Scripture: And after five days the high priest Ananias came down with some elders and a spokesman, one Tertullus. They laid before the governor their case against Paul. And when he had been summoned, Tertullus began to accuse him, saying:
“Since through you we enjoy much peace, and since by your foresight, most excellent Felix, reforms are being made for this nation, in every way and everywhere we accept this with all gratitude. But, to detain you no further, I beg you in your kindness to hear us briefly. For we have found this man a plague, one who stirs up riots among all the Jews throughout the world and is a ringleader of the sect of the Nazarenes. He even tried to profane the temple, but we seized him. By examining him yourself you will be able to find out from him about everything of which we accuse him.”
The Jews also joined in the charge, affirming that all these things were so.
And when the governor had nodded to him to speak, Paul replied:
“Knowing that for many years you have been a judge over this nation, I cheerfully make my defense. You can verify that it is not more than twelve days since I went up to worship in Jerusalem, and they did not find me disputing with anyone or stirring up a crowd, either in the temple or in the synagogues or in the city. Neither can they prove to you what they now bring up against me. But this I confess to you, that according to the Way, which they call a sect, I worship the God of our fathers, believing everything laid down by the Law and written in the Prophets, having a hope in God, which these men themselves accept, that there will be a resurrection of both the just and the unjust. So I always take pains to have a clear conscience toward both God and man. Now after several years I came to bring alms to my nation and to present offerings. While I was doing this, they found me purified in the temple, without any crowd or tumult. But some Jews from Asia— they ought to be here before you and to make an accusation, should they have anything against me. Or else let these men themselves say what wrongdoing they found when I stood before the council, other than this one thing that I cried out while standing among them: ‘It is with respect to the resurrection of the dead that I am on trial before you this day.'”
Acts 24:1-21 ESV [Click here to read the entire chapter.]
Observation: Recapping Yesterday’s Daily Focus, Claudius ordered a regiment of two hundred spearmen and seventy horsemen to escort Paul overnight to Governor Felix with a letter of explanation. Claudius’ letter outlined Paul’s conflict with fellow Jews, Paul’s Roman citizenship, a plot to kill Paul, and his directive to Paul’s accusers to present their case before Felix. So the Roman garrison took Paul to Antipatris (a town Herod the Great built in honor of his father, Antipater). The next day, the horsemen continued the journey with Paul to Caesarea and presented Claudius’s letter to Felix. After reading it, Felix inquired about Paul’s birth province (Cilicia). Confirming Paul was under his jurisdiction, Felix agreed to hear the charges when his accusers arrived. Lastly, Felix placed Paul under guard at Herod’s praetorium (the palace Herod the Great built for himself, now serving as the governor’s headquarters).
Today’s reading marks a shift in focus to Paul’s defense of his faith in Christ while detained in Caesarea (chapters 24-26). Five days after Paul’s arrival, the high priest Ananias appears before Felix with his entourage of elders and a lawyer called Tertullus. After ingratiating Felix, Tertullus presents the charges with the inflammatory characterization of Paul as the ringleader of a riotous sect, followed by a plea to examine Paul, which would corroborate the plaintiff’s accusations. The elders then chime in with affirmative remarks, at which point Felix nods for Paul to speak.
Unhesitantly, Paul presents his defense following the same forensic form common to this cultural period: an opening acknowledgment of the judge’s authority to win his goodwill, followed by the evidence and a request for cross-examination to verify Paul’s defense (i.e., that he did not stir up a crowd at any point, and his accusers cannot prove their allegations). Next, Paul self-examines his orthodoxy in the form of a confession of faith:
- I worship the God of the patriarchs.
- I believe in all the Law and the Prophets.
- I believe in the resurrection of the dead and final judgment.
Paul, noting his clear conscience before God and man, proceeds to share his side of the events that led to his arrest:
- After several years (i.e., since his last visit to Jerusalem), Paul merely came to present offerings to God.
- Paul’s accusers found him ceremonially purified in the temple, presenting alms to his nation and offerings to God without a crowd or disturbance.
- The Asian Jews (who started the rioting) should present their accusations before Felix.
- Otherwise, let these elders present their evidence—not merely accusations.
Paul concludes his defense with similar rhetoric that incited the Jerusalem riot: “It is with respect to the resurrection of the dead that I am on trial before you this day” (v.21b).
Takeaway: Paul details why he entered the temple: to give alms to his nation and offerings to God. Only here in Acts does Luke mention the giving of alms. The sole purpose of providing alms would be to aid the poor, which burdened Paul and pressed him to appeal to the churches in Corinth (1 Corinthians 16:1-4) and Rome (Romans 15:25-27, 31). Paul also implied that he offered his gift to the entire nation, not just the Way. Moreover, his confession of faith aligns with the Jewish faith’s most essential elements: the Law and the Prophets, which point to the resurrection of the dead, for which Paul would not apologize. Why? Because he earnestly longed for his whole country to come under the headship of his Messiah, even at the expense of his eternal well-being (Romans 9:3; 10:1; 11:13-14).
Our takeaway? We read here how much Paul cared for his apostate nation. But rather than rail against it, he took it upon himself to risk his life as a catalyst for reforming his country under Christ’s headship. Paul’s sacrificial expression of godly love for his brethren is what Christ had in mind when he taught his disciples: “Greater love has no one than this, that someone lay down his life for his friends” (John 15:13 ESV). Of course, Christ’s cross marks the pinnacle expression of sacrificial love, not just for his disciples but for the whole world (John 3:16).
So how does this passage speak to us? As followers of Jesus, our concerns for our nation should move us to find ways to bless rather than curse. If this is our desire, then we must leverage our resources to aid the poor—not just poor Christians but also unbelievers. We must pray for our spiritual and political leaders, for their protection from the forces of evil that tempt them to focus on self-preservation—and we must similarly pray for ourselves. Lastly, as the Holy Spirit leads, we must do our part to support social and spiritual reforms that attract a secular world to Jesus. If we do, we will bless our nation.
Prayer: Father God, we thank you for your Son, who sought to bless his nation and commissioned his disciples to extend his blessings to the whole world. And we thank you for the example of Paul, who, though an apostle to the Gentiles, still cared deeply about his apostate compatriots and thus risked his life in the hope of bringing some under the redemptive work of your Son. And here we stand today on the shoulders of the saints of past generations who helped found and grow our nation. Still, we confess that we are prone to complain and criticize our godless leaders and their supporters rather than seek ways to win them to your Son. So would you please help follow the lead of your Holy Spirit to bless our nation and its leaders so that we might be catalysts for reform? Amen.
Rev. Gordon Green, M.Div., M.A. Counseling