Hey friends, here we are another week, another
episode of the Semi -Seminarian. We're continuing
our Bible study series. We're calling the Bible
for Grownups. In this episode, we're in part
10 of our look at the Acts of the Apostles. This
time, our study is called Paul, the original
Teflon Don. And in this episode, Luke... the
writer of the Acts of the Apostles, is going
to show us four individual times where Paul is
brought before the authorities. And in this case,
Paul is going to make the argument that Christianity
is not a threat to the Roman Empire whatsoever.
I'll see you on the other side. Acts chapters
23, 24, 25, and 26. We're going to look at these
final four times that Paul is brought before
some type of court or tribunal to plead his case
before he finally ends up in Rome. And that's
kind of his story on the way to Rome involves
a shipwreck, and it's kind of an adventure all
in and of itself. But what we find with tonight's
lesson, as we have looked at Luke, the writer
of the Acts of the Apostles, as we've looked
at the way that he's chronicled the missionary
journeys of Paul, the way that Paul has converted
people to Christianity, but at times had run
into trouble with officials, we find that Luke
ultimately commits the ultimate party foul. Because
in the Acts of the Apostles, what we find in
his stories of Paul are the two things that you
never talk about at a party, religion and politics.
Till now, Luke's recordings of Paul's speeches
have been about religion. or more precisely,
theology or Christology. In other words, Paul
has been, when his speeches have been recorded,
it has been about why you should change your
mind from, say, being a Gentile pagan or being
a Jewish person and becoming a Christian, because
of the nature of Christ. But now, in these last
four speeches, we're going to see his talk shift
from religion to politics. In these next four
chapters, we're going to see Paul making his
case four different times with different words
and with different audiences, but with one unifying
message. And that is that Christianity does not
break the law. In the face of sedition or the
charge of stirring up or fomenting political
unrest, Paul is making his case in these four
chapters and successfully so that he and Christianity
are innocent of the charges of breaking the law.
So let's begin tonight with chapter 23, verse
1. If you recall, we dropped off last time with
Paul being brought before the Sanhedrin in Jerusalem.
Paul looks straight at the Sanhedrin. My brothers,
he says, I have always done my duty to God. And
to this very day, I feel that I have done nothing
wrong. Ananias, the high priest, heard this.
So he ordered the men standing near Paul to hit
him in the mouth. Now, I want to stop right here
and talk about this guy Ananias for just one
second. Ananias was named the high priest of
the Sanhedrin in the year 47. And actually, Ananias
was a very corrupt guy. He seized the tithes
that were meant for lower priests. He was also
extremely pro -Roman in his policies. And when
the war broke out with Rome in 66, he actually
hid from his own people in an aqueduct. He was
discovered by Jewish insurgents and dragged with
his brother to their place of execution. So he
was executed by his own people. Then Paul said
to him, you pretender, God will hit you. You
sit there and judge me by the law, but you yourself
broke the law when you commanded them to hit
me. Those who were standing near Paul said, How
dare you talk like that to God's high priest?
Paul replied, Brothers, I didn't realize he was
the high priest. It is written, Do not speak
evil about the ruler of your people. That is
written in Exodus chapter 22, verse 28. Now,
we're not to suppose that Paul... Being a Sanhedrin
himself would not have been able to recognize
the high priest. The argument Paul is making
here is the high priest wouldn't have ever ordered
a defendant to be punished in court like being
punched in the mouth. The rights and the rules
of witnesses was held in very high regard within
the Jewish court system. So he's saying, you
ordered these guys to hit me. Obviously, you
can't be the high priest. The high priest wouldn't
have done something like that. Paul knew that
some of them were Sadducees and others were Pharisees.
Sure enough, this Sanhedrin, this Supreme Court,
is made up of these two religious and political
parties, the Sanhedrin and the Pharisees. So
he called out in the Sanhedrin, my brothers,
he said. I am a Pharisee. I'm the son of a Pharisee.
