INTRODUCTION
In Acts chapter 24 Luke records details of the trial of the apostle Paul before the Roman Procurator Felix. This is the first of four trial scenes in Acts chapters 23-26 that involve Paul; before the Sanhedrin, before the Roman Procurator Felix, then Felix’s successor Festus and finally before King Herod Agrippa II.
In chapter 21, Paul, against the advice of his fellow Christians, returned to Jerusalem after his third missionary journey. He visited the temple and there was accused of bringing Gentiles in with him, thus defiling it. A riot started and Paul was seized by the crowd. Roman soldiers intervened and arrested him in order to stop the violence and restore public order. This was a policing matter and normally the garrison commander would hand out rough justice on the spot. However, he learned that Paul was a Roman citizen and as such had the right to a formal legal hearing.
In Acts 23 Paul appeared before the Jewish Sanhedrin and as part of his defence appealed to his belief in resurrection. This caused division between the Sadducees and Pharisees and led to further unrest. Claudius Lysias, the commander of the Roman garrison in Jerusalem, therefore removed Paul into secure custody for his own safety. Following the discovery of a Jewish plot to kill Paul the Romans transferred Paul to Caesarea to the procurator Felix who agreed to hear Paul’s case once the accusers arrived from Jerusalem.
Not much is known about Antonius Felix but what is recorded about him by ancient writers is generally unfavourable. He was cruel, ambitious and corrupt. His exact dates are not known. He was born a slave, sometime between the years 5 and 10 CE. His brother Pallas, a powerful freedman, was a favourite of the Emperor Claudius and through that connection to the imperial family Felix gained freedom and influence.
Like Pilate’s, his rule (thought to extend from 52-58 or 60 CE) was marked by brutality. Felix was married three times, each time to a woman of noble birth. Two of them were called Drusilla. This Drusilla in Acts 24 was a daughter of Herod Agrippa I and a sister of King Agrippa II and Berenice, whom we read about in Acts chapters 25 and 26. See:
KING HEROD AGRIPPA II (Part 1)
KING HEROD AGRIPPA II (Part 2)
KING HEROD AGRIPPA II (Part 3)
KING HEROD AGRIPPA II (Bibliography)
Famous for her beauty, Drusilla was previously married at age fifteen to Azizus, a Syrian priest-king, whom she left for Felix. She and Felix had a son together (Marcus Antonius Agrippa) who perished at Pompeii when Mt. Vesuvius erupted in 79 CE. As a Jewish princess Drusilla would have been familiar with affairs in Judaea and so she accompanied her husband (according to v.24 they were married by this time, she was then in her early twenties) to listen to the apostle Paul.
We read in v.24 that Felix and Drusilla came to hear Paul ‘concerning the faith in Christ.’ This was not a casual conversation. Paul did not discuss politics or philosophy, he proclaimed the life-changing message of Jesus Christ.
FELIX’S PRIVILEGE
What must it have been like to sit in the presence of the apostle Paul and hear him speak? God was speaking to Felix through Paul; probably the greatest Christian preacher of all time. What a unique opportunity – to hear the gospel directly from the man who had encountered the risen Christ on the Damascus road!
Felix already knew something about Christianity, perhaps through his wife. During the trial, when the resurrection was mentioned, we read in v.22 ‘when Felix heard these things, having more perfect knowledge of that way, he deferred them.’
It is not enough to know the facts about Jesus Christ. You must by faith repent of your sins and trust him! The Lord Jesus said in John 5:24, ‘Verily, verily, I say unto you, He that heareth my word, and believeth on him that sent me, hath everlasting life, and shall not come into condemnation; but is passed from death unto life.’
Throughout life God gives us opportunities to hear his word; through gospel messages, sermons, Bible studies, the internet, or even conversations with believers. The question is: ‘Are you listening?’ Are you open to the truth of the gospel, or do pride and other distractions keep you from receiving it?
FELIX’S CONVICTION
The Holy Spirit had sparked some interest in the heart of Felix or else this meeting would not have taken place. We are not told why Felix and Drusilla wished to listen to Paul. They seem a most unlikely couple to want to hear the gospel message. He was the cruel and murderous Roman procurator and she was from the infamous Herodian family. Her great-grandfather had tried to kill the baby Jesus in Bethlehem (Mat. 2:1-16); her great-uncle had murdered John the Baptist (Mat 1:12; Mk 6:27) and mocked Jesus (Lk 23:6-12); and her father had executed the apostle James (Acts 12:1-2). Anyhow, that day they certainly heard the truth from the apostle Paul.
