Jesus in His Church - Paul..

Welcome to Cornerstone Reformed Baptist Church. Thank you for using and sharing our resources. What you're about to hear is God's Word from one of our teaching elders. We trust that God's Word will inspire, instruct, and bless you. For further teachings or information on our ministry, please visit us on our website at cornerstonerbc.

com. That's cornerstonerbc.com. Now, three days after Festus has arrived in the province, he went up to Jerusalem from Caesarea. And the chief priests and the principal men of the Jews laid out their case against Paul.

And they urged him, asking a favor against Paul, that he summons him to Jerusalem because they were planning an ambush to kill him on the way. Festus replied that Paul was being kept at Caesarea and that he himself intended to go there shortly. So he said, 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. After he stayed among them no 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 When he 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 argued in his defense, neither against the law of the Jews, nor against the temple, nor against Caesar have I committed any offense. Bethesda, 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? But Paul said, I am standing before Caesar's tribunal where I ought to be tried. For the Jews, I have done no wrong. Or to the Jews, I have done no wrong, as you yourself know very well.

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. Then Festus, when he had conferred with his council, answered, To Caesar you have appealed, to Caesar you shall go. Now when some days had passed, Agrippa the king and Bernice arrived at Caesarea and greeted Festus.

And as they stayed there many days, Festus laid Paul's case before the king, saying, There is a man left prisoner by Felix. 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. I answered them that it was not the custom of the Romans to give up anyone before the accused meet the accusers face to face and an opportunity to make his defense concerning the charge laid against him. 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. When the accusers stood up, they brought no charge in the case of such evils as I supposed.

Rather, they had certain points of dispute with them about their own religion and about a certain Jesus who was dead, but whom Paul asserted to be alive. Being at a loss how to investigate these questions, I asked whether he wanted to go to Jerusalem and be tried there regarding them. 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. Then Agrippa said to Festus, I would like to hear the man myself. Tomorrow, he said, you'll hear him.

So on the next day, Agrippa and Bernice came with great pomp, and they entered the audience hall with the military tribunes and the prominent men of the city. Then at the command of Festus, Paul was brought in, and Festus said, King Agrippa, and all who are present with us, you see this man about whom the whole Jewish people petitioned me, both in Jerusalem and here, shouting that he ought not to live any longer? but I found that he had done nothing deserving death and as he himself appealed to the emperor I decided to go ahead and send him but I have nothing nothing definite to write to my lord about him therefore I've brought him before you all and especially before you king Agrippa so that after we have examined him, I may have something to write. For it seems to me unreasonable to be sending or in sending a prisoner not to indicate the charges against him." Amen.

The grass withers and the flowers fall, but the word of the Lord remains forever. Well, beloved brothers and sisters, we've been working through the book of Acts now for well over six months, and we've been working one chapter at a time. And we've come to witness, as we've considered and meditated upon the book thus far, we've come to witness the absolute faithfulness of our Lord in bringing to fruition through the disciples that he has sent in the Great Commission. what we know as salvation to the world. Because Jesus promised the disciples, he foretold and prophesied to the disciples in Acts chapter 1 that they would be his witnesses.

His witnesses in Jerusalem, in Judea and Samaria, and then to the outermost parts of the world. And so from humble beginnings of the New Testament church, with about 120 believers in the upper room, when the Spirit of God was poured upon them, the Spirit of Power, we've seen the church of Jesus Christ swell and swell as it grew in boundaries from Jerusalem and beyond, and even through the ministry of the Apostle Paul to the Gentile world, almost to the ends of the known world at that point in time. We've followed the story, the narrative, as Luke has given us, by inspiration of the Holy Spirit. The first 12 chapters were predominantly through the tracks of the Apostle Peter, who is the apostle to the Jews. And then from about chapter 13 on, we've been following the Apostle Paul, who the Lord himself has appointed as the Apostle to the Gentiles, to go into the world and to continue to proclaim the gospel of Jesus Christ, so the Lord will gather unto himself his lost sheep.

And so we follow the Apostle Paul in his ministry through his three missionary journeys now. And Despite meeting with strong opposition everywhere, everywhere the Apostle went, the Lord had used him so mightily, so mightily, with the gospel of grace, with ever-widening circles as he went building the Church of Jesus Christ. But it's not the Apostle Paul who's building the Church, is it? Jesus says, that I will build my church. It is Christ who is building his church.

Luke tells us that in the first volume of his two volume books, Luke and then Acts, it tells us that what he wrote initially is what Jesus began to do. So when Jesus was in his earthly ministry, that's his beginnings. And now through the book of Acts, through his sent apostles, is what Jesus continues to do as he works through those he sent, proclaiming his gospel, the gospel that saves. However, the opposition to the Apostle Paul in particular, that we've been reading about for the last at least three months, had come predominantly from the Jews. And this opposition has been from the very first day.

It's become very heated of late. Very heated. to the point where chapter 21 we read and we together as our brother taught us a few weeks ago or several weeks ago now that the apostle had lost his freedom. So his freedom to get up and getting about and to go to the regions where he chose to go is now gone. He's now under guard, under Roman guard.

