After his transfer to Caesarea, Paul was given the opportunity to provide a “defense” of his faith before Felix, the governor of the province. Paul reminded Felix of certain things that he was already aware of, namely, 

“… that there shall certainly be a resurrection of both the righteous and the wicked…And It is because of the resurrection of the dead that I am on trial before you today” (Acts 24:15, 21).

When Paul began to speak of the resurrection and “the judgment to come,” Felix became “frightened” and postponed any decision about Paul until a later time. In fact, as we saw last week, Paul dispatched Luke to travel into Judea and document the eyewitness accounts of the life and ministry of Jesus. By God’s providence, it was another two years before Paul would meet Festus, the governor who would replace Felix, and this provided the time for Luke to record what we know today as “The Gospel of Luke.”

When Festus arrived, Paul replied to the charges leveled against him by the Jews, saying,

“I am standing before Caesar’s tribunal, where I ought to be tried. I have done no wrong to the Jews, as you very well know. If then I am a wrongdoer, and have committed anything worth  of death, I do not refuse to die; but if none of these things is true of which these men accuse me, no one can hand me over to them. ‘I appeal to Caesar’” (Acts 25:10-11).

To this, Festus replied,

“You have appealed to Caesar, and to Caesar you shall go” (Acts 25:12).

A few days later, King Agrippa and his wife Bernice arrived in Caesarea and Festus told him all that had transpired over the past few days, including Paul’s appeal to Caesar. Interestingly, Agrippa replied,

“I also would like to hear the man myself” (Acts 25:22).

 And sure enough, the next day,

“Agrippa arrived with Bernice, amid great pomp, and entered the auditorium accompanied by army  commanders and prominent men of the city, and at the command of Festus, Paul was brought in” (Acts 25:23). 

Paul proceeded to give his credentials as a Pharisee, and said,

“And now I am standing trial for the hope of the promise made by God to our fathers…And for this hope, O King, I am being accused by the Jews. Why is it considered incredible among you if God does not raise the dead” (Acts 26:6-8)?

At this point, Paul proceeded to provide his testimony of his conversion, including the purpose for his trip to Damascus, which was to capture Christians and bring them back to Jerusalem for trial, and probably execution. He told of the Lord speaking to him on the road saying,

“I am delivering you from the Jewish people and from the Gentiles, to whom I am sending you, to open their eyes so that they may turn from darkness to light and from the dominion of Satan to God, in order that they may receive forgiveness of sins….Consequently, King Agrippa, I did not prove disobedient to the heavenly vision, but kept declaring both to those of Damascus first, and at Jerusalem, and then throughout all the region of Judea, and even to the Gentiles, that they should repent and turn to God, performing deeds appropriate to repentance (Acts 26:17-20).

And then after Festus and Paul exchanged some dialogue, Paul turned to Agrippa and said,

“’King Agrippa, do you believe the Prophets? I know that you do.’ And Agrippa replied, ‘Do you think that in such a short time you can persuade me to become a Christian?’ And Paul said, ‘I would to God, that whether in a short or long time, not only you, but also all who hear me today might become as I am, except for the chains’” (Acts 26:27-29).

Both Festus and Agrippa agreed that Paul had done nothing wrong to warrant either imprisonment or death, and said that he would have been set free if he had not appealed to Caesar. Of course, Paul wanted to go to Rome and stand before Nero and share the Gospel with him, which we believe he did during his extended time under house arrest in Rome.

And lest you might have missed it, Paul’s words apply to each of us today, that whether soon or at a later time, Paul wanted all who heard him to become Christians. Paul brought the message of salvation to the crowd that had gathered that day in Caesarea. It was the message of salvation, which includes, as Paul consistently preached, belief in Christ’s resurrection from the dead followed by repentance for the forgiveness of sins. We should each engage with Paul’s appeal to Agrippa, and respond by repentance and faith in Christ for the forgiveness of our own sins. It was Paul’s desire that Agrippa would respond in faith, and it is God’s desire that each one of us would do the same.

Peggy and I send you our wishes for a special encouragement during this Advent season. May God bless each one of you.