Okay, Luke/Acts for Beginners. This is lesson number 25 in that series, Paul's
Arrest and Imprisonment, Part Three of that particular section. We're going to
cover Acts 25:13 to 26:32, Lord willing.
In our last lesson Luke described Paul's appearance before an outgoing and then
an incoming governor. He argued his case before Felix and was kept in prison for
two years as a favor to the Jewish leadership. When Festus became governor,
Paul also appealed before him and fearing an attack from the Jews, as well
as more imprisonment time, he appealed his case to Caesar in Rome.
So Festus permitted this, but before his departure, Paul would appear to make his
case before yet another ruler. This episode completes the third section of
Paul's imprisonment before his transfer to Rome. As you can see, we're getting
close to the end of our lesson plan. So let's begin in chapter 25, shall we,
verse 13, it says, "Now when several days had elapsed, King Agrippa and Bernice
"arrived at Caesarea and paid their respects to Festus." So King Agrippa ruled
another province to the north with a similar name that was the - for its
capital city. That was the confusion here. There was Caesarea by the sea and then
there was Caesarea Philippi. So Caesarea by the sea, that was ruled by
Festus, that province there. And Caesarea Philippi was ruled by Agrippa. And that
was in the northern part. So you had two rulers ruling from cities with similar
names. A little bit about Agrippa the second. Agrippa the second was the last
of Herod's descendents to rule as king. He grew up in Rome. He was trained in
Roman ways in the court of the Emperor,
Claudius. And even though he ruled a northern territory, he was the one who
ruled up in Caesarea Philippi, further north. Even though he ruled a northern
territory, he was given charge over the affairs of the temple in Jerusalem and
was responsible for appointing the high priest. In those days the garments for
the high priest were actually kept under lock and key by the governor, even the
priests didn't have access to the garments. And so, that high position
in a Jewish society was monitored and supervised by the Roman governor at that
time. So because of his responsibilities, Agrippa, his responsibilities in
naming the high priest, and he was in charge of the temple, all that business,
he was also trained in Jewish law and custom and religion. This may be one of
the reasons Festus sought his opinion on Paul's case. Since it involved both the
temple and Jewish religious matters, he figures, well, Agrippa is well
versed in these things. I'm going to bring him in. Now Luke mentions Bernice,
not our Bernice, but another Bernice. Bernice was Agrippa's sister, and the rumor
at the time was that these two carried on an incestuous relationship, as was the
custom. Agrippa and Bernice were visiting Festus, the new ruler, at his palace in
Caesarea by the sea, in order to welcome him to his position. An
interesting note, little historical thing there, is that the palace where Festus
was situated, was originally built by Agrippa and Bernice's grandfather, Herod
the Great. And they, as children, had played together in this particular
building. And so, we move to Acts chapter 25. And there
you see rendering the drawing, a rendering, and
then you see an actual picture of the site today, as it seems today, all right.
Acts 25, verse 14, "While they were spending many days there, Festus laid
"Paul's case before the king, saying, 'There is a man who was left as a prisoner by
"Felix, and when I was at Jerusalem the chief priests and the elders of the Jews
"brought charges against him, asking for a sentence of condemnation against him.
