Acts 24

¹ And 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. ² And 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, ³ in every way and everywhere we accept this with all gratitude. ⁴ But, to detain you no further, I beg you in your kindness to hear us briefly. ⁵ For 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. ⁶ He even tried to profane the temple, but we seized him. ⁸ By examining him yourself you will be able to find out from him about everything of which we accuse him.” ⁹ The Jews also joined in the charge, affirming that all these things were so. ¹⁰ And 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. ¹¹ You can verify that it is not more than twelve days since I went up to worship in Jerusalem, ¹² and 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. ¹³ Neither can they prove to you what they now bring up against me. ¹⁴ But 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, ¹⁵ having a hope in God, which these men themselves accept, that there will be a resurrection of both the just and the unjust. ¹⁶ So I always take pains to have a clear conscience toward both God and man. ¹⁷ Now after several years I came to bring alms to my nation and to present offerings. ¹⁸ While I was doing this, they found me purified in the temple, without any crowd or tumult. But some Jews from Asia— ¹⁹ they ought to be here before you and to make an accusation, should they have anything against me. ²⁰ Or else let these men themselves say what wrongdoing they found when I stood before the council, ²¹ other 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.’” ²² But Felix, having a rather accurate knowledge of the Way, put them off, saying, “When Lysias the tribune comes down, I will decide your case.” ²³ Then 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. ²⁴ After 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. ²⁵ And as he reasoned about righteousness and self-control and the coming judgment, Felix was alarmed and said, “Go away for the present. When I get an opportunity I will summon you.” ²⁶ At the same time he hoped that money would be given him by Paul. So he sent for him often and conversed with him. ²⁷ When two years had elapsed, Felix was succeeded by Porcius Festus. And desiring to do the Jews a favor, Felix left Paul in prison.

Evelyn Waugh was a famous satirist and novelist in the early part of the twentieth century. A Christian, Waugh usually found a way to speak in all of his novels about the most important things in life. In his novel, Decline and Fall, there is a scene in which Otto Silenus tells the hero of the story, Paul, about the meaning of life. His illustration is powerful:

“…Shall I tell you about life?”

            “Yes, do,” said Paul politely.

            “Well, it’s like the big wheel at Luna Park. Have you seen the big wheel?”

            “No, I’m afraid not.”

            “You pay five francs and go into a room with tiers of seats all round, and in the centre the floor is made of a great disc of polished wood that revolves quickly. At first you sit down and watch the others. They are all trying to sit in the wheel, and they keep getting flung off, and that makes them laugh, and you laugh too. It’s great fun.”

            “I don’t think that sounds very much like life,” said Paul rather sadly.

            “Oh, but it is, though. You see, the nearer you can get to the hub of the wheel the slower it is moving and the easier it is to stay on. There’s generally some one in the centre who stands up and sometimes does a sort of dance. Often he’s paid by the management, though, or, at any rate, he’s allowed in free. Of course at the very centre there’s a point completely at rest, if one could only find it. I’m not sure I am not very near that point myself. Of course the professional men get in the way. Lots of people just enjoy scrambling on and being whisked off and scrambling on again. How they all shriek and giggle! Then there are others…who sit as far out as they can and hold on for dear life and enjoy that.”[1]

What a fascinating picture of life, and how true! Life, Otto says, is like a great turning wheel. If you sit at the edges, you get thrown off and hurt. At the very least, you get dizzy and disoriented at the edges of life. The closer you move to the center, however, the more stability you have. At the very center, he says, “there’s a point completely at rest, if one could only find it.”

Did you hear what else he said? He said that the people who own the wheel will usually hire somebody who knows how to get to the very center. So they stand in the center and dance. By doing so, they are providing an example to everybody else in the room. They are saying, by their dancing, that you can have joy and live at the very center, but not until you get there.

I believe this is a very helpful illustration for life. There is a place of stability, of calm, a place where we can stand and live and even dance. But that place is at the very center, and none of us ever seem to be able to reach the center. But One did. Jesus came and showed us how to stand in the center of life so that we would not be thrown off, so that we could find a place of equilibrium. Jesus showed us the way.

I love the fact that the early Church was known as followers of “the Way.” In fact, the Church itself came to be called “the Way.” Why? It is undoubtedly related to the Church’s conviction that Jesus is the way, as He said in John 14.

