1 00:00:00,030 --> 00:00:05,100 Luke/Acts for Beginners, this is lesson number 24, Paul's Arrest and 2 00:00:05,100 --> 00:00:10,260 Imprisonment part two of this section, Acts 23:12 to 25:12. 3 00:00:10,260 --> 00:00:18,690 So this is the second part of a three part lesson, three-part lesson set, 4 00:00:18,690 --> 00:00:24,420 concerning the varied and the lengthy period of Paul's imprisonment. He 5 00:00:24,420 --> 00:00:30,990 was in prison at a lot of different places. In part one I described the 6 00:00:30,990 --> 00:00:35,820 situation and the events that led to his initial rescue and detainment. At the 7 00:00:35,820 --> 00:00:41,969 beginning it was just a detainment by Roman soldiers from an angry mob in the 8 00:00:41,969 --> 00:00:47,100 temple. Actually, they rescued him from being killed by the mob. And 9 00:00:47,100 --> 00:00:51,510 then during this time he tried to address the crowd and later on was 10 00:00:51,510 --> 00:00:57,629 brought before Jewish leaders, in order to find a crime to charge him with. These 11 00:00:57,629 --> 00:01:03,539 attempts failed, as we learned, as both the mob and the religious leaders fell 12 00:01:03,539 --> 00:01:08,460 into disarray, to the point where the soldiers had to once again take him into 13 00:01:08,460 --> 00:01:14,549 custody in order to protect him and to save his life. So in the 14 00:01:14,549 --> 00:01:18,750 section that we're going to cover today, Luke is going to continue to describe 15 00:01:18,750 --> 00:01:24,840 Paul's journey through the, actually, through the Roman legal system as he 16 00:01:24,840 --> 00:01:30,960 fulfills Jesus' prophecy of being able to proclaim the gospel to various 17 00:01:30,960 --> 00:01:37,920 governors and kings in the Roman Empire, who knew? Jesus said, I'm 18 00:01:37,920 --> 00:01:41,340 setting you aside for a special ministry. You're going to preach to governors, 19 00:01:41,340 --> 00:01:45,180 you're going to preach to Kings. And I don't know, if it was me and He said 20 00:01:45,180 --> 00:01:48,450 that to me, I'd be thinking, wow, I'm going to have a pretty cool ministry. 21 00:01:48,450 --> 00:01:52,110 I'm going to be preaching to governors and kings. Who 22 00:01:52,110 --> 00:01:56,850 knew it was going to be as a prisoner. He didn't know that at the beginning. And 23 00:01:56,850 --> 00:02:04,439 there's a lesson in there somewhere. And so, we pick it up here, the conspiracy, the 24 00:02:04,439 --> 00:02:11,810 conspiracy beginning in Acts chapter 23. So let's kind of read this section here. 25 00:02:11,810 --> 00:02:16,110 "When it was day, the Jews formed a conspiracy and bound 26 00:02:16,110 --> 00:02:19,710 "themselves under an oath, saying that they would neither eat nor drink until 27 00:02:19,710 --> 00:02:25,530 "they had killed Paul. There were more than 40 who had formed this plot. They 28 00:02:25,530 --> 00:02:29,700 "came to the chief priests and the elders and said, 'We have bound ourselves under a 29 00:02:29,700 --> 00:02:32,730 "solemn oath to taste nothing until we have killed Paul. 30 00:02:32,730 --> 00:02:37,440 "Now, therefore, you and the council notify the commander to bring him down to you 31 00:02:37,440 --> 00:02:41,250 "as though you were going to determine his case by a more thorough 32 00:02:41,250 --> 00:02:47,010 "investigation. And we, for our part, are ready to slay him before he comes near 33 00:02:47,010 --> 00:02:53,580 "the place.' But the son of Paul's sister heard of their ambush and he came and 34 00:02:53,580 --> 00:02:57,990 "entered the barracks and told Paul. Paul called one of the centurions to him and 35 00:02:57,990 --> 00:03:01,590 "said, 'Lead this young man to the commander, for he has something to report 36 00:03:01,590 --> 00:03:05,820 "to him. So he took him and led him to the commander and said, 'Paul the prisoner 37 00:03:05,820 --> 00:03:10,740 "called me to him and asked me to lead this young man to you since he has 38 00:03:10,740 --> 00:03:14,430 "something to tell you.' The commander took him by the hand, and 39 00:03:14,430 --> 00:03:19,140 "stepping aside began to inquire of him privately. 'What is it that you have to 40 00:03:19,140 --> 00:03:23,670 "report to me?' And he said, 'The Jews have agreed to ask you to bring Paul down 41 00:03:23,670 --> 00:03:27,660 "tomorrow to the council, as though they were going to inquire somewhat more 42 00:03:27,660 --> 00:03:32,070 "thoroughly about him. So do not listen to them, for more than forty of them are 43 00:03:32,070 --> 00:03:36,209 "lying in wait for him, who have bound themselves under a curse not to eat or 44 00:03:36,209 --> 00:03:40,680 "drink until they slay him. And now they are ready and waiting for the promise 45 00:03:40,680 --> 00:03:45,930 "from you.' So the commander let the young man go, instructing him, 'Tell no one that 46 00:03:45,930 --> 00:03:54,830 "you have notified me of these things." And so, as the most educated and 47 00:03:54,830 --> 00:04:02,240 highest-profile Jewish convert to Christianity, Paul became the 48 00:04:02,240 --> 00:04:09,030 number-one target of the Jewish leadership for destruction. And he 49 00:04:09,030 --> 00:04:16,470 was dangerous for several reasons: first of all, he could appeal to every class of 50 00:04:16,470 --> 00:04:22,560 Jewish society by virtue of the fact that he once was a Pharisee and a 51 00:04:22,560 --> 00:04:27,570 respected teacher of the law. That was a