The Bible Says
Acts 23:23-30 Meaning

In Acts 23:23-30, the Roman commander forms a plan to save Paul’s life. This plan will ultimately result in Paul being shipped to Rome under the protection of Roman soldiers, just as Jesus promised (Acts 23:11).

More than forty Jews had devised a plot to assassinate Paul, with the help of some of the chief priests and elders. Paul’s nephew heard about the plot and informed Paul and the Romans about the planned deception.

To protect Paul and avoid a potential riot, the Roman commander Claudius Lysias takes action to safely transport him from Jerusalem to Caesarea by the Sea.

And he called to him two of the centurions and said, “Get two hundred soldiers ready by the third hour of the night to proceed to Caesarea, with seventy horsemen and two hundred spearmen.”

They were also to provide mounts to put Paul on and bring him safely to Felix the governor (vs. 23-24).

The Roman commander (“chiliarch,” commander of a thousand men) summons two captains (centurions, who oversaw one hundred men per centurion). They are ordered to assemble an impressive host: two hundred soldiers, seventy horsemen, and two hundred spearmen. A total of four hundred and seventy Roman soldiers were being assigned to this sudden mission to transport a single prisoner from Jerusalem to Caesarea.

This team needs to be ready by the third hour of the night, which was nine o’clock. It would seem that the commander decided to create a ten-to-one advantage, having found out that over forty men planned to assassinate Paul.

Perhaps the commander’s computation was that with such an overwhelming force, the assassins would dare not engage. The Romans provided multiple mounts for Paul, perhaps to make sure that he had swift transport in case his mount became lame or was injured in a skirmish. All in all, based on the description we are given, the Roman commander made preparations that reflect an abundance of caution to ensure that the mission was successful. Perhaps we get a peek into the reason why Claudius Lysias rose to the rank of commander.

We are not told at what time of day Paul’s nephew met with the commander and this order was afterward given. We do know that the conspirators presented their plot and oath to murder Paul to the leading priests and elders that morning, and that Paul’s nephew heard about it. The conspirators may have gone to the priests and elders first thing in the morning “when it was day” (v. 12).

Claudius Lysias’s order may have been given later that morning, or around midday, or in the afternoon. Regardless, this is a time-sensitive plan to smuggle Paul out of town and it will take the rest of the day to prepare this military force by nine o’clock that same evening.

Since the Jewish conspirators don’t know that the Romans have learned of their plot, it will be relatively easy to leave town without them having the opportunity to increase their numbers and shift their ambush location. The conspirators might take notice that such a large host of Romans are gathering, but they would not necessarily assume it was for Paul’s sake.

We are not told what the commander said to the Sanhedrin when they asked for a second trial. The plot was to request another trial for the following day. Their plan was that when Paul was brought out of the Roman barracks, more than forty assassins would overwhelm the guard and kill Paul.

But now Commander Lysias was aware of this plot. It would seem most expedient that the commander answer in such a way as to defer any violence in Jerusalem. Based on what Claudius Lysias writes in his letter to Felix in the following verses, he may have delayed answering their summons until Paul was safely out of Jerusalem, then afterward informed the Sanhedrin that they could have their trial, but it would not be in Jerusalem. Claudius Lysias explains that he is also instructing Paul’s accusers to bring charges against Paul before Governor Felix in Caesarea (v. 30).

At some point Paul’s accusers will be informed that they must journey to Caesarea to further prosecute Paul. But Claudius Lysias likely waited until Paul was well out of town to let them know this, to prevent a desperate last-chance attack by the assassins.

Whether the conspirators eventually realized Paul was being secretly transferred or not, the host of two hundred Roman soldiers, seventy horsemen, and two hundred spearmen would be an effective deterrent and the would-be assassins (only forty-plus in number) would doubtlessly abandon their plan, and probably their oath.

The final part of the order was to provide mounts to put Paul on and bring him safely to Felix the governor. Paul would be given a horse or mule to ride to Caesarea. Jerusalem was no longer safe for him and there was no hope of his having a fair trial. He must be questioned and protected by Felix the governor at the coastal city of Caesarea. This massive military guard being assembled would safely take Paul there.

