Subtitle: Charged before Man
Acts 24:1-21. This sermon was preached by Pastor Marty Bonner on November 10, 2024.
By the time we finish the book of Acts, Paul will have been put on trial before many different groups and men for the sake of the Gospel, not because of any crimes that he has committed. Paul had gone from being a man who arrested and put people on trial, to the one that was being arrested and tried. The tables had turned on his life.
Like anything in this world, we find that this area of arresting people and determining their guilt by trial is, first, necessary in a fallen world. Even if we could find one very honest person and give them complete authority over what information we could receive, and even if they were able to give us a perfect education on every topic under the sun, There would still be people who disagree and refuse to comply. Part of this is the image of God within us. We are not automatons. We can think for ourselves, when we choose to do so. Also, we tend to chafe at gatekeepers who hide all the choices from us.
However, on the negative side, we are all sinners and don’t like to be told that the thing we like is sinful. Even a society that cast off complete restraint from the Bible and totally followed a morality designed by elite social scientists (yes, I know…an oxymoron) would find that not all people would go along with it. Yes, we are bent towards sin, but we still like choices in our sin.
As long as humans are in this mortal state, we will need to have a monitored system that holds us accountable to truth. However, such systems and the people in them are easily corrupted because of sin. We might throw up our hands and say, “Damned if you don’t, and Damned if you do.” However, this is what is on display in the book of Acts. In the face of corrupt Jewish leaders and corrupt Roman leaders, the Spirit of God worked through lowly people to bring a greater hope to this world.
With that said, let’s get into our passage, where Paul has been kept in jail in Caesarea on the coast of Judea.
Paul is accused of causing dissension (v. 1-9)
The passage opens with the high priest and the elders arriving to make their charges against Paul. They have also brought along a man named Tertullus. He is most likely not Jewish. Orators were essentially like having a lawyer. If you think about it, the best lawyers are those who are skillful in their oratory. We can see this on display with the opening speech of Tertullus. He is declaring the praises of Governor Felix in order to soften him up towards their position.
The main charge is that Paul causes dissension among the Jews wherever he goes. The colorful metaphor of being “a plague” is used of Paul, and he describes the extent of Paul’s activity as “throughout the world.”
This may not seem important to us, but Felix would pay close attention to such a charge. Do you remember Aquila and Priscilla earlier in the book of Acts? They had left Rome because of a decree from Caesar kicking out all of the Jews. This banishment was due to riots among the Jews. Many historians believe that these riots were precisely because of tension between Jews who embraced Jesus and Jews who did not. Paul had a similar activity in Corinth and, no doubt, in other places. Rome did not like anything that messed with the Pax Romana, the peace of Rome. This heavy-handed peace would either land on the heads of men like Paul, or it would land upon the governors and magistrates who failed to keep their areas under control. Thus, Tertullus points to Paul as a guy who is a threat to Rome, but also to Felix himself.
Second, they charge Paul with being a “ringleader” of the “sect” of the Nazarenes. In English, “ringleader” has a circus feel, as if these guys are only interested in money. However, the word translated “ringleader” is more about the guy who is the leader of the group in question. The refer to the group as a sect. We would use the term cult today. It is a smaller group that has broken off of a larger group, at least intellectually. The Jewish religion had been recognized by Rome. However groups that broke off from Judaism would not necessarily have that same recognition. Tertullus presents Paul as a leader of a group that is heretical to the official views of the religion of the Jews. Of course, the men with him hold the highest religious offices within Israel.
It is interesting that they are called the “sect of the Nazarenes.” Jesus was from Nazareth, and those who followed him are labeled by the authorities as the sect of the Nazarenes. Of course, most Christians were not Nazarenes. The people of Nazareth were not very accepting of Jesus. Still, it is a recognition that Paul is with a group that follows a man who was executed for heresy against Israel’s God and a threat to Rome.
We might ask ourselves this question. Is Paul the ringleader of those who followed Jesus? Paul doesn’t control the church, and he is definitely not in this for the money. He is, however, one of the proven leaders within the group. Regardless, Tertullus wants to give Felix the hope that this whole movement can be controlled, or ended, by simply eliminating Paul.
