Acts 23:23-35 - This man was seized by the Jews

23:23-25

The commanders seemed to be taking the situation very seriously, sending “a detachment of two hundred soldiers, seventy horseman and two hundred spearman” to go to Caesarea. This should have been more than enough to protect Paul! He also writes a letter to Governor Felix. Paul is now in a phase where he is being passed from one to another, everyone being concerned to cover their backs and make sure they don’t get blamed. The situation is somewhat parallel to the situation with Jesus who was sent to Herod and then back to Pilate, and with Pilate aiming to avoid taking responsibility for any decision.

23:26-35

The letter is a little disingenuous, with the commander portraying the situation as if he was the one in control of matters, and acting decisively. In reality the commander was responding to events. However, the soldiers and cavalry took Paul to Caesarea and he was handed over to the governor. The commander could now breathe a sigh of relief! Paul was to be kept under guard, and Paul’s accusers would be summoned so that Felix could try and work out what was going on.