But beloved, Although the Apostle has lost his liberty to go wherever he pleases, the Lord is not done with him yet. In fact, when he was saved on the road to Damascus, back in chapter 9, many years ago, we're told not only that the Apostle Paul will suffer for the sake of Christ, but that he is the Lord's chosen instrument to carry the name of Jesus before the Gentiles and kings and the children of Israel. Verse 15. So beloved, in the narratives that we have before us in chapter 25 and 26, we see this prophecy of Christ being fulfilled. These prophetic words are being fulfilled through the ministry of the Apostle Paul.

And none of this is a coincidence, but all according to the definite plan of God. The Apostle Paul is unaware of the details. that the Lord hasn't revealed to him all the details of where he's going and what's about to happen. He doesn't know what the details are going to be. All he knows, and as far as we can tell, the Apostle Paul knew that in every city he'll be met with opposition, with persecution, and with imprisonment.

That's what was waiting for him wherever he went. And when some were warning him of these things, He was so persistent because he knew the mission that Jesus had given him. Because he was not only willing to suffer and to be imprisoned for the sake of Christ, but for his name he was prepared to even die. So what lies ahead is in the Lord's hands. Paul is simply called to trust.

to be faithful, to trust in the Lord Jesus Christ and to be faithful with the mission the Lord has given him. He leaves the rest up to the Lord. He's not asking questions about what's going to happen tomorrow or the day after. His trust is not in the circumstances, but in the Lord himself. Jesus is the object of his faith.

So as we read through these passages and consider the inspired content, Beloved, he ought to encourage our souls, because beyond a shadow of a doubt, all the events that have taken place and are yet to take place over and over again, we've seen are in the sovereign hand of God. He's in complete control. Sometimes looking at the text, we think, oh, Satan has the reins, but he never does. God has the control. Christ is the one who's in complete control.

He still sits on his throne, and he is the one who conquers, who has conquered, and who reigns over his whole creation. Look at the situation before Paul right now. He's lost his freedom. We said that earlier. How is he going to continue his mission?

How's he going to testify before kings and governors like the Lord Jesus Christ had told Annius that this is going to be the apostle to the Gentiles? How's that going to happen when Paul is now guarded by the Romans? They say where he goes. And they say when He comes, He's lost His freedom. How is the Apostle Paul going to end in Rome?

Only a few chapters earlier, Jesus had promised that you'll testify of My name in Rome. How is that going to happen? when he's imprisoned, when he's lost his freedom? How's that going to eventuate if he's bound by Romans? Well, beloved, these are legitimate questions.

And to the human mind, it's an impossible situation. But what do we know about impossible situations? That what is impossible with man is possible with God. Because as we continue together, as we continue together to study and meditate and consider this unfolding story of the Book of Acts, we will see, and I hope that we will marvel also, that it is precisely because the Apostle Paul is under these difficult circumstances where his freedom has been taken from him, it's precisely because of this that he will receive safe passage from the threatening Jews who want to take his life into a place called Rome. He will end in Rome.

Christ said he will, and Christ will get him to Rome. But he won't do it as probably the Apostle Paul thought he would go under his freedom, but rather he will end in Rome, courtesy of the Roman Empire. From a human point of view, Paul's situation is dire. From a divine point of view, he's exactly, beloved, exactly where Jesus wants him to be. Beloved in Christ, this is not taking into consideration the epistles that the Apostle writes when he is in chains.

Epistles that now make part of our sacred Scripture. Epistles that have edified our souls and continue to edify the souls of God's people through millennia. God's Word has been given through the Apostle, and a lot of the epistles have been written as he was under lock and key. Look, the Lord is in complete control, and that means even if he's in prison, that's the Lord's will. As I said earlier, Jesus sits on his throne.

So beloved, for you and I, we need to take heart in that. Whatever circumstance we're in, whatever we find ourselves confronted with, we need to take heart in the fact that Jesus is in complete control. Now we might not see the ends, we might not see that, but we need to know that he's the one who holds our eternity in the palm of his hand and we are to trust in him and hold to his promises. Our brother took us through chapter 24 last week. The Jews, through a spokesman by the name of Tertullius, makes the case on behalf of the Jews against Paul before the governor Felix in Caesarea.

They will call in for Paul's, not imprisonment, but his execution. charging him with many charges, and in particular, in chapter 24, the charges that are listed for us, at least, are profaning the sacred temple. But more to the point, probably more to the point for Felix, who was a Roman governor, is that they were also accusing Paul of being an international ringleader, inciting riots and disturbing the peace throughout the whole world, the whole Roman Empire. Now, that won't sit well with Rome. Rome was known as an empire completely committed to establish and maintain lasting peace in all of its provinces and all of its regions.

They won't tolerate troublemakers or agitators, as Paul is being accused of, disturbing civil peace or creating civil unrest or political unrest. They won't take it. However, the Jews had laid their case down and there were the charges they had against the Apostle Paul. And Paul had an opportunity to defend himself also. Felix, the governor, the then governor, heard them both.

