Bible Study with Jairus - Acts 25

Acts 25 is like a tug of war. Paul was imprisoned in Caesarea, a place Northwest of Jerusalem. The Jews insisted that Festus send Paul back to Jerusalem for trial, hoping to ambush and kill Paul on the way. Festus tried to please the Jews and asked Paul if he was willing to return to Jerusalem for trial, but Paul insisted on appealing to Caesar. So after Festus conferred with his council, he accepted Paul's request.
Looking at it from here, Festus, as the Roman Governor of Judea, was a person who didn't take sides, or we could say that he was a bit of a fence sitter. He tried to please the Jews, saying he was using a conciliatory approach to rule the land of Jerusalem. His treatment of King Agrippa's argument about Paul and the Jews allowed us to see that he didn't think their case was that important. He told King Agrippa that the dispute between Paul and the Jews was merely a matter of disagreement about their own religion and the fact that Paul declared that Jesus died and was resurrected. His heart was perplexed over this situation. He asked Paul if he was willing to go to Jerusalem for trial, but Paul wasn't willing. So he planned to keep Paul. He said, "hold him until I can send him to Caesar" (Acts 25:21, NIV).
I didn't pay attention to this sentence before. Festus had already planned to send Paul to Rome. But after King Agrippa interrogated Paul, he sighed, saying if Paul hadn't appealed to Caesar, he could have been set free (Acts 26:32, NIV). Acts 27:24 records an angel of God standing beside Paul and telling him he would stand before Caesar. This may be why Paul stood trial before Caesar later, but the Bible doesn't record the specific details of Paul and Caesar's meeting. Instead, it just recorded the experience of Paul, Festus, and King Agrippa meeting each other. Caesar here is said to be Nero Caesar. But this is only according to historical legends. When Nero persecuted the church later, Paul was martyred.
With the Holy Spirit's help, we noticed that God predestined Paul's journey from Jerusalem to Rome to spread the gospel to Rome. As Acts 28 records, after Paul came to Rome, he rented a house there for two years, "to proclaim the kingdom of God and taught about the Lord Jesus Christ—with all boldness and without hindrance" (Acts 28:31, NIV). This shows that the gospel Paul spread in Rome had laid a good foundation for evangelizing Europe. Therefore, in the development of the kingdom of God and the spread of the gospel, it was crucial for Paul to arrive safely in Rome from Jerusalem.
Satan attempted to stop Paul from going to Rome. He incited the Jews to kill Paul in Jerusalem. But Paul's nephew heard their plan and reported it to commander Lysias, and Paul was arrested. Then the Jews went to Governor Felix to complain, and Felix asked Paul to defend himself. Paul gave testimony to Felix, saying that he "keeps his conscience clear before God and man" (Acts 24:16, NIV, and that he did not commit any wrongdoings. Later, Felix, who was well acquainted with the Way, adjourned the proceedings. "When Lysias the commander comes," he said, "I will decide your case." He ordered commander Lysias to keep Paul under guard but to give him some freedom and permit his friends to take care of his needs" (Acts, 24:22-23, NIV).
Later, Felix and his Jewish wife listened to Paul, who continued to talk about Jesus Christ. "Paul talked about righteousness, self-control and the judgment to come" (Acts 24:25, NIV). Felix was scared and sent Paul away. He was hoping that Paul would come to him later and give him some money. But the Bible doesn't say whether Felix was saved or not. At least from the story here, Paul's testimony to Governor Felix touched him a little, but Felix hadn't decided whether to accept Jesus Christ. At the end of Chapter 24, it records that after two years, Festus took over Felix's Governor position. He wanted to please the Jews, so he continued to imprison Paul.
Many people opposed Paul's trip to Jerusalem. This included the prophet Agabus who prophesied that Paul would be bound in Jerusalem, but he did not prevent Paul from going. People in the modern prophetic movement believe that Agabus' prediction was half accurate and half inaccurate because Agabus prophesied that Paul would be bound by the Jews in Jerusalem. But in the end, Paul was bound by the Romans. Paul teaches us in the Bible not to treat prophecies with contempt but test them all; hold on to what is good, reject every kind of evil (1 Thessalonians 5:20-22, NIV).
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