From Acts to Revelation Part 68 – Paul's Trial

From Acts to Revelation

Part 68  – Paul's Trial

Pastor Bruce A. Shields

House of Faith Church | www.PS127.org | www.TruthDigest.org

INTRODUCTION

Paul was found in the Temple, with 4 other Jew's, who had vowed to take the Nazerite vow with Paul.

The Jews began accusing him with lies, saying he brought Gentiles into the Temple (which was forbidden), and he was preaching and teaching against Moses and the Temple, and they began to beat him to death.

The Roman guards came, saving Paul's life, arresting him, but allowing him to speak to the crowd in Aramaic. Paul explains to them how God lead him from being a Zealot, to following Jesus, the Messiah, and how God had called him to preach the Gospel to the Gentiles, which caused them to riot once more.

Paul was taken by the guards to be beaten, when they discover he is a Roman citizen.

So they take him before the Sanhedrin to figure out "why" the Jews are rioting over him, and another argument breaks out in the Sanhedrin, with the Pharisees taking Paul's side, and the Sadducees turning on him.

The Captain of the Roman Guard decides to take Paul to see Governor Felix, where Paul was kept in Herod's Palace Jail until his trial.

Today, we will see how we are judged in this world by powers who reign in the land, how accusers will attack us and our reputation with lies and twisted facts, and how we must endure, and withstand the wiles of the devil, and his constant attacks.

SCRIPTURE REFERENCE ~ Acts 24:1-9

Five days later the high priest Ananias went down to Caesarea with some of the elders and a lawyer named Tertullus, and they brought their charges against Paul before the governor. ² When Paul was called in, Tertullus presented his case before Felix: “We have enjoyed a long period of peace under you, and your foresight has brought about reforms in this nation. ³ Everywhere and in every way, most excellent Felix, we acknowledge this with profound gratitude. ⁴ But in order not to weary you further, I would request that you be kind enough to hear us briefly.

⁵ “We have found this man to be a troublemaker, stirring up riots among the Jews all over the world. He is a ringleader of the Nazarene sect ⁶ and even tried to desecrate the temple; so we seized him. ^{[7] [a] 8} By examining him yourself you will be able to learn the truth about all these charges we are bringing against him.”

⁹ The other Jews joined in the accusation, asserting that these things were true.

I.       THE TRIAL

a.      Paul sits in Jail

i.       Inside a cell in Herod's Temple, awaiting his trial

ii.    Paul has to wait for the High Priest Ananias

a.      Remember, Ananias is a corrupt Sadducee who is later assassinated by the Jewish sect, the Zealots, for his constant undercover deals with the Romans.

iii. Paul is also awaiting a select group of Sadducee accusers, and an orator named Tertullus.

b.     Turtullus is as corrupt as his leader, Ananias

i.       He serves as the Prosecutor for the Jews

ii.    So, he was essentially, a corrupt prosecutor

iii. Crooked as a Virginia fence

c.      Many times in our lives, we are attacked, and accused

i.       Most attacks come from those who are corrupt, wicked or evil, who DO NOT WANT THE BIBLE TO BE TRUE!

ii.    When you, and your faith is attacked, they are not actually attacking you, rather, they are attacking the very Word of God, and what the Bible says is Truth.

iii. We need to remember that, when we are attacked, the battle is not ours, but the Lord's!

II.   THE ACCUSER

a.      Tertullus the Orator

i.       While the name, "Tertullus" was Roman, it wasn't uncommon for Jews and Greeks to take Roman names, so Tertullus may not have been a Roman.

ii.    And while Tertullus speaks from a Jewish perspective, it wasn't uncommon for orators/lawyers to speak directly from the perspective of their clients, so Tertullus wasn't necessarily a Jew either.

iii. Regardless of his nationality, Tertullus had been deemed best able to present Ananias and company's case against Paul.

b.     Why didn't Ananias present the case himself?

i.       Since this was a Roman trial, Ananias may have wanted to take no chances regarding Roman trial law and protocols. It was probably also conducted in Latin, which would have been Ananias' second language at best.

c.      Tertullus begins throwing out accusations and accuses both Paul and Rome

III.   THE ACCUSATIONS

a.      First comes the official "blowing of smoke"

i.       Tertullus begins by praising Governor Felix

ii.     "When Paul was called in, Tertullus presented his case before Felix: “We have enjoyed a long period of peace under you, and your foresight has brought about reforms in this nation. ³ Everywhere and in every way, most excellent Felix, we acknowledge this with profound gratitude. ⁴ But in order not to weary you further, I would request that you be kind enough to hear us briefly."

a.      "Enjoyed a long period of peace under you" - True? If so, 470 Roman soldiers wouldn't have been needed to protect the transfer of one prisoner. Judea was a hotbed of simmering rebellion that often boiled over, not a place of great peace.

b.     " ...and your foresight has brought about reforms in this nation." - True? If so, Paul's companions wouldn't have had to bring famine relief donations for the church in Jerusalem.

c.      "Everywhere and in every way, most excellent Felix, we acknowledge this with profound gratitude." - What? Paul had been sent to Caesarea because the Jews had plotted to kill Paul in Jerusalem, which would have required them to fight against and probably kill the Roman soldiers protecting Paul.

d.     "...most excellent Felix..." - Was he? Marcus Antonius Felix was originally a slave from Cilicia, Paul's home province, but had gained his freedom thanks to his brother, Marcus Antonius Pallas, a freedman well-liked by Emperor Claudius. As Felix' political fortunes rose, so did his reputation for corruption, cruelty and lusts. He governed Judea from 52 AD to 60 AD with "the power of a king but the mind of a slave", according to Tacitus, the Roman historian.

b.     Tertullus was trying to butter up the judge

i.       In Roman court, it was customary for orators to start with flattery to win the favor of the judge. In this case, however, Tertullus' flattery may also have been made and/or received with a veiled threat against the peace of the region, should Felix not side with the Jews.

ii.    Threatening the judge in court, usually does not work in your favor

c.      Now the accusations against Paul begin to fly

i.       He profaned the Temple

a.      To the contrary, he spent almost seven days in it in ritual purification.

ii.    We were already judging him according to our law

a.      "They were seeking to kill him" (Acts 21:31) contrary to their law.

iii. YOUR soldiers took him with GREAT VIOLENCE

a.      He took Paul from their great violence against him.

iv.   Paul is a ringleader of the sect of the Nazarenes

a.      Because Jesus grew up in Nazareth, the Jews called Christian "the sect of the Nazarenes" in derogation.

CONCLUSION

Today, we saw how we are judged in this world by powers who reign in the land, how accusers attack us and our reputation with lies and twisted facts, and how we are to endure, and withstand the wiles of the devil, and his constant attacks.

We have a judge, and He is not of this earth. We have accusers around the corner, but do not fear them, in this life, God will give us all we need to survive, and thrive, while we obey Him, and fulfill our calling, in His Holy Name!

Want to learn more about Salvation and Getting Saved?    CLICK HERE!