He heard both. And when all was said and done, not even Felix could give the Jews what they wanted. Why? Because none of their charges stuck. Isn't that proof?

None of them stuck. Now Felix was a harsh man, he was cruel, he was greedy. Secular writings paint a grim picture of this selfish, incompetent ruler. His incompetence would not go unnoticed by Rome and he would soon be recalled by Rome and his position given to another. But, beloved, we don't have to appeal to extra-biblical material to know this.

What we have before us determines the character of this Felix. Why, in the very last chapter, we're told that he kept from sending Paul. He kept sending for Paul and kept him in prison. You remember why? Because he was hoping the Apostle Paul would give him a bribe, that he would line his pockets with more wealth.

It wasn't because the Apostle Paul was guilty. That's not why he kept him in prison. He kept him in prison because he was hoping he could benefit from the Apostle. Maybe the Apostle can pull some strings and the people that he knows, he knew him to be a man known throughout the world. Maybe he can pull some strings and these Christians can send him some money and he can pay me and I can let him go.

That's probably his thinking. Evil. when he realized the Apostle Paul won't play that game. The Apostle Paul is not going to pay a bribe. He's trusting in the Lord Jesus Christ.

He ain't going to pay a bribe. When he realized this, well, the next best thing was to keep the Jews happy. And so we'll keep him in prison. That's what he did. He kept the Apostle Paul in prison for two years.

Unjustly. Two years. Almost all but forgotten. He kept him in prison. until Felix was called back to Rome, and then a new governor appointed.

And that brings us to chapter 25. Now we've read the chapter together, so let me divide it up and give you a bit of a bird's eye view to see what we're actually dealing with in this chapter. Probably segmented in four sections, I would say. From verse one through five, the narrative speaks of Festus. Festus is the new kid on the block, the new governor that's been appointed to govern Judea.

Now, verse 1 through 5 speaks of Festus and his initial encounter with the Jews in Jerusalem. So with him coming, he heads down to Jerusalem to meet with the Jews. He's there between 8 and 10 days. On verse 6 through 12, we have Paul standing trial before his accusers once again, but this time he's not standing with his accusers before him. And Felix, of course, now there's a new governor, Festus, who wants to know what Paul is saying.

And then from verse 13 through 22 we're introduced to King Agrippa. And we're made apprised of the conversation between the king and Festus in relation to the events that have taken place surrounding Paul's trial. Then finally, the last section in our chapter from verse 23 through 27, the Apostle Paul is brought in for a bit of what you may call a show trial before a number of dignitaries that Festus has invited. He brings Paul in to make a defense and to defend his case and tell them what he believes in. But beloved, because chapter or verse 23 through 27, I believe, really do belong to the next chapter when the Apostle Paul is giving a defense, I'm going to address that section next week.

So from verse 23 through the end of the chapter and all 26, by God's grace, I'll address next week. And I hope by next week we'll be able to see that when the Apostle Paul does give a defense, self-preservation and attaining his own liberty, his freedom. It is not the first thing on his mind. But the Apostle takes this opportunity with the crowd to preach what he loves, to really preach what he really has on his heart, and that is the gospel of Jesus Christ. And I hope we will be able to see that next week.

So the last verse of chapter 24, we're introduced to the Hephaestus. He's the new governor of Judea, and he's the one who supersedes Felix. And at least from what we can determine in the text, Festus is really keen to hit the ground running. He's not wasting any time. In fact, we're told only three days after arriving in Caesarea, after three days only, is the new governor.

He makes his way 100 kilometers southeast down to or up to Jerusalem, because everything's up to Jerusalem. And he does that to meet with the Jews. Now, it is very possible that he had other political things on his agenda. But he heads down that way. Now, the Jews, of course, were a big or had a big presence in Judea.

So there's no doubt in my mind that Festus, before coming and assuming that role or that office, he was informed or at least debriefed about the Jews. Because the Jews have a swing, have a strong influence over Jerusalem. And Festus needed to know that. That was his region. And so when he's down there, he meets.

He meets with the chief priests and the elders, we're told, chief men, and he says elsewhere, elders. But while there, He meets with these people, most likely the Sanhedrin. In a very short time of him assuming his new office, Festus comes to know the plight of the Apostle Paul. Now, had he have met the Apostle Paul in the three days he was in Caesarea, that's a possibility. We don't know.

We're not even told. But we know after spending some time with the Jews that now he's made aware of the Apostle Paul, a man who's been imprisoned by his predecessor, Felix, and he's been in there for two years. And these Jews, these Jews of reputation, the chief priests as well as the elders, have come to Festus and their concern is that they have this Apostle Paul dealt with. So they request something that from the face value seems reasonable, it seems noble. What they say to the governor is they say, please, why don't you send him our way?