The commander then writes an explanation for Felix to read when Paul arrives in Caesarea. It summarizes the events of Acts 21-23 from the perspective of this Roman commander, Claudius Lysias:

And he wrote a letter having this form:

“Claudius Lysias, to the most excellent governor Felix, greetings. (vs. 25-26).

For the first time in the text, we learn the name of this commander: Claudius Lysias. Since his name is Claudius and he “acquired [Roman] citizenship with a large sum of money” (Acts 22:28), he was probably one of the men who bought his citizenship under the reign of Claudius Caesar (Cassius Dio, “Roman History,” 60.17).

It was not unusual for new Roman citizens to name themselves after the Emperor who gave them their citizenship. The present events in Acts 21-23 are believed to have occurred in late 50’s AD, thus Claudius is no longer Caesar (he is believed to have been poisoned by his wife Agrippina in 54 AD), and his successor was his adopted son Nero.

The most excellent governor Felix is Antonius Felix, born a slave, who rose in influence and power to become the procurator/governor over Judea and Samaria from 52-60 AD. His governance was fraught with insurrections, skirmishes, and cruelties. The ancient historian Tacitus describes how Felix and another regional governor, Velatidius Cumanus, took bribes and incited tensions between the Samaritans and the Jews, taking advantage of a brief civil war between the two regions (Tacitus, Annals, Book 12.54) (Josephus, Antiquities of the Jews, Book XX, Chapter 6).

Felix both encouraged and put down uprisings; he battled the Zealots and crucified many of them. He bribed a friend of a High Priest named Jonathan to arrange for Sicarii (“dagger-men,” assassins) to murder Jonathan, showing his cold-blooded disregard for life or truth. Felix also prevented the radical false-prophet Egyptian from storming Jerusalem with his followers (Josephus, Antiquities, XX, 8). During a riot between the Jews and Syrians of Caesarea, Felix “permitted his soldiers to plunder some of the houses of the citizens, which were full of riches” (Josephus, Antiquities, XX, 8.7).

We will see in the following chapter that Felix tried to provoke a bribe from Paul during his imprisonment (Acts 24:26). Tacitus described Felix’s reign broadly in unfavorable terms, “Antonius Felix, indulging in every kind of barbarity and lust, exercised the power of a king in the spirit of a slave” (Tacitus, The History, Book 5.9).

After his greetings to the most excellent governor, Claudius Lysias explains the situation with Paul and the Jews,

“When this man was arrested by the Jews and was about to be slain by them, I came up to them with the troops and rescued him, having learned that he was a Roman (v. 27).

Claudius Lysias’ account, as rendered by most translators, is not quite accurate. The following details, cross-referenced with Acts 21, are true:

• When this man Paul was arrested by the Jews, “While they were seeking to kill him, a report came up to the commander of the Roman cohort that all Jerusalem was in confusion,” (Acts 21:31)
• and when Paul was about to be slain by his attackers, “At once [Claudius Lysias] took along some soldiers and centurions and ran down to them,”
• I came up to them with the troops and rescued him, “and when they saw the commander and the soldiers, they stopped beating Paul” (Acts 21:32).

But Claudius Lysias claims he rescued Paul, having learned that he was a Roman. This sounds as though the Roman commander came to Paul’s aid because he was informed that the man being beaten to death was a Roman. However, there is no punctuation in Koine Greek (the language most of the New Testament was written in). It may be that Claudius Lysias meant to communicate, I came up to them with the troops and rescued him. Having learned that he was a Roman, and wanting to ascertain the charge for which they were accusing him, I brought him down to their Council (v. 28).

Either way, Claudius Lysias is omitting the part where he nearly had Paul tortured through scourging before finding out that he was a Roman citizen, at which point he cancelled the whipping of Paul (Acts 22:25-29).

The rest of the letter rings true, and in any event the commander is communicating to Felix “This is a Roman citizen, and I am taking great care to protect him as a result.” Claudius Lysias, a pagan Roman living in a foreign land with foreign customs, laws, and religious beliefs, has no idea why a mob of Jewish men were trying to kill Paul, a Jew with Roman citizenship and Roman civil rights. So, wanting to ascertain the charge for which they were accusing Paul, Claudius Lysias requested the Sanhedrin meet together so that Paul could be brought and tried before the Council of Jewish religious and cultural leaders.

