22 Then Felix, who was well acquainted with the Way, adjourned the proceedings. “When Lysias the commander comes,” he said, “I will decide your case.” 23 He ordered the centurion to keep Paul under guard but to give him some freedom and permit his friends to take care of his needs.
24 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. 25 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.” 26 At the same time he was hoping that Paul would offer him a bribe, so he sent for him frequently and talked with him.
27 When two years had passed, Felix was succeeded by Porcius Festus, but because Felix wanted to grant a favor to the Jews, he left Paul in prison.
Dig Deeper
Many years ago, while in college in Oklahoma, I accompanied a group of friends well after midnight one night on an expedition through the woods. After a short walk we arrived at our intended destination which was a fairly high cliff that towered above a river below. I have never liked heights all that much and am not very fond of the outdoors, especially bodies of water that don’t have cement bottoms, but for a number of reasons I decided to join my friends that night and jump off of that cliff into the water below. Keep in mind that it was pitch black out and so we had no way of seeing the water from the cliff above. I’m not quite sure why I was able to jump off that cliff that night but it is certainly not something that I would even attempt now. Fear and courage are funny things when it comes to human behavior. Despite the fact that humans have tried to examine those two controlling emotions for hundreds, if not thousands, of years, we really don’t have many answers as to why one human will show fear in a situation and another will demonstrate incredible strength and courage in the same situation. Nor do we really have any clue as to why the same human can face one situation with courage and another with blatant fear. For instance why would I show courage in jumping off that cliff so many years ago but would not even think of attempting such a feat now? There might be some rational explanations to the differences, but we just don’t always know the answer to what gives courage to one and causes fear in another. We might not fully understand the causes but we certainly do know the difference between fear and courage when we see it.
It’s hard to think of two more contrasting examples of fear and courage than the brief but poignant scene that Luke has painted here in describing the convergence of the lives of Paul and Felix, a Roman governor. A lot could be said about the life of the apostle Paul and regardless of what one may think of Paul, I have never heard anyone argue that he didn’t have an incredible amount of courage. Everything we know about Paul depicts a man of honor, zeal, and courage and he used that courage to great benefit as he went about the monumentally difficult task of spreading the gospel around the Roman Empire. Felix, on the other hand, seems to have operated largely out of fear. This fear seemed to have control of Felix and was never more obvious than when clearly contrasted with one so courageous as Paul.
Certainly the Jewish leadership wanted Felix to rule in their favor quickly but rather than making a decision Felix passed the buck. He certainly had it within his power to make a decision immediately but instead he declared that he would need to hear Lysias’ testimony when he came. That seems like somewhat of a dubious reason as Felix already had a letter from Lysias and it is hard to tell what else he might have thought the commander could add. It is possible, but not provable, that Felix was stalling and making excuses more than anything.
To add to that possibility was Luke’s statement that Felix “was well acquainted with the Way,” which was the earliest moniker that followers of Christ had given to themselves. They believed that Christianity was no mere option or possibility within the larger context of Judaism or religions of the world. It was the Way, the truth and the life and no one would find any path to the one true God outside of a proper response to the gospel that was being preached. But what did Felix know about the Way and how did he come about that knowledge? Some have asserted that Felix’s Jewish wife, Drusilla, might have educated him on the topic but that is simply reasonable speculation. Perhaps Felix was intrigued by Christianity or fascinated with religious teachings; we simply do not know. But Luke’s statement probably referred to the idea that Felix was fairly familiar with what the Christian community was about and didn’t believe them to be a threat to Rome in the classic military sense. He likely understood that they were not trouble-makers by nature and that the charges leveled against Paul were simply bogus.
If Felix believed the charges to be bogus, however, why would he not have just released Paul on the spot? In two words: political pressure. Governors in the Roman Empire had a great deal of power but they still had to answer to Rome and if the subjects in a region raised a great deal of ruckus against the governor, he could quickly find himself out of favor in Rome and in danger of losing his position and more. More than anything, Rome wanted peace in the outlying regions and expected governors to do what they had to in order to maintain that peace. Felix did not want to upset the Sanhedrin and certainly releasing Paul, even if he was innocent, would have done just that. So rather than being courageous and making a decision, Felix did virtually nothing.
In fact, he failed to make a decision at all. It is probable that Lysias did eventually come and give his statement on matters but still Felix did nothing. He didn’t release Paul but he also didn’t punish him. The fact that Felix ordered that Paul be allowed to have other Christians visit him and care for him in prison seem to be further evidence that Felix knew Paul wasn’t a threat or guilty of anything and felt a bit guilty about keeping him imprisoned. Allowing Paul to have visitors would have been vital to his survival because in ancient Rome there was no such thing as a prison sentence that served as punishment. Prison was designed to hold people until they were exonerated or punished and they made no provisions for the food or clothing of a prisoner. If a prisoner had no friends to bring provisions, then they would quickly die. Felix’s allowance for Paul to have a fair amount of freedom and access in prison wasn’t entirely unprecedented but was certainly a sign that he didn’t view Paul as a true enemy of the state.
Felix seems to have been rather curious about Paul and gave him an audience with himself and his wife. Perhaps he saw it as an opportunity to learn even more about the Way or maybe he had genuinely had his heart pricked by the preaching of the gospel with which he was already familiar.
But when Paul came before him, Felix was confronted with a man of pure courage. Paul had been steeled by years of the Spirit emboldening him and sending into situations far beyond his ability to cope with them. Paul had learned that the Spirit gave him strength and courage that coupled with the zeal and courage that he had displayed his entire life. He had never run from anything and never took the easy way out. It might have been far easier to try to beg Felix for his freedom or say whatever he needed to be let free. He could have even reasoned that his being free would be far more beneficial to the spread of the gospel. But there was no give in Paul’s knees. When he came before Felix he boldly preached about the righteousness and self-control that come only through the life of Christ; things that Felix would have experienced very little of in his own life. We all know how uncomfortable and challenging it came be to preach such things to others, especially those that hold your freedom in their hands, but Paul went one step further. He declared the judgment that would come upon those that refused to reconcile to God through the life of His Messiah. That he did so with great courage and the Spirit’s boldness was evident in Felix’s response of fear and sending Paul away.
Felix had heard the gospel and something about it spoke to his heart and caused fear but he did not have the courage to respond. Instead he continued to let Paul sway in the wind for two years hoping that a man that had recently brought such a large collection back to Jerusalem must have the resources to pay a hefty bribed to get out of prison. Again, Felix’s selfish lack of courage was on display in glaring contrast to Paul’s courageous refusal to take the easy way out.
Whatever else may have been going on, Paul had the courage to trust in the Spirit’s provision. Certainly he had to wonder what was going to happen. He had, after all, written the church in Rome that he was hoping to come see them shortly and the Spirit had confirmed that he would go to Rome. It may have looked grim after two years in Felix’s care, especially when his time in office came to an end and Paul had to start over with a new governor solely because Felix did not want to anger the Jews, but surely Paul continued to rely on the Spirit and draw strength from his belief that God was in control of all things.
The world in which we live might not have the answers as to what causes fear in one and courage in another, but the Christian knows that it is God’s own Spirit living through his people that allow them to live courageous lives like Paul. Perhaps when we trust in the Spirit and allow him to embolden and encourage us, we will have more believers live courageously as Paul did regardless of the opposition.
Devotional Thought
Are there any situations in your life right now in which you need courage like Paul had? If so, you’re not going to find true and sustainable courage from anywhere other than the Spirit. Pray consistently for the courage of the Spirit in all situations and see what happens.
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