July 6
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Luke (the author of Acts) seems very interested in giving us a lot of details about Paul's trial here. I believe that one thing that is going on is his desire to show that, just like Jesus, Paul is very much falsely accused of breaking the Jewish law in following the way of Jesus. Following after Jesus in no way breaks with the Old Testament, breaks in no way with what it means to be an Israelite, to be of the people of God. As Paul talks with Felix during the trial, he speaks of the coming judgment, the judgment that will be righteous and completely true. This makes Felix nervous and he really mostly wants to have nothing to do with Paul, kind of like Pilate in Jesus' trial. He keeps Paul in prison as a favor to the Jews. He is working out of pleasing man and not pleasing God. As the Psalmist spoke of in a passage from last week, God is more to be trusted than earthly princes, earthly judges, who make bad choices and who will one day die and be no more. God's law remains forever and his people will be righteous before his throne.
Not too many people want to here the message of repentance (as Luke put it in Acts 24:25, "righteousness, self-control, and the judgement to come"). :)
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