Bible Study series: Acts 24:1-23: Paul has to defend himself yet again. But that’s okay because God has commissioned him to do this.
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If you want to see the Greek text, click here:
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I also write a summary for discipleship at the very bottom. Check it out!
In this post, links are provided in the commentary section for further study.
Let’s begin.
Scripture: Acts 24:1-23
1 After five days, the high priest Ananias with some elders and a certain lawyer Tertullus came down. They brought formal charges against Paul to the governor. 2 When Paul was called in, Tertullus began to lay out the charges, saying, “Experiencing great peace and great reform taking place to this nation through your foresight, 3 we acknowledge it in every way and everywhere, your Excellency Felix, with deep gratitude. 4 So as not to weary you further, I beg you by your graciousness to hear us briefly.
5 We have found this man to be a pest, stirring up strife with all the Jews living throughout the world, a first-rank leader of the faction of the Nazarenes. 6 He even attempted to desecrate the temple, and we arrested him. 8 You yourself will be able to examine these facts from this one, to learn the things of which we accuse him.” 9 And the Jews joined in the attack, claiming that these things were so.
10 When the governor motioned for him to speak, Paul answered, “Knowing that for many years you have been judge over this nation, I cheerfully defend myself concerning the case against me. 11 Since you can find out that there are not more than twelve days from when I went up to Jerusalem to worship, 12 they did not find me in the temple dialoguing with anyone or making trouble with the people, either in the synagogues or in the city, 13 nor are they able to provide proof concerning the charge of which they now accuse me. 14 I admit this to you that according to the Way, which they call a faction, I worship in the way of God of the fathers, believing in everything which is according to our law and written in the prophets. 15 I have hope in God, which they themselves accept, that there will soon be a resurrection to come, both of the righteous and unrighteous. 16 Therefore I discipline myself to have a clear conscience before God and humans, always.
17 “After many years, I brought financial aid to the poor of my nation and presented offerings, 18 in which Jews of Asia found me engaged, purifying myself in the temple, neither with a crowd nor an uproar. 19 They should be present before you and bring charges, if something might be against me. 20 Or these themselves here should speak if they found any crime when I stood before the great council, 21 or else about this one statement which I shouted, when I stood among them: ‘I am on trial before you today for the resurrection of the dead!’”
22 Felix adjourned them, now that he knew about the Way more accurately, saying, “When Lycias the commander comes down, I will decide your case.” 23 He ordered the centurion to keep him and to give him liberty, preventing no one of his own friends from taking care of him. (Acts 24:1-23)
Comments:
This long accusation and defense can be divided into smaller sections, as follows:
1.. Paul is accused before Felix (vv. 1-9)
2.. Paul’s service before God is legitimate, without lawbreaking. (vv. 10-16)
3.. Paul handled finances and underwent purification ceremonies, so he is trustworthy (vv. 17-21)
4. Felix adjourns the trial (vv.22-23)
1-9:
Wow. The high priest Ananias came down to beef up the case against Paul. The Jerusalem establishment must have seen Paul to be a strong threat to Judaism as they knew it.
The charges had three prongs: (1) stirring up strife and sedition all over the known world, which Rome would not like; (2) Paul was a ring-leader or first rank of a seditious faction against Judaism, and this disturbed the peace against Rome, so the first two charges overlap. (3) The third charge is that the Jews had a right to put him to death because he polluted the temple.
This bring us to the omitted section: In vv. 6b, 7-8a, some manuscripts add:
“We wanted to judge him according to our own Law. 7 But Lysias the commander came along, and with much violence took him out of our hands, 8 ordering his accusers to come before you.” (NAS)
Paul is about to easily refute the charges.
10:
“cheerfully”: Paul was confident when he appeared before the court. Jesus said that when you are put on trial, there’s no need to over-think (or just plain rehearsing) what you will say, for the Spirit will guide you (Luke 12:12). In my view it is all right to have a plan, but don’t be thrown off or get shaky when the Spirit cancels your plan and charges you up with his anointing, much like he did for Stephen (Acts 7). Be confident and even cheerful when you testify.
“defend myself”: it is good to fight back once in a while. The best example is Jesus. Maybe millions believe that throughout his ministry he did not answer his challengers. Where do they get this bad idea? The source must be at his trial. Is. 53:7 says he did not open his mouth before his accusers, but was like a lamb going to slaughter, and Peter repeats the same idea (1 Peter 2:22-23) (Matt. 27:12-14; Mark 14:60-61; 15:4-5; John 19:8-9.) Yes, at his trial he did not defend himself or argue his case with the purpose of exonerating or clearing himself of the death sentence. He could have called twelve legions of angels (Matt. 26:53). Instead, he was called to die for the sins of the world, so he let the unjust events take their course and remained silent in the sense of no self-defense. However, during his ministry he often replied to verbal challenges from the Pharisees and teachers of the law. He answered back and defeated them in their badgering him (Mark 2:6; 2:16; 7:1-5; 8:31; 9:14; 10:33; 11:18, 27-28; 14:1, etc.).
