I. PRAYER
II. Introduction
a. This week, the Presidential race officially began. The Democrats were seen heating up the airwaves and newspapers in Iowa, as the American public sees their potential voting field trimmed down somewhat.
b. President Bush, on the other hand, addressed the nation in a State of the Union address, and according to a Wall Street Journal article I read this week, his staff had been working on this speech since October.
c. I saw on the news where the President Bush practiced the speech in the White House Theater for two days. The press wasn’t allowed inside, but only a few trusted advisors.
d. The theme of the week on the news seemed to be politics, since the Superbowl isn’t until next Sunday. I thought that this was very fitting, since we are going to be looking at the Roman government, and in particular the Roman justice system, as we see Paul on trial.
e. In the spirit of everybody going back to school, a freshman was assigned the project in his political science class. The assignment was to describe in practical terms, several different forms of government. His paper read like this -
f. Communism: You have two cows. The government takes both, milks them, keeps the milk, and gives you a pint. Socialism: The government takes one of your cows and gives it to a neighbor. Fascism: The government takes both your cows and shoots one of them. Nazism: The government takes both cows and shoots you. Capitalism: You milk booth cows, sell one of the cows, and buy a bull. Bureaucracy: The government takes both cows, milks them, and pours the milk down the drain.
g. A more original saying on the mockery of laws of the land in various countries goes something like this - In the US, everything that is not prohibited by law is permitted. In Germany, everything that is not permitted by law is prohibited. In Russia, everything is prohibited, even if permitted by law. In France, everything is permitted, even if prohibited by law.
h. We are also going to look at Roman lawyers as they are introduced in the New Testament. They were called orators, because they pled their case with great passion.
III. Background
a. We know much about Roman law from history, and today we get to take a look at a typical Roman trial close up. Most early civilizations were ruled by custom or by the arbitrary judgments of kings. Laws -- and the punishments for not obeying them -- were at the whim of the ruler. However, at Rome in 450 BC there was a revolt by a group of people who felt they were entitled to know and be able to interpret the code of laws. Thus the Twelve Tables were established. A ten-man commission set forth the basis of law for all Roman citizens. The Twelve Tables was the complete law code. They covered all areas of the law, emphasizing the procedure that was to be followed for various crimes. They made the law transparent and, in theory, applicable to all citizens. But still, in Rome, the wealthy generally found ways to escape judgment.
b. The laws of the Twelve Tables were never repealed, but some fell into disuse over time. The Roman laws stood for 1000 years. Now, citizenship was exclusive and the Roman Empire was marked by strong class distinctions. The wealthy had control of most of the legal customs prior to the establishment of the Twelve Tables and they retained their influence in Roman courts even afterwards. "Standing jury courts" -- basically comprised the criminal courts of the late Republic. There were several such courts, each one dealing with a different statutory offense. The large juries were drawn from a list of upper class citizens and made their rulings by majority vote. The option of appeal did not become available until about the time of Christ.
c. The role of a Roman lawyer differed considerably from that in the United States. The individual plaintiff and defendant were responsible for their own representation. Throughout the proceedings, the lawyer, or patronus, could offer strategic advice and could give a speech on behalf of his client, but he was not allowed to be paid money for his services.
d. Lawyers were not trained in law but rather in the art of speaking. During their training they would listen to the speeches of other advocates and learn of the law in this fashion. They were all men of means, interested more in practical solutions than in theory, and had other interests, usually working their way up the Roman bureaucracy.
e. Our study this morning comes out of Acts chapter 24, and we are going to finish out the chapter this week, leaving us with just four more chapters until we finish the Book of the Acts.
f. Turn with me if you would to Acts chapter 24. Follow along with me as we read. If you need a Bible, just raise your hand, and we will get you one. Acts is just past John and right before Romans in the New Testament. Acts 24, verse 1 -
IV. Study
a. Intro
i. I’ve broken today’s passage into six parts – The Flowery Flattery, The Formal Charges, Fending off Accusations, The Fulfillment of Prophecy, Felix’s Indecision, and last we will look at the Foundations of the Faith, all of these in Acts chapter 24.
