APPEALING TO A HIGHER POWER (PART 2)

Can I pray for you in any way?

Send any prayer requests to Gods4all@aol.com

In Christ, Mark

~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~

** Follow The Christian Walk on Twitter @ThChristianWalk

** Like posts and send friend requests to the author of The Christian Walk, Mark Cummings on Facebook at https://www.facebook.com/mark.cummings.733?ref=tn_tnmn

** Become a Follower of The Christian Walk at http://the-christian-walk.blogspot.com

~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~

The scriptures. May God bless the reading of His holy word.

A few days later King Agrippa and Bernice arrived at Caesarea to pay their respects to Festus. Since they were spending many days there, Festus discussed Paul’s case with the king. He said: “There is a man here whom Felix left as a prisoner. When I went to Jerusalem, the chief priests and the elders of the Jews brought charges against him and asked that he be condemned.”

“I told them that it is not the Roman custom to hand over anyone before they have faced their accusers and have had an opportunity to defend themselves against the charges. When they came here with me, I did not delay the case, but convened the court the next day and ordered the man to be brought in.”

When his accusers got up to speak, they did not charge him with any of the crimes I had expected. Instead, they had some points of dispute with him about their own religion and about a dead man named Jesus who Paul claimed was alive.”

“I was at a loss how to investigate such matters; so I asked if he would be willing to go to Jerusalem and stand trial there on these charges. But when Paul made his appeal to be held over for the Emperor’s decision, I ordered him held until I could send him to Caesar.”

Then Agrippa said to Festus, “I would like to hear this man myself.”

He replied, “Tomorrow you will hear him.”

Acts 25:13-22

This ends today’s reading from God's holy word. Thanks be to God.

“You have appealed to Caesar. To Caesar you will go!” Acts 25:12

This declaration from the Roman governor Festus was a firm reaction to Paul’s appeal to have his case heard by the highest power in authority over the Roman Empire.

Paul wasn’t about to go back to Jerusalem to face the Sanhedrin for yet a third time, whether Festus presided over the hearing or Ananias, the high priest leading the prestigious Jewish council. He was tired and fed up of being held captive by Roman authorities, whether the Roman commander in Jerusalem or the two Roman governors in Caesarea, first Felix and then Festus.

And so for Paul, it would be onto Rome for an audience with Caesar. Or at least, that’s what he thought would happen.

Unfortunately, that plan ended up on hold after Festus received a visit from King Agrippa and his wife Bernice who came to spend “many days” to “pay their respects”. During the visit, the scriptures show us that Paul became a topic of discussion.

Now, before we get into that conversation, it’s important to cover some background information on the visiting King.

Agrippa is referred to today in history circles as King Agrippa II, the last line of rulers in the Herodian line which had left an indelible mark on biblical history in at least two ways.

It started of course with none other than Herod the Great. You remember him, right?

He was the Roman king in Judea and based in Jerusalem when Jesus was born in Bethlehem. After a visit from the Magi who asked where they could find the “King of the Jews”, you’ll recall that Herod, feigning interest in worshiping the baby Jesus himself, asked for the Magi to return and give him Jesus’ location. But the Magi were warned in a dream not to return to Herod and so they returned home by a different route after finding Jesus, worshiping Him, and giving Him gifts.

Herod, enraged by being outwitted by the Magi, ordered that all boys in Bethlehem two years of age and under be killed but thankfully, Joseph had been warned himself by an angel to take Mary and Jesus to Egypt to escape the murderous scheme.

And so early on, we see signs of evil and madness within the ranks of the Herodian rule.

In 4BC, Herod the Great died and the kingdom was divided up among his sons who each became tetrarchs. One of those sons, Herod Antipas was placed in rule over the region of Galilee and the east bank of the Jordan River.

Go back to the life of John the Baptist and you’ll remember how he railed against Herod because he married his brother Philip’s wife, a woman by the name of Herodias. Herod had Paul arrested for him calling out the obvious adultery and while in custody, you’ll remember how Herodias used her daughter to trick Herod into promising to give her what she wanted before being told to bring the head of John on a platter. Unwilling to break his word, Herod had Paul beheaded and when Jesus emerged on the ministry scene, Herod actually believed he was John the Baptist reincarnated. Of course, he couldn’t have been more wrong.

