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Acts 26:12-14: Persecuting Jesus.

^“12 ‘On one of these journeys I was going to Damascus with the authority and commission of the chief priests. ¹³ About noon, King Agrippa, as I was on the road, I saw a light from heaven, brighter than the sun, blazing around me and my companions. ¹⁴ We all fell to the ground, and I heard a voice saying to me in Aramaic,“Saul, Saul, why do you persecute me? It is hard for you to kick against the goads.” NIV UK

Don’t miss the point in these familiar words that what you do to a Christian, you do to Christ; what you do the church, you do to Jesus; what you do to the body you do to the Head. The Head of the church and the church are one. You can’t hurt God’s people without also hurting Him. In all our afflictions He is afflicted.  ‘’Saul, Saul, why do you persecute me?’’ (14). Paul could have argued that it was the church he was targeting, but in his heart he knew that he was motivated by deep hatred for the name of Jesus. He was guilty as charged.  Jesus Himself taught: ‘’I tell you the truth, whatever you did for one of the least of these brothers of mine, you did for me…’’ And again: ‘’I tell you the truth, whatever you did not do for one of the least of these, you did not do for me’’ (Matthew 25:40,45).

In the book of Hebrews 6:10 you also come across these wonderful words: ‘’God is not unjust; he will not forget your work and the love you have shown him as you have helped his people and continue to help them.’’  So how we treat the church is how we treat Jesus Himself. We can bring joy to his heart or cause Him pain. What opportunities we have today, and what responsibilities we carry. May God Himself help us.

‘’Anyone, then, who knows the good he ought to do and doesn’t do it, sins’’ (James 4:16).

PRAYER: Help me Lord to love and serve you today as I meet you in your people.

Acts 26:1-11: Nothing impossible for God.

“Then Agrippa said to Paul, ‘You have permission to speak for yourself.’  So Paul motioned with his hand and began his defence: ² ‘King Agrippa, I consider myself fortunate to stand before you today as I make my defence against all the accusations of the Jews, ³ and especially so because you are well acquainted with all the Jewish customs and controversies. Therefore, I beg you to listen to me patiently.  ⁴ ‘The Jewish people all know the way I have lived ever since I was a child, from the beginning of my life in my own country, and also in Jerusalem. ⁵ They have known me for a long time and can testify, if they are willing, that I conformed to the strictest sect of our religion, living as a Pharisee. ⁶ And now it is because of my hope in what God has promised our ancestors that I am on trial today. ⁷ This is the promise our twelve tribes are hoping to see fulfilled as they earnestly serve God day and night. King Agrippa, it is because of this hope that these Jews are accusing me. ⁸ Why should any of you consider it incredible that God raises the dead?  ⁹       ‘I too was convinced that I ought to do all that was possible to oppose the name of Jesus of Nazareth. ¹⁰ And that is just what I did in Jerusalem. On the authority of the chief priests I put many of the Lord’s people in prison, and when they were put to death, I cast my vote against them. ¹¹ Many a time I went from one synagogue to another to have them punished, and I tried to force them to blaspheme. I was so obsessed with persecuting them that I even hunted them down in foreign cities.”NIV UK