very high profile 52 00:04:27,570 --> 00:04:34,770 position in Jewish culture at that time. He was also a good debater. He 53 00:04:34,770 --> 00:04:39,030 could successfully debate other teachers and priests concerning the Scriptures. So 54 00:04:39,030 --> 00:04:44,670 he could not be defeated. He couldn't be discredited just on simple debating. He 55 00:04:44,670 --> 00:04:51,240 knew the Scriptures. He was well known, he was well known both in Jerusalem and 56 00:04:51,240 --> 00:04:57,810 throughout the empire by Jews as well as gentile converts to Judaism, 57 00:04:57,810 --> 00:05:03,870 as well as Jewish and gentile converts to Christianity. So he attracted attention 58 00:05:03,870 --> 00:05:09,810 in ways that no one else could in the Jewish world, as 59 00:05:09,810 --> 00:05:16,470 well as in the Christian world. Of course, his personal holiness was 60 00:05:16,470 --> 00:05:25,050 irreproachable. And he was credited with performing healings and miracles. We know 61 00:05:25,050 --> 00:05:29,400 that he was a Roman citizen, therefore, he had protection under Roman law and he 62 00:05:29,400 --> 00:05:34,500 was beyond the reach of the Sanhedrin's legal or political system. They couldn't 63 00:05:34,500 --> 00:05:38,180 touch him. I mean, if he was in Jerusalem perhaps, but once he was outside of 64 00:05:38,180 --> 00:05:45,840 Jerusalem they didn't have a lot of power over him. And he was accepted as an 65 00:05:45,840 --> 00:05:52,200 apostle in the Christian church, and as such, had influence with a growing number 66 00:05:52,200 --> 00:05:57,900 of believers both in Jerusalem, that threatened the status quo, which the 67 00:05:57,900 --> 00:06:03,690 Jewish leaders wanted to maintain at all costs. I mean, they killed Jesus. 68 00:06:03,690 --> 00:06:08,780 So there would be nothing holding them back from killing Paul. 69 00:06:08,780 --> 00:06:16,230 And then he appealed to the gentiles. And this was his worst sin as far as the 70 00:06:16,230 --> 00:06:22,920 Jews were concerned. He appealed to the gentiles, and that drove them to murderous 71 00:06:22,920 --> 00:06:28,830 rage. The fact that he was responsible for bringing gentiles into the church 72 00:06:28,830 --> 00:06:35,280 and then encouraging both gentile and Jewish converts to dwell and worship 73 00:06:35,280 --> 00:06:40,569 together as equals, that was his worst offense 74 00:06:40,569 --> 00:06:45,339 as far as the Jews were concerned. He's the one, Paul is the one that 75 00:06:45,339 --> 00:06:49,330 teaches "There is neither Jew nor Greek, there is neither slave nor free men, 76 00:06:49,330 --> 00:06:55,419 "there is neither male nor female, for you are all one in Christ." Oh boy, they didn't 77 00:06:55,419 --> 00:07:01,659 buy into that at all. They were very much invested in the idea that at the top 78 00:07:01,659 --> 00:07:06,099 were the priests, especially the Sanhedrin, and then the Pharisees, and 79 00:07:06,099 --> 00:07:11,139 then the scribes, and then the regular people, and then the sinners, and then the 80 00:07:11,139 --> 00:07:16,029 lame and the crippled, and at the very bottom, 81 00:07:16,029 --> 00:07:23,050 and then underneath that you had perhaps the gentile converts to Judaism, and then 82 00:07:23,050 --> 00:07:27,999 underneath all of that you had the gentiles. That was their order, 83 00:07:27,999 --> 00:07:31,930 that was their universe. That's how their universe looked like, and they 84 00:07:31,930 --> 00:07:36,219 wanted to maintain that status quo. Why? Because they were at the top. The ones at 85 00:07:36,219 --> 00:07:38,550 the top always want to maintain the status quo. 86 00:07:38,550 --> 00:07:46,330 Nothing new. So Paul threatened this whole notion, their whole 87 00:07:46,330 --> 00:07:53,289 world, by his preaching and his presence. So in doing this, Paul was violating 88 00:07:53,289 --> 00:07:58,899 their sense of privilege and destiny as God's people, and threatening to destroy 89 00:07:58,899 --> 00:08:03,789 the purity of their religion, which as practiced by these leaders, consisted of 90 00:08:03,789 --> 00:08:12,669 maintaining a cultural exclusivity, which they mistook for piety. Imagine the fact 91 00:08:12,669 --> 00:08:17,949 that they had nothing to do with the unwashed masses, the fact that they had 92 00:08:17,949 --> 00:08:26,050 nothing to do with the poor and the ignorant, they saw that as being holy. I'm 93 00:08:26,050 --> 00:08:34,300 being a holy person, I don't even touch these people. They thought that keeping 94 00:08:34,300 --> 00:08:40,599 gentiles out was the way to remain pure and please God, when in fact the job was 95 00:08:40,599 --> 00:08:46,720 to bring the gentiles in from paganism, to worship the true and living God, but 96 00:08:46,720 --> 00:08:51,910 of course keep gentile and pagan practices and worship out, as a way of 97 00:08:51,910 --> 00:08:55,389 maintaining their purity. So yes, it's the old story, love the 98 00:08:55,389 --> 00:09:02,500 sinner, hate the sin. They just hated the sinner and the sins. In other words, love 99 00:09:02,500 --> 00:09:07,990 and receive the sinner - the gentile. Hate the sin - pagan morals and religious 100 00:09:07,990 --> 00:09:13,870 practices. As I said, they simply hated the gentile and marginalized the gentile 101 00:09:13,870 --> 00:09:19,410 converts to Judaism, thus creating a class system within the Jewish religious 102 00:09:19,410 --> 00:09:23,829 