Paul was in prison in Jerusalem because of the Jews’ fierce hostility toward his work among the Gentiles. As our narrative ended last month, Paul had received assurance from the Lord that he would bear witness of Christ in Rome. Paul thus knew that no matter what happened on this occasion, he would be delivered for a trip to Rome. The Lord’s plans and Paul’s knowledge of them provides an interesting insight into the working of providence and our own part therein.
The assassins’ plot
The greatest immediate peril to Paul at Jerusalem came from a death oath taken by 40 men. They had conspired with the Sanhedrin to kill Paul when he was brought before them for another hearing. The plan was foiled when Paul’s nephew (providentially) heard of it and informed Paul (Acts 23:12-16).
Upon receiving this information, Paul immediately took action, calling for a centurion and arranging for the lad to be taken to the chief captain. The captain sent Paul to Caesarea by night under the protection of a large detachment of soldiers (Acts 23:16-35). While the Romans would never realize they were being guided by providence, Paul must have rejoiced to see the outworking of the divine hand.
Paul before rulers
The revelation of the gospel to the rulers in Jerusalem, Caesarea and Rome was reserved for the latter part of Paul’s work. It was necessary to first establish communities of believers throughout the empire in order for his testimony to have effective impact upon the rulers. We can see how Christ orchestrated the spreading of the gospel through Paul to achieve maximum effect.
Before Felix the governor
After Paul had been five days in Caesarea, Ananias, the high priest, with the counsel came down to declare their charges against him. They brought with them an eloquent orator named Tertullus to present their case.
Ananias and the men of his counsel must have considered it a great imposition to travel to Caesarea at the behest of Felix. Their willingness to come illustrates their extreme hostility toward Paul and their fear of him. They were determined to eliminate him by whatever means possible.
Paul accused
After introductory remarks complimenting Felix for bringing peace to the area, Tertullus presented the Jewish charges against Paul: “We have found this man a pestilent fellow, and a mover of sedition among all the Jews throughout the world, and a ringleader of the sect of the Nazarene’s: who also hath gone about to profane the temple” (Acts 24:1-9).
The peace referred to by Tertullus was due to a rigorous enforcement of Roman law carried out by Felix against assassins, robbers and insurrectionists. Felix was not impressed by Jewish rhetoric as he knew the hypocritical Sanhedrin were also assassins when it suited their purpose. Moreover, in the case of Paul, they were not interested in justice but in eliminating the apostle.
Paul’s defense
Point by point, Paul answered the charges: he was not guilty of sedition (vs. 11-13), heresy (vs. 14-15) or sacrilege (vs. 16-20). The only thing of which he was guilty was preaching the Truth (v.21).
Felix’ response was to defer judgment and keep Paul under house arrest but with much freedom of movement. His actions reflect his partial knowledge of Christianity and his recognition that Paul was not dangerous to anyone (vs. 22-23).
The brethren at Caesarea must have watched the proceedings with great interest. Only a few weeks earlier, they had warned Paul by the Holy Spirit that he would be taken captive if he went to Jerusalem (21:8-14). They were witnesses to the fulfillment of the prophecy and now had the opportunity to minister to Paul in his bonds.
Paul preaches to Felix
For two years, Paul remained under custody of Felix who was hoping Paul would buy his freedom with a bribe (24:26). On one occasion, Felix, with his wife Drusilla, conferred at length with Paul concerning the faith in Christ. As Paul reasoned with him concerning righteousness and judgment to come, Felix trembled.
It is unlikely that knowledge of the Gospel had much impact on Felix, however, for his desire to please the Jews outweighed the justice of freeing Paul (v.27).
Paul testifies before Festus
When Porcius Festus replaced Felix as governor, he very shortly went up to Jerusalem. Once there, the Jews immediately informed him about Paul and asked that he be sent to Jerusalem for trial. Their plans were to assassinate Paul during the trip. They had not abandoned their earlier plans (25:1-3).
Festus would not acquiesce to the Jews but insisted they come to Caesarea if they wanted to press charges against Paul. They wasted no time in coming and laying their grievous, but false, complaints. These were little more than embellishments of the same false accusations they had presented before Felix (25:4-8).
To appease the Jews, Festus offered Paul a trial before him in Jerusalem. Paul’s response is his famous appeal to Caesar. He fully knew the dangers of being transported back to Jerusalem and the uncontrollable riot that could break out if he did arrive in the city. Thus he appealed to Caesar. Festus responded: “Hast thou appealed unto Caesar? unto Caesar shalt thou go” (vs. 9-12).
Paul before Agrippa
When King Agrippa came to visit Festus, during the course of his stay, Festus reviewed the situation regarding Paul. Agrippa became sufficiently intrigued that he expressed a desire to hear Paul in person (vs. 13-22).
When Paul was brought before Agrippa, he made reference to the king’s extensive knowledge of Jewish affairs, but he entertained no illusion that Agrippa would be converted. The apostle reviewed his personal conversion and his missionary activities with particular emphasis on the gospel to the Gentiles (26:2-23).
Upon Felix’ interruption, Paul closed with a personal appeal to Agrippa to give heed to the Jewish prophets, which the king believed, as they pointed to Christ and the call of the Gentiles (vs. 24-27).
Agrippa’s reaction was a predictable one of a facetious remark with overtones of sarcasm, “Almost thou persuadest me to be a Christian” (v.28).
The rulers present then consulted privately, concluding Paul could have been set free if he had not appealed to Caesar. The appeal had been made, however, and Paul was destined for Rome (vs. 30-32).
The Origin of the Organic World – Part One