Bible Study: January 12, 2022

Okay, well, we got the Bible study, you know, where we left off last week. We left off just the first few verses of chapter 24. But as we pause last week, you'll recall that Paul was in prison, in a prison of sort, jail, if you will. And he had been in Jerusalem for the days of the Day of Pentecost. He had taken the Nazarite bow in a peaceful manner.

But some Jews from Asia had seen him there, and they started accusing him of obeying a hypocrite, a rabble-rouser, if you will, of bringing a Gentile into the temple. And all of Jerusalem just pretty much fell into a frenzy. Paul had to be rescued. He was thrown into jail. And as we read last week, there was a trial, kind of a trial, an appearance before the Roman commander. The Jews brought their accusations against Paul.

And then you'll recall he pretty much sensed the division in the Jews, talked about the resurrection, and pretty soon the Jews were in mayhem, and the Pharisees all sided with Paul. But the Sadducees who didn't believe in the resurrection were all against him. So again, the Roman commander had to rescue Paul, get him out of the arena that they were in, put him back in the barracks so that he was safe. There was also an assassination attempt that was thwarted as the Jews banded together and said, I will just kill Paul on the way into the court room the next morning.

But the commander heard of it from Paul's nephew, sent him off to Caesarea in the middle of the night. Paul is safe, and as we came to chapter 24, last week we find him in Caesarea, now appearing before the governor, Felix. You'll recall also from last week Jesus Christ.

You know, in chapter 23 verse 11, it says, Jesus Christ stood by Paul and said, you know, when he was in prison, and said, you know, be of good cheer, Paul. You have testified of me in Jerusalem. You will testify of me in Rome.

So Paul, that's quite an assurance to have Christ stand right by you, just like he promises us. He will always be with us. Never leave us. Never forsake us. But for Paul to know he's not going to die. He's not going to die in Jerusalem. He's not going to die in Caesarea. He is going to go to Rome, exactly as he had written to the Romans, that he would like to come to their city and be with them. So we're here in chapter 24, and we'll pick it up where we left off last week. You will remember that in this second round of the Jews trying to accuse and get Paul convicted of something, they brought along, I'm just going to call him an attorney.

I don't know if Tertullus was an attorney or not, but this time realizing the mistake they made in the first hearing, where Paul pretty much divided them, and the entire hearing fell apart because of their division over whether the resurrection was truth or not. This time they bring an attorney along who's going to provide all of the details, all the accusations, and lay them out for the governor and Felix, the governor whose name Felix. So we'll pick it up here in verse 5 and rehash again what the accusations against Paul were.

As we go through tonight, you know, sometimes, you know, we're no longer in the place where Paul is moving from city to city, beginning churches, but now we find him in the situation where he's going to be in jail, he's going to be incarcerated for a while, he's going to be witnessing before governors and eventually to the king, and so on and so on in upcoming chapters.

But there's a lot we learn in these chapters as Paul's in a different phase of what God's purpose for him is. So here in verse 5 of chapter 24, we recount what tortulis, you know, they have these charges laid out against Paul. It says, we found this man a plague. He's just, he's a plague. We can't stand him everywhere he is. He's a problem. He's a sickness in our community. We found this man a plague, a creator of dissension among all the Jews throughout the world and a ringleader of the sect of the Nazarenes. So last week, you know, we talked about, you know, they called them a sect of the Nazarenes.

They were the ones who believed in Jesus Christ. You know, modern day, instead of saying a sect, they would say a cult. You know, that the church has been called a cult before in times past, probably in the future, you know, we'll be called a cult again because of the things we believe and how they don't, you know, measure up with what society wants to believe and all these things that go along with it. Satan uses the same terminology, the same attacks.

You know, when Paul makes that comment towards the 2 Corinthians 4, I think it is, where he says we're well aware of the tactics of Satan, he's seen them. He's lived through them. Through all the very city that he's been in, he sees exactly how the opponents of the church operate. Now he's here in Jerusalem. He's in trials. He sees exactly what's being brought against him. He's going to see the same charges added to him, the Jews accusing him using very strong language. He's well aware of what's going on here. And, you know, they paint him here as just a trouble, an insurrectionist, if we were going to use the terminology that seems to be all over the country here today.

He's an insurrectionist among the Jews. He causes all these problems wherever he goes. So in verse 6, Tertullus goes on and he says he even tried to profane the temple. You know, I mean, and we know what Paul did. He didn't profane the temple. He was just simply going through the Nazarite vow. It was the Jews of Asia who accused him of bringing a Gentile into the temple just because they saw him in the company of a Gentile convert.

But he never did bring him into the temple. That was a, in the Jews eyes, a crime punishable by death. But Paul didn't do that. But, you know, he says he even tried to profane the temple and we seized him. And we wanted to judge him according to our law. Now, we were going to take care of all this, but some for some reason they say we're up here, up here in front of you in this area. But the commander, or they could say, your commander, your Roman commander, Liceus, remember Claudius Liceus was the name of the commander who, you know, really protected Paul and saved his life by the things that he did.

But the commander Liceus came by and with great violence took him out of our hands.

So you can kind of see the way the words are there. You can almost picture Tertullus, you know, in that courtroom, if I can use that description, saying, boy, we could take care of all this.

But this man, Liceus, he came with great violence and took him out of our hands. Well, it was really the Jews who had created all the violence, as we know, from reading the account there. So it goes on in verse, you know, verse eight, says, you know, Claudius, or Liceus came, took him with great violence, commanding his accusers to come to you. Now, this word, we're going to come back to that word, accusers, in just a minute, because it has quite an interesting meaning when you look it up in Strong's and the way it's used in the New Testament.

But here's Tertullus, he's saying, he commanded Paul's accusers to come to you, and by examining him yourself, you may ascertain all these things of which we accuse him. So we've got, you know, we've got, if we go back and remind ourselves of what, when Claudius, Liceus, took Paul, saved his life, really, by transferring him up to Caesarea at nine o'clock at night, and then leaving him there to thwart the assassination attempt by the Jews, who said they would not eat, and they wouldn't, they were going to fast until Paul was dead.

Their intent was to kill him, you know, so we have Claudius, and he sends this letter, if you recall, to Felix, saying, here's this man, I don't find any guilt to him, I interrupted a, an assassination attempt, and I want his accusers to come up to you, and testify before you. Now, remember the accusers of what Paul had done, the charges against him are, he's profaned the temple, he's brought a Gentile into the temple, those were things that the Jews of Asia accused him of, and the Jews of Jerusalem, who were gathered there for the day of Pentecost, they just joined in the mayhem, and they just joined in the accusations. So command, listen, this was the confusers need to go up to the Caesarea, that's where the trial would be.

