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Commentary Index | Return to PrayerRequest.com | DownloadBob Utley You Can Understand the Bible - Acts 24:22 - 24:23
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NASB (UPDATED) TEXT: Act_24:22-23
22But Felix, having a more exact knowledge about the Way, put them off, saying, "When Lysias the commander comes down, I will decide your case." 23Then he gave orders to the centurion for him to be kept in custody and yet have some freedom, and not to prevent any of his friends from ministering to him.
Act_24:22 Apparently Felix had heard about Jesus and Christianity. Probably as a Roman official he had been briefed about the local situation to which he would be assigned.
Felix's wife was Jewish (cf. Act_24:24), which meant he had an experiential opportunity to know about the teaching of Judaism. The Way was considered a sect within Judaism and was, therefore, a "legal" religion in the Roman Empire.
Act_24:23 This shows that Felix did not see Paul as a threat and allowed some freedom and access. Here again is a Roman official who does not sense Christianity as a political problem. This was surely one of Luke's purposes in writing his Gospel!