87 Acts 25:1-12 Politicians and A Provoactio Ad Caesarem

July 13, 2025

Christopher C. Freeman

Title: Politicians and A Provoactio Ad Caesarem Text: Acts 25:1-12 FCF: We often struggle trusting the Lord and remaining law-abiding citizens amid rampant corruption. Prop: Because God providentially accomplishes His purposes through human government, we must trust Him while using every legal means to pursue His known will. Scripture Intro: [Slide 1] Turn in your bible to Acts chapter 25. In a moment we’ll begin reading in verse 1 from the legacy standard bible. You can follow along in the pew bible or in whatever version you prefer. Last week was the conclusion of the episode of Paul’s trial before Felix. And although we observed that Felix didn’t have any reason to prevent Paul from being released, for selfish reasons he kept him in prison for two years. But in this particular case, the injustice of men was still used to serve the providential plan of God. Paul will arrive in Rome to preach the gospel at exactly the time that God desires Him to do so. Not a moment sooner or later than that. Today a new episode begins. This episode consists of several scenes spanning all of chapter 25 and 26 in the book of Acts. In the first scene we fast forward in time two years and a new governor takes the judgment seat. Will Festus be more reasonable and less selfish of a politician? Will Paul get justice? Please stand with me to give honor to and focus on the reading of the Word of God. Invocation: Sovereign Lord, you are master of all that is. Even the hearts of all the Kings of the earth are in your hands. You direct them like a stream to go which way you desire. All things come together by Your infinite and Sovereign will and nothing is left to chance or human discretion. In this we find great comfort and relief in spite of Kings abusing their power and perverting justice. May we see with eyes of faith that you are in control and let us use every legal means we have to pursue your will for us. Use your Spirit to guide us into truth today we pray in Jesus’ name… Amen. Transition: [Slide 2] I don’t know how much you pay attention to the news. My recommendation would be to do very little of it if you can help it. However, one recent piece of information that came to light was the release of video footage that supposedly proved that Jeffery Epstein’s death was actually a suicide and not a murder. Of course, the video footage has been analyzed with video technology and it was proved to have been edited and saved multiple times. On top of this the conservative majority government just passed a massive bill adding several trillion dollars to our national debt. Many conservatives are fairly put off by both of these things since the current president ran on a campaign of eliminating government waste, balancing the budget, and uncovering and exposing government lies. Some have even said, different party… same old games. I say all this, not to make a political statement one way or another – but merely to prove to you that human government has always been this way. Last week we saw Felix’s injustice, and this week we’ll see political intrigue too. But the question we really need to ask is… Does God use human government to accomplish His purposes? If you’ve been with us for the last several messages in the book of Acts, I would hope that you could answer that question already. But let’s dive into this text this morning to reaffirm the answer. I.) God providentially accomplishes His purposes through human government, so we must trust the Lord. (1-6) a. [Slide 3] 1 - Festus then, having arrived in the province, after three days went up to Jerusalem from Caesarea. i. Porcius Festus, has just become the governor of Judea, Samaria, and Syria. ii. He has replaced Antonius Felix, the savage, brutal, greedy, lustful governor who has since been shipped back to Rome to face trial for his poor governance of the province. iii. Only three days after moving in Festus goes up to Jerusalem. iv. Although Caesarea is the capital of the Roman province, the primary city in the region was, without an equal, Jerusalem. v. So much so, that only 3 days after beginning his new role, Festus is already going 60 miles south to Jerusalem to spend time with prominent Jewish figures who possess a great deal of influence and power in the region, whether they are appointed leaders or not. vi. In this way Festus attempts to network with those who have power and influence. vii. The ruling aristocracy of Jerusalem were not that opposed to Felix’s governorship. It was the greater majority of the Jews who suffered under his oppression. viii. But now we find that this Jewish aristocracy, led by the new High Priest, Ishmael Ben Phiabi, who was appointed by Herod Agrippa the second in AD 59, desired greatly to use their power and influence to sway the new governor to deal with their festering problem… ix. A loose end that Felix did not adequately take care of. b. [Slide 4] 2 - And the chief priests and the leading men of the Jews brought charges against Paul, and