What does Acts 24:1 mean?
Jewish religious leadership wants Paul dead. They've even joined an assassination plot against him; that scheme failed because Paul's nephew overheard it (Acts 23:12–24). The tribune in Jerusalem can't figure out why the Sanhedrin wants Paul destroyed and can't protect Paul anymore, so he's sent him and the Sanhedrin to face the governor in Caesarea Maritima (Acts 23:26–30).Paul took only two days to travel the sixty-five miles from Jerusalem to Caesarea because the tribune sent him on horseback (Acts 23:24); his accusers probably had to walk. Ananias was the high priest from AD 48 to 58; he is not the husband of Sapphira (Acts 5:1–11) or the man in Damascus who led Paul to the Lord (Acts 9:10–19). Elders were respected men of the city who helped resolve legal disputes; these elders are also members of the Sanhedrin. Nothing more is known about Tertullus—it is a common name, but he's no relation to the Christian theologian Tertullian who was born in 160.
As the next verses show, the accusers need a lawyer because the Greek court has a particular format, involving a great deal of flattery. Tertullus goes on to accuse Paul of causing dissension among Jews throughout the Roman Empire and attempting to desecrate the temple (Acts 24:5–6). Felix sees through the accusations and knows they're baseless, but he holds Paul just to make the Jews happy (Acts 24:27).
Verse 2
