Lechem Panim #229 “Paul Accused Before Felix” (Acts 24:1-9) Pastor Cameron Ury

Greetings! It’s good to have you with us as we continue our journey through the book of Acts together. Today we come to Acts 24, where we find Paul being brought to trial before the Roman governor, Felix by a group of unbelieving Jews. And yet, in the midst of that, we find Paul trusting Himself into the hands of God. And amazingly, by the end of the passage, we will see that it is Felix  (rather than Paul) who is brought under conviction. Go ahead and look with me, starting at verse 1…

Acts 24:1 (ESV)— 1 And after five days the high priest Ananias came down with some elders and a spokesman, one Tertullus. They laid before the governor their case against Paul.

Why The Slap?— Now there’s a lot to unpack just in this first verse. Ananias, remember, is not actually the high priest. He has retained the title. But it is Caiaphas who is the acting high priest. And yet it is Ananias who comes. And remember that it is he who had commanded (when Paul was on trial before the Sanhedrin) to have Paul illegal struck on the mouth. And remember that the Greek language conveys a vicious strike, not just a light smack in the face. And all that just for Paul’s saying that he had a clear conscience.
    Now I have to confess, I had a little Columbo moment this week. I said to myself, “Der’s just dis ting dat bodders me.” It’s been rolling around in my mind. And it has to do with that slap in response to what Paul had said. Because what Paul had said shouldn’t have been that offensive, let alone something for him to get slapped for. All Paul had said was that he had a clean conscience. So I’ve had this question mark bouncing around in my mind. But then I felt God impressing on me the reality that to a dark and sinful world (and particularly to a man like Ananias, who is reported to have been one of the most brutal and sinister high priests the Jews ever had) a clean conscience is a very offensive thing; because somebody who is marked by the Holiness of God is living a life that is a rebuke to others. 

The House In The Dark— This week I was reminded of a story of two families. [The O’Learys and the MacMillans lived as neighbors at the turn of the century. One day a young man in a suit came to their village to explain that they would soon have electricity for the first time. The MacMillans responded with their typical enthusiasm and filled out the appropriate papers to have their house wired.
    The O’Learys were more cautious. After all, they had lived for generations without electricity and had managed just fine. They weren’t about to throw money after every passing fad. So they decided to wait. If electricity was as good as everyone said, they could always sign up later.
    In the weeks that followed, the MacMillans busily prepared their house for electrical power. They clamped wires and sockets to the walls and hung bulbs from the ceiling. When the big day finally came, the MacMillans invited their neighbors, including the O’Learys, to a grand lighting party. With a dramatic flourish, Mr. MacMillan threw a switch and the bulbs began to glow for the first time. The McMillan house was illuminated more brightly than it had ever been lit before. There was a gasp. “How lovely!” someone said.
Then another gasp. "How filthy!” someone else said.
It was true. No one had noticed it before in the dim light, but years of oil lamps had left a film of dingy soot over everything. The walls were grimy, there were cobwebs in the corner, and dust covered the floor.
    The O’Learys decided right then and there that they would never install electricity in their home. They would never suffer the humiliation of having their dirty home exposed by the light. After the party, the MacMillans went to work. They scrubbed the soot off the walls and ceiling, cleaned the cobwebs, and swept away the dust. They had indeed been embarrassed by their dirty home when the lights came on, but within a day, their house was cleaner than it had ever been. Meanwhile, the O'Learys continued to live comfortably in their dimly lit home filled with soot, cobwebs, and filth.
    Many people today choose to live in the dark. They don't want anyone to see the dirt—what's really going on in their lives. Sometimes they don’t want to see it themselves. They avoid the light for fear that they will see the truth and be forced to clean up their acts.

“This is the verdict {(writes John)}: Light has come into the world, but men loved darkness instead of light because their deeds were evil. Everyone who does evil hates the light, and will not come into the light for fear that his deeds will be exposed. But whoever lives by the truth comes into the light, so that it may be seen plainly that what he has done has been done through God” (John 3:19-21).]