Summon him to come to Jerusalem so that we can try him in Jerusalem. But the governor knows better. He knows the Roman custom. So he denies their request, and he says instead that they, Apostle Paul, he's being kept in Caesarea, I'm gonna go back there, why don't you get some of your men, come back with me to Caesarea, and how about we try him then? Of course, they agree.

But beloved, the inspired commentary of Luke tells us that the Jewish leaders weren't actually asking for this from noble, good, well-meaning hearts. were told that they were seeking to ambush Paul. They were seeking to kill the apostle on his way. Now if you're thinking I've heard this before, it's not deja vu, you are right, you have heard it before back in chapter 23. The plan was thwarted back then.

You remember the Apostle Paul's nephew, he overhears the sinister plan by the Jews, that plan that wanted to ambush Paul, his uncle, and so he comes and informs the Apostle, and the Apostle takes action, informs the Roman authorities, and very quickly they gather Paul from Jerusalem, and then they head him or send him to Caesarea in the middle of the night. That was two years ago. two years ago. See, Paul has been out of their hair, out of the hair of the Jewish leader's hair for two years now. He's been on the Roman guard.

He's been some 100 kilometers away to the West, and they're still bent on killing him. Back then, you remember, more than 40 men had made a vow that they're not going to eat nor drink until the Apostle Paul is taken care of. That is, until the Apostle Paul is killed, is executed. The plan was to kill him. Now, did they carry out with that plan?

Was the Apostle Paul still alive? I doubt they can't. They can live for two years without water or food. So I'm taking it they probably broke that vow. But more to the point.

Back then the chief priests and the elders had approved the plan. These men had come to them and informed them of the plan, but now they were the plan. It's the religious leaders who are now inciting or conspiring to kill Paul. That's their hatred in their heart towards him, that after two years Two years of the Apostle being far removed from their presence, the Jewish leaders were still planning to murder Paul. Church, I know that it was only the Lord's Day that I preached the sermon emphasizing the hypocrisy of the Jewish leaders of the day, the Jewish establishment.

that they were so concerned, if you remember, with the matters of the law that pertain to others. They are very good at pointing the errors and the lawlessness in others, but very, very little introspection to see whether they are the ones who are obeying the law. And you pick it out in others, but there's no seeking whether they're the ones who are honoring the Lord on the inside of their own heart. There's no difference here. seeming law violations against the law by the apostle, none of which were substantiated by the way, is on their mind and they deem him to be guilty instantly.

And even though Paul over and over again, time and time again, kept on saying, hey, I'm not against the law. I'm not against the temple. I'm not against the customs. I'm not against any of these things. But they had a rightful place in God's plan of redemption.

And the Jews were not able to see that rightful place that these things had. The apostle wasn't against them, but he understood God's redemptive plan. But the Jews won't have it because they didn't believe in the fulfillment that was attained in the resurrected Jesus Christ. And that's the problem, they had no faith. But furthermore, they have a dishonest heart, we know that.

And they had a dishonest heart because their zeal for the law wasn't a heart zeal for God's law. For the past two years, they've stored what in their hearts? Hatred. They've stored hatred, resentment, bitterness against this apostle in their heart. And that, beloved, is a direct violation of the law of God.

Because they knew their Bibles. They knew the Scripture. Leviticus chapter 19 from 17 through 18 says, You shall not hate your brother in your heart. It's direct. It's straightforward.

You can't get it wrong. But you shall reason frankly with your neighbor, lest you incur sin because of him. You shall not take vengeance or bear a grudge against the sons of your own people. They're violating every one of these things. And then he goes on to say, but you shall love your neighbor as yourself.

I am the Lord. Hatred stored up in the heart over two years is a sign, beloved, of deep, dark corruption of the soul. It's an embittering poison. Storing hatred in the heart and the damage done is inevitable. Let me tell you, it is impossible to store hatred, bitterness or resentment against anyone, no matter what they have done in your heart, and expect it not to chew away at your soul.

It is a poison. It's dishonoring of God. This is what we see in the hearts of these people, even to the point where they're prepared to do the unthinkable because of it. And this is why Jesus says that if you hate in your heart, you're guilty of what? Guilty of murder.

And these men were supposed to be the religious leaders of the day. They're the religious intellectuals. and men whose hearts are supposed to beat in the tune of God's own heart? How can you have men who are so well-versed in the Torah, so well-versed in the Word of God, yet they don't see that God was more concerned with the inner purity than the external practicing of the law? How can they have hearts of unchecked hate for over two years?

Well let me tell you, from our point of view we can look at this and we can say beyond a shadow of a doubt that they did not belong to God. They belong to the enemy. And their actions are consistent with that of the enemy. From the very beginning, way back in the Garden of Eden, the enemy's hatred to God was manifested in a particular way. Do you remember how the enemy, how his hate was manifested?

