Acts 24:1-27 (2)

Introduction

[CONTEXT] In Jerusalem, Paul had been beaten by the Jews and arrested by the Romans. When more than 40 Jewish men vowed to not eat or drink until he was dead, the Romans moved him 75 miles away to Caesarea.

Once he arrived, the Roman Governor Felix agreed to give Paul a hearing as soon as his accusers arrived.

In Acts 24, they arrived.

The morning in vv. 1-9 we saw The Plaintiff’s Complaint.

Paul’s accusers said he was a pestilent pest, a ring leader of the Nazarenes, causing dissension the world over, one who tried to desecrate the Temple.

In The Defendant’s Defense (vv. 10-21), we saw the Apostle Paul deny all of this but admit to being a follower of the Way (i.e., a follower of Jesus of Nazareth), a follower of Jesus who was standing before Felix only because he preached Jesus crucified and resurrected.

Tonight we look at the third and last SECTION in this chapter (vv. 22-27), The Judges Adjournment.

[READING]

Acts 24:22–27 NASB95

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.

[PRAYER]

[CIT] In our passage this evening, Felix postponed his decision regarding Paul and regarding Jesus.

When his time as governor was up, he left Paul in prison, but when his time living was up, we wonder how he responded to Jesus.

[PROP] Let us not leave it to wonder; let us make certain that we have decided for Jesus tonight.

Exposition

[EXP] Rather than making a decision, Felix adjourned the court. He bought himself a little time because he didn’t want to anger the Jews by releasing Paul, and he didn’t want to condemn Paul because there was no proof that he had actually done anything wrong. So, Felix put off the decision; he adjourned the court, and in doing so, he…

…put off the Jews, as we see in vv. 22-23.

Acts 24:22–23 NASB95

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.

Perhaps from his Jewish wife, Drusilla, Felix had learned about the Way, and seems to acknowledge that what has been alleged about the Way didn’t line up with what he knew.

He would, therefore, send for Lysias, the Roman commander in Jerusalem who arrested Paul in the Temple.

We are never told that Lysias came to Caesarea to testify.

If the later, less reliable NT manuscripts are correct and the Jews really did accuse Lysias of using excessive force in taking Paul out of their hands, then Lysias likely wouldn’t have been a favorable witness for the prosecution.

But until such a time as Lysias might show up to give his account, Felix ordered Paul to be kept in custody with some freedoms—especially that his friends might visit and minister to him.

It’s interesting to imagine how the Jewish religious leaders might have responded to this: No, Paul wasn’t dead, but at least he was in custody; he wasn’t traveling the world preaching Jesus crucified and resurrected, and perhaps Felix knew that would be good enough for them.

Even so, Paul still wrote and still spoke of Jesus to whoever would listen.

No one could stop his witness for Jesus.

But we also see in vv. 24-25 that Felix put off Jesus.

Acts 24:24–25 NASB95

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.”

Reminiscent of John the Baptist before Herod and his adulteress wife, Paul appeared before the Roman Governor Felix and his adulteress wife, Drusilla.

Drusilla was Felix’s third wife. Felix found her beauty irresistible and lured her away from her husband.

Together they heard Paul speak about faith in Christ Jesus.

They also heard him speak about righteousness, self-control, and the judgment to come.

It was clear that Felix and Drusilla weren’t righteous.

It was clear that Felix and Drusilla weren’t self-controlled.

It was clear that Felix and Drusilla were in danger of the judgment to come.

Felix felt the danger sinful men should feel when confronted with the holiness of God, but rather than turn to Jesus, Felix put him off by sending Paul away, “Go away for the present, and when I find time I will summon you,” (Acts 24:25).

As far as we know, Felix never “found the time” to turn to Jesus.

And we see, finally, in vv. 26-27 that Felix put off justice.

Acts 24:26–27 NASB95

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.

He may have initially kept Paul in custody to curry favor with the Jewish religious leaders, but at some point, perhaps upon remembering that Paul had gathered and brought an offering to Jerusalem, Felix decided to extort Paul for money.

If Paul could gather a bribe for Felix, perhaps he could finally go free.

It didn’t happen, and after two years Felix was replaced by Porcius Festus, but Paul remained in prison.

The man who trembled at the justice of God but refused to turn to Jesus, denied justice to the man of God who repeatedly told him of God’s grace in Jesus Christ.

[ILLUS] I read an article recently that said…

“Despite having early technology, Kodak's hesitation to transition from film to digital photography led to a significant loss in market share and eventual bankruptcy. Their delay in embracing digital innovation is a classic example of the cost of indecision in the face of technological advancement.”

The article went on…

“BlackBerry's failure to adapt its smartphone technology to compete with touchscreen interfaces, as introduced by Apple's iPhone, led to a significant loss of market share. This highlights the high cost of indecision in a rapidly evolving technology market.”

