Paul's Two-Year Time in Caesarea
Possible Date: 58-60 A. D.
Scripture: 23:23--24:27
NOTE:
#Paul
NOTE:
#Apostle Paul
#Caesarea
Imprisonment In Caesarea
- Following his arrest in Jerusalem, Paul was given an armed escort to Caesarea...
- In response to a plot by some Jews to kill him - Acts 23:12-24
- Accompanied by a letter from the Roman commander (Claudius Lysias) in Jerusalem, to the Roman governor Felix - Acts 23:25-33
- Paul begins a two-year imprisonment.
- Upon reading the letter, and learning that Paul was from Cilicia, Felix...
- Promised to grant Paul an audience when his accusers had come - Acts 23:34-35
- Commanded Paul to be kept in Herod’s Praetorium - Acts 23:35
[Thus begins the next phase of Paul’s life, in which he spent two years of imprisonment in Caesarea. It would prove to be a time of prophetic fulfillment (cf. Acts 9:15), for Paul would have the opportunity to preach Jesus to two Roman governors and a Jewish king...]
PAUL BEFORE FELIX
ACCUSATIONS AGAINST PAUL...
- Made by Ananias the high priest, elders, and an orator named Tertullus - Acts 24:1
- Tertullus’ speech
- Opening statements, complimenting Felix - Acts 24:2-4
- Charges against Paul - Acts 24:5-6
- A plague
- A creator of dissension among Jews throughout the world
- A ringleader of the sect of Nazarenes
- Tried to profane the temple - cf. Acts 21:27-29
- They wanted to judge him by Jewish law, but Lysias prevented them - Acts 24:6-8
- Closing statement, calling upon Felix to examine Paul himself - Acts 24:8
- Supporting testimony by the Jews present - Acts 24:9
PAUL’S DEFENSE...
- Permitted to speak, Paul gladly responds - Acts 24:10
- Paul’s defending arguments, part one - Acts 24:11-13
- It has only been twelve days since Paul arrived in Jerusalem to worship
- He had not disputed with anyone, nor incited crowds, either in the temple, synagogues, or in the city
- His accusers cannot prove their charges against him (see part two)
- Paul’s affirmation of his faith and hope - Acts 24:14-16
- He worships God according to the Way they call a sect
- He believes all things written in the Law and the Prophets
- He has hope in God regarding the resurrection of the dead - cf. Acts 23:6
- He always strove to have a good conscience before God and men - cf. Acts 23:1
- Paul’s defending arguments, part two - Acts 24:17-21
- He came to Jerusalem to bring alms and offerings for his nation - cf. Romans 15:25-27
- He was found purified in the temple by Jews from Asia, but neither with a multitude nor with tumult - cf. Acts 21:26-27
- Those Jews from Asia should be the ones making accusations against him
- The Jews from Jerusalem could find only one thing wrong with him:
- His statement before the Sanhedrin council - cf. Acts 23:6-9
- I.e., his belief in the resurrection of the dead, which divided the council
FELIX’S PROCRASTINATION...
- He suspends judgment until Lysias can come - Acts 24:22
- Paul is allowed limited freedom, along with visitors - Acts 24:23
- Paul before Felix and Drusilla - Acts 24:24-25
- Drusilla, his wife who was Jewish
- Youngest daughter of Herod Agrippa I, and sister of Bernice - Acts 25:13
- Married to King Azia of Emesa, who had agreed to be circumcised
- Atomos, a magician from Cyprus, helped Felix win Drusilla away from her husband
- Paul reasoned about righteousness, self-control, and the judgment to come (because of their adulterous marriage?)
- Felix, fearful, sends Paul away for a more convenient time
- Felix, hoping Paul would pay for his release, talks with him often - Acts 24:26
[After two years (58-60 A.D.), Felix is replaced by Porcius Festus. Wanting to please the Jews, Felix leaves Paul bound (Acts 24:27). This sets the stage for...]
PAUL BEFORE FESTUS
PAUL’S TRIAL ARRANGED...
- Three days after arriving in Caesarea, Festus goes to Jerusalem - Acts 25:1
- He is petitioned by the high priest and other chief men - Acts 25:2-3
- To send Paul to Jerusalem
- Whom they hope to kill on the way
- Festus arranges for the trial at Caesarea - Acts 25:4-6
- Determining that Paul should be kept there
- Festus himself would be going there, which he does after ten days
- Paul’s accusers were invited to come and present their charges
- Paul is brought before Festus and the judgment seat
THE TRIAL AND PAUL’S APPEAL...
