1 Five days later Ananias, the high priest, arrived with some of the Jewish elders and the lawyer[a] Tertullus, to present their case against Paul to the governor. 2 When Paul was called in, Tertullus presented the charges against Paul in the following address to the governor:

“You have provided a long period of peace for us Jews and with foresight have enacted reforms for us. 3 For all of this, Your Excellency, we are very grateful to you. 4 But I don’t want to bore you, so please give me your attention for only a moment. 

5 We have found this man to be a troublemaker who is constantly stirring up riots among the Jews all over the world. He is a ringleader of the cult known as the Nazarenes. 6 Furthermore, he was trying to desecrate the Temple when we arrested him.[b] 8 You can find out the truth of our accusations by examining him yourself.” 9 Then the other Jews chimed in, declaring that everything Tertullus said was true.

Acts 24:1-9 (NLT) 中文

Paul on Trial

Paul is being persecuted as prophesied. He’s been accused of religious crimes and arrested. This presented an opportunity to share his testimony and his call to the gentiles – which enraged the Jewish crowd. He has testified before the religious council. God intervened to foil another plot to kill him. Now he’s been shipped to Caesarea waiting for his accusers to arrive for a trial before Roman Governor Felix.

Jew’s accusation

So the high priest along with some others makes the trip down to attend Paul’s trial. He brings with him a lawyer to help convince Felix and bring Paul quickly to conviction. They hate Paul. But they really hate the Lord of Paul, Jesus. And, ironically, by extension, they are hating the God whom they claim to serve. 

Butter up

Tertullus loads on the butter as he addresses Felix. It’s so thick you can cut it with a knife! But in reality, none of it may have been true. “In reality he [Felix] had put down several insurrections with such barbarous brutality that he earned for himself the horror, not the thanks, of the Jewish population.” (enduringword.com quoting Stott)

Where’s the beef?

When he finally gets to his accusation in verse 5, he uses words like trouble-maker. There seems to be little substance to his case. He adds, “all over the world” and “ringleader” but provides no evidence. The Jews that are with him chime in to accuse Paul but does it really help? These accusations are religious more than anything else.

Let’s see how Paul responds in the next passage.

RЯeflection

• Anything stick out to you about this passage or Paul’s situation? Is there a thought the Spirit has put in your mind? Do you want to share it in the chat?
• What Paul wrote to Timothy in 2 Timothy 3:16 is true: “All Scripture is inspired by God and profitable for teaching, for reproof, for correction, for training in righteousness;”. How is this passage profitable to you? Let’s think on it.