Acts  Sermon Series

Wheelersburg Baptist Church 10/26/03 Brad Brandt

Acts 25 "When the Ungodly Are in Control"**

When Christian Herter was governor of Massachusetts, he was running hard for a second term in office. One day, after a busy morning chasing votes (and no lunch) he arrived at a church barbecue. It was late afternoon and Herter was famished. As Herter moved down the serving line, he held out his plate to the woman serving chicken. She put a piece on his plate and turned to the next person in line.

"Excuse me," Governor Herter said, "do you mind if I have another piece of chicken?"

"Sorry," the woman told him. "I'm supposed to give one piece of chicken to each person."

"But I'm starved," the governor said.

"Sorry," the woman said again. "Only one to a customer."

Governor Herter was a modest and unassuming man, but he decided that this time he would throw a little weight around.

"Do you know who I am?" he said. "I am the governor of this state."
"Do you know who I am?" the woman said. "I'm the lady in charge of the chicken. Move along, mister."

A lot of us tend to be control freaks. We like to be in control. We like to think we’re in control. We don’t like it when other people are in control, especially when those other people do things that affect our lives in adverse ways.

There’s an important truth revealed in Proverbs 21:1, "The king’s heart is in the hand of the LORD; he directs it like a watercourse wherever he pleases." That means that no matter how great a ruler is, God is the ultimate ruler. God is in control.

But it may not always seem like it, not from our limited vantage point. It doesn’t always look like those ruling over us are under God’s control. Sometimes ungodly people rule in very ungodly ways. They have positions of authority but use that authority for self-seeking ends. Some of them rule countries that way. Some rule classrooms that way. Some coach teams that way. Some run companies that way.

The question of the hour is, how should we respond when ungodly people control facets of our lives? The fact is, life is unjust. Upon accepting an award, the late Jack Benny once remarked, "I really don't deserve this. But I have arthritis, and I don't deserve that either."

People never treat us as well as we’re prone to think we deserve. That’s a fact, given our depravity. But having said that, there are times when people over us don’t use their authority in God-honoring ways and we suffer for it.

How should we respond? God’s Word provides the answer in Acts 25. The apostle Paul faced such injustice in A.D. 57 when he was arrested and put in jail for no good reason. In fact, beginning with the record of his arrest in Acts 21 to the end of the book in Acts 28, Paul is an incarcerated man. From a human perspective, he is a framed victim of the hateful Jews and the negligent Roman authorities.

In Acts 23 he was placed on trial before the Jewish authorities, but justice was not served. In Acts 24 he went to trial before the Roman governor, Felix, but Felix took the road of political expedience and left Paul in prison for two years. Then Paul faced another court appearance before Felix’s replacement, Governor Festus, in Acts 25, the text we’ll consider shortly. In Acts 26, Paul appeared before King Agrippa. In Acts 28, Paul arrived in Rome where he eventually gave a defense before the Roman emperor himself.

Thus, the book of Acts records at least four cases in which Paul had to defend himself in a court setting before rulers who controlled his destiny. And not one of these rulers was a godly man. Consequently, time and time again, instead of doing the just thing and setting Paul free, they did the convenient thing and left Paul in custody.

Is that bad? Well, on the one hand it meant that Paul lost more than four years of freedom from his life. But on the other hand, his imprisonment and the bureaucracy of the legal system meant that he received more and more opportunities to represent Christ before high-ranking officials of the Roman government, all the way to the top.

You may never spend jail time due to injustice, but you may miss a job promotion, or spend time on the bench, or lose money. If so, what should we do? By examining Paul’s experience with Governor Festus in Acts 25, we learn how to respond when ungodly people are in control of our lives. We’ll look at the three scenes in the story and then conclude by highlighting three practical decisions we must make.

The story begins, "Three days after arriving in the province, Festus went up." Stop there. We need some background. I mentioned last time that the previous governor, Felix, was a pretty shady character. In Acts 24:27 Luke merely states that Felix was "succeeded by Porcius Festus." Extra-biblical literature tells us why. Felix showed his incompetence once too many times for his Roman superiors’ tastes. In A.D. 59 he reacted to a conflict between Jews and Gentiles in Caesarea by sending soldiers and brutally killing the Jewish leaders. Rome found out about it and removed him from office.

