It took the better part of a week for the Sanhedrin to appear before Felix at Caesarea to bring charges against Paul. They hired a Jewish man who was a Roman lawyer, Tertullus (a common Roman name). He offers a nice flowery introduction, making mention of some administrative reforms Felix had instituted, probably one of his few good deeds.
The charges against Paul only sound serious. First is the matter of stirring up trouble, provoking his fellow Jews wherever he went. Then, Tertullus tries to portray Paul as seditious, rather like a gang leader. We learn here the term "Nazarene" is the official Hebrew term for Christians, and even today is so used in modern Hebrew and Arabic. The final charge is the most serious, but Tertullus hedges a bit with careful wording. If Paul had profaned the Temple, it would justify death under Roman law. However, Tertullus suggests Paul was caught before he could do it. He then lies about the Roman commander's rescue of Paul, suggesting Jewish leaders were conducting a hearing when Lysias violently intruded. The latter was not there to defend himself.
Paul's defense began with less flattery, and notes his good fortune Felix knows enough about Judaism not to get lost in lies. The facts were clear. It was just under two weeks before when Paul had arrived in Jerusalem, and had been worshipping some days there before his arrest. He did not so much as engage in public debate on the Temple grounds, nor provoke anyone, but went about his business in the city quietly. The Sanhedrin had no proof otherwise. However, he most certainly admitted to being a follower of Christ, but his contention was this actually fulfilled everything the Jews claimed about their religion in the first place. His conscience was clear; he was no threat to the Jews. Indeed, after all these years traveling around the Roman Empire, he brought a large charitable donation for famine relief. So when they spotted him in the Temple, he was ritually pure, which could be easily verified through the business of sponsoring the head shaving. He was escorting this small group of men in the Temple, all proper and reverently. The Asian Jews who set upon him were the ones who should have presented their accusations, since they started the riot.
No one standing before Felix had any real evidence of a crime. The only thing they could possibly complain of was his ploy of dividing the Sanhedrin Council over an issue which hardly concerned Roman law. Felix realized there was nothing here of interest to Rome. But Felix was not a just man by any means. He put off a decision until he could check with Lysias about the arrest in the Temple. This was a sop to the Sanhedrin, but the case against Paul was dead. Paul was returned to custody under the least confining terms possible, making him no more than a guest who couldn't leave.
Felix had married the youngest daughter of Herod Agrippa I, Drusilla, essentially stealing her from her first husband, a petty king in Syria. Shortly after the hearing, she joined Felix in Caesarea. The Herodian palace in Caesarea was divided, with an official courts and offices section down on the shore, and residential section built higher on a mound. The latter was where Paul was kept. Luke's brief wording suggests Felix moved operations up to the residential palace. He wanted a bribe, so he kept dragging the case on, chatting with Paul about Christian faith. But this was perhaps the biggest risk of all the Felix, for it impinged upon his evil conscience. After two years of this, Felix was recalled by Nero. The Jews had been agitating against him for some time, but there had been a riot in Caesarea which Felix handled very poorly. To help curry the favor of his accusers, he left Paul in custody. It didn't work, because Felix was replaced by Porcius Festus.
Here we note Luke was still in attendance on Paul. If there is any situation when Luke could have conducted the research which led to his Gospel, followed by Acts, it was this. Two years allowed him to interview everyone living who could add to his understanding. The need for the research was surely obvious as the background for Paul's defense. Why is there so much trouble over this fellow? Because he dares teach something which challenges the establishment, about a Man who was far more important to the world than himself.
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By Ed Hurst
10 October 2009
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