Acts 25
COMMENTARY:
: 5 Let them therefore, said he, which among you are able, go down with me, and accuse this man, if there be any wickedness in him. (824 “wickedness” [atopos] means amiss, harm, unrighteous, improper, bad, wrong, absurd or evil.)
DEVOTION: The Jewish leaders were not giving up on trying to put Paul to death. They had men who had vowed not to eat until they had killed Paul. They had an orator who came and gave accusations against Paul that couldn’t be proved. They had frequently asked for Paul to be moved to Jerusalem.
Each of the political leaders they confronted on the issue of Paul stood firm that they would not bring him again to Jerusalem but that they would have to come to Caesarea to place their charges against him.
This latest politician was Festus. He invited them to come down and confront him again. He would hear their case. Paul had already been in prison for over two years without being charged with any crime.
Festus invites them to come with him to see if they could find any improper wrong he had done against the Roman government that could cause them to put him to death.
Too often we can be accused of things that never happened or something we have never said. Paul had to watch his actions and speech before this group of political and religious leaders.
The LORD told HIS disciples to be prepared to face these types of things but that the Holy Spirit would give them the words to say. We need to realize that it can happen to us and we have to depend on the Holy Spirit to give us wisdom to answer whatever we are accused of by those who don’t love the LORD.
Here in America we have many people who are accusing Christians of hating certain groups of people or certain practices. It is not that we hate these individuals it is that we want to honor the teachings of the Word of God in our daily life. We are still sinners so we are not saying that we are better than those who practice wrong beliefs or practice wrong actions. We are just trying to honor the LORD with our beliefs and our actions to keep our promise to be good followers of HIM. If we don’t practice something it is because we know it will not please the LORD, not because we hate those who practice it.
We want to change every day to be better servants of the LORD and we want to see change in all those in our world so that they can join us in heaven for eternity. Paul wanted those in Jerusalem to change to be followers of the LORD.
CHALLENGE: Our attitudes toward those who hate our actions or beliefs need to be one of a willingness to confront them in love but firmly show them the truth that is found in the Word of God.
: 11 For if I be an offender, or have committed anything worthy of death, I refuse not to die, but if there be none of these things whereof these accuse me no man may deliver me to them. I appeal to Caesar. (91 “offender” [adikeo] means do wrong, hurt, be unjust, to be a criminal, to have violated the laws I some way, to wrong someone, act wickedly towards him, to treat unjustly, mistreat, or to do that which is unjust or unrighteous.)
DEVOTION: We know when we do something wrong. We know that we desire punishment when we do something wrong. The LORD has stated that HE will chasten the ones HE loves. If a believer does something against the Word of God and doesn’t confess his sin to the LORD he is open to the chastening of the LORD. There are consequences to sin according to the Bible. We reap what we sow.
Here we find Paul in a situation where he is being falsely accused. The Jewish leaders want him dead because he is such a great witness for the LORD. He was one of their leaders and he changed sides. He became a preacher of Jesus Christ. It hurt the Jewish leaders when one of their own became a follower of Jesus. He could use the Old Testament to prove the Jesus was the Messiah that they were waiting for.
So Paul makes this statement to the Jewish leaders. If I have done something wrong I am ready to pay the consequences even to the point of death. He is not willing to be killed for doing what was right. He had no other choice but to appeal to a higher court. That higher court was Caesar.
Today we find the beliefs of the Bible questioned from many sides. At present we have one of those issues going to the highest court in our land, the Supreme Court in Washington, D.C.
We should be praying for those who are judges in that Court to look at the issue from not only what the LORD wants but what is best for the families of our country. Their decision is one that will either honor the teachings of the Word of God or dishonor those teachings. The end result could either help the families of this nation or hurt them and the churches that preach the truth of the Word of God.
Always remember that the LORD knows what is happening in our life and in the life of the country we live in. HE is working HIS plan even when it seems that evil is winning. Paul took a stand and we know that was part of God’s plan for his life.
