Under Guard – Acts 23:35

Acts 23:35 He said, “I will hear your case when your accusers get her.” Then he ordered that Paul be kept under guard in Herod’s palace.

Politically motivated conspiracies are nothing new. Plots to kill political rivals are not just something that happens in other parts of the world, to be read about in the next day’s news feeds. Perhaps it is a bit more sophisticated today than in the past, using radioactive poisons and drone strikes, but the result is the same.

And the Bible is honest enough to included these types of actions, not only by the enemies of the message of God, but also by those near the top of the Friends of God list. Even God’s leaders did some terrible things when they weren’t in tune with God’s will. They allowed their feelings to cloud their judgment.

Our text tells of the actions of the Roman political leader’s response to a religious squabble in his jurisdiction. All political leaders want to keep turmoil contained, even when the turmoil is part of their political strategy. They can’t stand random chaos. It might get out of control and threaten their leadership.

Felix was the Governor of that area of the Roman Empire. It was not the best place to be a Roman Governor, but it was better than others. At least he wasn’t in charge of Hadrian’s Wall in Great Britain! Talk about remote!

What I find interesting is that Paul, who is a Roman Citizen with all the rights attached to that status, is kept under guard, not is a prison as we think about prison. He is kept under guard in a royal palace. How bad can it be in a royal palace. I have seen remnants of royal palaces in Italy, and of royal residences in Great Britain, having watched many a British drama using the great houses of Britain as a setting. If I had a choice of residency while awaiting trial, I would choose a palace over a prison any day!

And the palaces of that day were palatial. They had water fountains and gardens, grand ballrooms and frescoed paintings overlooking mosaic tiled floors. They had tapestries and soft beds. And they had food fit for royalty.

And Paul is kept under guard. He is free to live, but has restrictions on his movements. We do this today with ankle monitors. But even with this freedom, Paul was still kept under guard. He was not a free man.

But Paul had not been a free man since the moment Jesus appeared to him on that road. He had been on Jesus’ mission ever since. Nothing he did was his own to do. He was Jesus’ slave, a slave of the Gospel.

Are we slaves of Jesus, or of our bills, our jobs, our appetites, our pleasures? In whose house are we arrested? Who tracks our movements and restricts where and when we go?

We have far more freedom than we realize, and far more responsibility to use that freedom for the sake of the Gospel. There are those in our world today whose lives depend on our freedom. We must use it wisely for the sake of the Gospel. We are being kept under guard.