ACTS 23:23

Concerning Paul having been taken prisoner in the city of Jerusalem, the Bible says in Acts 23:23-24:9, “And he called unto him two centurions, saying, Make ready two hundred soldiers to go to Caesarea, and horsemen threescore and ten, and spearmen two hundred, at the third hour of the night; And provide them beasts, that they may set Paul on, and bring him safe unto Felix the governor. And he wrote a letter after this manner: Claudius Lysias unto the most excellent governor Felix sendeth greeting. This man was taken of the Jews, and should have been killed of them: then came I with an army, and rescued him, having understood that he was a Roman. And when I would have known the cause wherefore they accuse him, I brought him forth into their council: Whom I perceived to be accused of questions of their law, but to have nothing laid to his charge worthy of death or of bonds. And when it was told me how that the Jews laid wait for the man, I sent straightway to thee, and gave commandment to his accusers also to say before thee what they had against him. Farewell. Then the soldiers, as it was commanded them, took Paul, and brought him by night to Antipatris. On the morrow they left the horsemen to go with him, and returned to the castle: Who, when they came to Caesarea, and delivered the epistle to the governor, presented Paul also before him. And when the governor had read the letter, he asked of what province he was. And when he understood that he was of Cilicia; I will hear thee, he said, when thine accusers are also come. And he commanded him to be kept in Herod’s judgment hall. And after five days Ananias the high priest descended with the elders, and with a certain orator name Tertullus, who informed the governor against Paul. And when he was called forth, Tertullus began to accuse him, saying, seeing that by thee we enjoy great quietness, and that very worthy deeds are done unto the nation by thy providence, We accept it always, and in all places, most noble Felix, with all thankfulness. Notwithstanding, that I be not further tedious unto thee, I pray thee that thou wouldest hear us of thy clemency a few words. For we have found this man a pestilent fellow, and a mover of sedition among all the Jews throughout the world, and a ringleader of the sect of the Nazarenes: Who also hath gone about to profane the temple: whom we took and would have judged according to our law. But the chief captain Lysias came upon us, and with great violence took him away out of our hands, Commanding his accusers to come unto thee: by examining of whom thyself mayest take knowledge of all these things, whereof we accuse him. And the Jews also assented, saying these things were so.”

We can think of the chief captain as something of a police officer. He had the power to enforce the law and to make arrests, but he was not a judge. The chief captain sent Paul to Caesarea to the governor named Felix. The chief captain had already perfectly understood the situation. He said about Paul in Acts 23:29, “Whom I perceived to be accused of questions of their law, but to have nothing laid to his charge worthy of death or of bonds.” The captain knew that this was merely a theological difference of opinion, at least from his perspective. The Jewish leaders did not agree with things that Paul said and taught. How similar this situation is to what is going on today. Do not ever demonize those with whom you disagree, or you will put yourself on the same level as the people in this despicable mob who were going to kill an innocent man just because they disagreed. Yes, demand your freedom to say what you think; but just make sure that you demand the same freedom even for those with whom you disagree.

Regarding the accusations that were made against Paul, of course they were false accusations. Notice the method of those who made false accusations. They had to punctuate their false accusations with personal insults against Paul. In Acts 24:5 they called him “a pestilent fellow” and “a mover of sedition” and a “ringleader.” If you have truth on your side, you do not have to resort to name-calling. Always treat the opposition with the utmost respect or you might find yourself acting just like the opposition.

In Acts 24V5 Paul was called “a ringleader of the sect of the Nazarenes.” This was intended to be an insult. The word “Nazarene” refers to the fact that Jesus was from Nazareth. He was from a small town away from the capitol and away from the center of religion. It was the same old question: Can anything good come out of Galilee? What a difference between the way that God looks at things and the way the world looks at things. The world honors that which is big and powerful and rich. Things that are small or poor the world considers to be insignificant and of little value. First Corinthians 1:27-28 says, “But God hath chosen the foolish things of the world to confound the wise; and God hath chosen the weak things of the world to confound the things that are mighty; And base things of the world, and things which are despised, hath God chosen, yea, and things which are not, to bring to nought things that are.”

The Bible says in Acts 24:10-15, “Then Paul, after that the governor had beckoned unto him to speak, answered, Forasmuch as I know that thou hast been of many years a judge unto this nation, I do the more cheerfully answer for myself; Because that thou mayest understand, that there are yet but twelve days since I went up to Jerusalem for to worship. And they neither found me in the temple disputing with any man, neither raising up the people, neither in the synagogues, nor in the city: Neither can they prove the things whereof they now accuse me. But this I confess unto thee, that after the way which they call heresy, so worship I the God of my fathers, believing all things which are written in the law and in the prophets; And have hope toward God, which they themselves also allow, that there shall be a resurrection of the dead, both of the just and unjust.”

In a very straight-forward way Paul declared his innocence. He had caused no sedition. He had not even been quarreling with anyone. He was privately worshipping when he was attacked by the mob. Why was he hated so much: because of what he believed. The forces of evil did everything that they could to oppose the truth. They did so in the first century and they continue to do so today. Ungodly people will hate you just because of what you believe. Some people know this and therefore they try to hide what they believe. Paul did not do so, and thus he was hated because of his belief. Every human being has the right to believe what they choose to believe. Without that freedom, you have no freedom. The freedom of speech is akin to the freedom of religion. You do not have freedom of religion if you cannot say what you believe. Just make sure that you accord the same rights that you desire to those with whom you disagree.

