The Lords Stage — Acts 23-26

0:03 Good morning. Bear with me today. I'm still recovering from an illness that was almost a month ago and I have a cough that won't go away and a slightly weird throat that won't get better either. So I've got some water up here and you're gonna hear me clear my throat a lot. But since it is still summer, I am channeling Christ today and still wearing my sandals.

0:36 So, be more like Christ. Turn in your Bibles to Acts chapter 25. Devin took us through chapter 24 last week and 25 begins a section here that really lasts longer than one chapter. Ideally, I would have about two hours to get you through twenty five and twenty six together to really get the flow of things but that's not the time that we have. So, I'm covering chapter 25 and we get to leave on a bit of a cliffhanger and Brian's going to pick up next week in chapter six.

1:25 Now that you've all found Acts chapter 25, let's take a minute and pray. Dear heavenly father, we come before you this morning. We thank you for this time that we have together to open your word. We thank you for the examples that we have of Paul in this section. We ask that you would open our hearts to reveal things to us, reveal new things about Paul and about our lord Jesus Christ.

1:53 In Christ's name, amen. Now, two second recap of chapter 24 is that Paul was on trial before Felix. Felix was not that great of a guy but Felix leaves Paul in prison. Not a terrible prison sentence. Paul had some freedom.

2:21 He wasn't locked in a high security prison with his hands and feet chained to the floor. It was a little bit, I wouldn't say comfortable, but it wasn't quite as bad as had been before. And this was two years, two years went by between chapter 24 and chapter 25. So we pick up in chapter 25. Paul's been sitting here for two years and there's a new Roman governor in town who is Festus.

2:53 So let's read chapter 25 verse one. Festus, therefore, having arrived in the province three days later went up to Jerusalem from Caesarea and the chief priests and the leading men of the Jews brought charges against Paul and they were urging him requesting a concession against Paul that he might have him brought to Jerusalem at the same time setting an ambush to kill him on the way. Festus then answered that Paul was being kept in custody at Caesarea and that he himself was about to leave shortly. Therefore, he said, let the influential men among you go there with me and if there is anything wrong about the man, let them prosecute him. And after he spent not more than eight or ten days among them, he went down to Caesarea and on the next day, he took his seat on the tribunal and ordered Paul to be brought.

3:46 And after he had arrived, the Jews who had come down from Jerusalem stood around him bringing many and serious charges against him which they could not prove. While Paul said in his own defense, I have committed no offense either against the law of the Jews or against the temple or against Caesar. But Festus wishing to do the Jews a favor answered Paul and said, Are you willing to go up to Jerusalem and stand trial before me on these charges? But Paul said, I am standing before Caesar's tribunal where I ought to be tried. I have done no wrong to the Jews as you also very well know.

4:26 If then I am a wrongdoer and have committed anything worthy of death, I do not refuse to die. But if none of these things is true of which these men accuse me, no one can hand me over to them. I appeal to Caesar. Then when Festus had conferred with his counsel, he answered, you have appealed to Caesar. To Caesar, you shall go.

5:50 And 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. And Agrippa said to Festus, I also would like to hear the man myself. Tomorrow, he said, you shall hear him. On the next day, when Agrippa had come together with Bernice amid great pomp and had entered the auditorium accompanied by the commanders and the prominent men of the city, at the command of Festus, Paul was brought in.

6:29 And Festus said, king Agrippa, and all you gentlemen here present with us, you behold 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 especially...

6:59 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. Alright. So we have two main divisions of chapter 25, and it's Paul's trial before Festus and then the beginning of the hearing before King Agrippa. Now, in this first section, Paul appeals to Caesar to avoid a plot against his life.

7:39 Now, let's talk about Festus for a minute. Little bit of background. So Festus comes to the province. Acts 24 ended with the transition of the governorship from Antonius Felix to Porcius Festus. Was undoubtedly a bad man.

8:00 But Festus, as secular history goes, was generally a good man. Not good in front of the Lord Jesus Christ, but generally referred to as an okay kind of guy. He generally governed well. Mostly well thought of as well as you could be. And he had a lot of garbage left over to him from Felix that he had to deal with.

