WEBVTT 00:00:05.129 --> 00:00:08.130 Hey friends, here we are another week, another 00:00:08.130 --> 00:00:11.689 episode of the Semi -Seminarian. We're continuing 00:00:11.689 --> 00:00:15.529 our Bible study series. We're calling the Bible 00:00:15.529 --> 00:00:19.370 for Grownups. In this episode, we're in part 00:00:19.370 --> 00:00:23.769 10 of our look at the Acts of the Apostles. This 00:00:23.769 --> 00:00:27.989 time, our study is called Paul, the original 00:00:27.989 --> 00:00:32.189 Teflon Don. And in this episode, Luke... the 00:00:32.189 --> 00:00:34.310 writer of the Acts of the Apostles, is going 00:00:34.310 --> 00:00:38.770 to show us four individual times where Paul is 00:00:38.770 --> 00:00:41.490 brought before the authorities. And in this case, 00:00:41.570 --> 00:00:45.189 Paul is going to make the argument that Christianity 00:00:45.189 --> 00:00:50.649 is not a threat to the Roman Empire whatsoever. 00:00:52.229 --> 00:01:01.509 I'll see you on the other side. Acts chapters 00:01:01.509 --> 00:01:05.849 23, 24, 25, and 26. We're going to look at these 00:01:05.849 --> 00:01:10.769 final four times that Paul is brought before 00:01:10.769 --> 00:01:17.109 some type of court or tribunal to plead his case 00:01:17.109 --> 00:01:21.689 before he finally ends up in Rome. And that's 00:01:21.689 --> 00:01:26.030 kind of his story on the way to Rome involves 00:01:26.030 --> 00:01:29.030 a shipwreck, and it's kind of an adventure all 00:01:29.030 --> 00:01:33.290 in and of itself. But what we find with tonight's 00:01:33.290 --> 00:01:38.329 lesson, as we have looked at Luke, the writer 00:01:38.329 --> 00:01:40.269 of the Acts of the Apostles, as we've looked 00:01:40.269 --> 00:01:42.629 at the way that he's chronicled the missionary 00:01:42.629 --> 00:01:45.189 journeys of Paul, the way that Paul has converted 00:01:45.189 --> 00:01:48.450 people to Christianity, but at times had run 00:01:48.450 --> 00:01:53.409 into trouble with officials, we find that Luke 00:01:53.409 --> 00:01:57.079 ultimately commits the ultimate party foul. Because 00:01:57.079 --> 00:02:00.359 in the Acts of the Apostles, what we find in 00:02:00.359 --> 00:02:03.219 his stories of Paul are the two things that you 00:02:03.219 --> 00:02:06.340 never talk about at a party, religion and politics. 00:02:06.959 --> 00:02:10.639 Till now, Luke's recordings of Paul's speeches 00:02:10.639 --> 00:02:14.080 have been about religion. or more precisely, 00:02:14.360 --> 00:02:17.219 theology or Christology. In other words, Paul 00:02:17.219 --> 00:02:20.180 has been, when his speeches have been recorded, 00:02:20.240 --> 00:02:22.939 it has been about why you should change your 00:02:22.939 --> 00:02:26.340 mind from, say, being a Gentile pagan or being 00:02:26.340 --> 00:02:28.960 a Jewish person and becoming a Christian, because 00:02:28.960 --> 00:02:33.340 of the nature of Christ. But now, in these last 00:02:33.340 --> 00:02:36.360 four speeches, we're going to see his talk shift 00:02:36.360 --> 00:02:41.460 from religion to politics. In these next four 00:02:41.460 --> 00:02:43.360 chapters, we're going to see Paul making his 00:02:43.360 --> 00:02:46.199 case four different times with different words 00:02:46.199 --> 00:02:49.520 and with different audiences, but with one unifying 00:02:49.520 --> 00:02:52.879 message. And that is that Christianity does not 00:02:52.879 --> 00:02:57.819 break the law. In the face of sedition or the 00:02:57.819 --> 00:03:00.539 charge of stirring up or fomenting political 00:03:00.539 --> 00:03:04.199 unrest, Paul is making his case in these four 00:03:04.199 --> 00:03:09.360 chapters and successfully so that he and Christianity 00:03:09.360 --> 00:03:14.340 are innocent of the charges of breaking the law. 00:03:14.889 --> 00:03:17.430 So let's begin tonight with chapter 23, verse 00:03:17.430 --> 00:03:21.009 1. If you recall, we dropped off last time with 00:03:21.009 --> 00:03:24.490 Paul being brought before the Sanhedrin in Jerusalem. 00:03:24.889 --> 00:03:28.409 Paul looks straight at the Sanhedrin. My brothers, 00:03:28.569 --> 00:03:32.710 he says, I have always done my duty to God. And 00:03:32.710 --> 00:03:35.590 to this very day, I feel that I have done nothing 00:03:35.590 --> 00:03:39.250 wrong. Ananias, the high priest, heard this. 00:03:39.409 --> 00:03:43.430 So he ordered the men standing near Paul to hit 00:03:43.430 --> 00:03:47.050 him in the mouth. Now, I want to stop right here 00:03:47.050 --> 00:03:48.949 and talk about this guy Ananias for just one 00:03:48.949 --> 00:03:51.930 second. Ananias was named the high priest of 00:03:51.930 --> 00:03:55.789 the Sanhedrin in the year 47. And actually, Ananias 00:03:55.789 --> 00:04:01.150 was a very corrupt guy. He seized the tithes 00:04:01.150 --> 00:04:04.180 that were meant for lower priests. He was also 00:04:04.180 --> 00:04:07.479 extremely pro -Roman in his policies. And when 00:04:07.479 --> 00:04:12.500 the war broke out with Rome in 66, he actually 00:04:12.500 --> 00:04:15.759 hid from his own people in an aqueduct. He was 00:04:15.759 --> 00:04:19.560 discovered by Jewish insurgents and dragged with 00:04:19.560 --> 00:04:23.079 his brother to their place of execution. So he 00:04:23.079 --> 00:04:26.759 was executed by his own people. Then Paul said 00:04:26.759 --> 00:04:30.529 to him, you pretender, God will hit you. You 00:04:30.529 --> 00:04:33.050 sit there and judge me by the law, but you yourself 00:04:33.050 --> 00:04:35.569 broke the law when you commanded them to hit 00:04:35.569 --> 00:04:38.350 me. Those who were standing near Paul said, How 00:04:38.350 --> 00:04:40.930 dare you talk like that to God's high priest? 00:04:41.129 --> 00:04:43.750 Paul replied, Brothers, I didn't realize he was 00:04:43.750 --> 00:04:46.269 the high priest. It is written, Do not speak 00:04:46.269 --> 00:04:49.189 evil about the ruler of your people. That is 00:04:49.189 --> 00:04:53.310 written in Exodus chapter 22, verse 28. Now, 00:04:53.310 --> 00:04:56.500 we're not to suppose that Paul... Being a Sanhedrin 00:04:56.500 --> 00:04:58.439 himself would not have been able to recognize 00:04:58.439 --> 00:05:01.079 the high priest. The argument Paul is making 00:05:01.079 --> 00:05:04.639 here is the high priest wouldn't have ever ordered 00:05:04.639 --> 00:05:09.399 a defendant to be punished in court like being 00:05:09.399 --> 00:05:13.199 punched in the mouth. The rights and the rules 00:05:13.199 --> 00:05:17.980 of witnesses was held in very high regard within 00:05:17.980 --> 00:05:21.459 the Jewish court system. So he's saying, you 00:05:21.459 --> 00:05:24.120 ordered these guys to hit me. Obviously, you 00:05:24.120 --> 00:05:25.839 can't be the high priest. The high priest wouldn't 00:05:25.839 --> 00:05:28.839 have done something like that. Paul knew that 00:05:28.839 --> 00:05:31.980 some of them were Sadducees and others were Pharisees. 00:05:31.980 --> 00:05:35.060 Sure enough, this Sanhedrin, this Supreme Court, 00:05:35.180 --> 00:05:39.660 is made up of these two religious and political 00:05:39.660 --> 00:05:45.319 parties, the Sanhedrin and the Pharisees. So 00:05:45.319 --> 00:05:47.339 he called out in the Sanhedrin, my brothers, 00:05:47.480 --> 00:05:51.870 he said. I am a Pharisee. I'm the son of a Pharisee. 