How did the serpent attack God? How did he manifest his hate towards God when he tempted Eve? You remember? It was an assault or a direct assault at the Word of God. God said something and he came and said, no, no, no.

creating doubts in her heart, profaning the word of God, profaning the word of truth, because he's a father of lies, and the father of lies is opposed to all truth. Whether it's scripture itself or a minister of the truth, he hates and opposes all truth. And brothers and sisters, if the church is known as the pillar and the buttress of truth, 1 Timothy 3.15, then what would his attitude towards the church be? Assuming that we hold to the inerrant, infallible Word of God.

Assuming that we do believe that this is God's Word and given to us for our edification. Assuming that we hold to the truth, then what would the enemy's attitude towards us be? See, if you believe these things, he'll be your enemy. He'll be the enemy of the church, just like he was the enemy of Eve, just like the Jews were the enemies of the Apostle Paul. There's a deeper underlying spiritual battle going on.

This is a spiritual warfare. We can only see the physical, but there are things happening within the spiritual, and we know that the enemy is attacking all that is true. But providentially, the Jews will not get a chance to manifest their evil hearts. Instead, they will go to Caesarea and they will make their case before Festus against Paul. And this will happen when Festus comes back on the very next day.

He's not wasting any time. He takes a seat in the tribunal and he hears the allegations of the Jews. We're not told specifics. Luke doesn't tell us specifics, possibly because the charges are somewhat similar to what they've been speaking of in the previous chapters. We don't know, but it's likely.

But we are told that the charges are many, and we're told that the charges are serious. Especially for Festus, the accusation of Paul leading riots and disturbing the peace, that's a big one. But beloved, they were empty accusations. Did you realize how Luke says that they could not prove any of them? This man is a horrible person and he's doing these horrible things, yet they couldn't prove anything.

When Paul is given an opportunity to make a defense in verse 8, he rightly denies their charges completely. Neither against the law of the Jews nor against the temple, he says, nor against Caesar have I committed here this any offense. See, Paul is outright rejecting the accusations against him. See, no one can say Paul was against the law. We know that.

You look at Paul's writings, his epistles, the law is righteous, it is holy, it is good. He says that so clearly. But the thing is that Paul knows and understands that there is one in Christ who is the fulfillment of the law and the prophets. So it's not that the Apostle is against the law, but knowing that the righteousness or what the righteousness of God requires, he taught ever so clearly that forgiveness of sins and salvation is not attained through one's observance of the law, but through faith in Jesus Christ, who himself, that is Christ, has fulfilled the law. And the tabernacle in the wilderness, or the temple, which the Jews are now accusing Paul of defiling or speaking out against.

And Paul knows these are type and these are shadows, again, of Jesus Christ. Not against either, but he understands the rightful place of these things in the plan of God, in his plan of redemption. He understands why the law was given, why the tabernacle was given, the workings of the tabernacle and how they all point to the once and for all sacrifice in Jesus Christ. In fact, the Apostle Paul writes in 2 Corinthians 3, to this day, whenever Moses is read, a what? A veil lies over their hearts.

Speaking of the Jews. These are matters of religion, aren't they? The Governor is not about to adjudicate over matters of religion. He'll take them seriously because he knows that the Jews are getting pretty angry, they're getting pretty agitated, and their agitation and their anger will burn and possibly cause a disruption to the peace. So he'll take them seriously.

But this is not his job, it's not his position to adjudicate between matters of the religion, of one religion as to another, but rather to uphold the law of the land, the law of Rome. And that's why Paul goes on to say, essentially, that I am a loyal Roman citizen, neither against the law of Jews, nor against the temple, nor, he says, against Caesar. Have I committed any offence? I'm not a lawbreaker. I'm not violating the rules of Rome.

I'm no ringleader who is causing international riots. That's not me. And the Jews have not been able to shred or present a shred of evidence. And Festus, you can see with your own eyes who's lying and who's telling the truth. But Festus knows how much this means to the Jews.

So he entertains the possibility of Paul being sent to Jerusalem to be tried. Not because it was the right thing to do, but because we have an inspired commentary that tells us in verse 9, Festus was seeking to earn favour with the Jews. It seems like he was taking a page out of Felix's page, Felix's book, and is tempted to go down the pragmatic path rather than the path of justice. What works? What would do me good in my political career?

How can I maintain peace even at the expense of justice? Now we know it wasn't a total abandonment of Paul. He did say, hey, how about you go to Jerusalem and get tried, but I'll be there as well. So he did say he'll be there as well. But the fact that he says it, the fact that he proposes that Paul go to Jerusalem is quite worrisome.

We seem, beloved, to forget that the leaders and the rulers, all of them, they yield an authority, all of them. But they too are under authority. ultimately under the authority of God. But humanly speaking, Festus wanted to please who? The emperor.

Like his boss. He's just, he's a new kid, he's a new governor in Judea. I want to make my boss proud. He didn't want to be scrutinized for civil unrest. He didn't want the region that he's meant to take care of to be in anarchy.

He didn't want to be spotted out for doing the wrong thing or to be proven incompetent. No, no, he wanted to make his boss happy and therefore there needed to be a peace in the region that he was looking after. And the only way he could think of doing that would be those who are of greater influence, i.e. the Jews, they needed to be happy.