8:30 So generally, he did an Okay job. And the statement that after three days he went up to Caesarea to Jerusalem, it hints at this good and general energetic leadership that he had. He arrives at Caesarea, which is the capital of the Judean province. And he immediately makes the trip to Jerusalem, probably the most important city of the province. He needs to get to know his people.

9:00 And he's enthusiastic about that. I mean, you gotta give him a little bit of credit where credit's due. So it's been two years, right? And the high priests, the Jewish high priests and the elders come up and they inform Festus about Paul, their own opinion. So obviously Paul was still important to them.

9:25 And they're actually just hoping they can get Festus to just go ahead and give the order to kill him. They're trying to not... They don't even want to have a trial. They're like, we can just convince this guy. Look, we've had this prisoner for a couple years.

9:36 Really, he just deserves a die. Can you just... Can we just take care of it and be done? Right? This is all they're trying to do.

9:47 And really, we can see that Paul's imprisonment the last couple of years was providential. It was a provision of protective custody against the murderous intentions of the Jewish leadership. And given the conditions of this imprisonment, Paul actually had a little bit of rest. I don't want to call it a restful time necessarily. He's still imprisoned.

10:11 But he had been out in the field traveling for years. And he got two years of relatively okay ish accommodations for those two years. So we had a little bit of time to rest and recharge. So they want to summon him to Jerusalem while they just lay in ambush to kill him. Why do they do this?

10:37 Because they know that Paul would be acquitted in any fair trial. They they know. They know. There's not there's not... There is no question.

10:47 So they really don't want to be put on trial again if they can get Festus to just take the guy's head off fine. Otherwise, if he won't do it, they want him. Festus wants them to be tried, fine. We'll just kill him on the way and be done with it. And these are the religious leaders guys.

11:02 These are the leaders and these actions show the dangers of a religion that's not in true contact with God. If your religion makes you a liar and a murderer, you've got a problem with your religion. Right? You see a growth of the corruption. Boise said, quote, in Acts 23, where the plot to murder Paul was first launched, we find that it was the zealots who were responsible.

12:21 And we don't really know if Festus really knew the intentions of the Jews or not. But either way, he's refusing to grant their request for a change of venue. And it's another way that God is protecting Paul here. And Phastus was willing to put Paul on trial again. That's fine because he doesn't really know anything about him.

12:46 He's willing to put him on trial again and try and get a resolution to the matter. But he's insisting that it's going to happen in Caesarea. It's not going to happen in Jerusalem. So he reopens the trial in verse six. And on the next day, sitting at the judgment seat, he commanded Paul to be brought.

13:06 And when they had come, the Jews who had come down from Jerusalem stood about and laid many serious complaints against Paul, which they could not prove while he served as his own defense. He was his own lawyer. So Festus is on the judgment seat. So Paul is once again brought before a Gentile ruler being accused by the Jews, the Jewish leaders. And as has been the case in other times, Paul's life is actually in danger were this to go south.

13:40 If he was to be found guilty, he's actually got a real problem. So they bring many serious complaints. Other translations say serious charges which they could not prove. So also, as before, the Jews are bringing charges and accusations without evidence against him. And in response, Paul confidently rests in the evidence and also his apparent integrity.

14:16 You know, there's many in scripture who are the target of false accusations. Right? You think about Joseph and Daniel come to mind. Those those are big ones from the old testament. But in another sense, every follower of the Lord Jesus Christ is the target of false accusations.

14:40 In Revelation 12, Satan is called the accuser of the brethren. And thankfully, the Lord Jesus Christ is our defense against this. In Romans eight thirty three and thirty four, Paul wrote, Who will bring a charge against God's elect? God is the one who justifies. Who is the one who condemns?

15:04 Christ Jesus is he who died. Yes, rather, who was raised, who is at the right hand of God, who also intercedes for us. The Lord Jesus Christ is our ultimate defense against condemnation and false accusation. So in verse nine, Paul is going to appeal his case to Caesar. Well, Festus wants to do the Jews a favor.

15:57 The Jews don't really like the fact that they're there... That the Romans are there. Right? So they got a new governor. He knows he's got to be politically correct.

16:06 He's got to make these people not hate him. So he's going to try and smooth things over. He understands that it's important to the Jews. It's also important for him to make this relationship work. He has to maintain a good relationship with them in this province.