ii. There’s a place to take notes on the handout in your bulletin, and I encourage you to take notes so you can go back and look at the passage this week in more detail.
iii. We see Paul’s accuser’s coming on the scene in the first four verses, and we read -
b. The Flowery Flattery (Acts 24:1 – 4)
i. 1 Now after five days Ananias the high priest came down with the elders and a certain orator named Tertullus. These gave evidence to the governor against Paul.
ii. So, Paul had been in Caesarea for five days, when his accusers come to meet him there. Remember last week, Paul had been escorted from Jerusalem by a small army of 470 Roman troops, dispatched by Lysias the commander there, because there was a threat against Paul’s life by some Jewish terrorists.
iii. These guys had taken a vow that they would not eat or drink anything until Paul was dead. I bet these guys were getting pretty hungry by this point, and real thirsty.
iv. What we should take away from that is that we as Christians should have a little better judgment than these guys, and that we should not enter into a vow lightly, or unadvisedly. I think a lot of homes and families would be much better off if people didn’t take marriage vows so lightly these days.
v. The high priest himself, Ananias came down to Paul’s trial. This is rather odd, because by this time, Ananias would have been pushing eighty years old, and this would have been a hard trip for him to make at his age, because it was some 60 miles from Jerusalem to Caesarea.
vi. This just goes to show you, how much the Jewish religious establishment had it in for Paul, and for the church. They would stop at nothing in their attempt to stop the church.
vii. The Sanhedrin, or at least some representation of them came as well, because we see that the elders also accompanied the high priest.
viii. We are also introduced to the Jew’s legal counsel, a man by the name of Tertullus. He was one of the best lawyers in Jerusalem, he was a Roman lawyer, and this also gives us some insight, this tells us that the Jews were serious about pressing these charges against Paul, and making them stick, which would mean his death. Tertullus begins his speech -
ix. 2 And when he was called upon, Tertullus began his accusation, saying: "Seeing that through you we enjoy great peace, and prosperity is being brought to this nation by your foresight, 3 we accept it always and in all places, most noble Felix, with all thankfulness.
x. Since Tertullus is such a skilled orator, it should not be too surprising that he begins by buttering the judge up. He starts off by saying that the nation enjoyed great peace under Felix.
xi. This was his first lie. There were riots in the streets. Two of which we have seen in the previous weeks concerned Paul. Jewish separatists had tried to rise up against the Roman authority time and time again. The Jews hated the Romans, and the Romans knew it, but Felix was taking it in.
xii. Felix would be removed from power by the Roman government in 60 AD, because of a huge dispute that arose between the Jews and the Syrians, not too different from what goes on today.
xiii. The second lie was that he said that the nation enjoyed great prosperity under Felix’s rule, through his foresight. This was a whopper! There was widespread famine in the land, people were starving to death.
xiv. Unemployment was rampant, and the entire nation was gripped in destitute poverty. That’s why Paul was in Jerusalem to begin with, to bring an offering to help out the church there, because of the destitute conditions.
xv. We see in verse three that Tertullus keeps pouring it on. He says that they accept Felix’s rule, and they were thankful for it at all times.
xvi. These were more lies. The Jews hated Felix, and many of them thought that his rule is what was messing the whole place up. The hypocrisy of pretty much all of Tertullus’ statements was really fitting, him being the Sanhedrin’s lawyer and all.
xvii. But, surely Felix, being as shrewd as he was, saw through all of this flattery, even as vain and corrupt as he was. Felix was into money and power, and bribes, as we will see later.
xviii. He must have wondered, “What do these Jews want from me? They come in here with a professional Roman orator, and flatter me to death, what’s the catch?” He would soon find out, as Tertullus continued in verse 4 -
xix. 4 Nevertheless, not to be tedious to you any further, I beg you to hear, by your courtesy, a few words from us.
xx. Tertullus thought that he could get to Felix with all of the flowery language and flattery, in the next few verses, we see the case that he presented – He says in verse 5 -
c. The Formal Charges (Acts 24:5 – 9 )
i. 5 For we have found this man a plague, a creator of dissension among all the Jews throughout the world, and a ringleader of the sect of the Nazarenes.
