Reading: Acts chapter 25 verses 1-22.
Ill:
• A missionary was assigned to some remote islands in the Pacific.
• After three months, he sent a fax to mission headquarters:
• "I’m being plagued by rats. What shall I do?"
• Soon a crate arrived, filled with rat traps.
• However, hardly a month later the missionary sent a SECOND fax to headquarters:
• "The rats won’t take the BAIT. What shall I DO?"
• Not long after, a SECOND crate arrived,
• This crate was filled with rat poison.
• However, hardly another month passed,
• When the missionary found it necessary to send a THIRD fax to headquarters:
• "The rats won’t touch the POISON.
• Do you have any OTHER suggestion?"
• Soon he received another fax from mission headquarters:
• "We suggest you get used to the RATS!"
Quote:
“In adversity we usually want God to do a REMOVING job when He wants to do an IMPROVING job. To realize the worth of the anchor, we need to feel the storm”.
The Apostle Paul experienced many difficult situations:
• Our passage tonight is an example of some of those problems.
• We are looking at Paul’s fourth defence of his life, actions and faith:
• Had he faxed home to his missionary organisation the reply he would have got;
• Would be: "We suggest you get used to the trials!"
At this particular trial (No 4) Paul is brought before a governor named Porcius Festus:
• He became governor after his predecessor Felix (you encounter him in chapter 24).
• Made a major political blunder.
• While in office Felix tried to quell a riot in Caesarea;
• He succeeded, but in a brutal and violent way, 100’s of Jews were slaughtered.
• News of his ruthless actions soon spread around the various territories,
• And the Jews outraged by the blood bath that took place,
• Sent a delegation to Rome to protest against his actions.
• As a result.
• The Emperor (Nero) recalled governor Felix back to Rome in disgrace;
• And Festus was chosen to replace him.
Fetsus was very different to Felix:
• Felix was a former slave; but Festus was a member of the Roman nobility.
• Felix was brutal & uncaring but Festus appears to be sensitive & caring.
Quote: The first-century Jewish historian Josephus described him
“As better than his predecessor (Felix) and his successor (Albinus),
he appears to have been an able leader”.
• Festus rein as governor was very brief;
• He died about two years after taking office.
• Our passage this evening divides into five sections:
• We will work though the verses and then we will finish with an application.
(1). THE ASSASSINATION PLOTTED (vs 1-5).
Three days after arriving in the province, Festus went up from Caesarea to Jerusalem,
2 where the chief priests and Jewish leaders appeared before him and presented the charges against Paul.
3 They urgently requested Festus, as a favour to them, to have Paul transferred to Jerusalem, for they were preparing an ambush to kill him along the way.
4 Festus answered, Paul is being held at Caesarea, and I myself am going there soon.
5 Let some of your leaders come with me and press charges against the man there, if he has done anything wrong.
When Festus, the new governor, started work in the province of Judea:
• He did not start with a ‘honey-moon’ period;
• He did not ease his way gradually into his new job,
• Because of the mess Felix had made during his inept rule;
• Festus inherited major political problems – we would say ‘he was thrown in at the deep end’.
Felix’s callousness and cruelty had left a legacy of profound hatred toward Rome by the Jews.
• Their hostility and suspicion would now focus in on Felix’s replacement;
• Their new Roman overlord in occupied Palestine - governor Festus.
Unlike his predecessor Felix, Festus was not a procrastinator.
• Verse 1: He moved swiftly ‘to get to grips’ with the immediate situation;
• A mere three days after arriving in Judea, he went up to Jerusalem from Caesarea.
• His first goal was to meet the Jewish leaders (the high priest and the Sanhedrin)
• And as much as possible, conciliate them (creep round them & try to sweeten them up)
• Festus knew that those leaders; were the key to establishing peace in Judea.
• And maintaining peace was the highest priority of a Roman provincial governor.
Festus faced a difficult challenge:
• The Jewish leaders had proven very good at manipulating their governors.
• And although they may have failed to pressure Felix into executing Paul,
• They had still forced him to keep the innocent apostle imprisoned;
• And thus out of circulation.