00:05:52.110 --> 00:05:54.350 I believe that people will rise from the dead, 00:05:54.490 --> 00:05:57.050 and that is why I'm on trial. And whenever you 00:05:57.050 --> 00:06:00.250 boil all of it down, whenever you boil Christianity 00:06:00.250 --> 00:06:04.089 down, basically that's it in one sentence. We 00:06:04.089 --> 00:06:08.430 believe that you can rise from the dead. And 00:06:08.430 --> 00:06:11.129 he's saying, that's why I'm here in front of 00:06:11.129 --> 00:06:13.889 you. That's the law that I've broken. Now is 00:06:13.889 --> 00:06:16.269 he saying this about being a Pharisee? He says, 00:06:16.389 --> 00:06:18.930 I'm a Pharisee and my father's a Pharisee. Is 00:06:18.930 --> 00:06:23.670 he saying this to brag? Is he saying, look, I'm 00:06:23.670 --> 00:06:26.529 not like these other Gentile or pagan people 00:06:26.529 --> 00:06:29.430 that have become Christians, right? Look at my 00:06:29.430 --> 00:06:32.990 beard, man. I'm like you guys. I think we miss 00:06:32.990 --> 00:06:36.009 the point when we read Paul's words because he's 00:06:36.009 --> 00:06:38.970 actually on trial for preaching things and stating 00:06:38.970 --> 00:06:43.199 beliefs that are supposed to be untrue. Right? 00:06:43.360 --> 00:06:46.500 That's why he's been charged. He's charged with 00:06:46.500 --> 00:06:49.399 inventing stories. And that's why he's on trial. 00:06:49.500 --> 00:06:53.759 But, Paul says, he says something to them that 00:06:53.759 --> 00:06:57.500 may in the 21st century be lost on us, but it 00:06:57.500 --> 00:07:00.420 wouldn't have been lost on the Sanhedrin. Paul 00:07:00.420 --> 00:07:03.579 is saying, I'm charged because I believe in the 00:07:03.579 --> 00:07:08.220 resurrection of the dead. He says, but I'm a 00:07:08.220 --> 00:07:12.319 Pharisee. Guys, we're Pharisees. We all believe 00:07:12.319 --> 00:07:16.540 in the resurrection of the dead. You there in 00:07:16.540 --> 00:07:19.560 the Sanhedrin, you who's a Pharisee, you believe 00:07:19.560 --> 00:07:21.420 in the resurrection of the dead too. It's one 00:07:21.420 --> 00:07:23.759 of the things that makes you a Pharisee. Why 00:07:23.759 --> 00:07:28.720 aren't you on trial? When he said this, the Pharisees 00:07:28.720 --> 00:07:31.829 and the Sadducees started to argue. They began 00:07:31.829 --> 00:07:34.310 to take their respective sides. The Sadducees 00:07:34.310 --> 00:07:37.050 say that people will not rise from the dead. 00:07:37.189 --> 00:07:39.269 They don't believe that there are angels or spirits 00:07:39.269 --> 00:07:42.069 either, but the Pharisees believe all of these 00:07:42.069 --> 00:07:44.970 things. People were causing trouble and making 00:07:44.970 --> 00:07:46.709 a lot of noise, and some of the teachers of the 00:07:46.709 --> 00:07:51.029 law who were Pharisees stood up, and they argued 00:07:51.029 --> 00:07:54.629 strongly. Look, we find nothing wrong with this 00:07:54.629 --> 00:08:00.129 man. What if a spirit or an angel has? spoken 00:08:00.129 --> 00:08:04.230 to him then the arguing got out of hand the commanding 00:08:04.230 --> 00:08:06.769 officer was afraid that Paul would be torn to 00:08:06.769 --> 00:08:09.089 pieces to those who were arguing so he ordered 00:08:09.089 --> 00:08:11.569 the soldiers to go down and take him away from 00:08:11.569 --> 00:08:14.449 there by force they were supposed to bring him 00:08:14.449 --> 00:08:17.930 into the fort the next night the Lord stood near 00:08:17.930 --> 00:08:20.790 Paul and he said be brave you've given witness 00:08:20.790 --> 00:08:23.769 about me in Jerusalem you must do the same in 00:08:23.769 --> 00:08:25.889 Rome and we're going to find this particular 00:08:25.889 --> 00:08:29.480 prophecy come true at the end of this book From 00:08:29.480 --> 00:08:33.139 the moment that Paul is arrested here onwards, 00:08:33.379 --> 00:08:38.639 the narrative becomes much more full than before. 00:08:39.159 --> 00:08:43.799 It still continues true of Luke's method of concentrating 00:08:43.799 --> 00:08:47.720 the reader's attention on certain selective scenes. 00:08:47.820 --> 00:08:51.299 He would zip into a scene happening at a particular 00:08:51.299 --> 00:08:54.539 place at a particular time and then zip out and 00:08:54.539 --> 00:08:58.110 there might be... a periods of time that go by 00:08:58.110 --> 00:09:00.929 and it might seem like it was the next chronological 00:09:00.929 --> 00:09:03.710 thing that was to happen but that's not what 00:09:03.710 --> 00:09:07.269 Luke is doing Luke is zooming in to tell a story 00:09:07.269 --> 00:09:09.570 of the narrative zooming out and then telling 00:09:09.570 --> 00:09:12.330 the story it's exactly what he was doing as we 00:09:12.330 --> 00:09:15.090 see Paul come on the scene and Peter is still 00:09:15.090 --> 00:09:18.279 preaching right and he zooms in to a story of 00:09:18.279 --> 00:09:20.840 Paul, then he zooms out and zooms in to Peter. 00:09:21.000 --> 00:09:24.840 And what Luke is trying to do is he's trying 00:09:24.840 --> 00:09:28.100 to show these things kind of happening at the 00:09:28.100 --> 00:09:32.120 same time, at least with regard to the narrative 00:09:32.120 --> 00:09:34.519 he's concerned. He's going to follow that same 00:09:34.519 --> 00:09:37.960 method here, and to show you kind of how he lapses 00:09:37.960 --> 00:09:43.669 in his time, chapter 21 through 17. I'm sorry, 00:09:43.730 --> 00:09:49.690 21 and 17 through 24 to 23, that's what, over 00:09:49.690 --> 00:09:53.870 three chapters of narrative, describes the events 00:09:53.870 --> 00:09:56.950 that happened over 12 days. But then chapter 00:09:56.950 --> 00:10:02.450 24 verses 24 through 27, three verses, accounts 00:10:02.450 --> 00:10:07.149 for two years. 25, the beginning of 25 to 28, 00:10:07.370 --> 00:10:11.409 takes about eight months of time. And then just 00:10:11.409 --> 00:10:14.490 four verses, At the end of 28, it takes about 00:10:14.490 --> 00:10:17.029 three months. So this is not just something that 00:10:17.029 --> 00:10:19.490 happens one event after the other event after 00:10:19.490 --> 00:10:22.009 the other event. But Luke has taken these events 00:10:22.009 --> 00:10:25.070 and has stitched them next to each other for 00:10:25.070 --> 00:10:28.230 an overarching narrative. This narrative, the 00:10:28.230 --> 00:10:30.990 thing that he's trying to get us to see here, 00:10:31.110 --> 00:10:35.789 again, is Paul answering the critique that Christianity 00:10:35.789 --> 00:10:40.870 is somehow against the law, either the Jewish 00:10:40.870 --> 00:10:45.539 law. or the Roman law. And what Luke is doing 00:10:45.539 --> 00:10:49.440 is making a point for Christ's divinity, his 00:10:49.440 --> 00:10:52.740 reason for worship, but he's also making a point 00:10:52.740 --> 00:10:58.700 in these four chapters of Christianity's civil 00:10:58.700 --> 00:11:05.320 peace. So verse 12, Still foment going on with 00:11:05.320 --> 00:11:07.700 Paul. The next morning the Jews had gathered 00:11:07.700 --> 00:11:10.440 secretly to make plans against Paul. They took 00:11:10.440 --> 00:11:12.559 an oath that they wouldn't eat or drink anything 00:11:12.559 --> 00:11:14.919 until they had killed him. There were more than 00:11:14.919 --> 00:11:20.419 40 men who had taken part in this oath that they 00:11:20.419 --> 00:11:22.539 were going to kill him. It was a special promise. 00:11:23.299 --> 00:11:27.299 And he says to the Romans, Now you and the Sanhedrin 00:11:27.299 --> 00:11:29.860 must make an appeal to the commanding officer. 