Paul's Prison Epistles: Paul's ImprisonmentSample

Paul’s Caesarean Imprisonment: Acts 23:23-24:27

During the period of Paul’s imprisonment, the Roman province of Judea consisted essentially of the regions known as Judea in the south, Samaria in the middle, and Galilee in the north. You will recall that Caesarea Maritima was on the coast of Samaria. It was also the capital city of the Roman province Judea.

When Paul first arrived in Caesarea, probably in A.D. 57, he was kept in custody for five days until his accusers arrived from Jerusalem. Those accusing him included the high priest Ananias, a number of Jewish elders, and Tertullus who was the lawyer for the group.

When the accusers arrived, Felix held a hearing. At this hearing Tertullus argued that Paul disturbed the peace and incited riots. This was a very serious charge in the eyes of Governor Felix since it was his duty to keep peace in Judea. But even more importantly, from the Jewish point of view, they also accused Paul of trying to violate the temple. The Jewish elders who were present affirmed this accusation, although none of them came forward as official witnesses. 

Evidently, the Jews wholeheartedly believed the false rumors about Paul. They seem to have been convinced that Paul sought the downfall of Judaism and that he would proudly admit to trying to desecrate the temple. And so the only witness the Jewish accusers called upon by name was Paul himself!

We read Tertullus’ closing words to Felix in Acts 24:8:

By examining [Paul] yourself you will be able to learn the truth about all these charges we are bringing against him (Acts 24:8).

Now, in God’s mysterious providence, Felix was a dishonest ruler. Based on the insufficient accusations against Paul, Felix could have released him. But he didn’t. Instead, he saw an opportunity for personal gain, so he held off ruling on the case, preferring to wait for Paul to offer him a bribe.

In Acts 24:26, Luke explained,

[Felix] was hoping that Paul would offer him a bribe, so he sent for him frequently and talked with him (Acts 24:26).

Initially, Felix said he would rule on Paul’s case when Lysias the Roman commander arrived in Caesarea. But Felix put off ruling on Paul’s case for two years.

At the end of these two years, however, Felix was replaced as governor by Porcius Festus. When Festus took his seat as governor in A.D. 59, Paul’s Jewish opponents in Jerusalem saw another opportunity to kill Paul. They planned another ambush and petitioned Festus to deliver Paul to Jerusalem under the pretense that they wished to have his case reopened and handled locally. So, Festus convened a hearing in which he asked Paul if he would be willing to have his case heard in Jerusalem rather than in Caesarea.

At this point, rather than agreeing to have his case heard in Jerusalem, Paul appealed to his right as a Roman citizen to have his case heard by Nero Caesar himself, and Festus had no choice but to grant this request.