Worth noting:
• That although Paul had been imprisoned in Caesarea for the past two years,
• The Jewish authorities in Jerusalem had not forgotten about him.
• One of the first things the chief priests and the leading men of the Jews did;
• After Festus arrived in Jerusalem was to revive the charges against Paul.
Quote:
“Paul may have been out of sight,
but he certainly was not out of their minds!”
They Jewish leaders probably feared:
• That the new governor would do, as often happened,
• Quickly dispose of the cases left by his predecessor and so release Paul.
• For these Jewish leaders The apostle Paul ‘a free man’ and back on their territory;
• Was something they had nightmares about!
• So they hoped by meeting with Festus;
• To capitalize on Festus’s inexperience; and his desire to appease them,
Verse 3 says they repeatedly tried to pressure Felix:
• They pestered him, urging him,
• Requesting a concession against Paul.
• Their request seemed innocent enough;
• Merely that Festus might order Paul to be brought to Jerusalem for trial.
• But Dr Luke notes their true motive;
• They intended setting an ambush to kill him on the way up to Jerusalem.
• The old ambush plot, had been foiled two years earlier (Acts chapter 23),
• But it was now being revived again, this time by the Sanhedrin itself.
Verses 4: Festus shows us that he was not going to be easily duped:
• In response to the Jewish leaders’ request;
• He cautiously answered;
• That Paul was being kept in custody at Caesarea;
• And that he was about to leave Jerusalem shortly and return there himself.
Therefore, he saw no reason to transport the prisoner to Jerusalem.
• Felix tells the Jewish leaders straight;
• That the proper place for Paul, was to be tried was at Caesarea,
• Paul was a Roman citizen;
• Caesarea was the seat of Roman rule in Judea.
Verse 5:
• Festus tells these influential men of the Jewish nation;
• If you believe there was anything wrong about Paul, they could prosecute him there.
• Festus may well have been inexperienced,
• He may well have had a desire to conciliate the Jewish authorities,
• And he may have lacked any personal knowledge of Paul,
• But the Jewish leaders found he was no push over.
(2). THE ACCUSATIONS PRESENTED (vs 6-7a):
After spending eight or ten days with them, he went down to Caesarea, and the next day he convened the court and ordered that Paul be brought before him.
7 When Paul appeared, the Jews who had come down from Jerusalem stood around him, bringing many serious charges against him, which they could not prove.
Festus was true to his word:
• After he had spent not more than eight or ten days among them,
• He returned back to Caesarea from Jerusalem.
• We read little about Festus,
• But we read enough to know that he was a man of action,
• On the very next day he took his seat in the court room, ,
• And he ordered that Paul be brought before him.
Paul the defendant was brought into the court:
• And had to face the Jewish heavyweights who had come down from Jerusalem;
• They before him, bringing many serious charges against him.
• They attacked Paul like a pack of wolves might attack sheep.
• But these wolves were toothless;
• The many serious charges they brought were the same ones (ill: 24:5-6);
• Sedition, sectarianism, and sacrilege,
• Two years earlier before Felix they had failed to prove any of these charges;
• And two years down the line they had no new evidence to add to their arguments.
• Festus like Felix his predecessor;
• Was not impressed by what he heard from them.
(3). THE ABSENCE OF PROOF (vs 7b-11)
“which they could not prove.
8 Then Paul made his defence: I have done nothing wrong against the law of the Jews or against the temple or against Caesar.
9 Festus, wishing to do the Jews a favour, said to Paul, Are you willing to go up to Jerusalem and stand trial before me there on these charges?
10 Paul answered: I am now standing before Caesar’s court, where I ought to be tried. I have not done any wrong to the Jews, as you yourself know very well.
11 If, however, I am guilty of doing anything deserving death, I do not refuse to die. But if the charges brought against me by these Jews are not true, no-one has the right to hand me over to them. I appeal to Caesar!”
The charges against Paul were serious:
• With no new witnesses, and no new evidence,
• It meant of course there was no case against Paul.