system, where as I said, the priests of the Pharisees were at the top and the 103 00:09:23,829 --> 00:09:28,839 people - the poor, the lame, the sinners, the tax collectors, they made up the lower 104 00:09:28,839 --> 00:09:34,569 classes. And then the gentile converts were on the bottom rung. So Paul was 105 00:09:34,569 --> 00:09:39,490 their sworn enemy because he preached that all of these people occupied the 106 00:09:39,490 --> 00:09:47,699 same position in the eyes of God through Christ. Basically. They didn't like that. 107 00:09:47,699 --> 00:09:55,899 There was no special spot for them in Christianity. So knowing these things 108 00:09:55,899 --> 00:10:01,300 helps us understand the zeal that they had in plotting to kill him. If 109 00:10:01,300 --> 00:10:04,600 you're wondering what was their deal, they're always trying - that was their 110 00:10:04,600 --> 00:10:12,449 deal. So we note, again, that Luke provides personal information about Paul's nephew 111 00:10:12,449 --> 00:10:17,319 warning him about the murder plot. This is a very rare glimpse into Paul's 112 00:10:17,319 --> 00:10:22,510 private family life, that only a close acquaintance like Luke could provide. 113 00:10:22,510 --> 00:10:25,810 I mean, we read the Bible and it's 114 00:10:25,810 --> 00:10:30,399 lofty and the ideas are high and and noble, and of course they are. Then 115 00:10:30,399 --> 00:10:37,510 you figure out, Oh, Paul's sister. He had a sister, he had a nephew. He was 116 00:10:37,510 --> 00:10:43,540 an ordinary person with an ordinary family, who is living in extraordinary 117 00:10:43,540 --> 00:10:48,970 times and called by God to do extraordinary things, but he was still a 118 00:10:48,970 --> 00:10:57,480 down-to-earth person with a family. So we keep reading, verse in Acts 23, 119 00:10:57,480 --> 00:11:02,860 verse 23, it says, "Then he called to him two of the centurions and said, 'Get two 120 00:11:02,860 --> 00:11:07,450 "hundred soldiers ready by the third hour of the night to proceed to Caesarea, 121 00:11:07,450 --> 00:11:12,640 "with seventy horsemen, and 200 spearmen.' They were also to provide mounts to put 122 00:11:12,640 --> 00:11:16,720 "Paul on and bring him safely to Felix the governor. And he wrote a letter 123 00:11:16,720 --> 00:11:23,740 "having this form: Claudius Lysias, to the most excellent governor Felix, 124 00:11:23,740 --> 00:11:28,060 "greetings. When this man was arrested by the Jews and was about to be slain by 125 00:11:28,060 --> 00:11:32,050 "them, I came up to them with the troops and rescued him, having learned that he 126 00:11:32,050 --> 00:11:37,120 "was a Roman. And wanting to ascertain the charge for which they were accusing him, 127 00:11:37,120 --> 00:11:41,440 "I brought him down to their Counsil; and I found him to be accused over questions 128 00:11:41,440 --> 00:11:46,870 "about their law, but under no accusation deserving death or imprisonment. When I 129 00:11:46,870 --> 00:11:51,280 "was informed that there would be a plot against the man, I sent him to you at 130 00:11:51,280 --> 00:11:57,370 "once, also instructing his accusers to bring charges against him before you. 131 00:11:57,370 --> 00:12:01,000 "So the soldiers, in accordance with their orders, took Paul and brought him by 132 00:12:01,000 --> 00:12:06,130 "night to Antipatris. But the next day leaving the horsemen to go on with him, 133 00:12:06,130 --> 00:12:09,760 "they returned to the barracks. When these had come to Caesarea and 134 00:12:09,760 --> 00:12:15,610 "delivered the letter to the governor, they also presented Paul to him. When he 135 00:12:15,610 --> 00:12:19,300 "had read it, he asked from what province he was, and when he learned that he was 136 00:12:19,300 --> 00:12:24,850 "from Cilicia, he said, 'I will give you a hearing after your accusers arrive also," 137 00:12:24,850 --> 00:12:30,070 "giving orders for him to be kept in Herod's Praetorian." So Luke names the 138 00:12:30,070 --> 00:12:35,860 commander, Claudius Lysias, another historical and social marker. And he 139 00:12:35,860 --> 00:12:42,430 provides the report to Felix. Felix was the procurator of Judea. A procurator was 140 00:12:42,430 --> 00:12:48,640 actually a tax officer. That was his job. He was a tax officer making 141 00:12:48,640 --> 00:12:56,050 sure that the taxes were properly collected. He summarizes the case, and 142 00:12:56,050 --> 00:13:01,060 notice in his letter to Felix, he summarizes the case, but he leaves out 143 00:13:01,060 --> 00:13:05,710 his own blunder in illegally arresting and attempting to torture a Roman 144 00:13:05,710 --> 00:13:10,240 citizen. That part he doesn't mention. We read about that before, that he 145 00:13:10,240 --> 00:13:14,860 was about to torture him and Paul said, are you ready to torture a man who's a 146 00:13:14,860 --> 00:13:21,130 Roman citizen without a trial? And we read previously last time that 147 00:13:21,130 --> 00:13:25,270 Claudius Lysias backed up and said, oh, you're a Roman citizen? Just a minute 148 00:13:25,270 --> 00:13:28,480 now. And they didn't go ahead and do it, but notice in his letter 149 00:13:28,480 --> 00:13:33,580 he doesn't mention that part. Just a little thing there. He informs Felix 150 00:13:33,580 --> 00:13:38,680 that he has no legal charge to make against Paul, but because of the violence 151 00:13:38,680 --> 00:13:43,810 of the Jews, he's sending Paul and his accusers