Acts 24 | God Gives Opportunityਨਮੂਨਾ

Missing the Opportunity

Paul didn’t need to explicate every detail about Jesus or the biblical worldview. Felix was married to Jewish royalty. He was the governor of Judea. He knew about the Jewish hope and the Jesus controversy well.

After Paul ends his defense by pointing Felix to the resurrection, Luke writes, “Then Felix, who was well acquainted with the Way, adjourned the proceedings. ‘When Lysias the commander comes,’ he said, I will decide your case’”(Acts 24:22, NIV). And goes on to order the centurion to keep Paul under guard, to give him some freedom, and to allow his friends to take care of his needs.

Now, perhaps this was the move of an astute politician. Don’t rush to judgment. Try to make all sides happy. Make it appear as if you’re playing to each side. Paul is kept locked up. The Jews are happy, but it may also be for Paul’s protection. He gives Paul some freedom and allows his friends to care for him – a necessity in the Roman prison system. That might make that side happy, and allow Felix to justify his behavior if he’s ever called to the mat by a superior for unjust treatment of a Roman citizen.

But it seems like more than that. Luke goes on to write, “Several days later Felix came with his wife Drusilla, who was Jewish. He sent for Paul and listened to him as he spoke about faith in Christ Jesus” (Acts 24:24, NIV).

Felix wants to hear more. Felix seems convicted. It seems he’s grabbing a precious opportunity.

It’s amazing what the gospel will do, and how it will impact someone’s conscience. Whether it’s the way God’s truth reverberates through life’s confusion and uncertainty, the hunger of a guilty and compromised person hoping that repentance and forgiveness might somehow be possible, or the desire for a new kind of life that seems only possible by an act of God, there’s no telling how the gospel will grab hold in the most surprising of people.

Felix delays. Because Felix wants to hear more. At some level, this compromised and corrupt governor seems to actually want faith in Christ for he and his wife.

And this ties into what Luke tells us next. “As Paul talked about righteousness, self-control, and the judgment to come, Felix was afraid and said, ‘That’s enough for now! You may leave. When I find it convenient, I will send for you.’ At the same time, he was hoping that Paul would offer him a bribe, so he sent for him frequently and talked with him” (Acts 24:25-26, NIV).

The whole thing feels John the Baptist-like. Once, John the Baptist confronted Felix’s wife’s uncle about unlawfully taking someone who wasn’t his wife, either. He did it because Jesus’s call is to repentance. It cost John his head.

Paul seems to be doing the same. Because faith in Christ goes hand-in-hand with repentance.

A person doesn’t need to get their life cleaned up before they turn to Christ, but faith in Christ will lead someone to turn from things that are against him. Here, we’re told that Paul is talking about righteousness, self-control, and the judgment to come. Think about that in relation to Felix – a corrupt governor embroiled in political intrigue and living on bribes who has taken a woman who was somebody else’s wife. Someone who was not righteous. Someone who did not practice self-control. Someone convicted by the possibility of a coming just and righteous judgment upon him that not even death could escape.

As Luke writes, “Felix was afraid.”

But rather than respond to that fear by throwing himself on the mercy and salvation of Christ, he tried to delay. “That’s enough for now,” he said. Like Esau trading his birthright for a bowl of porridge, Felix is trading something of eternal significance for present gain. And falling back into his old pattern of compromise, he deflects God’s call on his life for hoped-for bribe money instead.

It may be one of the more heartbreaking accounts in the New Testament. Sadly, it remains all too common today. People are letting the opportunity slip by to turn to Christ. Opportunities that don’t last forever.

Prayer

Pray for God to work in the hearts of troubled consciences. Pray for the opportunity to call them to faith. Pray that they would not delay. And if you’re troubled in heart or delaying, ask for God’s forgiveness and commit your life to Jesus as your savior and Lord today.