Bible 101 - Acts 24-26

Presented October 2, 2006 by Phyllis Gilbert

Review: Paul has completed three missionary journeys by 57 A.D. (and probably has also completed 7 of his 13 letters); he's also established churches all over the Mediterranean world, and now, he reports to the council at Jerusalem. It's his first visit in several years: one of his purposes was to meet with the elders; in addition, he takes with him a collection of gifts from the churches of Greece and Asia Minor for Christians in Jerusalem. On his way to Jerusalem, he'd been warned by nearly every group of believers that pain and arrest awaited him. But Paul pressed on. Paul's mission statement in Acts 20:24 says it all: "I consider my life worth nothing to me, if only I may finish the race and complete the task the Lord Jesus has given me - the task of testifying ot the gospel of god's grace." And so in the midst of a riot, he was arrested at the temple by Roman soldiers, kept under protective custody in the Roman barracks for a night, and then, after news that a plot to kill him is revealed, he's secreted away to Caesarea under heavy guard. All this Roman protection occurred after Paul told the military commander Lysias that he was a Roman citizen; the commander, concerned about why the Jews were so eager to kill Paul, orders a hearing in front of the Sanhedrin. Here Paul is accused of blasphemy, and the Roman officials, seeing Paul's accusers are ready to tear him limb from limb, get him out of town to the Roman governor. And that's where Paul is now.

Acts 24: About a week after the incidents in Jerusalem, Paul is called before the Roman governor Felix (governor of Judea, a successor to Pontius Pilate); and there to throw charges at him are the high priest Ananias, some elders and Tertullus, a lawyer. Tertullus speaks first, introducing his case with ingratiating remarks about the Roman government, and then telling Felix that Paul is a trouble-maker (in other translations, he calls Paul a "pest") and wherever he's gone, he's stirred things up, endangering the peace the Romans have brought to Israel and the rest of the Roman Empire. It is this first accusation that would interest Felix; it implies a revolutionary character bent on overthrowing the Romans. The other, more specific charges include descecrating the temple (by bringing in a gentile), starting riots and being the leader of the Christians (a cult as far as the orthodox Jews were concerned).

Acts 24:10: Felix hears Tertullus and the others from Jerusalem and then asks Paul to speak. A Roman citizen was entitled to a trial where he could face his accusers and offer a defense. Paul therefore denies the charges and says that the Jews would have a hard time finding evidence to back up what they've said; in fact, the Jews who made the original charges aren't even there. He describes his behavior in Jerusalem, his purpose for being there, and tells Felix that he serves the same God the Jews do, but he also is a follower of The Way - a Christian, and the Romans had yet to abridge freedom of religion. And he ends his defense by repeating what he'd said to the Sanhedrin a week before: "It is concerning the resurrection of the dead that I am on trial before you today." This reference to the resurrection split the Sanhedrin: remember that Sadducees did not believe in a resurrection, while Pharisees did. Both groups were represented on the Sanhedrin. In addition, Paul was speaking to his faith in a risen Lord. In I Cor. 15:3-5, he makes it very clear that the gospel is the death, burial and resurrection of Jesus Christ - all of which was done "according to the Scriptures," that is, in fulfillment of OT prophecy.

Acts 24:22: At this, Felix, "well acquainted with The Way," adjourned the trial. He has decided to wait for the arrival and testimony of Lysias, the arresting commander. It was he who saved Paul's life when the Jews were ready to lynch him (Acts 22:22-29), and Felix prefers hearing some facts from a Roman citizen, an objective source, rather than simply what the high priest, his lawyer and Paul are saying. Paul is put under guard not in a prison, but under house arrest. He's allowed company and inevitably, preaches to the guards and those around him in Caesarea. (Phillip and his family may have been among the friends who cared for Paul here; see 21:9).

Acts 24:24: Drusilla, Felix's third wife (a Jew), accompanies Felix on a visit to Paul. Paul laid out the whole plan of salvation from Christ's sacrifice on the cross to his resurrection, and the power the Holy Spirit had given converts to spread the message. The Holy Spirit, speaking to Felix's conscience, was doing his work of conviction; Felix says "enough; some more convenient time, I'll hear more." Felix continues to talk with Paul over the next two years, but we never read that he responded to the gospel as a convert. He apparently enjoyed the verbal jousting, and we're told, "hoped Paul would offer a bribe," so that he could free Paul. However, when Felix was succeeded by Festus, Felix left Paul in prison as a "favor to the Jews." But God has his hand on Paul.