I believe that people will rise from the dead,
and that is why I'm on trial. And whenever you
boil all of it down, whenever you boil Christianity
down, basically that's it in one sentence. We
believe that you can rise from the dead. And
he's saying, that's why I'm here in front of
you. That's the law that I've broken. Now is
he saying this about being a Pharisee? He says,
I'm a Pharisee and my father's a Pharisee. Is
he saying this to brag? Is he saying, look, I'm
not like these other Gentile or pagan people
that have become Christians, right? Look at my
beard, man. I'm like you guys. I think we miss
the point when we read Paul's words because he's
actually on trial for preaching things and stating
beliefs that are supposed to be untrue. Right?
That's why he's been charged. He's charged with
inventing stories. And that's why he's on trial.
But, Paul says, he says something to them that
may in the 21st century be lost on us, but it
wouldn't have been lost on the Sanhedrin. Paul
is saying, I'm charged because I believe in the
resurrection of the dead. He says, but I'm a
Pharisee. Guys, we're Pharisees. We all believe
in the resurrection of the dead. You there in
the Sanhedrin, you who's a Pharisee, you believe
in the resurrection of the dead too. It's one
of the things that makes you a Pharisee. Why
aren't you on trial? When he said this, the Pharisees
and the Sadducees started to argue. They began
to take their respective sides. The Sadducees
say that people will not rise from the dead.
They don't believe that there are angels or spirits
either, but the Pharisees believe all of these
things. People were causing trouble and making
a lot of noise, and some of the teachers of the
law who were Pharisees stood up, and they argued
strongly. Look, we find nothing wrong with this
man. What if a spirit or an angel has? spoken
to him then the arguing got out of hand the commanding
officer was afraid that Paul would be torn to
pieces to those who were arguing so he ordered
the soldiers to go down and take him away from
there by force they were supposed to bring him
into the fort the next night the Lord stood near
Paul and he said be brave you've given witness
about me in Jerusalem you must do the same in
Rome and we're going to find this particular
prophecy come true at the end of this book From
the moment that Paul is arrested here onwards,
the narrative becomes much more full than before.
It still continues true of Luke's method of concentrating
the reader's attention on certain selective scenes.
He would zip into a scene happening at a particular
place at a particular time and then zip out and
there might be... a periods of time that go by
and it might seem like it was the next chronological
thing that was to happen but that's not what
Luke is doing Luke is zooming in to tell a story
of the narrative zooming out and then telling
the story it's exactly what he was doing as we
see Paul come on the scene and Peter is still
preaching right and he zooms in to a story of
Paul, then he zooms out and zooms in to Peter.
And what Luke is trying to do is he's trying
to show these things kind of happening at the
same time, at least with regard to the narrative
he's concerned. He's going to follow that same
method here, and to show you kind of how he lapses
in his time, chapter 21 through 17. I'm sorry,
21 and 17 through 24 to 23, that's what, over
three chapters of narrative, describes the events
that happened over 12 days. But then chapter
24 verses 24 through 27, three verses, accounts
for two years. 25, the beginning of 25 to 28,
takes about eight months of time. And then just
four verses, At the end of 28, it takes about
three months. So this is not just something that
happens one event after the other event after
the other event. But Luke has taken these events
and has stitched them next to each other for
an overarching narrative. This narrative, the
thing that he's trying to get us to see here,
again, is Paul answering the critique that Christianity
is somehow against the law, either the Jewish
law. or the Roman law. And what Luke is doing
is making a point for Christ's divinity, his
reason for worship, but he's also making a point
in these four chapters of Christianity's civil
peace. So verse 12, Still foment going on with
Paul. The next morning the Jews had gathered
secretly to make plans against Paul. They took
an oath that they wouldn't eat or drink anything
until they had killed him. There were more than
40 men who had taken part in this oath that they
were going to kill him. It was a special promise.
And he says to the Romans, Now you and the Sanhedrin
must make an appeal to the commanding officer.
