The just man's defense.
Twofold—negative; positive. The accusations met by a clear and bold denial. Over against the false representation a simple and candid statement of his position as a private and public man. Notice—
I. The apostle stood firmly on the ground of LIBERTY OF CONSCIENCE. They accused him of heresy; he maintained that his conscience was void of offence towards God and man.
II. The foundation of confidence is THE WORD OF GOD—the Law, the prophets, the true tradition of the fathers. All these things the apostle believed.
III. THE RESURRECTION was the great stumbling-block to the Jews, but the great support of the apostolic faith. The position taken in the Sanhedrim is maintained before Felix. The resurrection is the vital point of the new faith.
IV. The zeal of the Christian was quite consistent with PATRIOTISM. There was nothing revolutionary in the method of Christian teaching. The disturbance was simply due to the presence of a new element of life among old corruption. So always, the world is turned upside down by earnestness, because it is already the wrong side upwards.—R.