So we'll see, Paul uses that, because Paul's argument, or Paul, when he speaks for himself, it's a very sound and a very, a very good example of how to defend yourself in a situation like this that Paul finds himself in. But let's look at the word accusers for a moment, because if you look up in the word accuser, or the word, the Greek word that's translated accuser there, you see that it is talking about one who is, I'll just quote what they say, against one in the assembly, and then it says, especially of Satan, especially of Satan, Strong's says, because when you look in the New Testament, the word translated accuser there is only used five times in the entire New Testament. Three of those times is here when it's talking about Paul in Acts 23, 24, and 25. There's also the word accuse, which is the counterpart of the noun accuser, but it's the same meaning, same meaning, but the verb of accuser, used here in this sense. So three times when it's talking about Paul, we've got the Jews who are accusing him and accusing him. We're going to see changing the story, exaggerating the story, and the accusations of it. The mission is they just want Paul dead. They just want Paul dead. One of only two other places in the New Testament is the word used, and one of those places is back in Revelation. So let's look at Revelation 12.

And we'll see where Strong's, when they add that little thing about one who's being accused, especially of Satan, we see where it comes from because Satan is called an accuser.

Revelation 12 and verse 10. Let's just pick it up in verse 9 here. So the great dragon was cast out, that serpent of old, called the devil and Satan, who deceives the whole world. He was cast to the earth, and his angels were cast out with him. Then I heard a loud voice saying in heaven, Now salvation and strength and the kingdom of our God and the power of his Christ have come for the accuser of our brethren who accused them before our God day and night has been cast down. Verse 11 then says how you overcome those accusations, you know, by the blood of the Lamb, by the word of their testimony, and they didn't love their lives to death.

So here you have Satan. What God is here in this verse saying, Satan, what does he do? He accuses God's people day and night. He goes up to God. He accuses us of this and that. See what Rick did here. See how he said that. Look what his thoughts are blah blah blah. Satan can't read our thoughts. I don't know, but you know, look what he did. He's always accusing someone, always looking to discredit us, always looking to separate us from God. He's always against the people of God.

And that's what the Jews were doing with the Greeks when God inspired the Bible to be written. The same Greek word used to describe Satan as the accuser of the brethren who accuses them day and night is the same word that God uses when he describes what the Jews are doing to Paul. They're doing the same thing to him. So where's the spirit of accusation that's going on here?

We know where the spirit of accusation is coming. The entire intent of the Jews, they've said it in no uncertain language. We want Paul dead. What Satan wants of God's people is he wants them gone. He wants them separated from God in whatever way he can do it, in whatever thing he can throw at us. That's what he will do. So Paul finds himself in this situation. The other place that that word accuser is back in, I think it's John 4, where the woman caught an adultery. They are facing her accusers, if you will, and you remember Christ's identity. He writes in the sand, and then they, one by one, they leave. And Christ says, woman, where are your accusers now?

And he says, go and sin no more. So those are the only five places. Three of them we've read here in chapter 23, 24. We'll see it again here in 25. The only five places in the Bible where Satan is looking to say that Satan's spirit of accusation, you know, something that probably you and I will face somewhere down the road as well as the world, the world less and less likes what we believe and finds it and finds what we believe in the Bible, you know, just against everything that they stand for.

So, Mr. Shaby. Yes, sir. Yeah, I think another good example that goes along with that is just there in Job chapter one, where you see Satan himself, how he goes about accusing, going to God, you know, talking to God and accusing Job, saying an imputing motive, saying, well, he's only, you know, obeying you because he's so blessed because you're doing this for him, you know, that's why he's so good. So you can kind of see that whole spirit, that accusation in Satan himself as he goes after Job there. Yep, yep, you're exactly right. They see the same thing.

Satan is the same kind of yesterday, day, and forever, right? So, yeah, very good. So, we have this situation here. Here, the second trial, at the will of Paul. We've got the same things coming here. Again, against Paul, he's being accused by the Jews. And it says in verse, we go back to chapter 24 of Acts, it says there that the Jews also assented. So all the Jews from Jerusalem who accompany the chief priests up to Caesarea, they're all agreed. Yes, yes, yes.

Paul is guilty. Paul is guilty. We agree with everything they said. He's a bad guy. We don't want him around. He deserves death. The whole nine yards. So they make their case.

And then in verse 10, the governor nods to Paul and nodded to him to speak. And Paul begins his defense. Again, you know, it's a very good defense. It's a kind of lesson for us to know the laws of the land and how Paul presents himself because he presents himself very orderly.

He's committed to giving the truth and just laying it out for the governor there. It says Paul, after the governor had nodded to him to speak, answered. Inasmuch, he says, as I know that you have been for many years the judge of this nation, I do the more cheerfully answer for myself. I don't need an attorney.

I can lay out the facts for myself. Here's the truth of what happened. And I don't need someone to speak for me because you may, verse 11, ascertain that it is no more than 12 days since I went up to Jerusalem to worship. So he's saying, you know, they're accusing me of all these things, raising up this resurrection, causing all this commotion. I've only been in Jerusalem. It was just 12 days ago I arrived there. And as we remember from verse 1 of chapter 24 or 5 of those days, he's been here in Caesarean prison, right?

Then another day before that he was in prison for a while as well. He goes, I've been in Jerusalem a while. How did I get all this done in just this little bit of time to have all this commotion around me? So he's making a point to Felix. I haven't been around that long. I only got here a week and a half ago. In five of those days, I'm up here in Caesarean jail. And they neither, verse 12, you know, notice the word they as it appears in these next few verses, they, he's referring to the Jews from Jerusalem who are there gathered against him, saying all these things, making all these accusations.

They neither found me in the temple disputing with anyone nor inciting the crowd, either in the synagogue or in the city. They didn't, you know, none of them saw me. I wasn't inciting any crowds. I wasn't in the temple arguing with anyone, causing any dissension. I wasn't profaning the temple. I was respecting it. What I was doing in the temple, I was following right along with the Jewish custom was in the Nazarite file. I wasn't causing any problem at all. They can't stand before you, Paul is saying, and say that any of them found me disputing with anyone, inciting the crowd, either in the synagogue or the city.

I was just minding my own business. I was there just to observe the day of Pentecost, to go through this vow that the church in Jerusalem said might be in your interest to do that. And then all of a sudden, you know, these Jews from Asia saw me, and all, you know, all the uproar resulted from that.

And he says in verse 13, you know, they didn't, none of these that are accusing me of anything, saw anything, nor can they prove the things of which they now accuse me. But this I confess to you, that according to the way, we know whatever we see as the way, it's the Christian way, it's the belief in Jesus Christ, but this I confess to you that according to the way which they call a sect, we would call it a cult, the way that they call a cult, so I worship the God of my fathers, believing the things, believing all things which are written in the law and the prophets.

So, you know, we're going to see a little bit later, Felix is pretty well aware. I mean, the Jews and Judea are a pretty, you know, pretty sizable part of the Roman Empire, and of course, when they're in that area, they were very well what the Jews did. They knew what the law and prophets were, they knew what's what the Jews believed, and Paul's putting himself right with them.

