When have you had to publicly appear before an important or powerful person and put your fate in his/her hands: (a) Defending yourself in a tax audit? (b) Asking for a pay raise or an allowance hike? (c) Asking parents for approval and blessing to marry? (d) Asking for liability damages? (e) Submitting to the dentist or surgeon?
How did you feel as you thought about what to say?
#God #People #Time #Place #Obedient faith #Sin #Key Idea
Acts 25:23-26:11 (ESV)
23So on the
next dayAgrippa
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.24And Festus
said, “King
Agrippa and all who are present with us, you see this man about whom the whole Jewish peoplepetitioned me,
both in Jerusalem and
here, shouting that he ought
not to live any longer.25But 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.26But 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.27For it seems to me unreasonable, in sending a prisoner, not
to indicate the charges against him.”
Paul’s Defense
Before Agrippa
1So Agrippa said to Paul,
“You have permission to speak
for yourself.” Then Paul stretched out his hand and made his defense:
2“I consider myself fortunate
that it is before you, KingAgrippa,
I am going to make my defensetoday
against all the accusations of the Jews,3especially 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.5They 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.6And now I stand here on trial because of my hope in the promise made by God to our
fathers,7to 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!8Why 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.10And 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.11And 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.
Hashtags #Paul #Jews – the whole Jewish people #Festus #chief priests #Agrippa the king #Bernice #Prominent men #the emperor #twelve tribes #the saints Places #Jerusalem #foreign cities
Topics # resurrection
God is ... What do we learn about God in this passage?
We are ... What do we learn about people in this passage?
What is the problem Festus faces? Why doesn't he simply let Paul go? How could Agrippa be in a position to help (26.3)?
According to Paul, what issue is the real source of his conflict with the Jewish leaders (see 23,6; 24:21; 26.6-8)? Why do you think his adversaries never directly bring this out (see 18:15)? How does his conviction about the Resurrection differ from that of the Pharisees, who in theory believed in a general resurrection as well?
I will ... What has the Holy Spirit revealed to us in this passage? How can I apply it to my life this week?
What difference does make to you that Jesus truly rose from the dead? What would be different about your faith if that were not the case?
You can ... Who do you know who needs to hear this? Feel free to share with others by social media links at the bottom of this.
If you could be king or queen for a day, what new law would you enact?
#God #People #Time #Place #Obedient
faith #Sin #Key Idea
Acts 25:13-22
Paul Before Agrippa and Bernice
13Now when some days had passed, Agrippa the king and Bernice arrived at Caesarea and greeted Festus.14And as they stayed there many days, Festus laid Paul’s case before the king, saying, “There is a man left prisoner by Felix,15and 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.16I 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 defense concerning the charge laid
against him.17So 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.18When the accusers
stood up, they brought no charge in his case of such evils as I supposed.19Rather 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.20Being at a loss how
to investigate these questions, I asked whether he wanted to
go to Jerusalem
and be tried there regarding them.21But 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.”22Then Agrippa said to Festus, “I would like to hear the man myself.” “Tomorrow,” said he, “you will hear him.”
God is ... What do we learn about God in this passage?
We are ... What do we learn about people in this passage?
How fair is Festus in describing the case? How much does he seem to know about Judaism? About Christianity? How would this have affected any decision he would have made in the case? Do you think he is honestly trying to find the truth in this matter? Why?
This Agrippa was the son of the Herod in 12:1-23. Why would he be especially interested in hearing from Paul?
I will ... What has the Holy Spirit revealed to us in this passage? How can I apply it to my life this week?
When you have questions about your faith, to whom do you turn? Why? How else do you seek input?
You can ... Who do you know who needs to hear this? Feel free to share with others by social media links at the bottom of this.
1.Nero Claudius Caesar Germanicus was the fifth emperor. He was born 37 A.D. and reigned
from 54–68 A.D.
2.He was the son of Agrippina's first husband, Cnaeus Domitius
Ahenobarbus, a vicious and corrupt man.His mother was a schemer who cared little for his moral development but
much for his social standing. At the age
of 34 (in 49 A.D.), she
married emperor Claudius who was 59.He
was a life-long victim of cerebral Palsy and in his later years an inept and
cowering leader.He had a limp from an
earlier injury and drooled saliva, which made his contemporaries consider him a
half-wit.However, he had spent much of
his time in the imperial palace reading and studying—he was apparently quite
bright.He was the one responsible for
expelling the Jews from Rome [Suetonius, Claudius, 25.4; Acts 18:2].Pallas, Seneca and Burrus helped her plot her
son into office.Claudias died in 54
A.D., presumably by poison.For their efforts on Nero's behalf, they were
all repaid with traitorous murder.
3.The first five years of his reign were rational—these are
called the quinquennium.This is
primarily due to the fact that his affairs were under the direction of two
men:Seneca, whose brother, Gallio is
had been the governor of Greece (Acts 18:12); and Burrus, the prefect of the
Praetorian Guard.He was 16–21 years old
during this time.Even then, however,
his private life was licentious.It is
interesting, however, that during this time he expressed great concern and
reservation that he would likely have to put people to death.Later he overcame this feeling and put people
to death without qualms.
