Why Did Festus Seek Help From King Agrippa?

Tom:

This is our Understanding the Scriptures segment, we're in the book of Acts 25, actually we're just finishing up 25 and I will read verse 27:  "For it seemeth to me unreasonable to send a prisoner, and not withal to signify the crimes laid against him."  And, of course, this is Festus and he's speaking to King Agrippa, and he's talking about Paul.  And they don't know quite what to do with him.

Dave:

Yeah.  He's being sent off to Rome because he appealed to Caesar and Festus has said “To Caesar, thou shalt go."  But, what are we going to tell Caesar about this man?  This pestiferous fellow that the Jews want to kill.  So Agrippa, maybe you could help us out in this problem here.

Tom:

Which takes us to Acts:26:1Then Agrippa said unto Paul, Thou art permitted to speak for thyself. Then Paul stretched forth the hand, and answered for himself:
See All...:  "Then Agrippa said unto Paul, Thou art permitted to speak for thyself.  Then Paul stretched forth the hand, and answered for himself:  I think myself happy, King Agrippa, because I shall answer for myself this day before thee touching all the things whereof I am accused of the Jews."  Now, Dave, I think we just have to make a qualification here.  He's talking about not all the Jews, because Paul is Jewish himself.  He's talking about the religious leaders who want to kill him. 

Dave:

Well, Tom, let's go back for a minute to verse one.  It's interesting, "Then Paul stretched forth the hand."  I mean, he is gesturing now.  It's even telling us.  He's probably a very eloquent speaker and he is going to plead his case.  And then he's, well, I'm not going to say that he's flattering somebody, but he does say, "I'm happy, King Agrippa, because I shall answer for myself," because, well I guess we didn't get to verse 3, but he says, “Especially because I know thee to be an expert in all customs and questions which are among the Jews wherefore I beseech thee to hear me patiently.Hear me out, Agrippa.  You may find this worth listening to.”

Tom:

And, so he begins.  Verse 4:  "My manner of life from my youth, which was at first among mine own nation at Jerusalem, know all the Jews; which knew me from the beginning, if they would testify, that after the most straitest sect of our religion I lived a Pharisee.  And now I stand and am judged for the hope of the promise made of God unto our fathers."

Dave:

Well, he's giving a good defense.  He's saying, “Look, if they would be willing to tell the truth, they would know that I'm not someone who is trying to undercut our nation, trying to even undercut the Jew's religion that is to the extent that they follow the Word of God.  I was even in the Temple,” he's going to say.  But, if they would testify to the truth, then—

Tom:

Sure.  They were witnesses to it.  They saw him as a youth.

Dave:

Right.  Then they would know.  “They know me from my childhood.  Why are they making all these false accusations?”  Well, that's a good question.

Tom:

Verse 6:  "And now I stand and am judged for the hope of the promise made of God unto our fathers:  Unto which promise our twelve tribes, instantly serving God day and night, hope to come.  For which hope's sake, King Agrippa, I am accused of the Jews."

Dave:

Well, that may have gotten a little attention from Agrippa.  “What are you talking about?”  “This is a hope that the Jews have and yet they're accusing me of abandoning this or being against this?  For which hope's sake, King Agrippa, I am accused of the Jews.  Well, here's a hope of the Jews, but apparently they don't know that this is the hope that they should have.  They don't even know their own scriptures and they're accusing me, really their accusation is contrary to what they supposedly believe.”

Tom:

Verse 8:  "Why should it be thought a thing incredible with you, that God should raise the dead?  I verily thought with myself, that I ought to do many things contrary to the name of Jesus of Nazareth.  Which thing I also did in Jerusalem:  and many of the saints did I shut up in prison, having received authority from the chief priests; and when they were put to death, I gave my voice against them."  But it really grieved Paul, didn't it?  Doing it in ignorance, thinking he was doing it for God.  Yet, he put some of the saints to death.

Dave:

Yes,  he wants King Agrippa to know this.  “Look, I wasn't a secret Christian all along.  I was a leader of the opposition to the Christians.”  And, of course, he's building up to something.  Something must have happened.  He's got Agrippa's attention, I think.  “Well, Paul, what happened?  How did you change?  Why did you change?  And look what it cost you.  You're not getting anything out of this.  Why would you go from being a leader among the Jews and having the good opinion, the respect, etc., of the Jews, and you're going to join these despised people?  It doesn't make sense, Paul.”  I mean, this is what Agrippa is thinking.  And this is what Paul is explaining.

Tom:

Verse 11:  "And I punished them oft in every synagogue, and compelled them to blaspheme; and being exceedingly mad against them, I persecuted them even unto strange cities."  He's making a career of this it seems Dave.

Dave:

Well, this is something that obviously he really believed.  He believed deeply in the Jew's religion.  He believed deeply that these Christians were wrong and that they were undermining everything that the Jews stood for.  And he's a Jew, one of the leaders.  And, Tom, it's pretty much the same today among the Jewish people.  Many of them, probably most of them, don't really believe.  Most of them don't even know the Bible.  But, they have tradition, as "Fiddler on the Roof" points out.  A tradition that binds them and they’ve heard that Christians have killed Jews, Christians are against Jews, that Jesus Christ was against Jews, etc., although He was the most famous and most wonderful Jew that ever lived.  So, things haven't changed that much.  We could learn some lessons from here.  Paul was explaining what it is like to be a Jew and staunch in your Jewish tradition.  And, he surely was that.

Tom:

Verse 12:  "Whereupon as I went to Damascus with authority and commission from the chief priests, At midday, O king, I saw in the way a light from heaven, above the brightness of the sun, shining round about me and them which journeyed with me.  And when we were all fallen to the earth, I heard a voice speaking unto me, and saying in the Hebrew tongue, Saul, Saul, why persecutest thou me?  It is hard for thee to kick against the pricks."  

Dave:

In other words, his conscience pricking him and he was bothered by his conscience.  And I think a little voice was going on in his mind, but now he's hearing the voice from heaven saying the same thing.  But I think that having witnessed the martyrdom of Christians, particularly Stephen, which is recorded for us.  And Stephen is saying what Jesus said, “don't lay this to their charge.”  Jesus said, "Father, forgive them."  And Stephen, you would have to say that Paul is seeing evidence of the resurrection.  “This Jesus, who they say is alive, He seems to be living in these people who we call Christians and whom we are trying to persecute.”

Tom:

"And I said, who art thou, Lord?  And he said, I am Jesus whom thou persecutest."

Dave:

"Who art thou, Lord?"  Interesting that he uses that word.  He knows this voice from heaven is speaking with authority.  This is not something that he can take lightly."I am Jesus whom thou persecutest."  Well, I think we better come back and deal with that.  There's an awful lot there to talk about, Tom, and to think about.