NEGATIVE.-

No evidence was produced by Tertullus to show that he had been found disputing with any man,

or raising up the people, either in the synagogue or in the city.

He had been charged with being the ringleader of a sect called the Nazarenes. This he willingly admitted, but it

was no crime against Roman law to believe `all things which are written in the law and the prophets'. His accusers

might call it `heresy', but Paul claimed that it was the worship of the God of his fathers.

*

The phrase `the God of my fathers' was the usual term to denote the tutelary god of a particular nation, and as

such a legal object of worship under Roman law. The terms `heresy' and `sect' are not used in an ecclesiastical

sense in Paul's defence. His very accusers belonged to two different sects - the Pharisees and the Sadducees - and

Paul is simply claiming for this new sect of the Nazarenes the toleration normally allowed by Roman law and

enjoyed by his accusers.

In verse 15 the apostle emphasizes the hope of resurrection which he held in common with the sect of the

Pharisees, and in the following verse declares that he exercised himself to have always a conscience void of offence

toward God and man. When the proper occasion presented itself, Paul was very ready to preach to Felix (see Acts

24:25), but this opportunity had not yet arrived. He concludes his defence by asking why the Jews from Asia, who

were supposed to have seen him polluting the Temple, were not present at the trial to bear their witness against him.

The only evil doing, the apostle claims, that the council could bring against him was the split that his declaration

concerning the resurrection had caused in their ranks.

The ring of truth that was so evident in the apostle's defence, his ready admission of `heresy', the harmony of his

statements with the letter written by Lysias, the failure to produce witnesses, and the manifest religious animosity of

his accusers, convinced Felix that Paul was innocent. He had a `more accurate knowledge of that way' than his

hearers had credited, and he defers the trial, saying: `When Lysias comes down I will decide finally between you

(diagnosomai)'. Paul is now given into the charge of a centurion, who is instructed to afford as much relaxation and

liberty as the case allowed, permitting his friends to visit him and minister to his needs. There was already a

company of believers at Cæsarea, including Philip the Evangelist. Josephus, speaking of the custody of Agrippa

when he was a prisoner, uses the word aneseos, `remission' or `relaxation', in connection with the centurion who

was friendly to him upon receiving news of the death of the Emperor Tiberius.

There are some who would criticise the apostle for not preaching the gospel to these Roman officials, just as they

would criticise his method of speaking to the philosophers at Athens. There are several facts, however, that should

be carefully weighed before we attempt to criticise:

(1) The council at Athens had in earlier days the power of life and death, and even if this power was later

reduced, Paul's liberty was in danger.

(2) The Sanhedrin still retained the power of life and death.

(3) The administration of provincial Roman justice was very much influenced by the character of the judges, and

the pressure that could be brought to bear upon them by influential natives.

(4) It is the duty of a man accused before the law to indicate his innocence before he asserts his rights, and this

was the line of conduct that Paul pursued.

(5) It is quite false to charge the apostle with either reticence or cowardice. An examination of his apologies in

Acts 17, 23, 24, and 25 will show how Christ and His gospel were either actually introduced, or would have

been introduced but for the cutting short of his defence by his opponents.

Moreover, chapter 24 shows how faithfully the apostle seized the opportunity which Felix presented, of

preaching the gospel even while a prisoner:

`And after certain days, when Felix came with his wife Drusilla, which was a Jewess, he sent for Paul, and heard

him concerning the faith in Christ' (Acts 24:24).

*

Tutelary = serving as guardian, giving protection.