So keeping the peace meant that he needed to appease the Jews and that's why he proposes this to Paul. So the temptation is to send one man unjustly to Jerusalem to retain the favour of multitudes. That's the temptation. Now you may say, Festus may not have been aware. Maybe he didn't know the sinister plan of the Jews to ambush Paul and kill him.

Maybe, but maybe we don't want to give him credit too early either. Because surely when he took up his office he was debriefed. Would you not think that Claudius Lysias had debriefed him on Paul and on the Jews and their plan two years ago? Maybe, maybe not. Let's not go there, right?

It's conjecture. I understand that. We can't be sure. But when Luke tells us in sacred writ that the reason why he wanted to send Paul to Jerusalem was to appease or to earn favor with the Jews, then we have to say, no more. But Paul won't have any part of that plan.

The Apostle is not gullible. He's wise. He knows what's going down in Jerusalem. He knows the danger that the Jews are to his life. He knows all that.

He's not a child. He's wise. He's seen it all. He's been persecuted by them for a very long time. He knows the Jews are up to no good.

And he knows that that sort of rage, that sort of hatred, that sort of resentment that is in the heart of the Jews cannot be removed apart from the very work of Jesus Christ. And he knows as of yet they're unconverted. And so they have unconverted hearts. But he also knows as a citizen of Rome there is no advantage for him to go to Jerusalem. So the Apostle smells something that is not quite right in that question from Festus.

And he knows the human heart. He knows the human heart can be easily swayed, can easily be given into temptation. So what does the Apostle Paul do? He stands, he's ground, and he affirms, this is where I need to be. I'm a Roman citizen.

I need to be tried in the place where Caesar reigns. This is where I need to be. I haven't done any wrong by the Jews, and I've done no wrong by the Roman Empire. You've seen what I've been accused of, Festus. You've seen what they've said.

You've seen what they put on the table, the evidences they put on the table, namely none according to the scripture. So you know I'm not guilty. And if I had done anything deserving death, I'm willing to die. The Apostle says that there are crimes that are deserving of the capital punishment. And he says, if I've done any of these things, I'm not going to avoid the death penalty.

But you know I'm innocent. And so the Apostle says to the governor, you have no right to send me to Jerusalem. You see what he's doing here is he's actually bringing up the failings. the incompetency of Festus. Because if Festus recognizes that the Apostle Paul is innocent, and he does, as we continue reading the next chapter, he will say that to Agrippa, there's nothing worthy of death in this man.

They're empty accusations. And since he knows this, then why has he failed to acquit the Apostle Paul and set him free? You see, that's unrighteous judgment. But Paul knows his rights as a Roman citizen. And he knows the fact that the governor hasn't set him free is bad news.

Because it seems like already, even early in the piece, this governor is bending to public pressure. Does this not remind you of our Lord's trial? Remember when our Lord stood before Pontius Pilate? Do you remember Pilate's confession of our Lord? He said, I find no guilt in this man.

He said he's innocent. Okay, what do you do with innocent men? You set them free. To add to that, his wife comes and says, after she'd had a dream, she says, have nothing, she warns her husband, have nothing to do with this Jesus. She calls him the righteous one, the righteous man.

Have nothing to do with him. He's innocent. You have nothing to do with him, my husband, is what she's saying. The governor is supposed to protect the rights of the innocent. That's what Pilate was meant to do.

Uphold the cause of the innocent, protect them, defend their rights. But with Pilate, also the governor, the pressure came from a screaming crowd. Do you remember what the crowd was screaming? Crucify him. crucifying.

And then they utter these words, if you release this man, you are not a friend of Caesar. The governor, well, he wants to please Caesar. You don't want to hear that. You don't want that hanging over your head, do you? So what does he do?

He bends. He gives in to public pressure. He orders Barabbas to be released and Insurrectionists to be released to the crowd and then Jesus to be crucified. That said, our Lord came to die. He came in the incarnation to live a perfect life and then to die a substitutionary atoning death upon the cross.

That was his purpose, but that's not Paul's mission, is it? Paul's yet to make it to Rome because Jesus promised that he would, that he would testify of the good news of the gospel in Rome. So although the pressure of Festus was real, the Apostle releases the valve by making an appeal to a higher court. He appeals to Caesar. In a way, he's getting Festus off the hook.

You can see that, can't you? Festus is no longer responsible to adjudicate between Paul and the Jews. Paul essentially releases the pressure valve. So after conferring with his council, the governor agrees to make it happen. He agrees to send Paul to Caesar.

To Caesar you appeal, to Caesar you shall go. And beloved, who would have thought? He would have thought that the Apostle Paul would make it to Rome, as Jesus promised, but he would make it there in chains. I don't think he would have anticipated that. But that's the reality.

God's ways are not our ways, but his ways are good. So now Paul's appeal is accepted. The new governor has been able to breathe a sigh of relief. But there's something. Although he is relieved of his judicial duties now because now he's just got one purpose.