Defend yourself cheerfully!
11:
Here is Bruce’s (1990) timeline of the twelve days:
Day 1: Paul Arrives in Jerusalem (21:17)
Day 2: Paul and his company are received by James and elders (21:18)
Day 3: Paul initiates the purification ceremony (21:26)
Days 3-9: the seven days of purification (21:27)
Day 10: Paul is brought before the Sanhedrin (22:30-23:10)
Day 11: Plot formed and discovered against Paul, who is sent away from Jerusalem (23:12-30)
Day 12: Paul arrives in Caesarea (23:31-33)
12-13:
Paul is on trial through no fault of his own. He was doing nothing wrong.
14:
“worship”: the verb is related to serving, which can encompass worship (Acts 7:7, 42). But sometimes it is best to translate it as serving. Its translation is optional—up to you. Interpret it both ways: worship and serve.
Bible Basics about Praise and Worship
15:
Bruce is right: “There is no need to doubt that, like other Pharisees, he had inherited the belief in such a twofold resurrection, but when he develops the doctrine in his letters, he concentrates on the hope set before ‘those who belong to Christ,’ for whom resurrection (at the advent of Christ) will be participation in his resurrection, the harvest of which his resurrection was the firstfuits (1 Cor. 15:20-23; cf. Phil. 3:20-21)” (comment on vv. 14-16). In other words, he really did believe in the final resurrection of the righteous and unrighteous, one side for eternal life, the other side for eternal negative judgment.
Bible Basics about the Final Judgment
“hoping”: See the application section, at this link: for a theology of hope.
Also see this word study:
Polhill is right to see the resurrection as the main theme to Paul’s preaching from Acts 23-26:
Paul’s reference to the resurrection is the high point of his witness in all the speeches of Acts 23–26. This was not by accident. Paul’s conviction in the resurrection constituted the real point of contention with the other Jews. In the present passage this was precisely Paul’s point. He believed the same Scriptures, worshiped the same God, shared the same hope. But it was precisely at this point that “the Way” parted ways with the rest of the Jews. The Christians believed that the resurrection already had begun in Christ. (p. 485)
“Way”: earliest Christianity is still called “the Way.”
In this age of pluralism and multiculturalism, don’t be afraid to proclaim the exclusivity of Jesus. You can find some elements in other religions where you can build a bridge (e.g. they also say not to steal), so you do not have to denigrate them through and through. But you will discover that other religions claim exclusivity. Buddhists believe Hindus are wrong; Sikhs believe Hinduism and Islam are shortsighted and deficient. Muslims who know their Quran believe all other religions are wrong and deny, for example, the essential conditions for salvation: the Lordship of Jesus, his Sonship, his crucifixion, and his bodily resurrection. Do I need to keep going on about Islam?
Ten Big Differences between Christianity and Other Religions
“which they call a faction”: I like how he corrected his accusers. He is saying that his Messianic faith is the fulfillment of the Hebrew Bible. Messianic Jews should be confident in the same thing today.
Also, Paul assumes there are Pharisees among the elders who came from Jerusalem. That’s why he could appeal to the biblical doctrine of the resurrection.
Here are the basics about resurrection in the New Testament, once more, since it is so critical to the Christian faith.:
1.. It was prophesied in the OT (Ps. 16:3-11; Is. 55:3; Jnh. 1:17)
2.. Jesus predicted it before his death (Mark 8:31; 9:9, 31; 10:33-34; John 2:19-22)
3.. It happened in history (Matt. 28:1-7; Mark 16:1-8; Luke 24:1-8; John 20:1-8)
4.. Power used to resurrect Jesus:
a.. Power of God (Acts 2:24; Eph. 1:19-20; Col. 2:12)
b.. Christ’s own power (John 10:18)
c.. Jesus is the resurrection (John 11:25-26)
d.. Power of the Spirit (Rom. 8:11; 1 Pet. 3:18)
5.. Nature of Christ’s resurrection
a.. The same body that died was raised (Luke 24:39-40; John 20:27)
b.. It was a physical body
(1)) He ate (Luke 24:41-43; John 21:12-13; Acts 10:40-41)
(2)) He could be touched (John 20:27; 1 John 1:1)
(3)) It was a gloried body (1 Cor. 15:42-44; Phil. 3:21)
(4)) He passed through locked door (John 20:19, 26)
(5)) He ascended into heaven (Acts 1:9)
c.. It was also a transformed and glorified body
12. Do I Really Know Jesus? What Was His Resurrected Body Like?
And for a review of the basics, please click on this post:
11. Do I Really Know Jesus? He Was Resurrected from the Dead
You can also go to youtube to find out the evidence for it. Look for Gary Habermas or Mike Licona.
