JESUS IS ALIVE!
Text: Acts 25:13-22
Introduction
1. Illustration: So significant is this event that the whole of the Christian faith would fall if the resurrection of Jesus Christ were not true. William Lane Craig suggests that “Without the belief in the resurrection, the Christian faith could not have come into being. The disciples would have remained crushed and defeated men. Even if they continued to remember Jesus as their beloved teacher, His crucifixion would have silenced any hope of his being the Messiah. The cross would have remained the sad shameful end of his career.” Therefore, it is crucial that the events of Jesus’ life, death, and resurrection are true and historically accurate.
2. A group of nobles, as flawed as they could be, would stand in judgment on Paul, a man who had done nothing illegal.
3. They basis of the case against Paul was that he believed in a man supposedly dead, who Paul claimed He was alive.
4. That belief is the foundation of our faith, and the center of our witness to the world.
5. Read Acts 25:13-22
Transition: Let’s take a look at the story of the flawed nobles as told by Luke.
I. Those Judging Paul
A. As Paul awaits the result of yet another trial for which he was again found innocent, more nobles come in to hear about him. In vv. 13-15 it says, “A few days later King Agrippa arrived with his sister, Bernice, to pay their respects to Festus. 14 During their stay of several days, Festus discussed Paul’s case with the king. “There is a prisoner here,” he told him, “whose case was left for me by Felix. 15 When I was in Jerusalem, the leading priests and Jewish elders pressed charges against him and asked me to condemn him.”
1. The two nobles who came into town were King Agrippa II and his sister Bernice.
2. Now, I’ve struggled all week trying to think of a nice way to describe them. I want to say that they were high priced trailer trash, but that’s not fair to those who live in trailer parks. To say that they were not nice people is an understatement.
3. Agrippa II was the son of Agrippa I and the great grandson of Herod the Great. All of these people had a hand in trying to destroy Jesus.
4. Agrippa II grew up in Rome and was a favorite of Caesar, and as a result, was appointed ruler of the territories northeast of Palestine.
5. Now, his sister Bernice, the only nice thing I can say about her was she had really bad taste in men.
6. At the age of 13, she married her uncle, and when he died, she became the mistress of her brother.
7. To get away from the rumors and scandal of being with her brother, she married another king, and afterwards became the mistress to his son.
8. They were now going to stand in judgment against Paul, who had done nothing wrong.
9. Festus told them about Paul and how he was left to deal with him after his predecessor left him to deal with the charges against Paul.
B. Then, Festus explained to them how he had dealt with Paul to this point. Luke tells us in vv. 16-17, “I pointed out to them that Roman law does not convict people without a trial. They must be given an opportunity to confront their accusers and defend themselves. 17 “When his accusers came here for the trial, I didn’t delay. I called the case the very next day and ordered Paul brought in.”
1. As usual, Festus did everything possible to make himself look good in his guest’s eyes.
2. He stated that he made it clear to the Jewish leaders that Roman law does not convict people without a trial and giving them a chance to defend themselves.
3. In a roundabout way, he was saying the Jewish leaders wanted to take Paul and kill him, but being the good leader he was, Festus wouldn’t permit that without a trial.
4. He also attempted to make himself look good by saying he heard the case right away, which was actually true.
C. Then in vv. 18-20 he says, “But the accusations made against him weren’t any of the crimes I expected. 19 Instead, it was something about their religion and a dead man named Jesus, who Paul insists is alive. 20 I was at a loss to know how to investigate these things, so I asked him whether he would be willing to stand trial on these charges in Jerusalem.”
1. Here, Festus points out that the accusations against Paul was not what he expected. He was probably expecting to hear that Paul was a thief and a murderer, but that’s wasn’t the case at all!
2. Instead, the charges were all about the Jews religion.
3. However, the thing that ought to stick out to us was that the accusations revolved around a dead man named Jesus that Paul insisted was alive!
4. This shows us how important the resurrection was to the witness of the early church.
5. But Festus makes it clear that he didn’t know anything about these matters, so it was hard for him to make a judgment.