Now, fast forward to the final King in the line of Herod the Great, Agrippa II. You’ll be interested to know if you don’t already that his wife Bernice, well that was his sister as was the wife of Festus. So the visit to Caesarea was a real family affair as the incestuous royal couple visited their sister and her Roman governor husband.

And you thought situations you see today in the world are unbelievable.

Back to the scriptures now where Festus briefs Agrippa on the matter with Paul, saying:

“There is a man here whom Felix left as a prisoner. When I went to Jerusalem, the chief priests and the elders of the Jews brought charges against him and asked that he be condemned.”

“I told them that it is not the Roman custom to hand over anyone before they have faced their accusers and have had an opportunity to defend themselves against the charges. When they came here with me, I did not delay the case, but convened the court the next day and ordered the man to be brought in.”

“When his accusers got up to speak, they did not charge him with any of the crimes I had expected. Instead, they had some points of dispute with him about their own religion and about a dead man named Jesus who Paul claimed was alive.”

“I was at a loss how to investigate such matters; so I asked if he would be willing to go to Jerusalem and stand trial there on these charges. But when Paul made his appeal to be held over for the Emperor’s decision, I ordered him held until I could send him to Caesar.”

It was a pretty comprehensive breakdown on where things were and it contained the following important points:

1. Festus inherited the mess from Felix who left Paul there as a prisoner. We know that Felix held Paul against his will for more than two years.

2. Paul was being accused by the Jewish chief priests and elders in Jerusalem who had “brought charges against him” and “asked that he be condemned.”

3. Roman customs prevented Paul from being handed over to his accusers before he had a fair trial with a chance to provide self defense against the allegations brought against them.

4. Festus followed Roman custom and “convened the court the next day”, ordering Paul “to be brought in.”

5. The charges levied by the Jewish religious authorities had nothing to do with any crime but rather religious “points of dispute” between what the Jews believed and what Paul did regarding his belief in Jesus who wasn’t dead as the Jewish leaders wished everyone to believe but was very much alive and well.

6. Since there was no violation of Roman law involved, Festus “was at a loss how to investigate such matters” and so he asked Paul if he “would be willing to go to Jerusalem and stand trial there on these charges.” Of interest, Festus failed to mention that he knew the Jews were interested in killing Paul and getting rid of him for good.

7. Paul rejected Festus’ offer and instead “made his appeal to be held over for the Emperor’s decision” and so Festus “ordered him held” until he could be sent “to Caesar.”

It was a good breakdown of how things got to the present state of things and Festus’ words sparked the visiting king’s curiosity for we read where Agrippa says:

“I would like to hear this man myself.”

And with that, Festus promised that the king would meet with Paul the following day.

Paul sought to appeal to a higher power and he would get his wish. It just wouldn’t be Caesar, at least yet. Tomorrow we’ll see what happens when he has an audience with Agrippa II.

Amen.

In Christ,

Mark

PS: Feel free to leave a comment and please share this with anyone you feel might be blessed by it.
Send any prayer requests to Gods4all@aol.com

APPEALING TO A HIGHER POWER (PART 1)

Can I pray for you in any way?

Send any prayer requests to Gods4all@aol.com

In Christ, Mark

~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~

** Follow The Christian Walk on Twitter @ThChristianWalk

** Like posts and send friend requests to the author of The Christian Walk, Mark Cummings on Facebook at https://www.facebook.com/mark.cummings.733?ref=tn_tnmn

** Become a Follower of The Christian Walk at http://the-christian-walk.blogspot.com

~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~

The scriptures. May God bless the reading of His holy word.

Festus, wishing to do the Jews a favor, said to Paul, “Are you willing to go up to Jerusalem and stand trial before me there on these charges?”

Paul answered: “I am now standing before Caesar’s court, where I ought to be tried. I have not done any wrong to the Jews, as you yourself know very well. If, however, I am guilty of doing anything deserving death, I do not refuse to die. But if the charges brought against me by these Jews are not true, no one has the right to hand me over to them. I appeal to Caesar!”

After Festus had conferred with his council, he declared: “You have appealed to Caesar. To Caesar you will go!”

Acts 25:9-12

This ends today’s reading from God's holy word. Thanks be to God.

“I have done nothing wrong against the Jewish law or against the temple or against Caesar.”

