Thorburn-Sutherland's River Pastoral Charge

God of mystery and majesty, your thoughts are not our thoughts; your ways are not our ways. Send us your Holy Spirit, speaking through the Scriptures, so that our thoughts and ways may be transformed as we encounter your Living Word, in Christ, our Lord. Amen.

In the opening of the 24th chapter of Acts, which was our New Testament lesson this morning, we find the Apostle Paul a prisoner of the Romans, scheduled to appear before the governor of the Roman province of Judea, a man by the name of Felix. What had taken place was that Paul had been arrested in Jerusalem as a riot was about to break out in the temple courts. He had made two unsuccessful attempts to calm the people there and to testify to them about Jesus Christ as the promised Messiah. They refused to listen; and now, after a plot against his life, he has been brought down to the provincial capital, Caesarea, on the coast. There he will face the governor.

Today we’ll hear how Paul defended himself before Governor Felix, after being accused by the Jewish leaders of stirring up trouble and defiling the temple.

After the threat of a riot had been subdued Paul had been placed in custody in Jerusalem as there had been threats against his life from some zealots in the city. Since Paul was not just a high profile individual, but also a Roman citizen, the leader of the Roman occupying army, a man by the name of Claudius Lysias, didn’t wish to have him murdered on his watch so he sent him under guard to a town called Caesarea, where the governor of Judea resided.

And not long after Paul had arrived in Caesarea, the high priest of the temple in Jerusalem traveled the 60 miles from Jerusalem to bring charges against Paul. He brought with him some of the elders, as well as a lawyer by the name of Tertullus. By this we can see just how much of a threat that Paul, and his message of Jesus as the Son of God and the Messiah of the world, was to those early temple leaders.

At the opening of Paul’s trial, the lawyer for the high priest, Tertullus, makes these charges against him, “‘We have, in fact, found this man a pestilent fellow, an agitator among all the Jews throughout the world, and a ringleader of the sect of the Nazarenes. He even tried to profane the temple, and so we seized him. By examining him yourself you will be able to learn from him concerning everything of which we accuse him.’”

So, Paul has three charges against him, a personal charge, being a troublemaker, a political charge, being the leader of a new sect, and a religious charge, desecrating the Temple. It is very important for us to know these were all lies, because Paul was a faithful follower of Jesus, who preached peace and salvation to both Jews and Gentiles. He didn’t belong to any sect, but to the church of God. He didn’t defile the temple but went there to worship and offer sacrifices.

The first charge was that he was an agitator and a troublemaker throughout the Roman Empire, having stirred up the Jews wherever he went. This was a serious charge because Rome sought to preserve peace in the world, and Jewish uprisings were a perennial problem to Roman officials. This lawyer knew that that would have an effect upon this Roman governor, because the Romans had a far-flung empire to administer, and the one thing they dared not tolerate was civil disorder. Any uprising could be a spark that would light a fire which would be very difficult to put out, and they knew it. The Romans dealt with a heavy hand with any troublemaker.

Secondly, Tertullus pictured Paul as the leader of a cult outside the Jewish faith. The Roman Empire tolerated Judaism, but this so-called “sect of the Nazarenes” was not a part of Judaism in the eyes of the Jewish leaders. The name “Nazarenes” came from the fact that Jesus, while born in Bethlehem, was raised in Nazareth, and was known as Jesus of Nazareth.

At that time Nazareth had a bad reputation. When Jesus was first gathering his disciples one of the first of them, Phillip, said this about Jesus to his friend, Nathaniel, “‘…We have found him about whom Moses in the law and also the prophets wrote, Jesus, son of Joseph from Nazareth.’” (John 1:45) This was Nathaniel’s reply, “‘Can anything good come out of Nazareth?’” (John 1:46) So Tertullus evidently called Christianity, “a sect of the Nazarenes” to make Paul’s beliefs sound as bad as possible. Of course, it was all fake news, like we often see today, but it had the possibility of causing huge problems for the Apostle Paul.

Thirdly, Tertullus claimed that Paul had tried to desecrate the temple in Jerusalem, reportedly by attempting to bring a Gentile into its inner courts. This was strictly forbidden by Jewish law; modern day archaeological digs have found signs warning non-Jews to stay out of that area. This third charge implied that Paul should be put to death since Rome had given the Jews the right to execute temple desecrators and in the leaders’ mind, bringing in a Gentile was reason for this.

After Tertullus ended his charges against Paul we’re told that, “The Jews also joined in the charge by asserting that all this was true.” They thought that this would be a brief trial as they expected Felix to execute Paul quickly, since Felix had repeatedly crucified the leaders of uprisings for disturbing the peace of Rome.

But now it was Paul’s turn, with God’s help, to present his defence, he begins in this manner, “‘I cheerfully make my defence, knowing that for many years you have been a judge over this nation. As you can find out, it is not more than twelve days since I went up to worship in Jerusalem. They did not find me disputing with anyone in the temple or stirring up a crowd either in the synagogues or throughout the city. Neither can they prove to you the charge that they now bring against me.’”

Paul asserts that the governor can verify his innocence. Paul came to Jerusalem to worship, which isn’t crime, and neither in Jerusalem nor in the temple did he cause any disturbances. In fact, some of his opponents caused a disturbance by trying to incite a riot.

