42nd Day of Easter, Saturday May 23: Acts 23:12-35

Paul’s opponents, the chief priests and elders, no longer divided between Pharisees and Sadducees, sponsor a conspiracy of 40 men to assassinate Paul as a religious duty. A conspiracy that big couldn’t stay secret, and Paul’s sister’s son, his nephew, warned Paul, who sent him along to tell the centurion in charge. The Romans are on Paul’s side, or at least on the side of order. I always say, ‘go with the incompetence theory before the conspiracy theory’ – and tell folks what you think they need to know to do their job, instead of assuming they are in cahoots!

The tribune ships Paul off to Caesarea, with a couple of hundred armed troops as escorts led with a couple of centurions. He sends a letter ahead, entrusting Paul to the custody of Felix, the Roman governor. The change of venue changes the balance of likely outcomes, and forces folks to repeat their accusations and defense in a wider forum less vulnerable to bias and coercion. Does it ever help to escalate a church conflict, rather than just ‘be nice’?