At some point, the repetition of the last few chapters of the book of Acts begins to feel well… repetitive! The apostle Paul is in the custody of his Roman captors and his enemies – the Law-Loving-Jews – keep following him around, leveling their accusations against him.

This song and dance will continue in this way until the very end of the book as the apostle Paul stands with his back to a bloody cross and an empty tomb while defending the gospel of Jesus Christ crucified, risen, and returning.

In our passage today, there are three basic parts to what Luke writes. #1: We see the trumped-up charges that are being leveled against the apostle Paul. #2: We get a bird’s eye view into the courageous defense that the apostle Paul gives in front of his accusers. #3: We get a snapshot of the strange interactions between the apostle Paul and Felix in the aftermath of the trial. Take a look at the passage with me…

1And after five days the high priest Ananias came down with some elders and a spokesman, one Tertullus. They laid before the governor their case against Paul. 2And when he had been summoned, Tertullus began to accuse him, saying: “Since through you we enjoy much peace, and since by your foresight, most excellent Felix, reforms are being made for this nation, 3in every way and everywhere we accept this with all gratitude. 4But, to detain you no further, I beg you in your kindness to hear us briefly. 5For we have found this man a plague, one who stirs up riots among all the Jews throughout the world and is a ringleader of the sect of the Nazarenes. 6He even tried to profane the temple, but we seized him. 8By examining him yourself you will be able to find out from him about everything of which we accuse him.” 9The Jews also joined in the charge, affirming that all these things were so.

10And when the governor had nodded to him to speak, Paul replied: “Knowing that for many years you have been a judge over this nation, I cheerfully make my defense. 11You can verify that it is not more than twelve days since I went up to worship in Jerusalem, 12and they did not find me disputing with anyone or stirring up a crowd, either in the temple or in the synagogues or in the city. 13Neither can they prove to you what they now bring up against me. 14But this I confess to you, that according to the Way, which they call a sect, I worship the God of our fathers, believing everything laid down by the Law and written in the Prophets, 15having a hope in God, which these men themselves accept, that there will be a resurrection of both the just and the unjust. 16So I always take pains to have a clear conscience toward both God and man. 17Now after several years I came to bring alms to my nation and to present offerings. 18While I was doing this, they found me purified in the temple, without any crowd or tumult. But some Jews from Asia – 19they ought to be here before you and to make an accusation, should they have anything against me. 20Or else let these men themselves say what wrongdoing they found when I stood before the council, 21other than this one thing that I cried out while standing among them: ‘It is with respect to the resurrection of the dead that I am on trial before you this day.’”

22But Felix, having a rather accurate knowledge of the Way, put them off, saying, “When Lysias the tribune comes down, I will decide your case.” 23Then he gave orders to the centurion that he should be kept in custody but have some liberty, and that none of his friends should be prevented from attending to his needs. 24After some days Felix came with his wife Drusilla, who was Jewish, and he sent for Paul and heard him speak about faith in Christ Jesus. 25And as he reasoned about righteousness and self-control and the coming judgement, Felix was alarmed and said, “Go away for the present. When I get an opportunity, I will summon you.” 26At the same time he hoped that money would be given him by Paul. So, he sent for him often and conversed with him. 27When two years had elapsed, Felix was succeeded by Porcius Festus. And desiring to do the Jews a favor, Felix left Paul in prison.

So, what is the point of this skirmish? Why does Luke record this episode of Paul’s final days here on earth? I am glad you asked! Let’s examine each section of the text together and see what we can find.

#1: THE JEWS LEVEL THEIR TRUMPED-UP ACCUSATIONS (VV. 1 – 9)

In verses 1 – 9, some of the Jews show up in Felix’s court with the high priest, Ananias, and a lawyer named Tertullus to level their accusations against the apostle Paul (vv. 1 – 2). Their accusations amount to a bunch of political flattery (vv. 2 – 4), and outright lies as they accuse Paul of being “a plague”, someone “who stirs up riots”, “a ringleader” of a notorious cult, and a man who “profane(d) the temple” (vv. 5 – 9).

So, in the eyes of his accusers, the apostle Paul was a man who was a sickness that needed to be cured, he was a man who started riots wherever he went and he needed to be stopped, he was the key leader of a cult that needed to be shut down, and he was a man who desecrated the temple and needed to pay the penalty for his crimes with his own blood. These accusations are obviously outright lies – of course – and thankfully, the Roman system of justice allowed for a defense to be made.