Note:
• In these verses and he does this throughout the book of Acts:
• Luke stresses that Christians are innocent, law-abiding people.
Ill: This was also noted by other people:
• The town clerk at Ephesus acknowledged that (chapter 19 verse 37),
• As did Gallio, proconsul of Achaia (chapter 18 verse 12).
The first Christians faced frequent allegations by unbelieving Jews;
• That they were political revolutionaries,
• Which of course were untrue.
• And ironically, it was those same Jews, not the Christians,
• Who finally rose in open revolt against Rome.
• When Rome ultimately did take action against the Christians,
• It was not because they were revolutionaries.
• The Romans persecuted and killed them for refusing, on religious grounds,
• To participate in the empire-unifying ritual of emperor worship.
Ill:
• Once a year a man must publicly take a pinch of salt;
• Burn it on the altar and declare; “Caesar is Lord.”
• After that he was allowed to worship any god that he wanted to.
• The early Church would not do that, they would only declare “Jesus as Lord”.
Notice in verse 8:
• How Paul defends himself against those trumped up charges;
• He says in his own defence,
" I have done nothing wrong against the law of the Jews (sectarianism) or against the temple (sacrilege) or against Caesar (sedition)."
• He denied point by point;
• All the charges against him.
Festus now found himself in a very tricky situation:
• Paul was a Roman citizen,
• He was also being falsely accused and he was obviously innocent.
• But to release him would antagonize the Jewish leaders;
• The same leaders Festus desperately needed to win over to his side (to keep the peace).
To his credit, Festus, unlike Felix, did not sweep the problem under the rug.
• Seeking a way out of his dilemma, in verse 9 he proposed a compromise.
• A solution to please all those involved.
• The Jews want a trial in Jerusalem.
• Doing them a favour Festus was willing to accommodate their request.
• But to reassure Paul, that his rights as a Roman citizen would be protected.
• That the trial was to be before Festus, and not the Sanhedrin,
To Festus, this no doubt seemed like the perfect compromise.
• Except that Paul knew the Jewish leaders far better than Festus did (he used to be one)
• The "compromise" actually gave them everything they wanted.
• The members of the Sanhedrin did not care who presided over Paul’s trial;
• Because they never intended there to be one (vs 3).
Frustrated at his failure to obtain justice:
• Paul immediately rejected Festus’s compromise.
• And since, as governor, Festus was the emperor’s representative,
• Paul could rightly claim, “I don’t need to visit Jerusalem!”
• As a Roman citizen Caesarea was the proper place for him to be tried.
The reference to Caesar’s court (verse 10);
• Also served as a subtle reminder to Festus;
• His duty as the emperor’s official agent was to look after his own (fellow Romans)
• Especially the innocent ones;
• So Paul again affirmed his innocence, asserting, "I have done no wrong to the Jews."
• Paul’s bold words to Festus in verse 10 "as you also very well know"
• Served as a rebuke and a call to integrity,
• He was not attempting to evade justice;
• Instead, he demanded it,
• His duty as a Roman judge, and the high standards of Roman justice,
• Demanded that Festus release the apostle.
(3). THE Appeal PROPOSED (vs 11b-12);
“If, however, I am guilty of doing anything deserving death, I do not refuse to die. But if the charges brought against me by these Jews are not true, no-one has the right to hand me over to them. I appeal to Caesar!
12 After Festus had conferred with his council, he declared: You have appealed to Caesar. To Caesar you will go!”
• Exercising his right as a Roman citizen,
• Paul announced his decision to appeal his case to Caesar.
• Such appeals could come after the verdict (appellatio)
• Or, as in Paul’s case, before it (provocatio).
• Once granted, the appeal took the case out of the governor’s hands;
• And transferred it to the emperor.
We might think Paul’s decision to go to Rome was sheer madness:
• Remember the emperor at the time was the infamous Nero.
• A man cruel and unpredictable.
• However, the early years of Nero’s reign (during which Paul’s appeal took place)
• Were not marked by the cruelty and insanity of his later years.