Lastly, they charge Paul with profaning the temple. Rome was big on leaving the religion of the people they dominated stay in place. As long as the people showed deference to Roman Power, they could worship their own specific gods. They are not concerned about other gods so much as they are concerned about threats to their control. People are very touchy about religious things, particularly shrines and temples. The accusation that Paul was profaning the temple would be directly connected to an attempt to create a riot.
What does it mean to profane something? To understand profaning something, we must first understand the concept of holy. Something is holy when it has been set apart for a particular purpose by God. Of course, in the Roman world, there were many so-called gods. The temple was the place where Israel was to worship and sacrifice to the One True God. It was a place set apart for those purposes prescribed and described in the Law of Moses.
Profaning is something that a person does to something that is holy. It happens when you use a holy thing for a purpose other than what God has prescribed. This can be as simple as using the bowls and plates of the temple, that are only to be used for the sacrifices of Yahweh, at home for a dinner with special guests. There is nothing wrong with serving a meal to someone. This is a common act. Yet, you do not use holy things for a common activity. It would be even worse if we used the holy thing for immoral purposes. Thus, Eli’s sons would profane God’s tabernacle (essentially a portable temple) by using it to hit on women who came to it, even sleeping with them. Such disobedience to the stated purposes and decrees of God profanes those holy things. We can even profane the name of our Lord when we use it without the reverence it is due.
Paul had not been doing any such thing when he went to the temple. Everything he did there was respectful of God’s purposes for the temple. He had done the proper purifications, brought the proper offerings, and participated in the sacrifice of the required animals for completing his vow. If anyone was profaning the temple, it was the high priest and the elders themselves. Do you remember Jesus turning the tables over and whipping the money lenders out of its courts? God intended the temple to be a place of prayer for all nations, but they had turned into a place of merchandise. To add insult to injury, this commercialization was set up in the only area that Gentiles could go. They were mainly affecting the experience of Gentiles, rather than their own.
Though it is not stated, we saw earlier that they were accusing Paul of bringing a Gentile into the sacrificial area where Gentiles could not go (God’s decree). If he had done this, it would be a profanity, an act of profaning the holy things of God. However, this is completely untrue and only an assumption made by the Jews of Asia who recognized him in the temple.
We should also notice in verse 7 that they tell the story in a way that makes them look better and Commander Lysias look worse. They present themselves as calmly arresting Paul and preparing him for a reasonable trial. Yet, Lysias came “with great violence” and seized Paul from them.
Paul defends himself (v. 10-21)
Paul’s defense roughly falls into three sections. He first makes the case for his innocence at inciting dissension. He then shares his faith, which is the true source of their charges against him. He lastly explains the circumstances of his arrest and why the charges are therefore baseless.
Let’s look at his case. He first emphasizes that he had only gone up to Jerusalem twelve days ago. At this point, we should remember that Paul has been under arrest and in Roman custody for around 5 and a half days. This would give Paul a total of 6 to 7 days to draw people to his alleged plan to stir up a riot and execute it. If it is the contention that he hadn’t created a riot yet, but was about to do so, then the intelligence gathering skills of the Jews must be really good to catch him within such little time.
He then explains that he was not found by anyone disputing with people in the temple, especially not inciting a riot.
He then essentially says that they have no evidence and cannot prove the charges they allege against him.
We might ask ourselves exactly what was Paul doing in the temple? He had gone with several other Jewish men to fulfill their vows. This would have included purification rites, donation of money, and the proper sacrifices. He was not “profaning” the temple. He was doing exactly what the Old Testament says was to be done in the Temple.
He then turns to talk about his faith. Paul is not focused only on getting himself off of the charges, although he surely wants to do so. He also wants to please the Lord by seizing the opportunity to share his faith and the reason he holds it.
He rebuffs the charge that he is part of a “sect,” or cult. Paul and his fellow believers in Jesus worship the God of Israel (“of our fathers”) and believe everything that is written in the Law and the Prophets. Of course, the Sadducees cannot say this, since they only followed the Law. However, this was a strong doctrine of the Pharisees and is quite within the mainstream of the Jewish faith. In fact, the Pharisees were much closer to biblical faith than the Sadducees ever hoped to be.
