| CHAPTER 24 We have read how the Romans took Paul from
Jerusalem to Caesarea. This was at the end of Chapter 23. Paul is still in
Caesarea until the start of Chapter 27. This was two full years. Paul was
there from the summer of 57AD to the summer of 59AD. Paul was not free. He
could not leave the ‘Praetorium’ at Caesarea. 24:23 shows how he lived.
These chapters do not tell us much about what Paul did in this time. See
24:26. Only one of Paul’s letters which we have might belong to this time.
That is Philippians. Paul is more likely to have written that letter from
Rome several years later. It is quite likely that Paul wrote many other
letters in these two years. If so, we do not have them.
Paul might have used his time to read. See, perhaps, 26:24. No doubt he
prayed. He would be able to talk to visitors. In this way he could help the
Christians in Caesarea. Some other gaps in Paul’s life story we can fill in.
We cannot add anything to what Acts tells us here.
Most of Chapter 24 tells us about Paul’s trial. This takes us as far as
verse 23. Verses 24 to 27 tell us about the two years when Paul was a
prisoner in Caesarea.
Verses 1-22: Paul on trial before Felix
(Verse 1) The Romans had taken Paul away from Jerusalem quickly and at
night. The Jewish leaders were told about the move; see 23:30. They did
quite well to get to Caesarea in five days.
Latin was the best language to use in a Roman law court. We cannot tell
whether Tertullus was a Jew or not. His name is not Jewish. Perhaps the high
priest wanted a man who could speak good Latin. Tertullus was not so much a
‘lawyer’. His training would be in public speaking, not in law. [24.1] Felix
would sit on his judge’s seat. This group of Jews would stand in front of
Felix. They would say what their charges against Paul were. (Verse 2) Paul
was brought in. He would have to stand among his Jewish enemies. This
happens again in 25:7.
So in verses 2-9, we have the first part of the trial. Tertullus has to say
what the charges against Paul are. But first he tells Felix what a good man
he is and what a good job he does. Felix was, in fact, not at all a good
Roman. He was not a good governor of the province. Tertullus goes on like
this into verse 3. (Verse 4) Felix would probably not get tired of being
told what a wonderful chap he was. He knew that Tertullus did not mean it!
Then in verse 5, Tertullus comes to the point. He says:-
a) Paul makes trouble. He is a ‘plague’. He is like a bad illness which
spreads very quickly. It was true, of course, that almost everywhere that
Paul went, there was trouble among the Jews. It was not true that Paul made
the trouble. Really, all Tertullus says is:- ‘We do not like him.’ That was
nothing to do with Roman law.
b) Then Tertullus says that Paul is a Christian leader. This is the only
place in the New Testament where anyone calls Christians ‘Nazarenes’. But at
this time, the Romans thought of Christians as part of the Jewish religion.
And the Jewish religion was not against Roman law.
c) So now Tertullus says that Paul tried to do something. (Verse 6) Here,
Tertullus gives the game away. He admits that Paul did not do it! The Jews
want Felix to try Paul for something which he had not done. He had tried,
Tertullus said, to ‘pollute’ the Temple. He had tried to bring into the
Temple someone who was not a Jew. This was not true. If it had been true,
Paul would have broken both Jewish and Roman law. [24.2] (Verse 8) Tertullus
can probably see that Felix does not want to hear any more! Still, the Jews
who have paid Tertullus (verse 9) seem to think that he has done well. Felix
now has to hear what Paul wishes to say. Paul’s defence was the second part
of the trial.
So (verse 10) Felix waves his hand to show that it was time for Paul to
speak. Paul does not say the sort of thing that Tertullus said. But Felix
had been the Roman governor for about five years. Even before that he had
worked in Judea. So he knew quite a lot about the Jews.
(Verse 11) Paul had only been in Jerusalem less than two weeks. It would not
be hard for the Romans to find out all that he had done in that time. Paul
had come to Jerusalem to worship. He would not do anything to make the
Templee ‘unclean’ or unholy. (Verses 12 and 13) The Jews could not prove
that Paul was a ‘troublemaker’.
(Verse 14) Paul had something that Tertullus did not have. Paul did not have
anyone to stand with him and to speak for him. He did not have an
‘advocate’. He did have the promise which Jesus gave to those who follow
Him. That is in Mark 18:11. Paul found that it was true and so have many
other Christians.
Paul is quite open in what he says now. He is a Christian. He is not ashamed
of it. This group of Jews call the Christians ‘a sect’. The Sadducees really
are ‘the sect’. Yes, they believe what Moses wrote in the Law. They do not
believe the rest of the Old Testament. They do not believe in the Prophets.
(Verse 15) Paul goes further. All other Jews share a ‘hope in God’. The
Sadducees do not. They did not believe that God would raise the dead.
This is the only place where Paul says that both the righteous and the
wicked will rise from the dead. See Daniel 12:2, John 5:28 and 29 and
Revelation 20:12-15. There other places which teach this.
(Verse 16) People who believe that death is the end will do whatever they
want to. People who do not believe that God is the great Judge have no fear.
Paul believes. So he seeks to live a good and holy life. Perhaps Paul means:
‘These Jews are Sadducees. They do not believe in God’s judgment. So
goodness and holiness do not worry them.’ This verse is rather like 23:1.
