The Bible Recap - Day 347 (Acts 24-26) - Year 5

Starting point is 00:00:00 Hey Bible readers, I'm Tara Lee Cobble and I'm your host for the Bible Recap. Yesterday 470 soldiers delivered Paul to Governor Felix in Caesarea. Today we pick up five days later when some of the authorities from Jerusalem have come to talk to Felix about Paul. They brought a spokesman slash lawyer named Tertullus with them. Tertullus starts off by flattering Felix, then launches into accusing Paul of starting riots and defiling the temple, neither of which he's done.

Starting point is 00:00:34 Paul defends himself with the truth. He says he goes to great lengths to live with integrity and that he has honored the ways of Yahweh, including everything written in the law and the prophets, which is the shorthand way of saying all the Hebrew scriptures, i.e. the Old Testament. Felix is pretty familiar with first century Christianity, or the way, as Paul calls it, possibly because he lives in Caesarea among prominent evangelists like Philip.

Starting point is 00:00:56 He wants to hear more from Paul, so he tells the people who came down from Jerusalem that he'll make a decision later and sends them back home. In the meantime, he tells the soldiers to keep Paul in prison, but to be nice to him. Remember, in this day, prisons aren't required to care for you. Your friends have to do that. And sometimes prison guards even prevent the friends from doing that. Felix keeps calling Paul up to talk to him about the way,

Starting point is 00:01:17 but it's never enough for him. He's also kind of hoping Paul is going to pay him a bribe so he can get out of prison, but even here, Paul maintains his integrity, sharing the gospel and obeying the rules. After two years, Felix leaves office unexpectedly. History tells us he was kicked out of office because he couldn't keep peace between the Jews and the Gentiles. So in order to make things less awkward with the Jews, he leaves Paul in prison.

Starting point is 00:01:40 Festus takes over after Felix, but even after two years, the issue with Paul has not cooled off at all. In fact, this is one of the first things that gets addressed when Festus takes over after Felix, but even after two years, the issue with Paul has not cooled off at all. In fact, this is one of the first things that gets addressed when Festus comes into office. While he's in Jerusalem, the authorities say, Hey Festus, have your people bring Paul up here so we can deal with this. They want to do it this way because they've hatched another plan to kill Paul along the way. But Festus says, Nah, you guys just come back to Caesarea and we'll deal with it there.

Starting point is 00:02:04 I've got a few empty seats in my chariot so you can just hitch a ride back with me. They come down a week or so later, make their case against Paul, and he maintains that he hasn't broken any laws, not Jewish law and not Roman law. Vestas wants to keep peace with the Jews too, and certainly doesn't want to be evicted from office like Felix was, so he says, How's about we take you back to Jerusalem for trial, which the Jews would love? Paul says, Hard pass. Between the two of you, this is going nowhere, so I'm going to make an appeal to Caesar instead. As a Roman citizen, Paul is asking to be elevated to a higher court, one that,

Starting point is 00:02:36 in theory, should weigh more in his favor. Festus agrees to his appeal. A few days later, King Herod Agrippa II comes to town. While Governor Festus and King Agrippa are chatting, Festus lays out the whole story for him of what's happened with Paul, and Agrippa says, I want in on this, too. Bring him out tomorrow so I can hear his side of the story. The next day, they bring Paul out in front of Agrippa and some of the prominent leaders in town,

Starting point is 00:02:57 and Festus introduces him by basically saying, Everyone wants this guy to die, but I don't think he's done anything wrong. What should I do? This all sounds far too familiar, doesn't it? saying, everyone wants this guy to die, but I don't think he's done anything wrong. What should I do? This all sounds far too familiar, doesn't it? Paul opens by asking the king to be patient with him as he tells his story. Let's hope the king isn't sitting on an open third-story window while he talks.

Starting point is 00:03:15 Paul tells the story about his days as a persecutor of the church, followed by his conversion. Near the end, Vestas interrupts and tells Paul he's lost his mind. Paul has just given a beautiful explanation of the gospel, but Festus doesn't get it. This reminds me of what Paul wrote in 1 Corinthians 1, 18. The word of the cross is folly to those who are perishing. Paul says, I'm not crazy, and the king knows it too. You believe all of this, don't you, King Agrippa? And maybe Paul was right, but King Agrippa probably feels like he's on the spot

Starting point is 00:03:45 in front of the governor and the local leaders. So he says, whoa, whoa, I'm not sure I'm ready to convert just yet, Paul, give me some time. And Paul says, as long as it takes, as long as it takes, because I want everyone who is here today to convert. I want everyone to know the God I know

Starting point is 00:03:59 and love the God I love. My only hope is that it doesn't land you in prison too. They wrap things up, and as the king and governor and leaders are all discussing things afterward, they agree that Paul is innocent. And they say that timing is a shame because if Paul hadn't appealed to Caesar and King Agrippa had been allowed to decide his case, then he would have been set free. But even in what seems like terrible timing, God is at work. And that's where I saw my God shot today. Even though Paul missed his chance at freedom,

Starting point is 00:04:28 God is still directing Paul's steps according to his plan. We'll continue to see that, but even Paul sees it already. Today in 2622, he said, To this day I have had the help that comes from God. Think about all he's been through, trial after trial, false accusations, character assassination, torture after trial, false accusations, character assassination, torture interrogations, beatings, shipwrecks, imprisonment, you name it. And even in all of that, he says he sees God's help every step of the way. Paul has his eyes

Starting point is 00:04:56 set on eternity. He has his heart set on the glory of God. And he knows help looks very different with that mindset than if he were seeking his own good. He refuses to trade the temporary for the eternal, and even though the road is hard and lonely and frustrating, God equips him with all he needs along the way. God is our helper, and he's where the joy is. Does the term idolatry feel a little archaic to you? I've seen some of the ancient Baal and Asherah idols on display at Museum of the Bible, and it feels like nobody still does that, right? But we do, just in our own ways.

Starting point is 00:05:36 We may not worship statues of false gods like we've seen all throughout Scripture, but idolatry is still very real today, in our world and in our lives. Ezekiel 14 says we can even take idols into our hearts. Yikes. I don't want that. So, we've built out a PDF with more info on how to identify idolatry in your own heart, and we'd love to share it with you. If you're interested in getting this resource for free, all you need to do is submit your email address at TheBibleRecap.com forward slash idols or click the link in the show

Starting point is 00:06:09 notes. With less than two weeks left until Christmas, hopefully you've listened to Scrooge a Christmas Carol podcast. There's also a five-day devotional that uses this Christmas tale to emphasize God's work in your heart. You can do these short divos with family or friends, and it will help keep the focus of Christmas on Jesus. Click the link in the show notes to check it out.

The Bible Recap - Day 347 (Acts 24-26) - Year 5

There aren't comments yet for this episode. Click on any sentence in the transcript to leave a comment.