Then Paul made his defense: “I have done nothing wrong against the Jewish law or against the temple or against Caesar.” Festus, wishing to do the Jews a favor, said to Paul, “Are you willing to go up to Jerusalem and stand trial before me there on these charges?” 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. 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!” After Festus had conferred with his council, he declared: “You have appealed to Caesar. To Caesar you will go! A few days later King Agrippa and Bernice arrived at Caesarea to pay their respects to Festus. 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. When I went to Jerusalem, the chief priests and the elders of the Jews brought charges against him and asked that he be condemned.“ I told them that it is not the Roman custom to hand over anyone before they have faced their accusers and have had an opportunity to defend themselves against the charges. 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. When his accusers got up to speak, they did not charge him with any of the crimes I had expected. Instead, they had some points of dispute with him about their own religion and about a dead man named Jesus who Paul claimed was alive. 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. But when Paul made his appeal to be held over for the Emperor’s decision, I ordered him held until I could send him to Caesar.” Then Agrippa said to Festus, “I would like to hear this man myself.” He replied, “Tomorrow you will hear him.”
As we journey with Paul to his destination in Rome, we see many intrigues of his foes manifested. His enemies loath Paul and want him dead. Once again we see Paul fulfilling God’s desire for him to present the Good News to the world. In doing so, he receives constant threats upon his life. Paul is persistent in season and out of season in spreading the seed of the Good News of eternal life to all people. Threats or not on his life, he consistently talks about God’s mysterious plan of redeeming all people to himself. He knew God had promised him a rough road in life after his conversion. But the Lord said to Ananias, “Go! This man is my chosen instrument to proclaim my name to the Gentiles and their kings and to the people of Israel. I will show him how much he must suffer for my name.” (Acts 9:15-16) This assignment from Jesus would be filled with suffering, but no different from what his own disciples received. After Jesus came into their lives, they never again experienced life without a lot of opposition. All of them but John died violently in the hands of the enemies to the Good News. Paul also would experience a violent death. The Good News would always be swimming up stream. The rebellious nature of men and the prince of this world, the Devil, would assure a rough road for those who professed Jesus Christ as their Savior. Paul now before Festus was swimming upstream. Festus had chummed around with the leaders in Jerusalem for several days. Being new to his role of being governor of Palestine, he needed to win over the power structure in Judea. The leaders of Judea were in the Sanhedrin. For several days he met with them. These leaders informed Festus of their hatred for Paul and the Good News he ministered. In the Roman Empire, to execute someone is difficult if he is a Roman citizen. A Roman citizen carries many rights. Therefore to punish a Roman citizen with death, the deed has to be very egregious such as murdering a citizen above his cast, a killing of a servant or slave, or someone below your cast would not receive capital punishment. Festus understood the Roman courts well; aggravating the ruling class of Judea was not an act for capital punishment. He probably understood the Jewish leaders' request of Paul’s execution by the Roman government was an impossibility; the
charges against him were not that grave. Because of that, he might have concluded that the only way Paul was going to be killed would have to come from the hands of the Jews. Festus, wishing to do the Jews a favor, said to Paul, “Are you willing to go up to Jerusalem and stand trial before me there on these charges? Festus knew the Sanhedrin’s venomous hatred of Paul would eventually lead to Paul’s murder. As the new governor of Palestine, he wished to please the leadership of Judea. He could have been aware of the Sanhedrin’s conspiracy to kill Paul outside of the Roman’s jurisdiction. Paul might have suspected that Festus was in union with the Sanhedrin in their conspiracy to kill Paul outside of the Roman’s authority, so he appeals
to Caesar! To appeal to Caesar was the only way he could insure that he would not be murdered by the Jews. Even if Festus would have set him free, he would have been murdered by the Jews. Paul, once allied to the Sanhedrin by his their hatred of Christianity was now a foe of theirs. Paul's proclamation of the Good News was a lethal threat to the Sanhedrin’s leadership role in Judea. They needed to stamp out the name of Jesus. Paul’s elevating the name of Jesus as Lord and Savior was the central theme of Paul’s ministry everywhere he went.