Ask him to bring... Paul to you. Pretend that
you want more facts about the case, and when
he comes back, that's whenever they're going
to execute him. But Paul's nephew heard about
this plan. And I'll stop right here at half of
verse 16 and talk about Paul's nephew. Who's
Paul's nephew? I was dying to be able to figure
out today who Paul's nephew was so I could explain
it to you today, but we just don't know. They
don't know who Paul's nephew is. He's just never
mentioned through extra -biblical sources like
Josephus. We just don't know. But somehow or
another, Paul's nephew would not have arose suspicion
if he was known to be Paul's nephew and still
party to this plot to kill Paul, which means
that given Paul's rejection of Judaism, of Jewish...
Orthodoxy, it's probably very likely that there
would have been members of his family that would
have disowned him as a result. So it would at
least not have been enough that his nephew, had
he been known to be his nephew, that he wouldn't
have been in the party whenever they were talking
about going to kill Paul. So he goes to the fort
and he tells Paul. Paul called one of the commanders.
and said to him, Take this young man to the commanding
officer. He has something to tell you. So the
commander took Paul's nephew to the officer.
The commander said, Paul, the prisoner, has sent
for me, and he asks me to bring this young man
to you. This young man has something to tell
you. The commanding officer took the young man
by the hand. He spoke to him in private. What
do you want to tell me, the officer said. He
said, the Jews have agreed to ask you to bring
Paul to the Sanhedrin tomorrow. Don't give in
to them. They've taken an oath. They're not going
to eat or drink until you're dead. So the commanding
officer let the young man go, but he gave him
a warning. Don't tell anyone that you have reported
this to me. Then the commanding officer called
for two of his commanders, and he ordered them
to gather a company of 200 soldiers, 70 horsemen,
200 men armed with spears, get them ready to
go to Caesarea at 9 o 'clock tonight, provide
horses for Paul so that he may have been taken
safely to Governor Felix, the Roman Governor
Felix. Now, I just also want to stop right here
and ask a question. So do we suppose that 400
soldiers, well, 200 soldiers, 200 spearmen, and
70 horsemen are dedicated by the Roman commander?
So Paul is a nobody or Paul is definitely a somebody.
Paul's definitely a somebody. They just didn't
have almost 500, 500 soldiers to guarantee the
safety of just someone that was any old Roman
citizen. I think that shows us something. And
not only does he dedicate almost 500 military
men to this process, but he sends a letter to
the governor, Felix, as well, telling him that
the Jews had grabbed hold of him, and they were
going to kill him, right? And what he's basically
doing is he's saying, I am providing for his
safety because I haven't found that he's broken
any of these laws, or if he has broken laws,
it's got something to do with the Jewish laws.
What do we even care about that anyway, right?
This guy is a Roman citizen. I'm just protecting
a Roman citizen because that's what we do. And
they do. The soldiers, they take him to Caesarea.
During the night, they brought him. They brought
him as far as Antipatris, which is not quite
Caesarea. The next day, they let the horsemen
go with them, and the soldiers returned to the
fort, arriving in Caesarea. They gave the letter
to the governor and handed Paul over to him.
The governor read the letter. He asked Paul where
he was from. He learned that Paul was from Caesarea,
but that capital is Tarsus. So he said, I'll
hear your case when those bringing charges against
you, so that when the Jewish people, when the
Sanhedrin guys, when they show up here in town,
then we'll have your trial. And then he ordered
that Paul be kept under guard in Herod's palace.
Again, typical of a prisoner or atypical of a
prisoner? We're just going to keep you in the
king's palace, right? Not in the dungeon, not
in the jailhouse, but you're actually going to
stay in the palace. Is that like a house arrest?
Yes, that's exactly what it would be like. House
arrest. So Paul spent two years in Caesarea.
From the summer of 58 AD to the fall of 60 AD,
Caesarea was the Roman capital of the province
of Judea. And if we also will remember from our
Bible story before, it was the place of the first
Gentile convert. Into the church about 20 years
before this, Cornelius, right, an officer of
the Roman army, came from Caesarea. So this is
the most important Roman city of Palestine. Paul
spends two years as a prisoner in the palace
of the Roman governor with the privilege of even
being able to receive Visitors, right? That's
a pretty good opportunity to witness Christ as
a prisoner. Pretty comfortable way to do it.