I believe in the law and prophets. I don't have any kind of new out of way religion. I believe the same thing these people do. They say that they follow the law and prophets. I believe all things which are written in the law and the prophets. Verse 15, he says, I have hope in God, which they themselves also accept, that there will be a resurrection of the dead, both of the just and the unjust.

So he comes back into, brings up the resurrection again like he did in the first hearing with the Jews. He says the same thing Jesus Christ said, there will be a resurrection of the dead. See, Jesus Christ said it in John 5, 28, and 29.

They will hear my voice. Some will be resurrected to eternal life. Some to condemnation. Same thing that Jesus Christ said. It's interesting, the Jews, this time they kind of learned their lesson. You don't see that they go into this uproar like they did the last time. Paul caught us last time. We have all our division of our beliefs, and that ended the hearing for Claudius Lusius. This time, apparently Paul is just allowed to keep talking. They don't take the bite, or maybe this time they didn't bring the sadducees with them.

Who knows, right? But Paul drops that in there. I believe in God. I believe in the law and the prophets. You all are familiar with this. I believe in the resurrection, both of the just and the unjust. And he says, this being so, I myself always strive to have a conscience without offense toward God and men. You know, that's, you know, in that, you know, Paul is, again, we talked about conscience lastly. When Paul mentioned conscience, that he's done everything in good conscience, you remember in chapter 23, the high priest Ananias, you know, it just irritated him and made him mad.

He had, so someone just slapped Paul, slapped Paul, right? And then Paul responded because it irritated Ananias for Paul to say, I've done everything in accordance with my conscience. My conscience is clear. But Paul was speaking the truth. Ananias didn't want to hear it because, you know, what Paul is doing, he hates. He hates, he hates the idea of Jesus Christ. He hates the idea that there's a king and there's a way different than what the Jews have created for themselves in their worship.

And so Paul, again, is bringing up that word conscience. Again, the Jews don't respond this time, but what he's telling Felix is, I, you know, I've examined myself. Everything I've done, I strive to live in accordance with the law and the prophets. I strive to do the things that God wants me to do.

I have not done anything. I've just followed what he has led me to do. I myself strive to have a conscience, kind of a moral compass, a moral consciousness about me. What I do, I'm, you know, recently we've been talking about, you know, what we do, asking ourselves, is this what God, what God would want me to do? Do I love God more?

And will I choose to do what God wants me to do, even though I would rather do this over here instead? Do I make that? That's kind of what Paul is saying there. I strive to have a conscience without offense for God and men. I don't want to offend God, and I try not to offend men either. Same type thing we should be, you know, modeling ourselves after that. We let God direct our paths, the Holy Spirit, you know, guide us, guide us, and direct us in everything that we do, and follow Him, even when it goes against our natural character, right? You see here as well, Paul is making a very self-controlled, you know, case for himself.

So, he makes that comment, and here he's explaining why. Then verse 17, he goes on, explains why he's in Jerusalem. After many years, I came to bring alms and offerings to my nation. That's exactly what he did. You know, we remember, you know, back in earlier chapter, he left Philippi after the days of Unleavened Bread, and his purpose was, I just want to be in Jerusalem for Pentecost. Now, we know that that was what God wanted him to be, too, even though everyone told him, don't go to Jerusalem, Paul. Don't go to Jerusalem, Paul. He still did what God wanted him to do. This is why God wanted me over here to testify, to testify of him. And so, he said, you know, I came back. I haven't been in Jerusalem for a long, long time. I came back to bring alms. I came back to bring offerings to my nation, in the midst of which, verse 18, some Jews from Asia. So, he differentiates the Jews who were there accusing him from the Jews from Asia who were in Jerusalem for Pentecost. They've now gone back home, back over all that area that we know from where they came, because remember, the Jews would always make pilgrimages down to Jerusalem for the three, for during the days of Unleavened Bread, during Pentecost, and for the Feast of Tabernacles. So, they were all down there, but now they've all gone home. And Paul is differentiating the Jews from Asia, from the Jews that are standing there in front of the governor Felix, who were accusing him, in the midst of which some Jews from Asia found me purified in the temple, neither with a mob, nor with tumult. So, he's saying, you know, my accusers here are Jews from Asia. They saw me there.

They saw me in the company of a Gentile. They jumped to conclusions, assumed that I had brought him into the temple, which I did not. When they saw me, they saw me in the temple, being purified in that Nazarite bow that we had talked about. But I wasn't with a mob, and there wasn't a tumult going on. It was a perfectly peaceful, natural setting that he was in. Where the tumult came in was the Jews in Asia, who got the crowd all going, just like the Jews all over Galatia, Macedonia, and Greece had done wherever Paul had gone. So, he's saying there was no no consternation. I wasn't creating any kind of problem. I was just minding my own business when Jews from Asia, you know, created all this. Verse 19, again he uses the word they. This time he's referring to the Jews from Asia. Those were the accusers. Those were the one who said Paul brought a Greek into the temple.

Paul's a hypocrite. Paul did this. Paul did that. The accusers of Paul initially are not the people that are there today, right? It's the Jews from Jerusalem, the chief priests who just have hearsay. They don't have any proof. They don't. They can't. They're not eyewitnesses to anything that the Jews from Asia accused Paul of. They ought to be here before you to object if they had anything to you. Yes, they may. He's putting out a point of law there. When I was sent up here to Caesarea, remember, it was the accusers, my accusers who were supposed to appear here, but they're not here. It's these Jews from Asia. They have no proof. They haven't seen anything. There's nothing that I've done to them. There's nothing that they have seen. It's all hearsay. It's all hearsay, and it didn't happen. So Paul, you know, Paul's got a very well laid out presentation, if you will. He's taken it right to the core here as he lays it out before Felix, who you know is intently listening because he's been a judge before. He's heard these things before, and he's watching what the Jews do, and he's listening to what Paul has said. He's very aware, of course, of Roman law. And so Paul goes on, and he says, or else, you know, my real accusers aren't even here, or else let those who are here themselves say, if they found any wrongdoing in me, well, as did before the Council. You know, when we were back there in front of Claudius Lusius in Jerusalem, did I do anything in that Council, and that before them, that was wrong?

You know, that even says that the one thing I said here in verse 21, unless it's for this one statement which I cried out, standing among them, concerning the resurrection of the dead, I am being judged by you this day. So what Paul is saying, I made one statement, and then all mayhem, all mayhem just broke loose in that place. All I did was make one statement, and the Jews created all the tomb. All I did was say a sentence, and then everything came tumbling down, if you will, and that resulted in me being sent to this area. That resulted in this assassination plot that the Jews had hatched, because all they wanted was Paul dead. And so Paul, you know, he goes through this thing, and it's like, it's a pretty well laid out presentation. You know, I want to say argument, but it's not an argument. He's just telling them the truth. Look at the facts here, Felix, of what has gone on.