¹ “Let not your hearts be troubled. Believe in God; believe also in me. ² In my Father’s house are many rooms. If it were not so, would I have told you that I go to prepare a place for you? ³ And if I go and prepare a place for you, I will come again and will take you to myself, that where I am you may be also. ⁴ And you know the way to where I am going.” ⁵ Thomas said to him, “Lord, we do not know where you are going. How can we know the way?” ⁶ Jesus said to him, “I am the way, and the truth, and the life. No one comes to the Father except through me.

Yes, Jesus is the way. Why? Because He opens the door to God. Because He is the door to God. Because He is God! He is the One who stands the center and calls all of us to Him. He is, therefore, the source of stability, of life, of living! So the Church came to be known as “the Way” because it had embraced the way of Christ.

Jesus enables all of those who come to Him to have life and that abundantly. Paul knew this. For Paul, Jesus was the way. For Paul, Jesus was the key to unlocking everything he had been missing. He says as much in his defense before the governor Felix. Let us first set the stage. As usual, Paul was being accused of wrongdoing.

¹ And 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. ² And 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, ³ in every way and everywhere we accept this with all gratitude. ⁴ But, to detain you no further, I beg you in your kindness to hear us briefly. ⁵ For 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. ⁶ He even tried to profane the temple, but we seized him. ⁸ By examining him yourself you will be able to find out from him about everything of which we accuse him.” ⁹ The Jews also joined in the charge, affirming that all these things were so.

This Turtullus would appear to be a lawyer who is going to present the Jews’ case against Paul to Felix. He began with a flowery introduction intended to flatter Felix. This is called a captatio benevolentiae and was a standard rhetorical device intended to win the favor of the presiding authority. Turtullus, by all accounts, lays it on thick. Craig Keener, commenting on this introduction, writes that “although flattery was sometimes true, this example is blatantly false: revolutionaries had escalated under Felix’s corrupt and repressive administration, bringing neither peace nor reforms.”[2]

Regardless, Turtullus laid out his case, charging Paul with being an instigator, a troublemaker, and seditious. Felix, hearing the charges, turned his attention to Paul.

¹⁰ And 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. ¹¹ You can verify that it is not more than twelve days since I went up to worship in Jerusalem, ¹² and 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. ¹³ Neither can they prove to you what they now bring up against me.

Paul began by brushing off the allegations of the Jews, flatly denying that he had gone up to the Temple to cause any trouble. Then, Paul moved to a positive statement about who he wa and what he was about. It is here that we can begin to unfold just what Jesus had freed Paul to do and how Jesus had brought Paul to the stable center of life.

¹⁴ But 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 ¹⁵ having a hope in God, which these men themselves accept, that there will be a resurrection of both the just and the unjust.

The key phrase in verse 14 is “according to the Way.” That is a controlling phrase and it colors all of the particulars that follow it. “According to the Way” could just as easily be rendered “because of Jesus.” In other words, all that follows is situated by Paul within the context of Jesus Christ and the gospel of Christ. “According to the Way.” “According to Jesus and what He has done for me, for us.”

And what had Jesus done for Paul? Four things, the first three of which are in verses 14 and 15.

Worship

First, Jesus had freed Paul to worship.

^14a But this I confess to you, that according to the Way, which they call a sect, I worship the God of our fathers

Paul said that he worshipped “the God of our fathers.” The “our” there is a reference to the Jews who stand beside him condemning him. This is a critically important phrase. Paul did not see Jesus as having pulled him away from the worship of the God of Israel. Paul saw Jesus as pulling him deeper into the worship of the God of Israel.

Paul undoubtedly knew the words of Jesus from Matthew 5:

¹⁷ “Do not think that I have come to abolish the Law or the Prophets; I have not come to abolish them but to fulfill them. ¹⁸ For truly, I say to you, until heaven and earth pass away, not an iota, not a dot, will pass from the Law until all is accomplished.

Whether or not he knew that exact statement, he knew the truth of it: that in Christ Jesus God’s promises to His people and the covenants had been fulfilled. Jesus said that nothing from the Law would pass until all was accomplished…then Jesus accomplished it! So in Christ we find the perfection to which the Law pointed and which the Law demanded. Jesus is the hope of Israel.

For this reason, Paul said he worshipped God “according to the Way” or “according to the way of Jesus” or “because of Jesus.”