"I answered them that it was not the custom of the Romans to hand over any
"man before the accused meets his accusers face to face and has an
"opportunity to make his defense against the charges. So after they had assembled
"here, I did not delay, but on the next day took my seat on the tribunal and
"ordered the man to be brought before me. When the accuser stood up they began
"bringing charges against him, not of such crimes as I was expecting, but they
"simply had some points of disagreement with him about their own religion and
"about a dead man, Jesus, whom Paul asserted to be alive. Being at a loss how
"to investigate such matters, I asked whether he was willing to go to
"Jerusalem and there stand trial on these matters. But when Paul appealed to be
"held in custody for the Emperor's decision, I ordered him to be kept in
"custody until I sent him to Caesar.' Then Agrippa said to Festus, 'I also would like
"to hear the man myself.' 'Tomorrow,' he said, 'you shall hear him." A couple of things to
note about Festus' account of Paul's case and the trials. First of all, he says
that Paul was left in prison as if he was serving time for some kind of crime,
when in reality he was denied his legal right to freedom by both Philip and
Festus, in order to curry favor with the Jewish leaders. It's what's
being left out that is really telling here. Another thing, he explains that he
quickly held a hearing to determine his case, but was at a loss since the charges
were for religious violations and disagreements not usually pursued in
Roman courts. He actually admits this. So what he doesn't say is that
those accusing him could not even provide
any proof for these religious crimes, and instead of dismissing the case as one
not legally binding in a Roman court, he chose to keep Paul in prison with the
hope of receiving a bribe in order to set him free. Again, some of the
information not provided. And then, of course, when we
get one more - there we go. And then of course, Festus tells Agrippa that he
offered Paul a choice to go stand trial in Jerusalem or to stay in prison in the
palace at Caesarea. Again, what he neglects to mention is that
there was a third option, and that was to set Paul free, because his
accusers had no evidence whatsoever that Paul had violated any Jewish or even
Roman laws, for that matter. He could have set him free. So Paul's request to appeal
to Caesar directly actually put Festus in a difficult position politically,
since his mismanagement of this case would make him look bad not only with
the Jewish leaders, who would lose their opportunity to kill Paul, but also to his
superiors in Rome who had just appointed him to this new position. So he comes
into this new position and he kind of fumbles the ball. The very first case
that he gets as governor, he fumbles the ball.
So his effort to bring Agrippa into the picture may have been an attempt to find
a way out or to curry favor with a local ruler. And here's the important part, with
the local ruler who was highly regarded by the Emperor.
Agrippa, remember, we said, was trained, was part of the court at Claudius' court,
so he had a little bit of power, Agrippa, at
headquarters. And so Festus draws him into the case, in order to kind of spread
the blame a little bit, all right. So let's take a look at Festus presenting
Paul's case, chapter 25, verse 23, Luke writes, "So on the next day when
"Agrippa came together with Bernice amid great pomp, and entered the auditorium
"accompanied by the commanders and the prominent men of the city, at the command
"of Festus, Paul was brought in. Fetus said, 'King Agrippa and all you gentlemen
"here present with us, you see this man about whom all the people of the Jews
"appealed to me, both at Jerusalem and here, loudly declaring that he ought not to
"live any longer. But I found that he had committed nothing worthy of death; and
"since he himself appealed to the Emperor, I decided to send him. Yet I have nothing
"definite about him to write to my lord. Therefore I have brought him before you
"all, and especially before you, King Agrippa, so that after the investigation
"has taken place, I may have something to write. For it seems absurd to me in
"sending a prisoner, not to indicate also the charges against him." So Festus'
short speech before Agrippa and the assembled guests, this is a
masterclass in political dissembling. I mean, this guy could go to Washington
tomorrow. He would fit in very well with some there. In other words, Festus has
orchestrated this event to cover over the failure, his failure in providing
Paul with basic Roman justice. Note how he has done this: first he's created an
event with important guests and Agrippa and Bernice as the center of attention;
and he spread the responsibility for what happens to Paul from only himself,
now to include Agrippa, who will now share in the decision and in the outcome.
As he says, I'm just going to go by your decision. So you can imagine what
his report is going to be when he sends it with Paul. Secondly, he omits the fact
that after having heard the accusations of the Jews and Paul's defense, he failed
to render a verdict, and this is why Paul is still in prison and was forced to
appeal to Caesar. All of that was not necessary. And then thirdly, by
proclaiming his ignorance of Jewish religious customs, which was not
necessary to judge the case and render a verdict - he didn't have to know about
Jewish customs to render the case from the point of view of
Roman law. According to Roman law he had to set Paul free. It was an open-and-shut case.
But now he appeals to Agrippa's knowledge of some such things, in order
to prepare a formal charge. He has included Agrippa's name and
prestige in this matter. Now, he may not be off the hook with the Jewish leaders,
but right now he is more concerned with protecting himself politically from a
misstep very early in his term as a governor over the Judean province.