Acts 25: It's been a little over two years since Paul left Jerusalem for Caesarea; now in about 59 A.D., Festus replaces Felix, who was recalled to Rome. Festus knows about Paul's imprisonment in Caesarea, but to find out more about why Paul's there, he goes to Jerusalem to visit the high priest and other Jewish leaders. After all, one of the reasons Felix was summoned back to Rome was reports of riots and uprisings in Jerusalem; was Paul a perpetrator? Festus wants to find out. All he discovered was that a religious argument was the basis of the accusations against Paul, and that the Sanhedrin wanted Paul brought back to Jerusalem for trial. Festus declines, saying that he's going to hear Paul in a few days in Caesarea, and that these folks are welcome to come make their charges against him there.

Acts 25:6: Festus convenes a hearing, listening to the Jews from Jerusalem "make many serious charges which they could not prove" (v. 7), and then Paul speaks. His defense is that the Jewish leaders' charges are full of holes and that he has done nothing against them or the Temple. Festus proposes that he stand trial in Jerusalem; Paul says "not on your life; I stand before Caesar's court or no court at all." And so, after appealing to Caesar, his right as a Roman citizen, Festus says he can go to Rome. Paul, after years of trying to get to this capitol city, is now going at the Roman government's expense. And Nero is the emperor.

Acts 25:13: Festus now has royal visitors: King Agrippa (one of Herod the Great's great grandsons, the last of the Herods, and whose territory is the Galilee) calls on the new governor in Caesarea, bringing his sister Bernice with him. During their visit, Festus reviewed Paul's case with them. His summary is that the Jews who've accused Paul of blasphemy have no civil or criminal case against him under Roman law; but Festus, not understanding Paul's statement about serving a "dead man named Jesus who is now alive," or knowing how to investigate the matter, was keeping Paul under guard in Caesarea until he could safely be taken to Rome. Agrippa tells Festus he'd like to hear Paul himself.

Acts 25:23: And so a command appearance is set up with fanfare and lots of bowing and procession. Festus, the king and his sister, are on their dias, Paul is led in and Festus introduces him to Agrippa and the assembled audience. He tells them that Paul has Jerusalem in an uproar; the Jewish leaders want him dead, but Festus is baffled: "he's done nothing deserving of death," and doesn't know what to tell the Emperor about Paul. "I think it is unreasonable," he says, "to send on a prisoner without specifying the charges against him." Festus wants this hearing to clear the air and to give him something specific to say to Nero.

Acts 26: Paul is given the OK to speak, and he does. Paul first thanks the king and governor, saying it's especially gratifying to speak before someone well acquainted with Jewish customs as Agrippa surely is. He then tells them who he is and how he was raised. He lists his credentials: a Pharisee, a persecutor of the followers of Christ, he was struck down by God himself and transformed. Paul tells the king that Jesus himself gave appointed him an apostle: "You will be a servant and witness of what you have seen of me and what I will show you. . . I am sending you to them [the Gentiles] to open their eyes and turn them from darkness to light" (vv. 16-18). Paul says "I was not disobedient to the vision," meaning that he carried out Jesus' commissioning of him to the letter. He tells Festus and Agrippa that he's preached all over the Roman world, testifying that the prophecy of a Messiah, a Savior, was fulfilled in Jesus Christ. And it is for that preaching that he was arrested and accused by the Jewish leaders. Festus says "you're crazy, Paul; all your learning has made you mad," but Paul quietly rejects that, saying "I am not insane," and further, he suggests that Agrippa knows the truth of what he says having been part of the Jewish society; he's heard about Jesus himself from the people of the territory where he reigns. Paul says "none of this was done in a corner," meaning Jesus' death, burial and resurrection, the falling of the Holy Spirit at Pentecost, the Christian movement since that time has been public, start to finish. And Paul invites Agrippa to believe that Jesus is the Messiah, but Agrippa answers "Do you think in such a short time you can persuade me to become a Christian?" Paul tells him belief isn't a matter of time, and that he'll pray that Agrippa will act on the truth and "become what I am, except for these chains." Agrippa and Festus leave, hold more discussion, and decide that Paul is doing nothing worthy either of imprisonment or death, and that if he hadn't appealed to Caesar, he'd be set free.

Next week: We'll go with Paul to Rome.

Homework for those who want to go deeper:

Let's close in prayer.