And so Felix does look at that, you know. He's not a dumb guy. He's a seasoned judge. In verse 22, it says, when Felix heard these things, having more accurate knowledge of the way, he adjourned the proceedings and said, when Lysias comes down, I'll make a decision on your case.

So this verse is interesting, too, because here we learned something about Felix. It says, you know, and I don't know that it's a really good translation where it says he had a more accurate knowledge of the way. The old King James, I think, says a more perfect knowledge of the way. I don't know if either of those words really... What it means is that Felix, he had a knowledge of the way. He had maybe a more complete knowledge of what Paul believed than the Jews did.

He learned, we're going to see, probably knew something about Jesus Christ. He understood this man, Jesus Christ, is the lightning rod wherever he goes. But he's probably heard some things along the way and understands what Paul believes and understands what this new Christian sect believes and understands that the Jews don't like it. Now, remember, you know, the Roman leaders, if you will, have been... They've been well-schooled in Jesus Christ, going all the way back to Pontius Pilate. Pontius Pilate had Jesus Christ before him. Pontius Pilate, you know, saw the Jews. And it tells us in the Gospel of Mark, you know, he knew that Pontius Pilate knew that the only reason Jesus Christ was delivered to him by the Jews is they were jealous. They were envious. They just wanted him dead. They had no basis. He didn't do anything deserving of death. They just wanted him dead.

And it apparently had gone through Roman, you know, through the Roman culture that where Paul is, there's these little tumult in these cities where the Jews get all excited about Jesus Christ being preached in Paul. And there's always a problem in the city. There's always a riot in the city. And Paul's been beaten against Roman law. Paul's been stoned against Roman law. Laws haven't been followed. You remember in Corinth, the proconsul Gallio did not allow the crowd to do what they had done in other cities. And Ephesus, I'll call him the mayor, I don't remember if his title was proconsul or something else, said what you're doing here, Ephesus, is against Roman law. Anyone who's rioting, anyone who's the sites of riot here, it's against Roman law. So they all, you know, he quells the crowd there, too. And here's Felix, the governor, and he's well aware of these things. And he understands what the teaching is. And what this is saying is Felix knows something about the way. And we're going to see why in a minute, because his family background is one where when we see who he was and who his wife was, we learn something about him that helps us understand, you know, the next few verses pretty well. But anyway, you know, as he listens to the Jews, make their accusations against Paul, and then he listens to Paul's response, he says, you know what, I'm going to just adjourn the court for now. When Lusius the commander comes down, I'll talk to him, and I'll make the decision later. You know, someone this afternoon pointed out, we never found out whether Lusius ever came down or not. Apparently, he didn't come down right away, because we're going to find out Paul was kept in prison there for or in jail there for for two years. So anyway, what Felix is doing is he's just kind of punting. If I can use the football term here, he's just punting. You know, the Jews really want him dead. He hasn't done anything deserving of death. Let me just put this on hold and put him in in prison. So verse 23. Mr. Shaby. Yes, Becky. Can you hear me? Yes. Yes.

If you said this, and I missed it, I'm sorry, I just wondered, do you know anything about Felix's background? I do. I don't know much about him. So I wonder if you could tell me just about his belief. So I guess I will. Can I get to that in a few verses?

I'll get to that in a few verses. We'll talk about Felix and his life. Okay.

I appreciate it. Yes.

Before you, if possible, in regards to the verse where it says he had perfect knowledge, what would help is perfect knowledge concerning the way, not perfect knowledge off the way.

Meaning they get reports, just like when our Lord was crucified, there was a public proclamation. Meaning they sent out a report, this person was killed in such and such, he wasn't running up corner. So they get all these reports as government officials of all that is happening. So it's not going to surprise them if they're reading their reports. You know, that's very good, actually. If it was said concerning the way, he would understand what was going on there, and what's all the problem here with this. Yeah, that's good. That word. Too bad the translators didn't put that in there, right? So yeah, that would have cleared that up. Actually, when you read the commentaries, they're divided on what that means. You know, some say one thing, some say another. So that that verb that would have cleared it up a little bit. Yes, Mr. JB. Yeah, is that Jane? Yes, Jane. The translation I have says, but because Felix was thoroughly familiar with the teaching. Okay, is that... are you in the Moffat translation? No, it's Aramaic. Aramaic, okay. Familiar. That's good, too, right? That's better than accurate, and that's better than perfect. Yes, any word other than those two, which are kind of misleading. No. Okay, so Paul, you know, Paul, Felix kind of hears these things in verse 23.

He detains Paul. He can't let him go, really. And so he commands the centurion to keep Paul, and to let him have liberty, and told him not to forbid any of his friends to provide for or visit. So basically, he's in one of those luxury prisons that we hear about already, once in a while, right? It's kind of like this. They're going to be in prison. Paul's in a good place. He can have visitors. They can come and go as he wants. He's not denied anything, but he's just not free to go out among the in the streets of Caesarea. And so he's just incarcerated there, but he's got some liberty. So that's a good thing. And that shows that Felix realizes Paul isn't guilty of anything the Jews have accused him for. He hasn't violated any Roman law. He isn't deserving of any punishment, if you will. So in verse 24, Paul goes back to prison. The Jews go back to Jerusalem. Everything's adjourned, and the Jews go back. They just think, well, it'll be decided later. In verse 24 says, after some days when Felix came with his wife, Drusilla, who was Jewish, he sent for Paul and heard him concerning the faith in Christ.

So, you know, whenever we have the little descriptors in the Bible, it means something. So we have this, his wife, Drusilla, we know she's Jewish. So that gives us a clue of some of her background and why she might know something, and he might know something about the Jews, and about the way, if you will. So I have a couple of slides here, or things to put up. First one I'm going to be on, you know, who is Drusilla? The Bible doesn't tell us who Drusilla is, but when you look in the commentary, and these are commentaries are helpful, if you will, if I could figure out how to move this up. They give you some of the background and the history of who these people are that the Bible, you know, doesn't fill in, but it tells us we know, and it helps to know who Felix and Drusilla are in order to understand why Felix does what he does, and why Drusilla is there with him in this, in these meetings with Paul. So this comes from Sir Robertson's commentary. And when we look at Drusilla's background, we see, we learn, we learn quite a bit about her. You know, first of all, she was married to someone else before she was married to this King Aziz of Amasa. And as the story goes, at least the stories that are told of her, she's a beautiful woman. Felix saw her, Felix wanted her, he courted her, she left her husband to come with him. And so she violated Jewish law. And it was an unholy marriage, if you will, in that regard, because of the way they came together. She was, but her family background is what's, you know, so we got we have this, we have this situation with her marriage that's questionable, given the fact that she's a Jewish, a Jewish, she was one of three daughters of Herod, a Grippa, one tells the names of the daughters there. Here's some of her family background, her father, murdered the Apostle James. We read that, we read about that back in Acts 12. So she would be somewhat familiar with this Christian sect, the people of the way, her father murdered one of the apostles. And you remember, it pleased the Jews when he did that. So he even had, if you remember, Peter incarcerated with the intent that he was going to kill Peter, because he wanted to please the Jews. So she would know something about this Christian sect that's out there. Her great uncle Herod Antipas, Lou John the Baptist, you remember the story about John the Baptist, how he was murdered. He had approached Herod and his wife. It was another one of those marriages that wasn't that was questionable, that wasn't legal, if you will, in the sense of the Bible. And he presented that to them. Herod didn't want ever to kill John the Baptist, but his wife hated John the Baptist because of what he told her. And she didn't like the idea that John the Baptist was saying, you were in a, I'll just use the word false, false marriage. It's not, anyways. And you remember then, it was the birthday, the daughter of his wife danced so well, Herod was taken aback, and he said, whatever you want, I'll give you. And she wanted the head of John the Baptist on a silver platter. So John, he had no choice but to kill John the Baptist.