(Verse 17) Paul had not been in Jerusalem for about five years. Now he had
come back with help for people in Jerusalem. He also came to bring offerings
to the temple. This is the only place in Acts which says anything about the
collection. It does not say that it is for the poor Christians. (Verse 18)
So the Jews had found him in the Temple. The trouble in the Temple started
with some Jews who cme from Asia, that is from Ephesus. See 21:27-29. Paul
is quite right in verse 19. These ‘witnesses’ should have been in the court.
They should have made the charges. By now, no doubt, they were on their way
back to Asia. Neither Paul nor Felix could ask them whether they had seen
the Greek, Trophimus, in the temple with Paul. (Verse 20) What Paul said
then was what all the Pharisees believed. If Paul was wrong, so were all the
Pharisees. [24.4]
We can only guess that Paul could see that it was time to stop. Perhaps he
could see the look on Felix’s face. Tertullus had known when it was time to
stop! The tribune Claudius Lycias was not in court. Perhaps at this point
someone read out the letter which he had sent to Felix. See 23:26-30. In
this way, Paul and his friends would know what was in the letter.
(Verse 22) The Jews have failed in their case against Paul. Felix knows
quite a lot about the Christians. He does not want Paul to tell him any
more. Felix must have known about the Christians in Jerusalem and in the
country around there. We know that there were Christians in Caesarea too.
They would have seemed to Felix to be quite different.
Felix will not make up his mind what to do. He promised Paul that he would
decide the case when Claudius Lysias came to Caesarea. He was the man to
tell Felix just what had happened in the Temple. We do not know that
Claudius Lysias ever did come. Felix never did make up his mind what to do
about Paul. He was not a man who would keep a promise.
Verses 23-26: Two years in Caesarea
(Verse 23) Felix could not set Paul free. The court case against Paul had
not ended. So Paul was kept in Caesarea. He was not in a prison. He may have
been chained to a soldier all the time. He was a prisoner. His friends could
come to see him and they would bring him food.
Paul did not know how long this might go on. God had told him (23:11) that
he would preach the Good News in Rome. But there was nothing in Roman law to
say that Paul would have to be set free after a certain time.
(Verse 24) Felix was not in Caesarea all the time, and so he came back to
the city a little while later. [24.5] Drusilla was his third wife. At this
time Drusilla was about 19 years old. Felix was not her first husband,
either. She was a member of the Herod family. She knew a great deal about
Christians.
Many Romans in those days liked to hear about religion. This may be one
reason why Felix sent for Paul and heard him speak. Paul might have talked
to Felix about himself. He might have tried to get Felix to set him free.
That was not Paul’s way! Paul spoke about the Lord Jesus Christ. He spoke
about faith in Jesus. (Verse 25) Look at the teaching of Jesus in John
16:7-11. It is close to what Luke says here.
In John 16:7, Jesus says that He will send the Holy Spirit.. [24.6] Jesus
calls the Holy Spirit a ‘parakletos’. That means ‘one that we call to our
side to help us.’ We know that this word is not always used in the same way.
Here it may well mean an ‘Advocate’. That means someone who helps us in a
law court. So in verse 8, Jesus also says that the Holy Spirit has a work to
do in the world. Sometimes the Holy Spirit will do this work as we preach
the Good News. More often, the Spirit of God will Himself bring ‘conviction’
into the minds and hearts of men and women. Then they will be ready to hear
the Good News. They will be hungry for God’s Word. But we have to pray that
the Holy Spirit will come once more to us.
The ‘conviction’ that the Spirit will bring is of ‘sin, righteousness and
judgment’. There is a great deal more which we could say about these verses
in John’s Gospel. However, we see that Paul spoke to Felix and Drusilla
about righteousness and judgment. ‘Self control’ takes the place of sin in
this verse. Felix and Drusilla know that lack of self control had led them
into sin. They were not righteous, and they feared God’s coming judgment.
But they did not put their faith in Jesus. Once again, Felix had heard
enough from Paul.
(Verse 26) We may think here about Mark 6:20, where Herod Antipas liked to
hear John the Baptist. In the same way, Felix could listen to Paul and talk
to him. Many people listened to Jesus. They liked to hear Him, but they were
lost. They had no faith or love. The Romans loved money. The real reason why
Felix kept Paul as a prisoner was money. Felix hoped that the Christians
would give him a ‘bribe’ to release Paul. In this, he was like many other
Romans. Perhaps he knew about the money that Paul had taken to Jerusalem to
help the poor Christians. Maybe he thought that the Christians would find
money to buy freedom for Paul. He was wrong.
Now there is a real problem here for many Christians today. A Christian may
have a good Government job. But the day may come when there is no money to
pay the workers. Other people will then take ‘bribes’. A Christian will not
want to. Or a Christian may be asked to pay a bribe. It may be to a soldier
or to the police. Perhaps the government does not pay them. It is wrong, but
there may be no other way to get things done.
(Verse 27) While Felix was still the Governor in Caesarea, there was trouble
in the city. This trouble was between the Jews and the other people who
lived there. Felix sent in his soldiers to sort it out. They did, but they
killed a number of the most important Jews in the city. [24.3] News of this
reached Rome. Felix was sent an order to go back to Rome. Porcius Festus
came from Rome to Caesarea as the new governor. He was about the best of the
Roman governors. Sadly he died in AD 61. The two years he was in office was
not long enough for him to much good.
We can now see why Felix left Paul in prison. He would do anything that he
could do to please the Jews. |