Good Tuesday May twenty sixth as we come to build our faith by studying God’s word.
Another trial-
Festus is the new governor replacing Felix who left Paul in prison to please the Jews. Felix had the authority to set him free as he found no civil charges against Rome. Lysias found Paul innocent and Felix finds Paul innocent but Paul remains in custody, a prisoner of Rome. Now the governor is Festus who is in his seventies, if you look him up, you’ll learn he only held this position for two years as he died in office. But again his job is to keep the Jews at peace and Rome from having to come and deal with riots, so Festus visits the Jews in Jerusalem and says if you have anything to say against this Paul person come to Caesarea and I will hear what you have to say. Paul spent two years in this Caesarean jail having the freedom to have visitors and fellowship with those who came. Was Paul bitter, if he was you’d never know from the letters he wrote while being jailed. Philippians 1:3-6 “I thank my God every time I remember you. In all my prayers for all of you, I always pray with joy because of your partnership in the gospel from the first day until now, being confident of this, that he who began a good work in you will carry it on to completion until the day of Christ Jesus.” In good times or not so good times Paul the apostle kept writing teaching and preaching what he found on that road to Damascus. Let’s read together from Acts 25:6-9 “And when he had remained among them more than ten days, he went down to Caesarea. And the next day, sitting on the judgment seat, he commanded Paul to be brought. When he had come, the Jews who had come down from Jerusalem stood about and laid many serious complaints against Paul, which they could not prove, while he answered for himself, “Neither against the law of the Jews, nor against the temple, nor against Caesar have I offended in anything at all.” But Festus, wanting to do the Jews a favor, answered Paul and said, “Are you willing to go up to Jerusalem and there be judged before me concerning these things?” Luke tells us Festus spent ten additional days in Jerusalem before going to Caesarea. The Jews traveled the sixty plus miles to have another chance to have Paul found guilty of crimes against Rome and the temple and be given the death sentence. The charges made by the Jews before Festus are the same charges Tertullus made before Felix, Paul is an enemy to Rome and the temple. Each charge again made by the Jews Paul defended, notice the words again by Luke, “which they could not prove”. Deuteronomy 17:6 “On the evidence of two witnesses or three witnesses, he who is to die shall be put to death; he shall not be put to death on the evidence of one witness.” Two or three eyewitnesses is what the Law of Moses said was needed for one to be given a death sentence. Paul stands as the Jews lay out their charges but missing as before are two or three witnesses that saw and heard what they are accusing him for. Festus in the middle proposes a compromise over this situation and asks Paul “Are you willing to go up to Jerusalem and there be judged before me concerning these things?” Remember on the road waits a mob to kill him. Paul was promised Rome, we are promised heaven. Do you believe the promise? Remnant