Paul’s appeal offered Festus a convenient way out of the gridlock.
• So it comes as no surprise that after Festus had conferred with his council (vs 12)
• And obtained its legal advice, he granted Paul’s appeal.
• No doubt relieved to have this thorny problem taken out of his hands,
• He informed Paul, "You have appealed to Caesar, to Caesar you shall go."
When Festus announced that Paul’s appeal had been granted:
• Paul must have felt a sense of exhilaration.
• The Lord had kept His promise (23:11), and he was at last going to Rome.
That appeal, resolved an immediate stalemate:
• But it also presented Festus with a fresh difficulty.
• As governor he was required to send a report along with Paul to Rome:
• He could not send a high profile prisoner like Paul,
• He could not send a Rome Citizen without any charge!
• In his report he must detail the charges against Paul:
• But in Paul’s case, those charges were theological and not civil law.
Festus, only two weeks into his term as governor, is facing an awkward predicament:
• Since he did not understand the charges of the Jews (verses 18-19),
• He could not write a coherent report explaining them to the emperor.
• He was trapped, not really knowing what to do;
• But then help arrived in the person of Herod Agrippa.
(5). The amicable partner (vs 13-22).
“A few days later King Agrippa and Bernice arrived at Caesarea to pay their respects to Festus.
14 Since they were spending many days there, Festus discussed Paul’s case with the king. He said: There is a man here whom Felix left as a prisoner.
15 When I went to Jerusalem, the chief priests and elders of the Jews brought charges against him and asked that he be condemned.
16 I told them that it is not the Roman custom to hand over any man before he has faced his accusers and has had an opportunity to defend himself against their charges.
17 When they came here with me, I did not delay the case, but convened the court the next day and ordered the man to be brought in.
18 When his accusers got up to speak, they did not charge him with any of the crimes I had expected.
19 Instead, they had some points of dispute with him about their own religion and about a dead man named Jesus whom Paul claimed was alive.
20 I was at a loss how to investigate such matters; so I asked if he would be willing to go to Jerusalem and stand trial there on these charges.
21 When Paul made his appeal to be held over for the Emperor’s decision, I ordered him to be held until I could send him to Caesar.
22 Then Agrippa said to Festus, I would like to hear this man myself. He replied, Tomorrow you will hear him.
23 The next day Agrippa and Bernice came with great pomp and entered the audience room with the high ranking officers and the leading men of the city. At the command of Festus, Paul was brought in”.
Several days after Paul’s appeal to Caesar,
• King Agrippa (Herod Agrippa II) and his consort Bernice arrived at Caesarea.
• They had come to pay their respects to the new governor, Festus (vs 13).
• For Festus, this was exactly what he needed;
• Somebody amicable, friendly, but someone experienced in this type of situation.
Note: The Herod dynasty do not appear in good light in the Bible:
(a).
• King Agrippa (Herod Agrippa II)
• Ruled the northern part of Palestine during the Roman occupation.
• He is the last in the line of Herod’s;
• Who figure prominently in New Testament history:
(b).
• His father, Herod Agrippa I, (We read about him in Acts chapter 12 verse 1-23.)
• He was the Herod who killed James, and arrested Peter,
• But Agrippa I;
• Met an untimely end, and ended up being eaten by worms after failing to give God glory
(c).
• His great-uncle, Herod Antipas, figured prominently in the gospels (Luke 3: 1)
• As the ruler who executed John the Baptist (Mark 6:14-29),
• He also wanted to destroy Jesus’ life (Luke 13:31-33),
• And later he actually tried Him (Luke 23:7-12).
(d). His great-grandfather was Herod the Great,
• Who ruled at the time of Jesus’ birth (Matt. 2:1-19; Luke 1:5)
• And murdered the children of Bethlehem in an effort to kill the newborn King.
You would be right to say that they were not a ‘very nice’ family:
• Generation after generation of ungodliness was imprinted all over them.
• And you certainly did not want to get on the wrong side of them!