Paul had had enough.

He had had enough of being held captive by the Romans when he, a Roman citizen, had done nothing wrong in violation of Roman law or the Emperor Caesar.

He had had enough of being falsely charged by the Jewish religious leaders from Jerusalem when he had already testified once that he had done nothing wrong in violation of Jewish law or God’s sacred temple.

And yet, here Paul was, still on trial although innocent and forced to defend himself against no wrongdoing. It was enough to make the strongest person of faith disgusted and Paul was as strong as they came.

So yes, he was fed up and we see it in his words as we start a series of devotions on Paul’s appeal petitions as he asks for his case to be heard by a higher power than the Roman governors of the province around Caesarea, first Felix and now Festus. Look at our scripture passage again here:

Festus, wishing to do the Jews a favor, said to Paul, “Are you willing to go up to Jerusalem and stand trial before me there on these charges?”

Paul answered: “I am now standing before Caesar’s court, where I ought to be tried. I have not done any wrong to the Jews, as you yourself know very well. If, however, I am guilty of doing anything deserving death, I do not refuse to die. But if the charges brought against me by these Jews are not true, no one has the right to hand me over to them. I appeal to Caesar!”

After Festus had conferred with his council, he declared: “You have appealed to Caesar. To Caesar you will go!”  Acts 25:9-12

You’ll remember the Sanhedrin had decided to dust off an old plan that had been in place back when Paul was in Jerusalem. That plan had the Jews trying to convince the Roman commander protecting Paul to bring him to the Sanhedrin for additional questioning but they had no desire to do any interrogating. For the plot would have Paul assassinated before he even reached the Sanhedrin court but the scheme was thwarted when the son of Paul’s sister got wind of it and went to warn Paul. This is what prompted Paul’s move to Caesarea in the first place.

But now, more than two years later, the Sanhedrin hoped to succeed in eliminating Paul where they had failed before and they had an ace in the hole this time in the Roman governor Festus who we read was “wishing to do the Jews a favor”. And so he asks Paul if he would be willing to “go up to Jerusalem” in order to “stand trial” on the charges made, not with the Sanhedrin presiding but Festus himself.

Huh?

It had to sound so ridiculous to Paul. It would have been like, “Wait a minute. Why would you move the trial location from your own headquarters to Jerusalem and preside over a hearing that could just as easily be done here?” Things just didn’t pass the sanity check and it was very obvious that something fishy was going on.

And so Paul called a spade a spade as he answered Festus’ question with this demand:

“I am now standing before Caesar’s court, where I ought to be tried. I have not done any wrong to the Jews, as you yourself know very well. If, however, I am guilty of doing anything deserving death, I do not refuse to die. But if the charges brought against me by these Jews are not true, no one has the right to hand me over to them. I appeal to Caesar!”

Did I mention that Paul had had enough?

The situation in Caesarea was a dead end and Paul needed to get his name cleared so he could get back to his Gospel mission. But he knew that God had it in mind for him to testify in Rome (Acts 23:11) and so he knew the next step was to get there. This is why Paul made it clear that he was appealing to a higher power, the Roman Emperor, Caesar.

How did Festus handle Paul’s request?

Frankly, it was like he was relieved that he could get rid of the matter altogether. For he conferred with his council but he really had his mind up as to what needed to happen next for we find him rendering his verdict by declaring:

“You have appealed to Caesar. To Caesar you will go!”

Paul was getting what he asked for, an appeal to have his case heard by a higher power but we know that it was at the will of God, the highest Power.

What would happen next?

We’ll see tomorrow as we continue our study of Acts 25.

Amen.

In Christ,

Mark

PS: Feel free to leave a comment and please share this with anyone you feel might be blessed by it.
Send any prayer requests to Gods4all@aol.com

DEJA VU

Can I pray for you in any way? 

Send any prayer requests to Gods4all@aol.com

In Christ, Mark

~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~

** Follow The Christian Walk on Twitter @ThChristianWalk

** Like posts and send friend requests to the author of The Christian Walk, Mark Cummings on Facebook at https://www.facebook.com/mark.cummings.733?ref=tn_tnmn

** Become a Follower of The Christian Walk at http://the-christian-walk.blogspot.com

~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~

The scriptures. May God bless the reading of His holy word.

