Scripture Reference: Acts 22:30-23:35
Suggested Emphasis: Young people can do great things for God (don’t wait until you get “older” to serve God).
Memory Verse: “Even small children are known by their actions.” Proverbs 20:11a, NIV
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Story Overview:
Paul was under arrest in Jerusalem because of false accusations by the Jews. Paul’s Roman citizenship demanded a fair hearing so the Roman commander in charge set up a meeting with Jewish priests and the Sanhedrin. This meeting ended in chaos and with Paul back in protective custody. Paul’s young nephew overheard some of the Jews plotting to kill Paul so Paul asked him to tell the commander. The commander had no choice but to arrange a large military escort to take Paul to city of Caesarea, the nearest headquarters of Roman rule. One night, amidst all of these events, Jesus appeared to Paul and told him to have courage because he would be going all the way to Rome to testify about his faith.
Background Study:
Click here for an overview of the Book of Acts
In the years since Paul had become a Christian, he had devoted his life to the Gospel. Paul was an educated Jew but never limited himself to just teaching other Jews about King Jesus. He taught both Jews and Gentiles. Through a relationship with the Antioch church he had conducted three major missionary journeys (1st, 2nd, 3rd) and had taken the good news of Jesus throughout Asia Minor and over to Macedonia and Achaia. As his third missionary trip concluded Paul was prompted by the Holy Spirit to go to Jerusalem. He was warned he would find persecution and arrest there but Paul was determined to be led by the Spirit.
There was high tension among the Jews in Jerusalem. Many had heard of what Paul had been doing and there was much debate. Israel had been the chosen people of God since the time of Abraham. Many Jews had accepted Jesus as the Messiah but others had not. Even those that had accepted the Messiah were questioning if Gentiles could become a Christian without converting to Judaism first.
Some Jews had falsely accused Paul of bringing a Gentile into the Jewish temple and thereby defiling it. Paul had not done this but an angry mob beat him. The riot that erupted drew the attention of the Roman commander and Paul was taken into custody (Acts 21:27-22:29).
In today’s lesson we find the Roman commander trying to find the truth of how Paul became the centre of such chaos. Before Paul’s arrest the commander had received the message that “the whole city of Jerusalem was in an uproar” Acts 21:31. Keeping order in the city was part of the commander’s job so this was no small matter.
Since Paul was a Roman citizen he has the right to have his case heard. The Romans recognised the leadership of the Jewish Sanhedrin over matters pertaining to Jewish customs and laws so it makes sense that the commander set up a meeting of this group.
Reading about Paul being interviewed by the Jerusalem Sanhedrin reminds us of Jesus appearing before them years earlier (Matthew 26:57-68). Caiaphas was the High Priest then while Ananias is the High Priest Paul appears before now. Both Jesus and Paul were struck while appearing before the Sanhedrin.
When Paul brought up the fact that he was a Pharisee and a son of a Pharisee he must have known it would set the members of the Sanhedrin against one another. Some members followed the strict religious teachings of the Pharisees while others followed the more views of the Sadducees. Specifically, Pharisees believed in a resurrection and Sadducees did not. Pharisees began taking Paul’s side and Sadducees just became angrier.
Things turned violent and Paul, once again, was returned to the barracks where he had first been taken. God had specific plans for Paul. He was even using the power of the Roman military to protect him for his future purpose. Paul had been led to Jerusalem by the Spirit and now Jesus himself appeared before Paul.
The following night the Lord stood near Paul and said, “Take courage! As you have testified about me in Jerusalem, so you must also testify in Rome.” Acts 23:11
Paul’s nephew is described as “young” but no specific age is given. That he could be an older child seems possible because, when Paul asked him to go to the commander with the information concerning a plot, “the commander took the young man by the hand, drew him aside and asked, ‘What is it you want to tell me?‘” Acts 23:19, NIV.
The commander realises this problem cannot be solved in Jerusalem and that Paul must be transported, under guard to Caesarea, where the case could be heard before the governor, Antonius Felix. Read more about what happens next in Caesarea in the story “Paul’s Trial”.
God used one act by a young person to save Paul’s life and continue his work. It may surprise the children in your class to know that, if this young man had not spoken up and Paul been killed, Paul would not have gone on the write many of the books of New Testament. Young people really can make a difference.
Way to Introduce the Story:
Share an account of a story where a child was a hero. Perhaps there is something in your own experience or you can find a newspaper account. There have been many instances where children rang for an ambulance when someone was choking or passed out. “In today’s story we are going to read about a young man who saved someone’s’ life.”
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The Story:
Paul had been arrested in Jerusalem because some angry Jews told lies about him. They said he had been disrespectful in the Jewish temple by bringing a Gentile into the Temple area where only Jews were allowed to go.
But Paul was a Roman citizen and he could not just be put in prison for nothing. The Roman commander in charge called a meeting of all the Jewish leaders to listen to their accusations. This group of Jewish leaders was called the “Sanhedrin”.
When Paul stood up in front of the Sanhedrin he told them that he had done nothing wrong. This made the leader of the Sanhedrin very angry. He even told some of the men to hit Paul. Paul knew that this was against the Sanhedrin’s own rules.
Paul continued to tell them that he had not done anything wrong. Then Paul said that he was a Pharisee and that his father had been a Pharisee. Pharisees were very strict in their beliefs. Some of the Jews in the Sanhedrin were Pharisees so they began to take Paul’s side. But some of the Jews in the Sanhedrin were “Sadducees”. Sadducees did not believe like the Pharisees. The Sadducees started getting angry at the Pharisees and soon everyone was arguing with each other.
