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That's connectwithskip.com. Now, let's get started with today's message from Pastor Skip Heitzig. Skip, what your life is going to look like. What it might be like when you marry somebody and where you're going to live and what you're going to do. I'm going to be a policeman, a fireman, whatever it might be. When I was growing up, I wanted to be a number of those things. Then I wanted to be a photographer. Then I thought I'm going to be a musician. And then I'm going to be a doctor. And during part of that phase, when I was planning to complete medical training, a friend of mine, my roommate, who was a doctor, a physician, I thought he'd get all excited and say, Yeah, awesome.
This would be great. I'll help you. He sat me down when he goes, I need to tell you something. I said, Sure, Dennis, what is it? He goes, You should not go on this medical road and be a doctor. I said, That's funny. You a doctor telling me I shouldn't be what you are. Why is that?
He goes, Because you have a different call in your life. And I think it's a higher call. And it's what God wants you to do. And you need to discover that.
And I just don't think this is it. And he was trying to give me the pitch of the high cost of insurance, of malpractice, and those kind of things. But I walked away from that and I discovered after a period of soul searching that I think he's right. And I was so glad he was honest with me to tell me, Obey God. Don't just follow your whims, your desires, your plans. The Jews had a great saying, a little proverb that says, Mankind, we make plans and God, he breaks them. God loves you and has a wonderful plan for your life. I know you've all heard that.
But that plan may not be your plan. So picture Paul the Apostle. When he was Saul of Tarsus, he probably sat in Tarsus saying, When I grow up, I'm going to be a rabbi in Jerusalem.
I'm going to get a good education. In fact, I might even become a member of the ruling council, the Sanhedrin. And many believe that he fulfilled his dream. We know that he studied under Gamaliel, one of the notable figures of Judaism, and he became a Pharisee. He advanced in Judaism, but before all of his contemporaries, he said to the Galatians, he became a member of the Sanhedrin. But then God changed his plans. And a few chapters before this, in chapter 9, when he was getting saved, he had just called upon the Lord on the Damascus road. And he's in Damascus. A guy named Ananias of Damascus approaches Saul of Tarsus. And in verse 15, I'm reading from chapter 9, the Lord said to him, Go, God's saying that to Ananias, the resident of Damascus, for he, that is Saul, he is a chosen vessel of mine to bear my name before Gentiles, kings, and the children of Israel. The next verse, for I will show him how many things he must suffer for my name's sake. Those were not Paul's plans growing up. He didn't say, when I grow up, I'm going to be a rabbi who converts to the Messiah Jesus, and I'm going to get beat up.
That's what I'm going to do when I grow up. He made plans and God changed them. Now he ends up traveling 13,400 miles.
That's what we estimate. If you put all of his journeys together, his three missionary journeys, he traveled 13,400 airline miles. Not that he flew, but as the crow flies from point A to point B directly, if you add all the circuitous routing that it would have taken, many, many more miles than that he traveled. And he spoke to a number of different people from synagogues to rulers, rulers of Gentiles, philosophers of Athens, at the Areopagus. He will eventually stand before Nero, the emperor in Rome, the king in Rome. So what the Lord tells him will be fulfilled. He'll stand before Jews, Gentiles, rulers, kings, children of Israel, and he will suffer. In this chapter, he stands before, or in the chapters we saw in Caesarea last week and this week, two governors of Judea, two procurators, and one king. The first procurator is Antonius Felix. We looked at that last week. The second one is Porcius Festus.
We look at him this week. And then a king, King Herod II, who will be mentioned also in this chapter. So all that is laid out before us in chapter 25.
Now look at verse 27 of chapter 24 before verse 1. But after two years, Porcius Festus, that's the first governor he stood before of Judea, succeeded Felix. And Felix wanted to do the Jews a favor.
He left Paul bound. So Felix was the first governor he stood in front of, and he leaves Paul there to do the Jews a favor. Now another guy is mentioned, and that is Porcius Festus. Now Porcius Festus we don't know a lot about. His name is mentioned here.
