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 “What could I do, King Agrippa? I couldn’t just walk away from a vision like that! I became an obedient believer on the spot. I started preaching this life-change—this radical turn to God and everything it meant in everyday life—right there in Damascus, went on to Jerusalem and the surrounding countryside, and from there to the whole world. (The Message)

It is perhaps enough for today, to share this challenging quote from F.B. Meyer:

‘We must not disobey the heavenly visions that visit us. When Paul in his dream beheld the beckoning Macedonian, he made a straight course for Europe. Sometimes, in obeying, the first appearances are discouraging, as when the missionaries, on landing at Philippi, met only a few women beside the little river; but the final results will justify the first stepping-out of faith.’

“One day on my way to Damascus, armed as always with papers from the high priests authorizing my action, right in the middle of the day a blaze of light, light outshining the sun, poured out of the sky on me and my companions. Oh, King, it was so bright! We fell flat on our faces. Then I heard a voice in Hebrew: ‘Saul, Saul, why are you out to get me? Why do you insist on going against the grain?’

^15-16 “I said, ‘Who are you, Master?’

“The voice answered, ‘I am Jesus, the One you’re hunting down like an animal. But now, up on your feet—I have a job for you. I’ve handpicked you to be a servant and witness to what’s happened today, and to what I am going to show you.

^17-18 “‘I’m sending you off to open the eyes of the outsiders so they can see the difference between dark and light, and choose light, see the difference between Satan and God, and choose God. I’m sending you off to present my offer of sins forgiven, and a place in the family, inviting them into the company of those who begin real living by believing in me.’ (The Message)

How surreal must it have been for Saul of Tarsus to be having a conversation with the very Jesus he had been persecuting in going after His people. (He has described himself in verse 11 as ”a one-man terror obsessed with obliterating these people.”) Yet, the One who would now be his ”Master” had a special assignment for him. But before getting up on his feet to fulfil his calling, he first found himself flat on his face. This is where authentic Christian service begins, metaphorically if not literally. (It is also in this same spirit that it continues): with our lives laid down at the feet of the Master, Jesus. Everything else that is good in our varied ministries, whatever they may be, flows from this posture.

I notice that the Lord Jesus spoke with Saul in a language he could understand. This is a basic principle of effective evangelism. We have to communicate, not just talk. As someone said, there exists between the church and the world a ‘stained-glass barrier’, and we have to crash through that barrier and get our message across.

¹² “In this connection I journeyed to Damascus with the authority and commission of the chief priests. ¹³ At midday, O king, I saw on the way a light from heaven, brighter than the sun, that shone around me and those who journeyed with me. ¹⁴ And when we had all fallen to the ground, I heard a voice saying to me in the Hebrew language, ‘Saul, Saul, why are you persecuting me? It is hard for you to kick against the goads.’ ¹⁵ And I said, ‘Who are you, Lord?’ And the Lord said, ‘I am Jesus whom you are persecuting. ¹⁶ But rise and stand upon your feet, for I have appeared to you for this purpose, to appoint you as a servant and witness to the things in which you have seen me and to those in which I will appear to you, ¹⁷ delivering you from your people and from the Gentiles—to whom I am sending you ¹⁸ to open their eyes, so that they may turn from darkness to light and from the power of Satan to God, that they may receive forgiveness of sins and a place among those who are sanctified by faith in me.’ (ESV)

Christian conversion is not only death to life; it is also darkness to light. On the way to Damascus, Saul literally ‘saw the light’: He met Jesus, ‘the light of the world’, and saw His glory – He whose face is brighter than the noonday sun in all its brilliance (Rev.1:16).

F.B. Meyer comments: ‘Nowhere else is there such deliverance from the glare and cross-lights of earth as is afforded by a vision of the face of Jesus, brighter than the sun at noon. To everyone there comes the opportunity of catching a vision of that face, sometimes reflected in a human one, as Paul first saw it in the countenance of Stephen. It confronts us when we go on forbidden paths, and summons us to arise and follow the life which is life indeed.’

Saul was now called to preach a message that would cause people to ‘see the light’ spiritually (18). In the light of Christ we come to see our need for forgiveness, and its glorious availability through faith in Him. We also recognise that we are in bondage to Satan, but Jesus can set us free.