#2: THE APOSTLE PAUL GIVES A COURAGEOUS DEFENSE (VV. 10 – 21)

In verses 10 – 21, the apostle Paul begins with a respectful acknowledgement of the governor’s role as the judge over his trial (v. 10), and then he launches into a courageous defense that refutes every point of false accusation against him:

#1: He is not guilty of starting riots (vv. 11 – 12).

#2: They cannot prove that he is a sickness – although his gospel is spreading like an out-of-control sickness – (v. 13).

#3: While he is not a cult leader, he is a leader within Christianity – a subgroup of Judaism at the time that held to the truth of the resurrection just as one half of the Jews did (vv. 14 – 15).

#4: His conscience is clear, his original accusers (Jews from Asia) cannot be found, and he is not backing down about the truth of the resurrection (vv. 16 – 21).

The bottom line here is that the apostle Paul is on trial because of the gospel, not because he literally did anything to break the law; he has not even broken the Jewish law for that matter. Paul could talk till he was blue in the face, but his accusers had long ago plugged their ears to his preaching and now their hearts were so hardened against the truth, that they have resorted to hiring big time expensive lawyers to present their case in hopes that they could rid themselves of this pesky little apostle.

If this was all Luke told us, we would have a nice sermon about giving a courageous defense when falsely accused. But let us not forget the last six verses of the text which I refer to as, “The Strange aftermath”.

#3: THE STRANGE AFTERMATH (VV. 22 – 27)

In verses 22 – 27, we have this strange aftermath (what followed the trumped-up charges and the courageous defense) where Felix, instead of proclaiming a guilty or not guilty verdict, decides to procrastinate on his decision until Lysias (the tribune that sent Paul to him) arrives in town, and until he does arrive, Felix places the apostle Paul on a kind of house arrest where his friends are allowed to visit anytime they want to (vv. 22 – 23).

This strange aftermath begins to make a little more sense in the closing verses where we learn that Felix and his Jewish wife would come to visit Paul regularly over the next two years to hear Paul “speak about faith in Christ Jesus” (vv. 24, 27). It is fascinating and super significant to note that when Paul spoke to Felix and his Jewish wife (by the way, Felix was a ruler who was known for his treacherous leadership and he had stolen his wife from another man and she was also known to be one of the most attractive women in the area)2 when Paul spoke to them both, he spoke about “righteousness and self-control and the coming judgement” which made Felix (and presumably his super model wife) super uncomfortable and caused them to procrastinate even more as they sent Paul away (v. 25).

Felix’s deeper motivations for keeping Paul on house arrest are revealed when Luke tells us that Felix often sent for Paul because “he hoped that money would be given him by Paul”and because he desired “to do the Jews a favor” that he could potentially cash in on in the future (vv. 26 – 27). Felix is a political scumbag to say the least.

APPLICATION…

So, by way of application, what are we to take from this text? What is Luke’s purpose in writing yet another detailed account of one of Paul’s trials that ultimately leads to his death? Why do the three sections of our passage matter? Enough has been said in previous weeks about the battle between those legalists who love the law and those who love the gospel. There is really nothing new in the first twenty – one verses of our text, except to note once again the presence of false accusations and the centrality of the resurrection as Paul’s only line of defense. This is something he will hang onto until his final breathe.

The first twenty-one verses simply serve to set the table for the aftermath in the final six verses. The significance of the entire passage revolves around the response of Felix and his Super Model of a wife. You must remember that their marriage was an invalid marriage due to the fact that it began as an extramarital affair that turned into a dynamic political power couple who were hell bent on building their political power through the use of any means necessary.

To this couple, Paul preached righteousness, self-control, and the coming day of judgement and their response was nothing more than sheer unadulterated evil in the form of a word that we call, procrastination. It has been said that procrastination is a deadly vice that has paved many a road to hell.3 One author says that “Though we might hear the same truth again, it might not bring conviction again” especially if we ignored the conviction, it brought the first time, we heard it!4

That same author goes on to say, “Repetition dulls truth’s potency. Some who have heard the good news for years and years greet extraordinary truth with a yawn… Truths not acted upon can harden us so that we cannot understand them… One of the reasons some evangelical churches have such a weak social and ethical witness is that they have ignored God’s voice so long that they are no longer able to hear it.”5

I would submit that it is the aftermath of our text that matters the most because it is what happens in the aftermath that counts the most. What you do when you walk out that door today is what matters the most. It is not the emotional response in the moment that counts, it is the commitment that is determined when the emotion fades, that actually counts for anything. Your response to the Word of God preached today will be revealed by your thoughts, your words, and your actions, tomorrow.

