The Boy Who Overheard

The Story

The apostle Paul was in Roman custody in Jerusalem, held in the army’s fortress after a riot broke out over his preaching. The night after a heated hearing, the Lord stood by Paul and said, “Be of good cheer, Paul: for as thou hast testified of me in Jerusalem, so must thou bear witness also at Rome.”

The next morning, more than forty men made a vow. They would not eat or drink until they had killed Paul. Their plan was simple: ask the commander to bring Paul down for more questioning, and ambush him on the way.

But someone heard. Paul’s nephew, his sister’s son, a young man whose name we don’t even know, found out about the plot. He went straight to the fortress and told Paul.

Paul called an officer and said, “Bring this young man unto the chief captain.” The commander took the young man by the hand, led him aside, and asked what he had to say. The nephew told him everything.

The commander acted that very night. He called up two hundred soldiers, seventy horsemen, and two hundred spearmen, and at nine o’clock that night he sent Paul safely out of Jerusalem to the governor in Caesarea.

More than forty men were waiting for an ambush, and their prisoner was already gone.

Reflection