It must also strike each one of us to notice
that Luke devotes special attention throughout
his work to the occasion when Paul is brought
into contact with Roman officials. And we've
seen this from the second missionary journey
to this time. Paul seems to come in contact with
a Roman official, somebody that you would expect
would crack him over the head. Generally on these
occasions, the relationship between Paul and
the Roman officials usually end in friendly ways.
The scene with the procouncil of Cyprus where
the procouncil actually goes to the prison, releases
Paul and apologizes, that's probably the most
marked case. But Galileo, right, also dismissed
the case against him. And the formal decision
of him in Ephesus by a pro -council had so much
weight that it actually set a precedent for,
that his trial rather, set a precedent for practically
a declaration of religious liberty for the whole
of the province. So Paul, that's why we call
tonight's... Paul, the original Teflon Don, right?
Every time he tries, every time they try to get
him thrown into jail forever, every time they
try to put an end to his gospel message, Paul
slides away. So now we're in front of the governor
Felix, chapter 24. Five days later, Ananias,
the high priest, went down to Caesarea. Some
elders and a lawyer named Tertullus. So Tertullus
is a local guy in Caesarea. Basically, the Sanhedrin
had hired a local attorney to plead their case.
That's Tertullus. They brought their charges
against Paul to the governor. Paul was called
in. Tertullus began to bring charges against
Paul. He said to Felix, the Roman governor, we've
enjoyed a long time of peace while you've been
ruling. You are a wise leader. You have made
this a better nation, most excellent Felix. We
gladly admit this everywhere and in every way,
and we are very thankful, probably thinking that
it probably doesn't hurt to butter up the judge,
right? It's kind of what's happening here. I
don't want to bother you, but would you be kind
enough to listen to us for a short time? And
so, Tertullus, this local attorney in Caesarea,
lays out these horrendous charges against Paul.
We found Paul to be a troublemaker. He stirs
up trouble amongst the Jews all over the world,
and that's true. He's a leader of those who follow
the Jesus of Nazareth. He's even tried to pollute
our own temple. If you recall last time, he was
falsely accused of taking a Gentile into the...
into the temple courts with him but he didn't
take the gentile he happened to travel to jerusalem
with him but there's no evidence that the gentile
was ever allowed into the temple and so we arrested
him question him yourself and then you'll learn
the truth about all these charges we're bringing
against him so we have come down from jerusalem
he has been held In this house arrest, we've
got to tell you, this guy's done some really
bad things. So let me just lay out what they
are. He's a pest. He's a Christian. And so people
thought he tried to pollute the temple, but he
really didn't try to pollute the temple. And
we couldn't prove that if we tried because the
Asian Gentiles who were with him in Jerusalem
have now returned to Asia. We couldn't even bring
a witness to that charge even if you asked us
to. Now, Felix is the governor of Judea, and
Christianity has begun to spread. Felix knew
about the way of Jesus. So he put off the trial
for the time being. This is not that important,
Felix is thinking. Lysias, the commanding officer,
will come, and then I'll decide your case. He
ordered the commander to keep Paul under guard.
to give Paul some freedom, right? So not only
is he living it up in the governor's palace,
but he's even kind of told his guards like, you
know what? Just kind of keep an eye on him. Kind
of make sure, you know, just keep him out of
trouble. It's basically what he's saying. He's
even allowed his friends to come in to care for
his needs. So he's got friends, other Christians
who are bringing him food to eat. and fresh clothes
to wear, all of these kind of things. Several
days later, Felix came with his wife, Drusilla,
and she was a Jew. Felix sent up for Paul and
listened to him speak about faith in Christ,
faith in Christ Jesus. Paul talked about how
to live right. He talked about how people should
control themselves. He talked about the time
when God will judge everyone. became afraid.
That's enough for now, he said. You may leave
when I find time. I will send for you. Paul's
talk of righteousness and of self -control and
judgment to come must have been touchy issues
for a governor who was noted for his ruthlessness.
