Acts 24

Posted on Jun 7, 2017 in Bible (NT) in a Year |

Wednesday

Read: Acts 24

What would you say if you had to defend your faith before a court of law?

After waiting for five days, Ananias, some of the elders and Tertullus arrive in Caesarea to bring their charges against Paul. Tertullus is well trained in both Roman and Jewish law and will serve as the prosecutor in this case. I love how they first flatter Felix…blah, blah, you’re so great Felix, blah, blah, you’re wonderful… what a great ruler you are… ok Tertullus, let’s get to the real business of why you’re here. And so Tertullus brings charges against Paul, “He’s a troublemaker, stirring up riots among the Jews all over the world.” Actually Tertullus greatly exaggerates the amount of disruption caused by Paul.  If you remember back through your readings of Acts, Paul is not the one that starts the trouble. He is peaceful and respectful of Jewish traditions. The charges are so bogus and there really is no one to substantiate their claims.

Now it is Paul’s turn to defend himself. Once again with the flattery… oh well, it’s their tradition. In such a short period of time, Paul could hardly have caused a serious threat to Roman authority in Jerusalem. Did you notice though how Paul sort of side-steps the potential charge of sedition? Paul focuses his defense on what would be a minor offense or no offense to the Romans and that was the charge of violating Jewish law.

Paul describes himself as a devout Jew, doing things like any good Jew would do, and he stresses that he is not trying to break away from Judaism but that Christianity is more of an extension because of the shared hope of resurrection. Luke is again showing his readers the bond between Christianity and Judaism. And so Paul points out that the real problem is not disloyalty to Rome, but it is more about religious doctrine.

So Felix, apparently not one to make a decision on his own… says “let’s wait for Lysias.” And they will wait… apparently a long time.

Paul is placed under house arrest, but he has a considerable amount of freedom and his friends are permitted to take care of him.

I imaging Paul is feeling a lot of frustration, sitting around. But I can’t imagine Paul being idle. Sometimes we are placed in circumstances beyond our control. We are not where we want to be or where we feel God wants us, but we have to realize that God’s timing is different from ours. So when things are going the way we thought they should go, continue to minister and witness, right where you are. I love the expression, “bloom where you are planted.” There is always Kingdom work to be done, whether it is in your hometown, or thousands of miles away, just carry the gospel message.

Peace and joy

Pastor Kathy