WWUTT 1141 Paul Testifies to Governor Festus?

Paul was so consistent in his message and in his life, that when he was put on trial before both Romans and Jews, neither one could find any wrong against him. When we understand the text.

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Paul Before Festus in Caesarea

Thank you, Becky. We come back to the book of Acts. Chapter 25 is where we are this week. The apostle Paul has been in Caesarea for the last two years, visiting with Governor Felix, who is now gonna be succeeded by Governor Festus.

We pick up reading in verse one. Now, three days after Festus had arrived in the province, he went up to Jerusalem from Caesarea. And the chief priests and the principal men of the Jews laid out their case against Paul.

And they urged him, asking as a favor against Paul that he summon him to Jerusalem because they were planning an ambush to kill him on the way. Festus replied that Paul was being kept at Caesarea and that he himself intended to go there shortly.

So said he, let the men of authority among you go down with me. And if there is anything wrong about the man, let them bring charges against him. After he stayed among them, not more than eight or 10 days, he went down to Caesarea.

And the next day he took his seat on the tribunal and ordered Paul to be brought. When he had arrived, the Jews who had come down from Jerusalem stood around him, bringing many and serious charges against him that they could not prove.

Paul argued in his defense, neither against the law of the Jews, nor against the temple, nor against Caesar have I committed any offense. But Festus wishing to do the Jews a favor said to Paul, do you wish to go up to Jerusalem and there be tried on these charges before me?

But Paul said, I am standing before Caesar's tribunal where I ought to be tried. To the Jews I have done no wrong as you yourself know very well. If then I am a wrongdoer and have committed anything for which I deserve to die, I do not seek to escape death.

But if there is nothing to their charges against me, no one can give me up to them. I appeal to Caesar. Then Festus when he had conferred with his council answered, to Caesar you have appealed, to Caesar you shall go.

Agrippa Hears About Paul’s Case

Now, when some days had passed, Agrippa the king and Bernice arrived at Caesarea and greeted Festus. And as they stayed there many days, Festus laid Paul's case before the king saying, there is a man left prisoner by Felix.

And when I was at Jerusalem, the chief priests and the elders of the Jews laid out their case against him, asking for a sentence of condemnation against him. I answered them that it was not the custom of the Romans to give up anyone before the accused met the accusers face to face and had the opportunity to make his defense concerning the charge laid against him.

So when they came together here, I made no delay, but on the next day took my seat on the tribunal and ordered the man to be brought. When the accusers stood up, they brought no charge in his case of such evils as I supposed.

Rather, they had certain points of dispute with him about their own religion and about a certain Jesus who was dead, but whom Paul asserted to be alive. Being at a loss how to investigate these questions, I asked whether he wanted to go to Jerusalem and be tried regarding them.

But when Paul had appealed to be kept in custody for the decision of the emperor, I ordered him to be held until I could send him to Caesar. Then Agrippa said to Festus, I would like to hear the man myself tomorrow.

Festus said, you will hear him. So on the next day, Agrippa and Bernice came with great pomp and they entered the audience hall with the military tribunes and with the prominent men of the city. Then at the command of Festus, Paul was brought in and Festus said, King Agrippa and all who are present with us, you see this man about whom the whole Jewish people petitioned me, both in Jerusalem and here, shouting that he ought not to live any longer.

But I found that he had done nothing deserving of death. And as he himself appealed to the emperor, I decided to go ahead and send him. But I have nothing definite to write to my Lord about him. Therefore I have brought him before you all and especially before you King Agrippa so that after we have examined him, I may have something to write for it seems to me unreasonable in sending a prisoner not to indicate the charges against him.

And that's chapter 25. There's really just a lot of narrative going on here. Not a lot of meat and potatoes for us to dissect. So we come back to chapter 25 verse one. Now, three days after Festus had arrived in the province.

So Festus is succeeding Felix, if you'll remember. Felix had kept Paul custody for two years. He was hoping during that period of time, Paul might try to bribe him and then Felix would have let him go if Paul had offered him money.

But nothing like that happened. Instead, Paul used that opportunity to share with Felix the gospel, though Felix seemed to be unconvinced by it. Festus becomes Felix's successor and he comes to the area.

Again, this is still in Caesarea where Paul was being held and he goes up to Jerusalem from Caesarea. It doesn't really tell us much about the timeline here. How long Festus had been there in Caesarea before he decided to go up to Jerusalem and listen to this case.

But he's got this guy, Paul, that's being held. So he's like, okay, well, I need to investigate what this prisoner is being held for. Paul was being well taken care of. It wasn't like he was in a prison cell.

It wasn't like he was fastened into stocks. Nothing like the way he was treated when he was at Philippi. His friends could come and minister to him, but he couldn't go anywhere. He didn't have freedom to go anywhere.

So Festus goes up to Jerusalem and he decides to meet with the chief priests and the principal men of the Jews who laid out their case against Paul and they wanted Festus to bring Paul to them. In route from Caesarea to Jerusalem, the Jews planned on killing Paul.

