Lechem Panim #232 “Paul Before Festus” (Acts 25:7-22) 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. In our study of the book of Acts, we have seen Paul arrested in Jerusalem following a riot that is started by a group of unbelieving Jews who hate him and maliciously and falsely accuse him. Paul is brought before the Sanhedrin, the Jewish high court of the land (the same governing body that had put Jesus to death), but Paul is not convicted. So the unbelieving Jews hatch a plot to murder Paul, but Paul’s nephew overhears of the plot, tells the Roman Commander in charge of Paul, and the commander has Paul transferred to Roman Governor Felix in Caesarea. He is tried before Felix, but he can’t convict him, and so he keeps Paul imprisoned for two years until Felix is eventually succeeded by Porcius Festus. And when Festus comes into power, those unbelieving Jews try to get Festus to transfer Paul to Jerusalem (supposedly for a trial), but really they want to ambush and kill him along the way. Now Festus denies their request (though he doesn’t know that that is what they had in mind) and, when he comes to Caesarea, has Paul brought before him there to be tried. And it says here in verse 7…

Acts 25:7 (ESV)— 7 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’s 4th Defense— And these were no doubt the same arguments; trying to prove that Paul was an insurrectionist in the hopes that Festus might agree with them and put Paul to death (Acts 25:15-16). But once again, nothing can be substantiated. But Festus hears them out to ascertain all the facts; and then it is Paul turn to make his defense. And this is the fourth of Paul’s six defenses. And in it he once again affirms that he has committed no crime against the Jewish law, against the temple, or against Rome. It says in…

Acts 25:8-9 (ESV)— 8 Paul argued in his defense, “Neither against the law of the Jews, nor against the temple, nor against Caesar have I committed any offense.” 9 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?”

Not Good for Paul— Now once again, though Festus doesn’t know it, this puts Paul in danger of being ambushed and killed. But even if Paul makes it to Jerusalem, the situation is probably worse for him there. And he knows that there is no just reason for him to be sent there. And [a Roman judge could not move a case to another court without the consent of the accused, and Paul refused to go!] So it says in…

Acts 25:10-11 (ESV)— 10 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. 11 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.”

Why Paul Appeals to Caesar— Now the reason Paul appeals to Caesar (which was the right of every Roman citizen) was threefold. First, he wanted justice. Secondly, he recognized that he was safest under Roman protection. Appealing to Caesar ensured that he would be guarded by the Romans en route to Caesar. But thirdly (and this may in fact be the main reason), his goal was ultimately to get where? Rome. Where is Caesar? Rome. And so he recognizes his appealing to Caesar is the fastest way to get there. So he appeals to Caesar. And it says…

Acts 25:12 (ESV)— 12 Then Festus, when he had conferred with his council, answered, “To Caesar you have appealed; to Caesar you shall go.”

Festus Embarrassed— And, as you can imagine, this no doubt infuriated the Jewish leaders because once again the chance to murder Paul has slipped through their fingers. Festus may have been somewhat pleased, as he no doubt felt this case was beyond him. But at the same time it did not look well for him that one of his first cases he handled so badly that the prisoner felt forced to appeal to Caesar for justice. But he has no choice. He pronounces that Paul shall indeed be sent to Caesar. Now the Caesar to whom Paul has appealed is Nero. Now this didn’t meant that Nero himself would oversee the case. It simply meant that his [case would be tried by the highest courts in the empire.] And despite the fact that Paul’s case would be transferred to Nero, Festus still had a problem. Yes he had avoided offending the Jews, but he had failed to determine the legal charges against Paul. And he doesn’t want to be in the awkward position of sending such a notable prisoner to Caesar without have any of his crimes clearly listed. But it says in…

Acts 25:13 (ESV)— 13 Now when some days had passed, Agrippa the king and Bernice arrived at Caesarea and greeted Festus.

