ACTS 23 – 24
Bible Study Notes Rev. Betsy Perkins
Trials, Plots and Problems
- Read Acts 23:1. What do you think of Paul’s opening statement in the court? Does it mean he has never sinned or done anything wrong?
- How can you have a clear conscience before God?
Confrontation in the Jewish Court (23:1-11)
- How did the Jewish leaders respond to Paul’s opening statement? Why? (What happened to Jesus during his trial in John 18:22?)
- What did Paul mean by calling the person giving the orders in the Sanhedrin a “whitewashed wall”? What was Paul implying? (see Ezekiel 13:8-16 to learn more)
- What do you make of Paul’s excuse for insulting a high priest? Is he sincere or sarcastic as he quotes from Exodus 22:28?
- Does Paul’s response to Ananias give us any guidance in situations where we might be called to respect a person’s office or position, but don’t respect or support that person’s actions or ideas?
Paul thus manages to hold together two things which people often find difficult. On the one hand, he certainly will respect the office. Without that, chaos is come again. That is the long and short of his famous passage in Romans 13:1-7: God wants the world to be governed, because he wants people to live in peace and justice, and if you don’t have structures of justice then the bullies, the extortioners and the rest will always win. The problem, of course, is when those structures become structures of injustice; but the present passage meets that question head on. The fact that you must respect the structures does not rule out, but rather actually includes, the duty to remind the people currently operating the structure what it is that they ought to be doing, and for that matter not doing. This is not the first, and it will not be the last, time when Paul provides some object lessons in basic political theology. N.T. Wright
- How do Pharisees and Sadducees differ in their beliefs about what happens to people after they die? How did Paul use this difference of opinion to his advantage?
- How is this belief at the crux of what Paul shared with the crowd in chapter 22? How is it part of the core of the gospel ‘hope’ that Paul is teaching?
- What happens next? What is done to keep Paul safe?
- What support does God provide Paul in this difficult time? How might it have helped him? (Kay, 92)
An Oath and a Plot (23:12-22):
- What is the oath taken by 40 Jewish men regarding Paul? Why would they have made that kind of pledge?
- How is Paul saved from their plot? Was it a coincidence or was it arranged by God?
I am reminded of the famous saying of Archbishop William Temple: ‘When I pray, coincidences happen; when I stop praying, the coincidences stop happening.’ N.T. Wright
- What tidbit of information do we learn about Paul’s family? What more do you wish you knew?
- What do you think happened with the 40 men who took the oath? (Wright, pg.172-174)
Transferred for Safety (23:23-35):
- What does the Roman officer do to protect Paul? What are we to understand from the size of the contingent sent with Paul to guard him?
- How do you imagine Paul is thinking and feeling as he is being protect by the same soldiers that less than 48 hours earlier had been about to flog him (22:24-25)?
- Take a moment to learn something about Governor Felix from study notes or N.T. Wright, p.178.
Joe Boyd, Bible Experiment – Acts of the Apostles (RightNowMedia), 1:28:35 – 1:33:08
A Trial before the Governor (24:1-9):
- How is Paul’s trial in a Roman court similar to trials now in the US? How is it different?
- What is the point of Tertullus’ opening statement?
- What are the three charges he brings against Paul? Is there any truth to these accusations?
Paul’s Defense of Hope (24:10-21):
- How does Paul respond to each of the three charges made against him?
- Read Psalm 96:11-13. Do you agree that God’s coming judgment is something to rejoice about?
- How is “a resurrection of both the righteous and the wicked” a hopeful thing? Why does Paul put such hope in that thought as he stands under judgment in a Roman court?
The resurrection is not only at the heart of the Christian faith. It is also the driving force behind a Christian understanding of what magistrates/judges, at every level, are there for. This may make it a little bit clearer what Luke seems to be up to, in writing the story of the early church, and particularly Paul, in terms of a succession of ‘trials’. The gospel is all about God putting the world right – His doing so in Jesus, His doing so at the end, and His doing so for individuals in between, as both a sign and a means of what is to come. Luke wants his reader to see the life of the church itself in that same way. We shouldn’t expect a comfortable ride. We shouldn’t imagine that people will leave us alone, will not challenge us as to what we are doing, as to how our faith belongs in the public world. If we are the people in and through whom God is putting into effect the setting-right that happened in Jesus, and anticipating the setting-right that will happen at the end, we should expect to see that uncomfortable but necessary setting-right going on all over the place, sometimes in martyrdom and sometimes in vindication and acquittal, as the church makes its way in the world. N.T. Wright
- How does it make you feel to know there will be a final judgment of the world by God? Fearful or reassured? Dread or Hopeful? Comforted or uncomfortable? How can you prepare for it and participate in it?
Felix Take His Time (24:22-27):
- Why doesn’t Felix announce a decision about Paul’s guilt or innocence?
- How do you imagine Paul feels about the long delay, stuck in a prison in Caesarea? What happened to the promise he had received from the Lord in 23:11 – has God forgotten?
- Think about a time when a difficult situation seemed to get drawn out for you. How did you feel? Did you question if God was hearing your prayers or if God had forgotten about you?
- Recall Acts 9:15, and read 2 Peter 3:9. What opportunities does the delay give Paul?
In light of this passage and our discussion, what one truth about God and about yourself stand out as something to “take to heart” this week?
Are there steps you will take, by God’s grace, to more fully apply it to your life?
Resources: NIV Zondervan Study Bible, 2015
N.T. Wright, Acts for Everyone, Part 1 2008
Max Lucado, Life Lessons from Acts: Christ’s Church in the World, 2018
Kay Arthur, The Holy Spirit Unleashed in You: Acts, 1994
Joe Boyd, Bible Experiment – The Acts of the Apostles (RightNowMedia), 2014
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