This Kid Came to Serve and Rescue
“Paul called one of the centurions to him and said, ”Lead this young man to the commander, for he has something to report to him.“ So he took him and led him to the commander and said, ”Paul the prisoner called me to him and asked me to lead this young man to you since he has something to tell you.”
The commander took him by the hand and stepping aside, began to inquire of him privately, “What is it that you have to report to me?”
And he said, “The Jews have agreed to ask you to bring Paul down tomorrow to the Council, as though they were going to inquire somewhat more thoroughly about him. So do not listen to them, for more than forty of them are lying in wait for him who have bound themselves under a curse not to eat or drink until they slay him; and now they are ready and waiting for the promise from you.”
So the commander let the young man go, instructing him, “Tell no one that you have notified me of these things.””
From the grammar and some of the situational context, we know that this nephew of Paul isn’t an adult. The Tribune “took him by the hand” which would be culturally appropriate for a kid. Describing him as a “young man” also sets him apart as younger than the typical people that cross paths with Paul.
This kid is impressive.
He somehow heard about the plot and was more afraid of it happening than he was afraid of getting in trouble for snitching.
This kind of thing happens to all of us sometimes. We see something bad about to happen, or we witness an injustice, and we have to speak up. Nephew kid did it all in just the right way.
He asked Paul first
Instead of butting into Paul’s business and trying to take over, he went to Paul first. There are plenty of times that Paul was given advice in the last few chapters and he didn’t heed the advice. Maybe this is part of Paul’s plan and Nephew’s ‘help’ would mess things up. Sometimes we see people and think they need help from us but they are just fine. The problem that we identify from the outside isn’t the problem they need help with.
He listened to Paul
Have you ever tried to help somebody out your way and it wasn’t the way they wanted you to help them? That’s the worst. Nephew went and helped Paul the way Paul asked to be helped. He didn’t take over and do it his own way.
He asked for help
He was a kid and couldn’t take on these 40 Jewish Ninja Assassins himself. Not only can helping people with the wrong things cause trouble, but doing it all alone can cause us trouble too! Any service worth doing is worth doing with other people. He asked for help from the most capable people he could find, and we’ll see tomorrow how that turned out.
Helping other people is good. Following the guidance of the Holy Spirit along with other believers is the best. It’s one of the best ways to show our love for one another and to proclaim God’s love for everyone we serve.
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