6. He also pointed out that he wanted Paul to go to Jerusalem for trial. But he refused.
D. Now, Festus tells them how things got really complicated. In vv. 21-22 he says, “But Paul appealed to have his case decided by the emperor. So I ordered that he be held in custody until I could arrange to send him to Caesar.” 22 “I’d like to hear the man myself,” Agrippa said. And Festus replied, “You will—tomorrow!”
1. He tells them that Paul made things even more difficult by insisting that his case be heard by Caesar.
2. After finishing the story, Festus got what he was after, because Agrippa said he would like to hear from Paul face to face.
3. To which Agrippa tells him he would the next day.
Transition: Now, here are…
II. Three Things We Learn
A. The fact of the resurrection is the most important aspect of the Christian faith.
1. “You killed the author of life, but God raised him from the dead. And we are witnesses of this fact!” (Acts 3:15).
2. There are a number of things that Peter focused on here. First, Peter says that God raised Jesus from the dead. In other words, the resurrection of Jesus is an act of God. Evil people tried to get rid of Jesus by putting him to death, but God had other plans, raising Jesus from the dead.
3. Second, he calls the resurrection of Jesus a fact! It’s not a rumor or speculation, but rather it’s a fact! The NFL draft was this past weekend and leading up to it were three months of ridiculous rumors, of which 99.9% didn’t happen. This is not like the resurrection. It was a fact! A substantiated fact!
4. This leads us to the third thing Peter said, they were eyewitnesses of the resurrection. The most rock-solid piece of evidence in a court of law is an eyewitness. It cannot be denied because people saw it happen.
5. The disciples can verify the fact of the resurrection because they saw Jesus alive after the saw Him die.
6. In addition to the disciples, there were scores of others who saw Jesus alive post-resurrection.
7. We can declare as Jesus’ disciples today that Jesus’ resurrection is a fact. As we tell others about Jesus, we have the fact in hand that Jesus rose from the dead.
8. There are some famous graves in the world:
Westminster Abbey in London is revered because in it rests the bodies of English nobles and notables.
• Mohammed’s tomb is noted for the stone coffin and the bones it contains.
• Arlington Cemetery in Washington, D.C., is revered because it is the honored resting place of American soldiers.
• But the garden tomb of Jesus is famous because it is empty.
9. Jesus is risen! Indeed, He has risen from the dead!
B. The world cannot accept the truth of the resurrection because they cannot deal with something beyond their comprehension.
1. “Yes, they knew God, but they wouldn’t worship him as God or even give him thanks. And they began to think up foolish ideas of what God was like. As a result, their minds became dark and confused. 22 Claiming to be wise, they instead became utter fools. 23 And instead of worshiping the glorious, ever-living God, they worshiped idols made to look like mere people and birds and animals and reptiles.” (Rom. 1:21-23).
2. We need to realize that we live in a post-Christian society. Once all we had to say was “the Bible says,” and that was the end of the discussion. But today that doesn’t carry the weight it used to.
3. Today, people will criticize the Bible, saying it is a book of myths written by men.
4. For this reason, we need to be prepared to explain our faith without using the Bible.
5. We need to know about historical documents and what they say about Jesus. For example, the Jewish historian Josephus.
6. We need to know how archeology proves the truths of the Bible.
7. “Instead, you must worship Christ as Lord of your life. And if someone asks about your hope as a believer, always be ready to explain it.” (1 Pet. 3:15).
C. Never be ashamed to share your faith with others.
1. “For I am not ashamed of this Good News about Christ. It is the power of God at work, saving everyone who believes—the Jew first and also the Gentile.” (Rom. 1:17).
2. No matter what the world throws your way, never be ashamed to tell people about Jesus.
3. No matter what people say about your faith, be prepared to share the hope that you have in Christ.
4. Never back down. Never be afraid. Never doubt the faith that saved you.
5. Trust in the Holy Spirit to give you the words to say.
Conclusion
What’s the point preacher? Always stand on the fact of the resurrection of Jesus!