Trusilla would have known something about that, and she would have known what John the Baptist had said to her uncle, and the whole story with that, probably. Her great-grandfather, Herod the Great, was the one who would kill the babies of Bethlehem when Jesus Christ was born, and there was this report of the Jewish king who was born. He went around and he killed all of the babies, two years of age, baby boys, two years of age, and younger. So in that family, Trusilla's family, we say, oh, you know, she's married to Felix. She has more than just a little bit of curiosity about the way. This has been part of her family fabric, if you will. This wage on the Baptist. This is Jesus Christ. There's all these stories. She's quite familiar with what's going on with Jesus Christ, and this always seems coming back. So she's now married to Felix.

Doubtless, she has told Felix some of these things, as this has come about, and Paul's there in front of him talking about Jesus Christ. Now, the commentator there below, you know, makes the comment that perhaps the mention of Drusilla in the verse here in verse 24 was just to show that it wasn't another trial. It was just Felix visiting Paul. He and his wife to learn more about the way. I think that's exactly what was going on. They were curious. They wanted to hear Paul talk. So let's go on. Then we'll learn a little bit more about Felix here in just a minute. So he, Felix, and Drusilla come, and they want to talk to Paul, and it says in verse 24, they want to hear him concerning the faith in Christ. You know, tell us about Jesus Christ.

Doubtless, they had heard, you know, the stories about Jesus Christ resurrected from the dead, all the scriptures that Paul would use to prove that he was the Messiah, and so they wanted to talk about that. But in verse 25, we learned what Paul talked about. You know, probably he did, I mean, probably did talk about Jesus Christ. Paul, he did show them from the Bible that he is the prophesy of Messiah, that he is the Savior of mankind. You can hear Paul talking. He would be very convincing because he knows this for a fact who Jesus Christ is. But as he talked, he talked about some things that they didn't count on in verse 25. It says, as he reasoned about righteousness, self-control, and the judgment to come, Felix, you know, the new King James, as it was afraid, the old King James says, trembled. Trembled is a better translation. Felix trembled and answered and pretty much dismissed Paul. So, as Paul, let me pull up another slide, then. This comes from the people's commentary and shared by others as well. I thought the people's commentary did a better job of kind of laying out what these mean. You know, they take the verse 25, you know, piece by piece and talk about this is likely what Paul was talking about. Again, as he reasoned, and it says there that they, they being Felix and Usylla, they likely expected that he would speak of doctrine. Well, what they wanted him to speak about, you know, we know in verse 24, talk about faith in Christ, tell us who Christ is. But instead, he spoke of the life that ought to be lived with special reference to those who sat before him in such state and glory. Here's the governor, a governor of Rome, here's his wife, if you will, the first lady of the, of whatever the province or whatever they called it there at that point. And he knew something of their background. He knew what Felix was like, he knew who Drusilla was, he knew what the marriage was about, and he, after he spoke about Jesus Christ, started talking about what life, how life, should be lived. And here's a couple people sitting in front of him that haven't lived their lives, Drusilla, in accordance with Jewish law, and as they've learned about Jesus Christ as being Savior, how people should live. And so, as he reasoned, and they heard him talk, you know, he talked about righteousness. When he spoke of righteousness, he spoke of justice to a judge. We're going to see that in a few verses, who was prone to taking bribes. He wasn't a just judge, he wasn't an honest judge. In fact, when you read through the commentaries, they say that Felix was, was quite a character. He was cruel, he was arrogant, he was all those things you don't want in a leader. And, you know, Paul, as he's talking, he's kind of laying out the way life should be. He's talking about righteousness. If you believe in Jesus Christ the Savior, this is how you need to live your life.

And as Felix and Drusilla are hearing these things, they're getting the message. She's kind of telling us what we're not doing, and they're, they're getting the message. He talked about temperance, self-control, it says in the New Testament. When he spoke of temperance, he rebuked the unbridled sway of the passions of lust. When you look at their love story, that's what it was about. It was about passions and lust. He lusted after Drusilla. She returned the favor. She left her husband, and here they are, married. And then he would spoke of judgment, it says, talking about what, you know, how we will all come before Christ and, and have to be accountable for our ways, our actions, our words, and the whole nine yards. So as he's talking, now maybe we've, maybe some of us have been in situations like that, when the person is talking to us, it's like, whoa, they are talking directly to me. I mean, it's kind of like they know my life history here, and I'm hearing these things that, that I, that directly pertain to me, and you get a little bit uncomfortable, right? You think, wow, I feel guilty. I, this man knows what things are about. I have all these things that I am guilty of, and Felix, it actually had that effect on him. It says he trembled. When he heard these words, he was, he was afraid. You notice he wasn't mad. He didn't get mad at Paul. He didn't say, away with him, shut him up. I don't want him to talk anymore. Cut his head off, throw him in prison, or send him away to Rome. I don't ever want to see him again. He, he trembled. Here's this prisoner who's talking to him, talking of Jesus Christ, talking about the way of life he should be living. And Felix kind of gets it. My life isn't that way.

And he's trembled, and he's a little uncomfortable. And in verse 25, he tells Paul, go away, go away, and at another time I will call for you. So we get the sense that Felix is getting the message, and it's made him uncomfortable. Paul did a very good job, did a very good job of speaking to, speaking to Felix. And it says, if God was giving Felix an opportunity to choose him, he had an, you know, he had a very familiarity with the way.

