25 “Now three days after Festus had arrived in the province, he went up to Jerusalem from Caesarea. 2 And the chief priests and the principal men of the Jews laid out their case against Paul, and they urged him, 3 asking as a favor against Paul[a] that he summon him to Jerusalem—because they were planning an ambush to kill him on the way. 4 Festus replied that Paul was being kept at Caesarea and that he himself intended to go there shortly. 5 “So,” said he, “let the men of authority among you go down with me, and if there is anything wrong about the man, let them bring charges against him.”
6 After he stayed among them not more than eight or ten days, he went down to Caesarea. And the next day he took his seat on the tribunal and ordered Paul to be brought. 7 When he had arrived, the Jews who had come down from Jerusalem stood around him, bringing many and serious charges against him that they could not prove. 8 Paul argued in his defense, “Neither against the law of the Jews, nor against the temple, nor against Caesar have I committed any offense.” 9 But Festus, wishing to do the Jews a favor, said to Paul, “Do you wish to go up to Jerusalem and there be tried on these charges before me?” 10 But Paul said, “I am standing before Caesar’s tribunal, where I ought to be tried. To the Jews I have done no wrong, as you yourself know very well. 11 If then I am a wrongdoer and have committed anything for which I deserve to die, I do not seek to escape death. But if there is nothing to their charges against me, no one can give me up to them. I appeal to Caesar.” 12 Then Festus, when he had conferred with his council, answered, “To Caesar you have appealed; to Caesar you shall go.”
Last week, the message concluded with Paul being left in prison by Governor Felix. Felix is relieved of his duty as governor and is replaced by Porcius Festus. Felix was undoubtedly a bad person, but history tells us Festus was basically a good person as he governed well, despite the problems left him by Felix.
We learn that Festus went up to Jerusalem from Caesarea three days after he arrived in the province. History tells us that he was relatively inexperienced in governing. However, we see by his trip to Jerusalem, that he knew that he needed to see the ‘lay of the land’ and check out the power brokers of the province.
The chief priests and Jewish leaders most likely thought they could ‘steamroll’ the new governor, knowing that he was inexperienced. So, they implored Festus to retry Paul and on their territory (Jerusalem).
Whether Festus knew that the plot to kill Paul was still a go (assassinate him on the way back to Jerusalem) or not, he did not move the trial back to Jerusalem.
So, once again, the Jewish leaders have to make the 70+ miles to Caesarea to bring their baseless charges whereby Paul defended himself.
Festus then asked Paul if he was willing to go back to Jerusalem for yet another trial. Paul refused his request thereby requesting to be tried before Caesar. By doing so, the plan was set in motion for him to go to Rome because Festus had no other option than to grant that request being that Paul as a Roman citizen was afforded the right to be tried in a Roman court.
Concluding Remarks and Application
Notice that Paul did not demonstrate frustration as he defended himself once again. One can imagine that he was frustrated by having to defend himself over and over again. Notice also that he defended himself rather than remain silent. And each time he used it as an opportunity to tell others about Jesus and The Way.
When we stop and think about it, these past few weeks once again demonstrate God’s sovereignty and His plan for Paul to go to Rome. Think about the events that led up to Festus saying, “To Caesar you have appealed; to Caesar you shall go.”
First, you have the Jerusalem church imploring Paul to undergo a ritual that required him to go to the Temple (which led to the charge of Paul bringing a Gentile into the courtyard).
Second, the Jews from Asia that had been harassing Paul show up at the same time that stirs up a mob that beats Paul.
Third, the Roman commander rescues Paul from the mob.
Fourth, Paul gets an audience (trial) with the Sanhedrin.
Fifth, Paul’s nephew just happens to overhear the plan to assassinate him.
Sixth, the nephew tells Paul about the plan whereby Paul tells the Roman commander of the plot.
Seventh, Governor Felix was looking for a bribe from Paul for two years which put Paul in protective custody.
Eighth, Governor Festus forces Paul to appeal to Caesar when he decides to make points with the Jewish leaders by asking Paul to go back to Jerusalem to stand trial with Paul full well knowing that there was still a plot to kill him.
When you put the pieces of the puzzle together, you cannot help but see how God was working behind the scene to fulfill His plan for Paul to go to Rome.
Hindsight often allows us to see God’s plan in our lives even when we do not see it as events unfold. We can easily become frustrated when things do not go the way that we want. So, we can take a lesson from Paul on how not to show our frustration and remain confident that He has a plan for each and every one of us by remembering that He is on our side just as He was on Paul’s side trial after trial.
