SPIRITUAL DIARY FOR 9/3/2018
10:40 AM
My Worship Time
Focus: PT-1
“The Verdict”
Bible Reading & Meditation Reference:
Acts 24:22-27
Message of the verses: “22 But Felix,
having a more exact knowledge about the Way, put them off, saying, "When
Lysias the commander comes down, I will decide your case." 23 Then he gave
orders to the centurion for him to be kept in custody and yet have some
freedom, and not to prevent any of his friends from ministering to him. 24 But some
days later Felix arrived with Drusilla, his wife who was a Jewess, and sent for
Paul and heard him speak about faith in Christ Jesus. 25 But as he was
discussing righteousness, self-control and the judgment to come, Felix became
frightened and said, "Go away for the present, and when I find time I will
summon you." 26 At the same time too, he was hoping that money would be
given him by Paul; therefore he also used to send for him quite often and
converse with him. 27 But after two years had passed, Felix was succeeded by
Porcius Festus, and
wishing to do the Jews a favor, Felix left Paul imprisoned.”
Felix
was left with a difficult decision to make on the fate of Paul, as there was no
eyewitness to show that Paul had done anything wrong, and the Sanhedrin, which
was the highest court of the Jews who alleged Paul to be guilty had no evidence
either. There was another factor and
that is that “Felix, having a more exact knowledge about the Way,” but we are
not sure how he had such knowledge about Christianity with the exception of
having a Jewish wife could have informed him about the beliefs of the
Christians. Felix did know that
Christians were not political revolutionaries, so that makes that charge
against Paul baseless. Felix was basically
a coward, looking out for his own political career, not having the “guts” to do
the right thing, perhaps worrying that if he released Paul there would be more
unrest.
John
MacArthur writes “Like many politicians before and since who have been trapped
between justice and popularity, Felix decided his wisest course was to avoid
making a decision. ‘Put them off’
translates a form of the very anaballo,
the legal term for adjourning a hearing.
He justified the delay on the pretext of needing further information
from Claudius Lysias (which the Jews had urged him to seek, (vv. 7-8). Therefore
he informed the parties, ‘When Lysias the commander comes down, I will decide
your case.’ Lysias had already given
Felix a written report stating that the matter was a question of Jewish law
(23:29). He had also plainly stated his
belief that Paul was not guilty of any crime (23:29). It is unlikely that Lysias had any further
information to add, and there is no evidence that Felix ever did summon
him. Felix simply used that intention as
an excuse for stalling.”
Felix
put Paul in custody, but in doing so he did allow him to “have some freedom,
and not to prevent any of his friends from ministering to him.” Paul was kept under guard, but not in close
confinement. Felix again was between a
rock and a hard place as he was dealing with a Roman citizen.
Felix
kind of reminds me of Herod and his dealings with John the Baptist, although as
I believe mentioned earlier Paul’s fate did end up like John the Baptist’s but
later on. Felix, like Herod was
intrigued with Paul and what Paul believed.
John MacArthur comments on the text:
“some days later, Felix arrived with Drusilla, his wife who was a
Jewess, and sent for Paul, and heard him speak about faith in Christ Jesus.” “Drusilla, the youngest daughter of Herod
Agrippa I (the Herod of Acts 12), was Felix’s third wife (his first had been a
granddaughter of Antony and Cleopatra).
While still in her teens, Drusilla had been given in marriage to the
King of Emesa (located in the province of Syria). Struck by her renowned beauty, Felix
contrived (with help of the Cypriot, magician) to lure her away from her
husband. At age sixteen she became his
wife and bore him a son, who was killed in the eruption of Mount Vesuvius (A.
D. 79). At this time, she was not yet
twenty years old. According to some
manuscripts, it was at her urging that Felix sent for Paul. And as noted above, it was possibly through
her that Felix obtained his knowledge of Christianity.”
Spiritual meaning for my life today: As I look at what happened to Paul, perhaps
from his perspective, I see that Paul knew that even though he was innocent of
all charges knew that God was in complete control of his life, and therefore
continued to trust God. In doing so Paul
was able to write different parts of the New Testament letters that we love and
learn from.
My Steps of Faith for Today: Trust the
Lord with all things in my life, even things that I wish were different, (Rom.
8:28).”
Answer to yesterday’s Bible
question: “By the Brook Cherith” (1
Kings 17:2-3).
Today’s Bible question: “Who told Herod he should not have his brother’s
wife?”
Answer in our next SD.
9/3/2018 11:22 AM
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