Tacitus, an ancient Roman writer, said of Governor
Felix, Practically every kind of cruelty and
lust. He exercised royal power with the instincts
of a slave. Just as Herod Antipas had been alarmed
by the preaching of John the Baptist. Remember,
John the Baptist didn't really like the way that
Herod Antipas was kind of hanging around with
his brother's ex -wife, right? and was really
making trouble for him because John had gathered
quite a following. John the Baptist was saying,
I don't think the king is living right. It's
going to end up with him losing his head. And
we kind of have the same thing going on here
with Felix, a pretty bad guy. Felix may have
been conscience -stricken by hearing Paul. He
hears Paul. He hears this message of self -control
and of moderation and morality. And perhaps it
was just a little too close to home. However,
Felix put off matters of faith and repentance
just as he deferred passing judgment on Paul.
See, he was hoping, we read verse 26, he was
hoping that Paul would offer him some money to
let him go. So we often sit for Paul and talk
to him. Remember, he's allowed Paul's friends
to come in. He's allowed food and money and probably
letters are going out. And this is a perfect
time to kind of, hey, man, how about a little
something, you know, for the effort? Paul is
just not interested in giving bribes. Two years,
verse 27, two years passed. Portius Festus took
the place of Felix, but Felix wanted to do the
Jews a favor. So he left Paul in prison. Now
Felix was the governor or the procurator of Judea
from the years 52 to 59. And he actually was
a freed slave. Remember Tacitus had said that
he practiced every kind of cruelty and lust.
And Felix promoted and provoked Jewish unrest.
He was actually a cruel guy. He had the ability
to crush Jewish rebellion whenever it sparked.
And he would actually foment Jewish unrest so
that he could crush them. And he was actually
eventually ousted by Nero, right? The guy who
lets Rome burn. The guy who named his own horse
as a senator. Crazy Nero. This guy kicks Felix
out for being too bad of a guy. That's how bad
Felix is. Now, why would this corrupt, crazy
governor, Felix, why would he want to do the
Jews a favor? Well, before these events, Paul
and his trial and all this, before these events,
there was a massive dispute in Caesarea as to
whether Caesarea was going to be a Gentile or
a Greek. controlled city or a Jewish controlled
city. And daggers were out towards each other
at every turn. And eventually mob violence erupts
and Felix dispatches his troops to help the Gentiles
kill thousands of Jews in the city. Not only
did he allow for thousands of Jews in the city
to be killed, but he also allowed the soldiers.
to loot businesses and homes of Jewish people.
His actions were so bad that the Jewish people
at the end of the mob violence actually protested
to Rome because of his actions. So what's he
doing? He's trying to get on their good side.
It didn't work, and Nero does, in fact, depose
him as governor. This new guy, the new guy, the
guy that takes his place is a guy by the name
of Festus. And three days, chapter 25, three
days after Festus arrived, he went up from Caesarea
to Jerusalem. There the chief priests and the
Jewish leaders came to him, and they brought
their charges against Paul. They tried to get
Festus to have Paul taken to Jerusalem. And they
asked this as a favor because they were planning
to hide and attack and kill him. Festus answered,
Paul is being held at Caesarea, and soon I'll
be going there myself. So let some of your leaders
come with me, and if the man has done anything
wrong, they can bring charges against him there.
Festus spent eight or ten days in Jerusalem with
them. Then he went down to Caesarea, the Roman
capital. The next day he called the court together,
and he ordered Paul brought to him. When Paul
arrived, the Jews who had come down for Jerusalem
stood around him. They brought many strong charges
against him and always, as always, they couldn't
prove them. Now finally, Paul speaks for himself.
And he tells the court, I've done nothing wrong.
And here it is. I've done nothing wrong against
the law of the Jews or against the temple. I
have done nothing wrong against Caesar. Remember,
these four speeches in these four chapters, each
one of them is Luke showing the reader how Christianity
is not designed, intended, nor was it to be a
source of civil unrest. But Festus wanted to
do the Jews a favor, so he said to Paul, now
remember, why are these guys wanting to do the
Jews a favor? Because at every drop of the hat,
there is some sort of rebellion. And when Roman
pro -councils or governors can't handle the rebellions
that take place in Judea, they end up getting
removed. He's trying to keep everybody calm here.
