Lechem Panim #231 “Bearing The Cross of Injustice” (Acts 25:1-6) Pastor Cameron Ury

Hello and welcome to the show today! It is such a pleasure to have you with us again today as we study the Word of God together.

A Student’s Justice Question— You know, not long ago I read the story of a young boy who once asked his teacher if it was right to get punished for something he didn’t do. And the teacher looked at him and assured him that it wasn’t. And the boy, breathing a sigh of relief, looked back at him and said, “That’s good, because I didn’t do my math homework.” Smart kid.

In The Image of A Just God— But you know, in all sincerity, it can be very frustrating to see somebody accused and punished who never did anything wrong. And I think equally frustrating is seeing evil people get away with doing evil things. There is an innate desire in all of us for justice. And that is because each of us has been created in the image of God; and God is a God of justice. And if you don’t believe that, then you have never really read or understood the Bible; which is so clear that if you oppress the widow or the fatherless; if you mistreat women; if you abuse those who work for you, then you had better watch out because you have set your self against an Almighty justice-loving God. God is very much concerned with justice. Now is He the God of mercy? Absolutely. But there can be no mercy without justice. In fact justice helps us to define what mercy really is. And grace is not some kind of an override to justice. It is not punishment averted/avoided but punishment redirected; the punishment for our sins being placed upon God’s Son so that justice could be satisfied while at the same time allowing God to show us mercy.

Getting Angry— But this whole issue of injustice is something that you and I face every day. We watch television programming that often times infuriates us because various news networks know how to stoke our sense of justice. And in a way, we should get angry. Because a lot of what we see truly is unjust. And the person who never gets angry at injustice doesn’t truly love justice or the people suffering from injustice. And part of the reason we have an angry society is because of injustice, which has been allowed to pervade on many and various fronts. And the truth is that before you can have a happy society, you first must have a just society. That is why God had so many rules regarding how justice ought to be carried out. He wanted to create a secure society so that that society would be free to experience peace, joy, and happiness.

The Supreme Mark— Now in light of that, I have often wondered what it would have been like to live in Paul’s time, under an empire like Rome; where you are constantly under the crushing weight of Rome’s oppression, taxes, and differing standards of justice depending on whether you are a man or a woman, slave, free, a Roman citizen or not. What would it have been like to be a Christian during that time? You know, we complain of injustice; but the supreme mark of injustice during that time was the cross of Jesus. It is the supreme example of how deeply the justice system of mankind can fail. Jesus was declared by Pilate to be without fault and yet was executed in the worst possible way. And, you know, he had asked Jesus the most horrifying question any judge could ever ask: What is truth? That’s a scary thing, because if you have no absolute standard of truth, then you have no absolute understanding of justice. And because of that you ended up with He who is Truth and Justice dying on the cross. Now followers of Jesus (like Paul) also often carry (as part of the crosses they bear) the burden of suffering unjustly for the name and cause of Jesus Christ.

The Nicene Meeting— You know, many of you are probably familiar with the Nicene Creed, one of the most important theological treatises ratified by the church in the 4th century. Many of you have probably at least read it. Some of you may know it by heart. But what you may not know is that [At the Nicene Council, an important church meeting in the 4th century A.D. {that met to establish this creed}, of the 318 delegates attending, fewer than 12 had not lost an eye or lost a hand or did not limp on a leg lamed by torture for their Christian faith.] In their context, suffering injustice for the sake of Christ was just part of being a Christian. And that is what we have been seeing in the life and ministry of Paul; and today’s passage in Acts chapter 25 is only one of many examples of that.

Paul Left In Prison— Now we have most recently seen Paul being brought to trial before Governor Felix in Caesarea. And that trial went pretty well for Paul. None of the claims against him could be substantiated. And so (in a just world) he should have been let go. But Felix decides to hold Paul until Lysias the Tribune comes down and to pass the verdict after that. But it doesn’t look like Lysias ever came. Lysias may in fact never have been sent for. Felix probably didn’t want to anger the Jews and cause potential political problems for himself by passing the inescapable verdict of “not guilty”. And this is somewhat confirmed in the passage that follows because we see that after the trial he holds Paul for two years, sending for him periodically. By the way, just imagine that; suffering two years of imprisonment for false claims that could not be substantiated; two years of experiencing the same kind of wrongful imprisonment that Joseph had experienced when Potiphar’s wife had falsely accused him. And on top of that, the person who is keeping you there (Felix) is constantly sending for you whenever he feels like it. And there might have been this constant hope in Paul’s heart that maybe this would be the time that Felix would say “You’re free to go.” But each time was a disappointment. Each time he was sent back. Now Felix is eventually ousted from office by Emperor Nero two years after Paul’s hearing. His brutality (which had angered the Jews) had led to that. But on his way out, wanting to do the Jews a favor (24:27), he leaves Paul in prison. And so now a new governor comes into power; a man by the name of Porcius Festus.