Festus had said to King Agrippa that Paul’s enemies did not charge him with any of the crimes he 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’’ (25:19).  Over and against that comment, consider Paul’s words to Agrippa: ‘’Why should any of you consider it incredible that God raises the dead?’ (26:8).  I would want to ask a similar question to any theologian (or anyone else for that matter) who denies the miraculous. If there is a God, surely He can do things ordinary human beings can’t? This includes converting people who are militantly opposed to Christianity. We shouldn’t be surprised to hear many such ‘’darkness to light’’ (18) stories if God is living and active.  As far as Saul of Tarsus was concerned, he was just being true to his Jewish faith in his pre-conversion days. He had seen it as an obligation ‘’to do all that was possible to oppose the name of Jesus of Nazareth’’ (9) However, between the lines we can hear the message that he had come to find the real fulfillment of all Jewish Messianic hope in the Person of the living Lord Jesus. So, as Tom Wright points out, although there was an obvious ‘break’ between the pre-conversion Saul, and the post-conversion Paul, at the same time there was a strong line of continuity forming a bridge between the two. Paul knew all about Judaism from the inside, and he was aware that the hope which lay in its bosom formed the link to who he had now become. Pharisees believed in resurrection; but he had now come to see that it had to first happen to Jesus before becoming anyone else’s experience.  ‘His message about resurrection – (a) that it is what we were all waiting for, and (b) that it has happened, to our enormous surprise, in Jesus – is at the heart of his claim that this changes everything at the same moment as fulfilling everything.’ Tom Wright: ‘Acts for everyone, part two,’ p.207.

Acts 25: 13-27: ‘Man Alive.’

^“13 A few days later King Agrippa and Bernice arrived at Caesarea to pay their respects to Festus. ¹⁴ 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. ¹⁵ When I went to Jerusalem, the chief priests and the elders of the Jews brought charges against him and asked that he be condemned.  ¹⁶ ‘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. ¹⁷ 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. ¹⁸ When his accusers got up to speak, they did not charge him with any of the crimes I had expected. ¹⁹ Instead, they had some points of dispute with him about their own religion and about a dead man named Jesus whom Paul claimed was alive. ²⁰ 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. ²¹ But when Paul made his appeal to be held over for the Emperor’s decision, I ordered him to be held until I could send him to Caesar.’  ²² Then Agrippa said to Festus, ‘I would like to hear this man myself.’  He replied, ‘Tomorrow you will hear him.’  ²³ The next day Agrippa and Bernice came with great pomp and entered the audience room with the high-ranking military officers and the prominent men of the city. At the command of Festus, Paul was brought in. ²⁴ 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. ²⁵ 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. ²⁶ 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. ²⁷ For I think it is unreasonable to send a prisoner on to Rome without specifying the charges against him.’” NIV UK

King Agrippa was the son of the King Herod mentioned in chapter 12. He was also the brother of Drusilla, the wife of Felix (24:24). The Roman Emperor had given to him a small kingdom. It included the southern part of modern day Lebanon, and the province of Galilee. He ruled there under the emperor’s authority. Being a Jew himself, Agrippa knew a lot more about Jewish customs than Festus, so Festus took the opportunity to discuss the case with him.

Somebody said something like this, ‘If the resurrection of Christ has left a hole in history the size and shape of the empty tomb, with what does the secular historian propose to fill it?!’ That’s a good question.

Some years ago, Canon Michael Green wrote a brilliant book about the evidence for the resurrection. It was entitled ‘Man Alive.’ The nineteenth verse reveals how much Paul emphasised the resurrection of Christ, and we know this anyway from elsewhere in ‘Acts.’ As far as Paul was concerned, Jesus was no ‘dead man.’ He had met Him personally and his life was revolutionised in the encounter (26:12-18). Do dead men speak and hand out assignments? A man was asked, ‘How do you know Jesus is alive?’ He replied, ‘Oh, I was talking with Him only five minutes ago!’ We in the church today need to recover the thrill of realising that Jesus who died, and was buried, is now alive. Let it be our repeated refrain as it was for the apostle Paul: Christ is alive!

Today’s passage shows that although Felix, as a politician, cared most about his position and status (and he therefore wanted to please the Jews, as previously noted); he nevertheless knew that Paul was innocent. As with Jesus in the gospels, Paul’s lack of guilt is hammered home by the text. You can’t fail to see it.

Today, of these three main characters, Paul alone is famous. We only remember Agrippa and Festus because for a very short time they were with Paul. ‘’God chose the weak things of the world to shame the strong. He chose the lowly things of this world and the despised things – and the things that are not – to nullify the things that are, so that no one may boast before him’ (1 Corinthians 1:27-29).