The Way of Jesus, then, is:

• The Way of resurrection: death to life;
• The Way of illumination: darkness to light;
• The Way of liberation: slavery to freedom.

“I believe in Christianity as I believe that the sun has risen: not only because I see it, but because by it I see everything else.” C.S. Lewis

So Agrippa said to Paul, “You have permission to speak for yourself.” Then Paul stretched out his hand and made his defence:

² “I consider myself fortunate that it is before you, King Agrippa, I am going to make my defence today against all the accusations of the Jews, ³ especially because you are familiar with all the customs and controversies of the Jews. Therefore I beg you to listen to me patiently.

⁴ “My manner of life from my youth, spent from the beginning among my own nation and in Jerusalem, is known by all the Jews. ⁵ They have known for a long time, if they are willing to testify, that according to the strictest party of our religion I have lived as a Pharisee. ⁶ And now I stand here on trial because of my hope in the promise made by God to our fathers, ⁷ to which our twelve tribes hope to attain, as they earnestly worship night and day. And for this hope I am accused by Jews, O king! ⁸ Why is it thought incredible by any of you that God raises the dead?

⁹ “I myself was convinced that I ought to do many things in opposing the name of Jesus of Nazareth.¹⁰ And I did so in Jerusalem. I not only locked up many of the saints in prison after receiving authority from the chief priests, but when they were put to death I cast my vote against them. ¹¹ And I punished them often in all the synagogues and tried to make them blaspheme, and in raging fury against them I persecuted them even to foreign cities. (ESV)

You would not have wanted to meet Paul in his pre-conversion days. He was not a very nice man: at least, not to Christians! In this third, and fullest, account of his conversion in ‘Acts’ we are given more details than previously. We see the heights to which he was lifted, but also the depths from which he was hauled.

Paul’s question in verse 8 is so good. All the things we find difficult to believe In the Bible surely dissolve when we face the reality of God. If He truly exists then all things are possible.

Paul himself was (is) a visible demonstration that ‘’God raises the dead’’. One of the ways he describes conversion is as a resurrection (see, e.g. Eph.2:1-10). He had passed from death to life. This was his story, as well as his message.

‘Stretching out his hand, the Apostle began by congratulating himself on the opportunity of laying his case before the great-grandson of Herod the Great, whose elaborate training in all matters of the Jewish religion made him unusually competent to deal with the matters in debate. He asked why it should be so hard to credit the attested fact of the Lord’s resurrection. He granted that he himself had resisted the evidence when he had first heard it. Indeed, he had everything to lose if he accepted it. His fiery persecution of the Christians proved at least that he was an impartial witness. So he pleaded before that group of high and mighty potentates. What a contrast between their splendid robes and sparkling jewels, and the poor, worn, shackled prisoner! But they are remembered only because of this chance connection with Paul, while Paul has led the mightiest minds of subsequent ages.’ F.B. Meyer

 Now when some days had passed, Agrippa the king and Bernice arrived at Caesarea and greeted Festus. ¹⁴ And as they stayed there many days, Festus laid Paul’s case before the king, saying, “There is a man left prisoner by Felix, ¹⁵ and when I was at Jerusalem, the chief priests and the elders of the Jews laid out their case against him, asking for a sentence of condemnation against him. ¹⁶ I answered them that it was not the custom of the Romans to give up anyone before the accused met the accusers face to face and had opportunity to make his defence concerning the charge laid against him. ¹⁷ So when they came together here, I made no delay, but on the next day took my seat on the tribunal and ordered the man to be brought.¹⁸ When the accusers stood up, they brought no charge in his case of such evils as I supposed.¹⁹ Rather they had certain points of dispute with him about their own religion and about a certain Jesus, who was dead, but whom Paul asserted to be alive. ²⁰ Being at a loss how to investigate these questions, I asked whether he wanted to go to Jerusalem and be tried there regarding them. ²¹ But when Paul had appealed to be kept in custody for the decision of the emperor, I ordered him to be held until I could send him to Caesar.” ²² Then Agrippa said to Festus, “I would like to hear the man myself.” “Tomorrow,” said he, “you will hear him.”

