Acts 24:23
He ordered the centurion to keep Paul under guard, but to allow him some freedom and permit his friends to minister to his needs.
He ordered the centurion
The term "centurion" refers to a Roman officer in charge of approximately one hundred soldiers. The centurion was a key figure in maintaining Roman order and discipline. In the context of Acts, the centurion's role is significant as it demonstrates the Roman authority's involvement in Paul's situation. Historically, centurions were known for their leadership and reliability, often being the backbone of the Roman military. This highlights the seriousness with which the Roman authorities were treating Paul's case, ensuring that a trusted officer was responsible for his custody.

to keep Paul under guard
The phrase "under guard" indicates that Paul was not free to leave, reflecting the legal and political complexities of his situation. The Greek word used here, "phulassō," implies protection as well as custody, suggesting that while Paul was a prisoner, there was also an element of safeguarding his person. This duality of meaning can be seen as a metaphor for God's providence, where even in confinement, Paul was under divine protection, fulfilling God's purpose for him to testify in Rome.

but to allow him some freedom
The "freedom" granted to Paul, despite being a prisoner, is noteworthy. The Greek word "anesis" conveys a sense of relief or relaxation from strict confinement. This reflects the Roman practice of granting certain privileges to prisoners who were not considered a threat. From a theological perspective, this freedom can be seen as God's grace at work, allowing Paul to continue his ministry even in chains. It serves as a reminder that God's work is not hindered by human limitations.

and permit his friends to visit
The permission for Paul's "friends to visit" underscores the importance of Christian fellowship and support. The Greek term "epitrepo" suggests a deliberate allowance, indicating that the authorities recognized the value of community for Paul. This provision not only met Paul's physical and emotional needs but also facilitated the spread of the Gospel, as his friends could carry messages and teachings to the early Christian communities. It highlights the early Church's commitment to mutual support and the power of community in sustaining faith.

and minister to his needs
The phrase "minister to his needs" reflects the practical and spiritual care provided by Paul's companions. The Greek word "diakoneō" is the root for "deacon," implying service and assistance. This service was likely multifaceted, addressing both physical necessities and spiritual encouragement. Historically, this reflects the early Christian practice of diakonia, or service, as a fundamental expression of faith. It serves as an inspirational model for the Church today, emphasizing the call to serve one another in love and meet the needs of those who are suffering or in distress.

Persons / Places / Events
1. Paul
The apostle who is under Roman custody, awaiting trial. He is a central figure in the spread of Christianity and is known for his missionary journeys and epistles.

2. Centurion
A Roman officer in charge of a hundred soldiers. He is responsible for ensuring Paul remains in custody but is given specific instructions regarding Paul's treatment.

3. Felix
The Roman governor who presides over Paul's trial. He is the one who gives the order for Paul's custody conditions.

4. Friends of Paul
Fellow believers and companions who are allowed to visit and provide for Paul's needs during his imprisonment.

5. Caesarea
The location where Paul is being held. It is a significant city in Roman Judea, serving as the administrative center.
Teaching Points
The Importance of Christian Fellowship
Paul's situation underscores the necessity of community and support among believers. Even in confinement, the presence and assistance of fellow Christians provide encouragement and meet practical needs.

Balancing Justice and Mercy
Felix's decision to allow Paul some freedom reflects a balance between justice and mercy. In our lives, we should strive to uphold justice while showing compassion and understanding.

Ministry in All Circumstances
Paul's friends ministered to him despite his imprisonment, demonstrating that ministry is not confined to ideal circumstances. We are called to serve others wherever we find ourselves.

God's Provision Through Others
God often provides for our needs through the hands and hearts of others. We should be open to receiving help and also be willing to be used by God to meet the needs of others.

Witnessing Through Trials
Paul's situation serves as a reminder that our conduct during trials can be a powerful witness to others. Maintaining faith and integrity can inspire and encourage those around us.
Bible Study Questions
1. How does the support Paul received from his friends during his imprisonment reflect the role of Christian community in our lives today?

2. In what ways can we balance justice and mercy in our interactions with others, as seen in Felix's treatment of Paul?

3. How can we actively minister to others, even when we find ourselves in less-than-ideal circumstances?

4. Reflect on a time when God provided for your needs through others. How can you be a vessel of God's provision for someone else?

5. How can we ensure that our conduct during difficult times serves as a positive witness to those around us? What specific actions can we take to maintain our faith and integrity?
Connections to Other Scriptures
Philippians 4:14-19
Paul speaks of the support he received from the Philippians, highlighting the importance of Christian fellowship and support during times of need.

