The man is an orator, according to the Greek noun a rhetorician, in essence a lawyer! “Tertullus” means, according to one lexicon, “triple hardened!” Is that also a statement concerning his heart?

He was employed by the Sanhedrin (the High Priest specifically) to “accuse” Paul before a Roman Governor named Felix.

His charges were threefold: (Remember that likely meaning of his name, based on the number “three!”)

“For we have found this man a pestilent fellow, and a mover of sedition among all the Jews throughout the world, and a ringleader of the sect of the Nazarenes: who also hath gone about to profane the temple.” Verses 5 and 6 of Acts 24; an insurrectionist (rebel) against Rome, the a member of an illegal cult (Christianity, the Nazarenes), and a desecrator/blasphemer of the Holy Temple!

But Paul here defended himself, vigorously!

He had boldly said earlier: “What mean ye to weep and to break mine heart? for I am ready not to be bound only, but also to die at Jerusalem for the name of the Lord Jesus.” (Acts 21:13) … but has apparently decided not to be labeled with these “bogus” (though “serious”) accusations! He will refute them!

Good for Paul!

Not quite ready to die, after all! And we Christians are the richer for his decision, his defense that day! (Otherwise we would possess none of the precious “Prison Epistles” Paul later wrote!)

Tell us more, Luke: “Then Paul, after that the governor had beckoned unto him to speak, answered …” Acts 24:10, and what an “answer” this is!

A great defense of the Faith!

And a poignant Sermon, too!

Bold as well: “Neither can they prove the things whereof they now accuse me.” Verse 13!

Paul to Felix: “But this I confess unto thee, that after THE WAY which they call heresy, so worship I the God of my fathers, believing all things which are written in the law and in the prophets: and have hope toward God, which they themselves also allow, that there shall be a resurrection of the dead, both of the just and unjust. And herein do I exercise myself, to have always a conscience void of offence toward God, and toward men.” Verses 14-16, a “good confession” indeed! (Here Paul is very much like our Lord: “Christ Jesus, who before Pontius Pilate witnessed a good confession.” 1 Timothy 6:13)

“The Way,” one of the earliest names for Christianity!

So called because Jesus is “THE WAY!” John 14:6, the only Way! (“I am the way, the truth, and the life: no man cometh unto the Father, but by me.”)

The result of this Sermon?

Surprisingly, Felix decides to hear more, in a different setting, apart from Paul’s accusers! With his Wife present, in fact!

And that we shall discuss next Lesson, Lord willing.

— Dr. Mike Bagwell

Oh, how I think Paul should have stayed out of Jerusalem and pursued his ministry at the “Apostle to the Gentiles!” My mind goes back to something the Lord told Paul long ago … “Make haste, and get thee quickly out of Jerusalem: for they will not receive thy testimony concerning me.” Acts 22:18, a command!

Or that Paul would have stayed committed to this plan: “From henceforth I will go unto the Gentiles.” Acts 18:6

He literally gave his life for the Jews, in some ways! (“For I could wish that myself were accursed from Christ for my brethren, my kinsmen according to the flesh.” And “Brethren, my heart’s desire and prayer to God for Israel is, that they might be saved.” Romans 9:3 and Romans 10:1, King James Version.)

.

Primarily I want to focus on one verse this morning: “And when Paul’s SISTER’S SON heard of their lying in wait, he went and entered into the castle, and told Paul.” Acts 23:16

Another plot has been hatched against Paul. (“Certain of the Jews banded together, and bound themselves under a curse, saying that they would neither eat nor drink till they had killed Paul. And they were more than forty which had made this conspiracy.”)

These rebels came to the Sandedrin (chief priests and elders) and concocted a plan to “ambush” Paul while he was being escorted (by armed guard, nonetheless) to a certain meeting hall! (Acts 23:14-15)

But … our verse today … one young man spoiled their devious assassination attempt! And he did so only because he somehow “heard” of their murderous intentions!

So he ” went to the “castle” (a military encampment, fortress, stronghold) where Paul was being held … gained access to his “Uncle Paul” … and told him the story! (That’s called “initiative!”)

Luke takes up here: “Then Paul called one of the centurions unto him, and said, Bring this YOUNG MAN unto the chief captain: for he hath a certain thing to tell him. So he took him, and brought him to the chief captain, and said, PAUL THE PRISONER called me unto him, and prayed me to bring this young man unto thee, who hath something to say unto thee. Then the chief captain took him by the hand, and went with him aside privately, and asked him, What is that thou hast to tell me? And he said, The Jews have agreed to desire thee that thou wouldest bring down Paul to morrow into the COUNCIL (SANHEDRIN), as though they would enquire somewhat of him more perfectly. But do not thou yield unto them: for there lie in wait for him of them MORE THAN FORTY MEN, which have bound themselves with an oath, that they will neither eat nor drink TILL THEY HAVE KILLED HIM: and now are they ready, looking for a promise from thee. so the chief captain then let the young man depart, and charged him, See thou tell no man that thou hast shewed these things to me.” Acts 23:17-22, intrigue! Notice now the great Apostle is simply “Paul the prisoner!”