they were pleading with him, 3 - requesting a favor against Paul, that he might have him brought to Jerusalem (while they set an ambush to kill him on the way). i. The Jews really waste no time seeking Festus to do what Felix would not. ii. They bring charges against Paul – Luke doesn’t tell us if they are the same charges or different ones. iii. But they begin pleading with Festus to move Paul back to Jerusalem so that they could force him to stand trial for his crimes and ultimately so that Paul could be condemned to death. iv. They ask this as a special request, a favor to them. v. Something offered to help improve relationships between Rome and the Jews. Something offered to secure their loyal support in the coming years of his tenure as governor. vi. Luke also reveals to us that there was yet another secret plan to ambush Paul on the road from Caesarea to Rome. vii. So, will Festus fall for it? c. [Slide 5] 4 - Festus then answered that Paul was being kept in custody at Caesarea and that he himself was about to leave shortly. 5 – “Therefore,” he said, “let the influential men among you go down there with me, and if there is anything wrong about the man, let them accuse him.” i. Although he’s new here, Festus is no push over. ii. He knows the proper procedure to deal with accused Roman citizens. iii. Paul is incarcerated in Caesarea. If they have charges against him, they should bring them to Festus’ judgment seat. iv. He insists on the Roman way of doing a trail. Paul’s accusers should come to him face to face to accuse him. v. So Festus is going to treat the Jews fairly, but not preferentially. vi. He informs the Jews that he himself will be going to Caesarea soon and he invites them to join him on the journey to bring a case against Paul. d. [Slide 6] 6 - And after he had spent not more than eight or ten days among them, he went down to Caesarea, and on the next day he took his seat on the judgment seat and ordered Paul to be brought. i. Luke is obviously uncertain about the exact timing of when Felix came back to Caesarea. ii. This pushes right up to our understanding of how the bible was inspired by God. iii. God breathed out His words through the personalities and memories of the human authors. iv. Here Luke is uncertain – perhaps his memory has failed him or perhaps his sources have two different dates. Or perhaps the uncertainty is based on when Festus left Jerusalem vs when he left the company of the Jewish Elite if they traveled with him. v. In any case, Luke’s timetable is only significant in that it was not months and months later that this trial takes place. vi. Although Paul is a problem Festus inherited from his predecessor, he sits down in the judgment seat to deal with the issue immediately. vii. No doubt the list of cases that needed judgement had begun to stack up as the governorship was transferred to Festus. viii. In an ironic twist, the Jews lack of patience regarding Paul’s verdict inadvertently leads to Festus taking the case immediately. Paul could have sat in the Praetorium for years waiting for his trial to recommence. ix. The Jew’s bloodthirstiness and lack of contentment at Paul’s incarceration actually moves the time table forward for Paul. e. [Slide 7] Summary of the Point: Throughout the course of this scene Luke will show us one primary aspect which God uses to providentially accomplish His purposes. God uses human government to orchestrate the counsel of His will. In this particular section we see that God is using political intrigue to move Paul out of Israel and off to Rome. The various behind the scenes favors and political moves position Paul at the head of the line as the first case Festus will try after becoming the procurator. Paul could have potentially rotted away in prison for many years if it were not for the political aspirations of the Jews and the pressure they desired to put on Festus their new governor. But what appears to be a curse is orchestrated by God for the good of Paul to move him closer to God’s plan of having Paul preach the gospel in Rome. Once again, Paul is called upon to trust the Lord that His promises are true. He must be courageous and face the uncertainty that another trial will present – but know that God’s will cannot be thwarted. We too must trust the Lord, even when human government seems to be making all the wrong decisions and corruption abounds… God has not lost control. For He even uses this to accomplish His will. Transition: [Slide 8 (blank)] This is one aspect of human government that God uses to accomplish His will, but there is another less seedy and underhanded aspect of human government that God uses too. And what is great about this one – is that we can and should use it to pursue God’s will. II.) God providentially accomplishes His purposes through human government, so we use every legal means to pursue God’s known will. (7-12) a. [Slide 9] 7 - And after Paul arrived, the Jews who had come down from Jerusalem stood around him, bringing many and serious charges against him which they could not prove, i. This