And, finally, the article mentioned the old video store, Blockbuster…

“Blockbuster's failure to adapt to the digital age by embracing online streaming and digital content delivery led to its decline, while Netflix's proactive strategy allowed it to dominate the market.”

Another example of the high cost of indecision.

But to these examples of the high cost of indecision, I say, “If only delay and indecision was always this cheap!”

The Bible tells us about indecision that costs us for all eternity.

[APP] Felix’s delay in releasing Paul cost Paul at least two years of freedom, but Felix’s delay in trusting in Jesus seems to have left him bankrupt for all eternity.

He didn’t recognize the opportunity for eternal gain presented to him in Jesus, and because he didn’t recognize the opportunity, he didn’t seize the opportunity.

What about you?

Are you like Felix?

Application

Maybe like Felix you’re putting off Jesus because of your sin.

[exp] Felix became frightened, but he didn’t come to faith.

The truth is he loved his unrighteous deeds, his unbridled sin.

Sure, hearing of God’s judgment on such things gave him pause, but it was only a pause; it wasn’t the repentance from sin born from faith in Jesus.

[illus] I remember reading the testimony of a Christian apologist a long time ago. Before he trusted in Jesus, he had all sorts of intellectual and philosophical objections to Jesus, but when God gave him the gift of faith, this former atheist said that all of his objections were really just a mask for his love of sin.

[app] Whatever else we might say, whatever intellectual or philosophical objections we might cite, the real obstacle that prevents us from trusting in Jesus is our love of sin.

We know that following Jesus as Savior will mean abandoning our love of sin.

If you’re hear tonight and you’ve yet to come to Jesus because, as you say, “no one can answer my questions,” understand that’s not the real reason—the real reason is that you love your sin.

But maybe like Felix you’re claiming to put off Jesus until you hear more.

[exp] Felix kept listening to Paul, hearing more and more from him about Jesus while he continued to put off Jesus.

I wonder if at some point, Paul thought to himself, “Felix, you’ve heard enough from me to decide one way or another about Jesus. It’s not time to hear a little more; it’s time to make a decision.”

[illus] Recently we switched printer companies here at the church. We talked face-to-face with three different companies and heard from a fourth. And there are probably several others that we could have talked to.

We could have kept gathering quotes and quibbling over a few dollars one way or another, but at some point its just time to make a decision and sign the paperwork.

[app] In our church there are people who have made the decision and signed on to follow Jesus, but there are others who keep putting off that decision.

They drift in and drift out; they walk with Jesus for a bit and then they walk with the world.

They’re entertaining the idea of following Jesus fully, but they're not making the decision; they’re not signing on the line.

If that’s you tonight, it’s deciding time. Give yourself fully to Jesus. Quit wavering between two opinions. Decide for yourself this day whom you will serve.

As for me, I’m following Jesus.

But maybe you’re putting off Jesus—i.e., you’re only feigning interest in Jesus—because there’s something other than salvation that you want from Jesus (26).

[exp] Felix kept having Paul come before him, kept listening to Paul’s message, but at some point Felix was no longer interested in hearing about faith in Jesus; he was only feigning interest in Jesus in order to secure a bribe from Paul.

[illus] A few weeks ago we had something very strange happen after our morning worship service. A woman stopped by and asked for help with a bill she owed. Our deacons agreed that the church would help, but they asked that she actually attend our worship service the next Sunday.

Of course she said that she would, but based on past experience, I doubted that she would actually show up once she received the help she was looking for.

But to my surprise she came to our evening service the next Sunday, was very appreciative for the help we gave, didn’t ask for anything more, and was genuinely interested to hear about the salvation offered to us in Jesus.

That’s a very strange occurence because it usually works the other way.

People are willing to hear about Jesus until they get what they want or until they realize that they aren’t going to get what they want, and then they’re done.

That was Felix.

That is many other people in our day.

Don’t let that be you.

[app] What Jesus offers to us is much better a little money, a little earthly treasure. Jesus offers to us eternal treasure in himself; all the promises of God are ‘yes’ and ‘amen’ in him!

You remember Jesus’ words in Matthew 6:19…

Matthew 6:19 NASB95

19 “Do not store up for yourselves treasures on earth, where moth and rust destroy, and where thieves break in and steal.

Tonight we might understand that verse as saying, “(Do not feign an interest in Jesus to) store up for yourselves treasures on earth...”

Instead, genuinely trust in Jesus and “store up for yourselves treasures in heaven, where neither moth nor rust destroys, and where thieves do not break in or steal,” (Matt. 6:20)

Give him your heart and let him by your treasure (Matt. 6:21).

[TS]…

Conclusion

[PRAYER]