²³ So on the next day Agrippa and Bernice came with great pomp, and they entered the audience hall with the military tribunes and the prominent men of the city. Then, at the command of Festus, Paul was brought in. ²⁴ And Festus said, “King Agrippa and all who are present with us, you see this man about whom the whole Jewish people petitioned me, both in Jerusalem and here, shouting that he ought not to live any longer. ²⁵ But I found that he had done nothing deserving death. And as he himself appealed to the emperor, I decided to go ahead and send him. ²⁶ But I have nothing definite to write to my lord about him. Therefore I have brought him before you all, and especially before you, King Agrippa, so that, after we have examined him, I may have something to write. ²⁷ For it seems to me unreasonable, in sending a prisoner, not to indicate the charges against him.” (ESV)

Last night I had a dream. In it I was leading a service. There were only a few people at the meeting, and I sensed that they were perhaps unenthusiastic about standing to sing one further song. Then, in what felt like a moment of inspiration, I found myself saying something like this: ‘If what we believe is true, we are dealing with the most astounding realities. Yet often we just want to go home and watch television.’

How wonderfully God gave Paul a platform to preach to the elites of his day! Whatever Festus actually believed, he did grasp the basic and revolutionary message Paul preached and the Jews opposed (19). Many of us in churches are sleepwalking through this resurrection reality. We are not fully awake to the alive-ness of Christ and all that it means. But there was nothing dopey or dozy about Paul.

Once again we can see that the echoes of Jesus’ trial (when He was on His way to death) reverberate through the later chapters of Acts.

But He did not stay dead! The grave could not hold Him.

‘Mark the difference with which these two men regarded our Lord. To the one, He was the supreme object of his affection and his life; to the other, He was “one Jesus.” Notice also that Paul had made clear his belief that Jesus was alive. Evidently the risen Christ had been the burden of Paul’s preaching. Even Festus had come to understand that, although he would not accept it as true.

The Apostle’s audience on the morrow was the most dignified and influential that he had addressed up to this point. As the Lord told Ananias that Saul had been chosen to bear His name before Gentiles and kings and the Children of Israel, so it came to pass. See Acts 9:15 . There is no doubt that Paul was lifted far above the thought or fear of man by the consciousness that the Lord was standing by to strengthen him, so that through him the gospel might be fully known. Let us view every circumstance in our experience as the lamp-stand on which to place the lamp of testimony. It is a good thing to ask, “How far will this promote my Lord’s business?” ‘ F.B. Meyer

Prayer: Lord grant that the truth of your resurrection will captivate my heart and thrill my soul and open my lips

 Now three days after Festus had arrived in the province, he went up to Jerusalem from Caesarea.² And the chief priests and the principal men of the Jews laid out their case against Paul, and they urged him, ³ asking as a favour against Paul that he summon him to Jerusalem—because they were planning an ambush to kill him on the way. ⁴ Festus replied that Paul was being kept at Caesarea and that he himself intended to go there shortly. ⁵ “So,” said he, “let the men of authority among you go down with me, and if there is anything wrong about the man, let them bring charges against him.”

⁶ After he stayed among them not more than eight or ten days, he went down to Caesarea. And the next day he took his seat on the tribunal and ordered Paul to be brought. ⁷ When he had arrived, the Jews who had come down from Jerusalem stood around him, bringing many and serious charges against him that they could not prove.⁸ Paul argued in his defence, “Neither against the law of the Jews, nor against the temple, nor against Caesar have I committed any offense.” ⁹ But Festus, wishing to do the Jews a favor, said to Paul, “Do you wish to go up to Jerusalem and there be tried on these charges before me?” ¹⁰ But Paul said, “I am standing before Caesar’s tribunal, where I ought to be tried. To the Jews I have done no wrong, as you yourself know very well. ¹¹ If then I am a wrongdoer and have committed anything for which I deserve to die, I do not seek to escape death. But if there is nothing to their charges against me, no one can give me up to them. I appeal to Caesar.” ¹² Then Festus, when he had conferred with his council, answered, “To Caesar you have appealed; to Caesar you shall go.’’ (ESV)

We continue to see these interwoven strands: the malice of the Jews, the capriciousness of the Romans, the providence (protection) of God, and the innocence of Paul.

