Awaiting True Justice - Pastor Tom Loghry
Paul’s imprisonment and trial before Felix reveals the injustice of his adversaries, the true justice which God brings, and God’s continued work and purpose even while we wait.
Transcript:
I think there are few things in life that can get under your skin like being blamed for something you didn't do. Maybe in your life someone has blamed you for something going wrong that wasn't your fault. Maybe at work, said, "Oh, this went wrong because so-and-so did this." It wasn't your fault at all. A false accusation spouted by someone who has significant influence and perhaps more power than you. It's unnerving. It's infuriating. Especially when the person knows the truth, that'll make you real mad. When they're maligning your character when it's actually their character which comes up short. We want to set the record straight, not later, right now, but sometimes justice is slow to be realized. We find ourselves in a holding pattern, stuck in the in-between. When you think of yourself in that position, you can more easily put yourself in Paul's shoes, as he too suffers the harmful effects of a false accusation.
If you were with us last week, you'll recall that Paul was transferred to, to Caesarea under the cover of night from Jerusalem, accompanied by four hundred and seventy Roman soldiers. His nephew had uncovered a plot to kill him, even while he was waiting for judgment under Claudius Lysias in the Roman fortress there in Jerusalem. A plot that was schemed by forty men who had taken vows not to eat or drink until they had killed Paul. Because Paul was a Roman citizen, the Roman commander Claudius Lysias sent him to Caesarea for his case to be heard by the governor Felix. Lysias reported to Felix that he hadn't found Paul to be guilty of anything wrong, and that the dispute seemed to be a matter of difference within the Jewish religion. In keeping with Roman custom that a trial could only proceed if the accusers presented themselves with the charges that were being made against the defendant, Felix called upon Paul's accusers to make their way to Caesarea for this trial. So continuing on in Acts twenty-four, we pick up in verse one. It says, "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. 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. Everywhere and in every way, Most Excellent Felix, we acknowledge this with profound gratitude. But in order not to weary you further, I would request that you be kind enough to hear us briefly.
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 and even tried to desecrate the temple; so we seized him, and we would have judged him in accordance with our law, but the Commander Lysias came and took him from us with much violence, ordering his accusers to come before you. By examining him yourself you will be able to learn the truth about all these charges we are bringing against him.' The other Jews joined in the accusation, asserting that these things were true."
First, just to set the scene here in Caesarea. So we have Paul taken from Jerusalem up to Caesarea on the coast. You can see a little aerial shot of Caesarea, and you can see this little harbor here. In fact, it's an artificial harbor that was made because the coastline there doesn't give many places where you can safely bring a ship into port. You can see that's a picture of it today. A pretty beautiful scene as it, as it is.
Now, back in that time, it would have looked something like this. A little bit different angle, but you can see that's where, what we were just looking at there. Very impressive, and you, you would have ships lined up all on the inside there. Now, Herod's palace, which was built by Herod the Great and is now occupied by Governor Felix, is down here. You can see it jutting out into the sea. We can get a bit of a closer look there. And you can see here this open space, and that's actually a pool, it's a freshwater pool. You can see the opulence of, of these quarters for Governor Felix and just the total situation that Paul is brought into here, if you go back here, you can see it, it's, Felix has all the privilege of power. He's right next to this racing course, he's got a theater here, he has the world by a string, it seems. And now Paul is here at his mercy. We, we can actually see what it looks like today. Nothing left of it, really. You can see the square of the pool there. And so when Paul is brought before Governor Felix, he would have appeared in this room here, number five. It would have been an audience room, which now is probably in the water about there. Amazing how things change, isn't it?
