Acts 25:1-12 Paul Appears Before Festus = July 19

Paul Appears Before Festus
Acts 25:1-12

Name three laws or rules you have never broken.

#God                   #People            #Time #Place               #Obedient faith            #Sin     #Key Idea

Acts 25:1-12

Paul Appeals to Caesar

1Now three days after Festus 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 against Paul, and they urged him, 3asking as a favor against Paul^a that 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 day he 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. 8Paul argued 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 appeal to 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.

https://www.youtube.com/c/edmondchurchofchrist

Blameless Character and Appeal to Caesar

Acts 25

                                                Mark E. Moore & Mark Scott

 

Paul‘s Blameless Character:

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.