He was curious. Drusilla was curious. They wanted to learn more about it. And here, you know, when they learn more about it, it's a little bit uncomfortable, you know. And, and so Felix says, go away, go away for a while. I'll, I'll call on you. So we don't, you know, we don't find Felix ever repenting, though. You know, so many times you read about these leaders who become aware of God and, you know, and then they never follow through on it. They're aware of it, but they just kind of let time pass and they go on with their lives. You know, it's one of the things, you know, we see that happen in our lives around us, you know, today too. Sometimes God calls people, they just let time go by, they get on with their lives, and they kind of forget all about it. That's kind of what Felix had done. It, it touched him, but he never really did anything about it. So if we go on in verse, in verse 26 here, in verse 26 we learn something about Felix. He keeps him around.

He knows, he knows that he's not guilty. He's not deserving of death the way the Jews had wanted to, and it says in verse 26, meanwhile Felix also hoped that money would be given him by Paul.

Paul, you know, if you would just give me a few thousand bucks, if you would just give me a few silver coins, I just release you from prison, you're a free man, just pay me something.

That tells us kind of what, what kind of a man Felix was. So those stories about him being corrupt, arrogant, you know, in it for his personal gain, you know, are all there. And, you know, where he should have released Paul, he kept him in prison to please the Jews, but also wanted some money, it says. So, you know, bribery is one of the things that God talks about, okay, you know, and he is extremely against. You know, we, I think everyone knows bribery is alive and well in the world around us today. You know, even in the church, you know, we've encountered it and in some of the foreign lands we've been in, as we tried to have the church registered, we learned from some, oh, if you would just pay this, whatever government official is money, he would register for you. It's like, no, we're not doing that. But then we've been waiting and waiting for registration and realize, this is kind of the same thing. The guy wants to bribe. He's not going to get the bribe, but you know, the church goes on and whatever, and do we really need registration? They haven't stopped us from doing those things or anything else. Bribery, bribery God considers a very, a very bad offense. Let's go back and look at a few things in the Old Testament here, where God talks about bribery. You know, bribery is all usually associated with money, but bribery can be any number of things, right? We can look, you know, certainly as we look at the corruption that continues to get exposed and governments in this country and whatever country you live in and other countries. We have a few countries represented here on the Bible study tonight. There's no government of man that is apart from bribery and the sin of it, really.

Bribery can be, you know, if you give me your block of votes, I'll do whatever you say. I'll back you in whatever it is, whether it's the right thing for the country or not, right? You give me your votes, put me in office, I'll accept that bribe and do whatever you say. It can be anything at all. Bribery is something that is used to influence someone, to share the opinion of them, even against their own will. So in Exodus 23, there are a few verses here in the Old Testament. God talks about it that his nation, the nation of Israel, his government, the rulers that they would never accept or participate in bribery. So Exodus 23, and I believe it's verse 8. Let me get my notes here. Yeah, Exodus 23 verse 8. You know, God says, you shall take no bribe, and he explains why. For a bribe blinds the discerning and prevents and perverts the words of the righteous.

Can't trust someone. Can't trust someone if they're taking money, right? If we take money from someone, and because of this and that, whatever, we're going to look at them differently if we're going to want them to do them favors. That's what Felix wanted. Give me some money, and I'll look at things differently, and whatever. I'll give you what you're looking for. God says, don't do that. Do what's right. I'll provide for you. Freely you have received. Freely give. No bribes. Don't take any bribes. Don't look to how to enrich yourself. Do it because it's in your heart, and it's the right thing to do. A couple of times in Deuteronomy, he talks about bribes in Deuteronomy 10.

Deuteronomy 10 and verse 17. Remember the book of Deuteronomy. You know, at the end of it, it says, we should read it every seven years at the Feast of Tabernacles. And as we've talked about Deuteronomy before, the Feast of Tabernacles is look at the prophecies for Israel that we are still looking ahead to those prophecies being fulfilled. But in Deuteronomy 10, because it's the law that Christ often referred to, God sets His way, His standards in the Bible. Our job is to follow them and adhere to them. Deuteronomy 10 and verse 17, he says, For the Lord your God is God of gods and the Lord of lords. He is the great God, mighty and awesome, who shows no partiality nor takes a bribe.

God isn't going to be bought by flattery. God isn't going to be bought by anything. He's not going to be bought by anything other than and even then. What He's looking for is for us to turn our whole hearts to Him. He's not going to be fooled by the amount of money that we give to a church.

He's not going to be fooled by the amount of service that we put into a church. Look at all these things I did. Look at all the money I gave you over the years. Look at all this time. God says, where's your heart? That's what I'm working with. I want to know what you believe. I want this to become you. I'm not interested in your money, except that it shows that you honor me. I'm not interested in the time, except that you show me that you are turning your heart to me and willing to sacrifice to me your entire life if need be. God is interested in our hearts, not our money and whatever, and we're not going to stand before Him and say, I gave XX dollars. Where's your heart? Where was your heart? I gave XX time and service doing all these things. Where's your heart? That's what God says. It's interesting that in verse 17 here, it follows verse 16, where God talks about what He was really looking for from even ancient Israel. They weren't able to give it to them because they didn't have the Spirit. He says, therefore, circumficize the foreskin of your heart. That's the baptism that we do when we repent and when we give ourselves to God and yield our lives to Him to do what His will is. Therefore, circumficize the foreskin of your heart and be stiff-necked no longer. And then over in Deuteronomy 16 in 19, you shall not pervert justice, you shall not show partiality, you shall not take a bribe, for a bribe blinds the eyes of the wise and twists the words of the righteous.

God tells these things and remember the politics of man and the governments of man, they're all marked by bribery. There are those things that go on. There will be none of that.

None of the political schemes, none of the get rich, if I'm in office, none of the arrogance, none of the humility, none of the things that Felix represented as governor will be among any of the leaders of the people of God. They won't take frides. It will be the justice of God that prevails. When the Bible says there's no justice in the land today, there will be justice. Our God is a just God and in His kingdom there will be justice. One more verse in Proverbs 29. And verse 4, The king establishes the land by justice, but he who receives bribes overthrows it.

You know, the reputation, the whole nine yards, corrupt leaders overthrow the government. There's no faith in them there and there's no faith in them anymore. There's no credibility. Things go downhill quickly. So with that in mind, Pastor Rick. Sir. Thoughts? Yeah. Up in Canada now, you know, we got the Canadian Broadcasting Corporation and they're very, I guess the term might be left leaning and the government gives them money in some ways based on, you know, what they're going to talk about in their media and journalism. So that kind of ties into what you're talking about with how money can corrupt. And Timothy, of course, says a love of money is the root of all kinds of evil. Exactly. Very good. And I had another couple of thoughts on my briefly how God works in the trial. He allows both sides to have their say and sometimes the false acuages don't have any response. You know, I think of when Christ wrote on the earth, you know, the woman taken in adultery, you mentioned, you know, there he wrote in the earth and I heard I read in the commentary that he was writing in the earth that they wouldn't understand that meant that, you know, the wages of sin is dead. You know, in other words, you're going to go back to the earth. So they were so convicted that they couldn't really say anything. He said, whoever is among you is not sinned as the first stone. I just kind of tied that in a little bit with what's going on in the trial. You know, the acuages didn't even show up in interesting. Yeah. No, very good points, right? When you look in the Bible, I mean, you know, Judas took a bribe, right? That made Judas look what he did. The money corrupted his mind. It's not a big deal. I can deny Christ here. I can turn him into them. Not a big deal. Look how it corrupted his thinking and what it did to him and other things as you go through it. You can kind of see where bribes and people are sold. Yeah, it can pollute us if we don't watch what we're doing. So, great. Mr. Shaby, is it okay if I may comment? The difference between Ananias and Tertullus, how they flattered Felix, Paul told him basically his sins that he was committing, and he felt guilty. The difference on the Holy Spirit when it guides you in the all truth, Paul didn't flatter. That was one thing. The other thing is, do you think Felix, I'm sure he was trembled and was afraid because what he heard was the truth and he felt guilty. Do you think he was afraid of the Jews finding out that he was talking to Paul? And if they found out that he was going to accept a bribe, of course, to release him, then that wouldn't be a good thing for him.