So Paul is brought before Felix, and Paul's accusers are also before Felix. The high priest Ananias, who you remember had ordered that he be slapped across the face, and whom Paul had cursed as a, a whitewashed wall, he's there. Some of the elders are there. And they've also brought a lawyer with them. Now, you have all this power marshaled against just Paul. Doesn't seem like really much of a fair fight. You can also imagine that maybe Paul has some concern given the reputation that Felix has earned for himself. Felix is not actually a Roman, he is Greek, and he was formerly a slave. But his older brother became good friends with the Emperor Claudius, and when, was made his secretary of, of the treasury. And so by way of that connection, Felix himself was also freed and was raised to power. And he was serving as governor here in Judea from around fifty-two to sixty AD. Now he had a reputation for being very corrupt. In fact, he, he had a scheme to assassinate the high priest Jonathan, the former high priest Jonathan, and he succeeded in that. He had him assassinated. He just had a reputation of being a gangster. The Roman historian Tacitus says of him, "He exercised the power of a king in the spirit of a slave." So you kinda get the picture of the sort of guy that this was. He, he was not really a man of great character. And so it becomes all the more striking when this lawyer Tertullus begins it, to make his case before Felix because he, he just gives him all sorts of flattery that he doesn't really deserve, 'cause again, he's a gangster.
He says, he says to him, We have enjoyed a long period of peace under you. Not really the case. He praises him for his reforms. Felix hasn't really done that much that is good. But we see the ways of the world at work here, of getting in good with people and getting your way by telling them what they want to hear. Now, the case that Tertullus brings against Paul is one built upon a case which would greatly concern a Roman governor. We see in verses five through eight, and just as a note here, I included some verses in here that are excluded in the NIV. It's just based on different textual manuscripts that are available to us. Some of the earlier manuscripts didn't include those verses, and so for that reason, for sake of accuracy, the NIV has excluded it, but I've included it in case they're included in your Bibles.
The case that Tertullus brings against Paul here is based upon essentially causing disorder, which is a great concern to the Roman powers which are insistent upon maintaining order, maintaining peace. It paints a picture of Paul as a troublemaker, one who starts riots. He's the ringleader of this Nazarene sect, trying to make the Christians sound like this really, like, fringe group that's up to no good. And he says he desecrated the temple, which again would have been a big no-no because there is an interconnection between the civil and religious powers, and so desecrating the temple would create civil disorder. And, and so Tertullus says, "Just examine him yourself. You'll see this." And the other Jew, Jews, the high priest and these other elders in the, are in the back room saying, "Yeah, yeah, yeah, he definitely did these things. You'll see." And so Felix proceeds to begin his examination of Paul by giving Paul his opportunity to offer his testimony and his defense.
So we continue on in verse ten. It says, "When the governor motioned for him to speak, Paul replied, 'I know that for a number of years you have been judge over this nation, so I gladly make my defense. You can easily verify that no more than twelve days ago I went up to Jerusalem to worship. My accusers did not find me arguing with anyone at the temple, or stirring up a crowd in the synagogues, or anywhere else in the city. And they cannot prove to you the charges they are now making against me.
However, I admit that I worship the God of our ancestors as a follower of the Way, which they call a sect. I believe everything that is in accordance with the law and that is written in the Prophets, and I have the same hope in God as these men themselves have, that there will be a resurrection of both the righteous and the wicked. So I strive always to keep my conscience clear before God and man.
After an absence of several years, I came to Jerusalem to bring my people gifts for the poor and to present offerings. I was ceremonially clean when they found me in the temple courts doing this. There was no crowd with me, nor was I involved in any disturbance. But there are some Jews from the province of Asia who ought to be here before you and bring charges if they have anything against me.
Or these who are here should state what crime they have found in me when I stood before the Sanhedrin-- unless it was this one thing I shouted as I stood in their presence: "it is concerning the resurrection of the dead that I am on trial before you today."'"
We note how Paul begins his testimony before Felix. He doesn't flatter Felix in the way that Tertullus has. He kind of just states the facts. You've been a judge over this nation for many years. Glad to make my defense before you. Respectful, but he moves on, and he moves on to basically just deny the charges of troublemaking that they're making against him. Says 12 days ago, he came to Jerusalem, and his purpose was to come to worship, they can't prove the charges against him.
