For the last several months we have been following the life and ministry of the Apostle Paul as we have been working through the book of Acts. Most recently, Paul has been on trial – several times actually – for a crime, that up until our passage today, has not even really been defined! He was originally arrested by a Roman Commander named Claudius Lysias after the commander rescued him from a rioting mob that was about to kill Paul. The commander assumed that Paul must have done some terrible crime to stir up such a violent mob – but upon further examination, he realized that Paul had not committed any such crime – certainly nothing worthy of imprisonment or death – at least not by Roman standards!
However, before he could settle the issue, he was informed of a plot where 40 assassins were preparing to ambush and murder Paul and so the commander swiftly sent Paul on to Caesarea where he could safely stand trial before the Governor Felix. And this is where our passage picks up today.
Today, we are going to be observing Paul’s trial before Felix. We will hear the Jews’ formal charge against him as well as Paul’s defence.
Now if you’re one of those folks who love a good court room drama, this passage is going to be right up your alley! But even if you’re not a fan of Judge Judy or Law & Order, there’s some pretty good stuff in here. 2 Timothy 3:16 tells us:
16 All Scripture is inspired by God and is useful to teach us what is true and to make us realize what is wrong in our lives. It corrects us when we are wrong and teaches us to do what is right. 17 God uses it to prepare and equip his people to do every good work.
2 Timothy 3:16-17
And so that’s what we can expect out of this passage today. We can expect God to speak through His Word to teach us, correct us, prepare us, and equip us for every good work that He has called us to do.
So let’s dive right in to it, and see what God has to say to us today!
Our passage today begins in Acts chapter 24 – and we’ll be starting at verse 1.
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