2 Timothy 1:16-18
Paul mentions Onesiphorus, who often refreshed him and was not ashamed of his chains, illustrating the ministry of presence and encouragement.

Matthew 25:34-40
Jesus teaches about serving others, emphasizing that acts of kindness to those in need are acts of service to Him.
St. Paul's LibertyR. Tuck Acts 24:23
Malice, Innocence, and PowerW. Clarkson Acts 24:1-23, 26, 27
The Character of Felix in the Light of ChristianityR.A. Redford Acts 24:22-27
People
Ananias, Drusilla, Felix, Festus, Paul, Tertullus
Places
Asia, Caesarea, Jerusalem
Topics
Acquaintance, Attending, Captain, Care, Centurion, Charge, Commanded, Control, Custody, Direction, Forbid, Freedom, Friends, Guard, Hinder, Indulgence, Kept, Kindness, Liberty, Minister, Ministering, Needs, None, Order, Ordered, Ordering, Orders, Paul, Permit, Personal, Prevent, Prevented, Privileges, Serve, Showing, Treated, Visit, Yet
Dictionary of Bible Themes
Acts 24:23

     5250   centurion
     5330   guard

Acts 24:1-23

     5593   trial

Acts 24:22-26

     7757   preaching, effects

Acts 24:23-27

     5108   Paul, life of

Library
Paul and Felix
ACTS xxiv. 25. And as he reasoned of righteousness, temperance, and judgment to come, Felix trembled, and answered, Go thy way for this time; when I have a convenient season, I will call for thee. This is a well-known text, on which many a sermon has been preached, and with good reason, for it is an important text. It tells us of a man who, like too many men in all times, trembled when he heard the truth about his wicked life, but did not therefore repent and mend; and a very serious lesson we may
Charles Kingsley—Discipline and Other Sermons

Felix Before Paul
A Sermon to the Young 'And as Paul reasoned of righteousness, temperance, and judgment to come, Felix trembled, and answered, Go thy way for this time; when I have a convenient season, I will call for thee.' --ACTS xxiv. 25. Felix and his brother had been favourite slaves of the Emperor, and so had won great power at court. At the date of this incident he had been for some five or six years the procurator of the Roman province of Judaea; and how he used his power the historian Tacitus tells us
Alexander Maclaren—Expositions of Holy Scripture: The Acts

Paul Before Felix
'Then Paul, after that the governor had beckoned unto him to speak, answered, Forasmuch as I know that thou hast been of many years a judge unto this nation, I do the more cheerfully answer for myself: 11. Because that thou mayest understand, that there are yet but twelve days since I went up to Jerusalem for to worship. 12. And they neither found me in the temple disputing with any man, neither raising up the people, neither in the synagogues, nor in the city: 13. Neither can they prove the things
Alexander Maclaren—Expositions of Holy Scripture: The Acts

A Loyal Tribute
[Footnote: Preached on the occasion of the Jubilee of Queen Victoria.] '...Seeing that by thee we enjoy great quietness, and that very worthy deeds are done unto this nation by thy providence, 3. We accept it always ... with all thankfulness.'--ACTS xxiv. 2-3. These words were addressed by a professional flatterer to one of the worst of the many bad Roman governors of Syria. The speaker knew that he was lying, the listeners knew that the eulogium was undeserved; and among all the crowd of bystanders
Alexander Maclaren—Expositions of Holy Scripture: The Acts

The Resurrection of the Dead
There are very few Christians who believe the resurrection of the dead. You may be surprised to hear that, but I should not wonder if I discovered that you yourself have doubts on the subject. By the resurrection of the dead is meant something very different from the immortality of the soul: that, every Christian believes, and therein is only on a level with the heathen, who believes it too. The light of nature is sufficient to tell us that the soul is immortal, so that the infidel who doubts it
Charles Haddon Spurgeon—Spurgeon's Sermons Volume 2: 1856

Paul's Sermon Before Felix
We might stay a little while and dilate on this thought, and show you how, in all ages, this has been the truth, that the power of the gospel has been eminently proved in its influence over men's hearts, proving the truth of that utterance of Paul, when he said, that neither tribulation, or distress, or persecution, or famine, or nakedness, or peril, or sword, shall separate them from the love of God, which is in Jesus Christ their Lord. But instead of so doing, I invite you to contemplate the text
Charles Haddon Spurgeon—Spurgeon's Sermons Volume 4: 1858

