“Acts 25: Paul Before Festus”

Wednesday, January 25, 2017

It has been two years and the Jews still want to kill Paul. (Do you remember the 40 men who had taken a vow not to eat or drink until they had killed him? They must have been quite hungry by this time, don’t you think?) Another plot to kill him fails here. You can see God’s providence in His protection of the apostle.

Festus declares that Paul should be kept at Caesarea as he will soon journey there. He promises to examine Paul then.

When the Jews come down to Caesarea from Jerusalem, they accuse Paul of many things, none of which they can prove. As a favor to the Jews, Festus suggests that the whole group travel to Jerusalem for trial. Paul realizes the danger this puts him in and appeals to Caesar’s judgment seat.

In verse 13, King Agrippa II comes to Caesarea and after he has been there for a few days, Festus tells the king about Paul. He expresses his dilemma to Agrippa by explaining that, even after examining both sides, he doesn’t know what the charges against Paul really are.

You will notice that one thing came out clearly from the testimony, however. Paul spoke of the Savior, “a certain Jesus,” who had been put to death, “whom Paul affirmed to be alive.” Everything the Bible teaches about salvation depends on the truth of the resurrection. The New Testament refers to Christ as “the firstfruits” (1 Corinthians 15:20-23) of resurrection. That means simply that everyone is going to be raised. Our souls are immortal; they cannot cease to exist. Every soul is going to live forever either in heaven or in hell. The resurrection makes all the difference and we must be certain to emphasize it in our teaching, as Paul did.

King Agrippa’s interest is raised and he says he would like to hear from Paul personally. The next day, the stage is set for the apostle to appear before a king to preach the gospel, just as it had been foretold that he would (see Acts 9:15). Chapter 26 contains his powerful sermon.

--Roger Hillis

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