Now, he does make one admission, which is that he is the follower of the way, which as he notes they call this Nazarene sect. But he wants to emphasize that the way of Christ is continuous with the teachings of the Old Testament. In fact, he would say it, it, Christ fulfills the Old Testament. He fulfills the law and the prophets, and he shares the same resurrection hope that these men do, that all Jews, well, not all Jews, but many of the Jews held because we noted last week the Sadducees don't believe in resurrection. But which they hold based upon the prophecies given in scripture. And now Paul, as a follower of the way, has come to see that Christ is the one who brings that promise to pass, first in himself, and to come when he will return.
And so in light of this, he has strived to have a clear conscience before God and man. He hasn't done anything wrong before God, and he hasn't done anything wrong according to man's law here. And he notes in verses 17 through 19 that he, he didn't come to create any trouble. He came actually to be a blessing. He came bringing gifts, a collection that was taken up for the Christians in Jerusalem, and he came to make offerings at the temple, and in doing so, he came in the way that he should. He was ceremonially clean, so he did not defile, he did not desecrate the temple. And when he was there, he didn't create any sorts of disturbance. And so then he pivots to say that if there's any charges against him, it should be presented by the people who started all this trouble, which were these Jews from Asia.
And remember, the Jews from Asia, it's not like they're from China. It's, they're from Asia Minor, from, from the, from modern-day Turkey, essentially. He's saying they should be here, because according to Roman law, those who have an accusation should appear so that justice can be upheld. The fellows who are before him now, before Felix now, they weren't there. And so then he moves on in verse 20 to 21 and says, "Unless they have something else against me," because he did appear before them in the Sanhedrin. But the only thing that upset them, that made them go all crazy, was that he proclaimed his belief in the resurrection, which sent the Pharisees in opposition with the Sadducees, because again, the Pharisees believe in resurrection, the Sadducees do not believe in resurrection.
And so hearing Paul's testimony leads Felix to bring the proceedings to a close. Continuing on in verse 22. It says, "Then Felix, who was well acquainted with the Way, adjourned the proceedings. 'When Lysias the commander comes,' he said, 'I will decide your case.' He ordered the centurion to keep Paul under guard, but to give him some freedom and permit his friends to take care of his needs.
Several days later, Felix came with his wife Drusilla, who was Jewish. He sent for Paul and listened to him as he spoke about faith in Christ Jesus. As Paul talked about righteousness, self-control, and the judgment to come, Felix was afraid and said, 'That's enough for now! You may leave. When I find it convenient, I will send for you.'
At the same time, he was hoping that Paul would offer him a bribe, so he sent for him frequently and talked with him. When two years had passed, Felix was succeeded by Porcius Festus, but because Felix wanted to grant a favor to the Jews, he left Paul in prison."
It was very interesting, Felix was apparently familiar with the Christians. He's familiar with the Way, and so it seems he knew that what Paul was saying about himself was, was true, that this is really just an intramural Jewish religious debate, that Paul didn't actually present any real threat to the order of the Roman Empire. And so he says, "I'll settle the case when Lysias comes."
Now, it's interesting, we never see that ever, ever happen, and we, and we eventually learn why. Paul is kept under guard. He's given some freedom, so it's nice, he's kind of like a political prisoner almost, and his friends are able to come and meet his needs, which is really important because while in our prison system here in the United States the government meets the needs of the prisoners, in ancient times, when you were a prisoner, they didn't really give much for you. You better hope your friends show up with some food to pass through the bars so that you can stay alive. So Paul was able to have his needs met by his friends. So he had some relative freedom, probably couldn't leave the palace, but perhaps he could walk around, and his friends were able to come and make sure he was taken care of.
Now, in verses 24 and 25, we see that Paul is called into Felix's presence. Unfortunately, Lysias isn't there, as he probably was hoping for just a few days later. Instead, Felix is there, and Felix, you have to understand, he's about, around the age of 50 here. He's there, and his wife, Drusilla, who is a Jew, and she's around 19 years old. Now, you, the way that Felix got Drusilla to be his wife is kind of a whole seedy affair. You see, Drusilla was originally married to the king of Emesa, to a guy named Azizus. And in order for Drusilla to be married to Azizus, he had to become circumcised. Now, you can imagine, that's kind of a costly thing to do in order to get married to this woman. And Drusilla, by the way, as, as I recall, she was the daughter of Herod Agrippa. So she was royalty kind of, that's why she was kind of a prized woman to be married for that fact, but not only that, but because she was also known to be very beautiful. So this young, beautiful woman had married the king of Emesa, but then Felix saw her, and he says, "I want her for myself." And so he seduced her and led her away from her husband. And so she left a man that she was rightly married to, who, who had become circumcised to be in keeping with Jewish law, and she ran off with this Greek, Roman governor who was not circumcised. Very sinful, very bad.
