John Calvin Commentary Acts 24:5

"For we have found this man a pestilent fellow, and a mover of insurrections among all the Jews throughout the world, and a ringleader of the sect of the Nazarenes:" — Acts 24:5 (ASV)

For we found this man. Tertullus aims at a twofold objective. The first is this: that Paul might be delivered to the Jews, because they are very skillful in matters concerning the worship of God and the law of Moses. But if Paul denies this, Tertullus then charges him with a crime worthy of death, because he stirred up contention among the people.

They knew that the Romans hated nothing more; therefore, they press this charge most severely against Paul. Tertullus amplifies this when he says that Paul had incited the Jews throughout the entire world. But I wonder why he adds that Paul is the originator or leader of the sect of the Nazarites, which we know was more a mark of praise than of condemnation among the Jews.

I think that they do not mean those who, according to the ancient and lawful custom of the Law, consecrated themselves to God, but rather those troublesome murderers who also boasted that they were zealous. Some think that 'Nazarites' is used here to mean Christians, which could very well be the case.

But if we prefer the former explanation, Tertullus craftily lays to Paul’s charge that he was one of that sect which the Romans hated. For although these zealous men wished above all others to be considered notable observers of the Law, they used a pretense of zeal as a banner to incite the common people.

Nevertheless, these good men, who are so zealous for their liberty, do not spare its foremost defenders, so that they might cause Paul to be hated through them. They would have commended the Nazarites as courageous defenders of the Law, had it not been for this matter; but now, as if these Nazarites infected the entire world, they seek to bring great reproach upon Paul by saying that he is one of them.

Moreover, they slander Paul shamelessly, for no one thought that he was guilty of that crime. Therefore, they lay to his charge, no less wickedly than maliciously, a crime they readily contrive and invent without any plausibility. But such is the reckless confidence of hypocrites, that they think they can do whatever they want, as long as they cloak their actions with zeal.