John Carter – The Speeches in the Acts – Class 6 – The Jewish Opposition to Christianity

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And so we come, brethren and
sisters, to the last of the

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studies, and there is very much
that we must gather up in an

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attempt to see the picture as a
whole, as Luke presents it, and

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to examine the speeches that
were given in connection with

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Defend.
Let us glance at the book.

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You’re familiar with it, and we
needn’t turn anything up and see

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if we can gather up a picture.
As we glance along what it

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records, we have the completing
of the number of the witnesses

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in chapter 1, where Peter goes
back to Scripture as a reason

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for what they were doing and as
an explanation of the defection

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of Judas.
We’re told in that chapter of

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the Lord’s Commission that the
work had to begin in Jerusalem

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and expand outward through
Samaria and through the whole

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world.
We’re told that the Spirit would

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come upon them and would guide
them, and Luke in his narrative

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shows how this was fulfilled
under the Spirit guidance until

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even in the very headquarters of
the Roman government, the

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witness to the gospel of Christ
was set forth by Paul, the

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Lord’s ambassador to the
Gentiles.

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We have the outpouring of the
Spirit of Pentecost, which was

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the beginning of the divine work
in preaching the gospel.

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And we have Peter’s speech from
which we learned how they

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followed the Lord’s example
after he was raised from the

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dead.
In going back to the Old

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Testament Scriptures and opening
them up and showing how it was

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there written that Christ must
suffer and must rise from the

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dead.
That the one who suffered in the

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way that Jesus did, the one who
died and the one who was exalted

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to God’s right hand, the
essential characteristics of the

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Messiah had been fulfilled in
Jesus.

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And therefore He and He alone
was the Messiah.

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But this had to be put in the
larger framework of the divine

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purpose in Jesus Christ.
Whereas the Jews fixed their

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attention exclusively upon the
material features pertaining to

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the Messianic age.
The apostles showed them not

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that they were wrong in
expecting the Messiah and those

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material benefits belonging to
the Messianic Age.

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But they must be seen in the
framework of the larger purpose

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of God which was being fulfilled
in Him who was the Messiah, And

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that the Messiahship of Jesus
and the restoration of Israel to

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their own land.
And that time of blessing and

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goodwill among men was not an
end in itself, as Israel was so

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apartment to think, but was just
the final stage of the divine

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work begun in their rejection of
the Messiah, which would carry

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forward to its completion the
divine work of redemption.

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And so the Messianic age was put
in the framework of the divine

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activity of redemption and
placed in its right

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relationship.
We saw again in Peter’s speech

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before the authorities as the
result of the healing and giving

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of soundness to a man Lame.
Peter turned back to the Old

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Testament Scriptures that in
particular he showed that the

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divine manifestation of men
among men that had been

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revealed, for example, in the
name that God gave to himself,

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had been realized in Jesus
Christ.

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And he was the name of salvation
because God had raised him up,

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and by him God was known in the
saving purpose that he revealed

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in the prophets.
Luke tells us of Jewish

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opposition.
And now at last it ceased under

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the speech, under the guidance
of Gamaliel, that these men be

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left alone.
And yet Luke tells us that

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opposition did come.
The political opposition was

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silenced by the Council of
Gamaliel.

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But then arose doctrinal
opposition, as the implications

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of the Christian faith were seen
as testified by such exponents

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as Stephen.
That it involved in fact, that

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law and temple were only
temporary, that they were only a

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typical arrangement, that
therefore they fulfilled their

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purpose when the reality had
come in Jesus Christ.

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And this doctrinal opposition
found its expression in the

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arraignment of Stephen, and we
looked at his address.

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And so with what wonderful power
he passed in review Old

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Testament events to bring out
the fact that God wasn’t

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dependent upon temple or
Tabernacle or sacrificial

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arrangements for worship to him,
but that he had a purpose which

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had been centred in Jesus, who
in keeping with the traditional

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opposition of Israel, such as
human nature, he had been

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rejected.
But just as Joseph was found

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their second appearance, and
just as Moses had to go back to

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Egypt, so Jesus would come back
again to fulfil the purpose that

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God had appointed him.
Then as the result of this, the

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nuke tells us that the progress
of Christian teaching was

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brought about by the scattering
of the believers, and so the

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gospel was carried to Samaria,
and a eunuch, A Gentile

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proselyte, was received into the
Christian faith.

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And so we are being led on to
the expansion of the divine work

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among the Gentiles.
Then we get the amprehension of

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soul while he was on that work
of persecution.

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And immediately afterwards we
are told of the official

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recognition of the Gentiles by
Peter receiving Cornelius into

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the Christian community.
And we’re told, although we

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haven’t time to look at it, of
Peter’s address on that

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occasion, but it fits into the
same pattern as those addresses

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given by Peter on the day of
Pentecost and before the Jewish

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authorities.
But now the Jewish leader, Peter

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having received the Gentile, the
way was open for the public,

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public setting forth of the
gospel to the Gentiles in the

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ministry of Paul.
And so Paul comes into the

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picture and is the centre of the
picture from that point onward

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in the Acts of the Apostles.
It isn’t that the other apostles

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were not busy, but Luke is
tracing the order and

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development of events, in
particular with reference to the

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fulfillment of the divine
Commission, and with particular

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references, we shall presently
see, to the relationship of the

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Christian to the law of the
land.

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And so we have the Gentile
missions, and how appropriately

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on that first mission is
reported by Luke.

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Forest the speech of Paul in
Pisidian Antioch, and there’s an

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obvious parallel, the
correspondence between the

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speech of Paul and that of
Peter.

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It’s the same essential message
that is being proclaimed by Paul

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as by Peter.
But the receiving end of the

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Gentiles provoked a very
difficult position in the

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Christian community, and this
was settled by the Council at

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Jerusalem, where a middle way
was found whereby Jews and

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Gentiles sharing alike the
common faith, could enjoy social

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intercourse with each other.
And so we have the Council’s

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decision, which in the record of
which we’re moving on, to show

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how the Church’s difficulties
were met under the guidance of

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the Spirit and how the divine
purpose of bringing Jew and

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Gentile within the scope of the
gospel was worked out with the

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Gentile missions.
We learn something else in this

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record.
In Acts we learn of the growth

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of oppositions.
There was the opposition of the

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Jewish mob, for example, or the
mob incited by the Jewish

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authorities at Presidian
Antioch, where you remember Paul

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was stoned in the course of his
journeys among those S Galatian

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towns, Presidia and Iconium and
Lystra.

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Incidentally, Timothy was
present when Paul visited this

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place and in his epistle.
And here is another of those

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little undesigned coincidences.
It reminds Timothy of the

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afflictions which came to him at
Iconium and at Mystra.

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These little touches are very,
very interesting in our Bible

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study, but they’re very
confirmatory of faith as we see.

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How accurate, how accurate are
both the history in Acts and the

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epistles which we have?
Christianity came into conflict

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with vested interests.
We see it in the case of the

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ventriloquist at Philippi, that
woman with a spirit of

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divination who, being healed,
ceased to be a source of wealth

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to her owners, and at once there
was trouble, and the apostles

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were arrested and imprisoned.
We CSA again a similar conflict

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with vested interests in the
case of the Craftsman Ephesus.

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And so Luke traces for us the
sources of the oppositions that

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are that arose to the Christian
preaching.

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And so we are led on to the
arrest of Paul.

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We’ll remind you again of the
rather striking amount of space

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that Luke devotes to this.
And if Luke is the very skilful

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historian that we have striven
to show that he was in his

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accuracy with regard to all
output facts.

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And the very wonderful way in
which he manages to summarise

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speeches so that we can trace
the course of the argument and

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follow it out in its expansion.
But if Luke is so accurate, and

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if he has interposed these
speeches so obviously the right

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position to show the development
of Christianity, then there must

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be some reason, some reason why
he devotes so much space to the

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trial of Paul.
He was arrested in Jerusalem and

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he gave a number of addresses.
From this time onward, we have

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his address on the steps of the
temple, we have his address

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before Felix, we have his
address before Agrippa.

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Now we cannot trace these
through, but we will glance at

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the points, particularly in
these addresses, in which they

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are related to Roman law.
None of us would think of a

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policeman coming into this room
today and arresting the speaker

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or arresting any of you for
assembling here for the very

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obvious reason that there is no
violation of law in our

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assembling here.
But suppose one did come in

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which say what have we done
wrong?

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And we would expect that there
would be some relation to law,

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some clear indication of a
violation of law, and the

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arrests of the apostles must be
seen in the legal framework of

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Roman practice in the 1st
century.

