Paul's speech before the Roman governor - Acts 24:11-21 - N. T. -

I know that you have administered justice over this nation for many years, and I can therefore speak with confidence in my defence. As you can verify for yourself, it is no more than twelve days since I went up to Jerusalem on pilgrimage, and it is not true that they ever found me arguing with anyone or stirring up the mob, either in the Temple, in the synagogues, or about the town; neither can they prove any of the accusations they are making against me now.

What I do admit to you is this: it is according to the Way which they describe as a sect that I worship the God of my ancestors, retaining my belief in all points of the Law and in what is written in the prophets; and I hold the same hope in God as they do that there will be a resurrection of good men and bad men alike. In these things, I, as much as they, do my best to keep a clear conscience at all times before God and man.

'After several years I came to bring alms to my nation and to make offerings; it was in connection with these that they found me in the Temple; I had been purified, and there were no crowd involved, and no disturbance. But some Jews from Asia...- these are the ones who should have appeared before you and accused me of whatever they had against me. At least let those who are present say what crime they found me guilty of when I stood before the Sanhedrin, unless it were to do with this single outburst, when I stood up among them and called out: It is about the resurrection of the dead that I am on trail before you today.'

Cf. - Acts 11:30+; 20:16; 9:2+; 25:8+ -

Cf. - Matthew 5:17-19 - N. T. - Do not imagine that I have come to abolish the Law or the Prophets. I have come not to abolish but to complete them. I tell you solemnly, till heaven and earth disappear, not one dot, not one little stroke, shall disappear from the Law until its purpose is achieved. Therefore, the man who infringes even one of the least of these commandments and teaches others to do the same will be considered the least in the kingdom of heaven; but the man who keeps them and teaches them will be considered great in the kingdom of heaven.

Cf. - Romans 3:31-4:1-3; 10:4 - N. T. - Do we mean that faith makes the Law pointless? Not at all: we are giving the Law its true value. Apply this to Abraham, the ancestor from whom we are all descended. If Abraham was justified as a reward for doing something, he would really have had something to boast about, though not in God's sight because scripture says: Abraham put his faith in God, and this faith was considered as justifying him. But the Law has come to an end with Christ, and everyone who has faith may be justified.

Cf. - Acts 4:2 - 

Cf. - John 5:29+ - N. T. - Those who did good will rise again to life; and those who did evil, to condemnation. I can do nothing by myself; I can only judge as I am told to judge, and my judging is just, because my aim is to do not my own will, but the will of him who sent me.

Cf. - Acts 23:1+,6; 21:24,27; 4:2; 23:6 -

Paul's captivity at Caesarea - Acts 24:22-27 - N. T. -

At this, Felix, who knew more about the Way than most people, adjourned the case, saying, 'When Lysias the tribune has come down I will go into your case'. He then gave orders to the centurion that Paul should be kept under arrest but free from restriction, and that none of his own people should be prevented from seeing to his needs.

Some days later Felix came with his wife Drusilla who was a Jewess. He sent for Paul and gave him a hearing on the subject of faith in Christ Jesus. But when he began to treat of righteousness, self-control and the coming Judgement, Felix took flight and said, 'You may go for the present; I will send for you when I find it convenient'. At the same time he had hopes of receiving money from Paul, and for this reason he sent for him frequently and had talks with him..

When the two years came to an end, Felix was succeeded by Porcius Festus and, being anxious to gain favour with the Jews, Felix left Paul in custody.

Cf. - Acts 9:2+ -

Cf. - Mark 6:17-20 - N. T. - 'These are the signs that will be associated with believers: in my name they will cast out devils; they will have the gift of tongues; they will pick up snakes in their hands, and be unharmed should they drink deadly poison; they will lay their hands on the sick, who recover.' And so the Lord Jesus, after spoken to them, was taken up into heaven: there at the right hand of God he took his place, while they, going out, preached everywhere, the Lord working with them and confirming the word by the signs that accompanied it.

Cf. - Acts 17:32; 25:9 -

Paul appeals to Caesar - Acts 25:1-12 - N. T. -

Three days after his arrival in the province, Festus went up to Jerusalem from Caesarea. The chief priests and leaders of the Jews informed him of the case against Paul, urgently asking him to support them rather than Paul, and to have him transferred to Jerusalem. They were, in fact, preparing an ambush to murder him on the way. But Festus replied that Paul would remain in custody in Caesarea, and that he would be going back there shortly himself. 'Let your authorities come down with me' he said 'and if there is anything wrong about the man, they can bring a charge against him.'

