## Study of the Book of Acts - Part 24

(Acts 1:8b) "…Ye shall be witnesses unto me both in Jerusalem, and in all Judaea, and in Samaria, and unto the uttermost part of the earth."

Tonight we continue to look at the development of Christianity to the Uttermost Part of the Earth.

I. Christianity in Jerusalem

II. Christianity in Judea and Samaria

III. Christianity to the Uttermost

A. The First Missionary Journey 13:1-14:28

B. The Council in Jerusalem 15:1-35

C. The Second Missionary Journey 15:36-18:22

D. The Third Missionary Journey 18:23-21:26

E. The Journey to Rome 21:27-28:31

1. Paul's arrest and defense 21:27-22:29

2. Paul before the Sanhedrin 22:30-23:10

3. Paul is escorted to Caesarea 23:11-35

a. The vision from the Lord v11

1) This provided Paul with comfort and encouragement but

2) It also provided Paul confirmation that he would take the gospel to Rome - a desire that God had given him while he was at Ephesus. 19:21

b. The conspiracy to kill Paul v12-15

1) 40 Jews bound themselves together with an oath to kill Paul

2) They enlisted the help of the chief priests and elders in getting Paul out of the palace in order to execute him

c. The conspiracy is found out v-16-22

1) Paul's sister's son somehow found out about the plot and tells Paul about it

2) Paul immediately sent him to the Chief Captain to tell him of the plot

3) When the Captain had heard the story he sent the boy away in silence

d. The Chief Captain prepares to move Paul v23-24

1) He formed a heavily armed escort: 200 foot soldiers, 70 horsemen, and two hundred spearmen

2) He also provided Paul with transportation to Felix, the Roman Procurator of Judea

3) The Chief Captain realized the importance of moving Paul but not so much for Paul's sake - He was afraid he would be unable to handle the situation so he turned it over to Felix

e. He writes a letter of explanation v25-30

1) Notice that he rearranges the facts of the account to make himself out to be a hero

2) He also tends to infer that he was in control at all times and that he had a clear understanding of the situation

3) He conveniently leaves out the facts that would reveal that he had broken the law by having Paul placed in bonds and the fact that he really didn't know what was going on for the most part; however he does state that Paul was innocent [v 29]

f. The journey to Caesarea v31-35

1) Note the map

2) That night they went to Antipatris where the foot soldiers and spearmen left them to return to Jerusalem

3) The next day they delivered Paul and the letter to Felix

4) Felix asked what province he was from because under Roman law a citizen could be tried in either their home province or the province where the alleged crime was committed; in this case Felix was in charge of both provinces

5) Felix then commanded that Paul be held until his accusers made their appearance

4. Paul's defense before Felix 24:1-27

a. The accusation v1-6

1) The high priest and several elders arrive after S days with a hired speaker - or lawyer. NOTE: They recognized that Paul was very effective in speaking so they needed some help in presenting their case

2) Like most lawyers - Tertullus - was extremely wordy as he made his accusation

3) The accusation was changed to make Paul look worse before the Roman governor - they are designed to make him look like an enemy of Rome. He was accused of being:

a) A world wide troublemaker

b) A leader of a religious sect of the Nazarenes

c) One who would desecrate or profane the temple

4) Each of these charges were of special interest to Rome

a) Rome desired to maintain order in the empire so it would look unfavorably upon a rioter and troublemaker

b) Rome authorized Judaism as a legal religion but would not tolerate any new sects

c) Rome had given the Jews the authority to execute any who would desecrate the Temple

5) Tertullus infers that Lysias had interfered with the wheels of justice as authorized by Rome when he took Paul from them and brought him to Felix v7-9

b. Paul's defense v 10-21

1) Paul states that he hadn't been in Jerusalem long enough to instigate a riot. v10-11

2) They who brought charges could not prove any of them v12-13

3) He stated that he worshipped the God of his fathers believing everything written in the law and the Prophets.

4) So he wasn't part of a sect - his faith was in the way (or Christianity) and his hope was in the resurrection of the dead v14-16

5) He explains why he came to Jerusalem and what happened in the Temple v17-18

6) He points out that the Jews from Asia should have been there for witness and that the Sanhedrin had not found him guilty (cf. 23:1-9) v19-21

c. Felix's decision v 22-27

1) He postponed making a decision v22

a) He had more complete knowledge of Christianity than others, perhaps through his wife Drucilla

b) He said he must wait for Lysias to come down and testify - but remember that he had sent his testimony to Felix in a letter (cf. 23: 25-30) and he thought Paul was innocent

2) He placed Paul in custody v 23

a) He had liberty - limited freedom under guardianship of a centurion

b) He was given the privilege of having visitors and friends come and go at will

3) Paul's witness before Felix and Drusilla v 24-25

a) Felix called for Paul that he might hear more about 'the faith in Christ'

b) Paul preached and the Holy Spirit convicted Felix when he spoke of temperance (self control), righteousness and the coming judgment

c) Felix said he would hear from him again some time when it was convenient

d) NOTE: Felix was a corrupt governor. His regime was marked by injustices which contrasted the righteousness of God. He was on his third marriage and he had stolen her from her husband. He was a man who was grossly lacking in self-control

4) Felix's character is revealed v26-27

a) He had hoped that Paul might try to bribe him in order to get free

b) He called him quite often in hopes of this happening

c) After two years Felix was succeeded by Festus; in order to please the Jews he had kept Paul in custody all this time - even though he knew that he was innocent

Next Week: Paul before Festus