So he asks Paul, hey. These guys have come up
with a possible solution. Would you go to Jerusalem?
Could we have your trial there in Jerusalem?
Are you willing to face these charges in my court?
And Paul says, I'm already standing in Caesar's
court. Remember, he's talking to the Roman governor
in court. He's saying, I don't need to go anywhere
else. Look, Caesar's law is the law of the land.
I'm already in court. This is where I should
go to trial. It's already been proven. I haven't
done anything wrong to the Jews. And he tells
Festus, you know this very well. He says, if
I'm guilty of anything else, if I'm worthy of
death, I'm willing to die. But these things that
they keep saying, the reason why I should still
go down and be held for trial in Jerusalem just
isn't true. He said, no one has the right to
hand me, I'm a Roman citizen, over to them. They
are not Roman citizens. And then he says the
magic words. I make my appeal to Caesar, the
Roman citizen. Perceiving that Festus might yield
to these Jewish authorities, that it might give
in and let him take him back to Jerusalem and
be killed, Paul appeals to Caesar. It was the
right. of every Roman citizen, if they request,
to be tried before the imperial tribunal in Rome.
This course of events will eventually allow the
Lord's prophecy that Paul would preach in Rome
to be fulfilled. So Festus talked it over with
the members of his court, and he said, you've
made an appeal to Caesar, and to Caesar you will
go. A guy who was king, at the time, Marcus Julius
Agrippa II, was the son of Herod Agrippa I. He
was brought up at Rome in the court of Claudius,
and like his father, was also a favorite of the
emperor. As his father's death in 44, he was
only 17 years old, which meant he was too young
to rule over his father's domain. Therefore,
Palestine become a Roman province administered
by a provincial governor. But in 50, Claudius
appointed King Agrippa II, king of a petty kingdom
to the northeast of Judea. As a ruler of an adjoining
kingdom to the north, Herod Agrippa II came to
pay his respects to Festus. That's why we find
King Agrippa II now hanging out with Festus as
the new governor of Judea. When Agrippa with
Berenice, your Bible might say Bernice, but the
name is more properly translated Berenice. That
is his sister of one year younger than he. She
married her uncle, their uncle, Herod, the king
of Chalcis. But he died in 48 AD. So Berenice
came to live with her brother, Agrippa. Rumors
of their incestuous relationship flourished.
Rome, and Palestine. Verse 13. A few days later,
King Agrippa and Berenice arrived in Caesarea.
They had come to pay attention or pay a visit
to Festus. They were spending many days there,
so Festus talked with the king about Paul's case.
He says, there's a man that Felix just left as
a prisoner. And when I went to Jerusalem, the
Jewish chief priests and the elders brought charges
against him. And they wanted him to be found
guilty. I told them it's not the way Romans do
things. We don't judge people before they face
those bringing charges against them. They have
to have a chance to speak up for themselves.
Instead, verse 19, instead they argued with them
about their own beliefs. They didn't agree about
this dead man named Jesus. There he could be
tried on these charges, but Paul made an appeal
to have the emperor decide his case. So I ordered
him to be held until I could send him to Caesar.
Then Agrippa said to Festus, I'd like to hear
this man for myself. Festus says, alright, tomorrow
is the day. The imperial officials are represented
as Paul's only safeguard from the Jews. Paul
is a Pharisee of the tribe of Benjamin. He studied
under the famed Rabbi Gamaliel. Before becoming
Christian, he persecuted Christians. The only
thing that is separating Paul from death at the
hands of his Jewish brothers are the Romans.
And how their friendly disposition to Paul is
emphasized by Luke. Even Felix, who was one of
the worst Roman officials, is affected by Paul's
teaching. And on the whole, protects Paul. Even
though he might have had sordid motives like
wanting a bribe, and even though he finally left
Paul bound because he wanted a deal with the
Jews, but there was no actual official action
by Felix against Paul. Felix's successor is described
as just and fair with Paul. He found him not
worthy of death. had difficulty discovering any
definite charge against him that he could report
when sending him for trial before the Supreme
Court of the Empire. This man, this Roman citizen,
has requested a trial at the imperial tribunal
in Rome. I am to send along a report saying I
have thoroughly examined the matters and this
guy is clearly guilty or he is clearly innocent.