The Roman commander had called this meeting to find out why the Jews were angry with Paul. But now everyone was just getting more and more angry. Finally, he decided to just remove Paul from this dangerous place and just take him back to the soldier’s sleeping quarters.
The next night something very unexpected happened to Paul. Jesus Christ, himself, stood next to Paul’s bed and said to him, “Be brave! You have told people about me in Jerusalem, you will also tell people about me in Rome.”
Rome? Paul could hardly believe it. Rome was very far away! Paul felt better. Now he knew God would take care of him and keep him safe until he got to Rome.
Meanwhile, some of the Jews began to make a plan to kill Paul. They decided to trick the Roman guard into bringing Paul back to the Sanhedrin. They would kill Paul on the way.
What these men did not know was that a young man nearby could hear everything they were saying. This young man was Paul’s nephew.
Paul’s nephew ran to the place where Paul was being held prisoner and told Paul all about the plot. Paul told his nephew to tell the Roman commander so he did. The commander told the boy to keep this a secret because he had a plan to keep Paul safe. The boy kept the secret.
During the night the commander ordered soldiers to secretly take Paul away to the city of Caesarea where the governor lived. Walking soldiers and soldiers on horses guarded Paul very carefully. They gave Paul a horse to ride.
The Roman commander sent a special letter to the governor telling him everything that happened. He said that he would tell the Jews from Jerusalem that they would have to travel to Caesarea and talk to the governor if they wanted to accuse Paul.
Now Paul was kept in custody in Caesarea awaiting a trial. Paul must have remembered what Jesus had said so he tried to be brave.
Sometimes young people think that what they do is not important but Paul’s nephew was a young person and he saved Paul’s life!
And just think about this, If this young man had not spoken up and Paul had been killed, Paul would not have gone on to write many of the books of the New Testament.
Paul’s nephew helped Paul. What can you and I do to help others?
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Ways to Tell the Story:
This story can be told using a variety of methods. Always remain true to the facts found in the Bible but help children connect to its meaning by using drama, visual aids, voice inflection, student interaction and/or emotion.
Click here for visual aids and story-telling methods.
Click here to download the slideshow or click here for the printable illustrations
Be selective. Each teacher is unique so only use the illustrations that best relate to the way YOU are telling the story in THIS lesson. Too many illustrations can be confusing so eliminate any that cover other stories or details you do not wish to emphasise in this lesson.
Or use the following video.
Review Questions:
- What is the Sanhedrin? A group of Jewish leaders.
- When some Jews were making a plan to try to kill Paul, who overheard them? Paul’s nephew
- What did Paul’s nephew do when he overheard the Jews planning to kill his Uncle Paul? He went and told Paul and then Paul had him tell the Roman commander
- What did the Romans do with Paul when they heard about the secret plan? They took him secretly at night to another city (Caesarea)
Song Suggestions:
- I Can Be a Missionary Song
- I’m in the Lord’s Army Song
- God is Listening When We Pray (Song) English/Cubuano
- Refer to the Song Page on this website for more options.
Learning Activities and Crafts:
(How to choose the best learning activities for my teaching situation)
Activities:
- Use finger puppets to tell the story.
- Help the class make a list of any children they can think of in the bible [Miriam and Moses, Joseph, the slave of Naaman’s wife, Jesus, Rhoda (the slave girl in Acts 12)] and discuss what they did.
- Make a list of things children and young adults can do today to serve God.
- Think of a project your class can do to help the church in some way (Visit someone, clean part of the church building of gardens, make food baskets to help someone in need, etc.)
- To review, either you or the children can draw a large outline of Paul on a whiteboard or piece of paper (even drawing with a stick in the sand works fine if you are outside). Then, after you have taught the lesson ask the children to think about what they have just learned from the Bible. Have them write descriptive words and/or draw pictures inside and around the outlined illustration of Paul. When you see what the children are writing or drawing you may be surprised or encouraged by what insights they have picked up from the story. This is also a good opportunity to correct or add to anything you might not have covered as well as you could have when you were teaching.
If you prefer, you can download and print the illustration of Paul provided here and then have the children write and draw on it for the review. - Alternatively, if you are teaching a series of lessons about Paul then you might draw an outline of him on a large poster or paper and then add descriptive words about him each time you study a new lesson.
- Click here for the 16 lessons about the Life of Paul grouped together as a set.
Crafts:
- Guide children in drawing a picture of themselves surrounded by others (family members, friends at school, sports team, etc.) The children could then add speech bubbles or thought clouds of godly things they might say or think to interact with this group.
- Make a relief map of Paul’s Journeys featuring the place in today’s story. If you are studying about Paul’s journeys over a few lessons then you could add more details to the map each time you learn about another stop on the journey. Instructions on how to make a relief map at http://www.squidoo.com/salt-dough-maps
Check the Teaching Ideas page on this website for ideas that are adaptable to any lesson.
Click here for “Paul’s Nephew Uncovers a Plot” printables to print (A4 paper)
Click here for “Paul’s Nephew Uncovers a Plot” to print (Letter size-USA)
Other Online Resources:
- Audio reading of Acts 23 with sound effects and illustrations, NIV (Youtube)
- List of practical ways children can serve God (sonbeamz.com)
- Review: Create a “passport” that covers the life of Paul. Good visual ideas and activities. Could be split up to go with several lessons or taught all together as a review of previous lessons concerning Paul (kidsbibledebjackson.blogspot.co.nz)