PRAYER: Let the truth that Christ is alive possess my heart and give me overflowing joy.

Acts 25:1-12: The saga continues.

“Three days after arriving in the province, Festus went up from Caesarea to Jerusalem, ² where the chief priests and the Jewish leaders appeared before him and presented the charges against Paul. ³ They requested Festus, as a favour to them, to have Paul transferred to Jerusalem, for they were preparing an ambush to kill him along the way. ⁴ Festus answered, ‘Paul is being held at Caesarea, and I myself am going there soon. ⁵ Let some of your leaders come with me, and if the man has done anything wrong, they can press charges against him there.’  ⁶ 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. ⁷ When Paul came in, the Jews who had come down from Jerusalem stood round him. They brought many serious charges against him, but they could not prove them.  ⁸ Then Paul made his defence: ‘I have done nothing wrong against the Jewish law or against the temple or against Caesar.’  ⁹ Festus, wishing to do the Jews a favour, said to Paul, ‘Are you willing to go up to Jerusalem and stand trial before me there on these charges?’  ¹⁰ 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. ¹¹ 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!’  ¹² After Festus had conferred with his council, he declared: ‘You have appealed to Caesar. To Caesar you will go!’ ” NIV UK

The passing of time, and a change of governor, did not diminish the hostility of the Jews towards Paul; and the change of governor did not increase Paul’s chance of having a fair hearing (9). He still had to contend with a politician who was more concerned with the opinion polls than integrity. It was important for these Roman governors to keep well in with the Jews. They knew they could be tricky, and you could swiftly lose your prized position if they turned against you and lodged a complaint. Festus was no fool. I’m sure he ‘smelled a rat’ (3-5). Yet when it came to it, he was prepared to hang Paul out to dry if necessary (9). If it came to a choice between Paul and Festus, Paul would be expendable. Thank God, we are not ultimately in any human hands, however it may appear.          Paul comes across here as a strong man. He was not rude or arrogant; but he was certainly not weak. He knew his rights and he stood his ground.

‘There are times when believers must use the law to protect themselves and the ministry. But now Festus had a problem. How could he send Paul to Caesar when he had no charges against him that could be proved? God’s people sometimes are 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 were difficult 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: ‘With the Word,’ p.725

 Acts 24:22 – 27: A more convenient time?

^“22 Then Felix, who was well acquainted with the Way, adjourned the proceedings. ‘When Lysias the commander comes,’ he said, ‘I will decide your case.’ ²³ 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.  ²⁴ 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. ²⁵ 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.’ ²⁶ At the same time he was hoping that Paul would offer him a bribe, so he sent for him frequently and talked with him.  ²⁷ When two years had passed, Felix was succeeded by Porcius Festus, but because Felix wanted to grant a favour to the Jews, he left Paul in prison.” NIV UK

In the church circles in which I grew up, we often sang a hymn which was creatively based on this story. It was called ‘Almost persuaded’, and in one of its verses it reflects on the inclination to put off becoming a Christian until a more ‘’convenient’’ time. Many have found that such a postponed day does not arrive. You keep on revising the date until you eventually run out of time. Do take note that this can happen. I think many people do intend to get right with God – one day.

It’s been pointed out that, like Herod with John the Baptist, Felix had a fearful fascination with Paul and his message. Tom Wright says he engaged Paul in a game of ‘cat and mouse’ – now I’d like to see you, now go away; now I’d like to see you, now go away – but in the end he discovered that he himself was the frightened mouse. It is not surprising that a message of ‘’righteousness, self-control and the judgment to come’’ would scare a man like him. It had to be a challenge to his lifestyle. He had a lot to be afraid of if he didn’t repent; and he was no doubt fearful of a life marked by self-control if he did. It might seriously cramp his style.

