◄ Acts 24:5 ►
We have found this man to be a pestilence, stirring up dissension among the Jews all over the world. He is a ringleader of the sect of the Nazarenes,
Study Bible
We have found this man to be a pestilence,

The term "pestilence" is used metaphorically to describe Paul as a source of trouble or a public nuisance. In the Roman context, this accusation implies that Paul is a threat to public order. The Jewish leaders viewed him as a disruptive force, much like a disease spreading unrest. This reflects the broader tension between early Christians and Jewish authorities, as Paul’s teachings challenged traditional Jewish beliefs and practices.

Luk 23:2 We found this man subverting our nation,…
Act 16:20 They brought them to the magistrates and said,…
1Ki 18:17 When Ahab saw Elijah, he said to him, “Is that you,…

stirring up dissension among the Jews all over the world.

Paul's missionary journeys took him across the Roman Empire, from Jerusalem to Asia Minor, Greece, and Rome. His message of Jesus as the Messiah often led to division within Jewish communities, as some accepted the gospel while others rejected it. This phrase highlights the widespread impact of Paul's ministry and the perceived threat it posed to Jewish religious unity. The phrase "all over the world" refers to the Jewish diaspora throughout the Roman Empire, emphasizing the extensive reach of Paul's influence.

Act 21:21 But they are under the impression that you teach…
Act 21:28 crying out, “Men of Israel, help us! This is the man…
Act 17:6 But when they could not find them, they dragged Jason…

He is a ringleader of the sect of the Nazarenes,

The term "ringleader" suggests leadership and organization, portraying Paul as a prominent figure within the early Christian movement. The "sect of the Nazarenes" refers to the followers of Jesus of Nazareth, a term used by opponents to distinguish Christians from mainstream Judaism. This label underscores the early perception of Christianity as a distinct and potentially heretical movement within Judaism. The use of "Nazarenes" connects to Jesus' upbringing in Nazareth, fulfilling the prophecy that the Messiah would be called a Nazarene (Matthew 2:23). This phrase also reflects the early church's struggle for identity and legitimacy within the broader Jewish and Roman worlds.

Act 28:22 But we consider your views worth hearing,…
Act 2:22 Men of Israel, listen to this message: Jesus of Nazareth…
Mat 2:23 and he went and lived in a town called Nazareth.…

Persons / Places / Events
1. Paul the Apostle
The central figure in this passage, Paul is being accused by Jewish leaders of causing unrest and leading a new religious movement. His missionary work and teachings about Jesus Christ have made him a controversial figure.

2. Tertullus
A lawyer who represents the Jewish leaders in their accusations against Paul. He presents the charges to the Roman governor, Felix.

3. The Nazarenes
A term used to describe the early followers of Jesus Christ, indicating their association with Jesus of Nazareth. This term highlights the perceived sectarian nature of the early Christian movement.

4. The Jews
Referring to the Jewish leaders and community who are opposing Paul, accusing him of causing dissension.

5. The Roman World
The broader context in which these events occur, highlighting the spread of Christianity and the challenges it faced within the Roman Empire.
Teaching Points
The Cost of Discipleship
Following Christ may lead to opposition and false accusations, as seen in Paul's experience. Believers should be prepared to face challenges for their faith.

The Spread of the Gospel
Despite opposition, the message of Christ continues to spread. Christians are called to be bold in sharing their faith, trusting in God's plan.

Identity in Christ
Being labeled as a "Nazarene" or a Christian may carry stigma, but it is a badge of honor that aligns believers with Jesus.

Legal and Social Challenges
Christians may face legal and societal challenges, but they should respond with integrity and trust in God's justice.

Unity in the Body of Christ
The early church faced divisions and accusations, yet they remained united in their mission. Modern believers should strive for unity amidst diversity.
Bible Study Questions
1. How does Paul's experience in Acts 24:5 reflect the challenges Christians may face today in sharing their faith?

2. In what ways can believers today be "ringleaders" for Christ in their communities, and what might that look like practically?

3. How can the term "Nazarene" and its connection to Jesus' identity encourage Christians in their walk with God?

4. What lessons can we learn from Paul's response to accusations and opposition that can be applied to our own lives when facing criticism for our faith?

5. How can the unity and mission of the early church inspire modern believers to overcome divisions and work together for the Gospel?
Connections to Other Scriptures
Acts 9:15
This verse describes Paul's calling as a chosen instrument to carry Jesus' name before the Gentiles, kings, and the people of Israel, which aligns with the accusations of him spreading his teachings widely.

Matthew 2:23
This verse refers to Jesus being called a Nazarene, connecting the term "Nazarenes" to the fulfillment of prophecy and the identity of Jesus' followers.

1 Peter 4:16
This verse encourages believers to not be ashamed if they suffer as Christians, which relates to Paul's situation of being accused and persecuted for his faith.
Sermons
Prejudice in AuthorityJ. F. B. Tinling, B. A.Acts 24:5
The Indictment that was a Self-IndictmentP.C. Barker Acts 24:5
The Nazarene and the Sect of the NazarenesC. H. Spurgeon.Acts 24:5
Eloquence PervertedSt. AugustineActs 24:1-9
Eloquence True and FalseJ. Dick, D. D.Acts 24:1-9
Lawyers Without a Perception of JusticeActs 24:1-9
Orators and PreachersR. Besser, D. D.Acts 24:1-9
Paul and Tertullus: or False Eloquence and TrueK. Gerok.Acts 24:1-9
Paul Before FelixD. Thomas, D. D.Acts 24:1-9
Paul MisunderstoodJ. Parker, D. D.Acts 24:1-9
Sanguinary OratorsScientific IllustrationsActs 24:1-9
The Governor's CourtR.A. Redford Acts 24:1-9
The Opening Statement of a Prosecuting, CounselActs 24:1-9
The Speech of TertullusC. Chapman, M. A.Acts 24:1-9
Malice, Innocence, and PowerW. Clarkson Acts 24:1-23, 26, 27
People
Ananias, Drusilla, Felix, Festus, Paul, Tertullus
Places
Asia, Caesarea, Jerusalem
Topics
Agitator, Attacks, Cause, Chief, Dissension, Disturber, Empire, Fellow, Finding, Government, Heresy, Instigator, Insurrections, Jews, Leader, Maker, Mischief, Mover, Moving, Nazaraeans, Nazarene, Nazarenes, Opinion, Paul, Peace, Pest, Pestilence, Pestilent, Plague, Real, Ringleader, Ring-leader, Riots, Sect, Sedition, Society, Source, Stirring, Stirs, Throughout, Trouble
Dictionary of Bible Themes
Acts 24:5

     7024   church, nature of
     7570   sects
     8766   heresies
     8796   persecution, forms of

Acts 24:1-9

     5201   accusation
     7505   Jews, the

Acts 24:1-23

     5593   trial

Acts 24:5-9

     5951   slander
     8751   false witness

Acts 24:5-12

     5936   riots

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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