Don’t miss this. When Festus took over for Felix, he had a huge constituency problem on his hands. Due to the blunder of his predecessor, there was serious tension in the air between the Jews and the ruling Romans. You can be sure this stress affected his actions towards the Jews.

Now let’s look at scene one. Luke puts the spotlight on three parties, first of all, the Jews.

A. The Jews wanted to kill Paul (1-5). "Three days after arriving in the province, Festus went up from Caesarea [where his headquarters were] to Jerusalem [where the Jewish leaders lived]." Festus is a go-getter. He doesn’t wait around for the problem to get worse, so instead of unpacking all his boxes he heads sixty miles to Jerusalem after only three days to do some hand-shaking with his Jewish constituents.

There was a new high priest in Jerusalem by the name of Ishmael. He had replaced Jonathan whom Felix killed. Again, after what Felix had done, the tension with the Jews was at a fever pitch. The Jews knew that Festus had a political objective to diffuse this volatile situation. That knowledge was just the leverage they needed to get something they wanted very badly, Paul of Tarsus.

Luke explains what happened upon Festus’s arrival in Jerusalem in verses 2-3: "…The chief priests and Jewish leaders appeared before him and presented the charges against Paul. They urgently requested Festus, as a favor to them [perhaps they thought the Romans "owed them one" after Felix’s blunder], to have Paul transferred to Jerusalem, for they were preparing an ambush to kill him along the way."

Remember the forty men back in chapter 23 who took an oath not to eat or drink a thing until they had killed Paul? It’s been two years. They may have lost some weight, but they haven’t lost one ounce of hatred for Paul.

But notice a change. In Acts 23 some Jewish zealots came up with the idea to kill Paul and then persuaded the leaders to support the cause. In Acts 25, it’s the religious leaders themselves instigating the deed.

Verses 4-5, "Festus answered, ‘Paul is being held at Caesarea, and I myself am going there soon. Let some of your leaders come with me and press charges against the man there, if he has done anything wrong.’"

Festus is no dummy. Historical records show him to be a pretty decent leader, especially when compared with his forerunner. He can sense the Jews are up to something, so he does a bit of political maneuvering.

"No, why don’t you boys just come to my place?" he says. "Paul’s already there anyway. We’ll deal with things there."

So the Jews wanted to kill Paul. Luke next shines the spotlight on Festus.

B. Festus wanted to appease the Jews (6-9). Verses 6-7, "After spending eight or ten days with them, he went down to Caesarea, and the next day he convened the court and ordered that Paul be brought before him. When Paul appeared, the Jews who had come down from Jerusalem stood around him, bringing many serious charges against him, which they could not prove."

Luke doesn’t mention the charges here, but by Paul’s response we can surmise what they were. Verse 8—"Then Paul made his defense: "I have done nothing wrong against the law of the Jews or against the temple or against Caesar." Paul indicates there were three basic charges against him, the violation of Jewish law, the violation of divine law ("against the temple"), and violation of Roman law ("against Caesar"). Obviously, as he stood before a Roman judge, the third matter was the most serious.

Paul’s response was a categorical denial. In the words of the KJV, "Neither against the law of the Jews, neither against the temple, nor yet against Caesar, have I offended in anything at all." Short and sweet, to the point, I am not guilty! Spurgeon said, "Often the less we say to our foes, and the more we say to our best Friend, the better it will fare with us."

How did the case turn out? Verse 9—"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?"

Festus knew he was sitting on a powder keg in Judea. He knew Paul was innocent—he later admitted so (verse 25). But he also knew that if he set Paul free he’d have thousands of angry Jewish constituents. And he had to live with these people.

So he did what Pilate did with Jesus. Rather than antagonize the Jews, he bent Roman justice. His aim wasn’t to do what was right. His aim was to do what was expedient. He "wanted to do the Jews a favor," Luke records.

Now put yourself in Paul’s shoes. Paul is a victim of a corrupt system. He’s been in prison for two years because of injustice. And now further injustice is staring at him. On the one side is a self-protecting politician. On the other side is a greedy group of so-called religious leaders. He’s in the middle. His life was in the hands of ungodly people.

Or was it? No. His life was where it had always been, in the hands of a wise, sovereign, and good God.