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And so we will look at these
charges that were made and see

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how Paul deals with them, and
then come back to another

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feature in the Acts of the
Apostles, which we must see in

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relation to it.
If you turn to the 21st chapter

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of Acts, we have the record of
his of the tumult of the tumult

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in the temple court when because
someone had raised the shout

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that Paul had taken a Gentile
into the holy precincts, that

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therefore he was one who was
violating temple customs and

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practices.
And so the 28th verse tells us

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that they cried out.
Men of Israel help.

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This is the man that teacheth
all men everywhere against the

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people, that is, against the
Jewish nation and the law and

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this place, and further brought
Greeks also into the temple, and

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hath polluted this holy place.
Now you’ll notice that there is

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a revival of the charge against
Stephen in the fact that it was

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against the law and against the
Temple, and since such things

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were so unpatriotic, they were
also against the people.

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Paul gives a reply when he got
permission to stand on the

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temple steps, on the steps on
the steps of the Tower of

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Antonio, rather of the Roman
citadel which had the oversight

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of the temple courts, and he
spake to them in the Aramaic

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tongue.
How does he meet the charge?

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Well, first of all, in verses 3
to 5 he shows that he was not

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opposed to the people.
I’ve already am a man which I’m

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a Jew, born in Tarsus, a city in
Cilicia, yet brought up in this

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city at the feet of Gamaliel,
and taught according to the

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perfect man of the law of the
fathers, and was zealous to what

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God as ye all are this day.
And I persecuted this way unto

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the death, binding and
delivering into prison both men

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and women.
So far was he against the Jewish

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people, that he himself had been
trained in the most exclusive of

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the sects of Israel.
He was therefore, by upbringing

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one of the intensest of the
Jews.

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He was one who thought that he
must persecute the followers of

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the Christian way.
So then the natural instincts

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and training of the man we’re
all in favour of the Jewish

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people.
Why then had he changed?

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The answer comes in his
relationship to the law from the

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sixth verse onwards, in which he
tells of the appearance of the

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Lord Jesus Christ and the Divine
Commission.

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Now the law given to Israel was
recognised by all of them as

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being a divine law.
It was still divine law,

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although it was given to them by
the ministry of angels.

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And if divine law could be given
through the medium of angels,

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still more could divine law be
given through one who was risen

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from the dead and exalted as
Jesus was.

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So Paul is explaining that so
far from being opposed to divine

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law, his conduct, His conduct
had been actuated by a further

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revelation of divine law.
It is quite true that this would

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00:15:15,720 –> 00:15:19,360
raise objections, but the basis
of his reasoning was

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00:15:19,360 –> 00:15:23,200
unchallengeable.
If the sanctity of the law

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00:15:23,200 –> 00:15:26,480
rested upon the fact, the law of
Moses, that God had given it,

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00:15:27,280 –> 00:15:32,880
then their duty was to examine
the validity of Paul’s claim

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00:15:32,880 –> 00:15:38,080
that the further revelation had
been made by virtue of which it

225
00:15:38,080 –> 00:15:42,960
altered the course of his life
and was pursuing the course

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00:15:42,960 –> 00:15:45,880
which had brought him into such
opposition to them.

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00:15:46,920 –> 00:15:50,280
And that’s concerning the charge
about his attitude toward the

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00:15:50,280 –> 00:15:53,120
temple.
He takes that off in the 17th

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00:15:53,120 –> 00:15:57,520
verse, and he says that so far
from being opposed to the

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00:15:57,520 –> 00:16:02,440
temple, he’d actually gone into
the temple to pray.

231
00:16:03,240 –> 00:16:06,880
And it came to pass, verse 22,
verse 17, it came to pass that

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00:16:06,880 –> 00:16:11,840
when I was coming to come again
to Jerusalem, even while I

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00:16:11,840 –> 00:16:14,480
prayed in the temple, I was in a
trance.

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00:16:14,560 –> 00:16:21,160
So then he was clearly one who
was not disregardful of the

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00:16:21,160 –> 00:16:26,360
temple arrangements, but even
while he was in the very temple

236
00:16:26,360 –> 00:16:31,240
of God itself, in a trance, the
Commission had been given to him

237
00:16:31,800 –> 00:16:34,920
that he was appointed to be the
ambassador to the Gentiles.

238
00:16:35,720 –> 00:16:39,240
Again, there is the the appeal
to the sanction of divine

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00:16:39,240 –> 00:16:41,760
revelation.
Whether they accepted it or not,

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00:16:41,760 –> 00:16:44,520
at any rate there was an
obligation on the part of a

241
00:16:44,520 –> 00:16:48,720
people who recognized there had
been divine revelation in their

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00:16:48,720 –> 00:16:53,400
history in the past, that there
might be indeed again be a

243
00:16:53,400 –> 00:16:58,560
divine revelation.
And so Paul developed his case

244
00:16:58,560 –> 00:17:01,520
along those lines.
But the reference to the

245
00:17:01,520 –> 00:17:06,359
Gentiles proved too much for
them, and the mob law broke out

246
00:17:06,880 –> 00:17:11,040
and that the apostle was
delivered by the sentry on duty

247
00:17:11,040 –> 00:17:14,680
of the tower of Antonio
observing the riot that was

248
00:17:14,680 –> 00:17:17,200
proceeding.
The squad of soldiers were

249
00:17:17,200 –> 00:17:20,720
quickly sent down into the
court, and they rescued Paul

250
00:17:20,720 –> 00:17:23,599
from being torn to pieces by the
authorities.

251
00:17:23,760 –> 00:17:29,360
The next stage consists of Paul
being brought to face the Jewish

252
00:17:29,360 –> 00:17:35,000
authorities, and it was the
Roman officer who convened the

253
00:17:35,000 –> 00:17:39,160
meeting.
Paul explains that he was a

254
00:17:39,160 –> 00:17:44,280
Roman and therefore he was
exempt from the flogging that

255
00:17:44,280 –> 00:17:47,400
they were about to give him in
his examination.

256
00:17:48,160 –> 00:17:51,680
And the 30th verse of chapter 22
tells us that on the Morrow,

257
00:17:51,680 –> 00:17:54,680
because he would have known the
certainty whereof he was accused

258
00:17:54,680 –> 00:17:59,080
of the Jews, he loosed him from
his bands, and commanded the

259
00:17:59,080 –> 00:18:03,400
chief priests and all their
council to appear, and brought

260
00:18:03,400 –> 00:18:05,040
Paul down and set him before
them.

261
00:18:05,680 –> 00:18:09,200
You’ll notice it’s the
representative of the Jewish

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00:18:09,200 –> 00:18:14,640
authorities that commanded the
Jewish leaders to appear, and

263
00:18:14,680 –> 00:18:18,560
Paul is there before them.
But who’s in charge of the

264
00:18:18,560 –> 00:18:20,680
assembly?
Who has convened it?

265
00:18:20,880 –> 00:18:23,920
Who has convened?
Who has commanded the Jewish

266
00:18:23,920 –> 00:18:27,320
leaders to appear?
The representative of Rome?

267
00:18:27,920 –> 00:18:32,080
And this helps us to understand
the situation that developed.

268
00:18:32,680 –> 00:18:38,720
Paul was invited to speak.
The opening verse of chapter 23

269
00:18:38,720 –> 00:18:43,960
tells us that he said, looking
at the council men and brethren,

270
00:18:44,560 –> 00:18:48,080
I have lived in all good
conscience before God until this

271
00:18:48,080 –> 00:18:52,520
day, and it is quite evident
that Paul is going to pass and

272
00:18:52,520 –> 00:18:56,880
review his history much as he
had done on the temple, on the

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00:18:56,880 –> 00:19:01,520
stairs in the temple courts.
But before he could go further,

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00:19:02,040 –> 00:19:04,760
the high priest commanded that
he should be smitten on the

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00:19:04,760 –> 00:19:07,440
mouth.
Quick as a flash, the apostle

276
00:19:07,880 –> 00:19:10,840
said, God shall smite thee, thou
whited wall.

277
00:19:11,080 –> 00:19:15,760
And Paul has been subject of
some criticism here and some

278
00:19:15,920 –> 00:19:20,360
misunderstanding at once.
When it was pointed out that it

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00:19:20,360 –> 00:19:24,080
was the high priesthood spoke
and Paul apologised and said, I

280
00:19:24,080 –> 00:19:26,200
didn’t know that it was the high
priest.