00:11:30.039 --> 00:11:34.929 Ask him to bring... Paul to you. Pretend that 00:11:34.929 --> 00:11:37.169 you want more facts about the case, and when 00:11:37.169 --> 00:11:39.169 he comes back, that's whenever they're going 00:11:39.169 --> 00:11:41.990 to execute him. But Paul's nephew heard about 00:11:41.990 --> 00:11:46.090 this plan. And I'll stop right here at half of 00:11:46.090 --> 00:11:49.289 verse 16 and talk about Paul's nephew. Who's 00:11:49.289 --> 00:11:53.470 Paul's nephew? I was dying to be able to figure 00:11:53.470 --> 00:11:55.669 out today who Paul's nephew was so I could explain 00:11:55.669 --> 00:11:58.899 it to you today, but we just don't know. They 00:11:58.899 --> 00:12:02.799 don't know who Paul's nephew is. He's just never 00:12:02.799 --> 00:12:06.039 mentioned through extra -biblical sources like 00:12:06.039 --> 00:12:09.139 Josephus. We just don't know. But somehow or 00:12:09.139 --> 00:12:12.779 another, Paul's nephew would not have arose suspicion 00:12:12.779 --> 00:12:16.019 if he was known to be Paul's nephew and still 00:12:16.019 --> 00:12:20.519 party to this plot to kill Paul, which means 00:12:20.519 --> 00:12:24.700 that given Paul's rejection of Judaism, of Jewish... 00:12:25.420 --> 00:12:27.740 Orthodoxy, it's probably very likely that there 00:12:27.740 --> 00:12:30.440 would have been members of his family that would 00:12:30.440 --> 00:12:33.960 have disowned him as a result. So it would at 00:12:33.960 --> 00:12:36.220 least not have been enough that his nephew, had 00:12:36.220 --> 00:12:38.679 he been known to be his nephew, that he wouldn't 00:12:38.679 --> 00:12:40.539 have been in the party whenever they were talking 00:12:40.539 --> 00:12:44.720 about going to kill Paul. So he goes to the fort 00:12:44.720 --> 00:12:48.139 and he tells Paul. Paul called one of the commanders. 00:12:49.100 --> 00:12:51.340 and said to him, Take this young man to the commanding 00:12:51.340 --> 00:12:52.840 officer. He has something to tell you. So the 00:12:52.840 --> 00:12:55.779 commander took Paul's nephew to the officer. 00:12:56.639 --> 00:12:59.259 The commander said, Paul, the prisoner, has sent 00:12:59.259 --> 00:13:02.460 for me, and he asks me to bring this young man 00:13:02.460 --> 00:13:07.179 to you. This young man has something to tell 00:13:07.179 --> 00:13:11.840 you. The commanding officer took the young man 00:13:11.840 --> 00:13:15.039 by the hand. He spoke to him in private. What 00:13:15.039 --> 00:13:17.580 do you want to tell me, the officer said. He 00:13:17.580 --> 00:13:20.259 said, the Jews have agreed to ask you to bring 00:13:20.259 --> 00:13:23.059 Paul to the Sanhedrin tomorrow. Don't give in 00:13:23.059 --> 00:13:26.659 to them. They've taken an oath. They're not going 00:13:26.659 --> 00:13:29.399 to eat or drink until you're dead. So the commanding 00:13:29.399 --> 00:13:32.039 officer let the young man go, but he gave him 00:13:32.039 --> 00:13:35.240 a warning. Don't tell anyone that you have reported 00:13:35.240 --> 00:13:40.700 this to me. Then the commanding officer called 00:13:40.700 --> 00:13:42.519 for two of his commanders, and he ordered them 00:13:42.519 --> 00:13:46.340 to gather a company of 200 soldiers, 70 horsemen, 00:13:46.730 --> 00:13:50.110 200 men armed with spears, get them ready to 00:13:50.110 --> 00:13:52.090 go to Caesarea at 9 o 'clock tonight, provide 00:13:52.090 --> 00:13:55.289 horses for Paul so that he may have been taken 00:13:55.289 --> 00:13:57.990 safely to Governor Felix, the Roman Governor 00:13:57.990 --> 00:14:00.830 Felix. Now, I just also want to stop right here 00:14:00.830 --> 00:14:05.330 and ask a question. So do we suppose that 400 00:14:05.330 --> 00:14:11.409 soldiers, well, 200 soldiers, 200 spearmen, and 00:14:11.409 --> 00:14:15.590 70 horsemen are dedicated by the Roman commander? 00:14:16.159 --> 00:14:20.399 So Paul is a nobody or Paul is definitely a somebody. 00:14:21.139 --> 00:14:23.860 Paul's definitely a somebody. They just didn't 00:14:23.860 --> 00:14:29.740 have almost 500, 500 soldiers to guarantee the 00:14:29.740 --> 00:14:33.539 safety of just someone that was any old Roman 00:14:33.539 --> 00:14:37.379 citizen. I think that shows us something. And 00:14:37.379 --> 00:14:40.860 not only does he dedicate almost 500 military 00:14:40.860 --> 00:14:44.419 men to this process, but he sends a letter to 00:14:44.419 --> 00:14:47.870 the governor, Felix, as well, telling him that 00:14:47.870 --> 00:14:51.190 the Jews had grabbed hold of him, and they were 00:14:51.190 --> 00:14:53.370 going to kill him, right? And what he's basically 00:14:53.370 --> 00:14:56.970 doing is he's saying, I am providing for his 00:14:56.970 --> 00:15:00.470 safety because I haven't found that he's broken 00:15:00.470 --> 00:15:03.129 any of these laws, or if he has broken laws, 00:15:03.370 --> 00:15:05.610 it's got something to do with the Jewish laws. 00:15:05.830 --> 00:15:09.190 What do we even care about that anyway, right? 00:15:09.429 --> 00:15:13.350 This guy is a Roman citizen. I'm just protecting 00:15:13.350 --> 00:15:17.219 a Roman citizen because that's what we do. And 00:15:17.219 --> 00:15:19.720 they do. The soldiers, they take him to Caesarea. 00:15:20.360 --> 00:15:23.279 During the night, they brought him. They brought 00:15:23.279 --> 00:15:26.539 him as far as Antipatris, which is not quite 00:15:26.539 --> 00:15:29.419 Caesarea. The next day, they let the horsemen 00:15:29.419 --> 00:15:31.039 go with them, and the soldiers returned to the 00:15:31.039 --> 00:15:34.519 fort, arriving in Caesarea. They gave the letter 00:15:34.519 --> 00:15:36.519 to the governor and handed Paul over to him. 00:15:36.700 --> 00:15:38.899 The governor read the letter. He asked Paul where 00:15:38.899 --> 00:15:41.759 he was from. He learned that Paul was from Caesarea, 00:15:42.000 --> 00:15:45.970 but that capital is Tarsus. So he said, I'll 00:15:45.970 --> 00:15:48.409 hear your case when those bringing charges against 00:15:48.409 --> 00:15:51.110 you, so that when the Jewish people, when the 00:15:51.110 --> 00:15:54.549 Sanhedrin guys, when they show up here in town, 00:15:54.789 --> 00:16:00.330 then we'll have your trial. And then he ordered 00:16:00.330 --> 00:16:03.570 that Paul be kept under guard in Herod's palace. 00:16:03.730 --> 00:16:09.509 Again, typical of a prisoner or atypical of a 00:16:09.509 --> 00:16:11.450 prisoner? We're just going to keep you in the 00:16:11.450 --> 00:16:16.159 king's palace, right? Not in the dungeon, not 00:16:16.159 --> 00:16:18.240 in the jailhouse, but you're actually going to 00:16:18.240 --> 00:16:21.580 stay in the palace. Is that like a house arrest? 00:16:22.019 --> 00:16:24.580 Yes, that's exactly what it would be like. House 00:16:24.580 --> 00:16:30.860 arrest. So Paul spent two years in Caesarea. 00:16:31.500 --> 00:16:36.259 From the summer of 58 AD to the fall of 60 AD, 00:16:36.720 --> 00:16:40.820 Caesarea was the Roman capital of the province 00:16:40.820 --> 00:16:44.559 of Judea. And if we also will remember from our 00:16:44.559 --> 00:16:47.019 Bible story before, it was the place of the first 00:16:47.019 --> 00:16:50.899 Gentile convert. Into the church about 20 years 00:16:50.899 --> 00:16:54.159 before this, Cornelius, right, an officer of 00:16:54.159 --> 00:16:58.039 the Roman army, came from Caesarea. So this is 00:16:58.039 --> 00:17:02.019 the most important Roman city of Palestine. Paul 00:17:02.019 --> 00:17:05.799 spends two years as a prisoner in the palace 00:17:05.799 --> 00:17:08.940 of the Roman governor with the privilege of even 00:17:08.940 --> 00:17:11.740 being able to receive Visitors, right? That's 00:17:11.740 --> 00:17:16.000 a pretty good opportunity to witness Christ as 00:17:16.000 --> 00:17:18.220 a prisoner. Pretty comfortable way to do it. 00:17:19.099 --> 00:17:22.599 It must also strike each one of us to notice 00:17:22.599 --> 00:17:26.619 that Luke devotes special attention throughout 00:17:26.619 --> 00:17:29.700 his work to