16:27 So he asks, Are you willing to go to Jerusalem and there be judged before me concerning these things? Festus is having a really hard time deciding the case. And Paul's standing as a Roman citizen prevents Festus from actually commanding that the trial be moved to Jerusalem. So he's got to ask Paul about it. So again, it's interesting to wonder if Festus knew about the plot to murder Paul because if he did know then he's knowingly asking Paul to walk into an ambush here.

17:13 But if he didn't know then he's doing this purely because he thought it would please the Jewish leaders to have the trial in Jerusalem. But Paul is insistent and says, I stand before Caesar's tribunal where I ought to be tried, verse 10. I have done no wrong to the Jews as you very well know. So perhaps Paul could see right through it. Perhaps Paul saw the plot against his life.

17:45 Perhaps the Lord revealed it to him. Maybe just some God given common sense and deduction. Paul can figure it out. He's a smart guy. He's well educated.

17:58 So he demands to stand trial before Caesar, which is the right of any... Any Roman citizen had that right. If going through the standard trials in courts didn't really yield you a satisfactory conclusion to your issue, any Roman citizen could appeal to Caesar. Rightly and wisely, Paul would like to avoid martyrdom if he could. He's not afraid to face the lions.

18:30 I do not refuse to die. Right? He's not afraid to face the lions but I don't need to put my head in the lion's mouth. I mean, I know it's coming. I don't need to do that.

18:43 So if we can avoid it, sure. But I have... Have... They do not refuse to die. He's not afraid of death.

18:52 And his appeal makes sense. So he's convinced on the evidence that all the evidence is on his side and that he could win any fair trial which we know that he could. But he also had a reason to wonder if Festus, his current judge, was being sympathetic towards the Jews, which we know he was. Not because he was trying to be evil, but hey, he's trying to play the political game that they get to play and not ruin this relationship and have them all hate him. So Paul sees this too.

19:33 And he appeals to Caesar. So specifically, a little bit of historical fact. So the Caesar he's appealing to, this is Caesar Nero who was later a notorious enemy of Christians. But in the first several years of his reign, he was generally kind of okay and had the influence of a lot of good advisors around him. And he was generally still kind of considered an okay Caesar at this point.

20:06 And Paul didn't have any reason to believe that Caesar was going to be anti Christian. So this was still very early. Nero really went off the deep end. He's the one who burned the whole the whole plate. Anyway, go read about Caesar Nero if you don't know, boy, was a basket case.

20:47 Now, who is king Agrippa? This is Herod Agrippa the second who's the son of Herod Agrippa the first. Aren't you proud of me for figuring that out? Okay. Eureka moment.

21:04 Okay. So Herod Agrippa the first, there were also two more Herods. So this Herod, Herod Agrippa the second, his great grandfather is the one who tried to murder Jesus. His grandfather is the one who beheaded John the Baptist. And his father, Herod, is the one who martyred the first apostle who was James.

21:32 Okay. So this is the line of Herod's and this is King Herod Agrippa II. And he ruled a small client kingdom to the Northeast of Phesis' territory in the Roman Empire. And Agrippa is known as an expert in the Jewish laws and customs and all the religious matters. And even though he doesn't have any jurisdiction over Paul in this case, he could be a big influence and a big help to Festus.

22:13 And Herod and Bernice come to Festus really as a social visit because he's the new governor. So they're going to congratulate him on his new position, see how things are going. And actually, Bernice's sister was the wife of Felix, the previous governor. So there's a little bit of connection between the two areas. Bernice was Agrippa's sister.

22:47 You'd think she was his wife, but he's his sister. And secular history does tell us though that they had an incestuous relationship. And everywhere that Herod goes, Bernice goes. And you see this through chapter 25 and in chapter six. When Herod goes here, Bernice goes here.

23:12 When Herod stands up, Bernice stands up. They're always together and it's this literal sin following Herod around. A little bit of background for you. So Agrippa's not that great of a guy. And Bernice isn't that great of a woman either.

23:32 We are. So Herod didn't rule over a lot of territory, but he had a lot of influence because the emperor gave him the right to oversee a lot of the things that the Jews were doing and the affairs and the temple in Jerusalem. And he could oversee the appointment of the high priest. So big influential kind of character. And Festus is super happy that Agrippa came because, Okay, fine.