Claudius Lysias was present for the Council’s trial of Paul, which, based on Luke’s description, lasted only a minute before it devolved into chaos and required Paul’s extraction back to the safety of the Roman barracks. Claudius’s understanding of the outcome of this trial was that the charge for which they were accusing Paul was that it had something to do with Jewish Law:

and I found him to be accused over questions about their Law, but under no accusation deserving death or imprisonment (v. 29).

Luke records the trial as proceeding in this way,

• Paul declares his innocence (Acts 23:1)
• The high priest orders Paul to be struck on the mouth (v. 2)
• Paul says God will punish the priest for violating the Law (v. 3)
• Bystanders are shocked that Paul has rebuked the High Priest (v. 4)
• Paul says he did not know it was the High Priest who gave the order, and quotes the Law which says no one should curse Jewish rulers (v. 5)
• Paul declares, “I am a Pharisee, a son of Pharisees; I am on trial for the hope and resurrection of the dead!” (v. 6)
• The Pharisees defend Paul and try to excuse him, thinking he may be a prophet (v. 9)
• The debate escalates and appears to get violent (v. 10)
• The Romans retrieve Paul and get him out of there (v. 10)

As a Roman unfamiliar with Judaism, Claudius Lysias’ conclusion was that Paul was accused over questions about their Law. Paul was at the center of a religious debate among the Jews. However, Claudius had not found Paul to be under any accusation deserving death or imprisonment. Nothing he had learned so far, nothing the Jews had said about Paul, made it seem like Paul should be put to death or even placed in imprisonment for any period of time under Roman law. Since Roman law trumped Jewish law, Claudius Lysias was appealing the case to a higher level.

There is no accusation that Paul has murdered or even laid hands on anyone; he has not stolen, he has not cheated. Paul simply seems to disagree with something about the Jewish Law which infuriates the Jewish leaders. That is the most Claudius Lysias can make out from the developing situation.

In conclusion, Paul is being sent to Caesarea for Felix to deal with him because of a threat on his life and with it the potential for an uprising and disturbance of peace in Jerusalem:

“When I was informed that there would be a plot against the man, I sent him to you at once, also instructing his accusers to bring charges against him before you” (v. 30).

At what point Claudius Lysias sent a message instructing his accusers to bring charges against him before Felix in Caesarea, we are not told. The shrewdest course of action would seem to be to sufficiently delay a response to the Priest’s request for a retrial, and to then later inform the Sanhedrin that “Your new trial venue will be Caesarea” after Paul had already been successfully escorted from Jerusalem to the coast.

In the next section, we will see that Paul is taken as far as Antipatris when the 200 soldiers and 200 spearmen return to Jerusalem. Antipatris is about thirty miles northwest of Jerusalem. They apparently will march all night and arrive in Antipatris the following day at some hour. From there, Paul will go the remaining near-thirty miles north to Caesarea, accompanied by the seventy horsemen.

The plot against the man Paul which Claudius Lysias was informed about is the reason he is deferring this crisis to a higher authority-the governor of the region. Paul is being sent to Felix the governor where he will be safer.

Felix ruled over the Jews pretty ruthlessly. Caesarea was a more remote location for the Jews, which would be a superior venue to conduct further investigation. Caesarea was a Roman city with Roman conveniences, having a coastal climate and a man-made harbor allowing for a fast getaway to Rome in the event of an uprising. It was, accordingly, where the Roman governors preferred to live and administrate.

Jerusalem was the seat of Jewish power in the middle of the country high in the Judean hills. By instructing Paul’s accusers to bring charges against him before the governor in a city several days’ journey away from homebase, it would be less likely for an uprising or assassination to occur.

It is also possible that Claudius Lysias was handing off Paul to Felix because he was in over his head. His concern was to keep the peace in Jerusalem. A simple solution for the problem of Paul was to send Paul away.