Porcius Festus— Now we do not actually know that much about Porcius Festus. You will remember that Felix had been an ex-slave whose brother had obtained for him the position of governor. But now this new governor (Porcius Festus) has come into power. And (unlike Felix) Festus [was a member of the Roman nobility]. He was only governor for a brief time, as [he died two years after assuming office], [but the Jewish historian Josephus described him as better than either his predecessor or his successor].

What To Do With Paul?— And he may have intended on leading with integrity and doing what was right. But when it came to Paul and Jewish politics, he found things not so easy to handle. Paul was a Jew whose countrymen wanted him dead, but he was also a Roman whose government did not know what to do with him. And Festus is really caught between a rock and a hard place, because if he lets Paul go, the Jews will cause trouble. That was something that he knew he did not want to risk. On the other hand, if he kept Paul in prison, he might [have to explain why a Roman citizen was being held without any official charges.] And so Paul is like this powder keg that Festus knows is in his best interest to deal with as soon as possible. And we will see in this chapter and the next how Festus is present in three different situations directly related to the apostle Paul. But let’s begin with verse one of chapter 25. It says…

Acts 25:1-3 (ESV)— 1 Now three days after Festus had arrived in the province, he went up to Jerusalem from Caesarea.

Festus Comes to Jerusalem— Now the reason he came to Jerusalem was no doubt in part to acquaint himself with the situation there in his new province and to pay his respects to the Holy City. But it was also [to meet the Jewish leaders (the high priest and the Sanhedrin) and, as much as possible, conciliate them. Those leaders, Festus knew, were the key to establishing peace in Judea. And maintaining peace was the highest priority of a Roman provincial governor.] But the Jewish leaders capitalize on his desire to try to make peace with them by pouncing on the opportunity to bring up the case against Paul and try to get him killed. It says…} 2 And the chief priests and the principal men of the Jews laid out their case against Paul, and they urged him, 3 asking as a favor against Paul that he summon him to Jerusalem—because they were planning an ambush to kill him on the way.

Plotters— So here we see that a second ambush is planned. And the Sanhedrin are involved, this time not as the accomplices (23:14-15) but as the plotters, which shows that things are getting more serious. Now Festus likely knew nothing about the previous plot against Paul and probably thought that the Jewish leaders were on the up and up. He probably never suspected that they were out to assassinate Paul. And it would have made sense to have Paul transferred. It was a matter concerning a Jewish prisoner and the Jewish law, and so it would make sense for him to be tried in Jerusalem. And [a Roman court could meet in Jerusalem as well as in Caesarea], so it would have been completely normal procedure to have Paul transferred. And Festus (not suspecting a plot) would probably not send Paul with much protection, so ambushing and killing Paul would have been pretty easy. But Festus [preferred to conduct most of his business from Caesarea, particularly in cases that could be drawn out.] And so he does not comply with their request to have Paul sent to Jerusalem. Instead, it says in…

Acts 25:4-6 (ESV)— 4 Festus replied that Paul was being kept at Caesarea and that he himself intended to go there shortly. 5 “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.” {So the chance to ambush Paul slips through their fingers. And it says…} 6 After he stayed among them not more than eight or ten days, he went down to Caesarea. And the next day he took his seat on the tribunal and ordered Paul to be brought.

Our Crosses— And next week we will see what happens after that. But, you know, this whole story raises the issue concerning how you and I are to respond when you and I face injustice because of our relationship with Jesus Christ. Paul doesn’t become embittered; he doesn’t ask “Why me?” He doesn’t curse his captors. No, he recognizes that this is his present cross to bear and that, in doing so, he was identifying with his Lord and Savior Jesus Christ in that he was living the life of the cross. And when you and I suffer for the sake of Christ, we also identify with Christ. And if we endure for Christ’s sake and for the sake of those He is seeking to reach, He can use our sufferings to bring about victories that we would never even think possible. And that is what we have seen and will continue to see in the life of Paul. And on the other side of suffering for Christ is reward; eternal reward.

James 1:12 (NIV)— 12 Blessed is the one who perseveres under trial because, having stood the test, that person will receive the crown of life that the Lord has promised to those who love him.

Let’s Endure— And so let us endure so that we also may receive the crown of life. Amen.