Daily Devotional for Friday, April 28

Paul Is Confined in Prison

“I will hear thee, said he, when thine accusers are also come. And he commanded him to be kept in Herod’s judgment hall,” Acts 23:35.

The warning from Paul’s nephew was heeded quickly. Paul was removed from immediate danger and ushered up the chain of command. The Lord had promised Paul he would bear witness before kings. “But the Lord said unto him, Go thy way: for he is a chosen vessel unto me, to bear my name before the Gentiles, and kings, and the children of Israel: for I will shew him how great things he must suffer for my name’s sake” (Acts 9:15, 16). Paul indeed stood before those in command, from the local authorities to the highest in the land, but the Lord chose to facilitate that through his imprisonment.
Repeatedly in Paul’s ministry, he bore witness to local authorities. Sergius Paulus, the deputy in Paphos, the city officials and the jailer in Philippi, the city councilmen of Thessalonica (Acts 17), the council of philosophers in Athens, Gallio, the deputy of Achaia and the town clerk in Ephesus were the officials we know about from Luke’s account. With God’s power at work through Paul’s preaching and miracles, other officials surely heard, too, such as the city leaders of Antioch in Pisidia in Acts 13:50. Although Paul did not speak directly to them, those leaders heard the message at least in part as the Jews’ accusation was given.
These were all Roman-appointed officials. The Jewish communities had leaders as well who were just as influential in the cities. They held sway over the masses, and they, too, heard Paul’s preaching. God’s Word does not return void (Isaiah 55:11), so we are unaware of how His Word eventually worked in their lives.
After speaking directly or indirectly to several local authorities, Paul spoke to an official at a higher level, Governor Felix in Caesarea. There they awaited Paul’s accusers to begin the trial.

THOUGHT: God orchestrates our lives to have influence in all the right places.

Kelli Reynolds