After staying with them for eight or ten days at the most, he went down to Caesarea and the next day he took his seat on the tribunal and had Paul brought in. As soon as Paul appeared, the Jews who had come down from Jerusalem surrounded him, making many serious accusations which they were unable to substantiate, Paul's defence was this, 'I have committed no offence whatever against either Jewish law, or the Temple, or Caesar'. Festus was anxious to gain favour with the Jews, so he said to Paul, 'Are you willing to go up to Jerusalem and be tried on these charges before me there?' But Paul replied, 'I am standing before the tribunal of Caesar and this is where I should be tried. I have done the Jews no wrong, as you very well know. If I am guilty of committing any capital crime, I do not ask to be spared the death penalty. But if there is no substance in the accusations these persons bring against me, no one has a right to surrender me to them. I appeal to Caesar.' Then Festus conferred with his advisers and replied, 'You have appealed to Caesar; to Caesar you shall go'.

Cf. - Acts 23:12-15 -

Cf. - Matthew 26:59-62; 27:12-14 - N. T. - The chief priests and the whole of Sanhedrin were looking for evidence against Jesus, however false, on which they might pass the death-sentence. But they could not find any, though several lying witnesses came forward. Eventually two stepped forward and made a statement, 'This man said, "I have power to destroy the Temple of God and in three days build it up"'. The high priest then stood up and said to him, 'Have you no answer to that? What is this evidence these men are bringing against you?' But Jesus was silent.

But when Jesus was accused by the chief priests and the elders he refused to answer at all. Pilate then said to him, 'Do you not hear how many charges they have brought against you?' But to the governor's complete amazement, he offered no reply to any of the chargers.

Cf. - Luke 23:10 - N. T. - Meanwhile the chief priests and the scribes were there, violently pressing their accusations.

Cf. - Acts 17:6-7; 21-28+; 24:14+ - 

                                                                -  PAGE  138  -

 -     WELCOME TO SACRED SCRIPTURE / WORD OF GOD / HOLY BIBLE READER'S COMMUNITY     - 

Wishing you, 'Happy Reading', and may God, the Father, the Son of the living God, Jesus Christ, fills your heart, mind, thoughts, and grants you: The Holy Spirit, that is, Wisdom, Knowledge, Understanding, Counsel, Piety, Fortitude, Fear of the Lord, and also His fruits of the Holy Spirit, that is, Love, Joy, Peace, Patience, Kindness, Goodness, Trustfulness, Gentleness and Self-Control. Amen! God blessing be upon you!

Why do you call Me, "Lord, Lord" and not do what I say?' "Everyone who comes to Me and listens to My words and acts on them - I will show you what he/she is like. He/She is like a man/woman who when he/she built his/her house dug, deep, and laid the foundations on rock; when the river was in flood it bore down on that house but could not shake it, it was so well built. But the one who listens and does nothing is like the man/woman who built his/her house on soil, with no foundations: as soon as the river bore down on it, it collapsed; and what a ruin that house became!" - Luke 6:46-49 - 

If we live by the truth and in love, we shall grow in all ways into Christ Jesus, who is the head by whom the whole body is fitted and joined together, every joint adding its own strength, for each separate part to work according to it function. So the body grows until it has built itself up, in love." - Ephesians 4:15-16 - 

I still have many things to say to you but they would be too much for you now. But when the spirit of truth comes, he will lead you to the complete truth, since he will not be speaking as from himself, but will say only what he has learnt; and he will tell you of the things to come. He/She will glorify me, since all he/she tells you will be taken from what is mine. Everything the Father has is mine; that is why I said: all he/she tells you will be taken from what is mine." - John 16:12-15 -

Your generous contribution and support is profoundly cherish. I sincerely pray that: God blessing be upon you, always. Amen! Bank transfer: Name: Alex Chan Kok Wah - Public Bank Berhad account no. 4076577113 - Country: Kuala Lumpur, Malaysia.   

Paul transferred to Caesarea - Acts 23:23-35 - N. T. - 

Then he summoned two of the centurions and said, 'Get two hundred soldiers ready to leave for Caesarea by the third hour of the night with seventy cavalry and two hundred auxiliaries; provide horses for Paul, and deliver him unharmed to Felix the governor'. He also wrote a letter in these terms: 'Claudius Lysias to his Excellency the governor Felix, greetings. This man had been seized by the Jews and would have been murdered by them but I came on the scene with my troops and got him away, having discovered that he was a Roman citizen. Wanting to find out what charge they were making against him, I brought him before their Sanhedrin. I found that the accusation concerned disputed points of their Law, but that there was no charge deserving death or imprisonment. My information is that there is a conspiracy against the man, so I hasten to send him to you, and have notified his accusers that they must state their case against him in your presence.'

