Paul Before Festus and Agrippa

Introduction

Retell what has happened in Acts 23-24.

Today, Paul finds himself in two more trials on the same charges…

I have told you from the beginning of this series.. we only have two more weeks left, Luke is telling us the history of how the church started in Jerusalem and spread

today we see how Paul is going from Jerusalem where he was arrested, Caesarea where he has been in custody of the Romans and now will be sent to Rome

on the government’s dime and protection

As I read this story that takes up two more chapters, I hear the words of Psalm 34 running through my head

Psalm 34:4–8 CSB

4 I sought the Lord, and he answered me and rescued me from all my fears. 5 Those who look to him are radiant with joy; their faces will never be ashamed. 6 This poor man cried, and the Lord heard him and saved him from all his troubles. 7 The angel of the Lord encamps around those who fear him, and rescues them. 8 Taste and see that the Lord is good. How happy is the person who takes refuge in him!

PRAY!

Satan will not stop with the attacks on God’s people. Evil will continue until Christ returns and makes all things new. But the gospel will not be stopped.

Time Does Not Stop Spiritual Attacks

Tell the background of what is happening here…

Felix has been replaced with Festus

according to history Festus was more of a moderate

appointed by Nero to replace Felix because of the lack of peace in the region

at a conference I attended recently, David Platt asked, “How is Satan attacking you?”

is it through temptation

James tells us that Satan tempts us with what our heart longs for

what our heart lusts after

is through thoughts and feelings

feelings are real, I do not dismiss them, but often lie to us

is Satan casting doubt, anxiety into your life

is pride

physical attacks can happen, read Job

Satan is not near as busy as we like to claim

we get into our own trouble without him

Adam and Eve were close enough to the tree to see that the fruit looked good to eat

often we are chasing after the wrong thing, Satan is just opening the door for us to run farther

First five verses of 25, I see Satan continuing to work against the Lord’s church and its representative, Paul.

Acts 25:1–5 CSB

1 Three days after Festus arrived in the province, he went up to Jerusalem from Caesarea. 2 The chief priests and the leaders of the Jews presented their case against Paul to him; and they appealed, 3 asking for a favor against Paul, that Festus summon him to Jerusalem. They were, in fact, preparing an ambush along the road to kill him. 4 Festus, however, answered that Paul should be kept at Caesarea, and that he himself was about to go there shortly. 5 “Therefore,” he said, “let those of you who have authority go down with me and accuse him, if he has done anything wrong.”

It had been two years!

Paul spent two years in custody of the Romans in Caesarea under Felix

remember, he continued talking to Paul wanting a bribe

as a favor to the Jews, he left Paul in custody

as soon as they meet Festus

they did not need a reminder

Luke does not record this in the text, but I can see the Jewish leaders, with Satan antagonizing them, steaming over the church as they hear of it growing around the world

let us have Paul

plan to ambush and kill him

can you imagine the hatred that they have to have years later

Satan hates God

he desires to take God’s place and be worshipped as God

this is why he was kicked out of heaven, cast down when he realized his beauty and desired to be worshipped

we are made in him image - he hates us too

there is not time limit to how long he will attack

as we can see with Paul, the amount of faith and good works does not eliminate the attacks

Paul had been obedient to all

yet in prison he sits and after two years with a new Governor, they still are trying to kill him

Following Satan can take many forms

Pharisees - ultra religious

they knew the scriptures like nobody else

making sure they follow so many laws

and enjoying pointing out where you have fallen short

Idol Worship - worshipping any thing other than God

unsaved christians -

people who call themselves Christians, but do not worship God

they profess Christ, maybe prayed a prayer at a church or youth event, maybe even was baptized, but their life looks no different than the rest of the world

churches have pretended that they are saved

it is easier to do that than argue

it counts as numbers in our ministries that we can point to

In this case, the ultra religious jews who knew so much but did not know the God of the scriptures they knew so well

were more than happy to kill Paul in the name of protecting the church

and Satan just encourages them all along the way

Time Does Not Change Our Salvation Story

tell of the trial of chapter 25

the jews follow Festus to Caesarea, list a large and severe list of charges against Paul, that are false and cannot be proven