I think from the sense of the verse, I think it reads that as Paul was talking, he trembled. We tremble at the Word of God. We understand the Word of God and we get it. We tremble at it. God says that in Isaiah 66. I think Paul, or Felix, was moved and touched by what Paul said. I think that's what the sense of the verse is. That he knew. He knew what Paul was saying and what was going on there. That's my sense, anyways. Right. No, I agree. The other thing, too, canceled culture is not anything new. That was live and well back then, even with Cain and Abel. Cain canceled Abel out. But that's going to happen more and more. So we're going to have to make sure that we are standing up for the truth. Same tactics, just different names, right? Now it has this canceled culture word on it, but it'll be the same thing that we face when people don't like what someone says. They just erase it. So yeah, very good. I was going to mention the effect of the wives. In Pontius Pilate, his wife had a dream. Be careful how you treat this man, the man, Lord Jesus Christ. One of the wives, as well in the book of Acts 24, they had some influence on their husbands. Very good. Yeah. Andrew Silla is probably the one who brought Felix there, right? Exactly what you're saying. She's the one who had some curiosity, especially with all these things that have gone on in her family background, perhaps. So we've got Paul. We got Paul. He's not giving any bribes. He's not going to go against anything that God had said Felix wants him to. In verse 27, when we're back in Acts 24 here, we find that two years later, Paul is still in jail. He's been there. You know, no, Lysius has come back. We don't find any mention of him. Felix hasn't released Paul. The Jews haven't been back to apparently do anything.

So after two years, Felix is replaced. Again, when you look at some of the commentaries, they will suggest that Felix was removed from office because of the corruption and the complaints against him. And Josephus will even mention that Festus was a more a more—righteous isn't the word—a more noble governor. He was a more just governor than Felix would be. So Felix is out. Two years later, Festus comes in, and Paul's been waiting in jail, you know, the whole time there. People coming and going. He's got, you know, free discourse with people and whatever. And it's interesting that God would allow Paul to be there for two years. I was reading through some of the commentaries just to see what they said about the two years. And one commentary, I don't know, some obscure one, I don't even remember the name of it. I didn't write it down. Later on last night, I was thinking about it. And they, you know, they asked the question, what would Paul—what could Paul have been doing during those two years? Was he just sitting there visiting people or whatever? And I thought, I thought this commentator had an interesting comment. He made—said something about, since Paul was able to have visitors whenever he wanted, perhaps—and this is just a perhaps, right? 100% speculation, we won't know what Paul did for those two years. But when God gives us time, when God gives us time, there's probably something that he had in mind. And Paul wasn't just sitting there twiddling his thumbs, waiting for something to happen. He threw out the idea that perhaps Luke was coming and was meeting with Paul and that the book of Acts was being written during that time as they recounted the history and wrote down what was going on and how Paul went to this city and that city. Because you remember that Luke was there for part of the voyages and he was there in part of the places and the cities that Paul was in. But that might be part of what was going on at that time. He even suggested that maybe Luke's gospel was being written at that time, but Paul wasn't part of that whole thing. So I'm not sure that one didn't seem to make a whole lot of sense because Paul wasn't following Christ during the time that Luke wrote about it. But anyway, it's just an interesting thing. What did Paul do during those two years? What did God have him do? We don't know, but maybe we'll find out. We'll find out one day when when Christ returns. What was the purpose of this two years? Or was Paul just being patient? Because God had told him, you're going to go to Rome. So as we pick up in chapter 25 here, we'll get through a few chapter verses in chapter 25 because now Festus is on the scene. So now we have had Claudius Lusius, who has had a trial or a hearing with Paul. We've had Festus, who's had a hearing with Paul. Neither of them have resulted in any conviction of Paul. And now it's Festus' turn. So as when Festus had come to the province, after three days he went up from Caesarea to Jerusalem, you would think perhaps that in two years the Jews had forgotten all about Paul. Life goes on. That's ancient history. We forgot that Paul was even alive down there.

The accusers have forgotten about it. They've never come from Asia to do that.

And maybe that's part of what Festus had hoped. But we find out the Jews had this unnatural, unnatural hate for Paul. It supersedes anything that would happen naturally. Two years, forget about it, we forget Paul's even there. But when Festus comes to Jerusalem, in verse 2, we find the high priest and the chief men of the Jews informed him against Paul, and they petitioned him. They knew Paul was there. They still are intent that Paul is going to be killed, as we see in the next verse here. They asked the favor of Festus, very innocently, right? Hey, Festus, bring Paul down to Jerusalem. Bring him down to Jerusalem. And of course, the Bible tells us what their plan was, was the same plan that didn't succeed before when Paul was in Jerusalem, while they lay in ambush along the road to kill him. So here's the Jews. Boy, they're just not giving up. We want Paul dead. Two years have passed. We've been waiting for this. Maybe Festus will bring him back here. We're not going to do a trial anymore. We're just going to lay and wait. We're going to kill him along the way. Well, remember, God, Jesus Christ had told Paul, you're not going to die here. You're going to go to Rome. And so, Festus doesn't acknowledge or doesn't go in with what they ask him to do. It's Festus' answer that Paul should be kept at Caesarea, and that he himself was going there shortly. And therefore, he said, let those who have authority among you come down with me and you accuse this man to see if there's any fault in him.

