13 A few days later King Agrippa and Bernice arrived at Caesarea to pay their respects to Festus. 14 Since they were spending many days there, Festus discussed Paul’s case with the king. He said: “There is a man here whom Felix left as a prisoner. 15 When I went to Jerusalem, the chief priests and the elders of the Jews brought charges against him and asked that he be condemned.
16 “I told them that it is not the Roman custom to hand over anyone before they have faced their accusers and have had an opportunity to defend themselves against the charges. 17 When they came here with me, I did not delay the case, but convened the court the next day and ordered the man to be brought in. 18 When his accusers got up to speak, they did not charge him with any of the crimes I had expected. 19 Instead, they had some points of dispute with him about their own religion and about a dead man named Jesus who Paul claimed was alive. 20 I was at a loss how to investigate such matters; so I asked if he would be willing to go to Jerusalem and stand trial there on these charges. 21 But when Paul made his appeal to be held over for the Emperor’s decision, I ordered him held until I could send him to Caesar.”
22 Then Agrippa said to Festus, “I would like to hear this man myself.”
He replied, “Tomorrow you will hear him.”
The Curious Case of Jesus Christ
This passage sets the stage for tomorrow’s reading, and you can feel the suspense. Festus is discussing with the king what to do with Paul. Paul was about to be tried by the Jewish religious leaders, but since he was a Roman citizen, he had the right to be tried in a Roman court. But the charges against Paul were not so-called “normal crimes”; instead, as Festus puts it, “they had some points of dispute with him about their own religion and about a dead man named Jesus who Paul claimed was alive.”
Imagine what King Agrippa probably thought when he heard this: “Wait, alive? Did you say they are arguing over whether a man is alive or not?”
This aspect of the case intrigues the king and leads him to want to meet Paul himself.
Then in dramatic fashion, Festus says, “Tomorrow you will hear him.”
King Agrippa is curious because he has never witnessed a trial over whether someone has come back to life. To be honest, that’s not a usual topic of discussion and definitely not something to be argued in a court case, so naturally this would raise the king’s intrigue. Yet, this supposition is at the heart of what Christians believe. Christians believe that Jesus did, in fact, come back to life and that through His resurrection, He overcame the problem of sin and enables all of us to achieve eternal life. It is a pretty big deal in the Christian faith. Most people today would probably also be curious if you were to tell them about a dead man who came back to life.
Now I am going to add to your curiosity… Do you want to know how the conversation between King Agrippa and Paul goes?
Join us tomorrow at aylharvesters.com.
- Brian Hall
No comments:
Post a Comment