This was the same ambush plot that they had conjured up two years earlier when Paul was gonna be brought before the chief priest, they were gonna kill him. And that was when Paul utilized his rights as a Roman citizen to have a Roman guard to protect him while he was brought down to Caesarea for trial.

So Festus here is telling the Jews that he really doesn't, it's not the custom of the Romans to surrender a prisoner, especially when there's not really been any charges that have been brought against him.

So what he says in verse five, let the men of authority come down with me and if there's anything wrong about the man, bring the charges that you have against him. After he stayed among them not more than eight or 10 days, that's how long he was in Jerusalem.

And then this was not unusual for a Roman official to come there and stay for a period of time. There was even a house there for the Roman official to come and stay. That was where Pontius Pilate had stayed.

But of course, by this time, Pilate would not have been alive any longer. He died in the late 30s AD and it was likely that he had committed suicide. So anyway, Festus comes back down to Caesarea and he took his seat on the tribunal and ordered that Paul be brought.

When Paul had arrived, the Jews who came down with Festus from Jerusalem stood around Paul, bringing many and serious charges against him that they could not prove. We don't have anything being said to us here about exactly what they were saying about Paul, but it was more than just the things that Paul had preached.

It wasn't just, well, Paul has been talking about this Jesus who's come back from the dead. That wasn't what they were saying. Obviously, this was some amount of slander that they were levying against him, stuff that they couldn't prove.

Paul argued in his defense, neither against the law of the Jews nor against the temple nor against Caesar have I committed any offense. The Jews don't have anything against me. There's no Roman law that I've broken either.

And seeing the Romans most of the time, whenever this kind of stuff would be brought by the Jews to the Roman council or the Roman tribunal, they would just kind of dismiss it. They would say, hey, look, this is Jewish law.

This is your religion. So you take care of this on your own. I'm not gonna have anything to do with this. Pilate was trying to back out of that when the Jews had brought Jesus to him. You saw this happen with Paul in Corinth when he was brought before the tribunal there and there the leader in Corinth was saying, look, I don't have anything to do with this stuff.

You guys take care of it yourself. But instead of beating Paul, because the Lord was protecting Paul, they beat the leader of the synagogue. And then Paul continued his ministry there. So we've got the same sort of a thing that's happening here.

Paul has been brought before this Roman court, but there's no real charge against him. The Jews don't like what he's been preaching, but he hasn't broken any Jewish law, nor has he broken any Roman law.

And he's being tried as a Roman citizen because Paul has revealed his citizenship. Previously, like when Paul was brought before the Roman tribunal in Corinth, he really didn't drop his citizenship there, his rights as a Roman citizen.

He only did that when it was absolutely necessary. He didn't do that in Philippi either. He waited until after all of that was said and done when he announced, hey, I'm a Roman citizen and look at the way that you guys have treated me.

You haven't tried me as a Roman citizen deserves to be tried. But here in this particular case, he has appealed to his citizenship, which is a protection for him against the Jews who want to put him to death.

And Paul is being tried as a Roman citizen. So the governor has to consider the charges that are brought against him and whether or not they're legit. Remember that Felix was keeping Paul a prisoner because he desired to do the Jews a favor.

Festus apparently doesn't really know a whole lot about why Paul was kept in prison. Again, two years have elapsed as long as Paul has been there in Caesarea. So he has to go up to Jerusalem and he has to interview the Jewish leaders and then they come down and they're bringing these charges against Paul.

Again, we're doing this all over again, but they're even making stuff up here at this point, stuff that they could not prove. And Paul argues again in his defense, but Festus also wants to do the Jews a favor, verse nine.

So even though there is, even though Paul is being kept custody, yet there are no legitimate charges against him. The only reason that this is continuing on is because Festus wants to stay in the Jews good favor for some reason.

So he said to Paul, do you wish to go up to Jerusalem and there to be tried on these charges that are before me? And it really was Paul's decision because he was a Roman citizen. So where do you want to be tried?

You want it to be here in Caesarea, in front of this tribunal, in front of this Roman council, which isn't going to bother going up to Jerusalem, or do you want to go back to the capital city of your own people?

But Paul said, I am standing before Caesar's tribunal where I ought to be tried. To the Jews, I've done nothing wrong as you yourself know very well. So Paul is saying there's no reason for me to go up there to Jerusalem.

Plus Paul knows if he goes, he will die. So that's why he decides to remain there in Caesarea. Verse 11, if then I am a wrongdoer and I have committed anything for which I deserve to die, I do not seek to escape death.

Now, the fact of the matter is Paul did, he did do something for which he deserved to die. You know what that was? He put Christians to death. So he is a murderer. And according to even the Jewish law, he deserves to be put to death for having murdered.

But Paul murdered with the blessing of the Jews. They sent him to Damascus to round up Christians, to bring them back to Jerusalem so that they could be put to death. According to the Jewish law, he was doing exactly as he was supposed to do.

They're not gonna bring that charge against him. They're not gonna say, well, Paul murdered Christians because that's exactly what they wanna do to him. They wanna put him to death for being a Christian.

So this very thing, Paul is not gonna be put on trial for, even though it says in the Mosaic law that a man who has done this deserves to die. Paul is saying they're not even following the Mosaic law.