This, so this is Paul's audience here. Remember we said Felix is a gangster. Now we see that he's immoral in all kinds of other ways. Drusilla, probably no great moral character herself And so Paul in, before his presence, before Felix's presence and Drusilla's presence, shares with them the Gospel, essentially. Shares them, with them what it means to have faith in Christ. And three things specifically he talks to them about. He talks about righteousness, self-control, and the judgment to come. Now, it's interesting, these three things bring to mind both the words of Christ and something that Paul has referenced earlier in his missionary journeys.
In John 16:7 through 11, we see Jesus, in talking about the Holy Spirit, and the Holy Spirit is being referred to here as the advocate. Jesus says this about the days which were to come. He said, "But very truly I tell you, it is for your good that I am going away. Unless I go away, the Advocate will not come to you. But if I go, I will send him to you. When he comes, he will prove the world to be in the wrong about sin and righteousness and judgment. About sin, because people do not believe in me. About righteousness, because I am going to the Father, where you can see me no longer. And about judgment, because the prince of this world now stands condemned."
So we see a little bit of a parallel here in terms of what Paul is speaking about. It's, it's fulfilling the work of the Spirit through his ministry, that he is addressing matters of, of, of sin, that he's addressing matters of righteousness and the judgment which is to come. Now, you might remember that when Paul was in Athens and he was speaking before the Areopagus, in Acts 17, verses 30 through 31, he had closed his speech off by saying, "In the past, God overlooked such ignorance, but now he commands all people everywhere to, to repent. For he has set a day when he will judge the world with justice by the man he has appointed. He has given proof of this to everyone by raising him from the dead." So he's, he capped off his message by saying there's a judgment coming. Jesus is, Jesus is going to come, and all are going to have to give account to him.
So these three things that he talks about, righteousness, self-control, judgment to come, have particular application to Felix and Drusilla. You think about righteousness, a, another way that you can, another way that you could translate this word would be justice. They're really interchangeable, righteousness and justice. Felix is not a guy known for being a just man, and so Paul is putting his finger on that sin in his life, the way that he's been carrying out his duties as governor. He talks about another area of sin, self-control. You saw this woman, you wanted her to, to be your wife. She was already married to someone else, yet you took her, and she was probably complicit in that, we can imagine. And so he's addressing both of them on your lack of self-control, your, the, the way that they are actually controlled by sinfulness. And then he caps it off by saying there's a judgment that's coming. Jesus is going to come and hold you to account. So even as Paul has been called into Felix's presence, you know, and his, his fate seems to hang in the balance, he's saying, "Your fate's going to hang in the balance when you stand before Christ, and how are you gonna stand in that measure? Are you going to be found wanting?"
And as Felix hears this, his wheels start spinning and he can feel the conviction. He knows that what Paul is saying is true, but he doesn't like it because he doesn't wanna stop sinning. And so it only makes him afraid, 'cause he can hear the truth in what he's saying, and yet he wants to keep doing what he's doing. And so for that reason, he says, "That's enough for now. You may leave. When I find it convenient, I will send for you." He doesn't wanna answer the call to repentance, because the salvation that is offered to us in Christ is one which comes by faith. It comes to us as a gift, but it is also a call to repentance, that we abandon our way of sin to pursue the way of Christ. He doesn't wanna do that, and he is afraid of the judgment that Paul speaks of, but he won't take the salvation that is offered to him, because this is just too much bad news, that he must forfeit the life that he has made for himself, built up by sin.
