Acts chapter 23

vs 13

That's a pretty serious plot.

vs 14

So these guys weren't even chief priests. They were just concerned citizens who had decided to get rid of a problem they saw in their town. They report their situation to the chief priests, so I am assuming they assumed they would have support in this venture. Which, really, should strike us as odd and disturbing, but if the books of Luke and Acts haven't painted the jewish heirarchy in a negative enough light by now, then I think we missed something.

vs 15

Simple enough plan - perhaps the lack of food makes them want to end it quickly. But we see that the chief priests and the Sanhedrin are totally in on this plot.

vs 16

But aha, they didn't rely on Paul's nephew being there! Spies everywhere! I don't know if we know Paul's greater family's attitude towards Christianity. Let's see if these verses shed any light on it for us.

vs 17

Perhaps not. In any case, the young man is of great use to keeping Paul alive, regardless of being a Christian or not. It's entirely possible he's just a Jew who cares about family. Fairly common.

vs 18

One of those setup verses which keeps the story going with a bit of repetition so we remember where we're at.

vs 19

After a few verses, we might actually get to something interesting. I guess it is good that the commander takes the time to listen to the young man tell his story.

vs 20-21

And so the story is repeated, along with a plea to the commander not to give into their wishes.

vs 22

In saying this, the commander protects Paul's nephew, but also leaves himself room to do sneaky things. He's not having a prisoner lynched on his watch. Well, not a Roman citizen anyway.