Jesus is the door through which the true worship of God takes place. This is what makes the modern ecumenical effort to allegedly beautify worship by pouring any and all other forms of (i.e., non-Jesus-based) worship into one large pot so very frustrating. I heard last week of a Baptist church that called a preacher fixated on Buddhist meditation techniques. So he began to teach these Buddhist meditation techniques. Understandably, the church was upset! We do not believe that the gospel of Christ needs Buddha to make it cool or edgy. Christ is enough!

Christ, for Paul, was the key, he was “the Way.” Jesus had unlocked for Paul a deeper and fuller understanding of what worship is than he had ever known before…and may I remind us that, prior to coming to know Jesus, Paul was a very devout man! He had worshiped before, but not like this! This is what he meant when he said he worshipped “according to the Way.”

Belief

Similiarly, Jesus enabled Paul to believe.

^14b But this I confess to you, that according to the Way…believing everything laid down by the Law and written in the Prophets

What can this mean? Had Paul not believed before? Yes, he had known belief before. Listen to what he says in Philippians 3.

^4b If anyone else thinks he has reason for confidence in the flesh, I have more: ⁵ circumcised on the eighth day, of the people of Israel, of the tribe of Benjamin, a Hebrew of Hebrews; as to the law, a Pharisee; ⁶ as to zeal, a persecutor of the church; as to righteousness under the law, blameless.

What, then, was the problem? With a religious pedigree like that, how could Paul attain a deeper position of belief “according to the Way”? Listen to that text again but with Paul’s conclusion.

^4b If anyone else thinks he has reason for confidence in the flesh, I have more: ⁵ circumcised on the eighth day, of the people of Israel, of the tribe of Benjamin, a Hebrew of Hebrews; as to the law, a Pharisee; ⁶ as to zeal, a persecutor of the church; as to righteousness under the law, blameless. ⁷ But whatever gain I had, I counted as loss for the sake of Christ. ⁸ Indeed, I count everything as loss because of the surpassing worth of knowing Christ Jesus my Lord. For his sake I have suffered the loss of all things and count them as rubbish, in order that I may gain Christ ⁹ and be found in him, not having a righteousness of my own that comes from the law, but that which comes through faith in Christ, the righteousness from God that depends on faith— ¹⁰ that I may know him and the power of his resurrection, and may share his sufferings, becoming like him in his death, ¹¹ that by any means possible I may attain the resurrection from the dead.

Amazing! Paul essentially says, “All that I thought I knew before and all of my religious devotions and actions are nothing compared to knowing Jesus!”

Paul refers to “the surpassing worth of knowing Christ Jesus my Lord.” What a beautiful way of putting it! Indeed, there is an infinitely exceptional quality to Jesus Christ that makes all rival truth claims recede into the darkness!

According to the Way…I believe!

We are told in our supposedly progressive age that faith itself is inherently beautiful. “Just believe in something,” we are told, as if the object of that belief is superfluous. Hollywood people say this kind of thing all the time: “I’m not religious but I’m spiritual. I believe deeply. I feel deeply. I am aware of some kind of vague but present power.”

Dear friends, is that enough? Is it enough to console yourself with the fact that you know this visible, temporal world is not all there is? How can that be enough! A child of 2 years old knows that!

No, give us Jesus! Let the object of our affections be the Jesus of space and time and the Jesus of eternity, the Jesus who walked the dusty streets of Palestine and the Jesus who now sits at the right hand of the Father making intercession for the saints!

Hope

And on the basis of this belief, Paul now had hope!

^14a But this I confess to you, that according to the Way…¹⁵ having a hope in God, which these men themselves accept, that there will be a resurrection of both the just and the unjust.

Paul is here alluding to his earlier argument before the Jewish high priest that both he and the Pharisees held to a belief in the resurrection of the dead, which is true. But Paul also meant the resurrection of the dead in Christ because of the resurrection of Christ Himself! Paul therefore had hope in this life and the life to come because Paul knew that Jesus had defeated death in the resurrection.

“According to the Way…having a hope in God.”

Jesus gives us hope.

It is a terrible thing to have no hope.

Nikos Kazantzakis, the author of Zorba the Greek and The Last Temptation of Christ, held to a kind of eclectic spirituality. He held to certain aspects of Christianity and rejected others. As a result, he was excommunicated by the Greek Orthodox Church. Kazantzakis died of leukemia in 1957. His tombstone reads, “I hope for nothing. I fear nothing. I am free.”[3]

No doubt he thought that was a brave sentiment. “I hope for nothing. I fear nothing. I am free.”

I find it tragic.