Let's get this Paul to Rome and let's get him there safely. That's his responsibility. But he has a big dilemma on his hands, doesn't he? Did you pick it out? Did you pick it out in the passage as we read it?

He's got a big dilemma before him. What is it? Well, he tells us what his dilemma is in verses 25 through 27. He says, when he's speaking to the crowd of Griffith and the rest, he says, but I found that he had, that's Paul, had done nothing deserving death and that he himself appealed to the emperor. I decided to go ahead and send him.

26. But I have nothing definite to write to my Lord about him. Who's he speaking about? Caesar. He's got nothing to write to the emperor about this Paul.

Therefore I have brought him before you all and especially before you, King Agrippa, so that after we have examined him, I may have something to write. Think about those words. For it seems reasonable, seems to me unreasonable, in sending a prisoner not to indicate the charges against him. You see, he can't send Paul to Rome without an explanation to the emperor why he's sending him in the first place. Think about it.

The governor's main role was to maintain peace by administering Roman law. That is to adjudicate between citizens and to enforce the law of Rome in regions they've been assigned. Any less than that would be deemed incompetent, to be found incompetent on elementary facets of that role. And Rome wasn't shy to depose of those within her ranks who weren't competent. We know that.

Okay, so let's look at the scenario. We know that Festus did not find any guilt in Paul, right? No guilt. He says that a little later. So obviously no penalty has been applied.

Now, if he found Paul guilty, Paul could still appeal to Rome and he may be granted or may not. But that's not the case, so we don't have to worry ourselves with that. But he found him innocent. Festus, the governor, found Paul innocent. So the obvious question you and I should be asking in the text is this.

Why is Festus sending him to Rome? Why hasn't he simply set him free? The only answer that we could come up with in this situation is either he's being completely unjust and unrighteous in his decree, or he's found the case too complex and too difficult for him to resolve on his own. Now that's fine, if that's the case, then an explanation would be required to stipulate where the difficulties were. But here's the problem.

These difficulties are matters of religion, and not Roman law. Rome hasn't placed this governor to resolve disputes in matters of religion. So how would that bode with Rome? And to add to that, Festus, unlike Felix, because we're told about Felix earlier, Festus doesn't seem to have a strong working knowledge of what the Apostle Paul believes. He doesn't seem like he knows greatly what the way entails.

So what is he going to write to the emperor when he sends Paul? At the moment, he's going to be disgraced. So you have to agree, when a little bit of time had passed and Agrippa had come to Caesarea, he was delighted. Because finally he has his chance to attain a better understanding of the root cause of these disputes, because Agrippa seems to be someone who's well-versed in Judaism, and he is. So from verse 13 through 32, we have an account of Festus recalling what had taken place with Paul in his trial with Agrippa.

So that's Festus speaking to Agrippa. From the time that he was approached in Jerusalem, only a few days after his appointment as governor of Judea by the chief priests and the elders, to the time he came back and the trial in Caesarea had taken place when Paul made his appeal to Caesar. This is a conversation that's had between Festus, my apologies, and King Agrippa and Bernice. Now, I'm not going to go recall all the details for the sake of time. And next week I'll address Paul's defense in chapter 26.

I'll also give you some background knowledge on Agrippa and Bernice then, next week. But it would suffice to say for now that as soon as Festus finished speaking, Agrippa was keen to sit down and see Paul himself. And he will, in chapter 26. However, this evening I want to bring it to a close on an observation. Earlier this evening we read the whole chapter.

And it was clear to us that, as I said before, Festus was a bit vague on exactly what Paul believes. He knows there are major differences between Paul's convictions and those of the Jews. Now that's obvious, right? Because the Jews want to kill Paul. They've been festering that hatred towards him for over two years.

And Vestas, being a little vague, when he describes the differences, this is how he describes them in verse 19, he says, these are points of disputes in their own religion. So he acknowledges disputes in religion, quite vague, but there is another detail that he gives, something that sticks in his mind. a specific detail that the Apostle no doubt had emphasized in his defense before Festus, which is not recorded for us. So we don't know exactly what the Apostle Paul said to Festus. We don't know.

We've only simply got a very small snippet in verse 8. But the reason I believe that the Apostle emphasized this fact, this point, and it's a point that's stuck in the mind of the governor's mind, is because of this. It's because it's essential to the Christian faith. It's because the whole of our Christian faith, everything that Paul stands for, everything that he's been preaching all along, stands or falls on this one fact. One fact.

If this is not true, beloved, there is no hope for all eternity. And it's found in verse 19. Festus speaking to Agrippa. When the accusers stood up, They brought no charge in his case as such evils as I supposed." 19.

Rather, they had certain points of dispute with him about their own religion and about certain Jesus who was dead but whom Paul asserted to be alive. I love the way it's written in the original. Listen to this. Concerning a certain Jesus having been dead whom Paul is affirming to be alive. How fitting.