The soldiers carried out their orders; they took Paul and escorted him by night to Antipatris. Next day they left the mounted escort to go with him and returned to the fortress. On arriving at Caesarea the escort delivered the letter to the governor and handed Paul over to him. The governor read the letter and asked what province he came from. Learning that he was from Cilicia he said, 'I will hear your case as soon as your accusers are here too'. Then he ordered him to be held in Herod's praetorium.

Cf. - 21:31-33; 22:25-29; 18:15; 25:18-19; 26:31; 28:18 -

The case before Felix - Acts 24:1-10 - N. T. -

Five days later the high priest Ananias came down with some of the elders and an advocate named Tertullus, and they laid information against Paul before the governor. Paul was called, and Tertullus opened for the prosecution, 'Your Excellency, Felix, the unbroken peace we enjoy and the reforms this nation owes to your foresight are matters we accept, always and everywhere, with all gratitude. I do not want to take up too much of your time, but I beg you to give us a brief hearing. The plain truth is that we find this man a perfect pest; he stirs up trouble among Jews the world over, and is a ringleader of the Nazarene sect. He has even attempted to profane the Temple. We placed him under arrest, intending to judge him according to our Law, but the tribune Lysias intervened and took him out of our hands by force, ordering his accusers to appear before you; if you ask him you can find out yourself the truth of all our accusations against this man.' The Jews supported him, asserting that these were the facts.

When the governor motioned him to speak, Paul answered:

Cf. - Acts 16:20; 17:6 - 

Cf. - Luke 23:2 - N. T. - They began their accusation by saying, 'We found this man inciting our people to revolt, opposing payment of the tribute to Caesar, and claiming to be Christ, a king'.  

Cf. - Matthew 2:23-32 - N. T. - Jesus had gone into the Temple and was teaching, when the chief priests and the elders of the people came to him and said, 'What authority have you for acting like this? And who gave you this authority?' 'And I' replied Jesus 'will ask you a question, only one; if you tell me the answer to it, I will then tell you my authority for acting like this. John's baptism: where did it come from: heaven or man?' And they argued it out this way among themselves, 'If we say from heaven, he will retort, "Then why did you refuse to believe him?"; but if we say from man, we have the people to fear, for they all hold that John was a prophet'. So their reply to Jesus was, 'We do not know'. And Jesus retorted, 'Nor will I tell you my authority for acting like this.'

What is your opinion? A man had two sons. He went and said to the first, "My boy, you go and work in the vineyard today". He answered, "I will not go", but afterwards thought better of it and went. The man then went and said the same thing to the second who answered, "Certainly, sir", but did not go. Which of the two did the father's will?' 'The first' they said. Jesus said to them, 'I tell you solemnly, tax collectors and prostitutes are making their way into the kingdom of God before you. For John came to you, a pattern of true righteousness, but you did not believe him, and yet the tax collectors and prostitutes did. Even after seeing that, you refused to think better of it and believe in him.

Cf. -Acts 21:28 -                                                  -  PAGE  137  - 

Paul's speech before the Roman governor 

'I know that you have administered justice...          -  PAGE  138  -  

-     WELCOME TO SACRED SCRIPTURE / WORD OF GOD / HOLY BIBLE READER'S COMMUNITY     - 

Wishing you, 'Happy Reading', and may God, the Father, the Son of the living God, Jesus Christ, fills your heart, mind, thoughts, and grants you: The Holy Spirit, that is, Wisdom, Knowledge, Understanding, Counsel, Piety, Fortitude, Fear of the Lord, and also His fruits of the Holy Spirit, that is, Love, Joy, Peace, Patience, Kindness, Goodness, Trustfulness, Gentleness and Self-Control. Amen! God blessing be upon you!

Why do you call Me, "Lord, Lord" and not do what I say?' "Everyone who comes to Me and listens to My words and acts on them - I will show you what he/she is like. He/She is like a man/woman who when he/she built his/her house dug, deep, and laid the foundations on rock; when the river was in flood it bore down on that house but could not shake it, it was so well built. But the one who listens and does nothing is like the man/woman who built his/her house on soil, with no foundations: as soon as the river bore down on it, it collapsed; and what a ruin that house became!" - Luke 6:46-49 - 

If we live by the truth and in love, we shall grow in all ways into Christ Jesus, who is the head by whom the whole body is fitted and joined together, every joint adding its own strength, for each separate part to work according to it function. So the body grows until it has built itself up, in love." - Ephesians 4:15-16 - 