Paul did not shy away from addressing the hard facts of the gospel; this took great courage because of the kind of person Felix was; he later (58 CE) arranged for the High Priest Jonathan to be assassinated for criticising his behaviour. Paul in his message gave Felix and Drusilla three compelling reasons for repenting and believing on Jesus Christ: he reasoned with them about ‘righteousness, temperance and judgement to come.’
Righteousness (justice): this would have confronted Felix’s corrupt style of government.
None of us is righteous, we are all sinners (‘For all have sinned, and come short of the glory of God;’ Romans 3:23). There is nothing that we can do in order to merit salvation (‘Not by works of righteousness which we have done, but according to his mercy he saved us’, Tit 3:5). All who believe in the Lord Jesus Christ have his righteousness imputed to them (‘For God made Christ, who never sinned, to be the offering for our sin, so that we could be made right with God through Christ.’ 2 Cor 5:21. NLT ).
Temperance (self-control): this would have confronted Felix’s immoral lifestyle.
Felix and Drusilla were prime examples of a lack of self-control. Drusilla had left her husband to live with Felix and become his wife, and though a Jewess, she lived as though she had never known the Ten Commandments. Felix was an unscrupulous man who did not hesitate to lie, and even murder, in order to promote himself. Self-control was something neither of them knew anything about, they were wicked people. Jer 17:9 in NLT says: ‘The human heart is the most deceitful of all things, and desperately wicked. Who really knows how bad it is?’
Judgement to come. This would have reminded Felix of his accountability to God.
Paul would have told him that Jesus Christ is either your saviour or your judge. If he is your saviour the promise is, ‘There is therefore now no condemnation to them which are in Christ Jesus, who walk not after the flesh, but after the Spirit’ (Rom 8:1). If he is your judge, you will hear him say: ‘…I tell you, I know you not whence ye are; depart from me, all ye workers of iniquity (Lk 13:27).
Paul’s third argument is the strongest of all. You cannot escape God’s judgement (‘… it is appointed unto men once to die, but after this the judgement: Heb 9:27).
Luke records that as he considered these things ‘Felix trembled’ (v.25). Conviction gripped his heart and he could not hide it, he was terrified. He realised that what Paul said was true. He felt the weight of his sin and feared the prospect of God’s judgement. So what did he do?
FELIX’S PROCRASTINATION
‘That’s enough for now! You may leave. When I find it convenient, I will send for you.’ (v.25 NIV).
Conviction alone is not enough. There must be a response. By the Holy Spirit Felix felt the weight of conviction of sin but he pushed the matter aside, saying: ‘I’ll deal with that later.’ The problem is: later may never come. What might he have been thinking?
I can take or leave God’s word!
I know that I am a sinner but surely my sins are not that big a problem!
God’s grace will last until I’m ready to receive Christ.
Felix’s delay was not just a fleeting hesitation; it became a pattern. For the next two years he kept Paul in prison. Now and again he sent for him and talked to him but not in order to hear the gospel; instead, corrupt as he was, he hoped to receive a bribe. Felix was more interested in personal gain than spiritual riches and he chose to ignore the message of salvation. In the end he missed his opportunity for he was replaced as governor and recalled to Rome, leaving Paul in prison. By that time Felix’s heart had hardened and he had little concern for his soul.
That is the danger of procrastination. The longer you put off receiving Christ the harder your heart becomes. Heb 3:15 warns ‘today if ye will hear his voice, harden not your hearts…’ Procrastination thrives where there is an attitude that thinks, ‘I have plenty of time’ but God says in Prov 27:1: ‘Boast not thyself of tomorrow; for thou knowest not what a day may bring forth.’ Procrastination can be fatal.
This story of Felix is a cautionary tale. He was a man who heard the gospel directly from the apostle Paul and, despite being moved by the message, decided to delay his response. Do not make the same mistake. Don’t let pride, fear or other distractions keep you back. Examine your own response to the truth. The gospel is not just a message to hear, it is a call to act.
1. Why do you wait, dear sinner,
O why do you tarry so long?
The Saviour is waiting to give you
A place in His sanctified throng.
2. What do you hope, dear sinner,
To gain by a further delay?
There’s no one to save you but Jesus,
There’s no other way but His way.
3. Do you not feel, dear sinner,
The Spirit now striving within?
O why not accept His salvation
And throw off thy burden of sin?
4. Why do you wait, dear sinner?
The harvest is passing away;
The Saviour is longing to bless you,
There’s danger and death in delay.
Chorus: Why not? Why not?
Why not come to Him now?
George F. Root (1820-1895) – Gospel Hymn Book
Written Exposition 