Although the Bible doesn’t give us the details, it was well known to people at the time that Felix had been involved in a major scandal. It was in all the papers. (Well, it would have been, if they’d had them!! It was a story to occupy gossip column inches). Felix had lusted after another man’s wife, and taken her. Her name was ‘’Drusilla.’’ It’s obvious, too, from this story, that he was on the take. I’m not surprised that he couldn’t sit comfortably under Paul’s preaching.

A preacher once said that some people are ‘radiators’ – they give out warmth to all within their reach; but others are ‘drains’ – they suck up as much as they possibly can. Tom Wright is clear in identifying Felix as a ‘drain’. On the face of it, he didn’t treat Paul too badly. Although he was kept in prison, his friends were allowed to take care of his needs. (There was no such thing as a prison catering department. Without visitors to look after you, you would starve). However, Felix cared much more about his own position than he did about the apostle. Most of all, he hoped Paul would slip him a bribe (and he must have found some subtle way to convey to the preacher that he could be released if the price was right). This didn’t happen, of course, and so Felix used Paul to try to keep the Jews happy. He didn’t care about justice. It was all about him. It’s a sad and sordid little scenario really.

‘Actually, Felix was the prisoner, and Paul was the prosecutor. Felix knew he was guilty; but instead of accepting Christ, he delayed. The convenient time to be saved is now (2 Cor.6:1-2; see also Isa.55:6-7).’ Warren W. Wiersbe: ‘With the Word’,p.725.

Acts 24:10-23: Setting the record straight.

^“10 When the governor motioned for him to speak, Paul replied: ‘I know that for a number of years you have been a judge over this nation; so I gladly make my defence. ¹¹ You can easily verify that no more than twelve days ago I went up to Jerusalem to worship. ¹² My accusers did not find me arguing with anyone at the temple, or stirring up a crowd in the synagogues or anywhere else in the city. ¹³ And they cannot prove to you the charges they are now making against me. ¹⁴ However, I admit that I worship the God of our ancestors as a follower of the Way, which they call a sect. I believe everything that is in accordance with the Law and that is written in the Prophets, ¹⁵ and I have the same hope in God as these men themselves have, that there will be a resurrection of both the righteous and the wicked. ¹⁶ So I strive always to keep my conscience clear before God and man.  ¹⁷ ‘After an absence of several years, I came to Jerusalem to bring my people gifts for the poor and to present offerings. ¹⁸ I was ceremonially clean when they found me in the temple courts doing this. There was no crowd with me, nor was I involved in any disturbance. ¹⁹ But there are some Jews from the province of Asia, who ought to be here before you and bring charges if they have anything against me. ²⁰ Or these who are here should state what crime they found in me when I stood before the Sanhedrin – ²¹ unless it was this one thing I shouted as I stood in their presence: “It is concerning the resurrection of the dead that I am on trial before you today.”’ ²² Then Felix, who was well acquainted with the Way, adjourned the proceedings. ‘When Lysias the commander comes,’ he said, ‘I will decide your case.’ ²³ 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.”NIV UK

As we saw yesterday, the charges brought against Paul, via the lawyer Tertullus, were patently false. We feel, as we read, that we want to stand up in court and say, ‘This is not right.’ When Paul got the opportunity to speak for himself, he was quick to point out that the facts of his conduct were easily verifiable if people wanted to know. He always sought to live with a clear conscience. However, what he would admit to (and he would confess it whatever the cost) was that he was a follower of Jesus and a member of the church. He was a true Jew. He believed everything his Jewish opponents believed, with one key difference. He was convinced that Jesus of Nazareth, once crucified but now risen from the dead, was the Messiah, the fulfillment of all Jewish hopes.           Christianity began as a ‘’sect’’ within Judaism. That’s how it was seen. In the early part of ‘Acts’ we find the followers of Jesus regularly participating in temple worship.They had no thought of separating from Judaism, but in the end persecution made the break inevitable.