So is yours, my friend. Oh, it may not seem like it, but no matter how bleak the circumstances, God is on the throne. Romans 8:28 is still true. "And we know that in all things God works for the good of those who love him, who have been called according to his purpose."

Notice what happened next…

C. Paul appealed to a higher authority (10-12). Verses 10-11—"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!’"

Do you see Paul’s balance? He showed incredible boldness and courage—"I haven’t done anything wrong, as you yourself know." But he also took full responsibility for his actions—"If I am guilty, I do not refuse to die."

Every Roman citizen had the right to be heard by Caesar. Here, Paul made use of this right. Why didn’t he sooner? We don’t know. Maybe he thought the local magistrates could clear up the matter. I think it’s more than that though. I don’t think Paul’s motivation was himself, for he’s already shown repeatedly he doesn’t care what people do to him. I think he’s concerned about the effect all this will have on the gospel. If Festus lets the Jews twist justice against him, in time it will happen towards other followers of Jesus.

John Calvin observed, "God, who has appointed courts of law, also gives his people liberty to use them lawfully."

Listen to Kent Hughes, "Just think of what God has done through his servants who used that which God made available to them. For example, William Wilberforce, a strong Christian and a member of the British Parliament in the last eighteenth and early nineteenth centuries, championed the abolition of slavery. Exercising spiritual determination, using all the legitimate political resources at his disposal, he persevered in his calling for more than twenty years and was used by God to bring an end to slavery in the British Empire."

And so Paul said, "I appeal to Caesar!"

The result? Verse 12—"After Festus had conferred with his council, he declared: ‘You have appealed to Caesar. To Caesar you will go!’" With that statement Festus set in motion the slow-moving machinery of the Roman legal system, for the appeals process would cost Paul at least two more years of his freedom.

There are two critical lessons we can learn from Paul’s example here.

1. Unless you’re ready to die, you’re not ready to live. Listen again to Paul, "I do not refuse to die." There’s something worse than death, my friend. It’s failing to live the kind of life for which we were created.

God gave us life. Our purpose is to live for Him, whether that means 80 years or 18. He determines the amount of life. We determine the focus of it. Are we going to live for His purposes or our own?

Have you surrendered your life to your Creator? Have you said, "I am not my own. I am yours. Have your way with me."

My friend, unless you are ready to die, you’re not ready to live. And there’s only one way to be ready to die. That’s to know Jesus Christ as your Savior and Lord. Christ died on the cross, not only to save you from your sins, but to save you from yourself. And the One who conquered death three days later doesn’t enter our lives to play second fiddle. He enters as Lord. If you want to be ready to die, you must repent—in other words, you must turn the controls of your life over to Him—and you must receive Him as your Savior and Lord.

The first lesson leads to the second lesson.

2. If you’re ready to die, you can live with confidence. The person who knows Christ is the person who is ready to die, and the person who is ready to die is the person who is ready to live the kind of life God intends.

In the Gulag Archipelago the famous Russian author Aleksandr Solzhenitsyn reflects on why in the notorious prison system of the U.S.S.R. some prisoners were able to survive the interrogations while others collapsed under it. Listen to his conclusion:

"At the very threshold, you must say to yourself: ‘My life is over, a little early to be sure, but there’s nothing to be done about it. I shall never return to freedom. I am condemned to die—now or a little later. But later on, in truth, it will be even harder, and so the sooner the better. I no longer have any property whatsoever. For me those I love have died, and for them I have died. From today on, my body is useless and alien to me. Only my spirit and my conscience remain precious to me.’

"Confronted by such a prisoner, the interrogation will tremble."

"Only the main who has renounced everything can gain that victory."

Be honest. Have you done that, have you renounced everything? Can you say, as Paul did (and indeed, these words explain why he could be so confident before Festus): "I am crucified with Christ; nevertheless I live; yet not I, but Christ lives in me (Gal 2:20)." "For to me to live is Christ and to die is gain (Phil 1:21)."

The key to confident living is to value nothing else more than Christ. In truth, you can lose everything else, but you can’t lose Him.

So ends scene #1. Festus retried Paul.

In the following narrative Luke reveals that to Festus, Paul was two things.

A. To Festus, Paul was an inherited problem (13-15). "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 elders of the Jews brought charges against him and asked that he be condemned.’"

