Paul's Trial In Caesarea
- Five days later, the high priest Ananias, some of the council elders, and a lawyer named Tertullus come up to Caesarea.
- When the hearing begins, Tertullus accuses Paul of being an outside agitator who has come in and said blasphemous and profane things in the temple. That's serious business.
- Paul defends himself to the governor. This better be good.
- He tells the governor that no one in the temple saw him arguing or teaching about Jesus (it's true—he was just there performing his fancy ritual). In other words, the charges against him are straight-up lies.
- Paul admits that he is a follower of Jesus, but he's also a Jew who believes in God and the authority of Jewish law and the prophets and all that good stuff. Jesus is just the natural continuation of all this.
- Paul explains that when he was in the temple just minding his own business and not upsetting anyone, some Jews from Asia came along and had him arrested. Basically, this whole shebang is bogus.
Felix Wastes Paul's Time
- The governor, Felix, actually knows quite a bit about Jesus, so he tells Paul he'll decide what's going to happen when Claudius Lysias stops by. He also gives Paul some freedom in jail because, apparently, he's cool like that.
- A few days later, Felix and his wife Drusilla (who happens to be Jewish) send for Paul and ask him to tell them a little more about this Jesus fellow. Paul obliges. Jesus is his favorite subject after all.
- Over the course of two years, Felix keeps Paul in jail, but keeps talking to him every once in a while about Jesus. Felix isn't very convinced. In fact, he thinks that one of these days Paul will offer him a bribe to get out of jail. But Paul never does. He's so honest.
- When Felix retires and a new governor, Porcius Festus, takes over, Paul is still locked up.