And Festus here has no idea what to write in
this letter, whatever he sends him to Rome, because
there's no reason why this guy should even have
to face trial in Rome. So verse 23 of chapter
25, remember Agrippa and Berenice, they show
up and they act like very important people. They're
entered into the courtroom. The most important
officers, leading men of the city, came with
him. And when Festus gave the command, Paul was
then brought in. Festus said, King Agrippa and
all who are here with us, take a good look at
this man. Both in Jerusalem and in here, in Caesarea,
there are a large number of Jews who have come
to me about him. They keep shouting that he shouldn't
even live any longer. I have found that he hasn't
done anything worthy of death. But he made his
appeal to the emperor, and I've decided to send
him to Rome. I don't have anything certain to
write about him to his majesty. So I brought
him here today. Now all of you will be able to
hear him. King Agrippa, it will be very good
for you to hear him. As a result of this hearing,
maybe I'll have something to write. Because it
doesn't make sense to send a prisoner to Rome
without listing the charges against him. There
are no charges against him. So Agrippa tells
Paul, you can speak. So Paul motions with his
hand and begins his defense. King Agrippa, I
consider myself fortunate to stand before you
today as I make my defense against all of these
accusations of the Jews, especially so because
you are well acquainted with all the Jewish customs
and controversies. Therefore, I beg you to listen
to me patiently. It must have been that Paul
recognized Agrippa for two things. One, being
an intelligent guy. And two, remember his wife,
he comes from a Jewish family, so he's going
to be cognizant, aware of Jewish law and customs.
So he's not going to have to explain Jewish law
and custom as well as defending his case. The
Jewish people all know the way I have lived ever
since I was a child. From the beginning of my
life in my own country and also Jerusalem. They've
known me for a long time. And they could testify,
if they're willing, that I conform to the strictest
sect of our religion. Right? And he loves being
a Pharisee. He says, I'm a Pharisee. And now
it's my hope that what God has promised our ancestors,
it's for that reason that I'm on trial today.
Basically, what Paul is saying is God promised
us a deliverer. God promised us a Messiah, and
I believe that that Messiah has come. And that's
the only reason why I am on trial today. Right?
And either that or because I believe that the
Messiah was raised from the dead. And so let
me ask you, why should any of you consider it
incredible? If God, the creator of the universe,
can actually raise people from the dead. And
we've got to remember that it's not in spite
of his Jewish heritage, but because of it, Paul
insisted, that he believed and proclaimed what
he did. This is important. Because Paul didn't
see himself as something outside of his Jewishness.
He saw himself as a Jew whose ultimate... messianic
promise had been fulfilled he wasn't the founder
of a new religion or Christ rather wasn't the
founder of a new religion of which he was one
of the chief salesmen he just saw the Hebrew
scriptures the promises contained therein by
Yahweh being fulfilled through Jesus right and
so what he's saying is it's not I'm not trying
to ignore that I'm a Jew in fact that's what
I'm trying to make a point of He's saying it's
because I'm a Jew that I'm proclaiming it the
way that I am. So he begins the body of his address
here by drawing back to that pharisaic background
and his Christian commitment, arguing that the
Jewish hope and the Christian message are inseparably
related. Jewish hope for a future and the Christian
message are the same message is what Paul is
trying to say. His life had been spent amongst
his people in his own country, in Sicilia, and
in Jerusalem, and he had lived as the strictest
member of the Pharisees, because they had the
hope of resurrection and the dead. Ironically,
the charges against him were brought, of all
people, by the Jews themselves. Yet why should
any of his audience think it incredible that
God should raise from the dead? particularly
when God had validated the truth of resurrection
by raising Jesus from the dead. And he's saying,
I am convinced, verse 9, I am convinced that
I should oppose Jesus in every way until I had
my experience on the road to Damascus. And in
the second part of his story here, of his narrative,
He continues to retell the story of his own conversion
and how he had come in contact with other Christians
whenever he had actually had his own Christophany.