Therefore, they're not gonna be put, they're not going to put me to death. If that's what I was being put to death for, then I would receive it. I do not seek to escape death, he says there in verse 11.

But if there is nothing to their charges against me, no one can give me up to them. I appeal to Caesar. And as a Roman citizen, he had that right. And Paul knew by appealing to Caesar, he would get to go to Rome.

And that's exactly where he wanted to go. Then Festus, when he had conferred with his council, answered, to Caesar you have appealed, to Caesar you shall go. So now verse 13. When some days had passed, Agrippa the king and Bernice arrived at Caesarea and greeted Festus.

Agrippa, Bernice, and the Question of Paul’s Guilt

Now, who is this Agrippa fellow? Because the Romans hated kings. They didn't want kings. They had a republic. They had governors. They had Caesar. So who is Agrippa the king? Well, he is the great grandson of Herod the Great.

This Agrippa that we're reading about here in Acts 25 .13, he is son of Agrippa the first. So this is Agrippa the second, son of Herod Agrippa the first. And Bernice was his sister. And it was understood that they were kind of a team.

They did a lot of things together. So they came down to Caesarea and they greeted Festus. And as they stayed there many days, Festus laid Paul's case before the king. Again, this goes back to verse nine, where it says, Festus wished to do the Jews a favor.

That's why he's even bothering to meet with Agrippa and is giving this case now to Agrippa to consider how Agrippa would look at this. So he says, there's a man left prisoner by Felix. When I was at Jerusalem, the chief priests and the elders of the Jews laid out their case against him, asking for a sentence of condemnation against him.

I answered them that it was not the custom of the Romans to give up anyone before the accused met the accusers face to face and had an opportunity to make his defense concerning the charge that was laid against him.

So when they came together here, I made no delay. But on the next day, took my seat on the tribunal and ordered the man to be brought. When the accuser stood up, they brought no charge in his case of such evils as I supposed.

So Festus is saying, they brought up a lot of stuff, but they couldn't prove any of it. Rather, they had certain points of dispute with him about their own religion and about a certain Jesus who was dead, but whom Paul asserted to be alive.

So even though we don't get a lot of details into some of the things that Paul said, by this account that Festus is giving to Agrippa, it's clear that Paul did indeed share the gospel while he was under trial.

He talked about Jesus Christ who had died, but was risen again. In every opportunity that Paul has to speak here over the course of these trials, he has shared the gospel. He has used that opportunity to share the gospel of Christ.

Verse 20, being at a loss how to investigate these questions, I asked whether he wanted to go to Jerusalem and be tried there. But when Paul had appealed to be kept in custody for the decision of the emperor, I ordered him to be held until I could send him to Caesar.

Then Agrippa said to Festus, I would like to hear the man myself. And then Festus said, tomorrow you will hear him. So on the next day, Agrippa and Bernice came with great pomp. In other words, it's like, you know, big celebration.

Hail King Agrippa, all of that going on. And they entered the audience hall with the military tribunes and the prominent men of the city. Then at the command of Festus, Paul was brought in. And Festus said, King Agrippa and all who are present with us, you see this man about whom the whole Jewish people petitioned me, both in Jerusalem and here, shouting that he ought not to live any longer.

The Jews are acting crazy, but Paul seems to be speaking in his right mind, is kind of what Festus is saying here. But I found that he had done nothing deserving of death. And as he himself appealed to the emperor, I decided to go ahead and send him.

But I have nothing definite to write to my Lord about him. So Festus is still kind of like, I don't really know what to do here. I mean, he hasn't done anything that's worthy of death. He hasn't asked to be turned over to the Jews.

He's appealed to Caesar, but what do I say to Caesar? I'm gonna send him to Caesar and I'm gonna say what? I don't really have anything to say. Therefore I've brought him before you all and especially before you, King Agrippa, so that after we have examined him, I may have something to write.

Agrippa really doesn't have any authority here. Festus is just looking for a reason to try Paul, a reason to really send him to Caesar and tell Caesar, well, here's what's up with this guy. Verse 27, for it seems to me unreasonable in sending a prisoner, not to indicate the charges that are against him.

Paul’s Appeal to Caesar and the Gospel’s Advance to Rome

And so we're gonna pick up from there tomorrow with Paul making his defense before Agrippa, and that is chapter 26. Paul will once again share his testimony on how he came to believe in the Lord Jesus Christ and become his apostle.

All of this by the providence of God that the gospel of Jesus Christ would make it to Rome. Let us conclude with prayer. Heavenly Father, we thank you for the beautiful gift of this gospel that you have given to us.

It is by faith in Christ, his death on the cross for our sins, his resurrection from the grave, his ascension into heaven, being seated at the right hand of the throne of God where he intercedes for us.

It's by faith in the person and work of Christ that we have been forgiven our sins and granted life everlasting with you in glory. Keep us steadfast in these things. Never let us shift to the left or to the right, but staying on the straight and narrow, focused on Jesus, the author and the perfecter of our faith.

In his great and glorious name we pray, amen.

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