Saurin -- Paul Before Felix and Drusilla
Jacques Saurin, the famous French Protestant preacher of the seventeenth century, was born at Nismes in 1677. He studied at Geneva and was appointed to the Walloon Church in London in 1701. The scene of his great life work was, however, the Hague, where he settled in 1705. He has been compared with Bossuet, tho he never attained the graceful style and subtilty which characterize the "Eagle of Meaux." The story is told of the famous scholar Le Clerc that he long refused to hear Saurin preach, on the
Grenville Kleiser—The world's great sermons, Volume 3

The Awakened Sinner Urged to Immediate Consideration and Cautioned against Delay.
1. Sinners, when awakened, inclined to dismiss convictions for the present.--2. An immediate regard to religion urged.--3. From the excellence and pleasure of the thing itself.--4. From the uncertainty of that future time on which sinners presume, compared with the sad consequences of being cut off in sin.--5. From the immutability of God's present demands.--6. From the tendency which delay has to make a compliance with these demands more difficult than it is at present.--7. From. the danger of God's
Philip Doddridge—The Rise and Progress of Religion in the Soul

The Epistles of the Captivity.
During his confinement in Rome, from a.d. 61 to 63, while waiting the issue of his trial on the charge of being "a mover of insurrections among all the Jews throughout the world, and a ringleader of the sect of the Nazarenes" (Acts 24:5), the aged apostle composed four Epistles, to the Colossians, Ephesians, Philemon, and Philippians. He thus turned the prison into a pulpit, sent inspiration and comfort to his distant congregations, and rendered a greater service to future ages than he could have
Philip Schaff—History of the Christian Church, Volume I

Of Presbyters who are Corrected by their Own Bishops. ...
Of presbyters who are corrected by their own bishops. Alypius the bishop, a legate of the province of Numidia, said: Nor should this be passed over; if by chance any presbyter when corrected by his bishop, inflamed by self-conceit or pride, has thought fit to offer sacrifices to God separately [from the authority of the bishop] or has believed it right to erect another altar, contrary to ecclesiastical faith and discipline, such should not get off with impunity. Valentine, of the primatial see
Philip Schaff—The Seven Ecumenical Councils

A Plot Detected
'And when it was day, certain of the Jews banded together, and bound themselves under a curse, saying that they would neither eat nor drink till they bad killed Paul. 13. And they were more than forty which had made this conspiracy. 14. And they came to the chief priests and elders, and said, We have bound ourselves under a great curse, that we will eat nothing until we have slain Paul. 15. Now therefore ye with the council signify to the chief captain that he bring him down unto you to-morrow, as
Alexander Maclaren—Expositions of Holy Scripture: The Acts

The Witness of Our Own Spirit
"This is our rejoicing, the testimony of out conscience, that in simplicity and godly sincerity, not with fleshly wisdom, but by the grace of God, we have had our conversation in the world." 2 Cor. 1:12 1. Such is the voice of every true believer in Christ, so long as he abides in faith and love. "He that followeth me," saith our Lord, "walketh not in darkness:" And while he hath the light, he rejoiceth therein. As he hath "received the Lord Jesus Christ," so he walketh in him; and while he walketh
John Wesley—Sermons on Several Occasions

The Parables Exemplified in the Early History of the Church.
"To Him shall prayer unceasing And daily vows ascend; His Kingdom still increasing, A Kingdom without end." We have seen that our Lord described in His Parables the general character and nature of "The Kingdom of Heaven." Consequently, if the Church established by the Apostles under the guidance of the Holy Ghost is "The Kingdom of Heaven," it will necessarily be found to agree with the description thus given. Let us therefore now consider how far the history of the Church, in the Acts of the Apostles
Edward Burbidge—The Kingdom of Heaven; What is it?

Christian Perfection
"Not as though I had already attained, either were already perfect." Phil. 3:12. 1. There is scarce any expression in Holy Writ which has given more offence than this. The word perfect is what many cannot bear. The very sound of it is an abomination to them. And whosoever preaches perfection (as the phrase is,) that is, asserts that it is attainable in this life, runs great hazard of being accounted by them worse than a heathen man or a publican. 2. And hence some have advised, wholly to lay aside
John Wesley—Sermons on Several Occasions

"Now the End of the Commandment," &C.
1 Tim. i. 5.--"Now the end of the commandment," &c. We come now, as was proposed, to observe, Thirdly,(474) That faith unfeigned is the only thing which gives the answer of a good conscience towards God. Conscience, in general, is nothing else but a practical knowledge of the rule a man should walk by, and of himself in reference to that rule. It is the laying down a man's state, and condition, and actions beside the rule of God's word, or the principles of nature's light. It is the chief piece
Hugh Binning—The Works of the Rev. Hugh Binning

