Paul’s exodus

When Paul’s nephew learns about the plot to kill Paul in Jerusalem, he goes to the chiliarch, who gathers 200 Roman soldiers, seventty horsemen and two hundred spearmen for a nighttime escape (Acts 23:12-23).

This is one of several exodus events in the life of Paul, and an especially intriguing one. It’s a night deliverance, another Passover. He’s escaping Jerusalem, the new Egypt. Instead of fleeing the Gentile troops, he’s protected by them. The Roman troops form a sort of glory cloud, a host, around the apostle, who rides in the center on a horse of his own (v. 24).