Acts 24:12Meaning & Commentary from the Church Fathers

He dwells on this just statement, which was so strong, adding, "neither in the sanctuary, nor in the synagogues, nor in the city." This was true. The other man calls Paul "a mover of sedition," as though in battle or revolt. But see how meekly Paul answers.

The defensive speech of the Apostle Paul had a stronger effect on the procurator. Felix dismissed the accusers, promising them that he would review the case when the commander Lysias came. Until then, he granted the prisoner Paul even greater freedom than he had enjoyed before. He ordered the centurion assigned to him not to restrict him, and not to forbid any of his own people to serve him or come to him (vv. 10-23).

He could verify that only twelve days had passed since the feast of Pentecost, for which the Apostle had come with no seditious aims at all, but simply to pray in Jerusalem. During that time he had not conversed with anyone and had no occasion to gather crowds or cause a disturbance, whether in the temple, in the synagogue, or in any part of the city. Therefore he decisively refuted the first and third points of the accusation, and demanded that the Jews present witnesses to confirm them.

As for stirring up sedition among the Jews in Jerusalem during Paul's stay there, he directly testifies before his accusers that he was not seen stirring up the people. He was not even seen disputing about anything, whether in the sanctuary, that is, in the temple courts where many people gathered, or in the synagogues, the usual place for the Jews' private assemblies of worship, or throughout the city, where people also gathered in the streets and squares.

Against the accusation of sedition, the Apostle Paul also defends himself by saying that they found him nowhere even disputing, much less stirring up a disturbance. Therefore it cannot in any way be proved that he is a seditionist.

As for the claim that he stirred up revolt among the Jews living throughout the Roman state, the apostle does not consider it his duty even to defend himself against this.

First, it is a baseless accusation that the accusers cannot prove, verse 13. Second, it falls under neither the jurisdiction of the Sanhedrin nor that of the judicial procurator.

Rather, it belongs to the jurisdiction of the governors of those provinces where the crimes were committed.