to Felix for him to kind of 152 00:13:43,810 --> 00:13:50,530 sort it all out. So that's what - if you were living then and if you were on 153 00:13:50,530 --> 00:13:54,370 the Roman side of things watching this, this is a question of 154 00:13:54,370 --> 00:14:03,730 jurisdiction is what it is. It's a question of jurisdiction. Felix 155 00:14:03,730 --> 00:14:10,660 agrees to judge the preliminary hearing to determine if a 156 00:14:10,660 --> 00:14:15,490 charge can be made, but since Paul is from another Roman province, the province 157 00:14:15,490 --> 00:14:20,020 of Cilicia, you see that at the top there of the map. That then he would send 158 00:14:20,020 --> 00:14:25,441 him there for the actual trial, because he couldn't try him there. He had to 159 00:14:25,441 --> 00:14:30,220 be tried in the province where he came from, and that's why he asked 160 00:14:30,220 --> 00:14:34,420 him, where do you come from? Oh, I come from you know Tarsus. Oh. Tarsus? 161 00:14:34,420 --> 00:14:39,250 That's in the province of Cilicia, that's another governor up there. 162 00:14:39,250 --> 00:14:43,780 He's the one that's going to do this. But before I send him, Felix is thinking, 163 00:14:43,780 --> 00:14:48,730 let's see if we can have a hearing and figure out what charge to bring against 164 00:14:48,730 --> 00:15:00,160 Paul. So in chapter 24 we begin reading about Felix and what 165 00:15:00,160 --> 00:15:06,250 Paul says before him. A little bit about Felix here. Felix obtained his position 166 00:15:06,250 --> 00:15:11,620 through his brother Pallas, who was secretary of the Treasury during the 167 00:15:11,620 --> 00:15:17,560 reign of the Emperor Claudius. Interesting, both he, Felix, and 168 00:15:17,560 --> 00:15:24,460 his brother were actually slaves who became freedmen and eventually rose to 169 00:15:24,460 --> 00:15:33,280 power in the Roman government. Felix was immoral, cruel, subject to bribes, which 170 00:15:33,280 --> 00:15:40,350 led to an increase in crime and instability in Judea. 171 00:15:40,350 --> 00:15:46,139 Tacitus, the Roman historian, said of Felix that he had the position of a king, 172 00:15:46,139 --> 00:15:53,190 but the heart of a slave. Interesting summary of that particular man. We know 173 00:15:53,190 --> 00:16:00,420 that Felix ruled from 52 to 58 AD. So that gives us a historical fix as to when 174 00:16:00,420 --> 00:16:07,800 Paul came before him, and when these things took place. He lived, Felix that is, 175 00:16:07,800 --> 00:16:12,930 lived in Herod's palace, which was located in Caesarea, which was the 176 00:16:12,930 --> 00:16:17,399 official residence of the governor, or the prefect, or the proconsul, 177 00:16:17,399 --> 00:16:21,240 or the king, or the offender. They had all kinds of titles, it all meant the same 178 00:16:21,240 --> 00:16:27,420 thing: they had to collect the taxes and keep the peace. And so whoever had that 179 00:16:27,420 --> 00:16:33,959 position lived in Herod's palace in Caesarea. Paul was also kept there, 180 00:16:33,959 --> 00:16:39,540 although not in prison, while he waited for the formulation of some charge 181 00:16:39,540 --> 00:16:44,220 against him. So he was held there. Today we would say he was under house arrest. 182 00:16:44,220 --> 00:16:53,250 So he couldn't leave, but he wasn't held in the dungeon, Acts 24, verses one 183 00:16:53,250 --> 00:17:00,630 to nine. So here the Jewish leaders arrived and through their chosen attorney or 184 00:17:00,630 --> 00:17:07,799 prosecutor, they make three charges against Paul. First, that he caused 185 00:17:07,799 --> 00:17:18,000 dissension among the Jews. Secondly, he led a renegade sect referred to here as 186 00:17:18,000 --> 00:17:23,790 the Nazarenes. We, today, we have there are churches that are called 187 00:17:23,790 --> 00:17:28,410 the Church of the Nazarene. Well, they get this from this particular passage 188 00:17:28,410 --> 00:17:33,179 here. We haven't read it, I'm simply summarizing it for you. And it's the only 189 00:17:33,179 --> 00:17:38,429 time that that term is used to describe Christians in the New Testament. 190 00:17:38,429 --> 00:17:46,169 And another accusation, he was trying to desecrate the temple. So those were the 191 00:17:46,169 --> 00:17:50,049 three accusations: dissension, he was a rebel, 192 00:17:50,049 --> 00:17:55,120 anarchist; and he had desecrated the temple of the Jews. Of course there's a 193 00:17:55,120 --> 00:17:59,559 germ of truth in these accusations, which give them a certain amount of 194 00:17:59,559 --> 00:18:05,080 credibility. There was dissension among the Jews, but they were the ones who 195 00:18:05,080 --> 00:18:10,000 caused it as they followed and persecuted Paul from city to city. They 196 00:18:10,000 --> 00:18:15,909 were the ones causing the trouble, not him. He was a leader in the church, one of 197 00:18:15,909 --> 00:18:20,317 many, but their goal was not rebellion against the government. The Christian church 198 00:18:20,317 --> 00:18:24,460 never fomented rebellion against the government. Paul even teaches in the book 199 00:18:24,460 --> 00:18:28,690 of Romans that we should obey the laws and we should obey the government and we 200 00:18:28,690 --> 00:18:32,889 should give honor to the king. 201 00:18:32,889 --> 00:18:37,600 And also, he was present at the temple, but he was respecting its laws and its 202 00:18:37,600 --> 00:18:44,529 customs. He