Pastors Jim and Marie Watt
(From: ACTS #41 - 24:1-27)
E. 24:1-2a THE JEWS PLAN FURTHER AGAINST PAUL
a. 24:1 HIGH PRIEST AND OTHERS COME TO CAESAREA RE PAUL
MeTA de PENte heMEras kaTEbeho ar-chi-eREUS A-naNIas
And after five days the high priest Ananias came down
meTA pres-buTEron tiNON, kai 'REto-ros [4489], TerTULlou tiNOS;
with certain elders, and an orator, one Tertullus;
HOti-nes e-nePHAni-san [1718] tohe-geMOni [2232]kaTA tou PAUlou.
andthey informed the governor against :Paul.
b. 24:2a And when he was called, :Tertullus began to accuse him, saying,
kleTHENtos de auTOU, ERxa-to ka-te-goREIN [2723]ho TERtul-los, LEgon,
F. 24:2b-27. PAUL CONTINUES TO WITNESS
1. 24:2b-23 PAUL CONFUTES THE JEWS BEFORE FELIX
a. 24:2b-3 THE BUTTERING-UP INTRODUCTION OF TERTULLUS
PolLES eiREnes tugCHAnon-tes [5177]diA sou,
Sinceby you we have much peace,
kai di-or-thoMAton [1357]gi-noMEnon toETHnei TOUto diA tes ses proNOIas [4307],
and by your :providence evils are corrected for this :nation,
PANtete kai pan-taCHOU a-po-deCHOme-tha [588], KRAtis-te [2903PHElix, meTA PAses eu-cha-riSTIas.
3 we accept it both everyway and everywhere, excellent Felix, with all thankfulness.
b. 24:4 But, that I weary you no further, I entreat youto hear us briefly in your :clemency.
HIna de meePI PLEI-ON se enKOPto[1465], pa-ra-kaLO aKOU-SAI se heMON sunTOmos tese e-pi-eiKEIa.
c. 24:5-8 THE WILD ACCUSATIONS AGAINST PAUL BY TERTULLUS
heuRONtes gar ton ANdra TOUton loiMON [3061],
For we have found this man a pestilence,
kai kiNOUNta STAseis [4714] PAsi tois IouDAIois tois kaTA ten oi-kouMEnen [3625],
and a mover of insurrections among all the Jews throughout the inhabited earth,
pro-toSTAten [4414]te tes ton Na-zoRAIon haiREse-os [139]:
and a ringleader of the sect of the Nazoreans:
hos kai to he-eRON ePEIra-sen [3985] be-beLOsai [953]: hon kai e-kraTEsa-men [2902]:
6who moreover attempted to profane the temple: on whom also we laid hold:
par' hou duNEse, auTOS a-naKRInas [350],
8from whom you will be able, by examining him yourself,
peRI PANton TOUton e-pigNOnai [1921]hon heMEIS ka-te-goROUmen [2723]auTOU.
to take knowledge of all these thingsof which we accuse him.
d. 24:9 And the Jews also joined in, affirming that these thingswere so.
su-nePEthen-to [4934] de kai hoi IouDAIoi, PHAskon-tes [5335]TAUta HOUtos Echein.
e. 24:10-12 PAUL'S WISE DEFENSE
And when the governor had beckoned to him to speak,
Ek polLON eTON ONta se kriTEN to ETHnei TOUto
:Paul answered, As I know that you have been of many years
e-piSTAme-nos [1987], euTHUmos [2115 ta peRI e-mauTOU a-po-loGOUmai [626]:
a judge to this :nation, I cheerfully make my defense:
du-naMEnou sou e-pigNOnai HOti ou PLEIous eiSIN
11seeingyou can take knowledge that it is not more
moi heMErai DOde-ka aph' hes aNEben pro-skuNEson eis Ie-rou-saLEM:
than twelve days since I went up to worship at Jerusalem:
kai OUte en to hi-eRO HEU-RON me PROS ti-na
12and neither in the temple did they find me disputing
di-a-leGOme-non [1256] e ePIsta-sin poiOUNta OCHlou, OUte en tais su-na-goGAIS, OUte kaTA ten POlin.