The Baptist's Inquiry and Jesus' Discourse Suggested Thereby.
(Galilee.) ^A Matt. XI. 2-30; ^C Luke VII. 18-35. ^c 18 And the disciples of John told him of all these things. ^a 2 Now when John had heard in the prison the works of Christ, he sent by his disciples ^c 19 And John calling unto him two of his disciples sent them unto the Lord [John had been cast into prison about December, a.d. 27, and it was now after the Passover, possibly in May or June, a.d. 28. Herod Antipas had cast John into prison because John had reproved him for taking his brother's wife.
J. W. McGarvey—The Four-Fold Gospel

Verbal Inspiration
Not only does the Bible claim to be a Divine revelation but it also asserts that its original manuscripts were written "not in the words which man's wisdom teacheth, but which the Holy Spirit teacheth" (I Cor. 2:13). The Bible nowhere claims to have been written by inspired men--as a matter of fact some of them were very defective characters--Balaam for example--but it insists that the words they uttered and recorded were God's words. Inspiration has not to do with the minds of the writers (for many
Arthur W. Pink—The Divine Inspiration of the Bible

Of the Power of Making Laws. The Cruelty of the Pope and his Adherents, in this Respect, in Tyrannically Oppressing and Destroying Souls.
1. The power of the Church in enacting laws. This made a source of human traditions. Impiety of these traditions. 2. Many of the Papistical traditions not only difficult, but impossible to be observed. 3. That the question may be more conveniently explained, nature of conscience must be defined. 4. Definition of conscience explained. Examples in illustration of the definition. 5. Paul's doctrine of submission to magistrates for conscience sake, gives no countenance to the Popish doctrine of the obligation
John Calvin—The Institutes of the Christian Religion

Quirinius the Governor of Syria
WE come now to the last serious difficulty in Luke's account of the "First Enrollment". He says that it occurred while Quirinius was administering Syria. The famous administration of Syria by Quirinius lasted from about AD. 6 to 9; and during that time occurred the" Great Enrollment" and valuation of property in Palestine. [94] Obviously the incidents described by Luke are irreconcilable with that date. There was found near Tibur (Tivoli) in AD. 1764 a fragment of marble with part of an inscription,
Sir William Mitchell Ramsay—Was Christ Born in Bethlehem?

Truth Hidden when not Sought After.
"They shall turn away their ears from the truth, and shall be turned unto fables."--2 Tim. iv. 4. From these words of the blessed Apostle, written shortly before he suffered martyrdom, we learn, that there is such a thing as religious truth, and therefore there is such a thing as religious error. We learn that religious truth is one--and therefore that all views of religion but one are wrong. And we learn, moreover, that so it was to be (for his words are a prophecy) that professed Christians,
John Henry Newman—Parochial and Plain Sermons, Vol. VIII

Jerusalem to Rome
Acts 21:17-28:31 THIS JOURNEY Scripture, Acts 21:17-28:31 1. The speech before the Jewish mob in the temple (Acts 22:1-29) in which Paul tells the Jews how he was changed from a persecutor to a believer in Christ. He relates also the story of his conversion. 2. The speech before the Jewish council (Acts 22:30; 23:1-10) in which he creates confusion by raising the question of the resurrection. But the provocation was great for the high-priest had commanded that Paul be smitten
Henry T. Sell—Bible Studies in the Life of Paul

From Antioch to the Destruction of Jerusalem.
Acts 13-28 and all the rest of the New Testament except the epistles of John and Revelation. The Changed Situation. We have now come to a turning point in the whole situation. The center of work has shifted from Jerusalem to Antioch, the capital of the Greek province of Syria, the residence of the Roman governor of the province. We change from the study of the struggles of Christianity in the Jewish world to those it made among heathen people. We no longer study many and various persons and their
Josiah Blake Tidwell—The Bible Period by Period

Of Christian Liberty.
1. Connection of this chapter with the previous one on Justification. A true knowledge of Christian liberty useful and necessary. 1. It purifies the conscience. 2. It checks licentiousness. 3. It maintains the merits of Christ, the truth of the Gospel, and the peace of the soul. 2. This liberty consists of three parts. First, Believers renouncing the righteousness of the law, look only to Christ. Objection. Answer, distinguishing between Legal and Evangelical righteousness. 3. This first part clearly
John Calvin—The Institutes of the Christian Religion

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