So now Luke describes or tells us about the defense that Paul mounts. "Agrippa
"said to Paul, 'You are permitted to speak for yourself.' Then Paul stretched out his
"hand and proceeded to make his defense: 'In regard to all the things of which I
"am accused by the Jews, I consider myself fortunate, King Agrippa, that I am about
"to make my defense before you today, especially because you are an expert in
"all customs and questions among the Jews. Therefore, I beg you to listen to me
"patiently." Again, Paul's reference to the king is brief, it's respectful, without
being overly flowery or burdened by hypocritical flattery. Being a Roman
citizen, he's aware of what is going on in the empire politically. Therefore, he
knows who Agrippa is and how he was prepared for the role of governor and
overseer of the temple. We keep reading, "So then, all Jews know my manner of life
"from my youth up, which from the beginning was spent among my own nation
"and at Jerusalem; since they have known about me for a long time, if they are
"willing to testify, that I lived as a Pharisee according to the strictest sect
"of our religion. And now I am standing trial for the hope of the promise made
"by God to our fathers; the promise to which our twelve
"tribes hope to attain, as they earnestly serve God night and day. And for this
"hope, O King, I am being accused by the Jews. Why is it considered incredible
"among you people if God does raise the dead?"
So Paul summarizes the results of the three appearances he has had before the
Jews, Felix, and Festus; that the Jews were familiar with him, as he lived among them
as a Pharisee, a highly respected position in that society; he also
mentions their absence of testimony concerning his past life, and by
extension, their lack of evidence concerning the crimes that he may have
committed; and then he declares what the basis of their anger with him and
religious disagreement is all about: the promise of bodily resurrection to those
who are faithful to Jesus Christ. That is what this is all about, he says:
the resurrection from the dead. Something that all Jews have been
promised. So he's even covering the Jewish side in saying, I
don't even know what they're angry about. God has promised bodily
resurrection, every Jew knows that. So Agrippa, having been schooled in
these matters of Jewish law, custom, and teachings, knew about the division
between the Pharisees and the Sadducees over this issue. We've talked about that
in the past, right. The Sadducees, the priests, they only accepted the first
five books of the Bible, the Pentateuch, as authoritative, as inspired. Everything
else - the prophets, everything else, they didn't accept those. They didn't believe
in the afterlife, only this life here, and then
there's nothing. That's what they believed. The Pharisees, on the other hand,
the entire Old Testament Canon, they accepted that and the
prophets and spirits and life after death. So that's what he's talking about, this
debate between these two groups.
Paul's point is that this is a disagreement over religious issues, not a
crime worthy of death for either a Jewish or a Roman court. He even pleads
his case for belief in the resurrection by stating that resurrecting man from
the dead is not impossible for God if He chose to do this, and not beyond the
ability of man to believe that God is capable of this. It's so logical, his
argument, even for somebody who is not a Jew, who doesn't believe. He's saying
to the king, is it so fantastic that God could raise a man from the dead,
that God would have the power to do that? And is it so fantastic that a person
would believe that God has the power to do that for them personally?
His point is, I'm being charged with death because I believe this and I'm
promoting this. So we keep going, verse 9, "So then, I thought to myself that I had
"to do many things hostile to the name of Jesus of Nazareth. And this is just what
"I did in Jerusalem; not only did I lock up many of the saints in prisons, having
"received authority from the chief priests, but also when they were being
"put to death I cast my vote against them. And as I punished them often in all the
"synagogues, I tried to force them to blaspheme and being furiously enraged at
"them, I kept pursuing them, even to foreign cities." So at this point Paul
begins to tell his personal story. Now that he's dealt with the
accusations against him and the fact that there's no legal merit in
the accusations against him, he briefly details his initial attacks against
Christianity and the church as a zealous Pharisee duly charged by the religious
leaders, the same leaders who want to put him to death now. So he was charged by
these people to destroy Christianity itself, and its followers, in the most
vicious ways. When you think about when Paul says, I, the chief sinner.
