Book 9: Jerusalem and Caesarea

Chapter 46 – Tried by Felix

Narration

Acts 23:34-24:27

Felix was the Roman governor, and now the problem of Paul was his to solve.  But he didn’t.

Five days after the night-time escape from Jerusalem, the high priest Ananias was in Caesarea with some heavyweight officials and a very clever attorney named Tertullus.  Although it was almost 25 years since Paul had become a follower of Jesus, they still viewed him as a traitor and couldn’t let him go unpunished.

Tertullus tried to butter up the governor and paint Paul as a rabble-rouser, but eventually it was Paul’s turn to speak.  Paul took the opportunity to preach about The Way, including resurrection and judgement, before concluding that the charges presented were trumped-up nonsense.

Felix put the matter on hold.  He refused to give the Jews what they wanted, but didn’t want to upset them too much by freeing Paul.  And since he also hoped that Paul would pay a bribe, he kept him in prison.
Two years passed and there was still no bribe forthcoming.  Paul remained in prison, but Felix’s time as governor was up..

Chapter 47 – Tried by Festus

Sketch 47.1 Two years

I’ve been in prison here for two years now – two years today.

I have some freedom, and at least there’s light in my cell, but I can’t leave.  Local believers and friends visit me and bring things I need, but I can’t help thinking how different these two years would have been if I hadn’t been locked up.

Another missionary journey with Silas – possibly with Barnabas as well.  Imagine visiting all the congregations throughout Syria, Cilicia, Galatia and Asia Minor, Macedonia, Greece and Achaia, and then travelling further afield as well.  Spain and even further west.

Instead, I’ve sat here in prison and have nothing to show for it.  Well, other than quite a few letters sent to several congregations.  After all, I can’t just sit around doing nothing!

However, it might all be coming to an end soon.  It seems that the rumours I heard were true and that Felix has been recalled to Rome.  It won’t have been because he was asking for bribes, but I’m glad he got no money from me.

Accepting bribes is wrong, but offering them isn’t much better.  Still, two years has been a long time to be stuck in prison because of a corrupt governor under pressure from corrupt priests.  But I’ll still refuse to pay if the matter comes up again.

If the latest rumours are also right, a man named Festus will soon replace Felix.  Will he send me to Rome straight away?  Jesus made it clear that I’m going to end up there, but these last two years have made me wonder how long it might take.

Has Felix left Festus a report about me?  Or will this be his way of getting back at me for not paying him a bribe?  He could leave me locked away here but not tell his replacement.  I could languish in this cell for another two years as an undocumented prisoner that only the jailer knows anything about!

Is there anything I can do about it?  They already know I’m a Roman citizen, so I can’t get their attention by playing that card.  The only option might be to appeal to Caesar, but I can’t even do that without seeing the governor.

There’s no point in going through all this again.  I’ve already asked God to get me out of here every day I’ve been here, and gone through all the legal possibilities as well.  I’m just going round and round in circles and…  What’s that noise?

Voices could be heard through the cell door and soon the rattle of the jailer’s keys were followed by the sliding, scraping sound of a bolt being drawn back.

“Good morning, Paul,” called a voice that I recognised as Philip’s.  “God bless you.”

“The Lord keep you,” I answered, pleased to hear his voice and see his smiling face.  “How are you?  And how are your daughters?”

“We are all healthy, physically and spiritually, but we were talking about you last night and wondering how you’re coping with being locked up in here for so long.”

“Frustrated, but satisfied,” I answered.  Then I recognised how strange those two ideas sounded together and added, “If that combination is possible!”

“Tell me more,” prompted Philip.

“I’m frustrated at being stuck in here instead of travelling around preaching, but satisfied that this is what God wants of me at the moment and willing to wait to see what happens next.”

“That sounds like a healthy mix to me, brother,” said Philip.  “I’m too old and weak to travel around now, and I’ve had to learn different ways of keeping busy preaching about Jesus and walking ‘The Way’.”

