I am Paul - The Little One.

by Tim Green

their lungs, "Rid the earth of such a man! He's not fit to live!" They were screaming, waving their garments and throwing dust into the air. I refused to have demonic dust cling to me. I wanted nothing to do with what this dusty earth had to offer. My old earthly man of dust was crucified with Christ.

  I am Paul, a prisoner of the Lord Jesus Christ for the Gentiles. I pray and ask God to give you a complete knowledge of His divine will.

  Amen - so be it.

  A Roman Citizen. #13

  The Jews in Jerusalem were ready to kill me, so the Roman commander ordered that I be brought into the barracks for safekeeping. He directed that I be interrogated and whipped, in order to find out why the Jews were yelling at me like that. When they had stretched me out with the leather straps, I asked the centurion who was standing by and supervising, "Is it legal for you to whip a man who is a Roman citizen and without first having a trial?" When the centurion heard this, he went and reported it to the commander immediately. He said to him, "Do you realise what you are doing? This man is a Roman citizen!" The commander came and asked me, "Tell me the truth, are you a Roman citizen?" I replied, "Yes, I am."

  I explained to them that I gained my citizenship at birth as my parents were citizens of Tarsus in Cilicia which was a Sovereign Roman State. The commander stated, "I purchased this Roman citizenship as a capital investment for a big price, a rather large sum of money." I answered, "I was born a Roman citizen! I am a Roman citizen by birthright, I didn't purchase it." Instantly those who were about to interrogate me drew back from me. The commander was afraid too, because he realized that he had put me, a Roman citizen in chains.

  The next day, since the commander wanted to know the real cause for which the Jews had accused me. The commander unbound me and ordered the chief priests and all the council of the Sanhedrin to meet. Then he had me brought down and placed before them.

  I gazed earnestly at the Sanhedrin council, looking straight at them I said, "Brothers, I have lived before God, doing my duty as a citizen, a true and loyal Jew, with a perfectly good conscience until today." At this the high priest Ananias, the son of Nebedaius ordered those who stood near me to strike me on the mouth. Then I said to him, "God is about to strike you, you whitewashed wall! Do you sit as a judge to try me in accordance with the Law, and yet in defiance of the Law you order me to be struck?" Those who stood near me exclaimed, "Do you insult the high priest of God?" I quickly replied, most apologetically, "I didn't know brothers that he was the high priest." I knew that it says in the Scriptures that you are not to speak ill of a ruler of God's people.

  I then perceived that one part of the Sanhedrin council were Sadducees and the other part Pharisees, so I cried out, "Brothers, I am a Pharisee, a son of a Pharisee. It is with regard to the hope and the resurrection of the dead that I am being tried!" When I said this an angry argument arose between the Pharisees and the Sadducees, and the whole assembly was divided into two factions. That's exactly what I wanted to happen. I wanted them to be divided. I knew that the Sadducees deny the resurrection from the dead and the existence of angels and spirits. Whereas the Pharisees acknowledge and believe in them both.

  If there be no resurrection of the dead, then Christ is not risen. And if Christ be not risen, then our preaching is in vain, and therefore our faith is also in vain. Then we are found as false witnesses of God, because we have testified of God that He raised up Christ from the grave. For if the dead rise not, then is Christ not raised. And if Christ be not raised, our faith is in vain and our sins remain. However, if we have been planted together with Christ in the likeness of His death, we shall also be planted in the likeness of His resurrection. This is a true saying, "If you die with Him, you shall also be raised with Him." I wasn't going to allow this mob to get the better of me. If you believe in your heart that God raised Jesus, the Messiah from the dead you shall be saved.

  I had won the Pharisees over onto my side as a great uproar ensued and some of the scribes of the Pharisees stood up for me. They thoroughly fought my case, contending fiercely and declaring, "We find nothing evil or wrong with this man. If a spirit or an angel spoke with this man, what of it? Let us not fight against God!" The dispute became so violent that the commander, fearing that I would be torn apart by them, ordered the soldiers to go down and take me by force and bring me back into the barracks. That same night, the Lord Jesus stood beside me and said, "Take courage Paul! For as you have testified and borne witness concerning me at Jerusalem, so you must also bear witness of me in Rome." I was on my way to Rome by divine instructions from heaven.

