Acts 24 | The Upward Way | Bible Study with A. Z. Adams — Transcript

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1. 0:00Acts chapter [music] 24 verse 1.
2. 0:02After 5 days, the high priest Ananias
3. 0:05came down with some elders with an
4. 0:07attorney named Tertullus,
5. 0:10and they brought charges to the governor
6. 0:11[music]
7. 0:12against Paul.
8. 0:14After Paul had been summoned,
9. 0:17Tertullus began to accuse him saying to
10. 0:19the governor, "Since we have through you
11. 0:22attained much peace and since by your
12. 0:25providence reforms are being carried out
13. 0:28for this nation, we acknowledge this in
14. 0:31[music] every way and everywhere, most
15. 0:33excellent Felix, with all thankfulness.
16. 0:37But that I may not weary you any
17. 0:40further, I beg you to grant us by
18. 0:42[music] your kindness a brief hearing."
19. 0:45Little bit of butter mixed in.
20. 0:48Little bit of flattery.
21. 0:50These guys [music] are known for
22. 0:51troublemaking. These guys are going to
23. 0:54rebel against the Roman state within
24. 0:56about 10 years.
25. 0:58This is
26. 0:59>> [music]
27. 0:59>> They're not who they pretend to be. They
28. 1:01are troublemakers,
29. 1:03full of contention, no unity, full of
30. 1:06hostility between themselves. And yet
31. 1:08when they come before the Romans, the
32. 1:11hot-headed, violent, vicious religious
33. 1:15maniacs are going to be full of legal
34. 1:18intelligence and legal soundness and
35. 1:21logic and flattery to the state. [music]
36. 1:26For we have found this man a real pest
37. 1:31and a fellow who stirs up dissension
38. 1:33among all the Jews throughout the world
39. 1:35and a ringleader of the sect of the
40. 1:37Nazarenes.
41. 1:39So, they're doing all kinds of things
42. 1:41here. They're They're having a Roman
43. 1:44attorney speak on behalf of the Jews
44. 1:46[music] because they can't help
45. 1:48themselves. Their religious
46. 1:50insanity [music] is going to get the
47. 1:52better of them. So, they have the
48. 1:53attorney speak and he's trying to
49. 1:56connect him with Nazareth because
50. 1:59Nazareth is the place where all the
51. 2:00rebellions
52. 2:02come up against Rome.
53. 2:04And he even tried to desecrate the
54. 2:06temple.
55. 2:08And when we arrested him, we wanted to
56. 2:10judge him according to our law.
57. 2:12But
58. 2:14Lysias, the commander, came along and
59. 2:16with much violence took him out of our
60. 2:18hands. So, they're complaining against
61. 2:20the commander who brought him to Felix.
62. 2:24Ordering his accusers to come before
63. 2:26you. By examining him yourself
64. 2:29concerning all these matters, you will
65. 2:31be able to ascertain the things of which
66. 2:33we accuse him.
67. 2:35The Jews also joined in the attack
68. 2:37asserting that these things were so.
69. 2:40When the governor had nodded for him to
70. 2:42speak, Paul responded.
71. 2:46The governor doesn't seem terribly
72. 2:47interested, but at least he gave a nod.
73. 2:51Paul finally has a chance to speak.
74. 2:54Here's what Paul says.
75. 2:56Knowing that for many years you have
76. 2:59been a judge to this nation, I
77. 3:01cheerfully make my defense.
78. 3:05What has he just said in that statement?
79. 3:07He said, "These guys are liars and you
80. 3:09know them. You know how they actually
81. 3:12behave." He's not flattering the guy. He
82. 3:14doesn't smear any of the butter. He just
83. 3:17says, "Because I know that you've been
84. 3:19governor of these crazy people for so
85. 3:22long, I'm going to make my defense and
86. 3:25you're going to recognize that what
87. 3:27they're accusing me of is not true.
88. 3:29Knowing that for many years you have
89. 3:31been a judge to this nation, I
90. 3:33cheerfully make my defense.
91. 3:36Since you can take note of the fact that
92. 3:38no more than 12 days ago I went up to
93. 3:40Jerusalem to worship. Neither in the
94. 3:43temple, nor in the synagogue, nor in the
95. 3:46city itself did they find me carrying on
96. 3:48a discussion with anyone or causing a
97. 3:51riot.
