Acts 24: 1-27
by Rev. Carson Overstreet
Van Wyck Presbyterian Church
July 28, 2019
After Paul and Barnabas went their separate ways, Paul and Silas spread the good news on two more missionary journeys (Acts 15:39). The Holy Spirit interrupted Paul’s plans for his second journey to go with Silas and plant churches in Greece; they went to Troas, Philippi, Thessalonica, Beroea, and Athens (Acts 16-17). It was not an easy trip. They were arrested and thrown into prison at Philippi and yet God’s faithfulness prevailed. God not only freed these two apostles, but also used the opportunity to spread the gospel to the jailer and his family (Acts 16:19-24).
Paul’s third journey took him to Corinth, Antioch, Galatia and Phrygia, Ephesus, and Macedonia. He returned to the Greek cities from his second journey and visited the church plants in Asia Minor from his first journey. Paul then went back to Jerusalem to worship (Acts 18-21).
Paul’s adventures in faith show that doing God’s work has a way of stirring things up. Fellow disciples warned Paul of trouble that was brewing as a result of his ministry to the Gentiles. “[Jews from Asia Minor] had come to Jerusalem questioning Paul’s commitment to their common Jewish heritage; for them the tradition of the past (circumcision) defined the church’s faithfulness to God in the present” (Acts 21:21; 24:19). As a result of the Jerusalem Council’s decision that circumcision was not essential for new Gentile believers, this group was misinformed; they believed that Paul was telling Jewish believers to disregard their own customs. (Of course this was untrue).
When this group laid eyes on Paul, conflict broke out; Paul was arrested with the group’s intention to kill him (Acts 21:30). Paul did his best to defend himself as an ambassador of Jesus Christ (Acts 22: 1-21). Nevertheless, charges were brought against him and Paul was sent to Caesarea, the capitol of Judea, for a trial with the Governor (Acts 23:23).
And so we enter the story with a courtroom hearing in Acts 24: 1-23.
Five days later the high priest Ananias came down with some elders and an attorney, a certain Tertullus, and they reported their case against Paul to the governor. When Paul had been summoned, Tertullus began to accuse him, saying:
‘Your Excellency, because of you we have long enjoyed peace, and reforms have been made for this people because of your foresight. We welcome this in every way and everywhere with utmost gratitude. But, to detain you no further, I beg you to hear us briefly with your customary graciousness. We have, in fact, found this man a pestilent fellow, an agitator among all the Jews throughout the world, and a ringleader of the sect of the Nazarenes. He even tried to profane the temple, and so we seized him. By examining him yourself you will be able to learn from him concerning everything of which we accuse him.’
The Jews also joined in the charge by asserting that all this was true.
When the governor motioned to him to speak, Paul replied:
‘I cheerfully make my defence, knowing that for many years you have been a judge over this nation. As you can find out, it is not more than twelve days since I went up to worship in Jerusalem. They did not find me disputing with anyone in the temple or stirring up a crowd either in the synagogues or throughout the city. Neither can they prove to you the charge that they now bring against me. But this I admit to you, that according to the Way, which they call a sect, I worship the God of our ancestors, believing everything laid down according to the law or written in the prophets. I have a hope in God—a hope that they themselves also accept—that there will be a resurrection of both the righteous and the unrighteous. Therefore I do my best always to have a clear conscience towards God and all people. Now after some years I came to bring alms to my nation and to offer sacrifices. While I was doing this, they found me in the temple, completing the rite of purification, without any crowd or disturbance. But there were some Jews from Asia—they ought to be here before you to make an accusation, if they have anything against me. Or let these men here tell what crime they had found when I stood before the council, unless it was this one sentence that I called out while standing before them, “It is about the resurrection of the dead that I am on trial before you today.” ’
But Felix, who was rather well informed about the Way, adjourned the hearing with the comment, ‘When Lysias the tribune comes down, I will decide your case.’ Then he ordered the centurion to keep him in custody, but to let him have some liberty and not to prevent any of his friends from taking care of his needs.
The prosecuting attorney laid out four allegations against Paul: (1) he was a pest; (2) he was an agitator; (3) he was a ringleader of a sect; and (4) he attempted to profane the temple (Acts 24: 5-6).
And Paul boldly defended himself. He was no pest, but a sojourner of faith coming to worship (Acts 24:11; 20:16). There was no proof that he had caused any agitation (Acts 24:12). He was no ringleader, but he confessed his faith in the Way, a movement in the hope of God through the resurrection of Jesus Christ (Acts 24:14-15).
This hope was in the same God of their ancestors, but God was revealing a new way of his saving mercy (Acts 24:21). Paul contested he had done nothing profane, rather he did his best always to have a clear conscience towards God and all people (Acts 24:16).