wasn't desecrating it. So the lawyer for the 203 00:18:44,529 --> 00:18:50,919 Jewish leaders, religious leaders, also lies concerning the Jews' actions, saying 204 00:18:50,919 --> 00:18:55,059 that they had arrested Paul and were bringing him to court for judgment, when 205 00:18:55,059 --> 00:19:00,159 in truth they had formed a mob and they tried to kill him and the Roman 206 00:19:00,159 --> 00:19:04,840 soldiers are the ones that saved him. Luke also adds that the Jewish 207 00:19:04,840 --> 00:19:09,970 leaders attacked Paul, once the lawyer was finished. So once the lawyer 208 00:19:09,970 --> 00:19:14,320 presented the official case then the Jewish priests and leaders 209 00:19:14,320 --> 00:19:21,840 stepped up and also made other types of character assassinations against Paul. 210 00:19:21,840 --> 00:19:32,440 So Luke adds - so after this, it's time for Paul to speak. And you'll note his brief 211 00:19:32,440 --> 00:19:38,649 and respectful acknowledgment of Felix as he responds to these accusations. 212 00:19:38,649 --> 00:19:44,559 So we pick up the story in Acts 24, verse 10, it says, "When the governor had nodded to 213 00:19:44,559 --> 00:19:49,509 "him to speak, Paul responded, 'Knowing that for many years you have been a judge to 214 00:19:49,509 --> 00:19:53,769 "this nation, I cheerfully make my defense, since you can take note of the 215 00:19:53,769 --> 00:19:59,200 "fact that no more than 12 days ago I went up to Jerusalem to worship. Neither 216 00:19:59,200 --> 00:20:03,280 "in the temple, nor in the synagogues, nor in the city itself did they find me 217 00:20:03,280 --> 00:20:08,950 "carrying on a discussion with anyone or causing a riot. Nor can they prove to you 218 00:20:08,950 --> 00:20:15,730 "the charges of which they now accuse me." Paul not only denies the charge, but 219 00:20:15,730 --> 00:20:22,060 challenges his accusers to actually provide proof. Wonderful thing about the 220 00:20:22,060 --> 00:20:27,940 Roman legal system, you had to provide proof in order to condemn someone. 221 00:20:27,940 --> 00:20:33,820 So that's what Paul is saying here. Let's keep 222 00:20:33,820 --> 00:20:39,370 reading, "But this I admit to you, that according to the Way which they call a 223 00:20:39,370 --> 00:20:44,380 "sect, I do serve the God of our fathers, believing everything that is in 224 00:20:44,380 --> 00:20:50,580 "accordance with the law and that is written within the prophets, 225 00:20:50,580 --> 00:20:54,940 "having a hope in God which these men cherished themselves, that there shall 226 00:20:54,940 --> 00:20:59,290 "certainly be a resurrection of both the righteous and the wicked. In view of this, 227 00:20:59,290 --> 00:21:04,500 "I also do my best to maintain always a blameless conscience before God and 228 00:21:04,500 --> 00:21:10,390 "before men." So his accusers were suggesting that Christianity was some 229 00:21:10,390 --> 00:21:14,350 form of religious or political fanaticism that threatened the stability 230 00:21:14,350 --> 00:21:21,760 of the people, even worse, that challenged Roman rule. That was their charge. Had not 231 00:21:21,760 --> 00:21:26,440 Jesus, their leader from Nazareth, been executed by a former governor for 232 00:21:26,440 --> 00:21:31,930 similar crimes? That was their idea. Paul argues that his faith is 233 00:21:31,930 --> 00:21:36,850 no challenge to secular rule, having its source and promise in the very religion 234 00:21:36,850 --> 00:21:43,240 espoused by his accusers. And a message of punishment and reward, a judgment 235 00:21:43,240 --> 00:21:46,450 which was quite familiar to everyone who was present. In other words, I'm not 236 00:21:46,450 --> 00:21:51,430 teaching anything that's causing any rebellion here. As a matter of fact, I'm 237 00:21:51,430 --> 00:21:55,900 teaching that the things that these people over here believe, have been 238 00:21:55,900 --> 00:22:02,890 confirmed and fulfilled by Jesus, the One I serve. Paul even uses the 239 00:22:02,890 --> 00:22:08,560 idea of God's judgment to defend himself against the charges that were against 240 00:22:08,560 --> 00:22:14,380 him, saying that as a faithful Christian he would not do such things. Meaning, I 241 00:22:14,380 --> 00:22:16,720 would not cause trouble. I would not attack the 242 00:22:16,720 --> 00:22:20,860 government. As a sincere Christian, I wouldn't do that, because that's sinful. 243 00:22:20,860 --> 00:22:25,660 We're not supposed to do that. So he wouldn't act this way as a matter of 244 00:22:25,660 --> 00:22:32,920 conscience. It would be sinful if he did. Keep reading, verse 17, it says, "Now after 245 00:22:32,920 --> 00:22:36,910 "several years I came to bring alms to my nation and to present offerings; in which 246 00:22:36,910 --> 00:22:41,110 "they found me occupied in the temple, having been purified without any crowd 247 00:22:41,110 --> 00:22:46,059 "or uproar. But there were some Jews from Asia who ought to have been present 248 00:22:46,059 --> 00:22:51,309 "before you and to make accusation if they should have anything against me. 249 00:22:51,309 --> 00:22:55,690 "Or else let these men themselves, tell what misdeed they found when I stood before 250 00:22:55,690 --> 00:22:59,980 "the council, other than for this one statement, which I shouted out while 251 00:22:59,980 --> 00:23:05,230 "standing among them, 'For the resurrection of the dead I am on trial before you 252 00:23:05,230 --> 00:23:10,179 "today." So Paul explains the reason why he was in the temple area in the first 253 00:23:10,179 --> 00:23:16,240 place. And there according to the law and according to custom he brings up the 254 00:23:16,240 --> 00:23:20,920 cause for the riot which ultimately led to his arrest and appearance before 255 00:23:20,920 --> 00:23:28,000 Festus. The false accusations of the Jews from Asia. 256 00:23:28,000 --> 00:23:35,110 And who are the accusers from Asia? Well, Ephesus is in Asia, the Jews that made 257 00:23:35,110 --> 00:23:38,679 trouble in Ephesus for him, well they've come to Jerusalem and they're making 258 00:23:38,679 --> 00:23:43,990 trouble for him now in this place, in the temple, accusing him of having brought a 259 00:23:43,990 --> 00:23:50,050 gentile into the restricted area. It's the troublemakers from Asia, from Ephesus 260 00:23:50,050 --> 00:23:55,510 that are doing this. And he said, they should be here accusing me. And of course 261 00:23:55,510 --> 00:24:00,130 the implication is, and I would question them, it would be my turn to question them, 262 00:24:00,130 --> 00:24:04,450 and what have they been doing in Ephesus and all the other places where they've 263 00:24:04,450 --> 00:24:08,800 been following me from church to church to cause trouble? That's the point here. 264 00:24:08,800 --> 00:24:12,010 So Paul wraps up his defense by 265 00:24:12,010 --> 00:24:17,200 challenging his accusers to explain why they rioted when he proclaimed the basic 266 00:24:17,200 --> 00:24:21,360 promise of the gospel, and that is resurrection from the dead. 267 00:24:21,360 --> 00:24:26,230 Apparently the lawyer and the Jewish leaders had no counter arguments, no 268 00:24:26,230 --> 00:24:31,260 evidence, no comments with which they could respond to Paul. 269 00:24:31,260 --> 00:24:37,860 So we read on, it says, "But Felix, having more exact knowledge about the Way, put them 270 00:24:37,860 --> 00:24:43,140 "off saying, 'When Lysias, the commander, comes down, I will decide your case.' Then 271 00:24:43,140 --> 00:24:47,340 "he gave orders to the centurion for him to be kept in custody and yet have some 272 00:24:47,340 --> 00:24:52,920 "freedom. And not to prevent any of his friends from ministering to him." So Felix, 273 00:24:52,920 --> 00:24:55,830 he understood Paul's arguments, because he was familiar with 274 00:24:55,830 --> 00:25:00,230 Christianity's teaching. Interesting in this section here, they refer to 275 00:25:00,230 --> 00:25:07,230 Christianity as the Nazarenes, and here as the Way. Two familiar terms that were used 276 00:25:07,230 --> 00:25:14,070 in those days to describe Christianity, long before - in Antioch they began to 277 00:25:14,070 --> 00:25:19,830 refer, excuse me, yes, before the time in Antioch, where at that 278 00:25:19,830 --> 00:25:26,090 particular congregation that began to refer to themselves as Christians. 279 00:25:26,090 --> 00:25:31,380 So Felix understands the situation, there's no evidence presented. And Paul had a 280 00:25:31,380 --> 00:25:34,680 convincing and logical answer to the accusations. 281 00:25:34,680 --> 00:25:39,210 Since Felix had the advantage of being familiar with Christianity, he was able 282 00:25:39,210 --> 00:25:43,830 to establish Paul's credibility and honesty without further witnesses. He 283 00:25:43,830 --> 00:25:49,170 understood what Paul was saying, but this was about politics you see. This wasn't 284 00:25:49,170 --> 00:25:54,450 about religion. You didn't have to make a judgment call about the faith or 285 00:25:54,450 --> 00:26:01,470 Paul's way of expressing his religious beliefs. That was not about - 286 00:26:01,470 --> 00:26:07,050 This was about politics and power, not religion. So using the excuse that he 287 00:26:07,050 --> 00:26:12,060 needed to consult with Lysias, the commander, Felix, 288 00:26:12,060 --> 00:26:18,300 like a good politician, puts off a decision and he sends the Jewish leaders 289 00:26:18,300 --> 00:26:24,120 home, and he keeps Paul under guard in the palace, with a measure of movement to 290 00:26:24,120 --> 00:26:29,460 be able to receive visitors. That's what I mean about house arrest. And we get a 291 00:26:29,460 --> 00:26:34,740 glimpse of Felix's true motivation, however, in the following verses. So as a 292 00:26:34,740 --> 00:26:39,260 shrewd politician, he doesn't want to cause trouble. Because 293 00:26:39,260 --> 00:26:46,350 his superiors, all they want from him - maintain the peace, collect the taxes. 294 00:26:46,350 --> 00:26:50,490 We don't care how you do it. Maintain the peace, collect the taxes. That's all we 295 00:26:50,490 --> 00:26:54,360 want you to do. And if you do a good job, then you're going to move up. Maybe we'll 296 00:26:54,360 --> 00:27:01,020 call you away from this faraway place, as far as you can get away from the Roman - 297 00:27:01,020 --> 00:27:04,800 from the center of power. If you're in Judea, if you're a 298 00:27:04,800 --> 00:27:10,820 Roman official in Judea, you're not in exactly the power center, 299 00:27:10,820 --> 00:27:14,880 you're in the middle of nowhere. So if you can do a good job there, you might 300 00:27:14,880 --> 00:27:20,640 get a posting a little closer to the center of power. 