Living in the Hope of Resurrection — Acts 24:10-23 Daily Word

Discover how the hope of resurrection shapes authentic faith. Paul’s defense reveals that true belief in God includes believing in His promised resurrection and living with a clear conscience before God and others.

Are You Living with the Hope of Resurrection?

[Scripture]

Acts 24:10-23 (ESV)

[10] And when the governor had nodded to him to speak, Paul replied: “Knowing that for many years you have been a judge over this nation, I cheerfully make my defense. [11] You can verify that it is not more than twelve days since I went up to worship in Jerusalem, [12] and they did not find me disputing with anyone or stirring up a crowd, either in the temple or in the synagogues or in the city. [13] Neither can they prove to you what they now bring up against me. [14] But this I confess to you, that according to the Way, which they call a sect, I worship the God of our fathers, believing everything laid down by the Law and written in the Prophets, [15] having a hope in God, which these men themselves accept, that there will be a resurrection of both the just and the unjust. [16] So I always take pains to have a clear conscience toward both God and man. [17] Now after several years I came to bring alms to my nation and to present offerings. [18] While I was doing this, they found me purified in the temple, without any crowd or tumult. But some Jews from Asia—[19] they ought to be here before you and to make an accusation, should they have anything against me. [20] Or else let these men themselves say what wrongdoing they found when I stood before the council, [21] other than this one thing that I cried out while standing among them: ‘It is with respect to the resurrection of the dead that I am on trial before you this day.’” [22] But Felix, having a rather accurate knowledge of the Way, put them off, saying, “When Lysias the tribune comes down, I will decide your case.” [23] Then he gave orders to the centurion that he should be kept in custody but have some liberty, and that none of his friends should be prevented from attending to his needs. (Acts 24:10-23, ESV)

[Daily Word]

The governor invites Paul to speak in his own defense. Paul begins his defense by demonstrating that the charges brought against him are baseless and unprovable. As stated in verse 11, since only twelve days had passed since he went up to Jerusalem to worship, those who are now accusing him have no knowledge of “anyone finding me disputing with anyone in the temple” or “stirring up a crowd in the streets.”

Paul then argues the real reason he is being accused. It is because “I worship the God of our fathers, believing everything laid down by the Law and written in the Prophets,” and because he holds the same hope in God that his ancestors held — namely, the hope of the resurrection.

The hope of the resurrection is, in truth, the genuine hope of faith — a hope that believes in God’s promised Word and naturally looks forward to the kingdom of God. Therefore, a faith without the hope of resurrection cannot be called true faith in God. To claim belief in God while not believing in the manner that God has spoken and recorded is to fall short of wholehearted faith.

The Hope of the Resurrection Is Revealed Through How We Live

This hope of the resurrection is revealed through the life of the believer. Paul confesses this in verse 16: “So I always take pains to have a clear conscience toward both God and man.”

The hope of the resurrection is made visible in how a believer lives. Those who live only for today treat this world as everything, and so they live in pursuit of worldly possessions, success, and power. But those who hold the hope of the resurrection make it their highest priority to maintain a clear conscience before God and man, and to preserve righteousness and holiness in their lives.

The World Cannot Understand the Hope of Resurrection

Governor Felix was a man well acquainted with the way of Judaism, and so in verse 23 he ordered that Paul be kept in custody but given some freedom, and that none of his friends should be prevented from attending to his needs. This was in effect a confirmation that Paul was not a criminal. And yet Paul remained in prison, because the world could not believe in the hope of resurrection.

Because the world neither believes in nor understands the resurrection, it rejects and condemns those Christians who hold to this hope. Yet the people of God are not shaken by such opposition and persecution, for the grace of resurrection is something that can never be taken away.

Therefore, may this be a day in which Jesus leads us from the old self to the new, from death to life, and from this world into the kingdom of heaven — a day in which we stand firm in perfect faith in God who accomplishes all of this in us.

Originally published in Korean at bible2u.com