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Acts 25 "I Appeal to Caesar"
Now when Festus had come to the province, after three days he went up from Caesarea to Jerusalem. Then the high priest and the chief men of the Jews informed him against Paul; and they petitioned him, asking a favor against him, that he would summon him to Jerusalem-- while they lay in ambush along the road to kill him. But Festus answered that Paul should kept at Caesarea, and that he himself was going there shortly. “Therefore” he said, “let those who have authority among you go down with me and accuse this man, to see if there is any fault in him.” (Acts 25:1-5)
And when he had remained among them more than ten days, he went down to Caessarea. And the next day, sitting on the judgement seat, he commanded Paul to be brought. when he had come, the Jews who had come down from Jerusalem stood about and laid many serious complaints against Paul, which they could not prove, while he answered for himself, “Neither against the law of the Jews, nor against the temple nor against Caesar have I offended in anything at all.” But Festus wanting to do the Jews a favor, answered Paul and said, “Are you willing to go up to Jerusalem and there be judged before me concerning these things?” So Paul said, ”I stand at Caesar’s judgement seat, where I ought to be judged. To the Jews I have done no wrong, as you very well know. For if I am an offender, or have committed anything deserving of death, I do not object to dying; but if there is nothing in these things of which these men accuse me, no one can deliver me to them. I appeal to Caesar.” (Acts 25: 6-11)
Paul has been accused before the Jewish council, before Felix, and now before Festus. In none of these trials were any of the accusations proven to be true. And yet Paul was still a prisoner. The only reason was that the Jews had political power and Festus the new governor needed to please them to keep the Jews under control. Paul states it clearly, “You very well know...” It wasn’t that the case was complicated, it was that Festus was turning a blind eye to justice.
What is justice? In the Old Testament we most often see this word connected with the poor, the oppressed, the fatherless, the widows, and the strangers. A word that is often used with it is “Equity” Justice means that even though you are poor, weak or without friends you still have the right to be treated as an equal with those who are rich, strong and well connected. There is a famous statue of justice, as a woman holding a set of scales. The scales are the old kind, where each side balances the other. The most striking thing about the statue is that the woman is blindfolded. She cares not what is on either side of that balance. She only cares for the truth.
But justice is one of the first things that gets lost in this world. It seems that the rich and powerful can get away with anything. I am always amazed when I see the same politicians who resigned over scandals a couple of years ago, again rising to the top of their political parties. A bank official can “steal” hundreds of millions and only be reprimanded while a common thief is sent to jail for stealing a fraction of that amount.
But much worse is the condition of those who have no connections or money or power. This is why God makes it clear that we are to defend the defenseless and plead for the widows. When the Jews looked for a Messiah this is what they were looking for. They were looking for someone who would defend them from their oppressors. Isaiah prophecied about Jesus when he said, "Thus says God the LORD, Who created the heavens and stretched them out, Who spread forth the earth and that which comes from it, Who gives breath to the people on it, And spirit to those who walk on it: "I, the LORD, have called You in righteousness, And will hold Your hand; I will keep You and give You as a covenant to the people, As a light to the Gentiles, To open blind eyes, To bring out prisoners from the prison, Those who sit in darkness from the prison house." (Isaiah 42:5-7) You see the basic principle of justice is that everyone is equal. God has made us all. He has given us breath. He has given us spirit. The unloved abandoned child of a south-east Asian prostitute and an unknown Japanese father is no different than the child of rich parents who give him every advantage that they can. Both are exactly the same in God’s eyes. The children wandering the streets of Phnom Penh wondering where to get food for this days meal, trying to avoid being killed by a stray bullet are just as precious in God’s eyes as my dear own dear son. And this is why God sent His own dear son, Jesus to become the light, to hold our hands, to open blind eyes and bring people out of the bondage of sin. This is justice.
But Paul was getting none of it. The council, Felix, Festus,
none of them were blindfolded. All were guided more by politics than
truth or mercy. And Paul knowing that to go back to Jerusalem would
surely mean death, decided to appeal to Caesar. As a Roman citizen he
had the right to appeal to the highest power in the empire, the emperor
himself.
But wasn’t this the cowards way out? Shouldn’t Paul of courageously
died for his faith in Jerusalem, to become a martyr so that others would
be inspired to great things for Christ? Why does Paul have to always
be manuevering and making defense? Why not be like Christ and go silent,
like a lamb, to his death?
There is a story that the apostle Peter, who was living in Rome during
the great persecution that arose against Christians under Nero, was
warned by disciples to leave the city. But as Peter was fleeing out
of Rome, he met on the road Jesus, who was going into the city. And
Peter asked Him, “Where are you going, Lord” Jesus answered,
“I am going to be crucified again.” At which Peter turned
around and walked back to Rome, where he was crucified for his faith.