He's mentioned by Flavius Josephus, the Jewish historian. He calls him an improvement from the previous guy. The previous guy, Felix, was a tyrant.
We discussed that last time. So this guy was an improvement. All I can say about him is that he was just sort of a by-the-books governor. He obviously loved Roman law. He loved doing things above board. He was much kinder than Felix. He was better than his predecessor, and according to Josephus, better than his successor.
A guy by the name of Albinus, who will come after him. But he is a secularist. He does not tolerate the metaphysical.
Let's put it that way. He doesn't tolerate religious stuff very well. And he'll quickly understand, like his predecessor, that Paul was being charged for something none other than just a religious controversy. He was not an insurrectionist.
He was not bringing any kind of revolt against the Roman government. And that's important because everyone so far has tried to come up with charges that can be sustained and evidenced so they can bring those before trial. But they can never come up with something concrete. Remember Claudius Licius in Jerusalem tried to figure out a charge, but he couldn't do it. So he passes it off to the governor, Felix, and he says, look, they're squabbling about their law.
Maybe you can figure this out. He couldn't figure it out, but he just leaves Paul in prison. So now his successor comes on the throne. And it says, now when Festus had come to the province, after three days, he went up from Caesarea to Jerusalem. Remember, Caesarea, at the coast, is where the governors, the procurators, lived.
They lived overlooking the Mediterranean Sea. They only went to Jerusalem on official business because the Jewish temple was there and they had a castle built onto the temple complex called the Antonia Fortress from which he could preside over legal matters. 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 be kept at Caesarea and that he himself was going there shortly. Now, first of all, notice that two years elapsed between chapter 24 and 25.
Two years. Two years ago, the Jews were hostile to Paul because they saw him in the temple. Two years ago, Paul gave his defense at the Antonia Fortress. Two years ago, he was confined in that prison under the protection of Claudius Licius. And two years ago, he had a trial in Caesarea. It was essentially thrown out of court.
There was no evidence whatsoever. Two years go by and they're still trying to get Paul. Now, I just want that to sink in because that says something to us about hate in the human heart. That it can go so deep that you don't think clearly anymore. You just want your agenda.
You don't care what it takes. You hate somebody. It goes so deep that two years later, they just can't let this go. They're after him. They want him dead. They want him ambushed. They'll do anything they can to kill Paul the Apostle.
They have no charges. It's been tried already twice. It's going to be tried a third time and then a fourth time in the chapter we're looking at. You're listening to Connect with Skip Heitzig. Before we get back to Skip's teaching, God desires to work in and through your life as a believer. And he does this through the Holy Spirit who lives in everyone who places their trust in Jesus. We want to help you better understand the Holy Spirit by sending you The Holy Spirit Then and Now, a resource featuring two books by Chuck Smith, The Book of Acts Commentary and Power, a biblical balance on the person and work of the Holy Spirit with an introduction by Skip Heitzig. This resource is our thanks for your gift of at least $50 today to help share biblical teaching with more people around the world through Connect with Skip Heitzig.
Go to connectwithskip.com slash offer or call 800-922-1888 and request your copy when you give at least $50 today to reach people around the world through Connect with Skip Heitzig. Let's continue with today's teaching with Pastor Skip. And so Festus answered verse four that Paul should be kept at Caesarea so he's not going to go along with their plan. Maybe he figured out something was up and that he himself was going there shortly. Caesar in Rome at this time is Caesar Nero.
I want you to keep that in mind. You'll get more acquainted with him before we close this book. He was a madman. He was a maniac.
He was crazy. I'll tell you stories about him before the book of Acts ends, but it was Caesar Nero that appointed Porcius Festus to be the Judean governor. He did that in AD 60. Festus will only be the governor for the next two years. In AD 62, he dies. I don't know why history doesn't provide the details, so he's only the governor for two years and then he dies on the job. Appointed by Caesar Nero, goes up to Jerusalem to ingratiate himself with the Jewish population to get acquainted with what he is governing, what he is up against.