CHALLENGE: We need to take a stand like Paul and watch God work in our life.
: 19 But had certain questions against him of their own superstition, and of one Jesus, which was dead, whom Paul affirmed to be alive. (1175 “superstition” [deisidaimonia] means religious feeling, fear of the gods, demon fearing or being pious.)
DEVOTION: Remember that those outside of Christ do not understand the Word of God. The Holy Spirit is the teacher and without HIM there is no understanding.
The world thinks that Christianity is just another man-made religion. Most individuals think that everyone is going to heaven or just going to die and that is it. The religious ones think that they can earn their way to heaven.
When Paul presented his case before Festus, he thought it was just problem of answering religious questions differently.
It seems like everyone can have his or her own religion. Our world is full of people who believe different things. Our society says that everyone is entitled to not have to worry about anyone trying to tell him or her that his or her religion is wrong.
In our postmodern world everyone has their own truth. Their truth is just as good as anyone else’s truth. These religious leaders in Paul’s day didn’t think it was wrong to bring false accusers before the government. They would do anything to stop Christianity.
That is still true today as those in all the religions of the world are followers of Satan and not the LORD. Remember Satan is a liar. All other religions are following a lie to their final end in the lake of fire.
We believe that to be a Christian one must be a follower of Christ and not a religion. HE is the only way to heaven. HE is the author and finisher of our faith. Our beliefs are based on the blood of GOD’S SON dying on the cross- HE paid the only price for salvation. After HE died HE was placed in a grave with guards. The stone was sealed by the government to keep the disciples from stealing the body and saying that HE arose from the dead.
It didn’t work. Christ was out of the tomb before the angel came down from heaven to remove the stone to show the world that Christ had risen from the dead. HE is alive. It is not a religious feeling.
Paul stated that if Christ didn’t rise from the dead Christianity is false. We should stop preaching and just go out and do as we please. That is what is happening today in many lives of people who claim to be followers of the LORD. They act as if HIS resurrection really didn’t happen.
We are not to just believe that we are just another religion serving a dead false god. We are to be the ones who show by our lives that we are servants of the LIVING GOD who created our world.
CHALLENGE: HE is raised from the dead. It has to be true for us to witness to others. The question we have to ask ourselves is “DO we really believe we serve a LIVING Savior? If so, show it!!!
: 27 For it seems to me unreasonable to send a prisoner, and not withal to signify the crimes lad against him. (249 “unreasonable” [alogos] means destitute of reason, contrary to reason, absurd, not consistent with or using reason, without basis, lacking in eloquence, or irrational brute.)
DEVOTION: Can you imagine living in a world in which you could be held in prison for over two years when there was no specific crime on the books that you had committed? This was the condition around Paul being in jail.
Now he had gone through being put in jail in Jerusalem. He had been moved from that jail to Caesarea because there were forty men who placed themselves under a curse if they ate anything again before they killed Paul.
Once in Caesarea he spoke to the governor Felix and he found nothing worthy of death but still kept him in jail. Next he talks with the new governor, Festus, and he wanted to please the Jewish leaders.
Finally, we find him brought before King Agrippa. He is now going to have to defend himself against him again.
So he is going to have three occasions to defend himself without any real charges made against him. The reason for his conversation happening with King Agrippa is because Festus doesn’t want to send him to Caesar without formal charges. He thinks it is unreasonable to send him without proper charges.
Instead of just letting him go he has to face all these individuals without proper charges and they think it is unreasonable for him to be sent to Rome without something wrong that he has done when he had done nothing wrong according to the law of Rome.
Sometimes we can scratch our heads when we see what was happening in some people’s lives that seem so unfair from our perspective. This is one of those occasions. Why didn’t God just tell these men to let Paul go? The reason was that the LORD was going to give Paul an expense free trip to Rome to witness to the political leaders of the world.
CHALLENGE: Paul knew this was going to happen and we need to realize that this could happen to us as well. HE is working HIS plan in our life just like HE was working HIS plan in Paul’s life.
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