One of the great joys of reading the Bible is the experience of finding new things in familiar passages. On my most recent re-reading of Acts I have seen something I don’t believe I have seen before. Here it is: in these later chapters of the book, the parallels between Jesus at His trial and Paul at His, shout for recognition. Both were falsely accused, suffering for wrongs they had not done; both were innocent. This is a major example of Paul sharing in ‘’the fellowship’’ of Christ’s sufferings. But amidst everything that was illegal and unjust, in both cases God was working out His larger purpose. He is on the Throne, and He will have His way. Neither the bigotry of religious zealots nor the corruption of Roman rulers can stand in His way.

‘There are times when believers must use the law to protect themselves and the ministry…God’s people are sometimes treated like the guilty even though they are innocent. Remember Joseph, David, Daniel, and Jeremiah, not to mention our Lord Jesus Christ.

In all that happened, God was fulfilling His promise to Paul that he would witness before rulers (9:15) and finally get to Rome (23:11). Being a prisoner and enduring the hearings was hard for Paul, but he used his opportunities wisely. He believed Jesus’ words: “But it will turn out for you as an occasion for testimony” (Luke 21:13).’ Warren W. Wiersbe

PRAYER: Lord, help me to believe deeply that you are in control, even when things seem to go wrong,

But Felix, having a rather accurate knowledge of the Way, put them off, saying, “When Lysias the tribune comes down, I will decide your case.” ²³ Then he gave orders to the centurion that he should be kept in custody but have some liberty, and that none of his friends should be prevented from attending to his needs.

²⁴ After some days Felix came with his wife Drusilla, who was Jewish, and he sent for Paul and heard him speak about faith in Christ Jesus. ²⁵ And as he reasoned about righteousness and self-control and the coming judgment, Felix was alarmed and said, “Go away for the present. When I get an opportunity I will summon you.” ²⁶ At the same time he hoped that money would be given him by Paul. So he sent for him often and conversed with him. ²⁷ When two years had elapsed, Felix was succeeded by Porcius Festus. And desiring to do the Jews a favour, Felix left Paul in prison. (ESV)

In the midst of Paul’s trials, he had a remarkable ‘witnessing opportunity’ with one of the great men of his day. As far as we know, Felix was never converted, but Paul faithfully, and courageously, shared the gospel with him. Reading between the lines, we can see that Felix is not in charge, Rome is not in charge, but God is – working out His purposes, and caring for His servant, meeting his needs.

We have noted before that history does not cause us to have a high opinion of Felix. The way the chapter ends I am left reflecting on the tragedy of many a situation where justice is still denied to the innocent at the whim of someone in power (see v.27 and 25:9). But like us all, Felix was a man of mixed motives. It seems to me he was a volatile mixture of a certain openness to the message; but also of fear, conviction of sin, greed and political self-interest. He reminds me of Herod with John the Baptist. Both men stand as a warning to us that without strict self-examination, and repeated repentance, our lowest motives are likely to win out. May God help us.

Lady Macbeth famously said that she ‘feared’ her husband’s nature. In her case because she saw it as being too full of ‘the milk of human kindness.’ He wasn’t sufficiently ruthless, or so she thought, to grab the kingship for himself. But we all have reason to fear those things in our fallen nature that could dishonour God, damage and destroy others, or bring us down. May we live in radical repentance, gouging out the offending eye, and cutting off the offending hand!

I was deeply touched to read this prayer from Sarah Yardley during the last week – written in the wake of yet another major church scandal:

‘Christ, have mercy.

Keep me holy. Keep me humble.

Expose my unrepentant sin. Convict me of thoughts, desires, behaviors that could shatter my soul and destroy my credibility.

Give me friends who speak to me boldly, clearly, calling me to a deeper holiness. Make me this kind of friend to others. Thank you for the companions who have walked with me all my life with honest, holy love. Let me hate patterns of sin and deeply love people in my life. Christ came for sinners, and I am one.

Break my heart for the layers and depths of the hell we choose when we betray hearts, bodies, lives. I grieve the heartache, despondency, disillusionment, pain. Christ, who entered that hell and took captivity captive, have mercy. Enter into the places that feel like hell today. Lead captives into freedom.

