Grievous
Complaints Against Paul
– Acts Twenty-Five –
God wanted Paul's innocence to be proven before the world. The
only thing he was guilty of was having faith in Jesus as the Christ and
preaching the resurrection from the dead. The Jews seemed to increase in their
hatred of Paul. They desired Festus to bring him to
Paul's conduct before these rulers was that of a man bearing
witness to the truth. His relationship with God was obvious as he dealt with
these difficult circumstances. He had been God's faithful missionary among the
Gentiles. He had preached Christ as the end of the Law. This should not have
been an offense against the Jews. Yet, now he is subject to the blind hatred of
these people.
Paul was a man who had great respect for the laws of the land. He
would willingly accept whatever punishment he deserved for preaching Christ as
man's only hope. Paul was not willing to accept injustice when there was a
higher court to which he could appeal.
Agrippa and Festus both had more interest in being
politicians than
in serving the
Creator. How sad for men like
these who have had the great opportunity to be instructed concerning Christ's
resurrection and man's hope and yet have rejected that hope. These rulers heard
Paul not in order to learn truth but to gratify their curiosity. There was
nothing certain that these rulers could charge Paul with!
The Jews desired to kill Paul – Acts 25:1-6: Nero,
the Roman emperor, made Festus governor of
The chief priests and some Jewish leaders told him about their
charges against Paul. Paul was pictured as a wicked man that had committed all
kinds of evil. The Jewish leaders asked a favor of Festus desiring that he
would bring Paul back to
Festus stayed in
Paul appealed to Caesar – Acts 25:7-12: As soon as
Paul was brought into the court the Jewish leaders crowded around him and laid
many and grievous complaints against him. These were complaints which they
could not prove. The reason that they could not prove their charges was that
after his conversion Paul had very strictly conformed to the laws of God and
man. He had not broken the Law of the Jews and he has not done anything against
either the temple or Caesar. It was to Paul's honor through the grace of God,
that his enemies could not make good any of the things with which they charged
him. He was a good man, serving his Creator!
Festus desired to please the Jews so he asked Paul to go to
King
Agrippa learned about Paul – Acts 25:13-21: King Agrippa and Bernice
came to
Festus explained to Agrippa that when he had taken office and gone
up to
Agrippa desired to hear Paul – Acts 25:22-27:
Agrippa was a Jew by profession. He desired to hear Paul in order to gain
information about the dispute between the Jews and Christians. Festus was happy
to arrange for him to hear Paul. The next day when the meeting was arranged
"Agrippa and Bernice made a big show as they came into the meeting room.
High ranking army officers and leading citizens of the town were also
there."
When Paul was brought in Festus told Agrippa that this is the man
that all the Jews are demanding that he be put to death. It was his death they
sought, and nothing else would satisfy them. Lysias had earlier said, "I
perceived him to be accused of questions of their law, but to have nothing laid
to his charge worthy of death or of bonds." (Acts 23:2) Festus also
admitted that when he examined Paul he found no crime worthy of death. However,
he did feel that sense Paul was to be sent to
To become a Christian you must hear the
gospel (Romans