with any one or stirring up a crowd, nor in the synagogues, nor in the city.
f. 24:13 Neither can they prove to you the things of which they now accuse me.
ouDE pa-raSTEsai [3936]DUnanTAI soi peRI hon nuNI ka-te-goROU-SIN [2723]mou.
g. 24:14-15 PAUL'S VINDICATION BEFORE FELIX
ho-mo-loGO [3670] de TOU-TO soi, HOti kaTA ten hoDON [3598]
But this I confess to you, that after the Way
hen LEgou-sin HAIre-sin [139], HOUtos laTREUo [3000] to paTRO-o [3971] TheO,
which they call a sect, so serve I the God of our fathers,
piSTEUon PAsi tois kaTA ton NOmon, kai tois en tois proPHEtais ge-gramMEnois;
believing all thingswhich are according to the law, and which are written in the prophets;
elPIda Echon eis ton TheON, hen kai auTOI HOUtoi prosDEchon-tai [4327],
15having hope toward :God, which these also themselves look for,
aNAsta-sin MELlein Eses-thai diKAIon te kai aDIkon [94].
that thereshall be a resurrection both of just and unjust.
h. 24:16 A CONSCIENCE VOID OF OFFENCE
en TOUto kai auTOS aSKO [778] aPROsko-pon [667] suNEIde-sin [4893] Echein
Herein I also exercise myself to have a conscience
pros ton TheON kai tous anTHROpous diA panTOS.
void of offense toward :God and :men always.
i. 24:17-19 PAUL'S MISSION IN THE TEMPLE
di' eTON de pleiOnon e-le-e-moSUnas [1654] poiEson eis to ETHnos mou pa-re-geNOmen, kai pros-phoRAS:
Now after some years I came to bring alms to my :nation, and offerings:
en hais HEU-RON me heg-nisMEnon [48] en to hi-eRO,
18amidst which they found me purified in the temple,
ou meTA OCHlou, ouDE meTA thoRUbou [2531]: tiNES de aPO tes A-SIas IouDAIoi -
with no crowd, nor yet with tumult: but therewerecertain Jews from :Asia -
hous Edei ePI sou paREInai, kai ka-te-goREIN [2723], EI ti Echoi-en pros eME.
19who ought to have been here before you, and to make accusation, if they had anything against me.
j. 24:20-21 PAUL CHALLENGES THE JEWS CONCERNING HIS WRONGDOING
eauTOI HOU-TOI eiPAto-san ti HEUron aDIke-ma STANtos mou ePI tou su-neDRIou,
Or let these themselves say what wrongdoing they found when I stood before the Sanhedrin,
epeRI miAS TAUtes phoNES, hes eKEkra-xa en auTOIS heSTOS [HOti],
21except for this one voice, that I cried standing among them [that],
PeRI a-naSTAse-os neKRON eGO KRIno-mai [2919] SEme-ron eph' huMON.
About theresurrection I am being judged before you today.
k. 24:22 FELIX DEFERS JUDGMENT UNTIL COLONEL LYSIAS COMES DOWN
A-neBAle-to [191] de auTOUS ho PHElix, a-kriBEste-ron [187] eiDOS ta peRI tes hoDOU,
But Felix, having more exact knowledge :concerning the Way,
EIpas, HOtan LuSIas ho chiLIar-chos ka-taBE, di-agNOso-mai [1231] ta kath' huMAS.
deferred them, saying, When Lysias the colonel shall come down, I will determine your :matter.
l. 24:23 FELIX ALLOWS PAUL LIMITED FREEDOM
di-a-taXAme-nos [1299] to he-ka-tonTARche teREISthai [5083] auTON, Echein te Ane-sin [425];
And he gave order to the centurion that he be in custody, and have indulgence;
kai meDEna koLUein [2967] ton iDIon auTOU hu-pe-reTEIN [5256] auTO.
and not to forbid any of his own to minister to him.