Let the name on my lips be Jesus; the only true hero, the one who is always faithful. Spirit of God, make me more like Jesus. Do not let me delight in sin or deride it casually. Give me holy grief and deep compassion.

Jesus,
Keep me holy,
Keep me humble,
Keep my heart close to you.’

And when the governor had nodded to him to speak, Paul replied:

“Knowing that for many years you have been a judge over this nation, I cheerfully make my defence. ¹¹ You can verify that it is not more than twelve days since I went up to worship in Jerusalem, ¹² and they did not find me disputing with anyone or stirring up a crowd, either in the temple or in the synagogues or in the city. ¹³ Neither can they prove to you what they now bring up against me. ¹⁴ But this I confess to you, that according to the Way, which they call a sect, I worship the God of our fathers, believing everything laid down by the Law and written in the Prophets, ¹⁵ having a hope in God, which these men themselves accept, that there will be a resurrection of both the just and the unjust. ¹⁶ So I always take pains to have a clear conscience toward both God and man. ¹⁷ Now after several years I came to bring alms to my nation and to present offerings. ¹⁸ While I was doing this, they found me purified in the temple, without any crowd or tumult. But some Jews from Asia— ¹⁹ they ought to be here before you and to make an accusation, should they have anything against me. ²⁰ Or else let these men themselves say what wrongdoing they found when I stood before the council, ²¹ other than this one thing that I cried out while standing among them: ‘It is with respect to the resurrection of the dead that I am on trial before you this day.’” (ESV)

As Paul began to make his reply there was no flattery. He showed respect, recognising Felix’s longstanding position, but there was no sickening sycophancy layered like butter upon his answer. His conscience was clear. He knew that he was innocent of all these charges brought against him, and that they could not legitimately prove any of them.

Some years ago, as I recall, John White wrote that Christian witness is fundamentally about honesty. Paul said, ”But this I confess to you…” When we ”confess” our sins, we admit what we know to be true of ourselves. It is similarly the case when we confess our faith. We are not hiding who we are and what we believe. We are bringing it out into the open, exposing it to the light of day. Paul saw the Jesus ”Way” as the flowering of everything that was there in bud in the Old Testament. He regarded himself as a true Jew, living in days of fulfilment, and he was happy to say so, whatever the cost.

Regarding verse 16, F.B. Meyer makes the point that Paul had said something similar in 23:1. Then he adds, ‘ Well would it be for us if only we would devote a few minutes at the close of each day to discover whether our conscience accused us of failure in heart, thought, or behavior. The Holy Spirit pleads in the court of conscience. We would be kept from many a fall, if we would be more careful to watch against the little rifts.’

And after five days the high priest Ananias came down with some elders and a spokesman, one Tertullus. They laid before the governor their case against Paul. ² And when he had been summoned, Tertullus began to accuse him, saying:

“Since through you we enjoy much peace, and since by your foresight, most excellent Felix, reforms are being made for this nation, ³ in every way and everywhere we accept this with all gratitude. ⁴ But, to detain you no further, I beg you in your kindness to hear us briefly. ⁵ For we have found this man a plague, one who stirs up riots among all the Jews throughout the world and is a ringleader of the sect of the Nazarenes. ⁶ He even tried to profane the temple, but we seized him. ⁸ By examining him yourself you will be able to find out from him about everything of which we accuse him.”

⁹ The Jews also joined in the charge, affirming that all these things were so. (ESV)

Tertullus was a clever lawyer. He was also scurrilous. First of all he used flattery. Warren Wiersbe makes the point that if we did not flatter ourselves we would not so easily fall prey to flattery. History shows that Felix was not worthy of these words. In fact, his cruelty and accessibility to bribes, led to a great increase in crime in Judea. He was eventually removed from office and replaced by Porcius Festus

Next, this wily man resorted to slander. See how the way we use words can distort the picture and give a false sense: ”…plague…ringleader…sect…” This was scandalous. May God help us to always use words with accuracy and honesty, and to never seek to subtly malign another’s character.

Paul did not deliberately cause riots, and it was not his fault if there was a riotous response to the message he preached, but such was the hatred of the gospel in many of the Jews in his day. He certainly did not ‘try’ to ”profane the temple” (6). Having begun with flattery, and moved on to slander, the lawyer’s final weapon was outright lies.