“Paul’s Nephew Saves Him”

​B I B L E  B I T S  &  B I T E S
Devotions for Families

Season: Book of Acts
Episode 29: “Paul’s Nephew Saves Him”
Today’s Bible Bite: Acts 23:11-35

Video Story:
https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=YaZLlEnHGXQ (Mission Bible Class – Paul’s Nephew)

“That night the Lord appeared to Paul and said, ‘Be encouraged, Paul. Just as you have been a witness to me here in Jerusalem, you must preach the Good News in Rome as well’.” (Acts 23:11, NLT)

God had warned Paul his life would be in danger when he was in Jerusalem. Once Paul got there, he met with the church in Jerusalem and they warned him too. The Jewish leaders had been spreading false rumours about him. They suggested that Paul should go to the Temple with some of the other believers to prove that he was not against the Jewish people, but it backfired. He was accused of many things, dragged out of the Temple and was about to be killed, except that a Roman commander intervened.

But even though Paul was now in Roman custody, many of the Jews still wanted to have him killed, so some men agreed to a plan to try to trick the Romans into bringing Paul out in the open. But Paul’s nephew learned of their plan and quickly went and warned Paul. Paul instructed his nephew to go and talk to the commander. The commander believed Paul’s nephew and instructed two of his officers to take 200 soldiers, 200 spearmen and 70 horsemen to escort Paul to the Governor Felix in Caesarea in the middle of the night to keep Paul safe from those who wanted him dead.

Think about it...
• It was dangerous for Paul to go to Jerusalem, because people who didn’t like him had been spreading rumours. What rumours were they telling about Paul?
• The church in Jerusalem came up with a plan to help Paul prove that the rumours weren’t true. But what happened instead?
• The Roman commander was in charge of keeping the peace. How did God use this Roman officer to help Paul?
• Paul’s nephew warned him that there was a plot to kill him. What happened when his nephew told the commander?
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Prayer: Thank you, God, for giving us bravery to do good things even when we’re scared. Thank you for helping Paul’s nephew to save him. Thank you that you will help us to be brave too when we trust you.
~ Pastor Jane