time, the Jews did not hire a professional non-Jewish attorney. ii. Instead, they bring prominent Jewish men to lay out their case against Paul. iii. Luke’s portrayal of this event is quite aggressive. They all stand around him like wolves circling their prey. iv. They bring many serious charges against Paul. v. Luke again does not record what they are. vi. More than likely, they are similar to the charges brought two years before. vii. Luke chooses to summarize this second trail before Festus. viii. We know that there was probably a good deal more said, especially when Luke records Festus’ understanding of the case in his explains it to Herod Agrippa later in this chapter. ix. Luke continues to point out – these charges could not be substantiated by any evidence or proof. b. [Slide 10] 8 - while Paul said in his own defense, “I have committed no sin either against the Law of the Jews or against the temple or against Caesar.” i. Luke sums up Paul’s defense here. ii. Again, Luke is probably not giving us an in depth record of this trail, more than likely because it has already been recorded to a certain degree in the previous trials before Felix and the Sanhedrin. iii. In Luke’s record here, Paul simply denies sinning against any Jewish law, against the temple or against Caesar. iv. In this we hear the previous accusations from two years before come back again. v. The law and the temple might easily fit into the claim that Paul led a heretical movement and that he attempted to defile the temple. vi. The defense about not sinning against Caesar may be the charge that he caused riots throughout the Roman Empire. This could be the portrayal of sedition – a crime against the orderly rule of the emperor. vii. Paul categorically denies all three. c. [Slide 11] 9 - But Festus, wishing to do the Jews a favor, answered Paul and said, “Are you willing to go up to Jerusalem and to be tried before me on these matters?” i. Festus is in a difficult position. ii. Once again, he has inherited this mess from his predecessor. iii. He really doesn’t want the headache. iv. But he is going to have problems either way. v. On the one hand, it is obvious that Paul is innocent. The case against him is very weak. We know he thought this because of what is revealed later in this episode when he meets with Herod Agrippa. 1. Festus’ impression is that nothing that Paul was accused of was worthy of death. 2. Furthermore, what the Jews accused him of amounted primarily to religious disputes and disputes over someone named Jesus who is dead but Paul claims to be alive. 3. Festus very much sees Paul’s case as the stronger one. vi. On the other hand, his predecessor was just brought back to Rome for constantly oppressing and abusing his power against the Jews. The last thing he wants to do in the third week of his job is to immediately enrage those same folks. 1. More than likely Festus does not understand the dynamics of Jewish life at this point. 2. He doesn’t realize that most of the Jews are not represented by the aristocracy. 3. Opposing these men may not irritate the Jews as much as he might assume. 4. Still, not wise for him to cut so hard against the influential and powerful leaders of Jerusalem. vii. Festus is in quite a pickle but he thinks he has a solution. viii. He suggests to Paul a compromise. ix. The Jews want to try Paul’s case in Jerusalem. Yet they have not adequately established his guilt according to any law. x. So, he wants to see if Paul would be willing to help him out. xi. Perhaps if Paul was tried in Jerusalem but under the judgment of Festus himself, this would both make him look good in front of the Jews but he might also have the ability to release Paul finding no fault with him. xii. And since the alleged crimes occurred in Jerusalem and they were primarily religious in nature, perhaps the Sanhedrin could be called upon to clarify a few things for Festus regarding these religious differences. xiii. But alarm bells sound in Paul’s ears when he hears this. d. [Slide 12] 10 - But Paul said, “I am standing before Caesar’s judgment seat, where I ought to be tried. I have done no wrong to the Jews, as you also very well know. 11 - If, then, I am a wrongdoer and have committed anything worthy of death, I do not refuse to die; but if none of those things is true of which these men accuse me, no one can hand me over to them. I appeal to Caesar.” i. Paul’s argument is a symmetrical argument. ii. [Slide 13] What I mean by that is that he drives down and then back up. And it all has to do with who should be judging Paul. Who has jurisdiction in this case? iii. A - Right now he is in a Roman court. He sits before a Roman official. He is under Caesar’s jurisdiction. He thinks this is the right place for him to be. Why? iv. B - Because he’s done no wrong to the Jews. Festus knows this. Everyone knows this. They can’t prove anything. Therefore, there is no reason for them to have any say in what happens here. v. C – But if he is guilty of something for which he should die, he isn’t going to fight that. Again – that must be handed down from Rome and not from Jerusalem. vi. B – But if none of the things the Jews accuse him of is true – then he is in the right court. And no one can legally say that he must be handed over to their jurisdiction. vii. A – I appeal to Caesar. 