Okay, so, I've already been through this twice. We'll do it again. Come down to Caesarea. Let's have another hearing on it. I'll hear what you had to say. And so, when Festus had remained among them more than 10 days, he went down to Caesarea. And the next day, sitting on the judgment seat, he commanded Paul to be brought. And when Paul had come, the Jews came all the way from Jerusalem again. Remember, a 70-mile journey, when the Jews who had come from Jerusalem stood about, and they laid many serious complaints against Paul. And it says, which they could not prove. Remember, just the Roman courts of law were just like ours. You have to have proof that it's not just hearsay, right? You've got to have proof that these acts were committed. The Bible tells us they couldn't prove anything. But the Jews now have had two years, two years to think about this. They're still very much determined to have Paul convicted, have Paul put to death. And their story, which continually changes, becomes a little bit different. This time when they're presenting their case to Festus, they've added a little more to it that wasn't there the first time when they presented to Lyssius, or the second time when they presented to Felix. And we find out what it is, what the case against Paul this time was about. We see that in verse 8 because Paul answers. And he says, you know, when he answered for himself, he says, neither against the law of the Jews. So apparently they accused him of violating the laws of the Jews. He goes, no, I haven't violated any laws of the Jews. I didn't create any tumult in the temple.

I didn't bring any Greek into the temple. I haven't violated any laws at all.

Neither against the laws of the Jews, nor against the temple. All these accusations, I haven't violated any of them. I haven't done any of that. And then they've added this other one, nor against Caesar have I offended in anything at all. So now it's like, oh, okay, well, they they're not, we haven't listened about the temple. We haven't listened about the Jewish laws. But you know what, hey, Paul believes in this king of the Jews, right? And therefore he's not loyal to Caesar. Ah, that'll be something that Festus listens to. Paul says, no, no, no, I've obeyed the laws of the land. Can't even lay that one on me. I haven't spoken against Caesar. I have obeyed the laws of the land. And there hasn't been any kind of infraction where that goes. So we see what the Jews brought against him. Same old, same old, plus, you know, he also has sinned against. He's also violated the laws of Jerusalem. He's a traitor. He's more loyal to this king than Caesar. And none of those none of those stick, right? But the Jews never stop. Now, it's a lesson to us. It's a lesson to us. And when you look at that last one, when you look at that last one about violating any of the laws of Rome or against anything about Caesar, you know, earlier before the Bible study started, we talked about this Bill C-4 that's up in Canada that, you know, doubt that we know that even even in America, if you speak of things, if you speak of things that are against what people's idea of morality is today, you can be silenced, you can be canceled, you can be kicked off the internet. Today, you can't be jailed for it. But in Canada, you know, if this bill passes, I guess there are fines, there's imprisonment. And one day, the law of the land will likely be something that is in complete violation or complete contrast to the Bible. So if we were to talk about marriage being just for a man and woman, if we're talking about transgender issues, or whatever it is, if the country, if the world is going toward in droves, if the country is going through in in droves, we could be jailed. We would be against the laws of the land. But we learn in Acts, right?

We obey God before we obey, we obey God before we obey men. And so Paul's not worried about these accusations. And when that time comes, neither we should, neither will we be. We will continue to teach the truth of the Bible. And when answered, we will give the truth of the Bible and stand up for it, because the Word of God is what stands. And that is what we believe and what we will do. But Paul finds himself, you know, even having to face this against, you know, he's not even loyal to Caesar. So verse, let's see where we are time wise, verse 9. I'm gonna get up to verse 12, and then I'll stop. Verse 9, but Festus wanting to do the Jews a favor, you know, that these governors always want to do the Jews a favor, right? They were a big crowd. They were an important crowd. And they, their job as governors to keep peace. They don't want, they don't want the riots. They don't want the insurrections. They don't want all this stuff. They just want to keep it in peace. It's like, Festus is just like everyone else. If I could just do the Jews a favor, you know, I could get this off of my plate. This is an irritating thing, you know, to him because he knows Paul isn't guilty. He knows it, right? And so he asks Paul this interesting thing. He says in verse 9, hey Paul, are you willing to go to Jerusalem and be judged before me concerning these things? Are you willing to go there and be judged? Well, that's what the Jews want. And so it's like, hey, that's what they wanted. Hey, Paul, maybe we just go down to Jerusalem. Now the point of law here is Paul, Paul was a Roman citizen. He hasn't violated anything. Nothing's been proved. He doesn't have to say yes. He doesn't have to say yes. That's why Festus says, hey Paul, are you willing to go?

If Paul says yes, we kind of know what the Jews have planned along the way. Maybe Festus even is aware there's something up, but it gets this problem off my plate. But Paul doesn't have to say yes. He's well aware of what his rights are. I don't have to say yes. They can't make me go to Jerusalem. It's only if I agree to go to Jerusalem. So he says no, I'm not going to Jerusalem.

You know, he doesn't have to. It's very good to be aware of the laws of the land that if you're ever called to account, that you're in complete compliance with the laws of the land, except as they conflict with God's laws, and that you know what they are, and that you can speak to them. Because Festus is well aware of them. Paul is well aware of them. And you know, we might be saying, well sure, sure, and I'll go down and I'll face the Jews there. He didn't have to. And God, of course, remember, you know, God is there with, the Holy Spirit is there with Paul, giving him the words to say and leading him in all this, the same thing that God says to do for us when we're called before magistrates and governors, etc., etc. So he says, he says in verse 10, no, I'm basically, I'm not going to Jerusalem. Paul said, I stand at Caesar's judgment seat, where I ought to be judged. To the Jews, I have done no wrong, as you very well know. This is now the third time I've been tried. Lyssius could find nothing. Festus or Felix could find nothing. You know yourself. There's nothing here that I'm guilty of. You know what the score is. So I know I'm not going for if I'm an offender. Paul says, if I committed anything deserving of death, you know what? I'll accept my penalty. I'll accept my punishment. Anything deserving of death, I do not object to die. But if there is nothing in these things of which these men accuse me, you know, falsely, as we know, no one can deliver me to them. I appeal to Caesar. Well, okay. Festus, Festus seizes on that, right? Verse 12, then Festus, when he had conferred with the council, answered, You've appealed to Caesar? To Caesar you shall go. So Paul then is now on his way to Rome, exactly where God said, or Jesus Christ told him, he would be going. So let's end there for tonight. Now we'll pick it up. We'll pick it up beginning there in verse 13 next week. So let me throw it open for comments, questions, observations, anything at all that you want to talk about. Mr. Shady, this is James. Hey James. Hey, I was noticing, I don't know whether you had mentioned this before or had seen it somewhere or what, but it's just a, I guess it's a word thing.

Someone has said when you're speaking of Jerusalem, and you're going to Jerusalem, you're always going up to Jerusalem. Right. And if you're going away from Jerusalem, it's always going down, like down to Antioch or etc. I thought that was interesting. Yep, we talked about that, because if you look at the map of it, Caesarea is north, right? But they always talk about going down to Caesarea, even though Caesarea is north, because of the very reason you just said so. Okay, any other? Okay, well, let me just remind the people in Jacksonville. Services are 1130 in Jacksonville, 130 in Orlando. I'll see some of you, some of you the Sabbath, and the rest of you stay healthy, stay warm, stay well. And if I don't see you the Sabbath, we'll look forward to seeing you next Wednesday, okay? Inter