Acts 24:1-21
Dear RTB’ers,
Paul before Felix in Caesarea. And after five days… (v. 1a) would be two days for a messenger from Caesarea to Jerusalem, one day of planning by the Jewish authorities, and another two days of travel back to Caesarea.
If you are reading an ESV translation, you will notice a numerical gap between verses 6 and 8. My Study Bible has a note that the following verses (6b-8a) are missing in the earliest translations: “…and we would have judged him according to our law. 7But the chief captain Lysias came and with great violence took him out of our hands, 8commanding his accusers to come before you.” These verses are absent in the ESV and other translations, but are included in the NASB (the one that I mostly read) and other translations.
Tertullus speaking: “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.” (v. 5) Tertullus is trying to convince the Roman governor that Paul is a serious troublemaker. So first he creates the sense that Paul is something of a terrorist – leading riots throughout the world. Second, he refers to the Christians as Nazarenes. I recall that the Roman authorities had seen the Christians as simply an offshoot of the Jewish religion. Tertullus, however, is trying to claim that there is a new religion in the Roman world, one not acknowledged as legitimate by the Roman authorities.
Paul speaking: “But some Jews from Asia – they ought to be here before you and to make an accusation, should they have anything against me.” (vv. 18b-19) The “Jews from Asia” again…! Go back to Acts 21:27, When the seven days were almost completed, the Jews from Asia, seeing him in the temple, stirred up the whole crowd and laid hands on him… It just dawned on me – recall that Paul wanted to get to Jerusalem before Pentecost. (Acts 20:16) I’m guessing that he made it and that other faithful Jews from around the world, including “the Jews from Asia” (probably Antioch, Lyconium, Derbe) had also made the trip, to be in Jerusalem on one of the three required trips to Jerusalem. That’s why they were there in the temple when they saw Paul. They (not Paul) were the ones creating the “riot” in the temple. Stay tuned!
Blessings!