What does Acts 24:11 mean?
Accused of causing riots around the Roman Empire (Acts 24:5), Paul stands before Governor Felix. He explains that this has nothing to do with anything that happened within Felix's jurisdiction, particularly since Paul's accusers are inferring he is a danger to the peace in Jerusalem.Paul only arrived in Jerusalem twelve days prior, and he's spent the last five days in Caesarea Maritima (Acts 24:1). Of the seven days he was in Jerusalem, depending on how one counts the days, he had between three and five days of freedom before he was arrested, and he spent those days meeting with the leaders of the church in Jerusalem and preparing to help four men complete a vow (Acts 21:23–26). It is true that his ministry has led to social unrest. In Philippi, he expelled a fortune-telling demon from a slave girl. Her owners incited a crowd to beat Paul and his ministry partner Silas (Acts 16:16–23). In Ephesus, so many Artemis-worshipers came to faith in Jesus that the idol-makers formed a protest that nearly became a riot (Acts 19:23–41).
The occasion most relevant to Paul's case happened in Jerusalem about a week prior. He had arrived with several Gentiles to deliver support to the church (Acts 20:4). When Paul came to the temple, men from the same province as one of his friends assumed he'd brought that friend to the temple (Acts 21:27–32). It was against the Mosaic law for a non-proselyte Gentile to enter the temple and it was against Roman law to desecrate a religious structure. A melee ensued and a mob badly beat Paul, but, as Paul points out, the people involved aren't even at the trial to accuse him (Acts 24:18–19).