Paul knew that he was being persecuted because of his beliefs, and he wanted to make sure that the judge understood that this is what was really going on. This is what Paul believed and this is why he was attacked by the mob. He said, “But this I confess unto thee, that after the way which they call heresy, so worship I the God of my fathers, believing all things which are written in the law and in the prophets; And have hope toward God, which they themselves also allow, that there shall be a resurrection of the dead, both of the just and unjust.” Paul called his following of the teachings of Jesus “the way.” Remember that Jesus said, “Straight is the way that leadeth unto life; and few there be that find it.” Jesus also said, “I am the way, the truth, and the life. No man comes unto the Father but by me.”

Perhaps Paul liked to call Christianity “the way” because he knew that he was called to more than believe in Christ. Paul knew also that he was called to live according to the teachings of Christ. Paul was called to a new life: a new way. One thing that Paul knew for certain: this way of following Christ was not a departure from Old Testament teachings, but was rather a fulfillment of Old Testament teachings. That is why Paul said, “so worship I the God of my fathers, believing all things which are written in the law and in the prophets.” The Old Testament had perfectly prophesied of the coming of the Messiah. Once the Messiah had come to redeem all peoples of their sins, Jews and Gentiles, the Jews who refused to believe in Jesus were the ones who had departed from the way of God. The Jews who were like Paul and who believed in Jesus continued in the truth from God.

Concerning the teachings of Jesus, Paul mentioned a couple of the more important issues involved. Paul mentioned the resurrection from the dead, and he mentioned the judgment to come. Paul said in Acts 24:15, “that there shall be a resurrection of the dead, both of the just and unjust.” The resurrection of the dead is a critical truth from the teachings of Jesus and from the life of Jesus. From a human standpoint death is a horrible thing. Death will always be the last and the greatest enemy of mankind, because if you solve all the other problems of the human race, but man must still face death, then you have not done much. If you have what humans consider to be the perfect life such that you marry your high school sweetheart and stay madly in love throughout all your life (some people stay married, but they do not stay in love); and you enter into an occupation that is a perfect match for your abilities and interests, and you are greatly rewarded for it so that you are always financially secure and are able to purchase and to travel to your heart’s content; and if you are in perfect health such that you never know pain or suffering or physical weakness; and if you had perfect relationships with everyone in your family and work environment such that everyone loved you and no one was jealous of you or hated you or talked about you: if you had all this and more, but still woke up each morning and found yourself one day closer to the grave, you would not have much because you would still die and lose everyone and everything that you ever had.

O how important is the resurrection from the dead! Those who do not have hope after the grave have nothing. There may be no greater human suffering than to stand at the grave of a loved one, with sorrow and loneliness and loss, if you stand there without the hope of the resurrection. Jesus has the answer to this terrible problem. The Bible says in First Thessalonians 4:13-14, “that ye sorrow not, even as others which have no hope. For if we believe that Jesus died and rose again, even so them also which sleep in Jesus will God bring with Him.” Jesus Himself said, “I am the resurrection, and the life: he that believeth in me, though he were dead, yet shall he live: And whosoever liveth and believeth in me shall never die.” There is good news for the human race. The horrible problem of death has been solved by Jesus of Nazareth through the victory that He gives by the resurrection of the dead. Thank God for the victory over death for those who believe in Jesus.

When Paul spoke to the governor of the Roman province about the resurrection here in Acts chapter 24, Paul mentioned that it was a resurrection both of the just and the unjust. This speaks of the two eternal destinies: what we commonly call heaven and hell. The just will go to heaven, and the unjust will go to hell forever and ever. The unjust will not stay in the grave. They also will be resurrected, but their eternal abode is not a pretty one.

The resurrection of the just and the unjust tells us that there are two kinds of people in the world. It is important to be one of the just. How do you become one of the just? We know that “the just shall live by faith.” That gives us an important ingredient: faith. But human beings have a problem, the sin problem. “There is none that doeth good, and sinneth not.” There is none good, but God only. God is the only one who by nature is holy and righteous and just. How do we become just? How do we become justified?

To be justified speaks of a judicial proceeding whereby a judge looks at the evidence, looks at your case, and makes the decision that you are innocent. Once he makes his decision, you have been justified and you are allowed to go free. That is one of the great ways of explaining the salvation that is in Jesus Christ. Even though you deserve to be declared as unjust, because you trust in Jesus, the righteousness of Christ becomes credited to your account, and the only rightful conclusion that the Judge can make is that you are one of the just ones. You deserve to have the resurrection of the unjust, but because of Jesus the Savior, you take part in the resurrection of the just.

Concerning the resurrection of the unjust and their eternal destiny, the Bible says in Revelation 20:13-15, “And the sea gave up the dead which were in it; and death and hell delivered up the dead which were in them: and they were judged every man according to their works. And death and hell were cast into the lake of fire. This is the second death. And whosoever was not found written in the book of life was cast into the lake of fire.”

Make sure that you are a part of the resurrection of the just. If you have not turned to Jesus, turn to Him today.

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