When it was day, the Jews made a plot and bound themselves by an oath neither to eat nor drink till they had killed Paul. 13 There were more than forty who made this conspiracy. 14 They went to the chief priests and elders and said, “We have strictly bound ourselves by an oath to taste no food till we have killed Paul. 15 Now therefore you, along with the council, give notice to the tribune to bring him down to you, as though you were going to determine his case more exactly. And we are ready to kill him before he comes near.”
16 Now the son of Paul’s sister heard of their ambush, so he went and entered the barracks and told Paul. 17 Paul called one of the centurions and said, “Take this young man to the tribune, for he has something to tell him.” 18 So he took him and brought him to the tribune and said, “Paul the prisoner called me and asked me to bring this young man to you, as he has something to say to you.” 19 The tribune took him by the hand, and going aside asked him privately, “What is it that you have to tell me?” 20 And he said, “The Jews have agreed to ask you to bring Paul down to the council tomorrow, as though they were going to inquire somewhat more closely about him. 21 But do not be persuaded by them, for more than forty of their men are lying in ambush for him, who have bound themselves by an oath neither to eat nor drink till they have killed him. And now they are ready, waiting for your consent.” 22 So the tribune dismissed the young man, charging him, “Tell no one that you have informed me of these things.”
Just today the Wizard of Id comic strip had a series of panels with a priest hearing different persons in the confessional booth. Each said the same thing, “Bless him, Father, for he has sinned.” At the end of the comic strip, after five different persons have said the same thing, the scene changes to the chamber of the King of Id who says, “I sin a lot, so I delegate.” That’s a pretty different kind of confession.
It might not be a confession, but a group of 40 bound themselves by an oath and went to the chief priests (!) and elders and told them of their oath not to eat nor drink till they had killed Paul. That surely seems a bit backwards. It’s one thing to confess a sin to a priest or ask him to offer a sacrifice for a sin committed, but to tell of a vow to kill someone just seems wrong.
But you see how great a threat they thought Paul to be. They thought him to be a very dangerous person. He challenged their identity as God’s people, their religion as the true religion, and their place as favored by Rome and honored among the people. If what he said was true, and what he taught took hold it would literally turn their world upside down. These were the convictions of those who vowed to kill Paul.
It is stunning to me that such blatant ill will and evil plans could be taken to the religious leaders without fear of reprimand, or censure. This is not the way of Jesus. The one time we have record of Peter’s sword swing, Jesus told him to put away his sword. Paul was the victim of ill treatment and physical harm, never one who gave it. Jesus taught us to turn the other cheek.
Perhaps I’m jaded: some of the political trickery and strong arming within the church is not just distasteful, it offends me. It’s bad enough that the Jews sought to kill Paul. It is unseemly that Christians fight anyone in the name of Jesus. It is unthinkable that I would ever resort to strongarm tactics to win the day. That may be because I am well past my physical prime. But it is surely more so that I believe the cunning and deceitful schemes of man will never prevail against the grace of God in Jesus Christ, and carried within us by the power of the Holy Spirit.
David Bahn - Reflections 
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