Paul and Jesus were not part of the spiritual chosen in the Judaic religion. Jesus was from the house of Judah and Paul was from the tribe of Benjamin. They were not Levites, God's chosen to take care of the spiritual duties of the Jewish people. Neither of them were priests, a lineage directly from Moses. Jesus is challenged by the priests when he disrupted the Temple’s environment. Jesus entered the temple courts and drove out all who were buying and selling there. He overturned the tables of the money changers and the benches of those selling doves. “It is written,” he said to them, “‘My house will be called a house of prayer,’ but you are making it ‘a den of robbers.’" (Matthew 21:12-13) The leadership wanted to know who gave him the authority to do such a thing in the Temple; only the Sadducees have authority over the Temple. The Sadducees are the legitimate authorities assigned by God to oversee the workings within the Temple; they are priests from the lineage of Moses. Now the Sanhedrin see Paul, no longer under their authority, dispensing a message about Jesus as Lord and Savior. For the leading priests, Jesus was but a bastard, conceived out of wedlock. For them, how can this man’s name be elevated in the Greek communities? The spreading of Jesus throughout the region was an embarrassment to them. He is but a bastard in the understanding of the Jewish elite. But Paul understood the mystery of God, hidden in God’s heart from the beginning of time. God had revealed this message to him directly, that redemption of mankind would come through the name of Jesus Christ. Faith in Jesus’ work on the cross would create children of God. To open this redeeming message to humans, God used Paul. However, Paul first had to be struck blind. For Paul to change his theology he had to experience severe trauma: blindness. A once robust and energetic man had to become so helpless that he had to be led to Damascus by his companions. In Damascus he spent three days in darkness and in prayer. Finally Ananias arrives, restoring Paul's sight and releasing him from his hopelessness. Delivered from blindness, helplessness, Paul is informed by Ananias that he will stand before governors, kings, magistrates, and the leaders in society and proclaim the name of Jesus boldly before them. In our above focus, we see Paul once again satisfying God’s requirement on his life. Paul is standing before Festus and the Sanhedrin with the message of Jesus Christ’s redeeming power. He is doing this, knowing that murder existed in the hearts of those who were listening to him. In Jesus’ life, the Pharisees, Sadducees, and the teachers of the law listened to Jesus with murder in their hearts. Jesus knew the condition of their hearts, knowing their hearts were violating Moses’ law. Have nothing to do with a false charge and do not put an innocent or honest person to death, for I will not acquit the guilty. (Exodus 23:7) Paul knew the Sanhedrin wanted to dispose of him, so he appealed to Caesar, the highest court in the Roman Empire. Festus had no choice but to relent to Paul’s appeal.
In Paul’s captivity, he was dispensing living water to those who would listen to him with open hearts. Festus, the Sanhedrin, and later king Herod were hearing the Good News from a man who should be shaking in fear. Paul’s boldness in expressing the name of Jesus in such a company was confusing to the people in authority. For Festus the dispute between the Jewish leadership and Paul was impossible for him to understand. For him it is
about a dead man named Jesus who Paul claimed was alive. But his heart will be exposed to the Good News and it will rattle him, claiming Paul is insane. Even though this Roman governor could not accept what Paul was saying, the living water was present in the courtroom of the Romans, and later it will flow in Rome too. Jesus told the Samaritan woman about the living water He was delivering to people,
Everyone who drinks this water will be thirsty again, but whoever drinks the water I give them will never thirst. Indeed, the water I give them will become in them a spring of water welling up to eternal life.” (John 4:13-14) This redeeming water contains eternal life in it. Paul knows this is true, so he boldly proclaims the name of Jesus as Lord and Savior. This proclamation is confusing to Festus in his darkness, but truth to those who walk in the Light. Jesus talks about this light within people. They will not worship at a special place, supposedly anointed by God; instead, they will worship God from their innermost being. Woman,” Jesus replied, “believe me, a time is coming when you will worship the Father neither on this mountain nor in Jerusalem. You Samaritans worship what you do not know; we worship what we do know, for salvation is from the Jews. Yet a time is coming and has now come when the true worshipers will worship the Father in the Spirit and in truth, for they are the kind of worshipers the Father seeks. God is spirit, and his worshipers must worship in the Spirit and in truth.” (John 4:21-24) Paul full of the Holy Spirit knows this truth. He knows the kingdom of God is within people. The coming of the kingdom of God is not something that can be observed, nor will people say, ‘Here it is,’ or ‘There it is,’because the kingdom of God is in your midst.” (Luke 17:20-21) Paul is presenting the kingdom of God to all people; he is offering them water that will sustain their lives for eternity, an overflowing water that will satisfy their parched lives. No longer will people be stiff-necked, believing their lives will be okay with a righteous, holy God who alone possesses eternal life. If people desire life forever, they must accept The Way to it: believing on the name of Jesus Christ and his work on the cross. Friends around this breakfast table, the kingdom of God is within you. That means the voice of God is within you. You do not need a trance, a dream or a vision to know God. His voice exists in you richly. You are presently known as children of God. We see in the above focus, Paul proclaiming this Good News everywhere; to save his life for another day, he had to appeal to Caesar. You are not in that conundrum of having to save your life for another day. You are in a day the Lord has made so that you can proclaim boldly the way to eternal life. Rejoice in that opportunity and be wLove, Dad and Mom
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