Paul’s hearing docket: worksheet and answer key
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Original Bibleward reading resource • BSB v5.9 • Acts 22–26. All descriptions below are paraphrases. This is a narrative-reading aid, not legal advice.
1. Reusable four-field docket
Read a complete scene before filling its row. Add a fifth field whenever time shifts.
| Passage | Place | Listener/official and speaker | Allegation or topic | Immediate outcome | Earlier event recalled? |
|---|---|---|---|---|---|
| Your scene: ______ | ______ | ______ | ______ | ______ | ______ |
2. Completed scene index
| Scene | Location | Officials/listeners | Main speakers and event type | Outcome and limit |
|---|---|---|---|---|
| 22:1–29 | Jerusalem | Crowd; then centurion and commander | Paul’s public defense; intended interrogation afterward | Flogging examination halted over citizenship; detention has not ended (22:25–30) |
| 22:30–23:11 | Jerusalem | Sanhedrin summoned by commander | Paul, high priest Ananias, bystanders, and Pharisee scribes; council dispute | Commander removes Paul into barracks (23:10); Rome testimony announced that night (23:11) |
| 24:1–27 | Caesarea, after 23:33–35 | Felix; later Drusilla joins a conversation | Tertullus and Paul; hearing, then later discussions | Decision postponed (24:22), guarded custody with some freedom (24:23), two years pass (24:27) |
| 25:1–12 | Charges renewed in Jerusalem; hearing in Caesarea | Festus | Accusers and Paul; hearing and appeal | Appeal accepted (25:12); details of the renewed charges are not individually listed (25:7) |
| 25:13–26:32 | Caesarea | Agrippa, Bernice, Festus, commanders and prominent citizens | Festus introduces inquiry; Paul speaks; Festus interrupts; Agrippa responds | Listeners find no capital/imprisonment ground (26:31); Agrippa comments on appeal (26:32); no release narrated |
3. Acts 24 comparison, with an evidence gap column
| Allegation | Reply | What the passage does not provide |
|---|---|---|
| Dissension worldwide (24:5) | Denies stirring up crowds; challenges proof (24:12–13) | A modern evidentiary record of every alleged incident |
| Nazarene leadership (24:5) | Acknowledges the Way, Law and Prophets, resurrection hope (24:14–16) | A point-by-point denial of every label used |
| Attempted temple defilement (24:6) | Purification, no mob, absent accusers from Asia (24:17–19) | Testimony here from those absent accusers |
| Council conduct recalled (24:20) | Identifies resurrection statement (24:21; compare 23:6) | A new council hearing taking place inside Acts 24 |
Result: postponed decision (24:22), continued custody (24:23), later conversations (24:24–26), successor after two years with Paul still detained (24:27). BSB has no numbered 24:7 in this corpus; keep that numbering instead of completing it from memory.
4. Dual timeline
A. The current narrative: read downward
Jerusalem crowd and barracks (22:1–29).
Next day: council, rescue; following night: Rome testimony promised (22:30–23:11).
Plot discovered; escort through Antipatris; arrival at Caesarea (23:12–35).
Five days later: accusers before Felix (24:1–23).
Later conversations; two years elapse before Festus succeeds Felix (24:24–27).
Festus visits Jerusalem three days after arriving in the province, then returns to Caesarea after eight or ten days; hearing next day and appeal (25:1–12).
Agrippa and Bernice visit after several days; Festus discusses the case; a hearing follows the next day after Agrippa requests it (25:13–23).
Paul speaks; departing listeners discuss the case (26:1–32).
B. Earlier events recalled inside those scenes
| Earlier event | Recounted in | Keep separate from |
|---|---|---|
| Upbringing and persecution | 22:3–5; 26:4–11 | Present imprisonment in Jerusalem/Caesarea |
| Journey toward Damascus and encounter | 22:6–16; 26:12–18 | Travel occurring during the hearing |
| Jerusalem temple vision | 22:17–21 | The current crowd scene |
| Subsequent proclamation | 26:19–23 | A new itinerary beginning before Agrippa |
| Recent Jerusalem arrival, temple visit, and council statement | 24:11–21 | The later Caesarea hearing in which Paul recalls them |
This table locates retellings; it does not settle every question about differences among Acts’ accounts.
5. Five shuffled case cards
Cover the answer key. Put the cards in narrative order. For each, write scene, chapter range, and decisive clue.
Card A: An official needs a clear report to send with a prisoner. A king hears a long defense that includes the Damascus encounter. Scene: ___; passage: ___; clue: ___.
Card B: A lawyer presents accusations. The governor defers a decision until the commander comes. Scene: ___; passage: ___; clue: ___.
Card C: A proposed move to Jerusalem prompts an appeal to Caesar. Scene: ___; passage: ___; clue: ___.
Card D: A crowd listens to a personal defense, then erupts; officers learn the prisoner is a citizen. Scene: ___; passage: ___; clue: ___.
Card E: A statement about resurrection divides council members; soldiers remove the speaker. Scene: ___; passage: ___; clue: ___.
6. Answer key and checking questions
Correct order: D → E → B → C → A. The escort episode in Acts 23 connects E to B.
D: Jerusalem crowd and officers, 22:1–29. Citizenship and planned flogging locate the scene.
E: Sanhedrin, 22:30–23:11. Resurrection divides Pharisees and Sadducees; commander removes Paul.
B: Felix at Caesarea, 24:1–27. Tertullus prosecutes and Felix postpones until Lysias arrives.
C: Festus at Caesarea, 25:1–12. Proposal to go to Jerusalem precedes the accepted appeal.
A: Agrippa inquiry, 25:13–26:32. Festus’s report problem frames Paul’s long speech.
Question: Is every event in Acts 26 happening for the first time in that chapter? Answer: No. Paul recalls earlier events in 26:4–23 during the present hearing.
Question: Does Agrippa release Paul? Answer: No release is narrated. Read the conditional comment in 26:32 alongside the accepted appeal in 25:12.
Question: Did Felix’s conversations equal a final judgment? Answer: The narrative reports postponement and continued detention, not the promised final decision (24:22–27).
Source basis: checksum-verified Berean Standard Bible v5.9, Acts 22–26. For another edition, see USCCB Acts 25 (NABRE). AI-assisted editorial organization; cards and timelines are original study aids.