Day 285: Acts 23:11–22

The following night, the Lord stood by him and said, “Have courage! For as you have testified about Me in Jerusalem, so you must also testify in Rome” (v. 11).

Sometimes we must read between the lines in the book of Acts to see Paul the man and not just his travels. Acts 23:11 offers us a perfect opportunity to read between the lines without stretching the text. I hope Christ’s tenderness toward His willing captive touches you. He stood near Paul and said, “Have courage!”

Why did Christ draw so physically close to Paul at this particular moment? I believe Paul was overcome with fear and may have been convinced he would not live much longer. He had looked straight into the eyes of rage. He was separated from his friends. He was imprisoned by strangers. I believe he was terrified.

Later Paul wrote from another prison cell, “My God will supply all your needs according to His riches in glory in Christ Jesus” (Phil. 4:19 hcsb). He could make such a claim because God had been so faithful to meet his needs. In Acts 23:11 God looked on His servant Paul imprisoned in Jerusalem, and He didn’t just see emotions. He saw the need they represented. Paul was afraid. He needed courage. Just like Philippians 4:19 said, God literally met his need in Christ Jesus. That day in Paul’s prison cell, Christ stood near and said, “Have courage!” He meant, “I’m right here. Take courage from Me!”

The Lord gave Paul great motivation for courage by giving him confirmation: Paul was going to Rome. His life could not be taken until the mission was complete. Paul surely knew that Christ’s confirmation did not mean Paul wouldn’t suffer or be greatly persecuted. He simply knew he could not be killed until he had testified about Christ in Rome.

God timed Paul’s injection of courage perfectly to offset the conspiracy to kill Paul. Overnight in Jerusalem Paul became the center of a dangerous whirlwind of rage that rapidly gained force. By morning, forty men bound themselves with an oath to kill him. The original terminology tells us they were binding themselves to a curse if they didn’t carry out their plans. They may not have realized they had bound themselves to a curse already! In the words of Micah the prophet: “Woe to those who dream up wickedness and prepare evil plans on their beds! . . . Therefore, the Lord says: ‘I am now planning disaster against this nation; you cannot free your necks from it’” (Mic. 2:1, 3 hcsb).