the occasion when Paul is brought 00:17:29.700 --> 00:17:32.460 into contact with Roman officials. And we've 00:17:32.460 --> 00:17:35.339 seen this from the second missionary journey 00:17:35.339 --> 00:17:40.779 to this time. Paul seems to come in contact with 00:17:40.779 --> 00:17:43.460 a Roman official, somebody that you would expect 00:17:43.460 --> 00:17:46.059 would crack him over the head. Generally on these 00:17:46.059 --> 00:17:49.559 occasions, the relationship between Paul and 00:17:49.559 --> 00:17:53.420 the Roman officials usually end in friendly ways. 00:17:54.400 --> 00:17:57.000 The scene with the procouncil of Cyprus where 00:17:57.000 --> 00:18:01.059 the procouncil actually goes to the prison, releases 00:18:01.059 --> 00:18:04.579 Paul and apologizes, that's probably the most 00:18:04.579 --> 00:18:08.660 marked case. But Galileo, right, also dismissed 00:18:08.660 --> 00:18:11.619 the case against him. And the formal decision 00:18:11.619 --> 00:18:18.079 of him in Ephesus by a pro -council had so much 00:18:18.079 --> 00:18:20.960 weight that it actually set a precedent for, 00:18:21.059 --> 00:18:24.240 that his trial rather, set a precedent for practically 00:18:24.240 --> 00:18:27.539 a declaration of religious liberty for the whole 00:18:27.539 --> 00:18:31.579 of the province. So Paul, that's why we call 00:18:31.579 --> 00:18:37.180 tonight's... Paul, the original Teflon Don, right? 00:18:37.400 --> 00:18:40.579 Every time he tries, every time they try to get 00:18:40.579 --> 00:18:43.099 him thrown into jail forever, every time they 00:18:43.099 --> 00:18:46.960 try to put an end to his gospel message, Paul 00:18:46.960 --> 00:18:51.720 slides away. So now we're in front of the governor 00:18:51.720 --> 00:18:58.420 Felix, chapter 24. Five days later, Ananias, 00:18:58.420 --> 00:19:02.589 the high priest, went down to Caesarea. Some 00:19:02.589 --> 00:19:06.069 elders and a lawyer named Tertullus. So Tertullus 00:19:06.069 --> 00:19:10.029 is a local guy in Caesarea. Basically, the Sanhedrin 00:19:10.029 --> 00:19:13.190 had hired a local attorney to plead their case. 00:19:13.329 --> 00:19:16.670 That's Tertullus. They brought their charges 00:19:16.670 --> 00:19:19.109 against Paul to the governor. Paul was called 00:19:19.109 --> 00:19:21.829 in. Tertullus began to bring charges against 00:19:21.829 --> 00:19:25.589 Paul. He said to Felix, the Roman governor, we've 00:19:25.589 --> 00:19:28.430 enjoyed a long time of peace while you've been 00:19:28.430 --> 00:19:32.750 ruling. You are a wise leader. You have made 00:19:32.750 --> 00:19:36.410 this a better nation, most excellent Felix. We 00:19:36.410 --> 00:19:40.029 gladly admit this everywhere and in every way, 00:19:40.089 --> 00:19:43.369 and we are very thankful, probably thinking that 00:19:43.369 --> 00:19:45.430 it probably doesn't hurt to butter up the judge, 00:19:45.650 --> 00:19:48.789 right? It's kind of what's happening here. I 00:19:48.789 --> 00:19:52.170 don't want to bother you, but would you be kind 00:19:52.170 --> 00:19:55.500 enough to listen to us for a short time? And 00:19:55.500 --> 00:19:58.299 so, Tertullus, this local attorney in Caesarea, 00:19:58.480 --> 00:20:02.819 lays out these horrendous charges against Paul. 00:20:03.279 --> 00:20:07.119 We found Paul to be a troublemaker. He stirs 00:20:07.119 --> 00:20:09.960 up trouble amongst the Jews all over the world, 00:20:10.000 --> 00:20:13.420 and that's true. He's a leader of those who follow 00:20:13.420 --> 00:20:16.599 the Jesus of Nazareth. He's even tried to pollute 00:20:16.599 --> 00:20:20.000 our own temple. If you recall last time, he was 00:20:20.000 --> 00:20:23.339 falsely accused of taking a Gentile into the... 00:20:23.869 --> 00:20:26.910 into the temple courts with him but he didn't 00:20:26.910 --> 00:20:30.450 take the gentile he happened to travel to jerusalem 00:20:30.450 --> 00:20:32.930 with him but there's no evidence that the gentile 00:20:32.930 --> 00:20:36.809 was ever allowed into the temple and so we arrested 00:20:36.809 --> 00:20:40.730 him question him yourself and then you'll learn 00:20:40.730 --> 00:20:42.849 the truth about all these charges we're bringing 00:20:42.849 --> 00:20:46.750 against him so we have come down from jerusalem 00:20:46.750 --> 00:20:51.819 he has been held In this house arrest, we've 00:20:51.819 --> 00:20:53.700 got to tell you, this guy's done some really 00:20:53.700 --> 00:20:56.539 bad things. So let me just lay out what they 00:20:56.539 --> 00:21:01.839 are. He's a pest. He's a Christian. And so people 00:21:01.839 --> 00:21:03.640 thought he tried to pollute the temple, but he 00:21:03.640 --> 00:21:05.160 really didn't try to pollute the temple. And 00:21:05.160 --> 00:21:07.640 we couldn't prove that if we tried because the 00:21:07.640 --> 00:21:10.539 Asian Gentiles who were with him in Jerusalem 00:21:10.539 --> 00:21:14.240 have now returned to Asia. We couldn't even bring 00:21:14.240 --> 00:21:17.539 a witness to that charge even if you asked us 00:21:17.539 --> 00:21:24.960 to. Now, Felix is the governor of Judea, and 00:21:24.960 --> 00:21:28.359 Christianity has begun to spread. Felix knew 00:21:28.359 --> 00:21:32.940 about the way of Jesus. So he put off the trial 00:21:32.940 --> 00:21:37.019 for the time being. This is not that important, 00:21:37.359 --> 00:21:42.319 Felix is thinking. Lysias, the commanding officer, 00:21:42.400 --> 00:21:44.940 will come, and then I'll decide your case. He 00:21:44.940 --> 00:21:47.019 ordered the commander to keep Paul under guard. 00:21:48.619 --> 00:21:52.119 to give Paul some freedom, right? So not only 00:21:52.119 --> 00:21:55.440 is he living it up in the governor's palace, 00:21:55.619 --> 00:21:58.559 but he's even kind of told his guards like, you 00:21:58.559 --> 00:22:02.359 know what? Just kind of keep an eye on him. Kind 00:22:02.359 --> 00:22:04.259 of make sure, you know, just keep him out of 00:22:04.259 --> 00:22:07.680 trouble. It's basically what he's saying. He's 00:22:07.680 --> 00:22:10.279 even allowed his friends to come in to care for 00:22:10.279 --> 00:22:12.599 his needs. So he's got friends, other Christians 00:22:12.599 --> 00:22:16.019 who are bringing him food to eat. and fresh clothes 00:22:16.019 --> 00:22:17.920 to wear, all of these kind of things. Several 00:22:17.920 --> 00:22:21.480 days later, Felix came with his wife, Drusilla, 00:22:21.700 --> 00:22:26.420 and she was a Jew. Felix sent up for Paul and 00:22:26.420 --> 00:22:28.220 listened to him speak about faith in Christ, 00:22:28.500 --> 00:22:32.680 faith in Christ Jesus. Paul talked about how 00:22:32.680 --> 00:22:36.519 to live right. He talked about how people should 00:22:36.519 --> 00:22:39.539 control themselves. He talked about the time 00:22:39.539 --> 00:22:45.559 when God will judge everyone. became afraid. 00:22:46.279 --> 00:22:49.559 That's enough for now, he said. You may leave 00:22:49.559 --> 00:22:53.819 when I find time. I will send for you. Paul's 00:22:53.819 --> 00:22:57.099 talk of righteousness and of self -control and 00:22:57.099 --> 00:23:00.359 judgment to come must have been touchy issues 00:23:00.359 --> 00:23:04.579 for a governor who was noted for his ruthlessness. 