How fitting that it seems the only detail in this pagan idol-worshipping Roman governor, and the only detail he recalls of Paul's belief is a certain Jesus having been dead, Paul is affirming to be alive. It's the resurrection of Christ. What does that mean? At the very least, Paul proclaims Jesus not simply as a good man. He's not proclaiming Jesus simply as a good man who walked the earth with good morals.

That's not what Paul's saying. Nor simply does he teach that Jesus is one who came teaching wonderful, wonderful doctrines for all humanity to live by, and he taught them in order to promote peace and human benevolence. Nor does Paul preach in his gospel that Jesus died an unjust death as an example for others to lay down their lives for one another. All of these are true, by the way, to some degree. But these won't, won't cause the anger and the hostility that the Jews have against the Apostle Paul.

Not at all. Those sort of acts of benevolence are agreed upon by all religions of the world, right? that's not the gospel. Heralding all these things, proclaiming and announcing all these things without primarily declaring a certain Jesus having been dead now affirmed to be alive would be a perversion of the gospel. To omit the resurrection is to take the good news away from the gospel.

Romans 4 Romans 4 25. He was delivered up for our trespasses and raised for our justification. Raised for our justification. Beloved, without the resurrection of Jesus Christ, we all die in our sins. The resurrection is central to the Christian faith.

There's no gospel without it. Yes, declaring that Jesus is the Son of God in flesh to have risen from the dead will get you in hot water, as it did Paul. And today it'll make you the laughingstock of most. But beloved, without declaring the resurrection of Jesus Christ, you're preaching or declaring a gospel devoid of power to save. If he's not a resurrected Jesus, there is no power to save.

Listen to Paul in the epistle to the Corinthians in 1 Corinthians chapter 15 from verse 16. You want to turn there. So 1 Corinthians chapter 15 from verse 16. We're almost done. 1 Corinthians 15-16 For if the dead are not raised, not even Christ has been raised.

And if Christ has not been raised, your faith is futile, and you are still in your sins. Then those also who have fallen asleep in Christ have perished. If in Christ we have hope in this life only, We are of all people most to be pitied. Central to the gospel, according to Paul, is the resurrection of Jesus Christ. And beloved, it should also be for us.

Is it? When people you've shared the good news with And that someone, a colleague, a friend, a family member, whoever it is, when they go back home of an evening and they sit back and they're recalling in their minds what you said in relation to the gospel, are they recalling something of what you said? Would the resurrected Savior come to their mind? Will a certain Jesus having been dead now affirmed to be alive? come to their mind.

Is that what they'll remember you saying? Because brothers and sisters, Christ's resurrection is God vindicating His Son to have accomplished the work of redemption perfectly and without fault. That's the price he paid upon the cross in his death. The price accepted by God. His raising from the dead is a declaration that death could not hold him because death is the penalty for sin.

You have sinned. I have sinned. We deserve eternal death. But He is without sin, without spot, and without blemish. If Christ had sinned even once, beloved, even once, He would have remained in the tomb.

Beloved, the resurrection from the dead of Jesus Christ is our triune God's way of declaring to you and I, Christian, That by faith in the resurrected Savior you can have certainty. Hear that? That you can have certainty that your sins are forgiven. Because the precious blood of the sinless Lamb of God was the currency that God accepted. And that's all there is to it.

No other currency is accepted but the precious blood of Jesus Christ. There is no other hope. No resurrection means no hope. Romans 6, 9-11, we know that Christ, being raised from the dead, will never die again. Hear this, death no longer has dominion over him.

I love that. And he goes on to say, for the death he died, he died to sin, once and for all. But the life he lives, he lives to God. So you also must consider yourselves dead to sin and alive to God in Christ Jesus. Dead, dead, death to death, death to sin.

The resurrected Christ is no longer subject to death. And beloved, those who have been resurrected with Christ in his resurrected life too are no longer subject to death. The second death will not reach them. and no longer one day will they be subject to the fallingness and the corruption and the impurity and the depravity of sin. That's what the passage is saying.

This is the bliss of trusting in the resurrected Savior, that His life becomes my life by faith, never to be separated again from the source and the substance of life. And where there is resurrected life, there can be no death. Beloved, that's good news. Always, beloved brothers and sisters, always be prepared to make a defense to anyone who asks you for a reason for the hope that is in you and do it with respect and do it with gentleness. Amen.

And yes, declare the perfect sinless life of our Lord. And yes, declare the propitiatory atoning sacrifice of His shed blood. And yes, declare his burial. And brothers and sisters, we must never hold back from declaring the resurrection unto life. Because if all the prior, if all those other things were accomplished with no resurrection, we have nothing.

We have nothing. And all of us will die in our sins and be eternally under the wrath of God. The Christian faith stands or falls upon the resurrection of Jesus Christ. It is a core tenet of our faith. The apostle Paul knew it.

He was proud to declare it with a passion and a force whereby it would etch it into a pagan man's mind like Festus the governor. My hope and my prayer is that we too would have the courage and the boldness to proclaim the resurrected Savior to all those we come across. But before that, that we would be trusting in the resurrected Savior for the forgiveness of our sins. Let's pray.