And … as a result … Paul was spared!

The Chief Captain (with a strong guard of 200 soldiers and 70 additional cavalrymen) sends Paul to Caeserea! (A distance of over 70 miles!)

Paul … clearly safe for now!

Because of a nephew!

Otherwise mentioned nowhere else in Scripture!

I want to write today on the “little things” God uses in our lives!

Like the “sleepless night” that spared the Nation of Israel during the days of Haman, another plot spoiled!

Like the insignificant “rooster” which crowed one morning, waking Peter to his senses!

Like the “little maid” who told of a Prophet in Israel, thus (indirectly) ridding Captain Naaman of his leprosy!

Like the “little island” named Patmos where we Christians were given the great Book of Revelation, John being exiled there!

Wow!

Now this morning (or later today, whenever practical) I’d like to ask you to sit down and ponder … some “little thing” (or maybe even “little things”) God has used in your life!

I’m thinking right now of a “little book” (written by Bernard Palmer) that the Lord used when I was called to preach the Gospel!

But I must close!

The ministry of “little things” … in the Hands of a great God!

— Dr. Mike Bagwell

.

Technically it’s called a “Christophany,” I think. The word literally means “an appearance of Christ!”

And the Apostle Paul has had so many of these, has experienced them so often, that he quantifies their number like this: “an abundance of revelations!” (2 Corinthians 12:7, maybe even innumerable!)

I am supposing that when Paul wrote Romans, for example, he received such a “Revelation” to do so! Two more “Revelations” (maybe 3) when he wrote the Epistles to the Corinthians! His life is filled, punctuated with such “Christophanies!” I’d even go so far as to say that Paul’s very salvation experience consisted of one of them, a “Christophany!” (Acts 9:5 … “And Paul said, WHO ARE THOU, Lord? And the Lord said, I AM JESUS whom thou persecutest: it is hard for thee to kick against the pricks.”)

And yet again in today’s Lesson Paul is given a “Christophany!” (Acts 22) He has recently been arrested (once) and nearly killed (twice and counting) when on a trip (his final one) to Jerusalem.

Paul is pretty discouraged, looks like.

After all, he just caused a riot! And would have been killed, except for a Roman garrison nearby! Luke continues the story: “And when there arose a great dissension (among the Sanhedrin), the chief captain, fearing lest Paul should have been pulled in pieces of them, commanded the soldiers to go down, and to take him by force from among them, and to bring him into the castle.” Acts 23:10

Paul, now all alone … judging by the pronouns here used … needs a word of exhortation! Watch what occurs: “And the night following the LORD (JESUS) stood by him, and said, Be of good cheer, Paul: for as thou hast testified of me in Jerusalem, so must thou bear witness also at Rome.” Acts 23:11

Yes … Jesus came down! Appeared, as in “Christophany!”

No mention here of a “vision.”

Or “dream.”

Or that Paul was “hallucinating!”

“The Lord stood by him!”

And encouraged him, “Be of good cheer!” That’s really the positive side of “Fear not!”

Then, as if helping Paul get back on the right track … “You are yet going to yet testify of me in Rome!”

In other words: Paul, they are not going to kill you here. No matter how they “plot!” You will preach God’s Word in that far away Capital of the World! (Acts 1:8 … “But ye shall receive power, after that the Holy Ghost is come upon you: and ye shall be witnesses unto me both in Jerusalem, and in all Judaea, and in Samaria, and unto the UTTERMOST PART of the earth.” That last phrase, “Rome” for sure! The end of the map! “All roads led to Rome!”)

And, surely, Paul took courage!

He’s ready to live another day!

Jesus was trained of His Father to do this: “The Lord GOD hath given me the tongue of the learned, that I should know how to speak a word in season to him that is weary: he wakeneth morning by morning, he wakeneth mine ear to hear as the learned.” Isaiah 40:4, “a word to the weary!”

Here is Jesus as “Comforter!”

And here I just end today’s thoughts … yet I must testify that the Lord Jesus has “comforted” me many a time as well. I’ve never seen Him literally (not yet) or heard Him audibly (not yet) … but He sure has “stood by me” (via His Holy Spirit) and “spoken to me” (via His Word) again and again!