His sins, he's listing them here: he put them in jail;
he promoted their executions; he attacked them; he routed them out of the local
synagogues; he forced them to curse and deny Christ; he hunted them down from
city to city. Those are pretty serious, those are pretty serious sins. Imagine,
killing, murdering a Christian because of his belief. I don't think God
looks too kindly on that, that's a pretty serious sin.
I mean, you rob a man and while you're robbing him you kill him, well, that's a
serious sin, but you kill a man only because he believes or you kill a man
because he believes specifically in Jesus, I wouldn't want to be in your
shoes at the judgment. So Paul says this was who I was.
Keep going, verse 12, "While so engaged as I was journeying to Damascus with the
"authority and commission of the chief priests, at midday, O King, I saw in the
"way a light from heaven, brighter than the sun, shining all around me and those
"who were journeying with me. And when we had all fallen to the ground, I heard a
voice saying to me in the Hebrew dialect, 'Saul, Saul, why are you persecuting Me? It
"is hard for you to kick against the goads.' And I said, 'Who are you,
"Lord?' And the Lord said, 'I am Jesus, whom you are persecuting. But get up and stand
"on your feet. For this purpose I've appeared to you, to appoint you a
"minister and a witness, not only to the things which you have seen, but also to
"the things in which I will appear to you, rescuing you from the Jewish people and
"from the Gentiles, to whom I am sending you, to open their eyes, so that they may
"turn from darkness to light and from the dominion of Satan to God, that they may
"receive forgiveness of sins and an inheritance among those who have been
"sanctified by faith in Me." So this is Paul's own personal account of Jesus'
appearance to him, as told and recorded by Luke. The event as follows a powerful
light appears to him and those with him, as they are journeying to Damascus, in order to carry on his
persecution against the Christians, all
of this authorized by the Jewish leaders in Jerusalem. Note that all of them were
affected by the light, since they all fell to the ground when seeing it.
However, only Paul hears the voice of the Lord. Now there's a lot of discussion
surrounding the meaning of Jesus' statement concerning Saul in
verse 14, "It is hard for you to kick against the goads." This refers to a
situation where a farmer plowing a field with a team of oxen would prod the
animals with a stick or a goad, so as to make them move faster or stay in the
furrow, stay in line. Often when the animals were goaded in this way, they
would kick back, but in doing so they would only hit and hurt themselves as a
result. So in today's vernacular, we would
convey this idea with the expression, why are you beating your head against
the wall. That's what that means. So Jesus was revealing two things to Paul
here: one, he could not win this battle against these Christians. This was a
losing battle on his side. And two, he would only be hurting himself in the
process. So it's not mentioned here, but Paul's tactics and character was even
violating his own faith and how and law as they devout Jew. I mean, Judaism did
not condone him going and killing Christians and doing violence
against them. So he knows by the light and by the voice that he hears, that he
is in the presence of a heavenly being. He doesn't know yet what to do or who it
is. And so Jesus identifies Himself and He
goes on to inform Paul concerning his future service. He will become a minister,
and in this case a servant directly appointed to carry out Jesus'
instructions. He will be a witness of the risen Christ, because it is the
risen Jesus who now speaks to him; and he will be a witness to the fact that Jesus
has risen from the dead, appointed to this task by Jesus Himself,
as were the other Apostles. And thus, this is his calling as an apostle. Also, like
the other Apostles, Jesus tells him that He's going to provide him further
instructions and revelations in the future. Finally, the Lord lays out the
scope of his ministry, which will include ministry to both Jews and Gentiles in
preaching the gospel, and through this free people from ignorance of the true
God, and grant them forgiveness of sins and eternal life in heaven. This is the
inheritance given to faithful Christians. When they say, 'the inheritance', they are
talking about heaven, eternal life. So Jesus summarizes what Paul will
receive and eventually begin to do, but it will take many years before all these
three things are fully realized in his life.
