January 29th, 2022

This Sunday is the Fourth Sunday after the Epiphany, and the Epistle Reading will continue to move slowly through 1 Corinthians [12:31b-13:13]. And we have also been taking our time with the issue of how Christianity is being spoken against [see Acts 28:22] in the book of Acts.

At first, St. Paul made his defense of Christianity before the Jews in Jerusalem, and that did not go too well. Since they tried to kill him, he was taken to the governor in Caesarea, who, at that time, was Felix. In Caesarea and before Felix, the attorney for the Jews made his case against Paul, and Paul gave his defense. What followed immediately after that defense is given in this text (in a somewhat-literal translation):

And Felix postponed them, knowing more exactly the things concerning ‘The Way’, saying: ‘When Lysias the chiliarch comes down, I will determine the things concerning you.’ And he commanded the centurion to keep him and to have relief and to forbid no one of his own people to attend him. And after some days, Felix arriving, with Drusilla, his own wife, being a Jewess, he sent for Paul. And he heard him concerning the faith in Christ Jesus. And as he was dialoguing concerning righteousness, self-control, and the judgment of the coming, Felix, becoming afraid, answered, ‘I have the now; go, and taking time later, I will send for you.’ Also at the same time, he was hoping that money will be given him by Paul; wherefore also more frequently sending for him, he conversed with him [Acts 24:22-26].

What is interesting about this section of Acts? There seems to be a progression within the text. The attacks on Paul seem to abate, at least for the time being. And since Felix has some knowledge of ‘The Way’, things seem to be going in a good direction. It might be helpful to look at the order of the things discussed by Paul and Felix.

The first topic being mentioned is ‘the faith in Christ Jesus’. The word ‘faith’ in the Old Testament essentially is the word ‘Amen’; essentially it does not talk about itself, but it points to something else. So, it seems that Felix is getting the basics about Jesus, the Anointed or Christened One.

The next topic is righteousness. Instead of talking just about Jesus and what he did, there seems to be a move to talk about the ramifications of his coming. It is obvious that Jesus did not go around telling people that they were not righteous and he was. In the New Testament, the word is much more frequent in the section of the epistles. At that point, it was much easier to have a bigger perspective of Jesus’ coming. Some have called Jesus’ action on the cross ‘The Great Exchange’. He takes on our sin, and we receive his righteousness.

The next word is a very interesting one. It is translated as ‘self-control’. It comes from a word meaning ‘lordship’ or ‘power’. Here again, Jesus did not go around talking about his lordship and power. This word is not at all found in any of the four gospel accounts, and its presence in the entire New Testament is quite limited [see Grundmann, Theological Dictionary of the New Testament, Volume 2; Grand Rapids, Michigan, USA: Eerdmans Publishing, 1964; pages 339-342]. But people have been pursuing power almost from the very beginning, and it is often hard to restrain it. The temptation of Adam and Eve was to be like God, and that is a powerful position.

People with lots of power have a natural proclivity to act like God. If you would like to read the commentaries or simply the Study Bibles regarding Felix and his wife, you would see some people who do what they want to do. And within that fact, there might be some similarities to things that are happening in the twenty-first century.

The final topic is ‘the judgment of the coming’. Another possible translation is ‘the judgment about to come’. Either way, the idea of being judged by someone else tends to ‘wake up’ the person. There is the realization that we are definitely NOT in control of things. And it seems like Felix eventually realized this.

The way Felix handles St. Paul, waiting for some money from him, shows that, ultimately, there was not the utter hopelessness that many in the past have experienced. Whatever the situation, there is a word of God in response. Actually there are two words of God, his word of Law and his word of Gospel. And those words still hold true—until the coming judgment.

How is Christianity spoken against? By Felix going through the message of Law and Gospel, and having the fear predominate, those are important issues, and Christianity may sometimes be seen in a bad light. But that is not the end that God desires. When it comes down to it, it is important for the Gospel to predominate in the end—because, in The End, it will.