to report to me?”

Paul’s nephew tells Claudius Lysias exactly what he told Paul, the full extent of the assassination plot planned for the following day:

And he said, “The Jews have agreed to ask you to bring Paul down tomorrow to the Council, as though they were going to inquire somewhat more thoroughly about him.

So do not listen to them, for more than forty of them are lying in wait for him who have bound themselves under a curse not to eat or drink until they slay him; and now they are ready and waiting for the promise from you” (vs. 20-21).

There is a plot formed by some Jews, both those who will carry out the assassination and those who will draw Paul out into the open-the chief priests and elders. The Jewish leadership have agreed to ask the Roman commander to bring his prisoner, Paul, down tomorrow to the Council chambers again for another trial, as though they were going to inquire somewhat more thoroughly about him.

The first trial had turned chaotic within minutes, so it was an effective ruse to deceive the Romans. The Roman commander would most likely have been tricked by the reasonable request to retry the prisoner. Paul probably would have been assassinated, had it not been for his nephew bringing this information to the Romans.

Paul’s nephew explains that this retrial invitation will be a lie to make Paul vulnerable to an ambush: So do not listen to them. A significant number of assassins-more than forty armed men-are lying in wait for Paul should he be transported to a second trial.

To underscore the serious dedication of this murder plot, Paul’s nephew tells Claudius Lysias the lengths to which these conspirators are going to fulfill their mission: they have bound themselves under a curse not to eat or drink until they slay him; and now they are ready and waiting for the promise from you.

Here and in verse 12, the Greek word “anathematizō” is used. In verse 12, it is translated that the conspirators bound themselves under “an oath,” and here the word is translated that they have bound themselves under a curse. It is the same word in both instances, and is where we get our English word, “anathema,” which is used to describe someone who is cursed.

It emphasizes how serious this plot is. These aren’t idle men running their mouths about how they’d like to kill Paul. This is a genuine plot to murder him, and by binding themselves under an oath or curse, they are declaring that they will see this plan through or else die of starvation. It is a self-imposed curse not to eat or drink until they slay Paul.

Paul’s nephew concludes by explaining the imminence of this plan, and now they are ready and waiting for the promise from you. The conspirators are poised-ready and waiting-to begin the deception. Perhaps a messenger was already on his way to request the commander bring Paul down tomorrow to the Council. They expect the commander to promise to do as they request. Then the trap will be sprung.

None of this will come about, thanks to the courage and cunning of Paul’s nephew. The commander urges secrecy after learning this information,

So the commander let the young man go, instructing him, “Tell no one that you have notified me of these things” (v. 22).

As the Roman commander, Claudius Lysias is tasked with keeping the peace in Jerusalem. Already there have been two riots in the past couple of days (Acts 21:30, 23:10), and now an assassination plot, all centered around his prisoner, Paul.

The situation is escalating, the resolve of the Jews to kill this man is reaching a boiling point, and if Paul were to be killed without a proper conviction or sentencing, it could be disastrous for the commander. He decides to let the young man, Paul’s nephew, go, but not before instructing him to be completely silent on the matter.

Paul’s nephew is ordered to Tell no one that he has notified the Roman commander of these things-this plot. Now that the commander knows what the conspirators are up to, he can circumvent their scheme. But if they found out that someone had notified him of their plans, they would naturally change their plans, and Claudius Lysias would be in the dark again about their next move.

The worse possible scenario is that if the conspirators learned that the Romans knew about the assassination plot, they might become so desperate to kill Paul that they storm the barracks. Already in recent years there had been two separate attempts at revolt, which the Governor Felix had put down, one in the wilderness, and the other in Jerusalem (Josephus, Antiquities of the Jews, Book XX, Chapter 8.6).

Less than a decade after these events in Acts 23, a Jewish rebellion will successfully storm the Antonia Fortress and kill the Roman garrison there (66 AD), triggering the chain of events which would lead to Jerusalem’s destruction by Rome (70 AD).

Now that he knows just how badly the Jews want to kill Paul, Claudius Lysias will immediately put together a substantial military force to guard and transport Paul safely to the coast of Judea, where the governor resides in the city of Caesarea. There, Governor Felix can take over this investigation and conduct a safer, fairer trial away from the dangerous streets of Jerusalem.