SPIRITUAL DIARY FOR 8/30/2018
9:49 AM
My Worship Time Focus:
PT-2 “The Prosecution”
Bible Reading & Meditation Reference: Acts 24:1-9
Message of the verses: “1 After five days
the high priest Ananias came down with some elders, with an attorney named
Tertullus, and they brought charges to the governor against Paul. 2 After Paul
had been summoned, Tertullus began to accuse him, saying to the governor,
"Since we have through you attained much peace, and since by your
providence reforms are being carried out for this nation, 3 we acknowledge this
in every way and everywhere, most excellent Felix, with all thankfulness. 4
“But, that I may not weary you any further, I beg you to grant us, by your
kindness, a brief hearing. 5 “For we have found this man a real pest and a
fellow who stirs up dissension among all the Jews throughout the world, and a
ringleader of the sect of the Nazarenes. 6 “And he even tried to desecrate the temple;
and then we arrested him. [[We wanted to judge him according to our own Law. 7
“But Lysias the commander came along, and with much violence took him out of
our hands, 8 ordering his accusers to come before you.]] By examining him
yourself concerning all these matters you will be able to ascertain the things
of which we accuse him." 9 The Jews also joined in the attack, asserting
that these things were so.”
We pick up today talking about verse 5b “a fellow who stirs up dissension among all the Jews
throughout the world.” Tertullus was not
talking to Felix about some specific charges that the Jews were bringing against
Paul, as he has stopped his flattery.
The truth is that the Sanhedrin really wanted the destruction of Rome,
but what they were doing here at this time was to use the power of Rome to get
rid of one of their enemies. We have
been earlier talking about the providence of God and one of those is seen here
in that Paul was a citizen of Rome, for if he had not been then they would have
already killed him.
I want at this time to quote what I
believe is a important quote by John MacArthur:
“Tertullus cleverly avoided naming any specific instance. Had he done so, Felix could have transferred
Paul’s case to the jurisdiction in which that riot occurred. Not wanting Paul tried by a governor over
whom they had no influence, the Jewish leaders contented themselves with the
vague general charge of seditious insurrection.
But as is the case
throughout Acts when Christianity is the issue in a Roman court, that charge
could not be proven. The Holy Spirit recorded those
trials, in part, to refute the charge that Christians were political
revolutionaries and to make clear that they did not violate Roman civil law
(cf. Rom. 13:1-7; Titus 3:1-7; 1 Pet. 2:13-17).
The real issue, as Gallio correctly perceived (18:12-16), was Jewish
hostility to the gospel. Because of his ‘more
exact knowledge about the Way’ (v. 22), and Lysias’s evaluation charges, and he
found its vague unsubstantiated charges inadmissible as evidence.”
We now move to the second charge which was leveled
against Paul, and that was sectarianism, or heresy. Tertullus stated that Paul was a “ringleader’
of the sect of the Nazarenes. MacArthur states
“Protostates (‘ringleader’) is a
military term meaning ‘one who stands in the front rank.’” The irony of this is that although Tertullus
did not make this statement as a compliment, Paul actually was a leader of the
Church. When we speak of being a
Nazarenes we are talking about where Jesus was brought up, thus speaking of the
followers of Jesus. This is the only
time that this term, “Nazarenes” is seen in the book of Acts, however we can be
sure that Felix knew what it meant.
The third charge was the one that really got Paul in
trouble with the Jews, even though it was not true, was that Paul “tried to
desecrate the temple.” I also find irony
in this in that there will come a day when Antichrist will be the one to
desecrate the rebuilt temple in Jerusalem, and I have to believe that that
would probably not bother these Jews because they, like the Antichrist are not
believers in the Lord Jesus Christ.
“We wanted to judge him according to our own Law. 7 “But
Lysias the commander came along, and with much violence took him out of our
hands, 8 ordering his accusers to come before you.” This is the last part of verse six, all of
seven, and a part of verse eight, and it is omitted in by many ancient
manuscripts, which is the reason that it is in brackets. At any rate the prosecution ends it case by
stating “The Jews also joined in the attack, asserting that these things were
so.”
I
am in no position to say whether or not this bracket verses are a part of the
real text or not, so I will not comment on it any further.
Answer to yesterday’s Bible
question: “Spies” (Genesis 42:9).
Today’s Bible question: “To what are we not to be conformed?”
Answer in our next SD.
8/30/2018 10:36 AM
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