Acts 24

17 Here Paul gives the main reason for his coming to Jerusalem this time: namely, to deliver to the Jerusalem church the collection raised by the Gentile churches (see Acts 19:21; 20:22; Romans 15:25-27).

18-19 Here again Paul states that he was presenting his of ferings in the temple in a completely proper way. He was doing nothing contrary to Jewish custom. He was raising no commotion. Then suddenly some Jews from the province of Asia seized him (Acts 21:27-28). “These Jews from Asia should have come here and accused me in person,” says Paul.

Here we can see an important principle. If it ever becomes necessary to accuse someone of wrongdoing, it must be done face to face. Those whose accusations are false or only half true always prefer to make their accusations behind a person’s back. They don’t dare accuse a person to his face, because if they do their falsehood will immediately be revealed. If we have something to say against someone but don’t want to say it to his face, then we had better keep our mouth shut.

20 But those Jews from the province of Asia were not present. Therefore, Paul says: “Let the Jews of the Sanhedrin who are now here show what crime I have committed.”

21 The only so-called “crime” the Sanhedrin had found Paul guilty of was the crime of being a Pharisee who believed in the resurrection of the dead. It was only because of the anger of the Sadducees¹⁰⁵ of the Sanhedrin that Paul had been brought to trial. In fact, these Sadducees had found no real crime that Paul had committed.

22-23 It is not known whether or not Felix held a further hearing on Paul’s case, or whether the commander Lysias ever came or not. But we do know that Felix, in hopes of getting a bribe from Paul and also in order to keep the Jews happy, kept Paul in prison for the next two years (verses 26-27).

24-25 Felix and his wife Drusilla¹⁰⁶ wanted to hear more about the Way—that is, the Christian faith—so they called for Paul to come and talk to them about it. But they were not really seeking God; rather, they only desired to be entertained by some new teaching. Therefore, when Paul began to talk about righteousness, self-control and the judgment to come (verse 25), Felix became uneasy and said, “Enough! Enough!” But it was these very three things—righteousness, self-control, and the judgment—that Felix and Drusilla most needed to hear about! Whenever God begins to show us our sin, we of ten, like Felix, become uneasy and say, “That’s enough for now. I’ll think about it later.” And when we say that to God, we are, in effect, losing an opportunity to repent and to receive forgiveness. Why was Felix afraid? Because he was an evil and greedy man. He didn’t want to give up his sins; neither did he want to face the judgment of God.

It is not enough for us only to fear God’s judgment; we must repent of our sins. Let us not say to God, as Felix said to Paul, “Enough for now; I’ll think about it tomorrow.” Because now is the day of salvation (2 Corinthians 6:2). Tomorrow may be too late!

26 Although Felix didn’t care to talk with Paul any further about religion, he still continued to treat Paul reasonably well, because he hoped that some day Paul would pay him a bribe to gain his freedom.

27 Two years later, in 59 A.D., a civil war arose in Caesarea between the Jews and the Gentiles. At that time Felix’s soldiers brutally attacked the Jews and killed many of them. Because of that incident, Felix was removed from his governorship and sent back to Rome. A new governor named Festus came to take his place.

Felix never released Paul. He was afraid that the Jews would complain to the Roman Emperor about his cruel conduct, so he wanted to grant a favor to them in order to gain their good will. Therefore, as a way to please the Jews, Felix kept Paul in prison.

Because Felix never completed Paul’s trial, it was now necessary for the new governor, Festus, to reopen the case and make a judgment in the matter.