00:23:05.700 --> 00:23:09.980 Tacitus, an ancient Roman writer, said of Governor 00:23:09.980 --> 00:23:13.599 Felix, Practically every kind of cruelty and 00:23:13.599 --> 00:23:17.920 lust. He exercised royal power with the instincts 00:23:17.920 --> 00:23:23.160 of a slave. Just as Herod Antipas had been alarmed 00:23:23.160 --> 00:23:25.480 by the preaching of John the Baptist. Remember, 00:23:25.740 --> 00:23:29.779 John the Baptist didn't really like the way that 00:23:29.779 --> 00:23:32.559 Herod Antipas was kind of hanging around with 00:23:32.559 --> 00:23:37.490 his brother's ex -wife, right? and was really 00:23:37.490 --> 00:23:39.769 making trouble for him because John had gathered 00:23:39.769 --> 00:23:43.289 quite a following. John the Baptist was saying, 00:23:43.390 --> 00:23:45.829 I don't think the king is living right. It's 00:23:45.829 --> 00:23:48.049 going to end up with him losing his head. And 00:23:48.049 --> 00:23:50.170 we kind of have the same thing going on here 00:23:50.170 --> 00:23:54.890 with Felix, a pretty bad guy. Felix may have 00:23:54.890 --> 00:23:57.549 been conscience -stricken by hearing Paul. He 00:23:57.549 --> 00:24:01.970 hears Paul. He hears this message of self -control 00:24:01.970 --> 00:24:07.349 and of moderation and morality. And perhaps it 00:24:07.349 --> 00:24:09.890 was just a little too close to home. However, 00:24:09.890 --> 00:24:12.329 Felix put off matters of faith and repentance 00:24:12.329 --> 00:24:15.109 just as he deferred passing judgment on Paul. 00:24:15.269 --> 00:24:19.769 See, he was hoping, we read verse 26, he was 00:24:19.769 --> 00:24:23.250 hoping that Paul would offer him some money to 00:24:23.250 --> 00:24:26.630 let him go. So we often sit for Paul and talk 00:24:26.630 --> 00:24:29.549 to him. Remember, he's allowed Paul's friends 00:24:29.549 --> 00:24:34.460 to come in. He's allowed food and money and probably 00:24:34.460 --> 00:24:38.079 letters are going out. And this is a perfect 00:24:38.079 --> 00:24:42.019 time to kind of, hey, man, how about a little 00:24:42.019 --> 00:24:46.299 something, you know, for the effort? Paul is 00:24:46.299 --> 00:24:50.000 just not interested in giving bribes. Two years, 00:24:50.180 --> 00:24:56.079 verse 27, two years passed. Portius Festus took 00:24:56.079 --> 00:24:59.539 the place of Felix, but Felix wanted to do the 00:24:59.539 --> 00:25:03.819 Jews a favor. So he left Paul in prison. Now 00:25:03.819 --> 00:25:08.539 Felix was the governor or the procurator of Judea 00:25:08.539 --> 00:25:12.700 from the years 52 to 59. And he actually was 00:25:12.700 --> 00:25:17.000 a freed slave. Remember Tacitus had said that 00:25:17.000 --> 00:25:19.900 he practiced every kind of cruelty and lust. 00:25:20.240 --> 00:25:24.900 And Felix promoted and provoked Jewish unrest. 00:25:25.819 --> 00:25:30.029 He was actually a cruel guy. He had the ability 00:25:30.029 --> 00:25:34.269 to crush Jewish rebellion whenever it sparked. 00:25:34.490 --> 00:25:37.970 And he would actually foment Jewish unrest so 00:25:37.970 --> 00:25:43.269 that he could crush them. And he was actually 00:25:43.269 --> 00:25:48.769 eventually ousted by Nero, right? The guy who 00:25:48.769 --> 00:25:52.529 lets Rome burn. The guy who named his own horse 00:25:52.529 --> 00:25:57.400 as a senator. Crazy Nero. This guy kicks Felix 00:25:57.400 --> 00:26:00.519 out for being too bad of a guy. That's how bad 00:26:00.519 --> 00:26:04.359 Felix is. Now, why would this corrupt, crazy 00:26:04.359 --> 00:26:07.160 governor, Felix, why would he want to do the 00:26:07.160 --> 00:26:11.059 Jews a favor? Well, before these events, Paul 00:26:11.059 --> 00:26:14.319 and his trial and all this, before these events, 00:26:14.380 --> 00:26:18.759 there was a massive dispute in Caesarea as to 00:26:18.759 --> 00:26:23.019 whether Caesarea was going to be a Gentile or 00:26:23.019 --> 00:26:26.650 a Greek. controlled city or a Jewish controlled 00:26:26.650 --> 00:26:31.490 city. And daggers were out towards each other 00:26:31.490 --> 00:26:36.049 at every turn. And eventually mob violence erupts 00:26:36.049 --> 00:26:41.990 and Felix dispatches his troops to help the Gentiles 00:26:41.990 --> 00:26:46.970 kill thousands of Jews in the city. Not only 00:26:46.970 --> 00:26:49.910 did he allow for thousands of Jews in the city 00:26:49.910 --> 00:26:52.130 to be killed, but he also allowed the soldiers. 00:26:52.750 --> 00:26:57.569 to loot businesses and homes of Jewish people. 00:26:58.410 --> 00:27:01.589 His actions were so bad that the Jewish people 00:27:01.589 --> 00:27:05.210 at the end of the mob violence actually protested 00:27:05.210 --> 00:27:11.430 to Rome because of his actions. So what's he 00:27:11.430 --> 00:27:14.029 doing? He's trying to get on their good side. 00:27:14.789 --> 00:27:19.450 It didn't work, and Nero does, in fact, depose 00:27:19.450 --> 00:27:22.430 him as governor. This new guy, the new guy, the 00:27:22.430 --> 00:27:23.990 guy that takes his place is a guy by the name 00:27:23.990 --> 00:27:29.210 of Festus. And three days, chapter 25, three 00:27:29.210 --> 00:27:31.950 days after Festus arrived, he went up from Caesarea 00:27:31.950 --> 00:27:34.750 to Jerusalem. There the chief priests and the 00:27:34.750 --> 00:27:37.009 Jewish leaders came to him, and they brought 00:27:37.009 --> 00:27:40.309 their charges against Paul. They tried to get 00:27:40.309 --> 00:27:43.890 Festus to have Paul taken to Jerusalem. And they 00:27:43.890 --> 00:27:47.349 asked this as a favor because they were planning 00:27:47.349 --> 00:27:51.430 to hide and attack and kill him. Festus answered, 00:27:51.609 --> 00:27:55.769 Paul is being held at Caesarea, and soon I'll 00:27:55.769 --> 00:27:59.170 be going there myself. So let some of your leaders 00:27:59.170 --> 00:28:00.930 come with me, and if the man has done anything 00:28:00.930 --> 00:28:04.549 wrong, they can bring charges against him there. 00:28:06.150 --> 00:28:09.009 Festus spent eight or ten days in Jerusalem with 00:28:09.009 --> 00:28:11.869 them. Then he went down to Caesarea, the Roman 00:28:11.869 --> 00:28:14.109 capital. The next day he called the court together, 00:28:14.269 --> 00:28:17.230 and he ordered Paul brought to him. When Paul 00:28:17.230 --> 00:28:19.329 arrived, the Jews who had come down for Jerusalem 00:28:19.329 --> 00:28:22.109 stood around him. They brought many strong charges 00:28:22.109 --> 00:28:26.150 against him and always, as always, they couldn't 00:28:26.150 --> 00:28:30.589 prove them. Now finally, Paul speaks for himself. 00:28:31.789 --> 00:28:35.589 And he tells the court, I've done nothing wrong. 00:28:35.690 --> 00:28:39.690 And here it is. I've done nothing wrong against 00:28:39.690 --> 00:28:45.910 the law of the Jews or against the temple. I 00:28:45.910 --> 00:28:50.529 have done nothing wrong against Caesar. Remember, 00:28:50.650 --> 00:28:54.009 these four speeches in these four chapters, each 00:28:54.009 --> 00:28:58.710 one of them is Luke showing the reader how Christianity 00:28:58.710 --> 00:29:03.849 is not designed, intended, nor was it to be a 00:29:03.849 --> 00:29:08.940 source of civil unrest. But Festus wanted to 00:29:08.940 --> 00:29:11.599 do the Jews a favor, so he said to Paul, now 00:29:11.599 --> 00:29:13.819 remember, why are these guys wanting to do the 00:29:13.819 --> 00:29:16.880 Jews a favor? Because at every drop of the hat, 00:29:16.920 --> 00:29:20.359 there is some sort of rebellion. And when Roman 00:29:20.359 --> 00:29:24.019 pro -councils or governors can't handle the rebellions 00:29:24.019 --> 00:29:26.779 that take place in Judea, they end up getting 00:29:26.779 --> 00:29:30.859 removed. He's trying to keep everybody calm here. 00:29:31.359 --> 00:29:36.099 So he asks Paul, hey. These guys have come up 00:29:36.099 --> 00:29:38.880 with a possible solution. Would you go to Jerusalem? 00:29:39.759 --> 00:29:41.700 Could we have your trial there in Jerusalem? 