Acts 23:23-25, 31-35 “Travel Under Guard”

When we were missionaries in Thailand we got to witness one of the most humbling rituals of faith anywhere in the world. I am not talking about the Christian Faith; however, I am referring to the Buddhist one. You see, every morning the Buddhist monks go out into the streets of the cities barefoot and in a single robe to go door to door to beg for their daily meal. They carry a pot in front of them in order to collect rice. People are at their doors ready to give! This still takes place.

The monks go out barefoot for a reason, by the way. They do not want to destroy any bug that they might step on with a shoe or a sandal. They are so careful not to destroy any life at all because their faith believes in re-incarnation. If you have led a bad life, you might come back as an ant or a roach. So, you are still a life! You still have value!

The one thing that I can say about all religions on this planet (with the exception of death worshippers) is that life has meaning in them. Life is precious. Life needs to be protected. So, wear a seatbelt and obey the speed limit, right? Yet, it is more than that in Christianity. WE believe that we were created in God’s image. Genesis, the first book of the bible, confirms this: (Genesis 1:26) “Let us make humans in our own image. . .” The bible goes on to say that the first man’s job in paradise was to “take care of it.” (Acts 2:15). That is to take care of life.

We spend an awful lot of time in church talking about the afterlife! We look forward to that time when we will be celebrating at the feast that is being prepared for us. That is a reference to John 14 when Jesus says outright that he goes ahead to prepare a place for us. What about this life? Is it therefore somehow unimportant or less important?

Our Chrisitan forefathers in this country believed that this life was so important that Thomas Jefferson penned in the Declaration of Independence that “We have been endowed by our Creator with the Right to Life, Liberty, and the pursuit of happiness.” Who decides whether we live or die? The Creator God! This is part of what makes America special: we believe that life is sacred–and we even have a right to live it!

Now, those who wanted to kill Paul, actually did not believe he had a God-given right to live. I am not going to say that they were “death-worshippers,” but their violence against humanity is historically documented. In those days you were just as likely to die at the hands of someone else as you were from natural causes. Death was an everyday, commonplace, even banal happening. We think of the crucifixion of our Lord Jesus Christ on the Cross as a special event. We put the singular Cross up in our church. Yet, in reality there were so many crucifixions going on that the road from Jericho to Jerusalem you were never out of sight of a body hanging on a cross.

Christianity back then was a complete 180 degrees from this way of thinking. Christ healed the ill and even brought back the dead. Even when Paul accidentally killed Eutychus when he fell out of the window at the church gathering in Ephesus, he went and brought him back to life! Why? This life matters to God!

This last week we saw the untimely death of Charlie Kirk, founder of Turning Point USA, when he was shot dead at a rally in Utah. His politics aside, I think we can all agree that he should not have been shot in cold blood. It is clear that his life was dispatched because of the opinions he held and advocated. But, is somebody’s opinion ever the reason to take that person’s life? Yet, human history is replete with political assassinations. Jesus himself was crucified for the Word. The one who gave us the commandment to love others, is destroyed by them!

What surprised me about the Charlie Kirk shooting was that there were a lot of people celebrating his death. Really the cornerstone of Charlie Kirk’s message was that “life mattered.” That was absolutely central to his belief. So the idea that people are celebrating his death is beyond my understanding. His life mattered. Every life matters. We should not have a problem with that basic idea.

All of this got me to thinking about what the scenario would have been if, by some stroke of misfortune, the forty assassins that were out for Paul’s blood would have succeeded in killing him. Would they have celebrated? After all they had taken a vow not to eat until the dirty deed was done.

So, we did not read that part of the Bible. We have a lot of backstory that I need to fill in about the scripture that was read. Why did Paul need all the protection he was given to get him to Caesarea Maritima? If you recall, Paul was accused by the Pharisees in the temple in Jerusalem of blasphemy. When they try to stone him, he turns to the Roman Centurion there and claims that it is not right to bind or harm a Roman citizen. The centurion offers Paul the protection of being arrested, or held, in the Roman military barracks near the temple.

This is when the story becomes like a soap opera. The centurion still wants to understand what it is that the Pharisees are so upset about. What did Paul do that was so egregious that the punishment would be death. To find out, the centurion has Paul brought before the priestly court at the temple, which is called the Sanhedrin. Paul is very clever and gets the Pharisees and Sadducees (the priests) to start arguing with one another about whether there is such a thing as life after death. So, they are going after each other now, and the Centurion returns Paul to the barracks. The centurion thinks it is perhaps best to have the issue decided by the Roman Governor in Caesarea. His name is Felix by the way. We will meet him next week.

While Paul is safely retreating to the barracks, Paul’s nephew ( his sister’s son) overhears forty Pharisees taking a vow that they will not eat until Paul is dead. They plan to ambush him on the road to Caesarea–problem solved–time to celebrate by eating again! Paul’s nephew tells Paul who then tells the centurion of the secret assassination plot. The response from the centurion is to mobilize four hundred soldiers and 70 horsemen to escort Paul to the Caesarea, assuring that any attempt on his life would be futile.

Furthermore, rather than being made to walk while being bound and dragged behind, Paul is given a steed and an extra mount, two horses, for his journey. When he arrives at the governor’s palace, he is not thrown into a prison pit. He is instead given Herod’s guest house for his use. The “praetorium” has been excavated, and archeologists have concluded that it contained Roman baths, rose gardens, a swimming pool, two stories, mosaics, and Greek style columns and statues. It was certainly one of the nicer places you could be held as a prisoner in the area of Palestine in its day. It was the “club Fed” of its day, if you are familiar with that prison in Texas that has tennis courts, bocci ball, a movie theater, swimming pools, etc.

Saint Paul probably never felt as safe and protected in his entire life than when he was staying with Governor Felix! It is wonderful how God has always protected Paul in his journeys. Truly miraculous when you think about it! Now, Saint Paul it seems is almost being rewarded for his suffering through the years in Christ’s name.

Have you ever felt that maybe God is rewarding your life? When my family and I came to Kauai after being called to minister here among you all, many people hinted that somehow God was rewarding us for our faithfulness. I got a little uncomfortable with this notion. “I will keep my rewards in heaven, thank you!” And, I have always felt blessed wherever the Lord calls to minister.

To this day, twenty years later, still three or four times a year I get a call or an e-mail from someone on the mainland who is sure that God is calling them to Kauai. They want to know if the church can help them out. You know, I visited an orthodox church in Ufa, Russia, in 2014. The priest there who spoke no English informed me that he had just had a dream in which he thought he heard God’s voice calling him to Kauai. I cannot deny that that was the case; however, I followed up his remarks by asking him if he were being called to help the homeless, the drug addicts, or perhaps some ministry addressing domestic abuse? He asked me if I surfed.

I do not believe that God rewards people in this life. Paul was not being rewarded. He was having his ministry blessed in that moment so that he could continue to proclaim boldly the message of Good News of Jesus Christ. I do believe that God protects and enables us to minister–and that is really a great miracle. I will leave the rest for when I am with Jesus again in heaven.

Like Saint Paul, we travel this life under guard–from God in heaven. Your life is protected!

Amen