Oh yes, Jesus did promise: “I will never leave thee, nor forsake thee.” Hebrews 13:5, a Promise He has kept!

And in the “Great Commission,” too … “Lo, I am with you alway, even unto the end of the world.” Matthew 28:20

Amen!

— Dr. Mike Bagwell

Jesus “stood up” as Stephen was dying! Jesus “came down” as Paul was languishing!

What a Saviour!

.

Paul has somehow gotten himself into a real dilemma! He is standing before the Jewish Sanhedrin (over 90% of which hate him with a passion) with a Roman execution squad uncomfortable nearby!

Paul clearly sensed the imminent danger … and skillfully (or craftily) used a ploy worthy of the most deft of court (trial) lawyers!

“But when Paul perceived that the one part were Sadducees, and the other Pharisees, he cried out in the council (Greek = Sanhedrin), Men and brethren, I am a Pharisee, the son of a Pharisee: of the hope and RESURRECTION of the dead I am called in question.” Acts 23:6

That one key word, in that tense environment … “resurrection” … drove a wedge deeply into the theological heart of that body of proud Judges!

Let’s let Luke explain … “And when he (Paul) had so said (that single, divisive word, RESURRECTION), there arose a dissension (“stasis = a taking of sides, battle lines drawn) between the Pharisees and the Sadducees: and the multitude was divided. For the Sadducees say that there is no resurrection, neither angel, nor spirit: but the Pharisees confess both.” Verses 7 and 8 of Acts 23.

Paul has sown enough discord among the Sandedrin members that their minds are no longer (for the time being) focused on killing him … but are on defending their own specific doctrinal nuances!

Here’s the outcome: “And there arose a great cry: and the scribes that were of the Pharisees’ part arose, and strove, saying, We find no evil in this man: but if a spirit or an angel hath spoken to him, let us not fight against God. And when there arose a great dissension, the chief captain, fearing lest Paul should have been pulled in pieces of them, commanded the soldiers to go down, and to take him by force from among them, and to bring him into the castle.” (Verses 9 and 10, Paul rescued, by the Romans again, twice in one day!)

Paul, here in danger of being “pulled in pieces!” At least the commanding Officer thought that to be the case.

I think Paul must have been “shaken!”

But, being “wise as a serpent,” he avoided further harm, evading their deviously planned execution that singular day! (Matthew 10:16)

But, to my eyes anyway, Paul’s verbal tactic was a far cry from his usually noble self! (Jesus could have used this same approach when among His enemies … but never did! He faced them boldly and decisively and Scripturally!)

Paul’s actions that day remind me of David (the future King of Israel) on one of his less glorious days, too. When he was also in a “place” beneath his dignity, in the Land of the Philistines!

“And David arose, and fled that day for fear of Saul, and went to Achish the king of Gath. And the servants of Achish said unto him, Is not this David the king of the land? did they not sing one to another of him in dances, saying, Saul hath slain his thousands, and David his ten thousands? And David laid up these words in his heart, and was sore afraid of Achish the king of Gath. And he changed his behaviour before them, and feigned himself mad (crazy) in their hands, and scrabbled on the doors of the gate, and let his spittle fall down upon his beard. Then said Achish unto his servants, Lo, ye see the man is mad: wherefore then have ye brought him to me? Have I need of mad men, that ye have brought this fellow to play the mad man in my presence? shall this fellow come into my house? David therefore departed thence, and escaped to the cave Adullam: and when his brethren and all his father’s house heard it, they went down thither to him.” (1 Samuel 21, the last paragraph.)

David fled to “Gath,” for protection! Where Goliath once lived? I imagine he was real popular there, having slain their favorite son! (Makes about as much sense as Paul being before the Sanhedrin to be theologically evaluated!)

But David figured a way “out!”

He acted like a crazy man! (Considered very bad “luck” back in those days, a sign of a “curse” being placed upon one’s household! A lunatic in your midst, in your presence!)

And the King-to-be (David) not only escaped, but was virtually “kicked out” of the Philistine city!

Safety resulted … but at what cost?

I fear neither Paul nor David in the situations we’ve discussed today lived up to Proverbs 28:1 … “The wicked flee when no man pursueth: but the righteous are bold as a lion.”

I recall reading something an old British Preacher said once: “No Christian is consistently as BAD as his worst day! And no Christian is consistently as good as his BEST day!” If that’s so … I am thankful!

This much we do know … both Paul and David were far, far better followers of our Lord than their acts proved those two “low” days in their lives!

Paul was so “low” in fact, that (tomorrow’s lesson) the Lord Himself comes down to encourage His servant! A miraculous Christophany, surely.