301 00:27:20,640 --> 00:27:25,460 So keep the peace, collect the taxes. So he don't want to get these Jewish leaders 302 00:27:25,460 --> 00:27:32,780 upset, writing letters to his superior. But on the other hand, 303 00:27:32,780 --> 00:27:40,290 Paul's a Roman citizen. He can't violate Paul's rights as a Roman 304 00:27:40,290 --> 00:27:46,140 citizen. And Paul is not just some nobody. He's a well known person 305 00:27:46,140 --> 00:27:51,060 in Judaism, as well as Christianity, throughout the empire. 306 00:27:51,060 --> 00:27:55,590 So this is a delicate thing. So as I say, what does he do? He punts. 307 00:27:55,590 --> 00:28:01,890 Well, maybe we'll, yeah, let me think about this, okay? So we read and continue 308 00:28:01,890 --> 00:28:07,500 reading verse 24, it says, "But some days later, Felix arrived with Drusilla, his 309 00:28:07,500 --> 00:28:12,810 "wife, who was a Jewess, and sent for Paul and heard him speak 310 00:28:12,810 --> 00:28:17,370 "about faith in Jesus in Christ Jesus. But as he was discussing righteousness, 311 00:28:17,370 --> 00:28:21,930 "self-control, and the judgment to come, Felix became frightened and said, 'Go away 312 00:28:21,930 --> 00:28:29,010 "for the present. And when I find time I will summon you.' At the same time too, he 313 00:28:29,010 --> 00:28:31,980 "was hoping that money would be given to him by Paul. 314 00:28:31,980 --> 00:28:36,420 "Therefore he also used to sent for him quite often and converse with him. But 315 00:28:36,420 --> 00:28:40,110 "after two years had passed Felix was succeeded by Porcius Festus, 316 00:28:40,110 --> 00:28:46,800 "and wishing to do the Jews a favor, Felix left Paul in prison." So he seems to 317 00:28:46,800 --> 00:28:52,830 have been a conflicted man, this Felix. On the one hand he's eager to hear 318 00:28:52,830 --> 00:28:58,049 Paul preach and teach and affected by the message. The fact that he feared, 319 00:28:58,049 --> 00:29:02,429 suggests that he had a measure of faith, because the word was getting to him. 320 00:29:02,429 --> 00:29:08,399 I mean, if he could preach the gospel to him and nothing, no reaction, no emotional 321 00:29:08,399 --> 00:29:12,510 or intellectual reaction, okay. That's the hard ground right there. The 322 00:29:12,510 --> 00:29:17,669 seed is just bouncing off of it. But no. He felt guilty. He felt challenged. So 323 00:29:17,669 --> 00:29:22,559 that means that the message was getting to him. On the 324 00:29:22,559 --> 00:29:27,000 other hand, he gave in to his greed by hoping to profit from Paul's 325 00:29:27,000 --> 00:29:32,279 imprisonment. And he demonstrated his lack of honor and mercy by keeping a man 326 00:29:32,279 --> 00:29:37,620 that he knew to be innocent unjustly imprisoned in order to gain favor with 327 00:29:37,620 --> 00:29:45,809 other evil men, all because of politics, all because of power. So Luke ends this 328 00:29:45,809 --> 00:29:50,340 section with another historical notation that this took place the year that 329 00:29:50,340 --> 00:29:56,909 another Roman official, Porcius Festus, was replacing Felix as procurator. This 330 00:29:56,909 --> 00:30:06,870 we know happened in 59 or 60 AD. So this leads us to chapter 25. Not going to 331 00:30:06,870 --> 00:30:14,190 read all of that for now. We do know something about Festus. History records 332 00:30:14,190 --> 00:30:18,750 that Porcius Festus was fair, a reasonable person, much more so than 333 00:30:18,750 --> 00:30:24,330 Felix, the official he came to replace. Luke records that three days after his 334 00:30:24,330 --> 00:30:28,230 arrival in Judea, Festus travels to Jerusalem in order to 335 00:30:28,230 --> 00:30:31,590 meet with the Jewish leaders. A normal thing. Again, 336 00:30:31,590 --> 00:30:35,820 he's the tax collector. He's the man to maintain the peace. So he's going to go see 337 00:30:35,820 --> 00:30:41,279 the Jewish leaders in Jerusalem. Their first - this is two years later now. 338 00:30:41,279 --> 00:30:46,620 Their first order of business is a request to bring Paul back to Jerusalem 339 00:30:46,620 --> 00:30:51,990 for a trial that Festus can judge in Jerusalem. Of course, their goal is to 340 00:30:51,990 --> 00:30:56,850 kill Paul during the trip from Caesarea, since they cannot win their case against 341 00:30:56,850 --> 00:31:00,929 him in court, nor can they attack Herod's palace. 342 00:31:00,929 --> 00:31:04,470 I mean, there was a garrison there, there were 343 00:31:04,470 --> 00:31:07,499 soldiers there. So they weren't going to 344 00:31:07,499 --> 00:31:12,210 attack the garrison. So it had to be a stealth mission. It had to 345 00:31:12,210 --> 00:31:16,859 be an assassination, okay. So Festus agrees to hear arguments 346 00:31:16,859 --> 00:31:22,169 for a trial in Jerusalem, and he invites the leaders to come to Caesarea to make 347 00:31:22,169 --> 00:31:30,269 their case for a change in venue. So let's pick it up, 25, it says, "After he had 348 00:31:30,269 --> 00:31:34,950 "spent not more than eight or ten days among them, he went down to Caesarea and 349 00:31:34,950 --> 00:31:39,659 "on the next day he took his seat on the tribunal and ordered Paul to be brought. 