Claudius Lysias was a Roman Cohort Commander. A Cohort Commander leads anywhere from 600 to 1,000 soldiers. Lysias and his men rescued Paul from an angry mob in Jerusalem (Acts 21:31-38). Lysias called a meeting of the sanhedrin, to find out what Paul had done to cause the riot, and his near death.
That meeting ended in another riot in which Lysias again rescued Paul. After Lysias found out that forty Jews had taken an oath to kill Paul. He countered by writing a letter to the governor, Felix, explaining Paul's situation, and had Paul escorted to Caesarera under the guard of 200 soldiers (Acts 23:19-35). Paul then began his two year imprisonment in Caesarea before being sent to Rome for trial.
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