More later, the Lord willing.

Meanwhile … to each of us a challenge … have a GOOD DAY in the Lord! And please, we pray, spare us from a BAD day! (“Lead us not into temptation, but deliver us from evil.” Matthew 6:13)

— Dr. Mike Bagwell

You are in no way compelled to agree with my assessment of Paul’s behavior today. As I sat down to write this morning’s lesson, that’s what the Lord gave me. I feel warned and edified, anyway.

Paul was not perfect, folks. And he never claimed to be. He in fact often emphasized his weaknesses.

.

In Acts 23 Paul testifies before the august Jewish Sanhedrin (a term meaning 70 seats, literally; being 70 judges over Israel.)

Things did not go so well … as Paul sought to secure his own freedom (prove his innocence from the false charges on which he was arrested), or at least (very possibly) spare his own life.

“And Paul, earnestly beholding the council, said, Men and brethren, I have lived in all good conscience before God until this day. And the high priest Ananias commanded them that stood by him to smite him on the mouth. Then said Paul unto him, God shall smite thee, thou whited wall: for sittest thou to judge me after the law, and commandest me to be smitten contrary to the law? And they that stood by said, Revilest thou God’s high priest? Then said Paul, I wist not, brethren, that he was the high priest: for it is written, Thou shalt not speak evil of the ruler of thy people.” Acts 23:1-5

Paul’s first statement overwhelms me. “I have lived in all good conscience before God until this day.” If by this he meant “all his life,” or even all his “adult life” … this suggests even when Paul was persecuting Christians (having a part in the deaths of many of them) … his conscience was “good, clear!”

Wow! This alone proves that the human conscience is NOT a good guide when it comes to God’s Standard of right and wrong! One’s conscience can indeed be skewed (seared) says Paul himself in 1 Timothy 4:2. (And if Paul here means “all his Christian life,” he certainly did not say so, not clearly! But even that would be an astounding claim!)

Whatever the Apostle had in mind, it got him a “slap in the face” for such a statement! A blow ordered by the presiding Officer of the Sanhedrin, the High Priest himself! The first “Ananias” in Paul’s life (at least as far as Scripture records) was a kind man. He came to Paul within days of his salvation experience and encouraged his heart, instructing him regarding God’s Will for his life! (See Acts 9:10-17.)

Now this (second) Ananias in our Text today is an apostate (unsaved) “High Priest,” proving you can be (very) religious but still (very) lost! I suspect he had Paul slapped because of jealousy … the High Priest feeling that he alone could make such a “pure” statement … certainly no other man could boast of such a conscience!

Whatever, Paul reacted to the physical assault! And then immediately apologized for his “blunder?”

Luke has it: “Then said Paul unto him, God shall smite thee, thou whited wall: for sittest thou to judge me after the law, and commandest me to be smitten contrary to the law?” Acts 23:3, Paul having in mind Jesus’ words back in Matthew 23:37, our Lord attacking the Pharisees, kindred spirits to this wicked High Priest! (“Woe unto you, scribes and Pharisees, hypocrites! for ye are like unto whited sepulchres, which indeed appear beautiful outward, but are within full of dead men’s bones, and of all uncleanness.”)

The Paul (very uncharacteristically) apologizes … “Then said Paul, I wist not, brethren, that he was the high priest: for it is written, Thou shalt not speak evil of the ruler of thy people.” Quoting Exodus 22:28.

I personally am not at all sure Paul was in the Will of God … having gone to Jerusalem and having taken that vow and having shaved his head and having obeyed James’ counsel!

I do know things did not go well for Paul that day … and he had to resort (tomorrow’s Lesson) to verbal skill to avoid possible death! (Sly … but certainly not Paul at his best!)

And I (with reverence) am reminded of Proverbs 16:7 … “When a man’s ways please the LORD, he maketh even his enemies to be at peace with him.”

Wow!

A lot to ponder!

This line of thought helps me better understand the abrupt ending with which the Book of Acts leaves us.

No more missionary journeys! (Again, according to Acts.)

No more Churches established!

No more freedom!

Paul under house arrest at Rome … period!

— Dr. Mike Bagwell

I close by gong back to Acts 21:10-12, not many days earlier. “And as we tarried there many days, there came down from Judaea a certain prophet, named Agabus. And when he was come unto us, he took Paul’s girdle, and bound his own hands and feet, and said, Thus saith the Holy Ghost, So shall the Jews at Jerusalem bind (put in chains) the man that owneth this girdle, and shall deliver him into the hands of the Gentiles. And when we heard these things, both we, and they of that place, besought him NOT TO GO up to Jerusalem.”

Wow!

.