4."Nero's marriage to Poppaea opened the second period of
his reign.He killed his mother, his
chief advisers Seneca and Burrus, and many of the nobility to secure their
fortunes."This was in the year 62 A.D.[Zondervan Pictorial Bible Dictionary, p. 581]
5.Burrus died in 62 A.D. (there was
some suspicion of poison).Seneca
thereafter retired, knowing that he alone could not control the young
monarch.Later Nero ordered him to take
his life (65 A.D.) apparently
only so he could obtain his wealth (which Seneca had already given over to
him).These two were replaced with
Tigellinus, who brought out the worst of Nero's avarice.
6.In 62 A.D. he had his
wife, Octavia murdered so he could marry Poppaea.Poppaea successfully plotted the elimination
of Agrippina, Nero's mother, by convincing her to have her murdered in 59
A.D., as well as Octavia, Nero's wife,
even while she was married to Otho, the brief successor to Nero.Later she, herself, fell prey to his
viciousness:
"Having killed Poppaea by a kick when she was with
child, (66 A.D.), Nero
proposed to marry Antonia, his adopted sister, and on her refusal ordered her
to be put to death.He then married
Statilia Messalina, whose husband Vestinus he had assassinated for marrying
Messalina after the emperor had cohabited with her."
[Baker's
Bible Dictionary, p. 789]
7.It was during this time (c. 63
A.D.) that Paul made his defense before
him (Acts 25:10–11).
8.In 64 A.D. a large
section of Rome was destroyed by fire.Many suspected Nero of starting the conflagration, including the
historian Tacitus.He needed a scapegoat
for the mishap and found it in the Christians of Rome.Tacitus, certainly no friend of the church,
said this about the persecuted Christians:
"Their death was made a matter of sport; they were
covered in wild beast's skins and torn to pieces by dogs; or were fastened to
crosses and set on fire in order to serve as torches by night . . . Nero had
offered his gardens for the spectacle and gave an exhibition in his circus,
mingling with the crowd in the guise of a charioteer or mounted on his
chariot.Hence, . . . there arose a
feeling of pity, because it was felt that they were being sacrificed not for
the common good, but to gratify the savagery of one man.‖
[Tacitus,
Annals, 15.44]
9.Nero was the first to enact official Roman persecution
against the church.Both Peter and Paul
suffered martyrdom under his hand.
10.His private
life was full of scandal.He entertained
himself with the basest forms of depredation including murder, homosexuality,
sadomasochism, and unimaginable violence.
11.Conspiracies
dogged his later years.He was advised
to take his own life but he did not have the courage to do it.The senate, in fact, decreed his death.His final traitorous act was to put many of
the senators to death.Finally, on June
9, 68 A.D., he took
his own life.His final words were
these, "What an Artist dies in me."(He fancied himself a musician and artist and athlete).Thus died the last of the line of Julius
Caesar.
BIBLIOGRAPHY:
—
Ferguson, Everett. Backgrounds of Early Christianity,
Grand Rapids: Eerdmans, 1987, pp. 26–28.
—
Grant,
Michael. Nero. London, 1957.
—
Griffin,
M. Nero:The End of a Dynasty. New Haven, 1985.
—
Walter, G.
(ed). Nero. London, 1970.
—
Warmington,
B. H. Nero: Reality and Legend.
London, 1969.
===============
Meet the
Herods!
By Chad Ragsdale
1.Herod the
―Great‖ – The head of this twisted family, Herod was the son of
Antipater II.He was the king of the
Jews from about 40–4 B.C.To history, he
is known as a great builder (including the Jerusalem Temple and the port of
Caesarea).To the Jews, he was despised
as an Edomite and friend of Rome.To his
family, he was feared for his murderous paranoia (He had at least three of his
sons and one of his wives – Mariamne I – killed).This paranoia also led to his killing of the
infants in Bethlehem upon hearing of the birth of the new king (Matt. 2:1–22).
2.Herod
Archelaus – (Herod the Ethnarch) One of Herod‘s sons with Malthace, he
succeeded
Herod briefly after his death (Matt.
2:22).He had perhaps the worst
reputation of any of Herod‘s sons (not least for marrying the widow of his
half-brother), and his reign was short-lived.
3.Herod
Antipas – (Herod the Tetrarch) He was Herod‘s younger son by Malthace,
and inherited the Galilean and Peraean portions of his father‘s kingdom.He appears several times in the gospels.He is responsible for the death of John the
Baptist (Mark 6:14–28).He had divorced
a previous wife in order to marry Herodias who was also the wife of his half-brother,
Philip – and also his niece.John
denounced this marriage.After a
particularly creepy dance-party involving his wife and step daughter Salome, he
concedes to have John killed.Antipas
also had a brief and ultimately worthless encounter with Jesus as a part of his
trial (Luke 23:7ff.).He was deposed as
a leader in 39 as a result of the accusations of his nephew, Agrippa.