It’s interesting that one of the earliest descriptions of believers was ‘followers of the Way.’ This was probably because they followed Jesus who asserted that He was ‘the Way’ (John 14:6). Also, they were committed to a recognisable way of life which had love at its heart. It is an unstoppable ‘Way’, though men have tried violently to stop it. Jesus ‘’the Way’’ was crucified and buried in a tomb. Then they put a ‘stopper’ in the hole; but they couldn’t stop Him!

One final thought from this passage: ‘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 behaviour. 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.’ F.B.Meyer: ‘Devotional Commentary’,p.499

 Acts 24:1-9: Lawyer or liar?

“Five days later the high priest Ananias went down to Caesarea with some of the elders and a lawyer named Tertullus, and they brought their charges against Paul before the governor. ² When Paul was called in, Tertullus presented his case before Felix: ‘We have enjoyed a long period of peace under you, and your foresight has brought about reforms in this nation. ³ Everywhere and in every way, most excellent Felix, we acknowledge this with profound gratitude. ⁴ But in order not to weary you further, I would request that you be kind enough to hear us briefly.  ⁵ ‘We have found this man to be a troublemaker, stirring up riots among the Jews all over the world. He is a ringleader of the Nazarene sect ⁶ and even tried to desecrate the temple; so we seized him. ⁸ By examining him yourself you will be able to learn the truth about all these charges we are bringing against him.’ ⁹ The other Jews joined in the accusation, asserting that these things were true.’ NIV UK

Please don’t get me wrong. I’m not saying all legal people are dishonest. If I was, I would be lying. However, it is always shocking to see how a barrister may be hired to say things about a person that are very far removed from the truth. You listen to Tertullus’ speech with horror, saying to yourself, ‘This is not the Paul I know.’

It is clear that God hates injustice. The Old Testament prophetic books burn with His white hot indignation against the abuse of the court system, and the mistreatment of innocents. Yet we should not be surprised when Christians are treated unfairly. Jesus said, ‘’…no servant is greater than his master…’’ (John 16:13). A great travesty of justice lies at the heart of the Christian faith – in fact the greatest in history – and if that’s how our Lord was treated, can we expect to get off lightly?

Yet look at all the good God is still bringing out of that bad thing. So when we sniff the injustice in this story, we know it cannot be the whole story, and we find ourselves anticipating what God will do next.

PRAYER: O Lord, you are a God of justice, and although injustice may sometimes seem to win the day, thank you that ultimately right will triumph over wrong in your Universe. If we ever find ourselves treated unfairly because we are Christians, help us to patiently bear it, and entrust ourselves into your Hands for vindication.

 Acts 23:25-35: Friday 30^th June 2017: Varnishing the truth.

^“25 He wrote a letter as follows: ²⁶ Claudius Lysias, To His Excellency, Governor Felix: Greetings.  ²⁷ This man was seized by the Jews and they were about to kill him, but I came with my troops and rescued him, for I had learned that he is a Roman citizen. ²⁸ I wanted to know why they were accusing him, so I brought him to their Sanhedrin. ²⁹ I found that the accusation had to do with questions about their law, but there was no charge against him that deserved death or imprisonment. ³⁰ When I was informed of a plot to be carried out against the man, I sent him to you at once. I also ordered his accusers to present to you their case against him.  ³¹ So the soldiers, carrying out their orders, took Paul with them during the night and brought him as far as Antipatris. ³² The next day they let the cavalry go on with him, while they returned to the barracks. ³³ When the cavalry arrived in Caesarea, they delivered the letter to the governor and handed Paul over to him. ³⁴ The governor read the letter and asked what province he was from. Learning that he was from Cilicia, ³⁵ he said, ‘I will hear your case when your accusers get here.’ Then he ordered that Paul be kept under guard in Herod’s palace.”NIV UK

‘’This man was seized by the Jews and they were about to kill him, but I came with my troops and rescued him, for I had learned that he is a Roman citizen’’ (28).          I read these words with a wry, inward smile. What capacity we have to cover our own backs; to adjust the story so that we look better than we actually are. As we tell our tales, we can exaggerate. We can re-write history so that we appear more heroic than we really are.  We remember the Commander did not discover that Paul was a Roman citizen until after rescuing him (22:22ff), and that he came within a hair’s breadth of having him tortured to elicit information from him. He was saved from a serious error just in time when it was brought to his attention that Paul was a citizen of Rome. He left that bit out – of course!