Spiritual procrastination will leave you absolutely bankrupt while you enjoy all the beautiful trappings this world has to offer; like Felix and his beautiful wife enjoying their power, their pleasure, their acceptance, their control, and their comfort. What is even worse is that when you procrastinate you deceptively believe that you deserve God’s mercy and grace to ignore the right things you should have done today. And if you think that it is only you who will pay the price for your procrastination, let us not forget that sin infects the entire loaf, injuring and infecting those closest to you, and eroding the trust that others once had in you.

Think about the things you have been procrastinating about while you effectively give your crucified Savior the proverbial middle finger. I communicated a list of sins that our church family is known for a few weeks ago. Can I ask, what have you done about that list?

Are you procrastinating about your coldness and distance from God? Are you procrastinating about your mismanagement of your finances and your lack of giving? Are you procrastinating about being fully engaged in the rhythms of discipleship we have offered you while still complaining that no one cares about you? Are you still flirting with all the comforts of this world while pretending to be a believer on Sundays?

Are you still more enamored with being in a church that makes no bones about secondary issues than you are about being in a church that makes great bones about Christ crucified, risen, and returning? Have you done anything about that seemingly harmless thing you do in secret? Are you even concerned about crucifying your critical spirit so that you can relate to others with grace and mercy?

What about all the gossip and slandering that takes place in the corners of the church hallways? What about the calling of God on your life to be about the ministry of the gospel inside and outside the church family? Are you still playing around with casting a second glance or nurturing the lust that is alive and well inside you? Or are you done procrastinating and are you ready to put this stuff to death?

What happens in the aftermath of this sermon is what will count for all of eternity. True repentance does not wait for anyone else to go first. True recipients of God’s grace and mercy in the cross and empty tomb and promise of eternity in Christ Jesus, will bum rush the cross to walk in active, obedient, repentance. The proof will be in your posture tomorrow. Let your yes be yes and your no be no.

You could put that sin of procrastination to death by thinking deeply upon the righteousness that was given to you at the cross of Calvary. You could put that sin of procrastination to death by thinking deeply about the self-control it took for your Savior to hang on that cross in your place; there was no procrastination in him.

You could put that sin of procrastination to death by thinking deeply about how you and I are not promised tomorrow, death and judgement day could come in the blink of an eye because they do not procrastinate in what they are designed to do. You could put that sin of procrastination to death by thinking about how Jesus will not procrastinate in coming back to make war on his enemies with his clothes drenched in the blood of the saints and his weapons ready for battle. Procrastination can be put to death at the foot of a bloody cross, in the doorway of an empty tomb, in light of the hope of heaven… if you would dare to spend time there.

CONCLUSION…

In conclusion, it is Palm Sunday, the day when Jesus rode into Jerusalem on a borrowed donkey to the praises of his people even though less than a week later they would be shouting, “Crucify him, crucify him!” For the joy that was set before him, Jesus did not procrastinate the horror of the cross, he ran headlong towards it with a smile of joy on his face; he could not procrastinate in dying for you even though you were his enemy – procrastinating in your sin while giving him the proverbial middle finger. He did this so that you could be reconciled to your father in heaven as he took your guilt, and as he took your shame, and as he took your sin, and in return, gave you his perfect righteousness.

All of the accusations against Paul were slanderous while all of the accusations the enemy throws at us have hints of truth at least. God in Christ Jesus bore those accusations against Paul and against you and I on that cross less than a week from now so that you and I could be set free from our sin of procrastination – putting off the right things we need to do today as though God owes us tomorrow.

That cross was bloody primarily because of your sin of procrastination. If you have trusted in Christ Jesus for forgiveness from those sins and salvation from the penalty of those sins, then you can trust him today to give you the strength to do what is right while it is still today. The only question left is, “What will you do in the aftermath while it is still today?”

1 Unless otherwise specified, all Bible references in this paper are to the English Standard Version Bible, The New Classic Reference Edition (ESV) (Crossway, a publishing ministry of Good News Publishers, 2001).

2 Derek W. H. Thomas, Acts, (Phillipsburg, New Jersey: P&R Publishing, 2011), 671.

3 Ibid., 673 – 674.

4 Kent, Hughes, Acts: The Church Afire, (Wheaton, Illinois: Crossway, 1996), 312.

4 Ibid.