Now Herod Agrippa II (the one in this chapter):
• True to family form and history had a private life that was scandalous;
• Bernice was not only his companion but also his sister (They were involved in incest)
• Secular history records the fact:
• Bernice would occasionally leave her brother and lover for another man
• She had been the mistress of Emperor Vespasian and later of his son Titus;
• But she always returned back to Agrippa.
• In the book of Acts narrative the two are inseparable (25:13, 23; 26:30);
• She is, as some have suggested, the symbol of Agrippa’s vice.
Now Agrippa did not rule Judea:
• But he had been granted control of the temple treasury;
• And he had the right to appoint the high priest.
• The Romans also considered him an expert on Jewish affairs,
• As did Paul himself in chapter 26 verse 3.
Verse 14:
• The nature of the royal couple’s state visit;
• Would require them to spend quite a few days in Caesarea.
• That gave Festus the perfect opportunity;
• To pick Agrippa’s brains;
• To draw on his experience;
• And get some advice from an expert to try and solve this tricky situation.
• No doubt flattered by the appeal to his expertise-and also probably very curious;
• Agrippa said to Festus, "I also would like to hear the man myself."
• Agrippa certainly knew of Paul
• And he looked forward to hearing the leading spokesman for Christianity in person.
• "Tomorrow," Festus assured him,
• "You shall hear him tomorrow."
• This is the point where we leave the story;
• If this was east Enders or the Archers the music would break in now
• To be continued; find out what happens in the next episode of……..
Application:
(1). Hostility towards the gospel
• This passage is yet another example of Jewish hostility to the gospel of Jesus Christ;
• A theme running throughout Acts.
• I have counted at least 15 examples of that in the book of Acts alone;
• (4:1-31; 5:17-42; 6:9-15; 8:1-4; 9:23; 13:6,45; 14:2, 19; 17:1-9, 13; 18:5-17; 19:8-9; 20:3; 21:27; 23:12.).
Jesus told the disciples recorded in John chapter 15 verses 18-25 (The Message):
18"If you find the godless world is hating you, remember it got its start hating me.
19If you lived on the world’s terms, the world would love you as one of its own.
But since I picked you to live on God’s terms and no longer on the world’s terms, the world is going to hate you.
20"When that happens, remember this: Servants don’t get better treatment than their masters.
if they beat on me, they will certainly beat on you. If they did what I told them, they will do what you tell them.
21"They are going to do all these things to you because of the way they treated me, because they don’t know the One who sent me.
22If I hadn’t come and told them all this in plain language, it wouldn’t be so bad. As it is, they have no excuse. 23Hate me, hate my Father--it’s all the same. 24If I hadn’t done what I have done among them, works no one has ever done, they wouldn’t be to blame. But they saw the God-signs and hated anyway, both me and my Father. 25Interesting--they have verified the truth of their own Scriptures where it is written, "They hated me for no good reason.’
Mistreatment is one of the sure things in life:
• Whether you are a Christian or not.
• Everybody at sometime or other will face it.
• Ill: Kathy (who could not speak this time last year)
• Was quick to learn those classic words; “That isn’t fair”.
Now the bad news is
• As Christians we get more mistreatment than anybody else, not less!
• But the good news is we have been warned in advance that it’s coming!
Ill: 2 Timothy chapter 3 verse 12:
"In fact, EVERYONE who wants to live a godly life in Christ Jesus WILL be persecuted".
• No exceptions, no omissions.
• Not everyone but...........
• If you want an easy life don’t follow Jesus.
• ill: Fish T-shirt.
The worst part of these promises is this:
• As I examine my life just how little persecution I actually get;
• Is that a reflection of how little I am impacting my world for Jesus?
Quote: Amy Carmichael (1867-1951):
• Missionary in India for 55 years;
• Author of 35 books,
• Worked among girls who were victims of sexual-abuse, or temple prostitution.
• Help with the babies born as a result of the temple prostitution.
• On numerous occasions she faced legal charges of kidnapping,
• And often faced physical threats.
• Following a serious fall;
• She spent the last the last twenty years of her life as an invalid.
“Hast thou no scar?