350 00:31:39,659 --> 00:31:44,340 "After Paul arrived, the Jews who had come down from Jerusalem, stood around him 351 00:31:44,340 --> 00:31:49,940 "bringing many and serious charges against him, which they could not prove, 352 00:31:49,940 --> 00:31:54,479 "while Paul said, in his own defense, 'I have committed no offense either against 353 00:31:54,479 --> 00:31:58,619 "the law of the Jews, or against the temple, or against Caesar.' But Festus, 354 00:31:58,619 --> 00:32:03,029 "wishing to do the Jews a favor, answered Paul and said, 'Are you willing to go up 355 00:32:03,029 --> 00:32:08,909 "to Jerusalem and stand trial before me on these charges?' But Paul said, 'I am 356 00:32:08,909 --> 00:32:13,619 "standing before Caesar's tribunal, where I ought to be tried. I have done no wrong 357 00:32:13,619 --> 00:32:18,330 "to the Jews, as you also very well know. If then I am a wrongdoer and have 358 00:32:18,330 --> 00:32:22,590 "committed anything worthy of death, I do not refuse to die. But if none of those 359 00:32:22,590 --> 00:32:27,090 "things is true of which these men accused me, no one can hand me over to 360 00:32:27,090 --> 00:32:31,229 "them. I appealed to Caesar. Then when Festus had conferred with his 361 00:32:31,229 --> 00:32:37,889 "council, he answered you have appealed to Caesar to Caesar you shall go." Now Luke 362 00:32:37,889 --> 00:32:42,629 doesn't describe the charges, doesn't rehash the whole trial 363 00:32:42,629 --> 00:32:49,169 over again. He notes that the Jewish accusers still have no proof. Of course, 364 00:32:49,169 --> 00:32:54,869 their goal is not to win the case, but to separate Paul from his guards in Herod's 365 00:32:54,869 --> 00:33:00,119 palace. That's the endgame. Just let us create a situation where we 366 00:33:00,119 --> 00:33:05,309 can get at this guy. Now in an effort to curry favor with the Jewish leadership, 367 00:33:05,309 --> 00:33:10,259 the new governor proposes a change in location to Jerusalem for the trial, 368 00:33:10,259 --> 00:33:17,279 obviously not aware of the true intentions of these men. Now as a Roman 369 00:33:17,279 --> 00:33:21,710 citizen, Paul's case could not be moved to another jurisdiction other 370 00:33:21,710 --> 00:33:28,130 than Cilicia, where he came from; or the governor's palace where he was held, 371 00:33:28,130 --> 00:33:34,280 without his permission. You see why that was important? As a Roman citizen, he had 372 00:33:34,280 --> 00:33:40,250 to be tried either where he was in the governor's headquarters or in 373 00:33:40,250 --> 00:33:46,700 his own province, at that governor's headquarters. He could not be tried, he 374 00:33:46,700 --> 00:33:51,320 could not be moved without his own permission to another venue in order to 375 00:33:51,320 --> 00:33:57,650 be tried. That was Roman law. And Paul understood it, and 376 00:33:57,650 --> 00:34:03,170 he took advantage of it. So seeing that he could not receive proper justice 377 00:34:03,170 --> 00:34:09,890 before this judge, Festus, or the previous one, Felix, because these Roman 378 00:34:09,890 --> 00:34:14,120 officials wanted to avoid trouble with the local Jewish leaders, he used his 379 00:34:14,120 --> 00:34:18,530 privilege as a Roman citizen to be judged in Caesar's Court in Rome by the 380 00:34:18,530 --> 00:34:25,220 Emperor himself. Now in the Roman system, any citizen had the right to make an 381 00:34:25,220 --> 00:34:30,230 appeal to Caesar himself, if he felt he was not receiving justice in the lower 382 00:34:30,230 --> 00:34:37,640 courts. A very interesting idea here. And believe it or not, in many cases the 383 00:34:37,640 --> 00:34:43,550 Emperor would actually hear the case himself, or it would be heard in the 384 00:34:43,550 --> 00:34:51,650 imperial court at Rome, over which he had jurisdiction. So by making this request, 385 00:34:51,650 --> 00:34:57,590 Festus is legally bound to transfer Paul to Rome, where he will receive a fair 386 00:34:57,590 --> 00:35:03,880 hearing. And also it removes him from the violent threat of the Jews. 387 00:35:03,880 --> 00:35:11,150 Let's face it, he's in prison, he's waiting for Felix to make up 388 00:35:11,150 --> 00:35:17,660 his mind about him, two years goes by, the only thing that happens is that 389 00:35:17,660 --> 00:35:23,870 Felix tries to get a bribe out of him. And then Festus comes and he figures, 390 00:35:23,870 --> 00:35:29,780 okay, here's my chance. And Festus is thinking, to be very fair, wanting to 391 00:35:29,780 --> 00:35:33,140 resolve the issue, gives in to the idea of maybe 392 00:35:33,140 --> 00:35:37,820 bringing him back to Jerusalem, having him tried there. That'll satisfy 393 00:35:37,820 --> 00:35:42,950 the Jewish leaders, and Paul could be acquitted there, and then this 394 00:35:42,950 --> 00:35:48,140 matter is all finished. And so, Paul understands the game. He knows what's 395 00:35:48,140 --> 00:35:53,720 going on. He knows he'll rot in jail. He'll rot in Festus' jail. When the 396 00:35:53,720 --> 00:35:58,460 next guy comes along, he'll still be in jail. So he makes his move and his 397 00:35:58,460 --> 00:36:04,700 move is to be tried in Caesar's Court, checkmate for the Jewish leaders. He's 398 00:36:04,700 --> 00:36:09,320 freed from the local politics of the game that's being played here, 399 00:36:09,320 --> 00:36:16,910 and he's taking his chances by being tried in Caesar's Court. And we will pick 400 00:36:16,910 --> 00:36:22,820 it up there next week. The assignment, as you know, just to read ahead, because I 401 00:36:22,820 --> 00:36:28,160 don't read everything in class. Acts 25:13 to 26:32. We're heading towards the 402 00:36:28,160 --> 00:36:33,590 end. Two more lessons left and we will have completed Luke and Acts together in 403 00:36:33,590 --> 00:36:37,960 an entire series. Okay, thank you for your attention.