Paul mentions in verse 15 that he has hope in God, which is a fundamental teaching of Scripture. He also accepts the teaching that God will one day resurrect the dead. The Sadducees rejected this idea, but Pharisees and most of Israel at least gave lip-service to the idea that God would resurrect the righteous and the unrighteous one day.
Paul ends in verse 16 with describing his personal goal. He strives to live in such a way that he would have a conscience without offense towards others. These others would be God and his fellow humans (especially his countrymen, the Jews). Of course, this is easier said than done.
It is hard enough to please a majority of the people, but adding God into the mix makes it impossible. Paul will not accept displeasing God. So, what does he do when pleasing God angers a person, Roman or Jewish? He will always choose to please God first and then ask how he can do it in a way that doesn’t purposefully offend others (at least having a conscience that believes he tried his best).
In verse 17, Paul moves to talk about the circumstances of his arrest. He had not gone to Jerusalem to cause dissension. He had been absent for a long time (this would highlight his necessity to go for religious reasons). Secondly, the guys who actually accused him in the temple of profaning it were interestingly enough absent in these proceedings. They were the eye-witnesses and cannot be properly cross-examined, whether by Paul or Felix.
Lastly, Paul states that he hasn’t done anything wrong. The only thing he did that could be faulted to him was to declare his faith in the resurrection when he was questioned by the Sanhedrin.
We are going to stop at this point, but let me point out a few things. We can be tempted to approach difficulties like this in a way that tries to avoid it. We can be afraid of losing money, jobs, family, a marriage, church membership, etc. Paul knows that religion and beliefs are at the root of this. In a way, he has set up the Gospel for Felix. I’m on trial because I believe in the resurrection. However, deeper than this is particularly the resurrection of Jesus, who was crucified as a heretic to Israel and a rebel to Rome.
This is important because the enemy of our soul, the devil, wants you to focus on what you will lose so that you will act out of a desire to keep what you have. What did Jesus say about this? “He who loves his life will lose it, and he who hates his life in this world will keep it for eternal life.” (John 12:25 NKJV). Also, “For what will it profit a man if he gains the whole world, and loses his own soul?” (Mark 8:36 NKJV).
When we are in tough situations, we can think only of ourselves and not the opportunities to share Jesus. We should beware of looking at others as being on our side or against us. In this scenario, we give our love to people who are “on our side,” and protect ourselves from those who are “against us.”
I have entitled this sermon, “Charged before Man.” You could end up in a court like Paul did, unjustly charged by others. Yes, it is okay to defend yourself, but never lose sight of the opportunity to show Jesus to those involved, and anyone watching.
We even have general charges within our society against Christians. If we focus only on avoiding those charges, then we will be an obstacle to the Gospel and our Lord Jesus. It is not our job to convince people that we are the good guys. Jesus was put to death as a criminal by those who claimed to be the good guys. What is the truth? Who knew this truth at the time of his death?
The best we can do is make sure that we are firmly entrenched on the Lord’s side. A charge against us is a charge against us should only make us pray harder to the Lord. “Am I guilty, Lord? Let me hear the leading of Your Holy Spirit for this situation.”
The enemy like to use charges against us to tie up our heart. No righteous person wants to be called a heretic or a trouble-maker. The fear that others will believe the accusations can trap us in all the wrong actions and all the wrong words. Only the Spirit of Jesus can help us to navigate such troubling circumstances.
Yet, there is one more level in which we face the charges of man. Our very own heart and mind can charge us. “I’m a failure. Surely, if God was with me, all of this bad stuff wouldn’t be happening.” The only thing that can silence such charges is the truth of Jesus. His word cuts through all the lies of our society and the lies entrenched in our heart. Sometimes, God is using difficult circumstances to bring those lies we believe to the surface. He then speaks to us to scrape it off and let it go.
The truth of the love of Jesus also helps us. The love of Jesus did not come to us because we were innocent of all charges. Rather, even while we were yet sinners, Christ Jesus died for us. God is not willing for you to spiritually perish. He is on your side. The real question is this. Am I on His side?
May God help us to keep our eyes upon Jesus, to be people of the Word of God, people of prayer and seeking the wisdom of His Holy Spirit. And, may we be a blazing light of hope in this severely dark day!
Charged before Man audio
Pastor Marty