ii. The first charge leveled against Paul is that he was a public nuisance, a pest to the Jewish people. They thought that Paul was a troublemaker, and in the Roman world this was a serious charge, because the Romans wanted to keep the peace above all else in the outlying provinces.
iii. Paul was likened to a plague or a pestilence by Tertullus, a disease that had to be eliminated. His assertion was that if Felix set Paul free, widespread dissention, and maybe even outright rebellion would result.
iv. This was the same charge that the Sanhedrin leveled against Jesus when they were standing before Pontius Pilate, that Jesus was a troublemaker, because He claimed to be the King of the Jews.
v. You have to think about this. Really, this charge is true. Wherever Paul went there was either a revival or a riot. But that wasn’t Paul’s fault. No, people get upset, they tune out when presented with the gospel, no matter who the presenter is.
vi. The second charge they made against Paul was that he was a ringleader of the sect of the Nazarenes. What they were accusing Paul of was heresy here.
vii. Their claim was that Paul was a ringleader of the sect of the Nazarenes. The term ringleader there was a military one, what it literally means in the Greek is a man out front, a person who is in charge of the rank and file soldiers. Paul was guilty as charged. This was true; he was a leader in the early church.
viii. The Jewish leadership believed that Christianity was heretical. They called it a sect, as we see here. The fact was, and still is that Christianity isn’t a sect. It isn’t heretical, it is simply the fulfillment of the Old Testament prophecy, and we will see, this is what Paul will tell them, when he gets the chance.
ix. But notice here that they called it the sect of the Nazarenes. This was a term of derision. The term Christian and Nazarene were mocking terms that the Jews used to describe Christianity.
x. They called Christians Nazarenes for obvious reasons. Jesus was from Nazareth. Nazareth was a small backwater town in Galilee, and it was quite humorous to the Jewish leaders that Jesus was from there. In John chapter 1, verse 46, Nathanael said, "Can anything good come out of Nazareth?"
xi. Someone good did come out of Nazareth – Jesus. Even though the Jews used these terms mockingly, they stuck, and became a fitting description of the church, as they grew in their faith, and became more like Jesus.
xii. We see the third and final charge in verse 6 and 7. Tertullus says - 6 He even tried to profane the temple, and we seized him, and wanted to judge him according to our law. 7 But the commander Lysias came by and with great violence took him out of our hands,
xiii. This guy is sharp. Notice this – he doesn’t accuse Paul of profaning the temple directly. He says that Paul tried to profane the temple.
xiv. This was a rumor that was flying around Jerusalem at the time of Paul’s arrival. That he had taken Gentiles into the Temple. This was not true, but Tertullus didn’t care about the truth. He simply wanted to make his point and win the case.
xv. He goes on to say that they seized Paul. This was true. But then he says that they wanted to judge him according to our law. This was false. There was a rioting mob, and they were going to beat Paul to death or stone him without a fair trial. That is what was going on. Paul was just fortunate that the Romans came and broke it all up.
xvi. 8 commanding his accusers to come to you. By examining him yourself you may ascertain all these things of which we accuse him." 9 And the Jews also assented, maintaining that these things were so.
xvii. Lysias saved Paul’s life. He then sent Paul to Felix, because Paul’s life was in danger there, and Paul was a Roman citizen, so Lysias had to protect his life, as a Roman governing official.
xviii. Tertullus had three charges against Paul. First, that he was a troublemaker. Second, that he was a ringleader in a heretical sect. Third, that he had somehow profaned the temple and even the Roman government acknowledged their purview in this area.
xix. So, Tertullus makes his charges, and the Jews that were accompanying him register their witness, that these were indeed true, and he sits down.
xx. Felix probably nods to Paul at this point, and Paul, being familiar with the procedures of Roman law, stands to make his defense in light of these very serious charges against him. Verse 10 begins -
d. Fending off Accusations (Acts 24: 10 - 13 )
i. 10 Then Paul, after the governor had nodded to him to speak, answered:
ii. Paul doesn’t have an attorney. They didn’t have public defense orator in those days. Paul was standing in a courtroom. Jesus gave some instruction as to what we should do in a situation like this. We find it recorded in Luke chapter 12, verses 11 and 12.