1. Every Roman citizen had a right to appeal to the Emperor’s judgment on matters when they felt that the lower courts dealt unjustly or they feared for their life because of those pressing charges. 2. In Paul’s case, it seems like both are true. 3. I’m not personally convinced that Festus was attempting to hand over jurisdiction to the Jews. I think he was merely trying to find a compromise to legally deal with Paul without harming the relationship with the ruling class of Jews. 4. But it seems like Paul may have thought Festus’ intentions were suspect. 5. And why shouldn’t he? Festus has no record to look to. He hasn’t proven himself to be reasonable or not. And going back to Jerusalem to the Sanhedrin, even if there was a new High Priest, seems more like a step back than forward. 6. An appeal to the Emperor works kind of like an appeal to the supreme court in the US. 7. Once the Emperor made a decision it was final and there were no more appeals. 8. And the process to get before the emperor was usually a long one. 9. Meaning that citizens would appeal to Caesar knowing that they would be in prison for a good deal of time before they saw the Emperor. 10. We know for Paul it took at least two years once he actually got to Rome to go before the Emperor for judgment. 11. So, it wasn’t something a citizen would do lightly. 12. Paul feels cornered and uses the last legal trick he has up his sleeve. 13. Now, why didn’t Paul use this with Felix over the two years he was in prison? We don’t know. Perhaps Paul thought Felix might come to Christ? Perhaps Felix keeping him safe in Caesarea gave him hope at being released. 14. Certainly, entering Rome as a free man would be preferable to entering as an accused criminal. 15. But Festus suggesting moving the trial to Jerusalem almost guaranteed that Paul would be executed either by assassins or by legal verdict. 16. So, he makes his appeal to Caesar. e. [Slide 14] 12 - Then when Festus had conferred with his council, he answered, “You have appealed to Caesar, to Caesar you shall go.” i. No doubt part of Festus’ discussion with his council was regarding the nature of the appeal. ii. It is irregular for someone to appeal to the Emperor before a verdict has been rendered. iii. Also, we see from the coming verses that Festus is quite perplexed about this whole case. iv. Festus knows that Paul has not been accused of anything worth killing him, yet the Jews insist not only that he has done something against Rome but that they should be the ones who try his case in Jerusalem. These are incompatible. If it is a crime against Rome worthy of death, then Rome should have jurisdiction. v. Adding to this confusion, Paul is claiming that this is a Jewish religious matter, but desires for his case to remain in the hands of the Romans. Which is also incompatible. If it is a Jewish religious dispute, it ought to be given back to the Jews. But again – the Jews want him dead. Which they aren’t permitted to do without Rome’s approval. vi. Festus confers with his council to try to understand what his options are. vii. The council probably informs him that once a citizen has appealed, regardless of what his decision would have been… they must be sent to Caesar. viii. This is no skin off Festus’ nose. He must honor Paul’s appeal and regardless of what is decided, he won’t get blamed for it. It’s a win-win for him. ix. So, Festus comes back with his statement. x. You want it? You got it. xi. Paul will go to Caesar. f. [Slide 15] Summary of the Point: The institution of this law to appeal to Caesar had existed since the beginning of the Empire. In fact, it actually predates the Empire and was originally an appeal to the people. So that the people would have the final say in a case. Caesar Augustus changed this law to go to the Emperor rather than the people, establishing the Emperor not only as the Executive branch of the law but the judicial one as well. In this we see that almost 90 years before Paul stands before Festus, his means of escaping to Rome had been secured. This law, written by pagan men hungry for power, had been orchestrated by God to accomplish this purpose for His servant Paul. And Paul uses that law, knowing that it is the Lord’s will for Him to go to Rome. We too should use every legal means we have to accomplish the known will of God. Conclusion: So, CBC, what have we learned today that informs our belief and governs our practice? Basics of Faith and Practice: [Slide 16] We have been shown time and time again in this final Act of the narrative Luke records, that God is providentially, sovereignly governing and orchestrating all things to accomplish His purposes. If He has written the end from the beginning, we must recognize that all things that have been, were because God willed them to be. God even uses human