281
00:19:26,200 –> 00:19:29,240
For it is written, thou shalt
not speak evil of the ruler of

282
00:19:29,240 –> 00:19:32,280
thy people.
Why didn’t he know who was the

283
00:19:32,280 –> 00:19:34,720
high priest?
Well, the high priest wouldn’t

284
00:19:34,720 –> 00:19:37,760
be there with his robes of
office.

285
00:19:38,200 –> 00:19:41,800
He wasn’t presiding.
He’d be there of us in the

286
00:19:42,080 –> 00:19:46,600
semicircle, maybe in a central
position, but in the semicircle

287
00:19:46,600 –> 00:19:51,200
of Jewish rulers before whom
Paul was standing, the whole

288
00:19:51,200 –> 00:19:55,200
assembly being under the
presidency of the Roman officer.

289
00:19:55,760 –> 00:20:03,320
For he is inviting a man who has
been secured by Roman authority.

290
00:20:04,000 –> 00:20:08,040
Who has declared himself to be a
Roman citizen and who therefore

291
00:20:08,040 –> 00:20:11,840
was entitled to Roman
protection, to state his case to

292
00:20:11,840 –> 00:20:15,000
his compatriots?
When the voice came from the

293
00:20:15,000 –> 00:20:18,760
circle of listeners, Paul
wouldn’t recognize the speaker.

294
00:20:19,600 –> 00:20:22,880
And at once when it was pointed
out who it was, he made the

295
00:20:22,880 –> 00:20:24,920
statement that we have just
quoted.

296
00:20:25,400 –> 00:20:31,640
But we see Rome working out its
course in the examination of the

297
00:20:31,640 –> 00:20:36,040
Christian case, which has come
to a focal point in the

298
00:20:36,160 –> 00:20:42,160
apprehension of Paul.
And at this time Paul, looking

299
00:20:42,160 –> 00:20:47,760
at the community of leaders
before him, recognises that

300
00:20:47,760 –> 00:20:52,640
there were there members of the
sect of the Pharisees and

301
00:20:52,640 –> 00:20:55,320
members of the sect of the
Sadducees.

302
00:20:55,960 –> 00:20:58,640
And so he cried out.
Men and brethren, I am a

303
00:20:58,640 –> 00:21:02,840
Pharisee, the son of a Pharisee,
of the hope of the resurrection

304
00:21:02,840 –> 00:21:05,160
of the dead.
I’m called in question.

305
00:21:06,120 –> 00:21:11,320
And it once caused a very
serious conflict of opinion

306
00:21:11,920 –> 00:21:19,080
among the Jewish councillors who
were present at this

307
00:21:19,080 –> 00:21:22,880
examination.
A smart thing, somebody says on

308
00:21:22,880 –> 00:21:27,560
Paul’s part, Very clever indeed.
He divided his opponents among

309
00:21:27,560 –> 00:21:31,360
themselves.
But it wasn’t that at all, as we

310
00:21:31,360 –> 00:21:36,240
shall see in a moment or two.
Jewish religion was protected by

311
00:21:36,240 –> 00:21:41,560
Roman law because of the Jewish
insistence of the upon the fact

312
00:21:42,320 –> 00:21:47,440
that their beliefs and their
practices, their constitution

313
00:21:48,360 –> 00:21:52,800
was founded upon divine
sanctions through divine

314
00:21:52,800 –> 00:21:59,440
revelation.
And Paul puts the case that if

315
00:22:00,520 –> 00:22:06,920
they, the Pharisees, with their
belief in the resurrection of

316
00:22:06,920 –> 00:22:12,000
the dead, could have this
privilege of being recognized as

317
00:22:12,000 –> 00:22:16,720
a legal religion, then in that
respect his beliefs were no

318
00:22:16,720 –> 00:22:21,200
ways, no wise different.
And he on that ground was as

319
00:22:21,200 –> 00:22:26,640
entitled to the protection of
Roman law as were the Jews.

320
00:22:27,120 –> 00:22:29,640
So it had a strict relevance to
the position.

321
00:22:30,040 –> 00:22:38,480
And so we pass on in the course
of this trial of Paul, and in

322
00:22:38,480 –> 00:22:43,560
the 24th chapter, which has been
read, we see the formal

323
00:22:43,560 –> 00:22:47,080
presentation of the case against
Paul.

324
00:22:48,440 –> 00:22:51,520
After five days, Ananias, the
high priest, descended with the

325
00:22:51,520 –> 00:22:55,400
elders and with a certain orator
or lawyer named Totolis.

326
00:22:55,520 –> 00:23:00,360
And as an illustration of the
accuracy of Luke, how

327
00:23:00,360 –> 00:23:03,960
delightfully does he catch up
the spirit and the method of

328
00:23:03,960 –> 00:23:08,840
this man, although the judge
before them was a man of very

329
00:23:08,840 –> 00:23:13,720
reprehensible character, this
man Lords upon him flattery

330
00:23:14,040 –> 00:23:17,200
after the manner of a
professional lawyer.

331
00:23:17,400 –> 00:23:21,880
Seeing that by thee we enjoy
great quietness, you catch the

332
00:23:21,880 –> 00:23:28,160
fulsomeness of this eulogy, the
the the Craven quality of his

333
00:23:28,160 –> 00:23:31,840
speech, in contrast to the way
Paul addresses himself to the

334
00:23:31,840 –> 00:23:34,040
judge.
And that the very worthy deeds

335
00:23:34,040 –> 00:23:36,400
are done unto this nation by thy
Providence.

336
00:23:36,400 –> 00:23:38,720
We accept it always and in all
places.

337
00:23:39,040 –> 00:23:41,280
Most noble Felix with all
thankfulness.

338
00:23:41,280 –> 00:23:45,240
And then having made such a
fulsome introduction, he says,

339
00:23:45,240 –> 00:23:48,480
But we won’t be tedious.
He knew the skill of his craft,

340
00:23:48,920 –> 00:23:53,200
and he preferred his charges.
Now verses 5 and 6, We have

341
00:23:53,200 –> 00:23:57,720
found this man a pestilent
fellow, a mover of sedition

342
00:23:57,720 –> 00:24:00,320
among the Jews throughout the
world.

343
00:24:00,440 –> 00:24:04,040
He was a man who stirred up
trouble, very subtle point, a

344
00:24:04,040 –> 00:24:08,440
point which indicated that Roman
law must take cognizance of this

345
00:24:08,440 –> 00:24:11,360
man.
He was a seditious man, a man

346
00:24:11,360 –> 00:24:14,200
who caused trouble and
turbulence in their cities.

347
00:24:15,040 –> 00:24:17,880
Then secondly, he was a
ringleader of the sect of the

348
00:24:17,880 –> 00:24:21,640
Nazarenes.
And this touches the point of

349
00:24:22,200 –> 00:24:27,160
the privileges that some
enjoined on the Roman law who

350
00:24:27,160 –> 00:24:29,720
have gone.
So Third Point is who also have

351
00:24:29,720 –> 00:24:33,360
gone about to profane the
temple, whom we took and would

352
00:24:33,360 –> 00:24:35,160
have judged according to our
law.

353
00:24:35,520 –> 00:24:43,720
Now Roman law took account of
other religions and displayed A

354
00:24:43,720 –> 00:24:47,920
considerable amount of tolerance
toward them if they did not

355
00:24:47,920 –> 00:24:52,280
conflict with imperial policy.
But it was their policy in the

356
00:24:52,280 –> 00:24:59,640
provinces in particular to form
a cementing influence in the

357
00:24:59,720 –> 00:25:04,680
cultivation of emperor worship.
And so there was the apotheosis,

358
00:25:04,680 –> 00:25:09,800
the deviation of the emperor,
past emperor and living emperor,

359
00:25:10,600 –> 00:25:14,720
and there were festivals and
occasions when the emperor was

360
00:25:14,720 –> 00:25:18,160
worshipped.
Now Jewish religion conflicted

361
00:25:18,160 –> 00:25:22,120
very seriously with such a
deification of a man, but the

362
00:25:22,120 –> 00:25:27,960
Jews had obtained from the Roman
authorities the legalization of

363
00:25:27,960 –> 00:25:31,040
their religion.
We didn’t go into the Latin

364
00:25:31,040 –> 00:25:34,920
terms, but they were speaking in
general English.

365
00:25:35,680 –> 00:25:40,920
They followed A legalized
religion, one permitted by law.