No hidden scar on foot, or side, or hand?
I hear thee sung as mighty in the land,
I hear them hail thy bright ascendant star,
Hast thou no scar?
Hast thou no wound?
Yet I was wounded by the archers, spend,
Leaned Me against a tree to die; and rent
By ravening beasts that compassed Me, I swooned:
Hast thou no wound?
No wound, no scar?
Yet, as the Master shall the servant be,
And, pierced are the feet that follow Me;
But thine are whole: can he have followed far
Who has no wounds nor scar?”
(2). These verses illustrates is the binding power of sin.
• Although Paul had been out of the mainstream,
• Imprisoned at Caesarea for two years,
• Yet still the Sanhedrin’s hatred of Paul had not abated.
• Don’t forget these were deeply religious people (forgiveness should have been priority).
• Yet these Jewish leaders were enslaved;
• Prisoners by their venomous hatred of Paul, an innocent man.
Ill:
• Story told of a man who kept a variety of animals,
• Mice, rats, gerbils, spiders, snakes, birds etc.
• One day the snake escaped from its container and headed towards the bird cage;
• He just about squeezed into the cage through the narrow bars
• And he eat the bird;
• Swallowed it whole.
• But now the snake had a problem;
• It could not get out through the bars;
• Because the undigested bird in the snakes stomach prevented him being free.
• He had become trapped by his own appetite;
• A prisoner of his own desires!
Quote:
Example 1: Jesus said in John chapter 8 verse 34:
“Jesus said, "I tell you most solemnly that anyone who chooses a life of sin is trapped in a dead-end life and is, in fact, a slave.”
Example 2: Paul wrote in Romans chapter 6 verse 16:
“You know well enough from your own experience that there are some acts of so-called freedom that destroy freedom. Offer yourselves to sin, for instance, and it’s your last free act. But offer yourselves to the ways of God and the freedom never quits.
All your lives you’ve let sin tell you what to do”.
Example 3:
• Peter wrote in 2 Peter chapter 2 verse 19,:
• “A man is a slave to whatever has mastered him.
• These Jewish leaders were enslaved;
• Prisoners by their venomous hatred of Paul, an innocent man.
Third, this passage reveals the sovereignty of God in human affairs:
• God is in control;
• (Amen! You don’t sound convinced!)
God was using this inexperienced governor called Festus;
• To protect Paul from the Jewish leaders who were after his blood;
• And also using him to redirect Paul to Rome.
• Once again God intervened;
• Once again using influential people to make sure that his will is done!
Ill:
• Little boy’s first visit to Church.
• Mum: “Did you see God?”
Ill:
• The word provident is derived from the Latin word ‘providere’
• ‘Pro’ – ‘before’. ‘Videre’ (video) – ‘to see.’
Our God is able to see events even before they happen:
• At times in our lives he may appear to be invisible;
• But he is not indifferent.
• God is at work in the circumstances of our lives;
• Paul in this chapter found the words of Proverbs chapter 21 verse 1;
“The king’s heart (leaders, those in authority) is in the hand of the LORD;
he directs it like a watercourse wherever he pleases”.
(4). The believer’s proper relation to government also appears in this passage.
• Paul willingly submitted to the Roman government led by Nero;
• A man opposed to the very things Paul preached and stood for.
• Paul practiced the principle;
• He set forth in Romans chapter 13 verses 1-5:
“Be a good citizen. All governments are under God. Insofar as there is peace and order, it’s God’s order. So live responsibly as a citizen. 2If you’re irresponsible to the state, then you’re irresponsible with God, and God will hold you responsible. 3Duly constituted authorities are only a threat if you’re trying to get by with something. Decent citizens should have nothing to fear.
Do you want to be on good terms with the government? Be a responsible citizen and you’ll get on just fine, 4the government working to your advantage. But if you’re breaking the rules right and left, watch out. The police aren’t there just to be admired in their uniforms. God also has an interest in keeping order, and he uses them to do it. 5That’s why you must live responsibly--not just to avoid punishment but also because it’s the right way to live”.