In other words, his own experience of a vision
of Christ, right? Whom says, I am Jesus whom
you are persecuting. So then King Agrippa, I
was not disobedient to that vision from heaven,
verse 19. first to those in Damascus, remember
that's where he was taken, then to Jerusalem
and Judea, then to the Gentiles. I preached that
they should repent and turn to God and demonstrate
their repentance by their deeds, which is exactly
what all of the apostles were called to do. And
God has helped me to this very day, so I stand
here to testify to small and great alike. I'm
saying nothing beyond what the prophets and Moses
said would happen, that the Messiah would suffer.
as the first to rise from the dead would bring
the message of light to his own people and to
the Gentiles. That's in our own scriptures, guys.
At this point, Festus interrupted Paul's defense.
You are out of your mind, Paul. Again, finding
no fault, just saying, I think you've gotten
too big for your britches. All of this book learning,
Festus is saying, has driven you a little bit
crazy. I'm not insane, most excellent Festus.
What I'm saying is true and reasonable. King's
familiar with these things and I can speak freely
to him. I'm convinced that none of this has escaped
his notice because it was not done in a corner.
And he says, King Agrippa, remember coming from
a Jewish family? He says, King Agrippa, do you
believe in the prophets? I know you do. And whenever
he says this to Agrippa, he's painted Agrippa
into a corner. How does Agrippa answer? Does
he say that he doesn't believe in prophets and
turn his back on his Jewish heritage? Or does
he say that he does believe in prophets and go,
well, it sounds like the story is true here.
He's kind of got Agrippa in a theological corner
here. And Agrippa says to Paul, I think this
is really great. He says, do you think that in
such a short time that you can persuade me to
be a Christian? You're going to have to try a
little bit harder than that, Paul. Paul says,
short time or long, I pray to God that not only
you, but all who are listening to me today may
become what I am, except for, and you can imagine
him rattling these chains. The king arose. And
with this governor and Berenice and those sitting
with them. After they left the room, they began
saying to one another, this man is not doing
anything that deserves death or imprisonment.
Agrippa says to Festus, this man could have been
set free if not that he appealed to Caesar. Had
he not said the magic words that forces me to
send him to Rome, I'd let him go right now, but
I can't. I can't because he's asked me to send
him to Rome, and I cannot be seen as denying
him an opportunity before the imperial tribunal
in Rome. I could have let him go today, but he
is on his way to Rome. As Felix said, to Caesar
you shall go. Paul had had the last word, and
his light touch here, I think at the end of his
response, evidently broke up the meeting. With
it, Agrippa dismissed the proceedings and Festus
and Berenice strode out of the audience chamber
to discuss the situation. Agrippa had presumably
heard enough to instruct Festus what he should
write in this report that will go with him to
Rome. Their conclusion was that Paul had done
nothing that in Rome's eyes should merit death
or imprisonment. Even Agrippa was heard to comment
this man could have been set free if he had not
appealed to Caesar. This comment should not be
taken to mean that a provincial governor could
not free a prisoner after appeal to Caesar. In
this situation, however, Paul's status was not
a question of law, but also politics. With these
words, Luke concludes his apologetic motif in
the Acts of the Apostle, in which he sets out
to vindicate both Paul and Christianity from
any suspicion of sedition or treason or political
unrest. And next time, when we get together,
we will see this incredibly remarkable adventure
as they go to Rome. And eventually, that will
be the end of our story of the Acts of the Apostles.
And we'll suppose, when it's all said and done,
what exactly happens to Paul and his old buddy
Peter when they're in Rome. Spoiler alert, they
both die. Any questions? What are we going to
do after Acts? Genesis. Oh, cool. Okay. That's
going to be interesting to me. Alright. Well,
there you have it. I hope that this episode was
as enlightening for you on the story of the Acts
of the Apostles as it was for me to prepare.
I hope that you'll join us next time as we...
follow paul on his travels to rome it's going
to be quite an adventure hey before we go if
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until next time, I hope that you are blessed
and I pray that you'll be a blessing.