Paul defends himself against these charges and tells Festus, I have not sinned against the Jews or Caesar

Festus realizing that this is really just a religious matter that he knows little about, asks Paul if he would go back to Jerusalem for trial

Paul then appeals to Caesar, the right every Roman citizen had when they felt they were treated unjustly

shortly after this, a new King of the Jews that had been appointed by Nero was in Caesarea to welcome the new Governor

Satan does not simply give up over time

Paul had been through trials before, and the previous governor had said he found nothing wrong, as had the commander who brought him escorted to Caesarea

we are not just going to wait him out as if we simply take the attacks on the chin he will get bored and do something else

thats the advice some parents give to kids about their siblings or bullies

I know their bugging you, just ignore them, they will get bored with it when they realize it doesn’t bother you and go away

maybe that works with kids

but Satan is not a kid, and never tires of attacking God’s church

Acts 26:1–3 CSB

1 Agrippa said to Paul, “You have permission to speak for yourself.” Then Paul stretched out his hand and began his defense: 2 “I consider myself fortunate that it is before you, King Agrippa, I am to make my defense today against all the accusations of the Jews, 3 especially since you are very knowledgeable about all the Jewish customs and controversies. Therefore I beg you to listen to me patiently.

At what point Am I singing “woe is me”?

Lord where are you

I will take care of this myself, I have been here for two years

Paul begins with, “I feel fortunate to talk to you, King Agrippa.”

King Agrippa the second had a pretty evil family

his great grandfather was King Herod who slaughtered the boys 2 and under in Bethlehem after the wise men came to worship Jesus

his grandfather was King Herod who killed John the Baptist. This king had married his brothers wife and John the Baptist had spoken out against him

he is with Bernice, his sister… the rumors were that these two were in an incestuous relationship

and to this person, Paul says, I am grateful to be able to deliver my case before you

Agrippa, though he had this family, was said to be

Paul goes right back to his testimony

our testimony is much more than a story of where you were and what you felt

we often make our testimony about what somebody said, the place we were

Paul’s testimony starts with theology

here is what I believe, and here is how I got to that point

Acts 26:6–11 CSB

6 And now I stand on trial because of the hope in what God promised to our ancestors, 7 the promise our twelve tribes hope to reach as they earnestly serve him night and day. King Agrippa, I am being accused by the Jews because of this hope. 8 Why do any of you consider it incredible that God raises the dead? 9 In fact, I myself was convinced that it was necessary to do many things in opposition to the name of Jesus of Nazareth. 10 I actually did this in Jerusalem, and I locked up many of the saints in prison, since I had received authority for that from the chief priests. When they were put to death, I was in agreement against them. 11 In all the synagogues I often punished them and tried to make them blaspheme. Since I was terribly enraged at them, I pursued them even to foreign cities.

The way, the sect as it was described to Felix, the religious aspect that Festus could not understand and needed Agrippa’s help is that Paul is in prison because he believed what God had promised from the beginning, all the way back in Genesis.

Paul says he believes all the OT just the Jews that are there accusing him

that there would be one who would crush the head of the snake

that the promise to Abraham of a mighty nation would come through one seed

that God’s people would be saved through the law

but they differ on this, that the one who fulfilled the law was killed by them

which was fulfilled in Jesus, giving us a perfect sacrifice and able to stand righteous before God!