  The next day, some of the Judeans formed a conspiracy. They took an oath, saying they would neither eat nor drink until they had killed me. More than forty men were involved in this plot to kill me. They went to the chief priests and elders and said, "We have bound ourselves by an oath to taste no food until we have killed Paul. What you are to do is make it appear to the Roman commander that you and the Sanhedrin want to get more accurate information about Paul's case, so that he will bring him down to you. While we, for our part, are prepared to kill him before he ever gets here." It was my sisters son who heard of this planned ambush, so he hurried to the barracks and told me about the conspiracy.

  I immediately called in one of the centurions and said, "Take this young man up to the commander, for he has something important to tell him." So the guard took him to the commander and said, "The prisoner Paul called me and asked me to bring this young man to you, because he has something important to tell you." The commander took him by the hand, led him aside privately and asked, "What is it that you have to tell me." He replied, "The Judeans have agreed to ask you tomorrow to bring Paul down to the Sanhedrin on the pretext that they want to investigate Paul's case more thoroughly. But don't let yourself be talked into it, because more than forty men are lying in wait for him. They have taken an oath neither to eat nor drink until they have killed him. They are ready now, waiting for you to give your consent to their request."

  The commander let my nephew go, cautioning him, "Don't tell anyone that you have reported this to me." Then he summoned two of the captains and said, "Get two hundred foot soldiers ready to leave for Caesarea at nine o'clock tonight, along with seventy mounted cavalry and two hundred spearmen. Also provide replacements for Paul's horse when it gets tired. Escort him safely to Felix." The commander wrote the following letter with the seal of his signet ring upon it.

  From: Claudius Lysias.

  To: His Excellency, Governor Felix.

  Greetings!

  This man was seized as a prisoner by the Jews and was about to be killed by them, when I came on the scene with my troops and rescued him. After learning that he was a Roman citizen, I wanted to understand exactly what they were charging him with. So I brought him down to their Sanhedrin. I found that he was charged in connection with questions regarding their religious Laws, but that there was no charge that was deserving of death. When I was informed of a plot against the man, I immediately sent him to you and also ordered his accusers to state their case against him before you.

  That night, the soldiers who were following their orders, brought me to the city of Antipatris in the Province of Palestine. The next day they returned to the barracks in Jerusalem, leaving the mounted men to proceed with me. The cavalry took me to the port city of Caesarea, delivered the letter to the governor, and handed me over to him. Antonius Felix the Roman procurator and governor of Judea read the letter in my presence and asked, " What province are you from?" I replied confidently as I was a Roman citizen and didn't want to appear weak, "I am from Tarsus in the Province of Cilicia." On learning that I was from Cilicia, he said, "I will give you a full hearing after your accusers have also arrived." Then he ordered that I be kept under guard in Herod's headquarters.

  I am Paul, I am that I am. Rejoice in affliction. Rejoice in the Lord always and again I say rejoice. As He is, so are we in this world. In all situations I find myself content. May the grace of the Lord Jesus be with you all.


  Amen - so be it.

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  Brought Before Felix. #14

  After five days, Ananias the high priest came down from Jerusalem to Caesarea with the Jewish elders. They brought a lawyer, a forensic advocate, acting as spokesman and counsel named Tertullus. They presented to the governor their case with evidence against me. I was called, and Tertullus began to make the charges.

  Tertullus addressed the governor, "Felix, Your Excellency, it is because of you that we enjoy unbroken peace. It is your foresight that has brought this nation so many reforms in so many areas. It is with the utmost gratitude that we receive this peace and these reforms. But in order not to take up too much of your time, I beg you in your clemency and kindness to give us a brief and concise hearing." Tertullus