Paul continued to do his best to have a clear conscience after the governor heard his defense and left him in prison for two years. The governor and his wife Drusilla would stop by the jail to see Paul. Paul would talk with them about life and faith. And yet the governor never changed his mind about Paul (Acts 24:24-27).
Can you possibly imagine the stamina it took for Paul to do that? It took discipline. It took spiritual and mental preparation. It took a willingness to fully trust God’s ability in the face of adversity. Paul was no stranger to discipline and preparation. Those two virtues were prerequisites to be a Pharisee in the Jewish tradition.
God worked through Paul’s strengths and weaknesses, his past mistakes and his present successes to give glory to God. God redirected Paul’s zeal and passion to give all he had for God’s purposes. Paul gave his all to God because Jesus Christ had given his all to God as the pioneer and perfecter of faith to endure the cross and disregard its shame so that we might not grow weary or lose heart (Hebrews 12:2-3).
Being an ambassador for Christ took much spiritual and mental preparation. Paul’s intimate relationship with God was foundational in that preparation and empowered Paul to do his best always with a clear conscience.
When times get tough and you are faced with adversity what do you do? Some of us raise our fists and are ready to face a challenge. But some of us throw our hands up and say, “This is too hard.”
But when we walk away from challenges in our life and faith, then we are also walking away from an opportunity that God may be placing in our path…. An opportunity for us to learn from – to learn who God is and to learn who we are and who we are becoming.
God’s opportunities reveal that God’s grace is sufficient in our weakness (2 Corinthians 12:9). God’s opportunities demonstrate that we can do all things through Christ who strengthens us (Philippians 4:13).
If Paul had walked away when the challenges got heavier and heavier, we would not have the majority of the New Testament letters. We would not have the hope that is set before us in Jesus Christ and in our shared human stories to guide our way. We would not have the conviction of faith that Paul gained every time God made a way when there seemed like no way.
When adversity comes your way then by all means throw your hands up - but throw them up as you reach for God’s presence and guidance. By all means throw your hands up and pray. Pray with a growing trust that God is already there. Pray with the assurance that God will supply what is needed for you to overcome that challenge. And pray for God to reveal what is worthy of praise in that moment or season of adversity (Philippians 4: 4-8).
When adversity comes your way remember that strife is part of our human story. Every ancestor of faith in Scripture faced hardship, conflict, and testing. Our identity of belonging to God does not protect us from adversity. Instead knowing that we belong to God gives us affirmation that God is with us in whatever crisis or problem we may face. Knowing that we belong to God is knowing that we are not alone in the human struggle.
God is not only with us in the person of Jesus Christ and in the power of Holy Spirit But God will always fight for his children – and we need only to be still until the Lord tells us when to take the next right step (Exodus 14: 14-15). Sometimes we just have to step out in faith when God’s Spirit’s gives us that nudge to go in God’s bold assurance. Just know that our God always goes ahead of you and is your rear guard (Isaiah 52:12).
When adversity comes your way hold fast not just to your personal convictions of faith but also to our shared conviction that in Christ all things hold together (Colossians 1:17). There is no part of your life that God cannot and will not use for God’s glory.
Through the death and resurrection of Jesus Christ, God has taken our greatest mistakes and our God-given potential to bring about God’s plan of redeeming all of creation and humanity to himself (2 Corinthians 5: 17-19). And God has entrusted the message of reconciliation to us so that we may share the love of Christ with others in our own unique ways (2 Corinthians 5: 19-20).
When we come together as the body of Christ to be about the Lord’s business – whether we are on the playground, working in the cubicle, or running errands – the gospel will not only inspire others but it will bring challenges too.
When you and I are doing our unique part of sharing God’s love we inspire others to not grow weary in doing what is right.
But sharing God’s love can also stir things up and challenge the ways of the world. In those moments we are to keep doing what we have learned and received and heard through Scripture and through the Church; and the God of peace will be with us (Philippians 4:9).
When adversity comes your way may we be empowered by the Apostle Paul’s acts of doing our best always to have a clear conscience towards God and others.
Doing our best always means to practice the marks of a disciple with daily practice and intentionality as Paul tells us:
As God’s chosen ones, holy and beloved, clothe yourselves with compassion, kindness, humility, meekness, and patience. Bear with one another and, if anyone has a complaint against another, forgive each other; just as the Lord has forgiven you, so you also must forgive.
Above all, clothe yourselves with love, which binds everything together in perfect harmony. And let the peace of Christ rule in your hearts, to which indeed you were called in the one body. And be thankful.
Let the word of Christ dwell in you richly; teach and admonish one another in all wisdom; and with gratitude in your hearts sing psalms, hymns, and spiritual songs to God.
And whatever you do, in word or deed, do everything in the name of the Lord Jesus, giving thanks to God the Father through him (Colossians 3: 12-17).
May it be so for you and for me.
IN the name of God our Creator, Redeemer, ad Sustainer. Amen.
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