For a table of his appearances and other facts, please see:
14. Do I Really Know Jesus? He Appeared to His Disciples
16:
“I discipline myself”: it comes from the verb that means “do one’s best” or “practice.” Don’t be afraid of some discipline in your life. Turn off the TV and your cell phone. Open the Word (it’s okay, if it’s on your cell phone!). Cut back on social media. Think of the pioneer days back in the 1880s. They did not even have a radio. Yes, the telegraph system was up, but it took huge effort to send a message from a nearby town. Their only distraction was work and going to church—or having the pastor come by neighboring farms to gather the farming families and sing and pray and preach to them. The point is this. Don’t let modern conveniences distract you from your devotion to the Lord. Exercise some discipline, but without too much legalism and self-denial so that you let the pendulum swing too far away from social media. Be balanced.
Marshall: “Paul’s wording reflects the common idea of human duty towards God and man (Prov. 3:4; Luke 18:2, 4) and ties in with Jesus’ summary of the law in terms of love of God and one’s neighbor” (comment on v. 16). Think of the question which the lawyer posed: what must I do to inherit eternal life? Jesus: love God and your neighbor (Luke 10:25-28). Then Jesus explains who the lawyer’s neighbor was in the Parable of the Good Samaritan (10:30-37).
Marshall adds what a good conscience was: “It also echoes his earlier claim in 23:1 to have a good conscience, i.e. one that does not condemn him, not because it is insensitive but because it can detect no faults” (comment on v. 16).
17-18:
Paul circles back around to his blameless behavior while in Jerusalem and the temple. Please don’t smash the culture of a church, if you are extra-prophetic. I have seen over-zealous Charismatics do this, and it is ugly and grimace-inducing. Please respect the boundaries. The goal is to glorify Jesus and be winsome, not awesome in your own mind. Yes, the OT prophets did outlandish things by our standards, but in the ancient world they had a different outlook. Today, if you go into a church that has a restrictive pneumatology and yell out some prophecy, “Yeah, verily, I shall come against you like a herd of elephants!” then you turn people off to a deeper walk with Jesus. They are right to usher you out.
“my nation”: it says that Paul loved Israel and considered it his homeland over the province of Cilicia in southern Turkey. For him, Israel was a major player in the Roman empire. The Jerusalem temple was the largest single man-made structure in the empire (I don’t know how to calculate its size compared to the pyramids.
19-21:
Marshall refers to an historian of Roman law (Sherwin-White) who says that Paul was on solid legal grounds because Romans did not like plaintiffs making accusations and not carry them through in court (comment on v. 19). So, Paul says, the charges should be dropped.
Paul is challenging the standing of his accusers. The first accusers were the Jews from Asia, and they should be here. And then the Jews present cannot produce evidence that he ignited a riot, because he was simply carrying out a vow for cross-cultural outreach for the benefit of the Messianic Jews of Jerusalem and their relations with non-Messianic Jews. There is nothing wrong with cross-cultural outreach. Sometimes charismatic Catholics take Mass—a Catholic ritual—so they can bring some Catholics into the fulness of the Spirit. Just because I may not agree with the theology of the Mass does not mean I can stand back from a distance and criticize and sneer. These Catholic Charismatics are reaching out to their fellow Catholics and bringing them to the water to drink more deeply. I applaud them.
Basics about the Lord’s Supper
The Lord’s Supper in Synoptic Gospels + Church Traditions
John 6 and Partaking of His Body and Blood
22-23:
Some time in his life, Felix accurately heard about the Way. It is great that followers of the Way could get into his household and gain access to him. Was it one of the apostles or an on-fire lesser known believer? Sadly, we will never know who he was or who they were. But when, by God’s grace, we get to heaven, we can ask.
Bruce notes that Lysias came down with information, but none of it helped Felix render a verdict. Felix kept Paul in prison to give no more offense against the Jews because Felix was abusive in his policies while being governor over Judea (comment on v. 23).
GrowApp for Acts 24:1-23
1. Paul was falsely accused. Have you ever been falsely accused? How did you handle it? Did you defend yourself as Paul does here, or let it go without defending yourself?
2. Paul said that he disciplines himself to keep his conscience clear before God and humanity, always. How do you discipline yourself to keep your conscience clear?
3. Paul preached the resurrection of the dead, and Felix learned more about the Way. When you share your faith, do you have a theme like the resurrection? Or something else?
RELATED
The Historical Reliability of the Book of Acts
Book of Acts and Paul’s Epistles: Match Made in Heaven?
SOURCES
For the bibliography, please click on this link and scroll down to the very bottom:
Dr. Jim's Essential Bible Teaching 