Agrippa had a reputation for being an authority on Jewish religion. In fact, Rome had given him legal jurisdiction over the temple in Jerusalem. That’s why Festus decided he was the best man to help him draft a letter to send to Rome with Paul.

We’ll have plenty to say about Agrippa and Bernice in a few moments, but for now I want you to see Festus’s perspective of Paul. Simply put, Festus refers to him as "a man whom Felix left as a prisoner." That’s a loaded statement.

Felix left him. The unspoken sentiment is, if Felix had done his job I wouldn’t be doing it for him. Have you ever experienced that frustration on the job scene? It’s no fun to have to clean up somebody else’s mess. To Festus, Paul was simply an inherited problem.

B. To Festus, Paul was an inexplicable puzzle (16-21). "I told them that it is not the Roman custom to hand over any man before he has faced his accusers and has had an opportunity to defend himself against their 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. 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."

Here Festus makes it sound like he really wants to do the right thing with Paul, but just doesn’t understand Jewish religion enough to make sense of the controversy. Back in verse 9, however, we saw a different motive (he wanted to do the Jews a favor). That indicates that to Festus, Paul is an inexplicable puzzle—he can’t figure him out. It also shows that Paul was in the hands of a somewhat fickle, unpredictable ruler.

Does that ever happen to God’s people today? A man works faithfully for his company 25 years, hears his boss promise him time and time again, "The downsizing won’t affect you. You’re important to us." And then comes the pink slip.

A woman is assured of her rights as the trial begins, only to find herself taken to the cleaners by a spiteful ex-spouse and some clever legal maneuvering. Yes, what happened to Paul still happens today.

C. To Agrippa, Paul was intriguing person (22). "Then Agrippa said to Festus, ‘I would like to hear this man myself.’ He replied, ‘Tomorrow you will hear him.’"

Agrippa is yet another of the Herod’s in the New Testament, Herod Agrippa II. His great-grandfather was Herod the Great, the wicked leader who tried to kill baby Jesus and massacred the infant boys in Bethlehem. His great-uncle, Herod Antipas, killed John the Baptist and later tried Jesus. His dad, Agrippa I, is the one who killed the apostle James in Acts 12 and who later was struck down by the Lord and eaten by worms. Agrippa, born in A.D. 27, II was only 17 when his dad died. Four years later, in A.D. 48, he began to rule as king. In A.D. 56 Emperor Nero added more land to his kingdom, and Agrippa showed his gratitude to Nero by renaming one of the cities, Caesarea Philippi, to Neronias. Agrippa ruled as king until A.D. 100 when he died, childless.

Bernice was actually his sister, the eldest daughter of Herod Agrippa I. She married at the age of 13, but later moved in with her brother, Agrippa II. Their incestuous relationship was the subject of gossip in Rome. Bernice would at times leave Agrippa for another man, she always returned to him. Bernice actually became the mistress of Emperor Titus, but her conduct was so notorious that he had to send her away because of the moral outcry of pagan Rome. In the words of Kent Hughes, "Aprippa and Bernice were a sick, sin-infested couple."

And throw this piece of information in the hopper. Agrippa and Bernice had another sibling, a sister ten years younger than Bernice. Her name? Drusilla. Remember her? We met her last time. She was the woman who divorced her husband so she could marry Governor Felix. She was also the woman that heard Paul tell her she was heading for God’s judgment (25).

Let this sink in. Paul is going to appear before the brother and sister of the woman he confronted for adultery, a brother and sister who themselves were living in gross sin. No wonder Agrippa said, "I’d like to hear this man myself!" To Agrippa, Paul was on the one hand an odd ball, someone who broke the curve and spoiled the party, but on the other hand was compelling and curious. He was a Jew, but he didn’t talk the party line. He talked about a dead man Jesus who was now alive. Agrippa just had to hear more. To Agrippa, Paul was an intriguing person.

Festus retried Paul. Then he reviewed Paul’s case. He did something else in scene 3.

