Bible Commentaries
Acts 24

Introduction

PAUL’S TRIAL BEFORE FELIX

The high priest, Ananias, with his grave, elderly cohort, and Tertullus, a tricky lawyer, arrive at Caesarea at the expiration of five days, close on Paul’s track, Satan’s thirsty bloodhounds, feeling sure that they will precipitate the proconsul into a verdict of immediate execution. Unable to bring against the accused a solitary criminal allegation, they clamorously denounce and villify him as a “ringleader of the sect of the Nazarenes.” The Greek word for sect is heresy, which means “separation,” very appropriately applied, because in following Jesus they necessarily separated themselves from the fallen Jewish Church. Though it was heresy from the standpoint of apostate Judaism, it was simple loyalty to God and His truth. How history repeats itself! The holiness movements in all ages have been calumniated as heretical by the dead churches, out of which they came, multiplied thousands burnt at the stake as heretics. As Satan is the god of this world, ruling state and worldly church, the followers of God are forced to assume a heretical attitude toward him and his people.

Verse 7

7. Here we see the Jews reflect seriously on the administration of Lysias at Jerusalem, doubtless hoping to bring him into trouble with the governor.

Verse 9

9. Felix, a shrewd lawyer and statesman, seeing the utter futility of all their charges, not so much as the semblance of criminality in Roman law, now beckons to Paul to speak, who very courteously addressing the Procurator, recognizing the prolixity of his administration [already seven years], and his gratitude for the privilege of thus defending himself, certifying the utter falsity of all the accusations brought against him by his accusers, boldly challenges the proof.

Verse 14

14. “I confess this unto thee, that after the way which they call heresy serve I the God of my fathers, believing all things which have been written according to the law and in the prophets,

Verse 15

15. “Having hope toward God, which they themselves accept, that there shall be a resurrection both of the just and the unjust.” Here we see the word heresy again occurring, which means separation, and its legitimate application to all the followers of Jesus is here recognized by Paul. The Holy Ghost is the Spirit of the Lord Jesus (Acts 16:6 and Romans 8:9) sent into the world not only as the Revelator but the Successor of our risen Lord (John 14:16). The holiness movement, like all preceding revivals, is simply a departure from the fallen, dead, despiritualized and degospelized ecclesiasticisms in order to follow Jesus. Hence it is heresy from their standpoint, just as primitive Christianity was heresy from the attitude of fallen Judaism. Here we see a clear repetition of some modern heresies in reference to the annihilation of the wicked, as we see here that even their bodies will be raised into immortality, as well as those of the righteous in the general resurrection. God in the beginning created Adam immortal. Though he was free to sin and fall, his immortality, a necessary constituent of his humanity, is nonforfeitable, since such forfeiture would dehumanize, i. e., brutalize, him.

Verses 16-20

16-20. Paul proceeds simply to tell Felix about his arrival at Jerusalem only twelve days ago on the philanthropic errand of bringing the benefactions of the Gentile churches to the poor saints at Jerusalem, and his participation in the simple ceremonies of temporary Nazaritish vows and sacrifices peculiar to his people since the days of Moses, during which they assaulted him in the temple, on accusation of stirring up sedition, which was utterly untrue, and they had signally failed to prove their charges when he stood before the Sanhedrim in Jerusalem in the custody of Lysias, and he now challenges them to prove their charges.

Verses 22-23

22, 23. As their prosecution proves an utter failure for two reasons

(a) They have actually charged him with nothing criminal in Roman law but simply leadership in the Nazarene sect [when the Roman Empire was notorious for tolerating all religions], and

(b) for stirring up sedition, which they had signally failed to prove therefore Felix dismisses the case out of court, notifying them that when Lysias the kiliarch may come down, they shall have a new hearing; meanwhile he treats Paul leniently, extending full privileges of gospel grace to him and all who come to him, either for philanthropic or evangelical purposes.

Verses 24-27

PAUL PREACHES TO FELIX AND DRUSILLA

24-27. During Paul’s trial, he managed to get in so much straight gospel truth as to at least arouse the governor’s curiosity “concerning the faith which is toward Christ”; consequently, in a few days he avails himself of the opportunity to hear his prisoner preach the gospel with all possible freedom, spiritual and physical.

Verse 25

25. “And while he reasoned concerning righteousness [ i. e., justification], temperance [ i. e., egkrateia, from ego, I, and kratos, government; hence that beautiful self-government in perfect harmony with the Divine law, which is but another name for entire sanctification, showing up the practical side], and judgment to come.” This was an astounding revelation to that avaricious, ambitious, licentious Oriental potentate, not only awfully corrupt in his administration, swindling his subjects for paltry pelf, but debauched in his private life, at that time living in adultery with his wife Drusilla, a royal Jewish Herodian, celebrated for her beauty, the wife of Azizus, the king of Emesa, whom Felix had maneuvered to seduce and leave her royal husband, elope with him and become his wife. To this corrupt and debauched royal train, Paul’s sermon on justification, sanctification and final judgment was a thunder-clap of trepidation and dismay from beginning to end. How wonderful the power of the gospel! Here you see the prisoner in chains standing on the lofty pinnacle of Divine truth and inflexible justice, his regal prosecutors in tears, trembling at his feet! Sorry to say, the record of Felix is anything but good. Though he trembled and quaked under the first gospel sermon of Paul, he wore off his convictions, heard Paul ever and anon two whole years, only hardening under his ministry, like multiplied millions who tremble with an earthquake conviction when they first hear some powerful preacher of the Sinai gospel. Unfortunately they pass the gracious opportunity, resist the Spirit, wear off their conviction, become immovable and finally drop into hell. With such, who have actually passed the dead line, this old wicked world is rapidly getting filled up. Felix and Drusilla then and there passed the fatal borne and plunged into ruin temporal and, we fear, eternal, the latter perishing with her only son in an eruption of Mt. Vesuvius, buried alive in the burning lava, doubtless a prelude of hell’s unquenchable flame, and the former, at the expiration of Paul’s two years imprisonment, accused of maladministration, summoned to come to answer charges before the Emperor, narrowly escaping with his life, only to be cast away into perpetual banishment, thus both of them signally verifying the awful warnings so timely given by Paul, but sadly by them depreciated and rejected. Instead of bringing Lysias from Jerusalem, and giving Paul a fair trial, as he had promised, he kept him there two whole years actuated only by the sordid hope that some of Paul’s friends would pay a big lot of money for his release. Finally, at the end of the two years his own awful troubles set in, culminating in his dethronement, arrest and prosecution for his life under accumulated charges from maladministration. Hence in his awful emergency, friends were scarce. Consequently he purchased the friendship of the Jews by leaving Paul a prisoner in chains, though from the time of his trial, when first he became a prisoner, well assured of his innocence and his own duty to release him.