24:19 No matter how much time goes by, Festus doesn't get any less confused by Paul's case. And even though there's not enough evidence to convict Paul, for some reason it's just the case keeps going. Naturally this would be confusing to a Roman governor because you have this suspicious lack of concrete evidence. But of course, there was a lack of concrete evidence because he hadn't done anything wrong. And this is reason enough for acquittal.

24:57 So the only reason Fassus keeps this thing dragging out is because he's trying to get to the bottom of it and trying to reach a conclusion where the Jews don't hate him. He's gotta play the political card. So the appearance before Agrippa isn't actually a... It really just a hearing. It's not a trial.

25:15 Again, Agrippa doesn't have any jurisdiction here. It's just a hearing. Herod wants to see what Paul's about and Festus is eager to get Agrippa's opinion about it. And so then, Festus lays before Herod kind of the gist of Paul's case. They're asking for a judgment against him.

25:47 We're in verse 14. There's a certain man left to prisoner by Felix and the chief priests. They're bringing charge against him demanding a sentence of condemnation. Look, the religious leaders, the Jews are hoping that Fesus would decide just to kill Paul without even hearing, without even having a hearing or a trial or even hearing Paul's defense. They're just trying to get him to decide.

26:20 But Festus tells Herod, hey, he's appealing to the strong system of the law. Like hey, we got to have a trial. He's got to be able to speak for himself. Festus is an upstanding, alright governor. He's got it, okay.

26:35 So Festus is surprised then. He tells Herod, look, they're bringing accusations against Paul that are kind of unimportant. Does... Fesus doesn't get it. Their their accusations focused on matters of their religion and a certain Jesus who died.

26:56 And he thinks he's alive. Okay. So the guy's got a few screws loose. Okay. He's not harming anybody.

27:02 There's not really a problem. And this is all that Thessus can come up with. And it's interesting to think about these Jewish leaders and even the Gentile leaders at this point that there's just not a lot that's known about Jesus. He says a certain Jesus... Mean he doesn't even know.

27:29 And it's it's a good kinda check to remember that a lot of folks still didn't know about Jesus and even you know important VIP people in leadership didn't know. Spurgeon said, quote, brethren, this is why we must keep on preaching Jesus Christ because he is still so little known. The masses of this city are as ignorant of Jesus as Festus was, end quote. The Jews just need Paul to stop. They just need Paul to stop.

28:05 They need him to stop preaching about Jesus and preaching his resurrection. And they're trying to get Festus to make him stop. And if that means killing him, great. But just stop. But Festus tells Herod, Hey, it's a certain Jesus who died.

28:28 And Paul is saying he's alive. So Festus knows a little bit. He's got some limited knowledge about Paul's ministry. He knows that Paul is emphasizing the death and the resurrection. And you could kind of imply here that Paul would also be emphasizing the cross Cause it's hard to believe that Paul is preaching that Jesus died and rose.

28:55 And Festus knows that okay he died and he rose without knowing how he died. So I'd like to think that Festus is aware of the crucifixion. It wasn't just any death, but he was crucified and Paul is saying that he's alive. And so then Agrippa says that he wants to hear the man for himself. So Agrippa's curiosity means that Paul gets yet another opportunity to speak before a gentile ruler, which would be the third time in the last three chapters.

30:06 They're here with great pomp. So they put Paul in an auditorium. They invite all of the political leaders, the political and military leaders here amid great pomp. So like they're wearing their best kind of clothes. They have all the jewelry on.

30:26 I mean they are making a big thing. They're they're saying look, everybody get your phones out, get your cameras ready. This is all going live stream on social media. I mean this is like they want to make this thing way. They're blowing this way out of proportion and it's not even a trial.

30:42 It's just a hearing. Agrippa just wants to hear from Paul. You know? But they're communicating very well who's important and who's not. They bring Paul in and Paul's in the middle of this auditorium and history tells us Paul was not a very physically imposing guy.

31:00 You probably have a guy who's a little shorter than me, kinda got some old clothes. He's been in prison the last couple of years. He's bald little guy, not really much to look at in the middle of all that's going on and they're making this big scene out of it. They want everybody to know. They need everybody to...

31:20 They need all the gossip to be spread after this. But what an opportunity for Paul because how does this get spun? Oh, it's... Isn't it awesome that God allowed this to happen because now Paul gets an audience. Most everyone who would have been present there would have been wrong in their estimation about who's important and who's not.