I still have many things to say to you but they would be too much for you now. But when the spirit of truth comes, he will lead you to the complete truth, since he will not be speaking as from himself, but will say only what he has learnt; and he will tell you of the things to come. He/She will glorify me, since all he/she tells you will be taken from what is mine. Everything the Father has is mine; that is why I said: all he/she tells you will be taken from what is mine." - John 16:12-15 -

Your generous contribution and support is profoundly cherish. I sincerely pray that: God blessing be upon you, always. Amen! Bank transfer: Name: Alex Chan Kok Wah - Public Bank Berhad account no. 4076577113 - Country: Kuala Lumpur, Malaysia.  

Paul the Roman citizen - Acts 22:22-29 - N. T. -

So far they had listened to him, but at these words they began to shout, 'Rid the earth of the man! He is not fit to live!' They were yelling, waving their cloaks and throwing dust into the air, and so the tribune had him brought into the fortress and ordered him to be examined under the lash, to find out the reason for the outcry against him. But when they had strapped him down Paul said to the centurion on duty. 'It is legal for you to flog a man who is a Roman citizen and has not been brought to trail?' When he heard this the centurion went and told the tribune; 'Do you realise what you are doing?' he said 'This man is a Roman citizen?' 'I am' Paul said. The tribune replied, 'It cost me a large sum to acquire this citizenship'. 'But I was born to it' said Paul. Then those who were about to examine him hurriedly withdrew, and the tribune himself was alarmed when he realised that he had put a Roman citizen in chains.

Cf. - Acts 21:36; 25:24; 16:37+; 23:27; 16:39; 21:33 - 

His appearance before the Sanhedrin - Acts 22:30; 23:1-11 - N. T. -

The next day, since he wanted to know what precise charge the Jews were bringing, he freed Paul and gave orders for a meeting of the chief priests and the entire Sanhedrin; then he brought Paul down and stood him in front of them. - 23:1-11 - Paul looked steadily at the Sanhedrin and began to speak, 'My brothers, to this day I have conducted myself before God with a perfectly clear conscience'. At this the high priest Ananias ordered his attendants to strike him on the mouth. Then Paul said to him. 'God will surely strike you, you whitewashed wall! How can you sit there to judge me according to the Law, and then break the Law by ordering a man to strike me?' The attendants said, 'It is God's high priest you are insulting!' Paul answered, 'Brothers, I did not realise it was the high priest, for scripture says: You must not curse a ruler of your people'. 

Now Paul was well aware that one section was made up of Sadducees and the other of Pharisees, so he called out in the Sanhedrin, 'Brothers, I am a Pharisee and the son of Pharisees. It is for our hope in the resurrection of the dead that I am on trail.' As soon as he said this a dispute broke up between the Pharisees and Sadducees, and the assembly was split between the two parties. For the Sadducees say there is neither resurrection, nor angel, nor spirit, while the Pharisees accept all three. The shouting grew louder, and some of the scribes from the Pharisees' party stood up and protested strongly. 'We find nothing wrong with this man. Suppose a spirit has spoken to him, or an angel?' Feeling was running high, and the tribune, afraid that they would tear Paul to pieces, ordered his troops to go down and haul Paul out and bring him into the fortress. Next night, the Lord appeared to him and said, 'Courage! You have borne witness for me in Jerusalem, now you must do the same in Rome.'

Cf. - Acts 24:16 - 

Cf. - John 18:21-22 - N. T. - Ask my hearers what I taught; they know what I said.' At these words, one of the guards standing by gave Jesus a slap in the face, saying, 'Is that the way to answer the high priest?'

Cf. - Ezekiel 13:10-15 - O. T. - And you will learn that I am the Lord Yahweh, since they have misled my people by saying: Peace! when there is no peace. Instead of my people rebuilding the wall, these men come and on plaster. Tell these plasterers: It will rain hard, it will hail, it will blow a gale, and down will come the wall. Will not people ask: Where is the plaster you slapped on it? Well then, the Lord Yahweh says this: I am going to unleash a stormy wind in my anger, torrential rain in my wrath, hailstones in my destructive fury. I mean to shatter the wall you slapped with plaster, to throw it down and lay its foundations bare. It will fall and you will perish under it; and so you will learn that I am Yahweh. When I have exhausted my anger against the wall and those who plastered it, I shall say to you: The wall is gone, and so are those who slapped it over with plaster.