Christians do not say, “I hope for nothing.” Paul said that he had hope in God “that there will be a resurrection.” But so many today do not have hope!

On Edgar Allen Poe’s deathbed, he was tormented by a lack of hope. One biographer described his deathbed scene like this:

He asked her [Dr. Moran’s wife] if there was any hope. She replied, thinking he meant, hope for recovery, that her husband thought him a very ill man. He then said, “I meant hope for a wretch like me beyond this life.” She tried to comfort him, “with words of the Great Physician,” and read him the fourteenth chapter of St. John. Wiping the beads of perspiration from his brow, she smoothed his pillow, gave him a soothing draught, and departed to make his shroud. What Poe thought no one will ever know. Nothing less heartrending can truthfully be said, than that the death of Edgar Allan Poe was more painful than his life.[4]

How very, very sad! Poe had no hope! Did he trust in Christ there at the very end? Oh, I very much hope so! But we do not know, and so we are left to wonder.

But Paul knew the rock-solid reality of the hope that Christ brings. Paul had wagered all on Christ and, “according to the Way,” he now how the hope of life eternal!

Live

He also had the hope of life here and now! Paul continued the account of his story before Felix.

¹⁶ So I always take pains to have a clear conscience toward both God and man. ¹⁷ Now after several years I came to bring alms to my nation and to present offerings. ¹⁸ While I was doing this, they found me purified in the temple, without any crowd or tumult. But some Jews from Asia— ¹⁹ they ought to be here before you and to make an accusation, should they have anything against me. ²⁰ Or else let these men themselves say what wrongdoing they found when I stood before the council, ²¹ other 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.’” ²² But Felix, having a rather accurate knowledge of the Way, put them off, saying, “When Lysias the tribune comes down, I will decide your case.” ²³ Then 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. ²⁴ After 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.

This is most interesting. It is helpful to know that Felix had stolen his Jewish wife Drusilla from her Jewish husband after he became fixated on her. It was something of a scandal. Thus, the contents of Paul’s words to this couple take on a poignant and pointed meaning.

²⁵ And as he reasoned about righteousness and self-control and the coming judgment, Felix was alarmed and said, “Go away for the present. When I get an opportunity I will summon you.” ²⁶ At the same time he hoped that money would be given him by Paul. So he sent for him often and conversed with him. ²⁷ When two years had elapsed, Felix was succeeded by Porcius Festus. And desiring to do the Jews a favor, Felix left Paul in prison.

Paul “reasoned about righteousness and self-control and the coming judgment.” It is understandable, then, that “Felix was alarmed.” His marriage had been founded on a complete lack of righteousness and self-control and fear of the coming judgment. Was Paul trying to make a point to this couple in particular? Almost certainly! Felix’s alarm almost certainly knew the uncomfortable implications of Paul’s words.

That being said, he is making a point for us as well. We must remember that this proclamation was likewise related to that phrase “according to the Way.” In other words, because of Jesus I now know how to exercise self-control, to live righteousness, and to be ready for judgment. That is, because of the Way, because of Jesus, we are now equipped to live life.

What Jesus gave Paul was therefore not only hope for the life to come but the tools to live life here and now. John Stott has written that “life on earth is a brief pilgrimage between two moments of nakedness. So we would be wise to travel light. We shall take nothing with us.”[5] How very well said!

Paul stood between his two moments of nakedness with the knowledge that now, finally, he had found the center of life, the point of peace and equilibrium: Jesus Himself. For Paul, and for us, this meant regaining the ability to worship, believe, hope, and live!

The gifts of Christ are rich gifts indeed! Have you received them? If not, it is not for any lack of offering on His part, but rather for a lack of receiving on your own.

He offers them to you now.

Jesus’ hand is extended to you.

In that hand is life itself.

Won’t you take it?

Take it now.

 

 

[1] Evelyn Waugh, Decline and Fall (New York, NY: Little, Brown and Company, 1956), p.282-283.

[2] Craig S. Keener, The IVP Bible Background Commentary: New Testament. (Downers Grove, IL: 1993), p.394.

[3] Kazantzakis, Nikos (2012-09-04). Saint Francis (Kindle Location 51). Simon & Schuster. Kindle Edition.

[4] Hervey Allen. Israfel: The Life and Times of Edgar Allen Poe. (Murray Hill, New York: Farrar & Rinehart, Inc., 1934), p.674.

[5] John Stott, The Radical Disciple (Downers Grove, IL: InterVarsity Press, 2010), p.21.