27 This man was seized by the Jews and they were about to kill him, but I came with my troops and rescued him, for I had learned that he is a Roman citizen. 28 I wanted to know why they were accusing him, so I brought him to their Sanhedrin. 29 I found that the accusation had to do with questions about their law, but there was no charge against him that deserved death or imprisonment. 30 When I was informed of a plot to be carried out against the man, I sent him to you at once. I also ordered his accusers to present to you their case against him. Acts 23:27-35

Claudius was not taking any chances. He commanded a total of 470 people to escort Paul to Caesarea. This preacher’s life was that valuable to them. Roman citizenry was a powerful privilege in that day, much like citizenship in the United States and the United Kingdom is today.

Think of all the time and money spent discussing the Charlie Gard baby. In many countries around the world, a dying baby would never make one news cycle let alone dominate it for weeks.

As the old African saying goes: A life is a life is a life, and it’s precious in God’s eyes.

How we treat the most vulnerable among us tells us a lot about our culture. As societies lean in towards sin and immorality, expect the elderly, babies, and refugees to be hit hardest. There are very few people who will defend those classes of people.