This is a good reminder to us that sometimes when we bring the gospel to people, when we share this message with others It is good news, but it will be bad news to them. It will only make them afraid. Why? Because they love sin. They love their sin more than they love God. Felix loved his sin more than, more than God. He doesn't respond like David does when he, he's confronted by the prophet Nathan because of his sin, because he stole another man's wife. In Psalm 51, when, when the prophet Nathan addresses Nathan, addresses David on this, he says, "Have mercy on my, on me, oh God. Forgive me of my sins. Blot out my transgressions." He recognizes his sin against God. Felix does not do that here. But Felix was at least afraid. You can recognize a bit of the truth in what Paul is saying. Too many people love their sin more than God, and even some of them call themselves Christians, but don't even fear God. So they both love their sin and they fail to fear God.
Now, true love, I mean true fear, rather, true fear of God means not only a fear of punishment, but also a desire to please, to make happy. I, it, it, what comes to mind is maybe some of you who have, who are parents, or all of us were children once, your kid makes something, they come and show you and say, "What do you think of it?" And when they come before you, there's almost like a little sense of, of fear because they want your approval. They want your, your praise. They want you to be proud of them. That's the sort of childlike fear we should have before God, that we want to make Him happy. We want to, we want to be the, the joy of His eyes. But there is also this other side of fear where if we disobey God, if we walk in rebellion against Him and choose our own way, we will answer for that on the day of judgment.
Felix doesn't turn to Christ. There's no indication that he does. He dismisses Paul, says that he's going to send for him when he wants, kind of almost like some play thing, and he is playing with him.
Verses 26 through 27 says that he's hoping for a bribe, and so he keeps bringing Paul. He'll talk with him a little bit, hoping eventually he'll get around to saying, you know, "Maybe I could pay you a little bit of money to let me out of here." Now, you might think, "Why? Why would he think Paul would have money to give him?" Well, remember, Felix, Felix is no dull guy. He's, he's wicked, he's immoral, but he's not dull. In verse 17, Paul told Felix that he brought gifts for the Christians. Now, Felix is like, "Aha. So this guy does have access to money. He can collect funds. Maybe some of his friends will collect funds to free him from me." And so he holds onto Paul for two years. Two years. Think about that. Paul was in prison as long as he was in Ephesus. Think about all the great work he did in Ephesus. It became kind of this atomic, nuclear center for the spread of the gospel throughout Asia Minor. Two years in Ephesus, and now he's two years in prison, longer than he was, he was there longer than he was anywhere else besides Ephesus.
Why? Why did God allow him to stay there? Why did he keep him there? And we know that he's going to have opportunity to also give testimony before the next governor, Festus, and also King Agrippa, and there's a whole line of dominoes here that we can anticipate. You know, you know, you just think about it, the timing of things, all the series of events that follow after. God has a plan. It reminds us though that God continues to work in the background, in the midst of our waiting. Can you imagine how frustrated Paul would've been? All of us would be frustrated, but a guy like Paul, how frustrated? And yet being able to trust that God was doing his thing, that his plan was not spoiled, but was actually proceeding in the midst of all this.
We can imagine Paul reflecting on his own, the, the word that he received from the Lord in 2 Corinthians 12:9, when he had, had suffered this thorn in the flesh that he wished that the Lord would take away, and the Lord had told him, "My grace is sufficient for you, for my power is made perfect in weakness." See, it's not about what we can do. We can do nothing on our own, but God can do all things, and we just have the great privilege and honor and pleasure to be part of the great orchestra that he is conducting And like in any orchestra, sometimes the horns have to go quiet for a little bit. And this is what Paul is doing. Quiet, but he is having these conversations. We don't know even all the little things he did in the palace there. We don't have all the story, but we can see God at work in all these things, because it's about what God's doing, not what Paul's doing.
Now, we cannot control what others will say about us. But we should remember that when they oppose us because we are being faithful to Christ, we should remember that Jesus says that we are blessed.
In Matthew 5, verses 11 through 12, he says, "Blessed are you when people insult you, persecute you, and falsely say all kinds of evil against you because of me. Rejoice and be glad, because great is your reward in heaven, for in the same way they persecuted the prophets who were before you."