His testimony is that he came face to face with this messiah, perfect sacrifice on that road to Damascus

that all his hope in life and death rests on that truth

that Jesus is the messiah, that he was killed, and rose from the grave

and that all people in the same way, who are dead in their trespasses and sins can be raised with Christ

Spiritual Attacks Reveal What We Believe

I believe that we must go deeper in our understanding and knowledge of God and his word

for too often many have lived in a shallow version of Jesus

our knowledge was based on song lyrics and t-shirt slogans

too many preachers that would say things that get a lot of amens from the congregations but took them nowhere

Paul wrote to Timothy in his second letter that people would no longer tolerate sound doctrine and would like to have their ears tickled

many have said that it was so they could hear how great they are

I am growing to believe that it is simply shallow words and sermons that do not actually grow their affections to God like good deep theology

I said that we must grow deeper, it is because as we go on in this life the world will get more difficult

Jesus tells us in Matthew that the wars and rumors of wars, earthquakes and famines are simply the birth pains to the end times

meaning, things are not going to get peaceful around the world and we all live in harmony

Acts 26:24–29 CSB

24 As he was saying these things in his defense, Festus exclaimed in a loud voice, “You’re out of your mind, Paul! Too much study is driving you mad.” 25 But Paul replied, “I’m not out of my mind, most excellent Festus. On the contrary, I’m speaking words of truth and good judgment. 26 For the king knows about these matters, and I can speak boldly to him. For I am convinced that none of these things has escaped his notice, since this was not done in a corner. 27 King Agrippa, do you believe the prophets? I know you believe.” 28 Agrippa said to Paul, “Are you going to persuade me to become a Christian so easily?” 29 “I wish before God,” replied Paul, “that whether easily or with difficulty, not only you but all who listen to me today might become as I am—except for these chains.”

When Paul is standing once again, with the choice of speaking the truth about what he believes or giving in to the jews

he leans in harder to the truth of God, into the gospel

where do we go

do we run to the arms of Christ, who is our refuge and our strength

I sought the Lord and he answered me, and he saved me from all my troubles,

only if we can honestly say this, can our next statement be

Oh taste and see that the Lord is good! Blessed is he who hides in him. Fear the Lord, all you saints, he will give you everything.

at the times of attacks it reveals what we believe because if we think that God has rescued us to give us the American dream, that he sent his son so that we would not have to experience the pains of this world then we do not believe what the Bible says

I have told you these things so that you will have peace. In this world you will have trouble, but take heart, I have overcome the world. John 16:33!

trusting in Jesus does not relieve us from the attacks, the attacks reveal what our trust is truly in

Paul believed the gospel, what the law and prophets proclaimed

he knew that Agrippa was familiar with the writings, and hoped that he would believe in Christ

in his trial, his heart goes to sharing the gospel that those that hear might be saved.

Paul is not only secure in the love God has for him

but he desires all to be saved

more than believing it was possible for them to be saved

he desperately desired for it to be so

Paul is speaking to people who will decide his fate

send him back to the jews, kill him themselves, send him on to Caesar

My fear is that we do not speak the gospel because we do not fully believe the gospel

There is a real place called hell

though not created for man, it is where all those who will face the wrath of God will spend eternity

each and every one of us deserve this because we have sinned against a holy God

But God…

lavished his love on us… you were made alive with Christ. By Grace you have been saved, not of works so that no one may boast

demonstrates his love for us that while we were sinner, Christ died for us

Memory Verse

Psalm 34:8 CSB

8 Taste and see that the Lord is good. How happy is the person who takes refuge in him!

Discussion Questions

What does the psalmist mean by seeking the Lord and being rescued from fears in Psalm 34:4-6?

What can we learn about the nature of spiritual attacks from Paul's experience?

Why is it significant that the attacks on Paul continued for two years?

In what way does the story emphasize God's ongoing presence and salvation despite prolonged trials?

What is the implication of the statement that spiritual attacks do not depend on the amount of faith or good works?

Why does Paul reference his past actions to highlight God's transformative power?

How does Paul's defense before King Agrippa illustrate the importance of sharing one's faith?

What does the phrase 'Taste and see that the Lord is good' suggest about personal experience with God?

What is the false sense of security among those who are 'unsaved Christians'?