government, at its best and at its worst to accomplish His holy purposes. In the life of Paul, we’ve seen a lot of political intrigue. It seems like everyone wants to use Paul as a pawn for their own political agendas. That doesn’t happen today probably 😊 But what does Paul do? He uses one of the Roman’s laws to defeat the plots and scandals surrounding him. And all of this is by God’s design. How does this encourage us to live? We must courageously trust the Lord in every circumstance – even when it is bleak. Even when we are sure that human government will fail us. God is still in control and will not allow anything to happen to us that is not for our good and His glory. Secondly, it is a lesson that laws written by men are used of God to accomplish His purposes too. Meaning that we can use every legal means we have to pursue God’s known will in our lives. But let’s get down to some specifics this morning before we adjourn. 1.) [Slide 17] Mind Transformation: “What truth must we believe from this text?” or “What might we not naturally believe that we must believe because of what this text has said?” We must affirm that God providentially works in and through human government. a. We don’t actually have to try too hard to prove that such a thing is true. b. In the Old Testament God clearly raises up and lowers kings, moves and shakes up empires, and uses the strong to punish the sinful. c. Paul’s sermon to the Athenians also pointed out that God is the orchestrator of all human nations and powers. d. In this text we see the seedier political agendas, favors, back scratching, back-alley deals and ancient laws and customs as part of God’s plan to get His apostle to Rome and to do so on Rome’s dime. e. If it is true in the Old Testament and in the New, well we can just go ahead and assume that it is true today. f. While we can certainly look at any given government and law and assess them from a moral perspective according to God’s law, what we cannot do is assume that a morally upright nation doesn’t need God’s providential hand guiding it nor can we assume that a morally debased nation has somehow broken free of God’s control and is now a rogue agent. g. God used Assyria to judge His own people. The Assyrians were very, very wicked people. But God used them to accomplish His purposes. h. In that sense then, just like there is no rogue molecule, there are no rogue nations. As wicked and as evil as a particular nation may be – we cannot think for one second that they are acting outside of God’s decreed but hidden will for His creation. i. In that vein then… 2.) [Slide 18] Refutation: “What lies must we cast down” or “What do we naturally believe, or have been taught to believe, that this passage shows is false?” We must deny that human government is evil or unnecessary. a. Some, overemphasizing freedom, have concluded that government is inherently evil and largely unnecessary. b. But the scriptures would utterly disagree. c. God clearly establishes human government to restrain sin, to prevent injustice, and to keep order and peace. d. But they abuse all of those! Some may say. e. Yes and God created us to glorify Him and enjoy Him forever… and we fail in that too. f. You see my friends, the only human government that will solve our problems is when the God-Man establishes and consummates His Eternal Kingdom. g. Then we will know peace. Then we will know justice. Then we will know righteousness. Then we will have order. h. But until then, God has given lesser magistrates, men, to keep in check the sinfulness of the world. i. The church also functions as an agent of preservation as salt and light to the world. j. The family is yet another of these institutions that the Lord has set up to keep men from sinning to the fullness their nature will allow them. k. Are there bad families or bad churches? You betcha. l. But, just as we would not say that churches or families are evil and unnecessary, so also we cannot and should not say that human government is evil or unnecessary. m. The bible even teaches that a righteous King is a blessing to His people. Prov 29:2 n. We desire our governments to be righteous. To defend the innocent and punish the guilty. In this, sin is restrained. o. But we know that every human entity that is not filled with people indwelled with God’s Spirit, will inevitably fall into corruption. p. So, what must we do? 3.) [Slide 19] Exhortation: “What actions should we take?” or “What is this passage specifically commanding us to do that we don’t naturally do or aren’t currently doing?” We must trust the Lord. a. God has given human government to keep sin in check. b. But when that eventually fails, we must trust the Lord that He still controls… even wicked governments. c. We must trust the promise that all things work for the good of God’s people. d. Though we be imprisoned, beaten, tortured or killed – this is for our good. For what can men do to us? e. For us to live is Christ. To suffer for Christ is a joy. And to die is to be with Christ which is gain. f. So let us trust the Lord – even when our government’s corruption is deflating and disheartening. g. But can we do nothing else? 4.) [Slide 20] Exhortation: “What actions should we take?” or “What is this passage specifically commanding us to do that we don’t naturally do or aren’t currently doing?” We must use every legal means to pursue God’s known will for our lives. a. Paul issuing his provoactio ad Casesarem is a beautiful example of how we can also use the legal system in which we find ourselves to accomplish what God has clearly shown is His will. b. Paul doesn’t know Festus’ motives – and to be perfectly honest, we don’t either. We can guess based on what Luke wrote, but we don’t really know why Festus wanted to transfer Paul to Jerusalem. c. Paul considers a move back to Jerusalem to come dangerously close to going against what Jesus had already revealed to him. That he would go to Rome to preach the gospel. d. Certainly, Paul probably envisioned that happening as a free man on another missionary journey. e. But here we see he used a law of Rome to ensure that he went to Rome. f. We can apply this to our situation similarly. We know God’s moral law. g. So, we can use every legal means afforded to us, so long as they do not violate God’s law, to attempt to establish what actions should be punishable in our nation. h. We must counter balance this with what we learned last week. That we should probably be ready and willing to endure a personal injustice for the sake of the Kingdom of Christ. i. A little personal injustice and pain for the sake of the gospel seems like a fair trade. j. But when laws are enacted expressly against God’s law – we can and we must use legal means to stand against those things. 5.) Evangelism: “What about this text points us to Jesus Christ, the gospel, and how we are restored?” If you are to believe the gospel, you will be hated by those who reject it. Count the cost. a. Pay careful attention to the Jewish aristocracy in this text. b. After two years and a change of governor, they have exactly one thing on their mind. c. On Festus’ inaugural visit to Jerusalem, these chief priests and elite Jewish men desire the condemnation and death of Paul the apostle. d. Jesus said that a disciple is not greater than His master. Jesus was hated and reviled. Not by the religious but by sinners. Sinners hated Jesus. It didn’t matter if they were religious or not – Sinners hated Jesus. e. I’m sick of people saying that it was only the religious elite that wanted Jesus dead. As if the only really bad people were the legalistic religious people. It wasn’t only the religious elite that shouted Crucify Him that day. And Peter did not preach his Pentecost sermon only to the religious elite when he told them that they were responsible for killing their own Messiah. f. No. Don’t let people convince you that it was only the religious people who hated Jesus. It was every single sinner who loved their sin. That is who hated Jesus. g. And today, you don’t have to be religious to hate Jesus. You just have to love your sin. Because you can’t love your sin and love Jesus at the same time. h. And sinners will hate us too. i. Those who reject the gospel of Jesus Christ will also reject anyone who receives the gospel of Jesus Christ. j. The gospel is that all men are wicked and hate God and fall short of His holy standard. But Jesus has taken the place of sinners and purchased the pardon of His people. His people are characterized as those who turn from and stop practicing all of their wickedness and trust in and obey Him. k. Anyone who rejects this message will hate any who receive it. Why? l. Because they will feel judged for continuing to do things they love that believers call sin. m. They might say - A loving God would never punish you for doing wicked things… n. In fact, God will punish all men who do wicked things. o. So turn from them and trust in Christ alone. p. But be warned. Count the cost. q. You will make many enemies if you become the friend of Christ. r. Just as Christ was rejected… you will be rejected. Let me close in a prayer by the early church father Serapion Scholasticus. God the Savior, God of the universe, Lord and creator of the world, Father of the only-begotten Son, you caused him to be the living and true expression of yourself, and sent him for the help of the human race. Through him you called and made us your own possession. We pray now on behalf of these people. Send your Holy Spirit on them, and let the Lord Jesus visit them. Let him speak so that all will understand. Soften their hearts to faith, and may Christ himself draw their souls to you, O God of compassion. Create a people even in this city. Create a genuine flock through your only-begotten, Jesus Christ, in the Holy Spirit -through whom to you is the glory and the strength, now and to all the ages of the ages, … amen. Benediction: May the Lord guide you always; May you be like a well-watered garden, Like a spring whose waters never fail. When you cry for help, may the Lord always say, 'Here am I' Until we meet again, go in peace.