24:10 Paul's complimentary introduction was sincere and truthful. Felix had had contact with the Jews in Palestine for over 10 years, first in Samaria and then in Judea. Paul's introduction was also briefer than Tertullus' opening statement.
"Although Tertullus is supposed to be a skilled orator, Paul demonstrates his superior skill by making use of Tertullus' words to build his own case."897
24:11 In response to Tertullus' first charge (v. 5), Paul said that since he had been in Jerusalem only 12 days he had not had time to be much of a pest.
24:12-13 In response to the third charge (v. 6), Paul replied that he had gone to Jerusalem to worship. He had gone to bring money to the Jews there, and to present offerings to Yahweh (v. 17), not to stir up political trouble (cf. Gal. 2:7-9). His accusers could not prove that he had even carried on a discussion in the temple, or in the synagogues, or even in the city, much less fomented a riot. There was, therefore, no evidence to support these two charges against him.
24:14 Paul rebutted the second charge of leading a cult (v. 5) by explaining that his beliefs harmonized with the teachings of the Hebrew Scriptures. This would have helped Felix see that the real conflict between Paul and his accusers was religious and not political, as Tertullus had made it appear.
Paul was not claiming that the church is the continuation of Israel (cf. Eph. 2:11-22). His point was that his beliefs did not contradict anything predicted in the Old Testament.
24:15 Ananias was a Sadducee, and the Sadducees did not believe in the resurrection (23:8). Therefore Felix would have seen that Paul and Ananias disagreed strongly on this theological point. The Jews who accompanied Ananias to Caesarea evidently included Pharisees who did believe in the resurrection. Belief in the resurrection was the theologically conservative position of the Jews as a whole.
This verse contains the only New Testament reference that Paul believed in the resurrection of the wicked as well as the resurrection of the righteous. Nevertheless the Scriptures speak elsewhere of God raising all people to face judgment (e.g., Dan. 12:2; Matt. 25:31-33, 46; John 5:28-29; Rev. 20:12-15).
24:16 Since Paul believed God would resurrect him, he sought to maintain a clear conscience as he lived. Conscience is the capacity to feel guilt.
24:17-18a Rather than desecrating the temple (v. 6) Paul said he had returned to Jerusalem to give money to the Jews there and to present worship offerings in the temple. His gift was for the Jewish Christians in Jerusalem. Yet since Paul's desire was that they would evangelize the unsaved Jews there, he could honestly say that he had brought alms to his nation.898"Alms"refers to the collection for the poor Jewish Christians, and "offerings"to Paul's paying the expenses of the four men who had taken a vow (21:23-26). He had completed the purification rites in an orderly manner when other Jews stirred up dissension and started a riot.
24:18b-19 Paul pointed out that his original accusers were not present at his hearing. They should have been. Probably the Sanhedrin ruled that out because, in view of the facts, it would have been clear that there was no basis for their charges.
"Roman law imposed heavy penalties upon accusers who abandoned their charges (destitutio), and the disappearance of accusers often meant the withdrawal of a charge. Their absence, therefore, suggested that they had nothing against him that would stand up in a Roman court of law."899
24:20-21 Paul's present accusers could not even testify that the Sanhedrin had found him guilty when he appeared before that body. Some of them had disagreed with his belief about resurrection. Therefore, Paul concluded, he was on trial over the issue of the resurrection. This put Felix in the awkward position of having to decide a theological issue over which his Jewish subjects disagreed.
"One of the greatest things about Paul is that he speaks in his own defence with force, with vigour and sometimes with a flash of indignation--but there never emerge the accents of self-pity or of bitterness, which would have been so natural in a man whose finest actions had been so cruelly and deliberately misinterpreted and mis-stated."900