You see, justice may be delayed, but justice will not be denied. Not for Paul, not for you and I. In fact, not for anyone. Judgment is coming. Our confidence that we will stand in that day is not based upon our spotless record. Paul was a sinner, he would call himself the chief of sinners, we are sinners too. We deserve punishment. Our only hope is Jesus. Only Christ can be our confidence, because He offers His life as a sacrifice to cover all of those who belong to Him. Remember the words of the Apostle Paul in Romans 6:23, "For the wages of sin is death, but the gift of God is eternal life in Christ Jesus our Lord."
We sometimes wrongfully receive blame and suffer shame, but there's plenty of fault that could rightly be assigned to us. Whatever injustice we suffer gives us just a small taste of what Jesus suffered for our sakes. He was counted a sinner, even while he had never sinned, a man worthy of crucifixion when he had done no wrong. He was wounded for our transgressions.
As Paul suffered injustice, we can imagine him contemplating this, reckoning that however much it displeased him, he could suffer his time in prison given what Christ had done for him. We can imagine that the words that he wrote to the Philippians came to his mind. Philippians 1:29. "For it has been granted to you on behalf of Christ not only to believe in him, but also to suffer for him."
He could suffer, trusting in Christ. This attitude sprung not from himself but his union with Christ by faith. It is a transformation that occurs to all who are united to Christ. Paul spoke to Felix of righteousness and self-control, virtues that emerge in our lives when you, we are united with Christ. As one commentator has noted, while Paul may have been a Roman prisoner, he was a free man, a free man in comparison to Felix and Drusilla who remained enslaved to sin. When Christ offers us salvation, he offers to liberate us from the power of sin.
Jesus says in John 8, verses 34 through 36, "Very truly I tell you, everyone who sins is a slave to sin. Now a slave has no permanent place in the family, but a son belongs to it forever. So if the Son sets you free, you will be free indeed."
As Paul stood before Felix and Drusilla, he was a, a living signpost for them to turn back from their wickedness. If we are not set free from our sin, our imprisonment to sin will terminate in a final death when Christ returns. The judgment is coming. It's a judgment that holds out hope to those united to Christ and produces fear or denial in those who refuse to believe in Him. Our waiting will end in salvation, the final day of trial will appear, and all who are in Christ will be vindicated in Him. Until then, let us live our lives with that confidence, let us live such lives before others that we act as signposts directing others to Jesus Christ. Let us be people of freedom who tell the sweet story of liberty, life, and deliverance that is offered to all who believe in Christ. The testimony of our faith being proven before all in the suffering and injustice we endure for the sake of Jesus Christ in whom our hope is found.
Let us pray.
Dear Father, we thank you for this example you've given us in the Apostle Paul, who stood firm in the face of great power, who trusted in you above all things rather than trusting in bribes or in political power. Father, help us to trust in you when we endure wrong for the sake of Jesus Christ, when we suffer false accusation, when people malign our character, when they do all sorts of rotten things, Father. Help us to trust in you, trust in Jesus Christ as the one true judge who will vindicate us. And Father, help us to be bold, to live boldly and to speak boldly, to call others to repentance because of the reality of the judgment which is coming
As I preached last week, Father, help us to live in fear of you above man, and that in so doing, Father, would you, through us, lead others to fear you and to love you more than sin. We ask this in the name of Jesus Christ our Lord. Amen.
Hey there, Pastor Tom here. I hope you enjoyed this sermon I offered to Rockland Community Church. Rockland Community Church is located at 212 Rockland Road in North Scituate, Rhode Island, just around the bend from the Scituate Public High School. We invite you to join us in person or virtually this Sunday as we worship God and hear the preaching of his word. It's our joy to welcome you into our community
Intro/Outro Song
Title: River Meditation
Artist: Jason Shaw
Source:http://freemusicarchive.org/music/Jason_Shaw/Audionautix_Acoustic/RIVER_MEDITATION___________2-58
License:(CC BY 3.0 US)