Martyrdom, has been described as the spiritual gift that you only get
to use once. But this is a misunderstanding of the meaning of being
a martyr. When Jesus called the disciples to be witnesses to Him in
Jerusalem, Judea, Samaria and the ends of the earth, the word that He
used for witness was “martyr”. It means to be a witness
of Christ. And some of the most effective witnesses have been those
who have been willing to lay down their lives for Him. The foundation
of Christianity in the Roman Empire was the blood of Christians who
would not give up their faith. Of all the apostles only one, John, was
spared a martyrs death. Africa, until about 100 years ago was called
the “Missionary Graveyard” because so many missionaries
who served there sowed the gospel mixed with their own blood. Japan
had its own Christian holocaust where up to as many as a million Japanese
believers shed their blood for their faith.
But many witnesses for Christ never have to die a violent death for
their faith, and yet they are martyrs. Paul wrote, “For to me,
to live [is] Christ, and to die [is] gain” (Php 1:21) If this
is your faith as well then you are a martyr. People will see your actions,
the things you do that show that you are not afraid of death, and do
not count your present comfort as the top priority. They will see this
difference in you and want to know the cause of it. This is witness.
This is being a martyr. Please do not have a morbid fixation with pain
and death. Don’t think that if you somehow do not enjoy suffering
that you are not a good Christian. Paul endured suffering, and finally
did die a martyrs death, but before that he escaped pain and death many
times as well. True martyrdom is to die to self. To pick up the cross
of Christ so that all around you can see it clearly. If a time of persecution
comes we try to avoid it, but if it is unavoidable, then to die is gain.
To die is to be with Christ and we know that by our faithfulness to
Him, many others will come to know His love. But if such a crisis never
happens we can still be martyrs by witnessing to our faith in Christ
by our actions.
Then Festus, when he had conferred with the council, answered, “You have appealed to Caesar? To Caesar you shall go!” And After some days King Agrippa and Bernice came to Caesarea to greet Festus. When they had been there many days, Festus laid Paul’s case before the king, saying “There is a certain man left a prisoner by Felix, about whom the chief priests and the elders of the Jews informed me, when I was in Jerusalem, asking for a judgment against him. To them I answered, ‘It is not the custom of the Romans to deliver any man to destruction before the accused meets the accusers face to face, and has opportunity to answer for himself concerning the charge against him.’ Therefore when they had come together, without any delay, the next day I sat on the judgement seat and commanded the man to be brought in. When the accusers stood up, they brought no accusation against him of such things as I supposed, but had some questions against him about their own religion and about a certain Jesus, who had died, whom Paul affirmed to be alive. And because I was uncertain of such questions, I asked whether he was willing to go to Jerusalem and there be judged concerning these matters. But when Paul appealed to be reserved for the decision of Augustus, I commanded him to be kept till I could send him to Caesar.” (Acts 25:12-21)
Festus did get the central issue right. He figured out
that the whole case revolved around whether or not a certain man Jesus,
who had died, was now alive or not. This is the most important question
in the whole Bible. Is Jesus alive? If He is, then He can help me. I
can pray to Him and expect an answer. I can trust in Him to save me.
I can love Him and be loved by Him. If He is not, then my whole attitude
toward Him is changed. If he is dead, then I can learn from His teaching,
like I learn from Socrates or Shakespeare. I can use Him as a role model
like I would Abraham Lincoln. But I won’t expect much from him.
I am reading Lincoln’s biography now, but I don’t expect
it to really change my whole life. I won’t expect Lincoln to comfort
and guide me through the trials of life. I won’t pray to Lincoln
when I wake up in the morning and lay down at night. If Jesus is dead
then you read the New Testament once like you do a biography, interesting,
useful, thought provoking, but once you finish reading you are done.
But if Jesus is alive then when you read the New Testament you must
start to ask questions. If He is alive then what does He want from me?
What difference does He make in my life? What kind of relationship can
I have with Him?
All of the apostles testified that Jesus was alive and most of them
died violent deaths because of it. All of the martyrs, in their millions,
down through the centuries gave witness that Jesus is alive. In any
court the testimony of two or three witnesses is enough to convince
the judge of the truth. Look at these witnesses! They are not hesitant.
They are not unsure. They are confident enough to lay down their own
lives because they know that Jesus is alive. Many of them were given
the choice, deny Jesus and live, or hold onto Jesus and die. Many of
them faced torture rather than deny that Christ is alive. These are
not witnesses that you can disregard. Why would these people go so far
for Jesus? Because for them to “live is Christ”. Not only
is He alive, but He is life.
If you want that life, everlasting life, true life, you will only find
it in Jesus Christ. Don’t accept any watered down , good teacher,
role model, peacemaker, Jesus. Believe that Jesus, the Son of God, the
Maker of the Universe, who died for our sins on the cross is now ALIVE!
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