iii. 11 Now when they bring you to the synagogues and magistrates and authorities, do not worry about how or what you should answer, or what you should say. 12 For the Holy Spirit will teach you in that very hour what you ought to say."
iv. So, really, the Holy Spirit was Paul’s attorney, Paul’s orator. This is how the charges are answered. He says - "Inasmuch as I know that you have been for many years a judge of this nation, I do the more cheerfully answer for myself,
v. Paul addresses Felix not with flattery and hypocrisy, but with the only truthful thing he could say about him – that Felix had ruled Judea for many years.
vi. Paul begins to answer their charges here in verse 11. He says -
vii. 11 because you may ascertain that it is no more than twelve days since I went up to Jerusalem to worship.
viii. Paul says, “Hey! I’ve only been here twelve days, Felix, and the last five I have spent here with you! How could I have done all these things I am accused of in just seven days?” This answers the charges of troublemaking and stirring up large crowds. He simply did not have enough time to do what they accused him of. Verse 12 says -
ix. 12 And they neither found me in the temple disputing with anyone nor inciting the crowd, either in the synagogues or in the city.
x. This answers the charges about being a ringleader in the sect of the Nazarenes. He wasn’t in the temple causing arguments, or out in the synagogues, or out in the city. This would be the expected actions of a Christian troublemaker, but Paul wasn’t doing that, he says himself; he was at the temple to worship, so how could he be profaning it? Paul makes an excellent defense against the charges, and finishes off answering their charges in verse 13 -
xi. 13 Nor can they prove the things of which they now accuse me.
xii. So, Paul is accusing them of bringing false charges. Charges that could not be backed up by facts, because there simply were none to substantiate their accusations. Paul then shifts gears, and begins a new case. The case for Christ.
e. The Fulfillment of Prophecy (Acts 24: 14 – 21)
i. 14 But this I confess to you, that according to the Way which they call a sect, so I worship the God of my fathers, believing all things which are written in the Law and in the Prophets. 15 I have hope in God, which they themselves also accept, that there will be a resurrection of the dead, both of the just and the unjust.
ii. Paul says – This is what I am guilty of. I am guilty of being a follower of the Way. I am guilty of believing all of the Old Testament scriptures, or the tenach. I am guilty of waiting for the Resurrection.
iii. Paul’s hope was in God. He was looking forward to the Resurrection, both of the just and the unjust. The just is the church, and when Jesus comes back before the Great Tribulation, He will meet us in the clouds.
iv. I guarantee that each of us will be resurrected. The question is, whether we will be resurrected to everlasting life, or be resurrected to eternal condemnation.
v. When we die, we leave these bodies to go somewhere. If we are in Christ at that point, we go to be with Jesus in heaven. We know this from 2nd Corinthians, chapter 5, verse 8 - We are confident, yes, well pleased rather to be absent from the body and to be present with the Lord
vi. We get a ticket to the first resurrection if we are in Christ. 1st Thessalonians 4:16 says - For the Lord Himself will descend from heaven with a shout, with the voice of an archangel, and with the trumpet of God. And the dead in Christ will rise first.
vii. It really doesn’t matter if you are buried, or buried at sea, or cremated. God can remake all of it, and that is what is going to happen. We get to trade in these tents for new ones. If you are a Christian, your body will be raised at that point.
viii. We are told about this in 1st John, chapter 3. Verse 2 says - Beloved, now we are children of God; and it has not yet been revealed what we shall be, but we know that when He is revealed, we shall be like Him, for we shall see Him as He is.
ix. So, we are going to be like Jesus in our resurrected bodies. So, what about everybody else? Well, the church will then spend the next seven years in heaven, with God, and we will return with Him in the great battle of Armageddon. All these armies will be assembled with guns and jets, and lasers, and nuclear bombs, but we won’t fight. Jesus will speak the Word, and the armies will be destroyed.
