Acts 24

Sometime things don’t happen right away with God. Even the martyrs in heaven who are enjoying the blessing of that “first resurrection” life in the present heavens are said to cry out with a loud voice, “How long?” (Revelation 6:10). Those who are living for Christ here below, even when we have a firm belief in the promises of God, we wonder how long it will be until God’s Word will be finally accomplished. We believe in the Hope that is Jesus Christ, and we are waiting for the second resurrection, but can be easily surprised at the time of waiting that we continue to experience at the present.

Paul had come to Jerusalem expecting that he would meet difficulty in that city. He was torn away from the temple, and almost torn apart by a mob. He was under arrest, and faced the Jewish religious council. One plan for his death had already been discovered and foiled. He now stood before a civil governor in Caesarea, and would defend himself a second time against the accusations of those Jews who had rejected Christ and his apostle.

Tertullus, the lawyer for the opposition, seemed to suggest that Paul’s guilt as some kind of insurrectionist was a matter that should be obvious for the governor to see. This man was a ringleader in a sect that they call “the Nazarenes.” The Jews had done society a favor by arresting Paul. Yet the tribune Lysius sent this prisoner to Felix with a note that made it clear that he, at least, was unable to discover any civil guilt in Paul that deserved anything close to death, or even imprisonment.

When Paul was given permission to defend himself, he gave an orderly account of what had taken place. Paul had only been in Jerusalem for about twelve days. He came there to bring alms for the nation and to present offerings to God in connection with the fulfillment of certain vows. He had not disputed with anyone, or stirred up a crowd in any way. The one thing that he was prepared to confess was His faith in the one who said, “I am the Way.” Paul worshiped God, believed in the Scriptures, and especially had a firm hope in the great promise of God, that there would come a day of resurrection, a coming to life on earth again for both the just and the unjust, the righteous and the wicked. If the charge was faith in Jesus and the resurrection, Paul was guilty. If it was disturbing civil order as an insurrectionist, he was not guilty. He had labored to have a clear conscience toward both God and man.

Concerning his accusers, Paul said that they themselves believed in the coming resurrection. He also said that they were the wrong people to bring any evidence against him, since they had no first-hand knowledge of his activities in Asia, though they claimed that he stirred up trouble there. They could not prove the charges that they were bringing against him. If the charges were about trouble Paul started in Jerusalem, there was no proof of any such accusation. If the charges were about his activities in places like Ephesus, they were simply the wrong people to bringing those charges, since they could only report the slander of others, and not anything that they had witnesses with their own eyes.

There was one other thing that Paul did that caused a stir, and he was willing to admit it, that in the midst of the Jewish ruling assembly itself he had sparked a lively division by crying out these words: “It is with respect to the resurrection of the dead that I am on trial before you this day.” Felix apparently had some knowledge of Christian Judaism, and perhaps not wanting to renew a debate over the resurrection in his presence, he seems to have cut off the interrogation at that moment. Paul would continue a prisoner, but he was able to have some measure of liberty and the good care of his friends.

Meanwhile time passed. Felix and his wife were entertained by Paul’s moral and spiritual lectures, though alarmed about his teaching concerning a coming judgment. What a strange mixture of conflicting passions is man! Felix sensed his own guilt of eternal judgment at one moment, and looked for a possible bribe from the one who warned him at some later moment. So Felix sent for Paul from time to time, apparently for his own entertainment, and two years passed without Paul getting very much closer to Rome than when God had promised him that he would go there to testify to the truth about Christ. The chapter ends with this depressing statement, “When two years had elapsed, Felix was succeeded by Porcius Festus. And desiring to do the Jews a favor, Felix left Paul in prison.”

Our well-being as followers of the Way cannot be tied to the speed of God’s work in us or through us. We need to remember the person of our Savior and the certainty of His promises. Even if there is no one else who can hear, we must keep our own souls alive by proclaiming the truth to our hearts. God gave His Son to be an atoning sacrifice for our sins. The Lamb of God has accomplished this great work, and has risen from the dead. How long it takes to get to Rome, or to heaven, is not the issue. It is enough that God is with us now, even in a prison cell, and that we will surely be with Him in glory forever.