2. 24:24-26 FELIX CONVICTED BY THE GOSPEL
a. 24:24 FELIX HEARS PAUL CONCERNING HIS FAITH
MeTA de heMEras tiNAS, pa-ra-geNOme-nos [3854] ho PHElix sun DrouSILle,
But after certain days, :Felix came with Drusilla,
te iDIa gu-naiKI, OUse IouDAIa, me-tePEMpsa-to [3343] ton PAUlon,
his own :wife, who was a Jewess, and sent for :Paul,
kai Ekou-sen auTOU peRI tes eis ChrisTON IeSOUN PIste-os.
and heard him concerning the faith unto Christ Jesus.
b. 24:25 PAUL'S DISCOURSE BEFORE FELIX
di-a-le-goMEnou [1256] de auTOU peRI di-kai-oSUnes, kai eg-kraTEIas, kai tou KRIma-tos tou MELlon-tos,
And as he reasoned of righteousness, and self-control, and the judgment :to come,
EMpho-bos geNOme-nos [1719] ho PHElix, a-peKRIthe, To nun Echon poREUou;
:Felix was terrified, and answered, Go for :now;
kaiRON de me-ta-laBON [2540], me-ta-kaLEsoMAI [3335] se.
and when I have a convenient season, I will call for you.
c. 24:26 FELIX ALSO LOOKING FOR A BRIBE FROM PAUL
HAma kai elPIzon HOti CHREma-ta [5536] doTHEse-tai auTO huPO tou PAUlou:
He hoped also that money would be given him of :Paul:
di' HO kai pukNOte-ron [4437] auTON me-ta-pemPOme-nos, hoMIlei auTO.
wherefore also he sent for him oftener, andcommuned with him.
3. 24:27 FESTUS REPLACES FELIX - PAUL STILL BOUND
Di-eTIas de ple-roTHEIses [4137], Ela-ben diAdo-chon [1240] ho PHElix PORki-on PHEston;
But when two years were fulfilled, :Felix was succeeded by Porcius Festus;
THElon te CHAri-ta ka-taTHESthai [2698] tois IouDAIois, ho PHElix kaTEli-pe ton PAUlon de-deMEnon.
and desiring to gain favor with the Jews, :Felix left :Paul in bonds.
NOTE: Luke as a historian: An exact observer of all details in his journeys with Paul - which started in Troas when he joined this team to go to Philippi. He understood the strengths of Paul, and being a Greek converted to Christianity, perhaps by Paul himself, was enabled to provide a historical insight with keen appreciation of the accurate, analytical reasoning of the mind of Paul.
Luke and Acts have both been authored by this man, possibly the only non-Jew of all the 33 known Bible writers. His two books were written for another converted Greek man to Christianity, Theophilus, which means “Lover of God”. How blessed Paul was to have him on his team, for Luke was a “physician” also, and would have been able to minister to the physical needs of Paul and his team. He probably consulted Barnabas and Mark, as well as Paul himself - to get accurate facts on the first of Paul's missionary journeys, of which he was not a part. Note also that when Paul was invited to meet with James and the Jerusalem Eldership just prior to this section, Luke was invited too. All accounts authored by him are in the “third person”. He did notpush himself forward for attention in any of his writings. Possibly Luke is one of the most important of historians in not only all of Church History, but even of world history!
It is possible that Luke and Paul together discussed the avarice of Felix, who was hoping for a bribe of money from Paul, to obtain the favorable treatment of the governor against the Jews. The fact that Felix held Paul in custody for two years - is not an act of true justice.
Also, as has been mentioned before, the use of the Greek language in Luke's letters - is superior to that of all other NT writers, including Paul. Paul in the book of Ephesians in chapter one, has a sentence of over 90 words! This would scarcely meet “Reader's Digest” approval! But was the Holy Spirit the trueauthor behind Paul's 14 letters? Certainly! But in His Sovereignty, He used in Paul, as He did in the other 32 known writers of the Bible, the vocabulary developed by each author, plus their other giftings! Those interested in the “inspiration” of Scripture, can check this out with evangelical scholars. J.A.W.