x. Then Jesus will reign on the earth for a thousand years, and we get to reign with Him. The heavens and the earth will pass away, and then everybody else will be resurrected, to stand at the throne of Judgment. The non-believers will be judged for one sin at that point – for rejecting Jesus. They will be thrown into the lake of fire for all eternity, tormented and separated from God. So, we have a choice this morning. Which choice will you make? Will you chose to accept Jesus and live? Or will you choose to reject Jesus and face eternal torment. I can’t answer that question for you, only you can. Back to Acts 24, verse 16 -
xi. 16 This being so, I myself always strive to have a conscience without offense toward God and men.
xii. This tells us that there will be a time of judgment, a time of reckoning, and guys, we need to have a clear conscience towards God and men, just like Paul here. He goes on -
xiii. 17 Now after many years I came to bring alms and offerings to my nation,
xiv. Paul’s third missionary journey was for the purpose of collecting offerings for the church at Jerusalem from the gentile churches that he helped to start in Asia and Greece.
xv. 18 in the midst of which some Jews from Asia found me purified in the temple, neither with a mob nor with tumult. 19 They ought to have been here before you to object if they had anything against me. 20 Or else let those who are here themselves say if they found any wrongdoing in me while I stood before the council, 21 unless it is for this one statement which I cried out, standing among them, ’Concerning the resurrection of the dead I am being judged by you this day.’ "
xvi. So, some Asian Jews had found Paul in the temple, praying, purified. No mob scene, no arguments, just Paul praying and seeking God. But these guys aren’t here. They didn’t show up to press charges.
xvii. Paul’s belief in the resurrection of the dead was not a civil offense, it was not a criminal offense, and it was not a theological offense. The Pharisees believed in the resurrection, even though the Sadducees did not.
xviii. Felix knew all of this, so Paul makes a brilliant defense against the charges leveled against him. We see Felix’s reaction to all of this in the next passage.
f. Felix’s Indecision (Acts 24: 22 – 23 )
i. 22 But when Felix heard these things, having more accurate knowledge of the Way, he adjourned the proceedings and said, "When Lysias the commander comes down, I will make a decision on your case."
ii. Felix had probably heard about. The Way, or Christianity before this, and there is even some historical literature suggesting that Simon the sorcerer being friends with Felix. You remember Simon. The guy back in Acts chapter 13 that wanted to buy the ability to impart the Holy Spirit.
iii. Felix wanted to wait for Lysias to come down. He probably had begun to suspect that Paul was guilty of nothing worth jail or death, but he wanted to just kind of keep Paul around. This is because he wanted a bribe. This guy was dirty, and he wanted money, as we’ll see down in verse 26.
iv. The other reason was that Felix was probably paid off by the Jews to keep Paul in custody. In verse 27, we see that Felix wanted to do the Jews a favor. Well, you have to pay for favors with this guy, this is pretty obvious. But, he isn’t cruel to Paul, as we see in verse 23 -
v. 23 So he commanded the centurion to keep Paul and to let him have liberty, and told him not to forbid any of his friends to provide for or visit him.
vi. Paul was kept under house arrest, under protective custody, and he allowed people to come and visit him, and provide for his needs, like Luke, who was writing all of this down. We’re down to our last point, and we are going to wrap up there today. We read in verse 24 -
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g. The Foundations of the Faith (Acts 24: 24 – 27 )
i. 24 And after some days, when Felix came with his wife Drusilla, who was Jewish, he sent for Paul and heard him concerning the faith in Christ.
ii. Drusilla was an interesting character. She was the daughter of Herod Agrippa (remember the guy who was eaten up by worms after having the apostle James beheaded). She was the great-granddaughter of Herod the Great (who ordered the slaughter of the infants when Jesus was born), and she was the great niece of the Herod who beheaded John the Baptist.
iii. She has a tragic story. She was married to a Syrian prince when a magician, secretly working for Felix, told her she should marry Felix. Enamored with the occult, Drusilla, at the age of nineteen, left her husband to become Felix’s third wife.
iv. Talk about dysfunction junction. These two had it. But, they wanted to hear about Jesus, they have that going for them, let’s read on.
v. 25 Now as he reasoned about righteousness, self-control, and the judgment to come, Felix was afraid and answered, "Go away for now; when I have a convenient time I will call for you."
