A letter from Claudius Lysias to Felix

The commander wrote a letter to the governor as he arranged for Paul’s transfer to Caesarea. (1) The commander’s name was Claudius Lysias. He likely purchased his Roman citizenship with money during the reign of Emperor Claudius. (2) The letter was addressed to Governor Felix. (a) The term “the most excellent” comes from the Greek word “kratistos,” which was an official Roman title. Luke used the same word in Luke 1:3 when addressing Theophilus as “Most Excellent Theophilus.” (b) Felix served as the governor of Judea from 52 AD to 59 AD. His brother, Pallas, was a powerful freedman under Emperor Claudius, and Felix himself had been a freedman of Claudius’s mother. His appointment as governor of Judea was a result of Emperor Claudius’s policy of assigning freedmen to provincial offices. (c) His rule by military force faced fierce resistance from extreme anti-Roman factions (Sicarii). (d) Later on, when a conflict arose between the Gentiles and the Jews in Caesarea, Felix murdered many Jews. As a result, Jewish representatives traveled to Rome to bring charges against him. However, he was able to escape punishment due to the intervention of his brother, Pallas. (3) During the reign of Emperor Nero, Felix was replaced by Festus as the governor of Judea. The historian Tacitus wrote in “Annals” that “Felix exercised the power of a king with the spirit of a slave.” “When this man was seized by the Jews and was about to be killed by them, I came up to them with the troops and rescued him, after learning that he was a Roman. And wanting to ascertain the basis for the charges they were bringing against him, I brought him down to their Council…” (1) This section contains a mix of truth and omission. The commander wrote that he led his soldiers to rescue Paul after learning that he was a Roman citizen. However, in reality, he only discovered Paul’s citizenship after arresting him. Additionally, he omitted the fact that he had almost had Paul flogged. (2) The commander concluded that the disturbance was related to issues concerning Jewish law and that Paul had committed no crime deserving death or imprisonment. (3) Having received information about a conspiracy, he decided to send Paul to the governor and requested his appropriate consideration in the matter. God used the Roman army as a means to move Paul to Caesarea. He works far beyond our expectations and predictions. Today, let us trust in His providential hand.