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In Christ, Mark
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The scriptures. May God bless the reading of His holy word.
Five days later, the high priest Ananias went down to Caesarea with some of the elders and a lawyer named Tertullus, and they brought their charges against Paul before the governor. When Paul was called in, Tertullus presented his case before Felix:
“We have enjoyed a long period of peace under you, and your foresight has brought about reforms in this nation. Everywhere and in every way, most excellent Felix, we acknowledge this with profound gratitude. But in order not to weary you further, I would request that you be kind enough to hear us briefly.”
“We have found this man to be a troublemaker, stirring up riots among the Jews all over the world. He is a ringleader of the Nazarene sect and even tried to desecrate the temple; so we seized him. By examining him yourself you will be able to learn the truth about all these charges we are bringing against him.”
The other Jews joined in the accusation, asserting that these things were true.
Acts 24:1-9
This ends today’s reading from God's holy word. Thanks be to God.
Live life long enough and you will lean this:
Evil never rests and so it never gives up.
It’s true. From the very beginning of mankind to present, evil has plagued us and until Jesus returns to vanquish it for good, it will continue to do so.
As we look at the opening verses of Acts 24, we find this truth about evil play out in the life of Paul. You’ll remember that he was in danger of being assassinated as a group of forty Jerusalem Jews conspired with the Sanhedrin to lure Paul out of the safe protection of the Roman barracks and out into the public where they would be waiting to kill him. But the Lord made the way so the evil plan would be thwarted,
In Acts 23, we read where the son of Paul’s sister got wind of the assassination plot and went to warn Paul who in turn connected the boy to the Roman commander via the centurion. Now aware of the sinister plan, the Roman commander ordered a protection detail be formed to transport Paul from Jerusalem to Caesarea where he would be handed over the Roman governor Felix.
And so it was. Paul was ushered into the custody of Felix and harbored in Herod’s palace. There he would stay as Felix waited for Paul’s accusers to come from Jerusalem so he could hear the case himself and dole out a decision.
This sets the stage for the beginning of Acts 24 where we find the high priest Ananias arriving five days later along with a group of elders and a lawyer named Tertullus. Keep in mind that the Sanhedrin usually was the court with the high priest the judge but as they came into Caesarea, it was Felix who would be the judge as Tertullus served as the prosecuting attorney on behalf of the Sanhedrin. Paul, as we will see later in this chapter, would provide his own defense.
But first up was Tertullus and as we see, he engaged in some serious work to try and flatter the Roman governor saying:
“We have enjoyed a long period of peace under you, and your foresight has brought about reforms in this nation. Everywhere and in every way, most excellent Felix, we acknowledge this with profound gratitude. But in order not to weary you further, I would request that you be kind enough to hear us briefly.”
Tertullus attempted to butter up Felix right off the pat and his words were incredibly patronizing. By complimenting Felix, the Sanhedrin’s lawyer was trying to do nothing more than try to get the governor to side with him on the case at hand, a case that Tertullus explains next:
“We have found this man to be a troublemaker, stirring up riots among the Jews all over the world. He is a ringleader of the Nazarene sect and even tried to desecrate the temple; so we seized him. By examining him yourself you will be able to learn the truth about all these charges we are bringing against him.”
This was the charge levied against Paul. It was an accusation filled with misinformation that was born out of sheer evil intent.
Yes, Paul was a Christian, a member of the “Nazarene sect” which meant he was a follower of Jesus of Nazareth. This much was true.
But Paul didn’t intentionally generate trouble and stir up riots. This was actually done by Jews who were trying to eliminate Paul, and so rumors were started to spark uprisings much like what had happened in Jerusalem before Paul was rescued by the Roman officials.
Paul hadn’t desecrated the temple either. This was another falsehood generated by people who wanted Paul eliminated.
A majority of what Tertullus said to Felix was grounded in dishonesty and deceit, and it was endorsed by the other Jews who were party to the wicked ruse. Evil hadn’t taken a rest after Paul was delivered from its clutches in Jerusalem. Rather, it traveled well and never gave up as it tried to ensnare Paul in Caesarea while in the court of Felix.
The prosecution had spoken and charged Paul. As we’ll see in the next series of devotions, Paul was given ample opportunity to offer up self defense, and he took full advantage of it. I hope you’ll come back and see what he says in tomorrow’s message.
Until then, be blessed.
Amen.
In Christ,
Mark
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