8/29/2021 - Deus Pro Nobis - Acts 23-24

Paul has finished his missionary journeys and is now in Jerusalem. Everything he has tried to do since he came to Jerusalem has ended in a riot. He tried to satisfy the Jewish Christians by purifying himself in the temple and paying the expenses of four men who had taken a vow; that ended in a riot. He tried to share the story of what God had done in his life to the Jewish crowd in the temple court, and that ended in a riot. He tried to testify before the Jewish Council, the Sanhedrin, and that ended in a riot. Now in Acts 23-24, we find that Paul is under Roman protective custody – almost a prisoner. The Jews are putting together a plot to assassinate him, and he’ll soon end up defending himself before the evil Antonius Felix – for two years! But God will, once again as he has several times before, in His providence protect Paul. 

The events of Acts 23-24 highlight God’s “providence.” The actual word is not found in the Bible, but the doctrine of providence is very biblical. The term means: "the universal sovereign rule of God." It is God’s preserving and governing of all His creatures and all their actions. One scholar puts it this way: “This is our Father’s world, and the affairs of men and nations, in the final analysis, are in His hands.” 

It doesn’t look too good for Paul in human terms. But God wants Paul and us to rest in His providence. That’s why Jesus comes to “stand by” Paul and encourage him in Acts 23:11. Paul gets the message and later on, in Romans 8:28-39, Paul gives us one of the most awesome statements ever made on providence (please read it before Sunday). 

One of the oldest sayings of the ancient church summarizes the essence of God’s providence: Deus pro nobis. It means “God for us.” That is what it is all about. It is God’s being for His people. “What then shall we say to these things?” Paul asks. “If God is for us, who can be against us, and who can separate us from the love of Christ?” Can an angry Jewish mob? Can an evil provincial governor? Can COVID? Can the loss of a job? Can unforeseen illness or tragedy? Can a broken relationship with your spouse or child separate you from God’s providential care? The answer may be clear to us. How He wants us to respond in the midst those circumstances is revealed through our passage.