00:29:41.799 --> 00:29:44.700 Are you willing to face these charges in my court? 00:29:44.759 --> 00:29:48.000 And Paul says, I'm already standing in Caesar's 00:29:48.000 --> 00:29:52.180 court. Remember, he's talking to the Roman governor 00:29:52.180 --> 00:29:56.700 in court. He's saying, I don't need to go anywhere 00:29:56.700 --> 00:29:59.519 else. Look, Caesar's law is the law of the land. 00:29:59.920 --> 00:30:03.579 I'm already in court. This is where I should 00:30:03.579 --> 00:30:06.900 go to trial. It's already been proven. I haven't 00:30:06.900 --> 00:30:09.940 done anything wrong to the Jews. And he tells 00:30:09.940 --> 00:30:14.960 Festus, you know this very well. He says, if 00:30:14.960 --> 00:30:19.740 I'm guilty of anything else, if I'm worthy of 00:30:19.740 --> 00:30:23.440 death, I'm willing to die. But these things that 00:30:23.440 --> 00:30:25.380 they keep saying, the reason why I should still 00:30:25.380 --> 00:30:28.039 go down and be held for trial in Jerusalem just 00:30:28.039 --> 00:30:32.029 isn't true. He said, no one has the right to 00:30:32.029 --> 00:30:36.190 hand me, I'm a Roman citizen, over to them. They 00:30:36.190 --> 00:30:38.829 are not Roman citizens. And then he says the 00:30:38.829 --> 00:30:44.869 magic words. I make my appeal to Caesar, the 00:30:44.869 --> 00:30:48.670 Roman citizen. Perceiving that Festus might yield 00:30:48.670 --> 00:30:51.509 to these Jewish authorities, that it might give 00:30:51.509 --> 00:30:53.410 in and let him take him back to Jerusalem and 00:30:53.410 --> 00:30:57.890 be killed, Paul appeals to Caesar. It was the 00:30:57.890 --> 00:31:02.369 right. of every Roman citizen, if they request, 00:31:02.750 --> 00:31:06.029 to be tried before the imperial tribunal in Rome. 00:31:06.789 --> 00:31:10.390 This course of events will eventually allow the 00:31:10.390 --> 00:31:13.009 Lord's prophecy that Paul would preach in Rome 00:31:13.009 --> 00:31:17.670 to be fulfilled. So Festus talked it over with 00:31:17.670 --> 00:31:19.410 the members of his court, and he said, you've 00:31:19.410 --> 00:31:22.890 made an appeal to Caesar, and to Caesar you will 00:31:22.890 --> 00:31:29.690 go. A guy who was king, at the time, Marcus Julius 00:31:29.690 --> 00:31:35.349 Agrippa II, was the son of Herod Agrippa I. He 00:31:35.349 --> 00:31:37.869 was brought up at Rome in the court of Claudius, 00:31:37.890 --> 00:31:40.289 and like his father, was also a favorite of the 00:31:40.289 --> 00:31:44.410 emperor. As his father's death in 44, he was 00:31:44.410 --> 00:31:46.470 only 17 years old, which meant he was too young 00:31:46.470 --> 00:31:49.470 to rule over his father's domain. Therefore, 00:31:49.549 --> 00:31:52.170 Palestine become a Roman province administered 00:31:52.170 --> 00:31:55.569 by a provincial governor. But in 50, Claudius 00:31:55.569 --> 00:31:59.819 appointed King Agrippa II, king of a petty kingdom 00:31:59.819 --> 00:32:03.799 to the northeast of Judea. As a ruler of an adjoining 00:32:03.799 --> 00:32:06.680 kingdom to the north, Herod Agrippa II came to 00:32:06.680 --> 00:32:09.240 pay his respects to Festus. That's why we find 00:32:09.240 --> 00:32:13.500 King Agrippa II now hanging out with Festus as 00:32:13.500 --> 00:32:17.619 the new governor of Judea. When Agrippa with 00:32:17.619 --> 00:32:21.259 Berenice, your Bible might say Bernice, but the 00:32:21.259 --> 00:32:24.740 name is more properly translated Berenice. That 00:32:24.740 --> 00:32:27.960 is his sister of one year younger than he. She 00:32:27.960 --> 00:32:31.819 married her uncle, their uncle, Herod, the king 00:32:31.819 --> 00:32:37.920 of Chalcis. But he died in 48 AD. So Berenice 00:32:37.920 --> 00:32:41.519 came to live with her brother, Agrippa. Rumors 00:32:41.519 --> 00:32:43.680 of their incestuous relationship flourished. 00:32:44.910 --> 00:32:49.450 Rome, and Palestine. Verse 13. A few days later, 00:32:49.569 --> 00:32:52.029 King Agrippa and Berenice arrived in Caesarea. 00:32:52.569 --> 00:32:55.230 They had come to pay attention or pay a visit 00:32:55.230 --> 00:32:57.509 to Festus. They were spending many days there, 00:32:57.569 --> 00:33:00.710 so Festus talked with the king about Paul's case. 00:33:00.970 --> 00:33:05.109 He says, there's a man that Felix just left as 00:33:05.109 --> 00:33:07.730 a prisoner. And when I went to Jerusalem, the 00:33:07.730 --> 00:33:09.670 Jewish chief priests and the elders brought charges 00:33:09.670 --> 00:33:11.890 against him. And they wanted him to be found 00:33:11.890 --> 00:33:14.660 guilty. I told them it's not the way Romans do 00:33:14.660 --> 00:33:18.119 things. We don't judge people before they face 00:33:18.119 --> 00:33:20.900 those bringing charges against them. They have 00:33:20.900 --> 00:33:22.380 to have a chance to speak up for themselves. 00:33:26.359 --> 00:33:29.880 Instead, verse 19, instead they argued with them 00:33:29.880 --> 00:33:32.140 about their own beliefs. They didn't agree about 00:33:32.140 --> 00:33:35.700 this dead man named Jesus. There he could be 00:33:35.700 --> 00:33:37.960 tried on these charges, but Paul made an appeal 00:33:37.960 --> 00:33:40.990 to have the emperor decide his case. So I ordered 00:33:40.990 --> 00:33:42.769 him to be held until I could send him to Caesar. 00:33:43.390 --> 00:33:47.670 Then Agrippa said to Festus, I'd like to hear 00:33:47.670 --> 00:33:50.390 this man for myself. Festus says, alright, tomorrow 00:33:50.390 --> 00:33:54.529 is the day. The imperial officials are represented 00:33:54.529 --> 00:33:58.470 as Paul's only safeguard from the Jews. Paul 00:33:58.470 --> 00:34:04.150 is a Pharisee of the tribe of Benjamin. He studied 00:34:04.150 --> 00:34:09.530 under the famed Rabbi Gamaliel. Before becoming 00:34:09.530 --> 00:34:13.150 Christian, he persecuted Christians. The only 00:34:13.150 --> 00:34:17.090 thing that is separating Paul from death at the 00:34:17.090 --> 00:34:20.710 hands of his Jewish brothers are the Romans. 00:34:22.449 --> 00:34:26.630 And how their friendly disposition to Paul is 00:34:26.630 --> 00:34:31.030 emphasized by Luke. Even Felix, who was one of 00:34:31.030 --> 00:34:34.550 the worst Roman officials, is affected by Paul's 00:34:34.550 --> 00:34:39.059 teaching. And on the whole, protects Paul. Even 00:34:39.059 --> 00:34:41.980 though he might have had sordid motives like 00:34:41.980 --> 00:34:47.059 wanting a bribe, and even though he finally left 00:34:47.059 --> 00:34:51.539 Paul bound because he wanted a deal with the 00:34:51.539 --> 00:34:55.099 Jews, but there was no actual official action 00:34:55.099 --> 00:35:01.079 by Felix against Paul. Felix's successor is described 00:35:01.079 --> 00:35:05.019 as just and fair with Paul. He found him not 00:35:05.019 --> 00:35:08.969 worthy of death. had difficulty discovering any 00:35:08.969 --> 00:35:12.369 definite charge against him that he could report 00:35:12.369 --> 00:35:15.110 when sending him for trial before the Supreme 00:35:15.110 --> 00:35:18.190 Court of the Empire. This man, this Roman citizen, 00:35:18.329 --> 00:35:22.769 has requested a trial at the imperial tribunal 00:35:22.769 --> 00:35:26.369 in Rome. I am to send along a report saying I 00:35:26.369 --> 00:35:29.909 have thoroughly examined the matters and this 00:35:29.909 --> 00:35:33.210 guy is clearly guilty or he is clearly innocent. 