The Roman tribune guarding Paul from Jewish assassins knows he must act quickly:
“Then he called two of the centurions and said, ‘Get ready two hundred soldiers, with seventy horsemen and two hundred spearmen to go as far as Caesarea at the third hour of the night. Also provide mounts for Paul to ride and bring him safely to Felix the governor’” (Ac 23:23-24).
It is very good to be a Roman citizen if you are under attack by 40 religious zealots who are hiding in the bushes to assassinate you. Only then can you get a military escort of 470 soldiers taking you to the governor of the territory in the dark hours of night. Your odds of survival have changed from hundreds to one against you to 470 to 40 in favor of you.
Accompanying Paul is an official letter to the governor:
“And he wrote a letter to this effect: ‘Claudius Lysias, to his Excellency the governor Felix, greetings. This man was seized by the Jews and was about to be killed by them when I came upon them with the soldiers and rescued him, having learned that he was a Roman citizen. And desiring to know the charge for which they were accusing him, I brought him down to their council. I found that he was being accused about questions of their law, but charged with nothing deserving death or imprisonment. And when it was disclosed to me that there would be a plot against the man, I sent him to you at once, ordering his accusers also to state before you what they have against him’” (Ac 23:25-30).
The Romans are a paradox in this world. They are the most repressive of conquerors of their times and yet demand justice for their citizens throughout their conquered territory.
Could it be that Claudius Lysias, a faithless ruler in a foreign land is God’s Man of the Hour – in this sense in perfect unity with God, but not knowing it? Justice for the oppressed is a key element of God’s intent for all his children, and at times it makes perfect sense from God’s perspective to use pagan leaders for his purposes.
And what is God’s primary purpose for Paul? To get him safely to Rome to testify to the Romans about Jesus Christ as Savior and Lord. And the next step in God’s plan is to use Claudius Lysias to get Paul forty miles away from his imminent assassination!
“So the soldiers, according to their instructions, took Paul and brought him by night to Antipatris. And on the next day they returned to the barracks, letting the horsemen go on with him. When they had come to Caesarea and delivered the letter to the governor, they presented Paul also before him. On reading the letter, he asked what province he was from. And when he learned that he was from Cilicia, he said, ‘I will give you a hearing when your accusers arrive.’ And he commanded him to be guarded in Herod’s praetorium” (Ac 23:31-35).
So then, who is God’s Man of the Hour in our times of turmoil and palpable sense of collapse? The answer is that he or she may be someone you believe in and follow, or someone you detest politically.
So who might be God’s Man of the Hour, like Winston Churchill was in his day?
I hope your answer came to you long before you read this sentence: God’s Man of the Hour, Day, Month, Year, or Century is Jesus Christ, and him crucified and raised from the dead.
Yes, our political leaders can be used in surprising ways by God as Man of the Hour, whether or not he or she is in perfect unity with God.
But our protection is far stronger than even that of the Roman army. It is the power of our perfect unity with God the Father, Jesus the Son, and the Holy Spirit living within us!
YOU are Man or Woman of the Hour in God’s eyes, if you are growing in the faith demonstrated by Paul in perfect unity with him!