The Ear of Malchus— There is a man in the Bible you may remember: Malchus. He was the servant of the high priest who was with those who arrested Jesus. And you’ll remember Peter drew his sword and hacked off his ear. And Jesus reaches down, picks up the ear off the ground, no doubt brushes it off (maybe gives it a few blows) and sticks it right back on. I mean, can you imagine!!!??? But one author I was reading pointed out how what we often don’t consider is the conversation that no doubt happened later that night when Malchus returned to Caiaphas and Caiaphas asked for a report of what happened?
“Did you succeed in arresting Jesus?”, asks Caiaphas.
“Yes, High Priest, we did.”, responds Malchus.
“Did you have any trouble?”
“Well, yes, a little.”, said Malchus, scratching his ear.
“Why, what happened?”
“Well, one of the disciples got in the way and brazenly sliced off my ear.”
“It looks okay to me.”
“Well, High Priest, that’s just it. This Jesus, whom you sent us to arrest, picked it up and stuck it right back on.”
    I imagine things got really quiet at this point. And the author I was reading pointed out something so profound. He said Malchus (and particularly his ear) was God [the Father’s last love note to Caiaphas.…In his gracious mercy Jesus restored Malchus’s ear, and Malchus’s witness to Caiaphas of that event was the high priest’s last chance for repentance. It was God’s final witness to him: he put someone right in Caiaphas’s court who had been touched by the loving hand of Jesus. Oh, the unending mercy of God! If a person is lost, it will be in spite of himself and in spite of the evidence that God stacks up in his life. {But then he says this. And this is the kicker:} I am confident that Caiaphas did not employ Malchus for long after this incident of healing {(he writes)}. I imagine that the sight of Malchus’s ear made Caiaphas uneasy and nervous. When we choose not to obey and do not act on the witness God gives to us, sooner or later we will banish that witness from our lives because we cannot tolerate its suggestive presence. The love of God continues to point to him in all areas of life, even in the lives of the most hardened unbelievers, but some of us refuse to see or hear it.]
    You want to know why Ananias had Paul slapped; and why He and so many of the Jews were seeking to remove Paul from the face of the earth? I think this was why. And that’s why it only took five days (a very short time) [for the Jewish leaders to put their case together, hire and attorney, and make the trip to Caesarea.] They were afraid that the longer they waited, the more likely Felix was to dismiss Paul’s case. And they were eager to remove the source of their conviction. Now when the court convenes, it says of Paul…

Acts 24:2-3 (ESV)— 2 And when he had been summoned, Tertullus {(he’s the lawyer or orator)} began to accuse him, saying: “Since through you we enjoy much peace, and since by your foresight, most excellent Felix, reforms are being made for this nation, 3 in every way and everywhere we accept this with all gratitude.

Ummm….No— This was a lie. [Felix was a former slave whose brother (a favorite of Emperor Claudius) had obtained for him the position as governor.] The Romans did not see him as very influential. And though he had ousted the Egyptian assassin and his followers, the Jews despised him for his brutality; and he (two years after this) will actually be deposed by Emperor Nero. So (at least in his mind) to quote esteemed historian Rabbi Smash Mouth, Tertullus was looking kind of dumb with his finger and his thumb in the shape of a “L” on his forehead. He thought very little of Felix. But with the normal (and I might add “obligatory”) salutations out of the way, he continues. Verse 4…

Acts 24:4-8  (ESV)— 4 But, to detain you no further, I beg you in your kindness to hear us briefly. 5 For we have found this man a plague, one who stirs up riots among all the Jews throughout the world and is a ringleader of the sect of the Nazarenes. 6 He even tried to profane the temple, but we seized him {(and some manuscripts add… and we would have judged him according to our law. 7 But the chief captain Lysias came and with great violence took him out of our hands, 8 commanding his accusers to come before you.)}. 8 By examining him yourself you will be able to find out from him about everything of which we accuse him.”

Keep It Vague— Now note how they falsely say they had arrested Paul. That didn’t happen. The Jews had instigated a riot and it was Lysias (the Tribune) who had saved him by taking him into custody. But in their version it is Paul who started it. And I want you to see something else; and it’s the secret to a great accusation. Notice how Tertullus keeps everything vague. Notice the complete lack of any kind of specific detail as to when, where, and how Paul had supposedly instigated a riot. Now Rome took any kind of riot or insurrection very seriously; and if this charge against Paul could have been substantiated, Paul would have faced severe punishment and possibly even execution. But Tertullus knows that if he gets specific (naming specific incidents) Felix could have Paul’s case transferred [to the governor in whose jurisdiction the incident took place. {But that’s not what the Jews wanted.} The Jews wanted Paul tried before a governor over whom they had some influence.] So Tertullus keeps it vague. And so do the rest of his accusers. It says in…

Acts 24:9 (ESV)— 9 The Jews also joined in the charge, affirming that all these things were so.

Bad News & Good News— And next week we will see how Paul defends himself against their charges. But as we close our time together today, I want first say something hard and then something I hope will be an encouragement to you. It’s a bad news/good news kind of a thing. The bad news is that if you are radically committed to Jesus Christ, persecution is always always always going to come from people whose consciences are disturbed by the presence of Christ they see in you. But Jesus himself offers us hope when He says in…

Matthew 5:11-12 (NKJV)— 11 Blessed are you when they revile and persecute you, and say all kinds of evil against you falsely for My sake. 12 Rejoice and be exceedingly glad, for great is your reward in heaven, for so they persecuted the prophets who were before you.

Hold On— That is a truth that Paul held onto. And it is one that you and I should hang onto as well. Let’s do so. Amen.