366
00:25:41,840 –> 00:25:46,560
Now to tell us his saying in
this speech, by calling the

367
00:25:47,200 –> 00:25:52,480
religion of Paul and his
associates a sect, they were a

368
00:25:52,480 –> 00:25:56,240
heresy of the Nazarenes.
He means that they were not in

369
00:25:56,240 –> 00:25:59,600
any way to be recognized as
identified with the Jewish

370
00:25:59,600 –> 00:26:05,240
religion and therefore could not
enjoy the privilege of freedom

371
00:26:05,720 –> 00:26:09,520
that the Roman that the Jewish
nation enjoyed.

372
00:26:09,800 –> 00:26:14,960
But since the Jewish nation had
been granted this freedom of

373
00:26:14,960 –> 00:26:18,720
worship, since their religion
had been legalized under the law

374
00:26:18,720 –> 00:26:24,120
of the Roman Empire, they were
entitled to the protection of

375
00:26:24,120 –> 00:26:28,320
the authorities against anything
that went against their

376
00:26:28,320 –> 00:26:32,400
practices.
And so when this lawyer said

377
00:26:32,600 –> 00:26:36,440
that he’d gone about to profane
the temple, this Third Point was

378
00:26:36,440 –> 00:26:42,680
added to claim the protection of
Rome, to ask them to introduce a

379
00:26:42,880 –> 00:26:47,920
suppression of his activities
because what he was doing was

380
00:26:48,280 –> 00:26:52,440
opposed to that which Rome had
permitted and legalized.

381
00:26:52,680 –> 00:26:57,520
Now that briefly touched the
charges in the framework of

382
00:26:57,760 –> 00:27:03,280
legal practice at the time.
Now Paul answers those 3 points,

383
00:27:03,400 –> 00:27:06,800
and we look now at how he
answers them.

384
00:27:07,160 –> 00:27:11,360
The tenth verse and mark the
contrasting Paul’s approach from

385
00:27:11,360 –> 00:27:14,360
that of the lawyer.
Then Paul after that the

386
00:27:14,360 –> 00:27:18,600
governor had beckoned unto him
to speak, answered For as much

387
00:27:18,600 –> 00:27:22,320
as I know that thou has been of
many years a judge unto this

388
00:27:22,320 –> 00:27:26,720
nation, a complete recognition
of the fact, with a rather

389
00:27:26,720 –> 00:27:31,920
subtle recognition that he knew
how difficult they were and how

390
00:27:31,920 –> 00:27:36,680
they’ve been a continual source
of irritation and were in fact a

391
00:27:36,680 –> 00:27:42,160
real problem to the authorities.
And so Paul says, I, I know what

392
00:27:42,160 –> 00:27:45,360
I has been of many years, the
judgment of this nation, and

393
00:27:45,360 –> 00:27:48,360
therefore I do the more
cheerfully answer for myself.

394
00:27:48,520 –> 00:27:53,320
They have said, says Paul, that
I was a mover of sedition, that

395
00:27:53,320 –> 00:27:59,400
I stirred up trouble.
Well, verse 11 be then informed

396
00:28:00,200 –> 00:28:03,560
that there are.
And so Paul says, I, I know what

397
00:28:03,560 –> 00:28:06,680
I has been of many years, a
judgment of this nation, and

398
00:28:06,680 –> 00:28:09,680
therefore I do the more
cheerfully answer for myself.

399
00:28:09,880 –> 00:28:14,560
They have said, says Paul, that
I was a mover of sedition, that

400
00:28:14,560 –> 00:28:20,720
I’ve stirred up trouble.
Well, verse 11 be then informed

401
00:28:20,960 –> 00:28:24,360
that there are yet but but 12
days since I went up to

402
00:28:24,360 –> 00:28:28,560
Jerusalem for to worship, and
they neither found me in the

403
00:28:28,560 –> 00:28:32,480
temple disputing with any man,
neither raising up the people,

404
00:28:32,480 –> 00:28:35,920
neither in the synagogues nor in
the city, neither then the can

405
00:28:35,920 –> 00:28:38,880
they prove the things?
Where are they now accuse me?

406
00:28:39,240 –> 00:28:42,040
In other words, Paul says not
guilty.

407
00:28:42,520 –> 00:28:45,440
The charge cannot be
substantiated.

408
00:28:45,760 –> 00:28:49,760
It is not true.
What then of the claim to be a

409
00:28:49,760 –> 00:28:55,960
ringleader of this heresy?
What of this charge, that he was

410
00:28:56,040 –> 00:29:02,040
pursuing a way of worship that
Roman law did not permit, and

411
00:29:02,040 –> 00:29:04,640
therefore he was obnoxious to
Roman law?

412
00:29:04,960 –> 00:29:07,280
The answer to that is in verse
14.

413
00:29:07,760 –> 00:29:12,280
But this I confess unto thee,
that after the way which they

414
00:29:12,280 –> 00:29:16,800
call heresy, the same word as
sect, so worshiped by the God of

415
00:29:16,800 –> 00:29:19,600
my Father’s, believing all
things which are written in the

416
00:29:19,600 –> 00:29:23,480
law of Moses and the prophets,
and their hope to what God which

417
00:29:23,480 –> 00:29:27,360
they themselves also allow, that
there shall be a resurrection of

418
00:29:27,360 –> 00:29:29,800
the dead, both of the just and
of the unjust.

419
00:29:29,800 –> 00:29:34,280
And herein do I exercise myself
to have always a conscience void

420
00:29:34,280 –> 00:29:36,720
of offence toward God and toward
men.

421
00:29:37,160 –> 00:29:42,480
In other words, they base their
claim to freedom of worship upon

422
00:29:42,480 –> 00:29:46,520
the fact that their God revealed
Himself.

423
00:29:46,760 –> 00:29:50,200
I haven’t changed the God whom I
worship, says Paul.

424
00:29:50,880 –> 00:29:55,840
I still worship the God of my
father’s, the God whom I’ve

425
00:29:55,840 –> 00:30:03,280
worshiped from my childhood.
And just as the Jews claim to

426
00:30:03,280 –> 00:30:08,040
base their right to freedom upon
the divine revelation that is

427
00:30:08,040 –> 00:30:12,280
written in their Old Testament
Scriptures, so worship by the

428
00:30:12,280 –> 00:30:16,360
God of my Father’s, believing
all things which are written in

429
00:30:16,360 –> 00:30:20,760
the law and in the prophets.
My belief is based upon their

430
00:30:20,880 –> 00:30:24,360
sacred writings and any
privileges that they should

431
00:30:24,360 –> 00:30:26,080
have.
Therefore, because they claim to

432
00:30:26,080 –> 00:30:29,280
be followers of a divine
revelation, they should be

433
00:30:29,280 –> 00:30:32,280
extended equally to me.
In fact, as a member of the

434
00:30:32,280 –> 00:30:36,000
race, I’m covered by them.
In effect, Paul says.

435
00:30:36,120 –> 00:30:40,640
And if there should be a
reference to what I said about a

436
00:30:40,640 –> 00:30:45,040
resurrection of the dead being
my belief, well, that they

437
00:30:45,040 –> 00:30:49,920
themselves also allow that isn’t
an objection in their own case,

438
00:30:50,360 –> 00:30:53,360
and it cannot be an objection in
mine.

439
00:30:53,720 –> 00:30:57,480
The Third Point, that he would
have profaned the temple, is met

440
00:30:57,480 –> 00:31:02,320
very dexterously, but very
truthfully from the 17th verse

441
00:31:02,320 –> 00:31:05,440
onward.
Now, after many years, I came to

442
00:31:05,440 –> 00:31:10,320
bring arms to my nation and
offerings, whereupon certain

443
00:31:10,320 –> 00:31:15,720
Jews from Asia found me purified
in the Temple, neither with

444
00:31:15,720 –> 00:31:20,440
multitude nor with DuMont, who
ought to have been here before

445
00:31:20,440 –> 00:31:23,240
the end object, if they’d ought
against me.

446
00:31:23,960 –> 00:31:29,120
In other words, so far was it
his intention to profane the

447
00:31:29,320 –> 00:31:34,040
holy place, that he was actually
in the Temple, observing a

448
00:31:34,160 –> 00:31:38,800
temple right at the very time
when he was arrested.

449
00:31:39,240 –> 00:31:44,480
And so the scene passes on, just
as in the case of Jesus, first

450
00:31:44,480 –> 00:31:49,240
before the Jewish authorities,
then Pilate, then tossed over to

451
00:31:49,240 –> 00:31:51,640
Herod, then back again to
Pilate.

