Acts 24:1-9 (ESV)

And after five days the high priest Ananias came down with some elders and a spokesman, one Tertullus. They laid before the governor their case against Paul. And when he had been summoned, Tertullus began to accuse him, saying:

“Since through you we enjoy much peace, and since by your foresight, most excellent Felix, reforms are being made for this nation, in every way and everywhere we accept this with all gratitude. But, to detain you no further, I beg you in your kindness to hear us briefly. For we have found this man a plague, one who stirs up riots among all the Jews throughout the world and is a ringleader of the sect of the Nazarenes. He even tried to profane the temple, but we seized him. By examining him yourself you will be able to find out from him about everything of which we accuse him.”

The Jews also joined in the charge, affirming that all these things were so.

What a load of obsequious baloney. Tertullus thinks that his fawning praise of Felix can make up for a lack of evidence. He obviously knows little about the case and so he makes a number of crucial errors. Does he really think that Felix doesn’t know what’s been going on in his own province?

In fact, the tribune’s letter to Felix spelled out who the real trouble makers are – but Tertullus doesn’t know that. His case is blown right from the start.

But his big mistake is inviting Felix to examine Paul for himself. Tertullus actually thinks that will go well. He’s the one guy in the room who buys the accusations against Paul.

Imagine the face-palm by Ananias and the elders when Tertullus makes that slip. They’re trying to nail Paul on trumped up charges, so they bring in a lawyer who specializes in courtroom antics.

And they thought they could get away with keeping him in the dark.

If the facts are on your side, pound the facts. If the law is on your side, pound the law. If neither the facts nor the law are on your side, pound the table. – Old Law School Proverb

We have the facts on our side. Pound facts – but take care to stick to facts that you know.

Beware, people often get baited into speaking about things they aren’t prepared to discuss. This happens because, “I don’t know,” is a wrong answer in school. Thus, we’re taught to never say things like, “Sorry, I’m not an expert on that subject,” or even, “How would I know?” This is a standard TV interviewing trick. The pros can get almost anyone to say something stupid by pressing them on a subject they know little about.

Evangelism and apologetics are skills that every Christian should develop. The right way to do that is through a training program.

It’s a big job, but worth the work.

The weekly study guides, which include discussion questions, are available for download here:

https://www.ailbe.org/resources/itemlist/category/91-deep-studies