Paul before Festus
Published by Stanley Pouw in 2018 · 15 April 2018
We come to Acts 25, and we are examining the last years of Paul’s life, which were spent as a prisoner. First in Jerusalem, then in Caesarea, and finally in Rome, at which point he was executed. He has, as far as we know it, completed his missionary journeys. Though in his imprisonment at Rome, he was able to do a bit of mission work. The Holy Spirit tells us, the trials and defenses of the apostle Paul during this period.
Why is it that from Acts 21 through Acts 28 we are so heavily saturated with the various defenses Paul made before the various tribunals and judgment seats of men? There is no church founded, no great missionary deeds started. There is no doctrine taught in our passage this evening, or in the entire Acts 25. But for the most part, it's just more historical narrative that becomes so typical in the book of Acts.
We have reached a strategic point in Paul's life. First, he was mobbed in Jerusalem; they tried to kill him. Then the Romans rescued him and he gave the first phase of his defense to the Jewish crowd. Then the Romans decided they'd take him to the Sanhedrin and try him there. He gave his second defense there and left them in chaos. After that, the Romans took him to Caesarea and tried him before Felix.
There he gave his third of defense. And now the Holy Spirit leads us into Acts 25. And the same thing occurs again--Paul is lead before Festus, the next governor of Judea and he gives his fourth defense. And he does the same thing again in Acts 26 before the king Agrippa. Again and again, the apostle is seen defending himself in his trials. As we look at this passage, we are going to look for some divine principles that are hidden.
We are going to see some profound principles that are hidden in this passage. But that doesn't make them any less important. First, the power of an innocent Christian testimony. Every time Paul was tried before a court of the world, he was always rendered innocent. His innocence stood as a tremendous rebuke of their own sin. And we see the power and the impact of a blameless life.
Secondly, we see the hatred of religious people toward Christianity. The most volatile hostility in the world toward Christianity comes from other religions. The reason for that is that Satan is the master of all these other religions. Satan is fighting our triune God. And the truth is that what is happening now in our society where the fight between conservatism and liberalism is in full swing, is actuality the same spiritual warfare then.
Historically, the greatest persecutors of Christianity have been religionists. Whether it was Judaism, which now is like pagan worship of anything else outside Christ, or whether it was Caesar worship. It was always a worshipful mask that covered the face of persecution. Don't expect religious people to be tolerant; because Satan is the head religionist and he's always fighting Christ and Christianity.
Another thing that we see here is the binding power of sin. Have you noticed that when someone begins to sin and becomes a captive to that, the sin habit becomes almost unbreakable? That's what Paul meant when he talked about being a slave to sin. And we see how Spirit-filled Christians always create problems in the world, because the world is always opposed to what Christ does in their lives.
Another principle that we see here is the courage of a committed Christian. One of the lost virtues for many Christians, is courage. Courage is the outward side of faith on the inside. Courage is just the legitimizing of my faith; if I really believe God, I'll step out. Courage is in response to faith, and we see here the tremendous courage of Paul. I mean, he did things that showed courage because he believed God.
One of the early criticisms of Christianity was that it was a political activism, a political overthrow orientation. In the book of Acts, the Holy Spirit records all the trials of Christians before the Roman world because they always come out innocent. The church was innocent of any political activity to overthrow any government. Unfortunately, some Christianity has become politics. It's to the defamation of Jesus Christ Himself.
Another principle is the power of the totally committed life. We wonder, what one person can do. If you look at Paul long enough, you'll see what one person can do. He affected everyone. From the simplest man on the street to the palace of Rome, he showed the impact of a totally dedicated life. Another principle that we're going to see is the principle of the providence of God, where God works out all the circumstances to get His desired results.
Now as we look at the text in Acts 25, the first twelve verses deal with Paul before Festus. We will be considering the first twelve as a unit where they deal with Paul before Festus. Now, Felix had been recalled to Rome. He had been cornered by the Jews. He was so inept and had made such a mess, that the whole of Judea was in an uproar. Riots were going on everywhere.
They decided it was time to get rid of Felix, so Rome recalled him in dishonor in A.D. 59 and replaced him with a man named Porcius Festus. That is told us in Acts 24:27, “After two years," that means two years of Paul being in prison there, "Porcius Festus came into Felix's palace." Felix had left Paul bound a prisoner, even though he had never been accused of anything, because he wanted to pacify the Jews.
So Festus inherits not only the political problems of Felix, but also the prisoner of Felix, namely Paul. Historians don't tell us a lot about Festus other than to say that, for the most part, he was a good administrator. Josephus, who is probably the most informed historian of that period, makes the statement that Festus was better than Felix and better than Albinus. Albinus was the governor who followed Festus.
Festus was not a procrastinator like Felix. He was one who dealt with things as swiftly as possible, and we'll see that in this account in Acts 25. The first is this, the assassination was plotted. The second point will be the accusation presented. So as we come to verses 1-5, we see the assassination plot toward the apostle Paul unfolding. Because of Felix’s incompetence; he left a legacy of hate.
Verse 1, “Now when Festus had come to the province, after three days he went up from Caesarea to Jerusalem.” They had taken over the palace of Herod and turned it into the Roman headquarters, where the governor lived and from where he ruled. After three days in Caesarea, he recognizes the need to go to Jerusalem. So he goes up to Jerusalem. The first thing he has to do is pacify the Jewish population.
He must get to know the high priest, the Jewish council, the Sanhedrin; and he must become aware of the customs and politics as they exist in this situation. He knows these contacts are important. Felix before Festus was afraid to do what was right with Paul, because if he did, the Jews would be upset. This isn't anything new for the Romans; they were afraid of history repeating itself.
