Acts 24:24-27. Paul has been sent by the Jewish leaders to the governor of Caesarea, Felix, for trial. Felix has given him a hearing and is trying to put off the Jews by keeping Paul in prison and delaying his decision. He gives Paul some freedom of movement and allows his friends to tend to him. Felix is married to a Jewish woman, Drucilla, and together they send for Paul to hear him speak about Jesus Christ. As Paul "argued about justice and self-control and future judgment, Felix was alarmed" and he sent Paul away. He often called Paul back, however, to talk more in the hope that "money would be given to him by Paul." When Felix's term is up, he leaves Paul in prison as a favor to the Jews.

Felix sounds like an everyday politician, evaluating every circumstance, if even subconsciously, from the angle of who can give me the most in this situation or how can I get the most personal benefit from this. He sees that the Jews are the powerful ones in this situation, so he placates them, but he also hopes that Paul might be willing to pay him a bribe to get out of prison. However, when he hears Paul talk about justice and judgment Felix gets upset and has to send Paul away. His upsetment is not enough, though, to keep him from conversing with Paul often, even though he never really fully accepts Jesus Christ (at least as far as we know from this passage).

This is how God's Word works. When people hear it, depending on their life situation, they may react with great joy and hope, or with cynicism and anger, or with upsetment, or with any emotion in between, but they never get away without feeling something! The Word living, and the living Word affects us because it created us. We cannot help but come back to it again and again.

Those proclaiming the Word, like Paul, always have to suffer for it because there will always be people like the Jews and like Felix who the Word upsets or angers at the point in time when they hear it. We must keep speaking it, however,. We know that the Word is now in Felix's head, it will stay there for him to keep mulling over, and life is long enough to give him time to really think on it and accept it when he's ready.