Three days after arriving in the province, Festus went up from Caesarea to Jerusalem, where the chief priests and the Jewish leaders appeared before him and presented the charges against Paul. They requested Festus, as a favor to them, to have Paul transferred to Jerusalem, for they were preparing an ambush to kill him along the way. Festus answered, “Paul is being held at Caesarea, and I myself am going there soon. Let some of your leaders come with me, and if the man has done anything wrong, they can press charges against him there.”

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. 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.

Then Paul made his defense: “I have done nothing wrong against the Jewish law or against the temple or against Caesar.”

Acts 25:1-8

This ends today’s reading from God's holy word. Thanks be to God.

Paul had been held in what could be seen as house arrest for more than two years by Felix, the Roman governor overseeing the province around the city of Caesarea where he had his headquarters. You’ll recall that Felix had presided over a court proceeding where the Sanhedrin had levied charges against Paul, accusing him of initiating riots and discord in Jerusalem and desecrating the holy temple. In his self defense, Paul systematically refuted all accusations. The scene was set for a quick acquittal as Paul had done nothing to violate Roman law but Felix failed to render a decision and left Paul in prison until he was relieved by another governor. The scriptures tell us he did so as a “favor to the Jews” and you’ll remember that his wife, Drusilla, was a Jew herself.

And so Paul remained in captivity as a new governor, Porcius Festus, took over. Would Paul’s situation now change? Would he finally be pardoned?

Not exactly. For as we see at the beginning of chapter 25, Paul experiences what we would call a bad case of déjà vu.

You know about déjà vu, right?

It’s when you are going through something and you have that feeling inside that says, “Here we go again”, or “I’ve seen this movie before”. You have the feeling that I’ve been through an experience before.

This had to be what Paul was feeling as the new Roman governor, Festus, decides to travel to Jerusalem and pay a visit to the “chief priests and Jewish leaders” in Jerusalem just three days after he arrived in the province he would rule over. Once there, the Sanhedrin leaders regurgitated the same charges against Paul, who now has not even been in Jerusalem for over two years time. Nothing happened then and certainly everyone has moved on in Israel’s capital city except the Jewish religious leadership who held a wicked, sinful grudge against Paul, just as they did against Jesus who Paul followed.

As we read our passage for today, we find that the prior charges weren’t the only things mined back up and used. The Sanhedrin also dusted off their plans to assassinate Paul. Of course, they wouldn’t reveal their intent to Festus. Rather, they tried to manipulate him to take an action that would support their murderous plot.

And so the Sanhedrin leaders asked Festus to bring Paul to Jerusalem as a favor to them so they could question him further. They must have been disappointed to hear Festus tell them this:

“Paul is being held at Caesarea, and I myself am going there soon. Let some of your leaders come with me, and if the man has done anything wrong, they can press charges against him there.”

In other words, it would be like déjà vu for the Sanhedrin as for Paul because this is what they did before after Paul was taken to Felix by the Roman commander in Jerusalem out of concern for Paul’s safety after wind of the fist assassination plan was exposed.

And so the Jewish religious leaders, bent on getting their way this time, traveled back to Caesarea after Festus had spent “eight or ten days with them”. Festus convened another court hearing and brought Paul into the scene where he found himself surrounded by his Jewish accusers who “brought many serious charges against him”, charges “they could not prove”.

Did I say this was déjà vu?

It was just like the first hearing and to further show this, Paul once again begins to defend himself, beginning with the following statement:

“I have done nothing wrong against the Jewish law or against the temple or against Caesar.”

Paul declared his innocence in short and succinct fashion but he was far from finished. For as we will see tomorrow in the first devotion of an eight message series, Paul will begin to appeal to a higher power.

Have a blessed day there.

Amen.

In Christ,

Mark

PS: Feel free to leave a comment and please share this with anyone you feel might be blessed by it.
Send any prayer requests to Gods4all@aol.com

HELD CAPTIVE

Can I pray for you in any way?

Send any prayer requests to Gods4all@aol.com

In Christ, Mark

~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~

** Follow The Christian Walk on Twitter @ThChristianWalk

** Like posts and send friend requests to the author of The Christian Walk, Mark Cummings on Facebook at https://www.facebook.com/mark.cummings.733?ref=tn_tnmn

** Become a Follower of The Christian Walk at http://the-christian-walk.blogspot.com

~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~

The scriptures. May God bless the reading of His holy word.