452
00:31:52,280 –> 00:31:56,000
So we can see there’s a kind of
correspondence in what happens

453
00:31:56,000 –> 00:32:00,120
here in the case of the
followers of Jesus, as

454
00:32:00,120 –> 00:32:05,320
represented by the apostle Paul.
He is left there a prisoner by

455
00:32:05,400 –> 00:32:11,520
Felix, and Festus comes to
Jerusalem, and he, willing to do

456
00:32:11,520 –> 00:32:15,320
the Jews a pleasure, asked if
Paul would go up to Jerusalem.

457
00:32:15,440 –> 00:32:20,120
Now Paul knew what scant respect
would be given for his case by

458
00:32:20,120 –> 00:32:23,040
the Jewish authorities.
He knew that the matter would

459
00:32:23,040 –> 00:32:26,960
have finally to be settled by
the Roman authorities, and

460
00:32:26,960 –> 00:32:29,760
therefore he made his appeal to
Caesar.

461
00:32:30,640 –> 00:32:34,720
In the first instance, the words
can be can mean that I must be

462
00:32:34,720 –> 00:32:38,280
judged by Roman law.
But it was understood, at any

463
00:32:38,280 –> 00:32:42,640
rate by Festus that Paul was
preferring a claim as a Roman

464
00:32:42,640 –> 00:32:47,480
citizen that the case should go
before the highest court in the

465
00:32:47,480 –> 00:32:52,520
world of that day.
And after consultation with his

466
00:32:52,720 –> 00:32:56,400
assessors, the clerk of the
court, and the lawyers, as part

467
00:32:56,400 –> 00:32:59,680
of the apparatus as to whether
the case was sufficiently

468
00:32:59,680 –> 00:33:03,880
important to justify a reference
to the highest court, it was

469
00:33:03,880 –> 00:33:06,440
granted that the appeal should
go to Rome.

470
00:33:06,800 –> 00:33:10,320
Now the central government in
Rome didn’t view with favor

471
00:33:10,800 –> 00:33:15,240
sending any and every case
there, and it is a mark of the

472
00:33:15,240 –> 00:33:20,080
very grave importance with which
the Roman provincial authorities

473
00:33:20,080 –> 00:33:23,360
viewed the position of the
Christians in relation to law

474
00:33:24,200 –> 00:33:27,760
that a test case was allowed to
go to Rome.

475
00:33:28,200 –> 00:33:32,880
Meanwhile, while Paul, having
stated that he wished to be

476
00:33:32,880 –> 00:33:38,560
heard before Caesar, was still
in prison, and that no report

477
00:33:38,560 –> 00:33:41,480
had been sent off to the
authorities, King Agrippa comes

478
00:33:41,480 –> 00:33:44,000
upon an official visit to
Festus.

479
00:33:44,200 –> 00:33:48,920
King Agrippa was one of the
Herodian family in origin of

480
00:33:48,920 –> 00:33:53,320
Edomite, but the family had made
great professions of sympathy

481
00:33:53,320 –> 00:33:55,640
with the Jews as the rulers over
them.

482
00:33:56,640 –> 00:33:59,560
A crafty, difficult family for
the most part.

483
00:34:00,400 –> 00:34:03,160
But here is one of the
descendants of Herod the Great,

484
00:34:03,640 –> 00:34:10,080
whose policy was to eliminate
the newborn Messiah, even though

485
00:34:10,080 –> 00:34:13,040
it meant massacring all the
babies in a village.

486
00:34:13,280 –> 00:34:19,120
And so there’s a certain navette
in the words that Festus says to

487
00:34:19,120 –> 00:34:22,159
King Agrippa at the end of the
25th chapter.

488
00:34:22,360 –> 00:34:25,159
He says, I have a man here who
has to go before Caesar.

489
00:34:25,440 –> 00:34:28,760
But he says, I’m really fast.
You know, he’s got to go.

490
00:34:28,760 –> 00:34:30,920
And I don’t know what report to
send.

491
00:34:31,480 –> 00:34:35,600
And there’s something decidedly
funny, as it strikes me anyway,

492
00:34:35,600 –> 00:34:39,440
humorous in the 27th verse when
he says it seemeth to me

493
00:34:39,440 –> 00:34:43,159
unreasonable to send a prisoner
and not with all to signify the

494
00:34:43,159 –> 00:34:47,000
crimes laid against him.
In other words, they hadn’t

495
00:34:47,000 –> 00:34:50,560
managed really to formulate the
case against Paul yet.

496
00:34:50,560 –> 00:34:53,679
Paul had made the appeal and it
had been granted.

497
00:34:54,000 –> 00:34:57,840
And so Festus says, You come and
hear him, Agrippa, and see what

498
00:34:57,840 –> 00:35:00,640
you think of it, and see what we
can make of it.

499
00:35:01,480 –> 00:35:06,400
And so we have Paul standing
before Agrippa, and we can see

500
00:35:06,400 –> 00:35:10,960
the man in little touches that
Luke gives us of him earnestly

501
00:35:10,960 –> 00:35:15,680
beholding the council is how
Luke describes Paul standing

502
00:35:16,040 –> 00:35:19,480
before the Jewish council, when
that Roman officer was

503
00:35:19,480 –> 00:35:22,600
presiding.
And here Agrippa said unto Paul,

504
00:35:22,800 –> 00:35:24,960
Thou art permitted to speak for
thyself.

505
00:35:25,760 –> 00:35:29,480
Then Paul stretched forth the
hand and answered for himself.

506
00:35:29,720 –> 00:35:32,880
It’s possible he wasn’t a very
imposing figure in view of the

507
00:35:32,880 –> 00:35:36,520
sneers that his enemies in
torrent made against him, but he

508
00:35:36,520 –> 00:35:42,280
must have been a very impressive
figure as with this oratory that

509
00:35:42,280 –> 00:35:46,840
he had at his command and this
power of reasoning which

510
00:35:46,840 –> 00:35:52,120
characterized all that he did.
He made his case before Agrippa.

511
00:35:53,320 –> 00:35:56,280
He reminds Agrippa that his hope
was the hope of Israel.

512
00:35:57,160 –> 00:36:00,640
I’ve lived a straight, I’ve
lived as a a Pharisee of the

513
00:36:00,640 –> 00:36:03,720
strictest sect.
And even now I stand in and

514
00:36:03,720 –> 00:36:06,400
judge for the hope of the
promise made of God unto our

515
00:36:06,400 –> 00:36:11,080
fathers, unto which promise our
12 tribes earnestly serving God

516
00:36:11,080 –> 00:36:12,640
day.
And I hope to come.

517
00:36:13,120 –> 00:36:15,840
For which hope’s sake, King
Agripper, I’m accused of the

518
00:36:15,840 –> 00:36:16,760
Jews.
He says.

519
00:36:17,280 –> 00:36:21,680
I have the faith of our fathers.
My faith is founded upon the

520
00:36:21,680 –> 00:36:25,440
books that we recognise and
Revere as a divine revelation.

521
00:36:25,680 –> 00:36:30,120
And the theme of it all, the
burden of his argument is that

522
00:36:30,120 –> 00:36:33,320
if Israel’s is a really legal
religion permitted by Rome,

523
00:36:33,320 –> 00:36:37,600
there’s nothing in what I
believe that should produce a

524
00:36:37,600 –> 00:36:40,960
contrary decision.
And it passes in review.

525
00:36:40,960 –> 00:36:44,960
His life tells why it was
changed by the appearance of

526
00:36:45,120 –> 00:36:48,840
Jesus and the Commission given
to him that he to be sent to the

527
00:36:48,840 –> 00:36:52,640
Gentiles to open their eyes and
to turn them from darkness to

528
00:36:52,640 –> 00:36:55,800
light, that they might receive
forgiveness of sins and

529
00:36:55,800 –> 00:36:59,720
inheritance among them which are
sanctified by faith.

530
00:36:59,720 –> 00:37:03,960
That is in me, Jesus.
And so again, there’s the same

531
00:37:03,960 –> 00:37:09,080
appeal to the fact that it was
by a divine revelation that this

532
00:37:09,240 –> 00:37:14,240
course had been pursued by Paul.
It is all part of Luke’s

533
00:37:14,680 –> 00:37:18,840
evidence that it was through the
guidance of the Spirit of God

534
00:37:19,200 –> 00:37:23,920
that these developments took
place incorrect in connection

535
00:37:23,920 –> 00:37:27,320
with the Christian movement.
In other words, the whole

536
00:37:27,320 –> 00:37:32,680
movement had its origin and had
its development is as a part of

537
00:37:32,680 –> 00:37:37,960
divine activity among men.
He traces back the position of

538
00:37:37,960 –> 00:37:42,000
Jesus to the apostles, to the to
the prophets.