‘Image management’, they call it. It’s when you try to present yourself (or someone else) in the best light. This image projection may bear little resemblance to reality. What counts is that it should be successful: that people come to believe in the version of you that you want them to see.  However, the Bible says that our ‘yes’ should be ‘yes’, and our ‘no’ be ‘no.’ We should be people of simple, straightforward honesty.

PRAYER: Lord, please help me to walk in the light.

Acts 23:12-24: A mysterious providence.

12 The next morning some Jews formed a conspiracy and bound themselves with an oath not to eat or drink until they had killed Paul. 13 More than forty men were involved in this plot. 14 They went to the chief priests and the elders and said, “We have taken a solemn oath not to eat anything until we have killed Paul. 15 Now then, you and the Sanhedrin petition the commander to bring him before you on the pretext of wanting more accurate information about his case. We are ready to kill him before he gets here.” 16 But when the son of Paul’s sister heard of this plot, he went into the barracks and told Paul. 17 Then Paul called one of the centurions and said, “Take this young man to the commander; he has something to tell him.” 18 So he took him to the commander. The centurion said, “Paul, the prisoner, sent for me and asked me to bring this young man to you because he has something to tell you.” 19 The commander took the young man by the hand, drew him aside and asked, “What is it you want to tell me?”20 He said: “Some Jews have agreed to ask you to bring Paul before the Sanhedrin tomorrow on the pretext of wanting more accurate information about him. 21 Don’t give in to them, because more than forty of them are waiting in ambush for him. They have taken an oath not to eat or drink until they have killed him. They are ready now, waiting for your consent to their request.” 22 The commander dismissed the young man with this warning: “Don’t tell anyone that you have reported this to me”
23 Then he called two of his centurions and ordered them, “Get ready a detachment of two hundred soldiers, seventy horsemen and two hundred spearmen[b] to go to Caesarea at nine tonight. 24 Provide horses for Paul so that he may be taken safely to Governor Felix.”NIV UK

‘The Lord had told his servant that he was needed in Rome, but the conspirators said that he should not leave Jerusalem. There is only one conclusion where such a collision occurs – God’s Word must stand, to the discomfort of those who have sworn that they will neither eat nor drink till they have perpetrated their plan to the contrary.’ F.B. Meyer: ‘Devotional Commentary’, p.498.  It is interesting to find that Paul had family in Jerusalem. How typical of the ways of God that the plot should be defeated through the intervention of an obscure young man. We are not told how he heard about it, only that he did. It reminds me of the key part a boy played in the miracle of the feeding of the multitude. In both cases, we don’t know their names, but they played vital roles.

‘’But God chose the foolish things of the world to shame the wise; God chose the weak things of the world to shame the strong. God chose the lowly things of this world and the despised things – and the things that are not – to nullify the things that are, so that no one may boast before him’’ 1 Corinthians 1:27-29.

When I was in my first church in Southport I had the privilege of visiting a lady called Miss Rose. She was well into her nineties by then, but she had exercised a significant Bible teaching ministry among women. I’ll never forget her saying to me, ‘I’m one of God’s ‘’are nots.’’ ‘ She explained, ‘It says in the Bible that He takes the things that are not to nullify the things that are.’

PRAYER: Thank you Lord that whenever you want a job doing you can always put your hand on the right person to do it, and regularly you find them in obscurity.