Part Two

According to Acts 25, when Festus went down to Jerusalem the Jews made all kinds of charges against Paul. And they asked Festus to transfer the case from Caesarea to Jerusalem. Now it was all pretty transparent. They wanted to set up an ambush and kill Paul en route. Failing that, they would at least get home field advantage to press their charges.

It didn't work out for various reasons so several of the influential Jewish leaders went with Festus back to Caesarea. Paul was brought in for a confrontation with the Jews. Acts 25:7 explains what happened then. "The Jews who had come down from Jerusalem stood around him, bringing many and serious charges against him which they could not prove." They couldn't prove them because they weren't true.

So Paul simply says to Festus, "I'm not guilty of anything. I committed no offense against the law of the Jews or against the Temple or against Caesar." But Festus wanted to do the Jews a favor so he asks Paul if he is willing to go to Jerusalem and stand trial there.

Now please understand. Festus is not a bad man. He's basically a new man. He doesn't know Paul, he doesn't know the Jewish law, he a Roman governor. This whole case is mysterious to him. Transferring the trial to Jerusalem is a kind of compromise. But Paul is about as willing to go back to Jerusalem for a trial as he is to let a blind man do brain surgery on him. The prospects were not very encouraging.

So he says, "I'm a Roman citizen and I ought to be tried right here. If I'm guilty, punish me. If I'm innocent, I shouldn't be handed over to these men." And then he says something that will change the course of his life forever. He says the words, "I appeal to Caesar." (25:11)

In the days of the Roman Empire, every Roman citizen had the right to make that appeal. If a Roman citizen felt he wasn't getting a fair hearing, he could appeal to Caesar and skip all the lower courts. Such a person would be sent directly to Rome along with a statement of the facts in the case. It was like appealing to the Supreme Court. There was only one catch. Once you made such an appeal, you couldn't change your mind later.

A Dead Man Named Jesus

At this point two other people enter our story—a man by the name of King Agrippa and his sister Bernice. We know him as Herod Agrippa the Second. He was the last of the line of the Herods. His great-grandfather was Herod the Great, the man who tried to kill the baby Jesus and had the infant boys of Bethlehem slaughtered. His granduncle was Herod Antipas before whom Jesus was tried on that fateful night in Jerusalem. His father was Herod Agrippa the First who murdered the Apostle James and put Peter in jail.

And now Herod Agrippa the Second is king of a tiny territory northeast of the Sea of Galilee. He is a relatively young man, well-versed in the Jewish religion and a loyal friend of Rome. He and his sister have come to Caesarea to pay their respects to the new governor.

While they are there, Festus decides to ask for Agrippa's help. He doesn't have to. This isn't Agrippa's territory. He is more or less a friendly consultant in the matter.

Now listen to how this new governor states the case against Paul. It's been 2,000 years but the struggle still comes through. In these words you get an insight into how the secular mind deals with Easter.

There is a certain man here whom Felix left as a prisoner. When I went to Jerusalem, the chief priests and elders of the Jews brought charges against him and asked that he be condemned. I told them that it is not the Roman custom to hand over any man before he has faced his accusers and has had an opportunity to defend himself against their charges. When they next came here with me, I did not delay the case, but convened the court the next day and ordered the man to be brought in. When his accusers got up to speak, they did not charge him with any of the crimes I had expected. Instead, they had some points of dispute with him about their own religion and about a dead man named Jesus who Paul claimed was alive. I was at a loss how to investigate such matters. (Acts 25:14-20)

Did you get that? "A dead man named Jesus who Paul claimed was alive." And the clincher: "I was at a loss how to investigate such matters." You see, Roman law didn't cover resurrections. Insurrections, yes. Resurrections, no.

To Festus, it's all incomprehensible. He's never heard anything like this before. He doesn't know what to say or even where to begin. Paul isn't guilty of anything. He's not a murderer or a thief. He's not a criminal. A little kooky maybe with this resurrection thing. But that's it.

Festus represents all the broad-minded people of the world. He himself doesn't believe in the Resurrection but it's okay with him if someone else does. And when the man of the world comes face to face with a true believer, he doesn't know what to say. He doesn't even know where to begin. He doesn't believe it but he doesn't know what to do with it either.

And for 2,000 years the men of the world have looked at Easter and shaken their heads. They hear the words, they know what we believe, but they don't know what to do with it all. It's just too much to comprehend. The words of Festus ring across the centuries—"I was at a loss how to investigate such matters." Of course he was. And every modern-day Festus stumbles over Easter and walks away scratching his head.