Therefore, verse 5, 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. This is a replay. This is a rerun.
They've been through that. Felix did that. When he went to Caesarea, Paul was brought to him and people, the Jewish leaders from Jerusalem, went to accuse Paul there.
So this is like another trial of the same kind, different governor. And when he had remained among them more than 10 days, he went down to Caesarea. And the next day, sitting on the judgment seat, he commanded Paul to be brought. And 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. Now, I'm picturing Paul standing in the corner, rolling his eyes, because he's heard this stuff before. They can't provide actual witnesses who accused him on that first day when he was in the temple and they thought that Paul had brought Trophimus the Ephesian into the inner courts of the temple, that Gentile, because those were Jews from Asia that brought that complaint.
They're back in Asia. So there are no eyewitnesses. There were no eyewitnesses at the trial two years before. Now, two years later, Paul's hearing this, rolling his eyes, going, here we go again. While he answered for himself, verse 8, Neither against the law of the Jews, nor against the temple, nor against Caesar, have I offended in anything at all.
Because there were baseless accusations with no evidence, all Paul had to do is stand up and say, not true, not true, not true at all. But Festus, now watch this, but Festus, wanting to do the Jews a favor. Festus is a lot like Felix. Felix left Paul in prison because he wanted to do the Jews a favor. The next guy wants to do the Jews a favor.
So if Felix was the procrastinator, we talked about that last week when we were outside in our service. If he was the procrastinator, then Festus is the placator. He just wants everybody happy. He's the new governor. He wants to sort of throw them a bone so they don't get upset.
So he wants to do them a favor. Answering Paul and said, are you willing to go up to Jerusalem and there be judged before me concerning these things? Now Paul had been in Jerusalem. He stood trial before Claudius Lysias. He stood trial on the stairs of the Antonia fortress before that and stood trial before Felix after that.
So he's already gone through this. But he wants to do the Jews a favor, so he says, okay, let's have the trial in Jerusalem. But Paul, you don't have to stand before them to be tried. You can stand before me. I'll be the judge in this trial, not the Sanhedrin, not the high priest. I will be the judge.
But let's have it in Jerusalem where all these people who don't like you are. So Paul said, I stand at Caesar's judgment seat. Now watch what he says. He says it very carefully and it strikes a blow to the accusers. Where I ought to be judged to the Jews, I have done no wrong as you very well know. Now he's saying this to Festus, the governor.
Doesn't know him very well, but he's sort of like getting in his face. You know this to be true, Festus. You're aware of this.
You know what they're up to. So he says, I stand before Caesar's judgment seat where I ought to be judged. To the Jews, I have done nothing 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. Then Festus, when he conferred with the council, answered, You have appealed to Caesar. To Caesar you will go.
Now what I want you to notice is something in verse 11. He says, look, I've been through this before and they're telling me that I'm not fit to live. They're telling me that I have done things worthy of death.
And I want you to know something. I'm not afraid to die. In fact, if I have committed crimes that deserve the death penalty, then kill me. That's interesting in light of the fact that some people say the death penalty cannot be substantiated by Scripture.
Here's Paul the Apostle submitting himself to the law of the land, even to Roman law, even while Caesar Nero, probably the worst of the Caesars, is residing as emperor in Rome. And he says, if I have committed anything worthy of death, kill me. Execute me. Let the death penalty be lowered on me.
Take my life. You see, Paul was not afraid to die. He wanted justice to be done. It's not like he had a death wish. I mean, Paul did try to preserve his life on many occasions. He got led over the wall in a basket. He ran from threats that were made to him.
He used Roman citizenship when they tried to beat him. So he's very careful in not trying to overplay his hand. At the same time, it's not an issue of being afraid to die. He wasn't afraid to die. If he was afraid to die, he wouldn't have gone up to Jerusalem, because he was getting warned by all of these different prophets in all of these different places. Don't go to Jerusalem.