During the 400 years between the Old Testament and the New Testament, Israel is for the most part dominated by Greece. They were governed by Antiochus Epiphanes which means Antiochus the Great One. And during that period a man named Judas Maccabeus started a revolution. So every Roman governor was concerned. So Festus goes to Jerusalem to work on it.
Verse 2, “Then the high priest and the chief men of the Jews informed him against Paul; and they petitioned him.” The first thing that they say to this new governor is about Paul. Two years have gone by and still, the first thing they say to this guy is about Paul. Verse 3, “asking a favor against him, that he would summon him to Jerusalem—while they lay in ambush along the road to kill him.”
They didn't want justice; they just wanted a favor, "That Festus would send Paul to Jerusalem." They were really trying to take advantage of this new guy. He only knows that Felix messed up and wants to pacify the Jews. They were ready to trap him in the very beginning. If he ever executed Paul, they could ask that he should be replaced because he had executed an innocent man.
Paul has been in jail for two years and hasn't done anything; but they are absolutely paranoid about anybody who preaches Christ. Here you see the hatred of religious people. They claimed to love God, but they have murder on their minds. The real struggle isn't between all the false religions. The false systems are fighting the truth of Christianity. The reason people hate the truth is because they are in Satan's system.
The reason they despised Paul was not because he was that kind of a person. No, he'd lived his whole life as a Jew before his conversion, and they had loved him. But after he became identified with Jesus Christ, they immediately hated him, not for his sake but for Christ's sake. The greatest persecution toward the truth comes from false doctrine and false teachers who slander us. Satan's hate goes on.
When you see the world as Satan's evil system, don't just think of crime, immorality and war. When you think of the world, think primarily of religion. That is the pinnacle of the development of Satan's system, for he is an angel of light and his ministers are angels of light, 2 Corinthians tells us. The hatred toward Jesus Christ did not come from atheism, it came from Judaism.
All religious systems claim to know God, but the facts are, they don't know God. That's why they despise Christ and all those who follow Him. What is the greatest sin? Look at John 16:9, “Because they do not believe in Me." Jesus says, if I had never come and confronted them, I would never have unmasked the truth that they are not believers.
It is dangerous to live a godly life in an ungodly system. We are the world's conscience. Do you know what the world is like without a conscience? Look at the Tribulation. The conscience is taken in the rapture and all hell breaks loose. The second principle was the power of a godly life to rebuke a godless world. Let me give you a third principle: sin enslaves. Imagine for two years being influenced by hate.
Go back to Genesis 4 and see what hate did to Cain. Look at Esau and watch hate drive a man through his whole lifetime. Go to the sons of Jacob and find out what hate did toward Joseph and the results of it. Go find a man named Saul and see what it did to him. He hated David, and it drove him to the place where he killed himself. Read Esther and find out how hatred drove a man named Haman to be hanged of his own gallows.
It's true when the Bible says that the only one who can break the power of sin is Jesus Christ. Those who have hated are all of a sudden able to love. Look at verse 4-5 now, “Festus answered, “Paul is being held at Caesarea, and I myself am going there soon. 5 Let some of your leaders come with me, and if the man has done anything wrong, they can press charges against him there.”
So why did he refuse them? All of the human factors would have told Festus to take Paul to Jerusalem. So why didn't he do it? He didn't do it because of the providence of God. Who is really running everything? Festus? No, God is in charge. Did you know that God ordains the attitudes and actions of men to bring about His own ends? Do you know that, even in government, do you know who was really coordinating the last election? God.
You say, "Oh, the world is going downhill! It's terrible: politics, hatred, drugs, everything is going wrong!" You know what? God is always at work, praise the Lord! Isn't it exciting to see Him going where He wants to go? I never worry about politics; I never worry about the economy; I never worry about wars and what is going to happen because I trust God, and God is running and controlling all of it.
In Acts 2:22-23, it says, “Men of Israel, hear these words: Jesus of Nazareth, a man approved of God among you by miracles and wonders and signs, which God did by him in the midst of you, as you yourselves know. 23 Him being delivered by Pilate." Is that what it says? No. "Him being delivered by the determinate purpose and foreknowledge of God." Who is running it? God is. And God always has a specific purpose!
Let me show you an illustration in Genesis 45:7-8. You remember the brothers of Joseph sold him into slavery? They sold him to a caravan going to Egypt, and he wound up with Potiphar, then Pharaoh, then became a ruler. His brothers arrived, and Joseph talks to them. Look what he says. "God sent me before you to preserve you on earth, and to save your lives by a great deliverance."
So who really got Joseph into Egypt? Not his brothers, but God. You know what would have happened if Joseph had never gotten to Egypt? All of his brothers surely died in the famine that came and the Messianic line would have been obliterated. So God preserved that family. So God sent Joseph, in advance, to Egypt to make sure that when the famine came, Joseph have Egypt all filled with extra wheat.
That's providence. That's God using the natural circumstances to effect His supernatural desires. Do you know who is running the politics of the United States of America, behind the scenes, to effect His own will even through the evil of men? God. "The most High rules in the kingdom of men, and gives it to whomsoever He will." You may not understand what God is doing, but you can trust Him.
The accusation is presented in verse 6-7, “After spending eight or ten days with them, Festus went down to Caesarea. The next day he convened the court and ordered that Paul be brought before him. 7 When Paul came in, the Jews who had come down from Jerusalem stood around him. They brought many serious charges against him, but they could not prove them.” May God use these principles to speak to your hearts. Let's pray.