539
00:37:42,920 –> 00:37:46,880
When he says to Agrippa, I
continue unto this day,

540
00:37:47,200 –> 00:37:50,320
witnessing both to small and
great, and saying none other

541
00:37:50,320 –> 00:37:53,000
things than those which the
prophets and Moses did say

542
00:37:53,000 –> 00:37:56,160
should come, that Christ should
suffer, and that he should be

543
00:37:56,160 –> 00:37:59,960
the first that should rise from
the dead, and should show light

544
00:37:59,960 –> 00:38:04,120
unto the Gentiles.
And following the method we have

545
00:38:04,480 –> 00:38:08,880
seen Luke followed.
We could expand those verses by

546
00:38:08,880 –> 00:38:12,200
going to the Old Testament
prophecies which refer to the

547
00:38:12,600 –> 00:38:16,080
opening up to the Gentiles of
the way of life.

548
00:38:16,520 –> 00:38:19,960
Must have been a very earnest
and impassioned speech, for

549
00:38:19,960 –> 00:38:26,040
Festus interposes by Saint Paul.
All this intense application to

550
00:38:26,040 –> 00:38:29,320
these religious ideas is
affecting your mind.

551
00:38:30,000 –> 00:38:33,640
And he said, I’m not mad, most
noble Festus, but speak forth

552
00:38:33,640 –> 00:38:36,920
the words of truth and
soberness, and returns to the

553
00:38:36,920 –> 00:38:39,200
king.
And he said, and the king north

554
00:38:39,200 –> 00:38:42,120
of those things before whom also
I speak freely.

555
00:38:42,760 –> 00:38:45,520
And I’m persuaded, I’m persuaded
that none of these things are

556
00:38:45,520 –> 00:38:48,960
hidden from him.
For this thing was not done in a

557
00:38:48,960 –> 00:38:51,680
corner.
King Agrippa, believe us.

558
00:38:51,680 –> 00:38:54,520
Thou the prophets, I know that
thou believe us.

559
00:38:54,680 –> 00:39:00,760
In other words, can’t you, King
Agrippa, see that upon the basis

560
00:39:00,760 –> 00:39:04,440
of the things to which you make
a profession, this is the

561
00:39:04,440 –> 00:39:08,200
inevitable outcome in the
development of the divine

562
00:39:08,200 –> 00:39:11,680
purpose?
What a predicament Agrippa was

563
00:39:11,680 –> 00:39:15,040
in, he couldn’t say.
He denied the prophets and

564
00:39:15,040 –> 00:39:19,680
prejudice is standing before the
authorities, but he couldn’t say

565
00:39:19,680 –> 00:39:24,560
also that he followed them and
accept all the implications that

566
00:39:24,560 –> 00:39:29,920
Paul had established.
And so with a half sneer, he

567
00:39:29,920 –> 00:39:33,520
says with very little Paul,
you’re thinking you’ll convince

568
00:39:33,520 –> 00:39:36,960
me to be a Christian?
Paul says, I wouldn’t mind

569
00:39:36,960 –> 00:39:40,960
whether it were little or much,
so long as you came to see this

570
00:39:40,960 –> 00:39:44,120
truth that I believe and
accepted it and did everything

571
00:39:44,120 –> 00:39:47,560
that I have except.
And he held up his hand with its

572
00:39:47,560 –> 00:39:51,800
manacles except these chains.
And the gripper thought he’d

573
00:39:51,800 –> 00:39:55,920
better not pursue it, obviously.
So they went aside and talked

574
00:39:55,920 –> 00:39:59,480
among themselves.
And the gripper said there’s

575
00:39:59,480 –> 00:40:02,320
nothing worthy of death, but
he’s appealed to Caesar and

576
00:40:02,320 –> 00:40:06,360
we’ll have to let him go.
And so the rest of the book

577
00:40:06,360 –> 00:40:10,160
takes us on to Fall at Rome and
now.

578
00:40:10,720 –> 00:40:14,400
We want to gather up one or two
things that are obvious in this

579
00:40:14,400 –> 00:40:20,040
record, I think, when they are
pointed out.

580
00:40:20,320 –> 00:40:26,240
Whenever Paul was in contact
with the Roman authorities, they

581
00:40:26,240 –> 00:40:29,600
were always favourable toward
him.

582
00:40:30,040 –> 00:40:33,480
The Jewish authorities
themselves had conceded the

583
00:40:33,480 –> 00:40:36,360
rights of the Christians to
worship their own way.

584
00:40:37,280 –> 00:40:41,840
It was mob law that brought
about Stephen’s death, but when

585
00:40:41,840 –> 00:40:46,240
Paul was before the authorities
at Philippi, the hastiness of

586
00:40:46,240 –> 00:40:52,360
those more Roman officers than
the officers in Rome themselves,

587
00:40:53,080 –> 00:41:00,120
with their little petty local
pride in their colonial rites

588
00:41:00,120 –> 00:41:04,520
for Philip I was a Roman colony,
had been quick to put Paul in

589
00:41:04,520 –> 00:41:07,120
prison.
So far were they proved to be

590
00:41:07,120 –> 00:41:11,880
wrong that Paul insisted that
they should come themselves and

591
00:41:11,880 –> 00:41:14,880
set him free.
When Paul was at Corinth, he was

592
00:41:14,880 –> 00:41:19,320
before 1 of proconsular rank,
and the decision of Gallio to

593
00:41:19,320 –> 00:41:25,760
dismiss the case against Paul in
Corinth would stand in Roman law

594
00:41:26,520 –> 00:41:31,160
and give Paul a charter of
freedom until a higher court

595
00:41:31,160 –> 00:41:35,560
rescinded the decision that
Gallio had made at Athens Before

596
00:41:35,560 –> 00:41:38,840
the philosophers.
They were contemptuous, although

597
00:41:38,840 –> 00:41:44,400
Paul was before the council in
Athens that determined whether

598
00:41:44,400 –> 00:41:49,840
any preacher in in Athens should
have a license to preach, But

599
00:41:49,840 –> 00:41:52,560
they were contemptuous and
therefore not adverse.

600
00:41:53,320 –> 00:41:56,640
In Ephesus, we’re told that the
first men, the chief men of the

601
00:41:56,640 –> 00:42:01,000
city, befriended Paul.
The word by which they were

602
00:42:01,000 –> 00:42:03,640
described translated in our
Authorized Version.

603
00:42:03,640 –> 00:42:07,400
Chief men was a technical term,
the Asiacs.

604
00:42:08,200 –> 00:42:12,680
They held office once a year as
presidents of the temple

605
00:42:12,680 –> 00:42:19,280
festivals at the temple of Diana
in Ephesus, and they retained

606
00:42:19,400 –> 00:42:25,040
the title of Asiach after their
work for that one year was done.

607
00:42:25,680 –> 00:42:30,160
And since the Asiach befriended
Paul in this city of the Roman

608
00:42:30,160 –> 00:42:34,560
world, the chief men were
interested hopefully in Paul.

609
00:42:34,960 –> 00:42:39,080
And then when in this crisis
that develops, Paul is before

610
00:42:39,080 –> 00:42:43,400
the Roman authorities, we see
him protected by Roman officers

611
00:42:43,920 –> 00:42:46,200
when the Jews would have torn
him to pieces.

612
00:42:47,000 –> 00:42:51,480
We see the centurion acting with
marked impartiality when he

613
00:42:51,480 –> 00:42:55,000
insists that the Jews should be
brought before him to hear

614
00:42:55,000 –> 00:42:58,000
Paul’s defence.
We see the Roman authorities

615
00:42:58,000 –> 00:43:01,600
befriending him when the Jews
had that plot to assassinate

616
00:43:01,600 –> 00:43:06,200
him, and the nephew of Paul,
hearing of it, communicated it

617
00:43:06,200 –> 00:43:11,760
to Paul and Paul escorted by
Roman authorities, a cohort of

618
00:43:11,760 –> 00:43:17,240
soldiers were sent to Caesarea.
We see again in that very

619
00:43:17,240 –> 00:43:21,240
detailed, very accurate chapter
of the voyage and shipwreck,

620
00:43:21,880 –> 00:43:26,560
that Paul stands out as a man of
considerable importance, and his

621
00:43:26,560 –> 00:43:30,360
travel companions on that
occasion must, since he was a

622
00:43:30,360 –> 00:43:35,000
prisoner, have gone, not has
friends, but has his servants

623
00:43:35,000 –> 00:43:39,040
and attendants, his body slaves,
and Aristarchus and Luke

624
00:43:39,040 –> 00:43:42,280
accompanying him on the journey,
had the status during the

625
00:43:42,280 –> 00:43:45,360
journey of being Paul’s
servants.