Then Felix, who was well acquainted with the Way, adjourned the proceedings. “When Lysias the commander comes,” he said, “I will decide your case.” He ordered the centurion to keep Paul under guard but to give him some freedom and permit his friends to take care of his needs.

Several days later Felix came with his wife Drusilla, who was Jewish. He sent for Paul and listened to him as he spoke about faith in Christ Jesus. As Paul talked about righteousness, self-control and the judgment to come, Felix was afraid and said, “That’s enough for now! You may leave. When I find it convenient, I will send for you.”

At the same time he was hoping that Paul would offer him a bribe, so he sent for him frequently and talked with him.

When two years had passed, Felix was succeeded by Porcius Festus, but because Felix wanted to grant a favor to the Jews, he left Paul in prison.

Acts 24:22-27

This ends today’s reading from God's holy word. Thanks be to God.

The trial had ended.

The Sanhedrin had made their accusations against Paul and he in turn rendered a defense of himself.

The verdict was in the hands of the Roman governor Felix as he adjourned the proceedings.

Did he make a decision immediately?

Not exactly.

In fact, as we see in the final verses of Acts 24, Felix didn’t make a decision at all. Instead, he held Paul captive in a form of biblical house arrest until a new governor, Porcius Festus, took over. We read where Paul was permitted “some freedom” and his friends were allowed “to take care of his needs.”

So why did this happen? Why did Felix hold Paul as a political prisoner for two whole years?

Well, as they say, it’s complicated. For as I see it, Felix found himself in a tough place and his actions portrayed split loyalties. Let me explain.

First, the scriptures tell us that the Roman governor was “well acquainted with the Way” which simply meant, he knew about the Gospel of Jesus Christ that Paul was preaching.

How would Felix know about this?

Go back to Acts, chapter 10. There you’ll remember how Peter was summoned from Joppa by a Roman centurion named Cornelius, a Gentile asking for a Jew to pay him a visit. You’ll remember that Peter has a vision just before Cornelius’ men arrived in Joppa which provided him the assurance that it was okay to proceed to meet with Cornelius because Peter had no right to view anything as unclean that God had deemed clean.

And so Peter went to the home of the Roman centurion and where was that located?

In Caesarea, the same place where Felix resided.

And so, Felix was no doubt aware of all that happened during Peter’s visit as he introduced Cornelius, as well as his family and friends, to “the Way” of salvation through Jesus. But note that Felix wanted to hear more about “the Way” for himself and so he sent for Paul and allowed him to speak about his “faith in Christ”. In company with Felix was his wife, Drusilla, and we learn something very important about her when the scriptures tell us she was Jewish. In other words, the governor’s wife would have been sympathetic toward the cause of the Sanhedrin and prone to influencing her husband to hold Paul up from his Gospel work.

This is one of the conflicting issues I felt Felix was dealing with. Another was his own sense of guilt over the way he had lived his own life. For as Paul discussed righteousness, self-control and the judgment to come, we find the Roman governor convicted and confronted by his transgressions, so much so that he became afraid and cut Paul off saying:

“That’s enough for now! You may leave. When I find it convenient, I will send for you.”

Rather than change his ways and opt to live in accordance with Jesus’ way to avoid God’s judgment, Felix decided to just bury his head in the sand and carry on but he did hold out hope that maybe Paul would be willing to pay for his release through a bribe and so he continued to send for Paul frequently to talk and as we know, this went on for two years.

So would Felix finally cave in and surrender himself to Jesus?

The scriptures indicate that he didn’t. For we read where Felix just left Paul in prison until his term as governor had expired and he did so “to grant a favor to the Jews”, an action probably prompted by his wife Drusilla.

What would happen next?

Well, we know that God had told Paul that soon he would testify in Rome so we’ll want to be aware of this as we see things play out over the final chapters of Acts, starting with Acts 25 tomorrow. I hope you’ll come back and join me as we see how Paul’s Gospel efforts conclude.

Amen.

In Christ,

Mark

PS: Feel free to leave a comment and please share this with anyone you feel might be blessed by it.
Send any prayer requests to Gods4all@aol.com