Paul stated that it had only been twelve days since he had arrived in the city of Jerusalem and some of those days had been spent outside of Jerusalem in Caesarea. Thus, it was obvious that he didn’t have time to raise a plot against the Roman Empire. So, the Apostle simply pleads there was insufficient time for this charge of sedition.

Paul then continued on to affirm, “But this I admit to you, that according to the Way, which they call a sect, I worship the God of our ancestors, believing everything laid down according to the law or written in the prophets. I have a hope in God—a hope that they themselves also accept—that there will be a resurrection of both the righteous and the unrighteous. Therefore, I do my best always to have a clear conscience towards God and all people.”

Paul clearly asserts in this verse that what he preaches about Jesus in no way violates the teachings of the Hebrew Scriptures. Jesus was the fulfillment of Israel’s hopes and promises. Paul doesn’t see Christianity as something new and different but a fulfillment of the prophecies of the Old Testament prophets. He says that he worships the same God that the Jewish people worship and adheres to the entirety of the Hebrew Scriptures. For Paul, Christianity, or as he calls it, “The Way” is not a sect; on the contrary, it is a continuation, and fulfillment, of the faith taught by the Bible. Paul asserts that he is a loyal, faithful Jew.

Paul also said that he always tried to have a clear conscience before God and men. He denied the charges of Tertullus and challenged his accusers to prove them. He admitted that he belonged to the Way, which they called a sect, but said that he worshipped the God of his fathers and believed everything written in the Law and the Prophets.

Paul then said, “‘Now after some years I came to bring alms to my nation and to offer sacrifices. While I was doing this, they found me in the temple, completing the rite of purification, without any crowd or disturbance. But there were some Jews from Asia—they ought to be here before you to make an accusation, if they have anything against me.’”  The point he was trying to make was that if there were valid charges against him where were the witnesses to back them up? How do you conduct a trial without witnesses?

When Paul came to the temple, he didn’t do anything that wasn’t in keeping with the faith of the Hebrew Scriptures. The series of events that placed Paul before Felix began when certain Jews from Asia stirred up the crowds against him. They claimed that he was speaking against the Jews, the law, and the temple. Well, Paul says, if those Jews have an accusation to make, let them make it—but they’re not present to make it.

And finally, what the whole of the charges against Paul boiled down could to be expressed in these words of Paul, “Or let these men here tell what crime they had found when I stood before the council, unless it was this one sentence that I called out while standing before them, “It is about the resurrection of the dead that I am on trial before you today.”’ Paul said that he was not guilty of any crime, but that he believed in the resurrection of the dead, which was the hope of Israel and all people.

What Paul was teaching is what we believe today, at the end of the age, everyone will be resurrected, both the just and the unjust. It is the very same thing Jesus taught when he was here on earth, he said: “‘Truly, truly, I say to you, an hour is coming, and is now here, when the dead will hear the voice of the Son of God, and those who hear will live. For as the Father has life in himself, so he has granted the Son also to have life in himself. And he has given him authority to execute judgment because he is the Son of Man. Do not marvel at this, for an hour is coming when all who are in the tombs will hear his voice and come out, those who have done good to the resurrection of life, and those who have done evil to the resurrection of judgment.’” (John 5:25-29) When Jesus returns in the Second Coming, all will be raised from the dead and will face judgement. The Apostle Paul was trying to spread Jesus’ message to all so that they knew about the resurrection and were prepared to face the consequences of their decisions in this life.

At this point we’re told, “But Felix, who was rather well informed about the Way, adjourned the hearing with the comment, ‘When Lysias the tribune comes down, I will decide your case.’ Then he ordered the centurion to keep him in custody, but to let him have some liberty and not to prevent any of his friends from taking care of his needs.” Felix was interested in hearing more from Paul, so he adjourned the trial and ordered that Paul be kept under guard, but with some freedom and permission to receive his friends. He knows that Paul is innocent, and he doesn’t want to anger the Jewish leadership by saying so. In other words, Paul is given a limited amount of freedom; but he is bound over for further questioning. Felix did what all weak men do in a crises; he stalled for time. He didn’t make any kind of decision.

He also sent for Paul frequently and talked with him about faith in Christ. But he was not sincere in seeking the truth, because he was afraid of offending the Jews and losing his position. Felix also wanted money from him, thinking that Paul would want to buy his freedom. He kept him in prison for two years, until he was succeeded by another governor named Festus.

So, what can we learn today from this passage? We can learn that as followers of Jesus, we may face false accusations and persecution from those who oppose the gospel and God’s way. But we can also defend ourselves with courage and wisdom, trusting in God’s justice and grace. We can have faith that Jesus’ message is trying to bring peace and salvation for all. And we can also share our faith with those who are curious or open-minded, but we should not expect them to respond positively if they are not sincere or if they have ulterior motives. We should pray for them and hope that they will come to repentance and faith in Christ and, like Paul and Jesus before him, peacefully and calmly defend our faith.

Let us Pray:

Heavenly Father, we thank you for your love and grace. We ask you to help us be committed followers of Jesus, who gave his life for us. We want to follow his example of loving God and loving others. Please guide us in your ways and give us strength and faith to overcome the challenges we face. We pray that you would fill us with your Spirit and make us more like Jesus every day. Amen.