626
00:43:45,640 –> 00:43:50,040
Therefore Paul was regarded on
that voyage as a Roman citizen

627
00:43:50,040 –> 00:43:54,280
of considerable standing, must
have been so regarded, for any

628
00:43:54,280 –> 00:43:58,280
ordinary, everyday sort of
person was not permitted to take

629
00:43:58,600 –> 00:44:00,960
a test case to the highest
court.

630
00:44:01,880 –> 00:44:05,800
We see him in Rome with every
concession that can be granted

631
00:44:05,800 –> 00:44:10,400
to him, subject to the one that
he must be kept a prisoner until

632
00:44:10,400 –> 00:44:14,440
his case was heard.
And so throughout this epistle,

633
00:44:14,440 –> 00:44:17,360
there is a throughout this
record, there is an emphasis

634
00:44:17,360 –> 00:44:25,360
upon the fact that Rome in its
administrative operations again

635
00:44:25,360 –> 00:44:29,920
and again proved friendly and
tolerant to what Paul.

636
00:44:30,360 –> 00:44:33,320
Now, before we come to the
climax, there are just one or

637
00:44:33,320 –> 00:44:37,320
two details, not without their
interest, that we’d like you to

638
00:44:37,320 –> 00:44:43,000
look at as showing again this
remarkable accuracy of Luke.

639
00:44:43,400 –> 00:44:48,680
We have one in the report that
Claudius Lyceus made.

640
00:44:49,520 –> 00:44:52,280
This comes in the 23rd chapter
and the verse 26.

641
00:44:52,440 –> 00:44:54,120
He wrote a letter after this
manner.

642
00:44:54,360 –> 00:44:58,880
Claudius Lyceus unto the most
excellent governor Felix sendeth

643
00:44:58,880 –> 00:45:01,840
greeting.
This man was taken of the Jews

644
00:45:01,840 –> 00:45:03,400
and should have been killed of
them.

645
00:45:03,640 –> 00:45:08,040
Then came I with an army and
rescued him, having understood

646
00:45:08,040 –> 00:45:11,760
that he was a Roman, which
indicates that what we describe

647
00:45:11,760 –> 00:45:17,680
in English as a, as a euphemism
wasn’t unknown to these men, and

648
00:45:17,680 –> 00:45:20,000
they could just put the emphasis
where they wanted.

649
00:45:20,440 –> 00:45:26,000
Or if you go back to chapter 21
and verse 33, you’d have a

650
00:45:26,000 –> 00:45:30,040
little difficulty in recognizing
the case, just as Lyceus put it.

651
00:45:31,320 –> 00:45:34,520
And the chief captain came near
and took him, and commanded him

652
00:45:34,520 –> 00:45:38,160
to be bound with two chains, and
demanded who he was and what he

653
00:45:38,160 –> 00:45:41,320
had done to be the language of
rescue.

654
00:45:41,920 –> 00:45:44,600
But the other was a more
political form of putting it in

655
00:45:44,600 –> 00:45:51,640
his report to Claudius Lycius.
There’s another illustration of

656
00:45:51,640 –> 00:45:57,560
the same thing in what Festus
has to say in chapter 25.

657
00:45:57,920 –> 00:46:01,280
But Festus willing to do the
Jews of pleasure.

658
00:46:01,600 –> 00:46:06,040
And Sir Paul will now go up to
Jerusalem there to be judged of

659
00:46:06,040 –> 00:46:12,440
these things before them.
But when later Estes is stating

660
00:46:12,440 –> 00:46:17,160
the case to Agrippa, you’ll
notice how delightfully he

661
00:46:17,160 –> 00:46:20,320
modulates the Dawn, the 20th
verse.

662
00:46:20,560 –> 00:46:23,720
And because I doubted there’s
such manner of questions, I

663
00:46:23,720 –> 00:46:26,720
asked him whether he would go to
Jerusalem and there be judged of

664
00:46:26,720 –> 00:46:28,960
these matters.
There’s no reference to his

665
00:46:28,960 –> 00:46:32,560
willingness to show the Jews a
pleasure, but it’s all part of

666
00:46:32,560 –> 00:46:36,560
the wonderfully accurate picture
that Luke builds up.

667
00:46:36,560 –> 00:46:44,120
And just as we can press his
description of any scene to its

668
00:46:44,200 –> 00:46:48,400
utmost limit in determining his
words, so we can press his

669
00:46:48,400 –> 00:46:52,320
descriptions of these men, and
so we can examine in the

670
00:46:52,320 –> 00:46:56,960
minutest detail the record of
the speeches that he has given

671
00:46:56,960 –> 00:46:59,920
to us.
And now we might just gather up

672
00:46:59,920 –> 00:47:02,360
one or two more threads in this
record.

673
00:47:02,720 –> 00:47:07,440
We have seen half humorously how
that Roman officer went to Saint

674
00:47:07,440 –> 00:47:09,960
Paul, to Rome was a little bit
fast.

675
00:47:09,960 –> 00:47:13,160
What to write.
So there was a very obviously

676
00:47:13,160 –> 00:47:15,760
not a very clear cut case
against the apostle.

677
00:47:16,080 –> 00:47:18,880
And King Agrippa said if he
hadn’t appealed to see there, he

678
00:47:18,880 –> 00:47:21,360
might have been set at liberty.
There was nothing worthy of

679
00:47:21,360 –> 00:47:24,520
death.
In view of these preliminary

680
00:47:24,520 –> 00:47:27,520
pronouncements that there was
nothing worthy of death, and the

681
00:47:27,520 –> 00:47:31,480
poor ought to be acquitted, what
was the issue of the trial?

682
00:47:32,000 –> 00:47:35,920
Now, when we come to the end of
the Acts of the Apostles, we

683
00:47:35,920 –> 00:47:39,560
appear to find the matter
undetermined.

684
00:47:40,080 –> 00:47:42,640
Paul met the Jews in Rome and
talked with them.

685
00:47:44,240 –> 00:47:49,360
And then Luke says, And Paul
dwelt 2 whole years in his own

686
00:47:49,360 –> 00:47:54,960
hired house, and received all
that came in unto him, preaching

687
00:47:54,960 –> 00:47:58,160
the Kingdom of God, and teaching
those things which concerned the

688
00:47:58,160 –> 00:48:02,480
Lord Jesus Christ with all
confidence, no man forbidding

689
00:48:02,480 –> 00:48:05,200
him.
And it would seem to us English

690
00:48:05,200 –> 00:48:09,440
readers as though the matter
hadn’t come to trial.

691
00:48:09,880 –> 00:48:13,000
But it had, and Luke tells us
that it had.

692
00:48:13,400 –> 00:48:17,600
Now it is clear that when men
from the provinces were sent to

693
00:48:17,600 –> 00:48:22,320
Rome with all the possibilities
of delay that marked even Paul’s

694
00:48:22,320 –> 00:48:27,080
journey to Rome, that there
could be long delays before the

695
00:48:27,080 –> 00:48:29,400
matter was brought to the issue
in a court.

696
00:48:29,720 –> 00:48:33,760
And if a man had a very bad
case, but that somehow managed

697
00:48:33,760 –> 00:48:37,480
to get his opponent under
arrest, it was obviously good

698
00:48:37,480 –> 00:48:41,680
policy that he should delay as
long as possible his appearance

699
00:48:41,680 –> 00:48:46,000
at court to present his case.
His opponent was out of the way,

700
00:48:46,560 –> 00:48:48,320
and that was the most he could
expect.

701
00:48:48,880 –> 00:48:53,080
And therefore there was an abuse
of law in accusers delaying to

702
00:48:53,080 –> 00:48:58,360
come before the authorities.
And therefore, not very long

703
00:48:58,360 –> 00:49:03,200
before Paul was in Rome, an
edict was passed by the emperor

704
00:49:04,000 –> 00:49:07,880
that if there was a delay
extending beyond the period of

705
00:49:07,880 –> 00:49:12,360
something like 18 months and the
accusers did not appear, there

706
00:49:12,360 –> 00:49:15,640
had to be a formal trial and an
acquittal.

707
00:49:16,040 –> 00:49:17,880
And Paul therefore, by telling
us that.