00:35:33.960 --> 00:35:37.559 And Festus here has no idea what to write in 00:35:37.559 --> 00:35:40.159 this letter, whatever he sends him to Rome, because 00:35:40.159 --> 00:35:42.880 there's no reason why this guy should even have 00:35:42.880 --> 00:35:49.320 to face trial in Rome. So verse 23 of chapter 00:35:49.320 --> 00:35:55.719 25, remember Agrippa and Berenice, they show 00:35:55.719 --> 00:35:59.199 up and they act like very important people. They're 00:35:59.199 --> 00:36:01.809 entered into the courtroom. The most important 00:36:01.809 --> 00:36:03.809 officers, leading men of the city, came with 00:36:03.809 --> 00:36:06.510 him. And when Festus gave the command, Paul was 00:36:06.510 --> 00:36:09.250 then brought in. Festus said, King Agrippa and 00:36:09.250 --> 00:36:11.110 all who are here with us, take a good look at 00:36:11.110 --> 00:36:15.530 this man. Both in Jerusalem and in here, in Caesarea, 00:36:15.809 --> 00:36:18.030 there are a large number of Jews who have come 00:36:18.030 --> 00:36:20.789 to me about him. They keep shouting that he shouldn't 00:36:20.789 --> 00:36:24.510 even live any longer. I have found that he hasn't 00:36:24.510 --> 00:36:27.230 done anything worthy of death. But he made his 00:36:27.230 --> 00:36:29.769 appeal to the emperor, and I've decided to send 00:36:29.769 --> 00:36:32.590 him to Rome. I don't have anything certain to 00:36:32.590 --> 00:36:35.289 write about him to his majesty. So I brought 00:36:35.289 --> 00:36:38.289 him here today. Now all of you will be able to 00:36:38.289 --> 00:36:40.949 hear him. King Agrippa, it will be very good 00:36:40.949 --> 00:36:43.449 for you to hear him. As a result of this hearing, 00:36:43.610 --> 00:36:46.809 maybe I'll have something to write. Because it 00:36:46.809 --> 00:36:49.730 doesn't make sense to send a prisoner to Rome 00:36:49.730 --> 00:36:53.110 without listing the charges against him. There 00:36:53.110 --> 00:36:57.829 are no charges against him. So Agrippa tells 00:36:57.829 --> 00:37:01.949 Paul, you can speak. So Paul motions with his 00:37:01.949 --> 00:37:05.730 hand and begins his defense. King Agrippa, I 00:37:05.730 --> 00:37:07.730 consider myself fortunate to stand before you 00:37:07.730 --> 00:37:11.050 today as I make my defense against all of these 00:37:11.050 --> 00:37:13.989 accusations of the Jews, especially so because 00:37:13.989 --> 00:37:16.650 you are well acquainted with all the Jewish customs 00:37:16.650 --> 00:37:19.949 and controversies. Therefore, I beg you to listen 00:37:19.949 --> 00:37:22.449 to me patiently. It must have been that Paul 00:37:22.449 --> 00:37:26.369 recognized Agrippa for two things. One, being 00:37:26.369 --> 00:37:30.300 an intelligent guy. And two, remember his wife, 00:37:30.539 --> 00:37:35.500 he comes from a Jewish family, so he's going 00:37:35.500 --> 00:37:40.219 to be cognizant, aware of Jewish law and customs. 00:37:40.300 --> 00:37:44.079 So he's not going to have to explain Jewish law 00:37:44.079 --> 00:37:47.380 and custom as well as defending his case. The 00:37:47.380 --> 00:37:49.900 Jewish people all know the way I have lived ever 00:37:49.900 --> 00:37:52.619 since I was a child. From the beginning of my 00:37:52.619 --> 00:37:54.920 life in my own country and also Jerusalem. They've 00:37:54.920 --> 00:37:57.579 known me for a long time. And they could testify, 00:37:57.699 --> 00:38:00.659 if they're willing, that I conform to the strictest 00:38:00.659 --> 00:38:05.880 sect of our religion. Right? And he loves being 00:38:05.880 --> 00:38:09.079 a Pharisee. He says, I'm a Pharisee. And now 00:38:09.079 --> 00:38:11.840 it's my hope that what God has promised our ancestors, 00:38:12.139 --> 00:38:14.260 it's for that reason that I'm on trial today. 00:38:14.420 --> 00:38:18.820 Basically, what Paul is saying is God promised 00:38:18.820 --> 00:38:22.969 us a deliverer. God promised us a Messiah, and 00:38:22.969 --> 00:38:28.510 I believe that that Messiah has come. And that's 00:38:28.510 --> 00:38:34.590 the only reason why I am on trial today. Right? 00:38:35.869 --> 00:38:39.889 And either that or because I believe that the 00:38:39.889 --> 00:38:43.010 Messiah was raised from the dead. And so let 00:38:43.010 --> 00:38:45.469 me ask you, why should any of you consider it 00:38:45.469 --> 00:38:49.039 incredible? If God, the creator of the universe, 00:38:49.219 --> 00:38:52.559 can actually raise people from the dead. And 00:38:52.559 --> 00:38:54.559 we've got to remember that it's not in spite 00:38:54.559 --> 00:38:57.380 of his Jewish heritage, but because of it, Paul 00:38:57.380 --> 00:39:00.679 insisted, that he believed and proclaimed what 00:39:00.679 --> 00:39:04.619 he did. This is important. Because Paul didn't 00:39:04.619 --> 00:39:08.380 see himself as something outside of his Jewishness. 00:39:08.900 --> 00:39:14.639 He saw himself as a Jew whose ultimate... messianic 00:39:14.639 --> 00:39:17.780 promise had been fulfilled he wasn't the founder 00:39:17.780 --> 00:39:21.420 of a new religion or Christ rather wasn't the 00:39:21.420 --> 00:39:23.639 founder of a new religion of which he was one 00:39:23.639 --> 00:39:27.159 of the chief salesmen he just saw the Hebrew 00:39:27.159 --> 00:39:30.239 scriptures the promises contained therein by 00:39:30.239 --> 00:39:33.659 Yahweh being fulfilled through Jesus right and 00:39:33.659 --> 00:39:36.659 so what he's saying is it's not I'm not trying 00:39:36.659 --> 00:39:38.960 to ignore that I'm a Jew in fact that's what 00:39:38.960 --> 00:39:43.119 I'm trying to make a point of He's saying it's 00:39:43.119 --> 00:39:46.340 because I'm a Jew that I'm proclaiming it the 00:39:46.340 --> 00:39:50.699 way that I am. So he begins the body of his address 00:39:50.699 --> 00:39:54.539 here by drawing back to that pharisaic background 00:39:54.539 --> 00:39:58.199 and his Christian commitment, arguing that the 00:39:58.199 --> 00:40:01.480 Jewish hope and the Christian message are inseparably 00:40:01.480 --> 00:40:05.679 related. Jewish hope for a future and the Christian 00:40:05.679 --> 00:40:09.519 message are the same message is what Paul is 00:40:09.519 --> 00:40:13.110 trying to say. His life had been spent amongst 00:40:13.110 --> 00:40:16.809 his people in his own country, in Sicilia, and 00:40:16.809 --> 00:40:19.409 in Jerusalem, and he had lived as the strictest 00:40:19.409 --> 00:40:22.989 member of the Pharisees, because they had the 00:40:22.989 --> 00:40:25.110 hope of resurrection and the dead. Ironically, 00:40:25.190 --> 00:40:27.309 the charges against him were brought, of all 00:40:27.309 --> 00:40:30.610 people, by the Jews themselves. Yet why should 00:40:30.610 --> 00:40:32.510 any of his audience think it incredible that 00:40:32.510 --> 00:40:34.730 God should raise from the dead? particularly 00:40:34.730 --> 00:40:37.909 when God had validated the truth of resurrection 00:40:37.909 --> 00:40:42.250 by raising Jesus from the dead. And he's saying, 00:40:42.309 --> 00:40:48.250 I am convinced, verse 9, I am convinced that 00:40:48.250 --> 00:40:54.449 I should oppose Jesus in every way until I had 00:40:54.449 --> 00:40:57.190 my experience on the road to Damascus. And in 00:40:57.190 --> 00:41:01.170 the second part of his story here, of his narrative, 00:41:01.610 --> 00:41:04.670 He continues to retell the story of his own conversion 00:41:04.670 --> 00:41:09.150 and how he had come in contact with other Christians 00:41:09.150 --> 00:41:13.369 whenever he had actually had his own Christophany. 