- The Jews from Jerusalem make charges they cannot prove - Acts 25:7
- Paul denies any offense against the Law, the temple, or Caesar - Acts 25:8; cf. 21:28
- Trying to please the Jews, Festus asks if Paul is willing to go to Jerusalem and be judged there - Acts 25:9
- Paul appeals to Caesar, which Festus grants - Acts 25:10-12
[As a Roman citizen, Paul exercised his right to appeal his case before Caesar. Before Festus sends Paul to Rome, the governor takes advantage of an opportunity to have Paul examined by one known for his understanding of Jewish law, King Agrippa II...]
PAUL BEFORE AGRIPPA
FESTUS’ CONFERENCE WITH AGRIPPA...
- King Agrippa II and Bernice visit Festus - Acts 25:13
- Agrippa II was the son of Herod Agrippa I, who beheaded James - Acts 12:1-2,20-23
- Bernice was sister to Drusilla, but also to Agrippa II
- She was first married to a person named Marcus
- She then married her uncle Herod, king of Chalis
- Upon his death she married Polemon, king of Pontus and Cilicia, who had to agree to be circumcised
- She soon left him and began an incestuous relationship with Agrippa II
- She later became mistress to Titus, Caesar of Rome
- Festus describes Paul’s case to Agrippa - Acts 25:14-21
- Felix left Paul a prisoner
- Jews from Jerusalem wanted a judgment against Paul
- Roman law required that Paul face his accusers
- In the trial, it became apparent that the questions involved Judaism and whether Jesus was alive
- Paul appealed to Caesar rather than be judged in Jerusalem
- Agrippa desires to hear Paul, to which Festus consents - Acts 25:22
PAUL’S DEFENSE BEFORE AGRIPPA...
- Paul brought before Agrippa, Bernice, Festus, and prominent men of the city - Acts 25:23
- Festus’ introductory remarks - Acts 25:24-27
- Paul has been accused of being worthy of death
- Festus had not found him worthy of death
- Since Paul has appealed to Caesar, Festus will send him
- But he has nothing sure to write Caesar, and solicits Agrippa’s examination
- Paul’s defense - Acts 26:1-23
- Paul’s introductory remarks, grateful to speak before Agrippa - Acts 26:1-3
- Paul reviews his early life - Acts 26:4-11
- His youth in Jerusalem, which all knew
- His religious convictions as a Pharisee, to which they could attest
- His hope in the resurrection of the dead, a promise all Jews should hope to attain
- 4) His persecution against the name of Jesus and His disciples
- Paul recounts his vision on the road to Damascus - Acts 26:12-18
- The light from heaven, the voice of Jesus
- The commission was given to Paul
- To be a witness of what he has seen and heard
- To turn Gentiles from darkness to light, from the power of Satan to God
- To offer them forgiveness, and an inheritance among those sanctified by faith in Jesus
- Paul’s concluding remarks - Acts 26:19-23
- He was not disobedient to the vision
- He proclaimed repentance to those in Damascus, Jerusalem, Judea, and then the Gentiles
- For this, Jews seized him in the temple and sought to kill him
- Yet with God’s help he simply testifies what Moses and the prophets said would happen
- That Christ would suffer and be the first to rise from the dead
- That He proclaim light to both Jews and Gentiles
- Reaction to Paul’s defense - Acts 26:24-29
- Festus believes Paul to be mad
- Paul claims to speak words of truth and reason, of things Agrippa knows well
- Paul challenges Agrippa
- To believe the prophets
- To become a Christian
- Agrippa’s conclusion - Acts 26:30-32
- The king, governor, Bernice, and others go aside to discuss the matter
- They all conclude Paul has done nothing worthy of death
- Agrippa tells Festus that Paul could have been set free if he had not appealed to Caesar
CONCLUSION
- After three trials and two years of imprisonment in Caesarea, Paul is headed for Rome...
- As the Lord revealed in a vision - Acts 23:11
- As Paul wanted to do for some time - cf. Acts 19:21; Romans 1:9-11,15; 15:23-29
- It may not have been as Paul anticipated, but circumstances gave him the opportunity...
- To bear witnesses to two governors, a king, two immoral women, and many others
- To eventually bear witness before the Caesar of Rome
All this happened, in keeping with the will of God, and courtesy of the Roman government, with all expenses paid!
As with Joseph in Egypt, Paul’s life is a wonderful illustration of God’s providence. Indeed, Paul could have easily said to his enemies what Joseph told his brothers:
"But as for you, you meant evil against me; but God meant it for good, in order to bring it about as it is this day, to save many people alive.” (Genesis 50:20)
May Paul’s life, along with Joseph’s, encourage us to trust in the wonderful providence of God!
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