And so, we continue reading now. Usually I summarize a lot of this for you. Remember,
I tell you to read ahead, but better to let Paul summarize his own
life, than I summarized it. So we read in verse 19,
"So King Agrippa, I did not prove disobedient to the heavenly vision, but
"kept declaring both to those of Damascus first, and also at Jerusalem, and then
"throughout all the region of Judea, and even to the Gentiles, that they should
"repent and return to God, performing deeds appropriate to repentance. For this
"reason some Jews seized me in the temple and tried to put me to death. So having
"obtained help from God, I stand to this day testifying both to small and great,
"stating nothing but what the prophets and Moses said was going to take place:
"that the Christ was to suffer and that by reason of His resurrection from the
"dead He would be the first to proclaim light, both to the Jewish people and to
"the Gentiles." So Paul continues by kind of
fast-forwarding from the day of his encounter with Jesus
to his fully-matured ministry of preaching and teaching the gospel to
Jews living in Jerusalem and the region, as well as the Gentiles throughout the
Roman Empire. So it's in this context of this preaching and witnessing ministry
that he was in Jerusalem. He wasn't there to make trouble, he says. He wasn't there
to desecrate the temple or to break Roman law. He was there, he says, to urge
people to repent and believe that Jesus was the Messiah according to the law and
prophets, he says. That's why I was there. And so, he finishes by bringing his
story into the present moment as he stands before the high officials and
prominent citizens, and he urges them to believe in the risen Christ. And at this
point, right in the middle of this, he's interrupted by Festus, very interesting.
"While Paul was saying this," Paul's in full flight here, he's right in
the middle of his sermon, so to speak, "While Paul was saying this in his
"defense, Festus said in a loud voice," interesting, "Paul, you're out of your mind.
"Your great learning is driving you mad.' But Paul said, 'I am not out of my mind,
"most excellent Festus, but I utter words of truth. For the King knows about these
"matters. And I speak to him also with confidence, since I am persuaded that
"none of these things escaped his notice, or this has not been done in a corner.
"King Agrippa, do you believe the prophets? I know that you do.'
"Agrippa replied to Paul, 'In a short time you will persuade me to become a
"Christian.' And Paul said, 'I would wish to God that whether in a short or long time,
"not only you, but also all who hear me this day might become such as I am,
except for these chains." I would say that's a pretty successful sermon so far.
Festus is either feeling the heat of the gospel message personally, or
he is afraid that Paul's bold and direct
speech might offend some of his guests, especially Agrippa, whose approval and
support he needs in this matter. So what does he do? He decides to interrupt.
It's like your uncle who has a little too much
eggnog, your uncle who has too much eggnog and starting to talk too loud and -
yeah, I remember, and is starting to tell his war stories, and
your wife says, well, Uncle Joe, isn't it time we went and had a little bit of -
This is exactly what happened here.
Festus said Paul, Paul, whoa, easy boy. He's got all his people there, his
nobles and military people. The King. The guy who's got some
torque up at the Emperor's Palace. Paul then, amazingly,
answers Festus' charge by reminding him that the King knows about Jesus and His
teachings, and the cross, and the eyewitness reports of His resurrection,
and the subsequent growth of the church. He's saying, you know what's going on.
You've seen, you've heard of the resurrection, you've seen the church grow.
The point made, but not spoken, is that Fetus, along with everyone else there,
are accountable to the gospel and subject to God's judgment in failing to
respond. That's what Festus is nervous about.
Basically, Paul tells him that he, Festus, will not be able to plead ignorance at
judgment, because that's where he's going. He wasn't able to finish his
sermon yet, he didn't get to the part where it says, repent or you'll
perish. He didn't get to that part yet, but Festus knew what was coming. What is
truly amazing in this situation is that Paul, having dealt with one king, now goes
after the other King Agrippa, and he challenges the King by asking him
outright concerning his faith in the prophets and in the writings concerning
the coming of the Messiah, who he just stated was Jesus,
the risen savior. It's almost like he's finished with Festus and then he says,
yeah, what about you Agrippa? I know that you know this. I know you believe in the
Prophet. I know your training. I know you know all of this. Where do you
stand? Wow. His point is that if he answers, yes I believe the prophets, then
that will be the first step in leading to his eventual conversion. Paul, seeing
the King's hesitation to continue, extends the invitation to everybody. He goes from
Festus to Agrippa to everybody in the room. He has no fear whatsoever.