98. 3:53Nor can they prove to you the charges of
99. 3:56which they now accuse me.
100. 3:59But this I admit to you, that according
101. 4:01to the way which they call a sect,
102. 4:04meaning a cult, I do serve the God of
103. 4:07our fathers,
104. 4:09believing everything that is in
105. 4:11accordance with the law and that is
106. 4:13written in the prophets, having a hope
107. 4:15in God which these men cherish
108. 4:18themselves,
109. 4:20that there shall certainly be a
110. 4:21resurrection of both the righteous and
111. 4:24the wicked.
112. 4:25In view of this,
113. 4:27I also do my best to maintain always a
114. 4:30blameless conscience both before God and
115. 4:34before men.
116. 4:36In his address to the Jews, he told them
117. 4:39that he lived blamelessly
118. 4:41according to the law. But now that he's
119. 4:43no longer living according to the law,
120. 4:46he says, "I do my best
121. 4:48to live with a blameless conscience."
122. 4:51He's not trying to
123. 4:53keep the ordinance of the regulations.
124. 4:56He's trying to stay right before God.
125. 4:59Now after several years, I came to bring
126. 5:01alms to my nation and to present
127. 5:04offerings, in which they found me
128. 5:06occupied in the temple, having been
129. 5:09purified without any crowd or uproar.
130. 5:12But there were some Jews from Asia who
131. 5:15ought to have been present before you
132. 5:17and to make accusation if they should
133. 5:19have anything against me.
134. 5:21Or else let these men themselves tell
135. 5:24what misdeed they found when I stood
136. 5:26before the council.
137. 5:30Other than for this one statement which
138. 5:32I shouted out while standing among them,
139. 5:35"For the resurrection of the dead, I am
140. 5:37on trial before you today." [music]
141. 5:41So Paul is playing the card again.
142. 5:45But Felix, having a more exact knowledge
143. 5:49about the way,
144. 5:50>> [music]
145. 5:50>> put them off saying, "When Lysias the
146. 5:53commander comes down, I will decide your
147. 5:55case."
148. 5:56So, Felix knows the way, which is what
149. 5:59Christians were called at that time.
150. 6:02And so, he says,
151. 6:03"I'm not going to engage in this. I'm
152. 6:05waiting until the [music] commander
153. 6:06comes down." Then he gave orders to the
154. 6:08centurion for him to be kept in custody
155. 6:11and yet have some freedom
156. 6:13>> [music]
157. 6:13>> and not to prevent any of his friends
158. 6:15from ministering to him.
159. 6:19But some days later, Felix arrived with
160. 6:22Drusilla, his wife, who was a Jewess,
161. 6:25and sent for Paul and heard him speak
162. 6:27about [music] faith in Christ Jesus.
163. 6:30But as he was discussing righteousness,
164. 6:33self-control, and the judgment to come,
165. 6:36Felix became [music] frightened and
166. 6:37said, "Go away for the present, and when
167. 6:40I find time, I will summon you."
168. 6:43So, Paul's ministering the truth and the
169. 6:46governor's Jewish wife is listening, and
170. 6:48Paul's going through all of this,
171. 6:50but Felix becomes convicted and he
172. 6:52becomes scared about his own soul. So,
173. 6:56he's like, "Go away and I'll I'll hear
174. 6:57you later."
175. 6:59At the same time, too, he was hoping
176. 7:01that money would be given him by Paul.
177. 7:04Therefore, he also used to send for him
178. 7:06quite often and converse with him. So,
179. 7:09he's hoping that Paul will put a good
180. 7:11bit of money on the table
181. 7:14to secure his release
182. 7:16underhandedly.
183. 7:17But after 2 years had passed, [music]
184. 7:20apparently Paul didn't put the money on
185. 7:21the table.
186. 7:22After 2 years had passed, Felix [music]
187. 7:25was succeeded by Porcius Festus.
188. 7:29Wishing to [music] do the Jews a favor,
189. 7:31Felix left Paul imprisoned.
190. 7:35This is a mix of intrigue, infighting,
191. 7:39corruption. It's a clash between the
192. 7:41Roman system and the Jewish system. It's
193. 7:44It's a mess, but God's going to use it
194. 7:47for his glory.
195. 7:50>> [music]
196. 8:00[music]