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BIBLE
STUDY LESSON
For
the week beginning Sunday July 2, 2017
PAUL
APPEARS BEFORE FESTUS
Acts
25:1-22
In Acts 25, three days after the new
governor, Festus, had arrived in Caesarea to take over the office that was
involuntarily vacated by Felix, he traveled to Jerusalem, and while there, he
met with the Jewish leaders who then officially made their charges of heresy,
sacrilege, and sedition against the Apostle Paul.
The
former governor, Felix, had been forced out of office because of his unethical
and illegal practices in his dealings with the people of Judea. He had spitefully
left Paul in prison for the last two years of his administration, because he
had been unsuccessful in his attempts to extract bribes from him. He also wanted
to gain the favor of the Jewish hierarchy in Jerusalem who sought to prosecute
Paul on trumped up charges.
While meeting with Festus in Jerusalem, the
Jews tried to get him to transfer Paul back to Jerusalem for further
questioning. They saw an opportunity to put their old plan of ambushing Paul
while in route between the two cities, back into action. Remember they had
tried to run the same scheme a couple of years earlier when they sought to
trick the Roman commander, Lysias, into unwittingly going along with their
plot.
However, Governor Festus had another idea
and he suggested that since he would be heading back to Caesarea soon, why don’t
those of the Church who are in authority, ride back with him to see Paul. And if
Paul has done anything wrong, they could address those charges then (Vs.1-5).
The
Jews found Festus to be quite different from Felix, and they realized very
early that he was not one to be handled. He had little desire to come up
against the Jews so soon and so he offered them a compromise they couldn’t
refuse. And besides, none of the charges leveled against Paul mattered to Rome
anyway. They weren’t concerned at all about the religious differences that they
had with Paul. Those charges of heresy, sacrilege, and sedition were totally
unimportant to Rome, and they certainly didn’t merit the death penalty that the
Jews were seeking from them. And even the Jews themselves only believed that
the heresy charge was legit. They knew full well that the charges of sacrilege
and sedition were accusations that they made up in order to strengthen their
case.
Days later Festus returned to Caesarea to
take over his new responsibilities, and the day after he arrived, Paul’s trial
began (v.6). When Paul arrived at the courthouse, the Jews began to lay out
many charges against him that they couldn’t prove. Paul declared his innocence
against all charges saying that he was not guilty of any crime against the
Jews, the Temple, or, the Roman government (Vs.7-8).
Governor Festus, now wanting to please the
Jews, asked Paul if he would consider going to Jerusalem to stand trial.
However, Paul, knowing his rights as a Roman citizen, declined to go, saying,
“This is the official Roman court, so I ought to be tried right here. You know
very well I am not guilty. If I have done something worthy of death, I don’t
refuse to die. But I am innocent, neither you nor anyone else has a right to
turn me over to these men to kill me!” And then Paul declared the key words
that could put a halt to the legal proceedings that he found himself in that
day, “I appeal to Caesar!” (Vs.9-11).
Festus then quickly conferred with his
advisers who apparently informed him that he couldn’t proceed any farther, and
he was forced to grant Paul his request to take his case before Caesar in Rome
(v.12). By law, if a Roman citizen felt that they were not getting a fair shake
in a provincial court, they could appeal directly to Caesar the Emperor, and so
Paul did.
A few days later King Agrippa arrived in
town with his sister, Bernice, to pay their respects to Festus. In the course
of their visit of several days, Festus took the opportunity to discuss Paul’s
case with the king. He filled him in on the details of the case and the now
curious king expressed that he would like to hear what Paul had to say for
himself.
PAUL
SPEAKS TO AGRIPPA
Acts
25:23-27
And so the next day Agrippa received his
opportunity to examine Paul in the regal setting of the auditorium there in
Caesarea. There was great pomp and anticipation as the king and his sister
Bernice, the governor Festus, and many other prominent men of the city gathered
inside to witness the proceedings.
Festus then ordered that Paul be brought
in, and he introduced Paul to the royal audience who came to see the man whose
death was demanded by both the local Jews, and, by those who resided in
Jerusalem. Festus began by expressing that he himself didn’t see anything that
Paul had done wrong, and certainly, he had done nothing that merited the death
penalty, as far as Rome was concerned.
But still, all things considered, Paul had
appealed his case to Caesar, and even though he had no real charges against
him, as far as Rome was concerned, Festus was bound by law to grant his
request. However, having nothing to write to the Emperor concerning Paul (no
relevant charges) it presented the governor with a dilemma, and it just didn’t
seem reasonable or wise to send a case to Caesarea that had no merit. In fact,
such an unwise decision might even endanger his newly acquired position as
governor, by causing Caesar to question his judgment, and his ability to
perform his new appointment over the province of Judea. Stay tuned!
A Sunday school lesson
by,
Larry D. Alexander
LARRY D. ALEXANDER- Official Website
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