His final reference to his chains is a reminder to both of the kings that he is
being held as a prisoner for proclaiming the message that they have just heard,
which is clearly not a breach of either Jewish law or Roman law. He may be
bearing the chains and imprisonment, but these two kings are bearing the guilt.
And so, we see Agrippa's response. "The king stood up," and when the king stands up,
you know what that means. That means, this meeting is over.
So the king stands up, "and the governor and Bernice, and those who were sitting
"with them, and when they had gone aside, they began talking to one another, saying,
"This man is not doing anything worthy of death or imprisonment.' And Agrippa said
"to Festus, 'This man might have been set free if he had not appealed to Caesar."
So Agrippa confirms what Paul had claimed and Festus had concluded, that
Paul was not guilty of any crime. But saying this,
Agrippa puts the case back into Festus' hands, leaving him to send Paul to Rome without
criminal charges. He just says, you're right, he's not guilty of any crime. Go
ahead, do what you need to do. He could not free Paul now, because Paul
made an official appeal in open court, which could not be changed. That
was part of the Roman law. So this sets the scene for the final event recorded
by Luke, and that is Paul's voyage to Rome and the things that
happened. That'll be in our last lesson next time. So a couple of
object lessons, if you wish. God's timetable is not our timetable. Paul
spent over two years in prison. We gloss over that, but two years is a
long, long time. Have you ever waited for news? Like, maybe you put in for a job
or a transfer or some sort of promotion. They say, yeah, we're going to get back
to you. How long do you feel time goes by while you're waiting for that phone call?
Can you imagine not having committed any crime whatsoever, and sitting in jail not
for two days or two month. Two years is a long time. And think, Paul was in his
prime. He was in the prime of his ministry. The churches needed him and
there was no one else of his stature that was effectively bringing the gospel
to the Gentiles. There is no other story or event recorded by Luke that would
somehow explain or make up for the lost time and the work that could have been
done during that period. Can you imagine Paul's prayers? Lord, Lord,
all those churches that have been established, that are
struggling, they need me. I need to be out there. Coach, put me in coach.
We're losing, put me in the game. The only thing that helped Paul bear the
frustration and the discomfort and the perceived loss of time and opportunity
was the knowledge that God was fully aware of Paul's circumstances and the
time of his imprisonment. When we are assured that God has His timetable for
things, it is rarely - it rarely matches
our own timetable. Then we can find peace and acceptance in times of illness or
failure, but especially times of delay, where the only thing we can do is wait.
I broke my leg. The doctor said two weeks in a cast, and it's been two
months now, and it still hurts, and I can't put my weight on it. What's going
on? That's your timetable. When you say to your children, when are you going to
grow up? That's your timetable. God, when is this going to happen? That's your timetable.
Lord, haven't I suffered enough? That's your timetable. We need to
understand that our timetable is not His timetable. When we finally accept
that, then we can accept our situation. It doesn't mean we do nothing. It doesn't mean
we don't try to improve and whatever, but if we're
believers, then we are all under His timetable, and we need to resolve that
once and for all in our minds. Lesson number two, your own story is your best
witness for Christ. Notice that Paul did not address these educated people with
theological arguments or a long list of scriptures and careful
explanation, which he could have done. He simply told his story. His conversion was
familiar, it was sincere, it was powerful, because it detailed the changes that
took place in his life because of Christ. Not everybody can teach a class.
Not everybody can debate the Bible or debate doctrine with
somebody else of another viewpoint or another religion, however, everyone has a
story about their conversion. Everyone has a story about their growth in Christ
or some prayer that perhaps God has answered,
some experience that we've had as Christians. So your story is the very
best witness, because it is true, it is familiar to you, it's powerful and it can
be repeated many times without losing its effect to impact people for Christ.
So I say to you, when you're in doubt, when you're brought forth to witness
somehow, begin by telling your story. That's your best witness, your story.
And your story has impact. Your story has meaning to you, and you're the best
person to tell your story. Okay, final assignment, Acts 27:1 to 28:31. We should
round it out next time we're together for class. Alright, that's it. Thank you
very much for your attention. I appreciate it.