Cf. - Matthew 23:27 - N. T. - Alas for you, scribes and Pharisees, you hypocrites! You are like whitewashed tombs that look handsome on the outside, but inside are full of dead men's bones and every kind of corruption.

Cf. - Exodus 22:27 - O. T. - I shall spread panic ahead of you; I shall throw into confusion all the people you encounter; I shall make all your enemies turn and run from you.

Cf. - Acts 4:1-4; 26:5 - 

Cf. - Philippians 3:5 - N. T. - I was born of the race of Israel and of the tribe of Benjamin, a Hebrew born of Hebrew parents, and I was circumcised when I was eight days old.

Cf. - Acts 24:15; 26:6f; 28:20; 4:2+; 5:17 - 

Cf. - Matthew 22:23 - N. T. - That day some Sadducees - who deny that there is a resurrection - approached Jesus and they put this question to him.

Cf. - Acts 5:34f; 18:9-10; 27:24; 19:21 - 

The conspiracy of the Jews against Paul - Acts 23:12-22 - N. T. -

When it was day, the Jews held a secret meeting at which they made a vow not to eat or drink until they had killed Paul. There were more than forty who took part in this conspiracy, and they went to the chief priests and elders, and told them, 'We have made a solemn vow to let nothing pass our lips until we have killed Paul. Now it is up to you and the Sanhedrin together to apply to the tribune to bring him down to you, as though you meant to examine his case more closely; we, on our side, are prepared to dispose of him before he reaches you. 

But the son of Paul's sister heard of the ambush they were laying and made his way into the fortress and told Paul, who called one of the centurions and said, 'Take this young man to the tribune; he has something to tell him'. So the man took him to the tribune, and reported, 'The prisoner Paul summoned me and requested me to bring this young man to you; he has something to tell you'. Then the tribune took him by the hand and drew him aside and asked, 'What is it you have to tell me?' The Jews have made a plan to ask you to take Paul down to the Sanhedrin tomorrow, as though they meant to inquire more closely into his case. Do not let them persuade you. There are more than forty of them lying in wait for him, and they have vowed not to eat  or drink until they have got rid of him. They are ready now and only waiting for your order to be given. The tribune let the young man go with this caution. 'Tell no one that you have given me this information'. 

Cf. - Acts 9:23; 20:3; 25:3 -

Cf. - 1 Thessalonians 2:14 - For you, my brothers, have been like the churches of God in Christ Jesus which are in Judaea, in suffering the same treatment from your own countrymen as they have suffered from the Jews.

                                                     -  PAGE  136  -

Paul transferred to Caesarea 

Then he summoned two...                   -  PAGE  137  -                                                                                                                            

-     WELCOME TO SACRED SCRIPTURE / WORD OF GOD / HOLY BIBLE READER'S COMMUNITY     - 

Wishing you, 'Happy Reading', and may God, the Father, the Son of the living God, Jesus Christ, fills your heart, mind, thoughts, and grants you: The Holy Spirit, that is, Wisdom, Knowledge, Understanding, Counsel, Piety, Fortitude, Fear of the Lord, and also His fruits of the Holy Spirit, that is, Love, Joy, Peace, Patience, Kindness, Goodness, Trustfulness, Gentleness and Self-Control. Amen! God blessing be upon you!

Why do you call Me, "Lord, Lord" and not do what I say?' "Everyone who comes to Me and listens to My words and acts on them - I will show you what he/she is like. He/She is like a man/woman who when he/she built his/her house dug, deep, and laid the foundations on rock; when the river was in flood it bore down on that house but could not shake it, it was so well built. But the one who listens and does nothing is like the man/woman who built his/her house on soil, with no foundations: as soon as the river bore down on it, it collapsed; and what a ruin that house became!" - Luke 6:46-49 - 

If we live by the truth and in love, we shall grow in all ways into Christ Jesus, who is the head by whom the whole body is fitted and joined together, every joint adding its own strength, for each separate part to work according to it function. So the body grows until it has built itself up, in love." - Ephesians 4:15-16 - 

I still have many things to say to you but they would be too much for you now. But when the spirit of truth comes, he will lead you to the complete truth, since he will not be speaking as from himself, but will say only what he has learnt; and he will tell you of the things to come. He/She will glorify me, since all he/she tells you will be taken from what is mine. Everything the Father has is mine; that is why I said: all he/she tells you will be taken from what is mine." - John 16:12-15 -

Your generous contribution and support is profoundly cherish. I sincerely pray that: God blessing be upon you, always. Amen! Bank transfer: Name: Alex Chan Kok Wah - Public Bank Berhad account no. 4076577113 - Country: Kuala Lumpur, Malaysia.