Herod Agrippa II & Bernice— Now this king who came for a state visit was Herod Agrippa II. He was [the last of the Herodians to rule, was the great-grandson of {Herod the Great,} the Herod who {ruled at the time Jesus was born and} had killed the Bethlehem babes, and {was} the son of the Herod who had killed the apostle James (Acts 12).] [His great-uncle, Herod Antipas, was the Herod of the Gospels (Mark 6:14-29; Luke 3:1; 13:31-33; 23:7-12)]. [He had power over the Temple, controlled the Temple treasury, and could appoint and remove the high priest.] He was in his early thirties at this time. And his sister Bernice had come with him to join him in paying [their respect to the new governor, Festus]. Now Bernice [had married her uncle, Herod Chalcis, had become mistress to her brother Agrippa II, and then had become mistress to the emperor Vespasian’s son, Titus.] And her living with her brother Agrippa II made the Jews uneasy because of how clearly and explicitly God had forbade incest (Lev. 18:1-18; 20:11-21). But Herod Agrippa II had been given [legal jurisdiction over the temple in Jerusalem, so it was logical that Festus share Paul’s case with him.] And so it says in…

Acts 25:14-22 (ESV)— 14 And as they stayed there many days, Festus laid Paul's case before the king, saying, “There is a man left prisoner by Felix, 15 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. 16 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 opportunity to make his defense concerning the charge laid against him. 17 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. 18 When the accusers stood up, they brought no charge in his case of such evils as I supposed. 19 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. 20 Being at a loss how to investigate these questions, I asked whether he wanted to go to Jerusalem and be tried there regarding them. 21 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.” 22 Then Agrippa said to Festus, “I would like to hear the man myself.” “Tomorrow,” said he, “you will hear him.”

Festus’ Game— Now we see here that Festus clearly understands that this whole issue has nothing to do with civil law, but rather was a matter of “religion” (Acts 18:14-15; 23:29); particularly the doctrine of resurrection. And verse 19 shows that Paul wasn’t just defending the concept of resurrection abstractly or in a general way, but was focusing specifically on the resurrection of Jesus Christ. But all this was beyond Festus’ (and Rome’s) expertise or interest. He was both a pagan Roman and also new in Judea, so it was natural for him not to know the theological differences between Christians and Jews. But note how Festus is deceiving Agrippa, because he is giving him the impression that the reason he had wanted to move the trial to Jerusalem was because these theological issues might be better addressed there; but that wasn’t his real motivation. His [real reason was to please the Jewish leaders, most of whom King Herod knew.] And he’s hoping that Agrippa will supply him with something definite that he can send to the Emperor Nero. And that’s because Agrippa was [an expert in Jewish matters (Acts 26:2-3) and certainly would be keenly interested in knowing more about this man who {supposedly} caused a riot in the temple. And Agrippa is indeed interested to hear Paul. In fact [The Greek verb tense implies Herod had been wanting to hear Paul for a long time. As an expert on Jewish affairs (cf. 26:3), he relished hearing Christianity’s leading spokesman in person.] And Festus promises him that he will. And next week we will see how that unfolds.

God Turns Things Around— But I want to close today with a word of encouragement. As demonstrated in our passage today, we see one example among many of how unjust our world often is. But we also see how God protected Paul and even used this trial to open a door of opportunity by which Paul could immediately be escorted to Rome. By setting in motion their plot to kill Paul, the Jewish leaders in fact helped Paul to get exactly where God wanted him to go: Rome. And God does the same for us. You know, every year Jews have been celebrating the Feast of Purim, which commemorates the triumph of God’s people in the book of Esther when Haman had sought to destroy all the Jews in the empire. Haman set himself against the Jews generally and Mordecai (Esther’s cousin) in particular and plotted their destruction. And things got really dark for a while. But what ended up happening was that it was Haman himself who unintentionally (through his trying to exalt himself) actually became instrumental in Mordecai being honored and exalted. Haman’s plot against the Jews ended up falling on his own head; and the book of Esther ends with Haman being hanged and Mordecai assuming his former job as Grand Vizier. And God’s people are delivered. I think also of Joseph, sold into slavery by his brothers. Then he’s wrongfully accused and thrown into prison. But God lifts him up and eventually makes him Pharaoh’s right hand man that helps Egypt plan for a coming famine and actually saves the empire and all the lands affected by that famine. But none of that would have happened if Joseph had not been sold or thrown into prison. And there are so many other examples like this.

​Trust in God— Now all this to say, when we are experiencing the injustice and persecution that go along with following Jesus Christ, we need to take heart. We need to recognize that it may be the furnace, the lion’s den, the prison cell or whatever other place of affliction we might be in that will actually become the engine through which God can bring His greatest work. The hard thing is to trust in that. But if we do, God never disappoints. And so let us trust in Him like that today. Amen.