4.Herod
Agrippa I – He was a son of Aristobulus (killed by Herod), nephew of
Antipas, and grandson of Herod the Great.He was also the brother of Herodias and the father of Agrippa II and
Drusilla (Acts 24:24).He was made king
by his friend Gaius (Caligula).
He took over Antipas‘ territory in
39 and was given rule over all Judea and Samaria by Claudius in 41 – ruling
over territory equal in size to Herod the Great‘s.Agrippa I is noteworthy for executing James
the apostle and imprisoning Peter (Acts 12:2ff.).He died suddenly and rather unpleasantly at
the age of 54 in the year 44 (Acts 12:20ff.; see also Josephus, Ant. 19.343ff.).
5.Herod
Agrippa 2 – He was the son of Agrippa I and the brother of Drusilla and
Bernice (with whom he was sometimes accused of being incestuous), and he was
the last of the
Herodian kings.He was only 17 when his father died
suddenly.He was given the title ―king‖
by Claudius, and by the year 56, he had been made the ruler over a large
territory including parts of Galilee, Perea, and Judea.From 48 to 66 he had the right to appoint the
Jewish high priest.He remained loyal to
Rome during the Jewish rebellion (66–70) and was rewarded with an increase of
territory.It was before Agrippa II that
Paul made his case in Acts and offered his testimony (Acts 25:13–26:32).
#God #People #Time #Place #Obedient
faith #Sin #Key Idea
Acts 25:1-12
Paul Appeals to Caesar
1Now three days afterFestus had arrived in the province, he went up to Jerusalem from Caesarea.2And the chief priests and the principal men of the Jews laid out their case againstPaul, and they urged him,3asking as a favor against Paulathat he summon him to Jerusalem—because they were
planning an
ambush to kill him on the way.4Festus 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.”
6After he stayed among them not more than eight or ten days, he went down to Caesarea. And the next dayhe took his seat on
the tribunal and ordered Paul to be brought.7When 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.8Paulargued in his defense, “Neither against
the law of the Jews, nor against the temple, nor against Caesar have I committed any offense.”9But 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?”10But 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.11If 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 appealto Caesar.”12Then Festus, when he had conferred with his council, answered, “To Caesar you have appealed; to Caesar you shall go.”
God is ... What do we learn about God in this passage?
We are ... What do we learn about people in this passage?
Two years have passed since the trial before Felix (24:27). Why hasn't the opposition to Paul by the Jewish leaders dissipated during this time?
Paul has come a long way since the events of 9:1-2. What irony do you see in that? How could 9:1-2 also account in part for their animosity?
How is Paul like a pawn to these Roman officials (v. 9; see 24:27)? How might this account for his decision to appeal to Caesar?
I will ... What has the Holy Spirit revealed to us in this passage? How can I apply it to my life this week?
What laws conflict with your efforts to emulate Jesus Christ?
What was one circumstance that threatened to ambush you in your spiritual life? How did you deal with it?
If someone wanted to prove you were a Christian, what evidence from this past week could they use?
You can ... Who do you know who needs to hear this? Feel free to share with others by social media links at the bottom of this.
No one is perfect. That includes the
Apostle Paul. Yet he lived his life with such integrity that he could not be
successfully attacked in a court of law. In other words, he lived his life
without handles. This never mattered less than when he was maligned by
unbelievers with legal clout. It may sound presumptuous when Paul claims to be
above reproach (vv. 8, 10–11). But Luke echoes the same sentiment (v. 7). Well,
one might say, that‘s because he was Paul‘s friend. But Festus, certainly no
friend of Paul, said so much himself (vv. 5, 18–19, 25). Our integrity may not
matter much of the time. But when it matters, it makes all the moments of
personal sacrifice worth it, particularly when it is the reputation of our Lord
on the line along with ours.
Paul‘s Appeal to Caesar:
This is obviously a big deal. It is
mentioned no less than 6 times in the text (vv. 11–12, 21, 25–27). It was risky
business, though, to appeal to Caesar, particularly this one. Nero could be
whimsical. If he didn‘t like you, for any particular reason, he could just
execute you. He was a despot. So why Paul would take the chance and appeal to
him? There are several possibilities:
1.He was inspired by God or prompted by the Holy Spirit to
make this move.
2.He got impatient. Perhaps he was tired of waiting in prison
and decided to take matters into his own hands.
3.He wanted to take advantage of a golden opportunity. It is
not entirely clear just when a Roman citizen had the right of appeal. But
apparently Paul was in such a situation and thus made the appeal. It is also
quite like Paul to imagine himself converting Nero and Christianizing the
empire!
4.He was tired of trials and knew that no good would come of
them so he simply pulled the plug on the process through his legal recourse of
appeal.
5.He knew Festus to be just but unsympathetic to his
situation. This he forced his hand.
6.He knew that a Jerusalem trip would be too dangerous. He
decided to gamble on Nero rather than the Sanhedrin.