And he says, what do you mean by breaking my heart? I'm not only willing to be arrested and be beaten. I'm willing to die for the Lord. And he said to the Ephesian elders, the Holy Spirit testifies in every city that chains and tribulation await me, but none of these things move me.
Neither do I count my life dear to myself that I might finish my course with joy. He wasn't afraid to die. So it's not the death penalty issue that he's struggling against. He's not there to overturn that. He's saying, if I'm guilty, kill me. But to him, it's an issue of justice. So he rolled his eyes. He knows he's not going to get a fair trial with the Jews.
He knows that it's just going to be a circus. So he goes, I don't trust Jewish law, and I don't trust this monkey circus courtroom called the Sanhedrin. I take it to the Roman courts. And so he said something that every Roman citizen had the right to say. And he says it here, I appeal to Caesar. Ad caesarem provocatio would be the Latin. When you say that in antiquity, when you say that phrase, you are saying, I am appealing my case, my provocation. I am appealing to the highest in the land, in the world, Caesar. Every Roman citizen had that right to have a Supreme Court hearing before the Supreme Court, in this case being the emperor himself. And he could say this before he was found guilty or after he was found guilty in a lower court. And so the governor confers and says, well, you appeal to Caesar, to Caesar you will go. He had that right, he took that right.
Now, you know, this fascinates me. Because as soon as he said, I appeal to Caesar, he knew that he was going where? Rome. As soon as he said that, it's like all the lights went off, all the planets aligned, some would say. It's like, you know, the Lord told me that I gave a good testimony in Jerusalem. The Lord spoke to me that night in prison and said, you've given testimony here. Now you're going to be able to give testimony in Rome. And when he said I appeal to Caesar, it's like, that's how the Lord's getting me to Rome. I'm going to Rome. I just bought my ticket to Rome. Actually, I just got given a ticket by the Roman government to Rome.
They're paying for my trip. I appeal to Caesar. But what's interesting is the Caesar that he appealed to, and that was Caesar Nero. It would not be easy to stand before Caesar Nero. Caesar Nero was not only a tyrant, he was a crazed tyrant. He burned Rome.
He killed so many people. So for Paul to say, I appeal to Caesar, that I know I'm going to be able to stand before Caesar Nero, he knew he was nuts. But again, Paul's not afraid to die and he thought, I'll be able to witness to Nero, a crazy old creature.
I'm going to be able to give my gospel testimony before him. Now, eventually, it will be Nero who will take his life. This will be his death. It will be his undoing.
Not immediately. He's going to go to Rome, spend two years there. He'll be on trial. He'll be under house arrest.
He'll be let go. He'll be brought after a rearrest and then beheaded by Caesar Nero, the one he appealed to. But Paul sees all this in the providence and sovereignty of God, so he says, I appeal to Caesar. And after some days, verse 13, 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 in his 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 judgment 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. Thanks for listening to Connect with Skip Heitzig. We hope you've been strengthened in your walk with Jesus by today's program. Before we let you go, we want to remind you about this month's resource that will help you understand the person and work of the Holy Spirit.
Our two-book bundle, The Holy Spirit Then and Now, with two books by Chuck Smith, is our thanks for your support of Connect with Skip Heitzig today. Request your copy when you give $50 or more. Call 800-922-1888.
That's 800-922-1888. Or visit connectwithskip.com slash donate. And did you know that you can find full message series and libraries of content from Skip Heitzig on YouTube? Simply visit the Connect with Skip Heitzig channel on YouTube and be sure to subscribe to the channel so you never miss any new content. Come back next time for more verse-by-verse teaching of God's Word here on Connect with Skip Heitzig. Make a connection, make a connection at the foot of the cross and cast your burdens on His Word. Make a connection, connection. Connect with Skip Heitzig is a presentation of Connection Communications, connecting you to God's never changing truth in ever-changing times.