708
00:49:18,000 –> 00:49:23,200
Paul and Luke, therefore, by
telling us that Paul wrote two

709
00:49:23,200 –> 00:49:26,720
whole years in his own hired
house, he’s telling us that the

710
00:49:26,720 –> 00:49:31,040
accusers did not appear, that
there was a formal trial, and

711
00:49:31,040 –> 00:49:33,920
that Paul was acquitted.
But think what he carried with

712
00:49:33,920 –> 00:49:37,560
him in his acquittal.
Roman law did not allow any form

713
00:49:37,560 –> 00:49:42,040
of worship, as we have said, and
the test case that Paul took to

714
00:49:42,040 –> 00:49:46,000
the highest authorities secured
for the brethren for the time

715
00:49:46,000 –> 00:49:50,240
being, a charter of freedom to
worship God according to the

716
00:49:50,240 –> 00:49:54,200
Christian profession, without
the law having any right to

717
00:49:54,200 –> 00:49:57,640
interfere.
Nay, since they were thus

718
00:49:58,600 –> 00:50:02,440
pursuing their course with the
legal sanction of Rome, they

719
00:50:02,440 –> 00:50:05,160
were entitled to to Roman
protection.

720
00:50:05,520 –> 00:50:08,560
There was a change not long
afterwards.

721
00:50:08,760 –> 00:50:14,200
The early years of Nero were
spent under the influence of two

722
00:50:14,200 –> 00:50:18,920
wise councillors, whom with
Nero’s growing strength in

723
00:50:18,920 –> 00:50:23,680
years, in strength, in power,
and in years, he dismissed, and

724
00:50:23,680 –> 00:50:28,040
the Nero whose name has become
so infamous in history, began to

725
00:50:28,040 –> 00:50:34,960
appear, and he caused a change
in policy after the fire of

726
00:50:34,960 –> 00:50:38,320
Rome, and the blame was put upon
the Christians.

727
00:50:38,320 –> 00:50:41,840
It had the effect of a knowing
this freedom that Paul had

728
00:50:41,840 –> 00:50:44,680
secured by this test case in
Rome.

729
00:50:45,680 –> 00:50:48,640
And when Peter writes his
epistle, he speaks of any man,

730
00:50:48,640 –> 00:50:53,320
anyone suffering as a Christian.
That means to say that any

731
00:50:53,320 –> 00:50:57,200
follower of the Lord Jesus
Christ from the time of the

732
00:50:57,200 –> 00:51:02,880
Roman fire was suspect, and if
proved to be a follower of

733
00:51:02,880 –> 00:51:04,840
Christ, he could be punished
with death.

734
00:51:05,680 –> 00:51:10,160
Now that was the position of the
brethren and sisters after that

735
00:51:10,160 –> 00:51:14,400
period in Nero’s life.
What then, does this record tell

736
00:51:14,400 –> 00:51:17,600
us in the light of that?
Well, it presents to us a

737
00:51:17,920 –> 00:51:20,600
parallel between the case of the
Lord Jesus.

738
00:51:21,520 –> 00:51:25,280
He, too was declared by the
authorities that there was no

739
00:51:25,280 –> 00:51:29,200
cause for death in him.
Yet such is the character of the

740
00:51:29,200 –> 00:51:34,360
world as embodied in its rulers,
that they encompassed His death.

741
00:51:35,440 –> 00:51:40,040
The course of history of early
Christianity, in its conflicts

742
00:51:40,040 –> 00:51:45,440
and strifes, in its difficulties
within and without, yet was

743
00:51:45,440 –> 00:51:51,280
found to be not contrary to law.
It was found to be not

744
00:51:51,280 –> 00:51:55,480
revolutionary in character
concerning this present world

745
00:51:55,480 –> 00:51:58,200
order.
And yet, despite the

746
00:51:58,200 –> 00:52:03,800
establishment of that fact, just
as they crucified the Master, so

747
00:52:03,800 –> 00:52:08,680
they reversed the decision, and
the Christians were persecuted.

748
00:52:09,480 –> 00:52:12,920
The better the emperor, the more
violent was the persecution

749
00:52:12,920 –> 00:52:16,800
during the first two centuries.
And that emperor didn’t bother

750
00:52:16,800 –> 00:52:19,040
his head so much about applying
the law.

751
00:52:19,640 –> 00:52:23,680
And thus it was that those who
were the ablest emperors because

752
00:52:23,680 –> 00:52:27,600
they applied the law, were the
worst enemies of the Christians.

753
00:52:27,640 –> 00:52:31,960
But to anyone during those early
days who tried to examine the

754
00:52:31,960 –> 00:52:35,520
beginnings of the Christian
faith, when they were

755
00:52:35,520 –> 00:52:38,720
experiencing the bitterness of
the conflict with the Roman

756
00:52:38,720 –> 00:52:41,600
authorities must have found a
help.

757
00:52:42,360 –> 00:52:48,600
That it is possible eludes us as
they read this masterly account

758
00:52:49,160 –> 00:52:54,360
for the inspired pen of Luke, of
the beginnings of Christianity,

759
00:52:54,640 –> 00:52:58,040
and it has its value for us.
As we said in the first address,

760
00:52:58,200 –> 00:53:02,280
how much do we know of what
happened after the year 60 in

761
00:53:02,280 –> 00:53:04,760
the 1st century?
Very little.

762
00:53:05,400 –> 00:53:08,440
Why?
Because the records are so

763
00:53:08,640 –> 00:53:13,160
incomplete, so casual, the
history has to be inferred from

764
00:53:13,160 –> 00:53:16,480
merely casual references in this
or that writing.

765
00:53:17,480 –> 00:53:20,760
And it would have been the same
with regard to the 1st 40 or 50

766
00:53:20,760 –> 00:53:23,920
years but for this inspired
record.

767
00:53:24,560 –> 00:53:29,440
But it was in this inspired
record, taking it as far as it

768
00:53:29,440 –> 00:53:35,400
does, that we see the divine
energy at work in the progress

769
00:53:35,400 –> 00:53:38,880
of this movement.
We see it established in

770
00:53:38,880 –> 00:53:42,360
fulfillment of the Lord’s
command that it should begin in

771
00:53:42,360 –> 00:53:46,720
Jerusalem and extend to Samaria
and go outward to the Roman

772
00:53:46,720 –> 00:53:50,120
world.
And even in the very head

773
00:53:50,520 –> 00:53:56,200
citadel in the capital city of
the Roman world, it was found

774
00:53:56,560 –> 00:54:01,600
that this Christian faith was
not inimical to human interests,

775
00:54:01,600 –> 00:54:06,720
not revolutionary in character.
But so well established was it

776
00:54:06,720 –> 00:54:10,480
even in the lifetime of the
first generation, that the test

777
00:54:10,480 –> 00:54:15,040
case concerning its standing was
before the highest authorities,

778
00:54:15,280 –> 00:54:19,200
as Paul could say to Agrippa
concerning the things connected

779
00:54:19,200 –> 00:54:21,920
with Jesus.
These things were not done in a

780
00:54:21,920 –> 00:54:24,320
corner.
They turned the Roman world

781
00:54:24,320 –> 00:54:29,960
upside down, and there’s no
question about the truth of the

782
00:54:29,960 –> 00:54:35,240
origin of the Christian faith.
And it couldn’t have been

783
00:54:35,240 –> 00:54:40,360
better, surely have been
established than by this writing

784
00:54:40,680 –> 00:54:44,320
of Luke.
Now we are conscious of many,

785
00:54:44,320 –> 00:54:46,960
many deficiencies in the course
of this address.

786
00:54:47,400 –> 00:54:51,280
It really is a course that ought
to extend over a whole winter.

787
00:54:52,200 –> 00:54:55,920
But it may be that what has been
advanced will help you in your

788
00:54:55,920 –> 00:55:02,240
own individual studies to see a
little more fuller light on the

789
00:55:02,240 –> 00:55:05,680
record, the greater
understanding and appreciation

790
00:55:06,280 –> 00:55:09,720
of the blessed truth which has
been revived in our own day.

791
00:55:10,440 –> 00:55:13,240
And if it should be, as was
suggested in an address this

792
00:55:13,240 –> 00:55:17,680
morning, that there might be a
reversal of our position in any

793
00:55:17,680 –> 00:55:21,600
way in the trial, in the
struggles of the last days, why

794
00:55:21,600 –> 00:55:23,960
then actually become a new book
to us?

795
00:55:24,960 –> 00:55:30,200
Because it will be a transcript
from life that will then enter

796
00:55:30,200 –> 00:55:32,320
into our own experiences.