00:41:13.449 --> 00:41:17.130 In other words, his own experience of a vision 00:41:17.130 --> 00:41:21.989 of Christ, right? Whom says, I am Jesus whom 00:41:21.989 --> 00:41:25.750 you are persecuting. So then King Agrippa, I 00:41:25.750 --> 00:41:28.809 was not disobedient to that vision from heaven, 00:41:28.929 --> 00:41:32.530 verse 19. first to those in Damascus, remember 00:41:32.530 --> 00:41:34.989 that's where he was taken, then to Jerusalem 00:41:34.989 --> 00:41:37.829 and Judea, then to the Gentiles. I preached that 00:41:37.829 --> 00:41:40.309 they should repent and turn to God and demonstrate 00:41:40.309 --> 00:41:42.690 their repentance by their deeds, which is exactly 00:41:42.690 --> 00:41:47.989 what all of the apostles were called to do. And 00:41:47.989 --> 00:41:49.789 God has helped me to this very day, so I stand 00:41:49.789 --> 00:41:53.670 here to testify to small and great alike. I'm 00:41:53.670 --> 00:41:55.630 saying nothing beyond what the prophets and Moses 00:41:55.630 --> 00:41:59.070 said would happen, that the Messiah would suffer. 00:42:00.130 --> 00:42:02.449 as the first to rise from the dead would bring 00:42:02.449 --> 00:42:04.869 the message of light to his own people and to 00:42:04.869 --> 00:42:08.510 the Gentiles. That's in our own scriptures, guys. 00:42:09.230 --> 00:42:11.949 At this point, Festus interrupted Paul's defense. 00:42:12.130 --> 00:42:15.550 You are out of your mind, Paul. Again, finding 00:42:15.550 --> 00:42:19.190 no fault, just saying, I think you've gotten 00:42:19.190 --> 00:42:22.469 too big for your britches. All of this book learning, 00:42:22.710 --> 00:42:25.289 Festus is saying, has driven you a little bit 00:42:25.289 --> 00:42:29.500 crazy. I'm not insane, most excellent Festus. 00:42:30.739 --> 00:42:33.940 What I'm saying is true and reasonable. King's 00:42:33.940 --> 00:42:37.139 familiar with these things and I can speak freely 00:42:37.139 --> 00:42:40.159 to him. I'm convinced that none of this has escaped 00:42:40.159 --> 00:42:43.440 his notice because it was not done in a corner. 00:42:43.739 --> 00:42:46.340 And he says, King Agrippa, remember coming from 00:42:46.340 --> 00:42:51.000 a Jewish family? He says, King Agrippa, do you 00:42:51.000 --> 00:42:55.690 believe in the prophets? I know you do. And whenever 00:42:55.690 --> 00:42:58.289 he says this to Agrippa, he's painted Agrippa 00:42:58.289 --> 00:43:03.190 into a corner. How does Agrippa answer? Does 00:43:03.190 --> 00:43:06.429 he say that he doesn't believe in prophets and 00:43:06.429 --> 00:43:09.710 turn his back on his Jewish heritage? Or does 00:43:09.710 --> 00:43:12.710 he say that he does believe in prophets and go, 00:43:12.849 --> 00:43:16.230 well, it sounds like the story is true here. 00:43:16.289 --> 00:43:20.190 He's kind of got Agrippa in a theological corner 00:43:20.190 --> 00:43:23.539 here. And Agrippa says to Paul, I think this 00:43:23.539 --> 00:43:26.420 is really great. He says, do you think that in 00:43:26.420 --> 00:43:28.400 such a short time that you can persuade me to 00:43:28.400 --> 00:43:30.599 be a Christian? You're going to have to try a 00:43:30.599 --> 00:43:34.579 little bit harder than that, Paul. Paul says, 00:43:34.659 --> 00:43:38.619 short time or long, I pray to God that not only 00:43:38.619 --> 00:43:40.840 you, but all who are listening to me today may 00:43:40.840 --> 00:43:43.619 become what I am, except for, and you can imagine 00:43:43.619 --> 00:43:49.599 him rattling these chains. The king arose. And 00:43:49.599 --> 00:43:51.820 with this governor and Berenice and those sitting 00:43:51.820 --> 00:43:53.960 with them. After they left the room, they began 00:43:53.960 --> 00:43:56.219 saying to one another, this man is not doing 00:43:56.219 --> 00:43:58.840 anything that deserves death or imprisonment. 00:43:59.800 --> 00:44:03.280 Agrippa says to Festus, this man could have been 00:44:03.280 --> 00:44:09.099 set free if not that he appealed to Caesar. Had 00:44:09.099 --> 00:44:13.679 he not said the magic words that forces me to 00:44:13.679 --> 00:44:16.780 send him to Rome, I'd let him go right now, but 00:44:16.780 --> 00:44:19.559 I can't. I can't because he's asked me to send 00:44:19.559 --> 00:44:22.619 him to Rome, and I cannot be seen as denying 00:44:22.619 --> 00:44:25.920 him an opportunity before the imperial tribunal 00:44:25.920 --> 00:44:28.599 in Rome. I could have let him go today, but he 00:44:28.599 --> 00:44:33.019 is on his way to Rome. As Felix said, to Caesar 00:44:33.019 --> 00:44:37.579 you shall go. Paul had had the last word, and 00:44:37.579 --> 00:44:40.380 his light touch here, I think at the end of his 00:44:40.380 --> 00:44:43.940 response, evidently broke up the meeting. With 00:44:43.940 --> 00:44:46.460 it, Agrippa dismissed the proceedings and Festus 00:44:46.460 --> 00:44:48.820 and Berenice strode out of the audience chamber 00:44:48.820 --> 00:44:53.039 to discuss the situation. Agrippa had presumably 00:44:53.039 --> 00:44:55.659 heard enough to instruct Festus what he should 00:44:55.659 --> 00:44:57.780 write in this report that will go with him to 00:44:57.780 --> 00:45:00.579 Rome. Their conclusion was that Paul had done 00:45:00.579 --> 00:45:02.980 nothing that in Rome's eyes should merit death 00:45:02.980 --> 00:45:07.880 or imprisonment. Even Agrippa was heard to comment 00:45:07.880 --> 00:45:10.940 this man could have been set free if he had not 00:45:10.940 --> 00:45:14.239 appealed to Caesar. This comment should not be 00:45:14.239 --> 00:45:16.239 taken to mean that a provincial governor could 00:45:16.239 --> 00:45:19.579 not free a prisoner after appeal to Caesar. In 00:45:19.579 --> 00:45:22.260 this situation, however, Paul's status was not 00:45:22.260 --> 00:45:26.360 a question of law, but also politics. With these 00:45:26.360 --> 00:45:30.599 words, Luke concludes his apologetic motif in 00:45:30.599 --> 00:45:33.159 the Acts of the Apostle, in which he sets out 00:45:33.159 --> 00:45:36.280 to vindicate both Paul and Christianity from 00:45:36.280 --> 00:45:40.699 any suspicion of sedition or treason or political 00:45:40.699 --> 00:45:45.190 unrest. And next time, when we get together, 00:45:45.349 --> 00:45:49.030 we will see this incredibly remarkable adventure 00:45:49.030 --> 00:45:54.010 as they go to Rome. And eventually, that will 00:45:54.010 --> 00:45:57.710 be the end of our story of the Acts of the Apostles. 00:45:57.730 --> 00:46:00.070 And we'll suppose, when it's all said and done, 00:46:00.130 --> 00:46:02.949 what exactly happens to Paul and his old buddy 00:46:02.949 --> 00:46:07.130 Peter when they're in Rome. Spoiler alert, they 00:46:07.130 --> 00:46:14.030 both die. Any questions? What are we going to 00:46:14.030 --> 00:46:18.010 do after Acts? Genesis. Oh, cool. Okay. That's 00:46:18.010 --> 00:46:22.010 going to be interesting to me. Alright. Well, 00:46:22.010 --> 00:46:32.329 there you have it. I hope that this episode was 00:46:32.329 --> 00:46:35.789 as enlightening for you on the story of the Acts 00:46:35.789 --> 00:46:38.670 of the Apostles as it was for me to prepare. 00:46:38.929 --> 00:46:42.250 I hope that you'll join us next time as we... 00:46:42.639 --> 00:46:46.920 follow paul on his travels to rome it's going 00:46:46.920 --> 00:46:50.820 to be quite an adventure hey before we go if 00:46:50.820 --> 00:46:53.920 you could take the moment to like and subscribe 00:46:53.920 --> 00:46:56.639 to the podcast we'd greatly appreciate it however 00:46:56.639 --> 00:47:00.500 it is that you may listen to our podcast if there 00:47:00.500 --> 00:47:04.460 is a way that you can rate and review the podcast 00:47:04.460 --> 00:47:07.659 we'd certainly appreciate it because it helps 00:47:07.659 --> 00:47:11.949 get the podcast out to other people Well, friends, 00:47:11.989 --> 00:47:14.909 until next time, I hope that you are blessed 00:47:14.909 --> 00:47:18.010 and I pray that you'll be a blessing.