Acts 24:10

And when the governor had beckoned unto him to speak, Paul answered: Forasmuch as I know that thou hast been of many years a judge unto this nation, I cheerfully make my defense.

Here Paul was abruptly asked to defend himself without any prior knowledge of the charges, except as he might have surmised what they would be; and the eloquent and convincing manner in which he devastated the plaintiffs' case must be understood as a fulfillment of Jesus' promise that "I will give you a mouth and wisdom, which all your adversaries shall not be able to withstand or to gainsay" (Luke 21:15).

Many years a judge ... Felix's career had included other assignments prior to his becoming procurator, and Paul by these words took a sweeping view of it all. "If these events took place in 58 A.D., Felix had been governor six years."[12] However, those who accuse Paul of exaggeration overlook the fact that Tacitus expressly states that Felix "was joint procurator with Cumanus, and therefore a judge to the Jewish nation long before the banishment of Cumanus,"Acts 2p. 232.">[13] and long before Felix himself became procurator sole. Note Paul's use of "judge" rather than "procurator, or governor." None of the disgusting flattery such as Tertullus offered appeared in Paul's defense.

[12] W. J. Conybeare, Life and Epistles of St. Paul (Grand Rapids, Michigan: Wm. B. Eerdmans, Publishers, 1966), p. 610.

Acts 2p. 232.">[13] A. C. Hervey, The Pulpit Commentary (Grand Rapids, Michigan: Wm. B. Eerdmans, Publishers, 1950), Vol. 18, Acts 2p. 232.