“I’ve heard that you’re always busy, Philip,” I said, “and even with your age, you have more freedom to choose what you do with your time than I do at the moment.”

“You know, I haven’t found it easy to learn to slow down, Paul.  I still long to go on the sort of preaching journey I used to take when I travelled through Samaria and many other places.  But if I ever start doing too much, I end up with such a bad back that I can’t walk and have to spend a week in bed.  And that means I can’t do anything useful for a week – except for praying.  So I’ve had to learn to pace myself.  Slow down; take it easier.  If I do that well, I get more done.”

His words surprised me and I was silent for a few moments.  I’d never thought of life in quite that way before.  True, I’d sometimes had to stop for a day or two to recover from injuries after receiving a beating – but after that, it was straight back to work, working as hard as I could manage!  That was my job.

“That would be terribly difficult,” I said, slowly.  “I really can’t imagine having to take it easy like that.”  And I truly couldn’t.  Whenever something needed doing, I’d always just started it and kept going until it was finished.  I suppose being able to do that is a blessing from God that I hadn’t recognised.

“Perhaps that’s why God has taken it out of your hands at the moment,” said Philip wryly.  “Maybe he’s saving you from complete physical or mental collapse.”

“I’ve never thought of that possibility,” I answered, “and it starts a bit of a conflict in my mind.  After all, I’ve found many times that I can do all things through him who gives me strength.  And it’s not as if I haven’t been able to do useful things while I’ve been stuck here.  Hmmm.  It’s an odd concept: being kept in prison for my own health!”

I thought for a while, and Philip allowed me to think without interruption.  I remembered some past occasions when I’d been slowed down by unexpected events – times when I was forced to wait.  I could almost taste the frustration I’d felt at times, but I also had to admit that I often felt a great revival of energy when the waiting was finally over and I could continue with my plans.  Perhaps those delays truly were God slowing me down to prevent me collapsing!  Yet, at other times, there was no doubt that he had given me strength to keep going when it had seemed impossible.

“Convinced?” asked Philip.

“It could fit, I suppose,” I answered, “but if you’re right, when does the time come to an end?  Two years is a long time to sit around like this.”

“You sound more eager to get out than you did a year ago, brother.  Perhaps your wait is coming to an end.”

“Oh, I hope you’re right!”

“This news may be connected, Paul.  I heard yesterday that Festus, the new governor, is arriving in Caesarea tomorrow.”

“That’s good news, brother.  Perhaps I can gain a hearing before him soon.  Somehow or another, I need to travel to Rome, so I don’t think it’s likely that Festus will free me.”

“I can’t really see how he could justify keeping you here, let alone sending you to Rome.  Perhaps you need to quickly appeal to Caesar before he lets you go.”

“I’ll have to wait and see.”

Philip stayed chatting for an hour and enlisted my help in praying for some of the needs of our brothers in Caesarea.  When he left, I thought about his ideas again and wondered if I could ever learn to slow down as he had done.

I still couldn’t imagine how.

Perhaps Philip was right: that was why God hadn’t given me the choice.

Narration

Acts 24:27-25:12

Two years in prison for doing nothing wrong.  God’s plans are hard to fathom sometimes.

Finally, Festus replaced Felix as the Roman governor and inherited the problem of Paul.

The Jews hadn’t forgotten their hatred of Paul, and when Festus went to Jerusalem, they asked him to send Paul to Jerusalem for trial, planning again to kill him on the way.

Festus refused and after about ten days returned to Caesarea and waited for the Jews to come to him.

They came.

Festus wasn’t really interested in justice.  He wanted to do the Jews a favour.  In his eyes, Paul was disposable.  A mere pawn.

However, a Roman citizen could appeal to have his case heard by Caesar, and in the end, Paul felt compelled to make this appeal.  Jesus had already told him that he must travel to Rome, so it was no real surprise.