vi. It’s been said that the worst thing that anyone can do with the gospel, is sit on it. That was Felix and Drusilla’s decision. They probably didn’t mind hearing about the faith, the Bible, and the miracles.
vii. Most people don’t have a problem with that. But they did have a problem with righteousness, self-control, and judgment. People don’t want to change their lives for the gospel.
viii. Righteousness is God’s standard for us. Self-control is the application of that standard, and the judgment to come is the consequences of not applying this standard to our lives.
ix. Felix was afraid because he knew what fate awaited him. He knew this because Paul explained it clearly to him and Drusilla. Paul reasoned with Felix and Drusilla. Why? Because the Christian faith is reasonable. Any reasonable person would come to the conclusion that the Word of God is true, and that we need to apply it to our lives.
x. Felix didn’t want to be reasonable though. He wanted to think about it, and that just gave the Enemy to ammunition he needed. He said to go away, and come back when it was convenient.
xi. Many people today do this. They want to wait to give their life to Christ. They say, well, after I finish school, I’ll follow Jesus, or, after, I get married, or, after I have my first child.
xii. Guys, the Bible tells us that today is the day of Salvation and that the appointed time is NOW. Do not harden your hearts, but accept what the Spirit is ministering to you. If that’s you this morning, you need to make that decision before you leave here today. We aren’t told in the Bible, but I would guess that Felix died without Jesus. I don’t want you to make that same mistake. Let’s finish up with our last two verses.
xiii. 26 Meanwhile he also hoped that money would be given him by Paul, that he might release him. Therefore he sent for him more often and conversed with him.
xiv. Felix knew that Paul had friends in Jerusalem, and that he had friends all over the Roman Empire. So, instead of letting Paul go, he held on to Paul, hoping to extract some kind of bribe out of the church.
xv. But, the church doesn’t pay it, probably because Paul won’t hear of it, and Paul gets the chance to witness to Felix and Drusilla more, and his Roman guards. Paul got to rest in the seaside resort, for the next two years. Verse 27 says -
xvi. 27 But after two years Porcius Festus succeeded Felix; and Felix, wanting to do the Jews a favor, left Paul bound.
xvii. Felix was kicked out of power, called back to Rome, and replaced by Porcius Festus. Why? A riot broke out in Caesarea between the Greeks and the Jews. When the Greeks emerged victorious, Felix vented his frustration with the Jews by ordering the Greeks to go throughout the city bludgeoning Jewish men, raping Jewish women, and plundering Jewish possessions. When Caesar heard about this, he immediately sent for Felix. Thus, Felix lived out the rest of his life in disgrace in Rome.
xviii. What happened to Drusilla? Two years after this event, in Europe on a shopping spree when Mount Vesuvius exploded, she was caught in the lava of the volcano, and died at the age of 21. Felix and Drusilla both had an opportunity to hear the Gospel, but they put off making a decision.
xix. What is your decision? I’d like to close with a short story.
h. Conclusion
i. On February 24, 1948, one of the most unusual operations in medical history took place in Ohio State University’s department of research surgery. A stony sheath was removed from around the heart of Harry Besharra, a man thirty years of age. When only a boy he had been shot accidentally by a playmate with a .22-caliber rifle. The bullet had lodged in his heart but had not caused his death. However, a lime deposit had begun to form over the protective covering of the heart and gradually was strangling it. The operation was a delicate one separating the ribs and moving the left lung to one side. Then the stony coating was lifted from the heart as an orange is peeled. Immediately the pressure of the heart was reduced, and it responded by expanding and pumping normally. "I feel a thousand per cent better already," said the patient soon after the operation.
ii. Every time Felix and Drusilla put off their decision, their hearts grew a little more hardened. They started off fearful. They heard the gospel, and it made an impact on them. The next time they heard it, it was a little easier to put Paul off, but they were still bothered by their sinful lives.
iii. This went on until finally, they ignored the gospel, and were simply seeking to get a bribe from Paul so that they could set him free.
iv. If you’re here this morning, and you don’t have a relationship with Jesus – don’t harden your heart. Don’t wait another minute, but decide today. You don’t need a bribe to be set free, your price has already been paid at Calvary, you just have to accept it.
i. Let’s Pray.