Verses 23-27—"The next day Agrippa and Bernice came with great pomp and entered the audience room with the high ranking officers and the leading men of the city. At the command of Festus, Paul was brought in. Festus said: ‘King Agrippa, and all who are present with us, you see this man! The whole Jewish community has petitioned me about him in Jerusalem and here in Caesarea, shouting that he ought not to live any longer. I found he had done nothing deserving of death, but because he made his appeal to the Emperor I decided to send him to Rome. But I have nothing definite to write to His Majesty about him. Therefore I have brought him before all of you, and especially before you, King Agrippa, so that as a result of this investigation I may have something to write. For I think it is unreasonable to send on a prisoner without specifying the charges against him.’"

What a scene! Luke specifically says the queen and king entered with great "pomp." The Greek word phantasia appears only here in the Bible and denotes a grand, showy pageant. I can just imagine the king and queen entering in their crimson robes with regal music playing. Festus walks slowly to his seat, adorned in his royal, Roman purple. The room is filled with high ranking dignitaries, each dressed to make an impression.

And then Paul was brought in, a short, balding, near-sighted man (as history has described him), wearing plain Jewish attire. What a contrast! The impressive versus the unimpressive. The language of the text suggests an atmosphere that would intimidate most of us. But not Paul.

So here’s the picture. Paul is at the whim of a pagan ruler’s command, a ruler who retried him, reviewed his case, and even made a show out of him. Most of us would be quaking in our boots by now. But Paul looked past the façade. He looked beyond what his eyes could see and saw something else, the fulfillment of a promise the Lord gave him twenty-four years earlier at his conversion. "This man is my chosen instrument to carry my name before the Gentiles and their kings and before the people of Israel (Acts 9:15)." What God promised God was now fulfilling.

Let’s make it personal. Let’s put four truths on the table illustrated here.

A. We don’t control what people do to us. Paul’s arrest, his trials by Felix and Festus and Agrippa, his prison time—Paul had no control over that. Nor do we over the painful things people often do to us. What’s more…

B. We don’t control what people say about us. Why does the media portray Christian activists as bigoted and dangerous, but God-denying radicals as heroes? It’s senseless, but it happens and we have no control over it.

C. We don’t control what people tell us to do. The soldier told Paul, "Get up! The governor’s waiting to see you." Paul couldn’t say, "I don’t want to come." He had no choice in the matter. Nor do we often, not when ungodly people are in positions of power. We can’t control what people do to us, say about us, or tell us to do. However…

D. We do control how we respond. Adrian Rogers tells about the man who bragged that he had cut off the tail of a man-eating lion with his pocket knife. Asked why he hadn't cut off the lion's head, the man replied: "Someone had already done that."

There are a lot of people like Festus and Agrippa that affect our lives, proud people with power who are in positions of authority over us, people who don’t always use that power wisely. In most cases, we have little or no control over what they do to us. But we do have control over this, how we respond to them.

How did Paul respond? He saw a tremendous opportunity. He saw an audience like he had probably never seen before and may never see again, a room full of powerful people who needed Christ. And he used that platform to the max.

You see…

1. Paul’s goal wasn’t to protect himself. Rather…

2. Paul’s goal was to present Christ. And that’s exactly what he did before this pompous crowd, as we’ll see next time in Acts 26.

Years ago the communist government in China commissioned an author to write a biography of Hudson Taylor with the purpose of distorting the facts and presenting him in a bad light. They wanted to discredit the name of this consecrated missionary of the gospel. As the author was doing his research, he was increasingly impressed by Taylor's saintly character and godly life, and he found it extremely difficult to carry out his assigned task with a clear conscience. Eventually, at the risk of losing his life, he laid aside his pen, renounced his atheism, and received Jesus as his personal Savior.

Whether we realize it or not, our example leaves an impression on others.

Answer this. Who does the world remember today, Agrippa, Festus, or Paul? The first two had their day of "pomp," but they squandered it with self-focused living. Paul lived for Christ and we’re still talking about him centuries later.

There are three decisions you must make.

1. Remember who is really in control. Yes, you know it, but remind yourself. The Lord is in control, whether I feel it or not, whether it seems like it or not. He is.

2. Look for ways to exalt Christ in the trial. Not to get out of the trial. Not to lesson the trial. Look for ways to glorify the Savior in the midst of the trial.

You say, "But I’m weak. That’s not how I feel like responding. True, therefore…

3. Depend on His strength and wisdom. He is strong and He is wise. So trust Him.

Acts  Sermon Series