31:58 Paul has an authority here and a dignity here that's greater than any of theirs. Bruce said, quote, all these very important people would have been greatly surprised and not a little scandalized. Could they have foreseen the relative estimates that later generations, us, would form of them and their prisoner who now stood before them to state his case? So here we are talking about them. And imagine if they could hear us or know what we would think of them two thousand years later.

32:37 But God allows this. We've now got a scene though. They're intending all of this pomp and all of this visual stimuli and all these people here because they're they're trying to make the gossip happen. They're trying to, you know, make stuff go viral. But God's gonna use it.

32:56 Paul's gonna use it. This is a stage. I mean, it's a literal stage. And Paul gets to... And I don't get to talk about it because it's really...

33:37 And he's recording the words of Festus and it, you know, clearly acknowledging that Festus is stating, look, that Paul is innocent. And he says, after the examination had taken place that I may have something to write. This this is awesome. So Festus wants to use this hearing so that he... You know Festus is going to sit over here and take notes because he's got to send Peter, sorry, he has to send Paul to Caesar.

34:11 Well, he can't just send Paul to Caesar. He's got to write a letter. There's paperwork. Guys, there's paperwork. He's got to say, look, here's a prisoner I've got for you.

34:20 He's coming to you. And what's Felix supposed to say? Dear Caesar, I'm bringing you this guy. They all want him to die. I don't really think he's guilty.

34:31 And actually, I can't figure out what the accusation is. Very sincerely Felix. I just thought I'd send him to you anyway. P. S.

34:47 Great way to make a really good impression on Caesar. I think we're going to have a new governor here next year very, very soon. Felix got nothing to send. He doesn't even know what the charges are. So Felix Festus has to sit here and try to write briefs.

35:12 He's got to write meeting notes and figure out what it is he's going to tell Caesar is wrong with this guy. Because he's got nothing. He's going to be the most popular man with Caesar. So he's got to save his own skin. Festus can't even specify the charges.

35:33 So what a beautiful stage this is that Paul has. It's all ready for him to preach. He's got an audience. They got this whole place is jammed wall to wall with unbelievers. All these people who don't know about the lord, they don't know Jesus Christ, and Paul just has these people as an audience in the best way.

36:09 They're not interrogating him and he's the subject. He's the one who's gonna stand there and preach at him. The guy must have been in paradise. He must have been so happy. He comes out here.

36:22 He's got all these... He's got to be so excited. I bet he was excited. He's like, Oh man, I get to do this again. And he's gonna he's gonna let loose, this guy.

36:33 Paul is gonna let loose. You know this is exciting because the objective of the church... We think about the objective of the church and it's to go and, you know, the church meeting, you know, we meet to pray and to break bread and fellowship, right? Study the word of God. But we don't typically, as a function, meet to evangelize, right?

36:51 You go out into the world to do that. And here Paul is. He's out here confronting the world nose to nose. He's surrounded by this whole Roman entourage and all the Jewish people, all the important ones and the dignitaries and all that. And in that part of the world, he's he's as bold and he's as fearless as any man who ever lived.

37:19 He just blurts it out. You wait to see what's coming in chapter 26. He blurts it out. And his testimony is fantastic. So you'll see how dramatic and dynamic this presentation is and how penetrating is.

37:33 He tears into Agrippa. He unmasks the sin of all these people. All on a stage that they meant to communicate really who's not important. And God gives him one of the most awesome platforms he's had. So that's where we get to wrap it up.

38:15 It's it's just like Joseph's story in Genesis. So many things that are intended for evil against Paul that that the Lord turns into the most tremendous opportunities. How the Lord protected Paul, how the Lord gives Paul the most amazing opportunities, and how God directs his steps. So let's close and pray. Father, we come to you.

38:41 We thank you for this time that we've had together. We thank you for the examples that we have in your word. We thank you for the example of the apostle Paul and the things that he went through, the things that you allowed, the things that you walked him through in his life, the things that you guided him through, the ways that you protected him and blessed him and empowered him to preach your gospel. May we all have that boldness. May we all be filled with your spirit in the face of adversity.

39:15 We ask that you be with us as we go today. In Christ's name. Amen.