Acts 25

We're in Acts chapter 25, which is on page 934.

Acts 25 · chapter mention

And I go on holiday tomorrow.

And this sermon feels like I'm going on holiday tomorrow.

!

Sometimes they've taken him into protective custody.

And the authorities really don't know what to do with him.

So they play pass the parcel with him.

They shunt him from one to another before finally sending him to Rome.

First it's Felix.

Then it's Festus.

And Festus brings us to Agrippa, who comes to Caesarea on a courtesy call.

And then they ship the apostle off to Rome.

To appear before Emperor Nero.

Great names, aren't they?

Felix the cat.

Nero the dog.

Someone has said, those were the great names in those days.

Felix, Nero.

We call our cats and dogs Felix and Nero.

And people call their sons Paul.

Can you see the reversal?

But there's been how influential Christianity has been on our culture.

The big names of the day were Nero.

He was emperor in Rome.

And Felix was the governor, the new governor of Palestine.

Felix was the worst governor that Palestine ever had.

He was eventually summoned to Rome and was given the sack.

And now Festus is the guy who takes over, Uncle Festus.

And anyway, Paul makes quite an impression before these people.

And we're told, do you remember last week, as Felix heard Paul preach, he trembled.

Agrippa, we're told, is almost persuaded to become a Christian.

At least that's what he says.

Whether he's being sarcastic or whether he's being sincere, we don't know.

But Paul made a remarkable impression.

And this guy, Festus, in the courtroom, loses his cool.

Blows his stack, as they say.

And he shouts at Paul.

Look over the page.

Look at chapter 26, verse 24 and 25.

We're told at this point, as he was saying these things in defense,

Felix said with a loud voice, he shouted,

Paul, you're out of your mind.

Your great learning is driving you out of your mind.

I think you'll agree that's not the normal way.

That's not the way a judge should behave in court.

To shout at the man in the dock.

To call him mad.

Paul made, didn't he?

Quite an impression.

And in these circles, as he's shunted from pillar to post,

there are three different sets of people in Acts 25.

There are three different attitudes in Acts 25

towards the gospel of the Lord Jesus.

And I want to pick up on those three attitudes.

First of all, we see the hard-heartedness of the Jewish leaders.

And I want you to be asking yourself,

as you hear this sermon proclaimed,

what's the attitude in my heart?

And you might think this morning,

it's impossible for me to be hard-hearted.

I wouldn't be in church this morning, would I?

But let me tell you, it's very easy to sit in church like this.

I was brought up in a good church and be very hard-hearted.

I know what it is to sit under sermons and be proud and arrogant

and say, I will not believe this.

We look at the hard-heartedness of the Jewish leaders,

the close-mindedness of them.

And then secondly, the half-heartedness,

the double-mindedness of Philip Festus.

And then thirdly, the whole-heartedness of the Apostle Paul.

So let's see the hard-heartedness of the Jewish leaders.

And there's a key word,

which you might have picked up when Andrew read it,

and it's the word against.

It keeps coming up 12 times in this chapter.

These people are against Paul and against his gospel.

They're against everything he stands for.

Let me show you very quickly.

Chapters 25, verses 1 and 2.

Three days, three days after Festus had arrived in the province.

He went up to Jerusalem from Caesarea.

And the chief priests and the principal men of the Jews

laid out their case against Paul.

And they urged him, asking as a favor against Paul,

that he summon him to Jerusalem

because they were planning to ambush him.

They were against him to kill him on the way.

They cannot wait to get their hands on Paul.

You might have thought,

surely these Jewish leaders would have forgotten him.

It's been two years.

Look at the last verse of chapter 24.

When two years had elapsed,

two years had gone by,

Felix was succeeded by Paulius Festus.

And desiring to do the Jews a favor,

Felix left Paul in prison.

Two whole years, he's been rotting for two years.

Do you remember two years ago?

You might have thought,

two years was enough time for them to forget about Paul.

But Festus hasn't had time to unpack his suitcases.

He's not even kind of done photo opportunities

with other leaders of state.

But the Jewish leaders are knocking on his door.

Look what they say in verse 3.

They urgently request Festus to have Paul transferred to Jerusalem.

They're gunning for him.

They carry out a vendetta against this man, Paul.

And the tense of the verb in verse 3 is they keep on.

They will not let it go.

They will not take no for an answer.

And what's motivating them?

It's not just a concern for law and order.

It's not a concern for justice to be done.

What's the concern in verse 3?

They want to kill him on the way.

They want him to be a dead man.

And they don't care how it happens,

whether it's legally or illegally,

whether it's done by the authorities or it's done by the mob.

They want him silenced.

And when Festus refuses to bring Paul to Jerusalem,

do you notice verse 4?

And he invites them to Caesarea.

They don't waste any time.

Look at verse 4 to 7.

As soon as Festus gets back to Jerusalem,

the very next day they're there again knocking on the door.

They can't even wait for the trial.

They surround him.

They gang up on him.

They charge him.

They will bring any charges.

Can't you see what's happening here?

It's indiscriminate, isn't it?

It's deep-seated, implacable hostility.

There's nothing reasonable about their hostility.

Look at verse 15.

They ask for the death sentence.

When I was in Jerusalem,

the chief priests and the elders of the Jews

laid out their case against him,

asking for a sentence of condemnation against him.

But look at the way that they ask him

for him to be condemned.

I would have thought,

if you believe in the death penalty,

it's a very serious thing.

But look at verse 24.

Agrippa gives us a little bit more information about this.

Verse 24.

King Agrippa and all who are present with us,

you see this man about whom

the whole Jewish people petitioned me,

both in Jerusalem and here,

shouting that he ought not to live any longer.

They're baying for blood.

Paul, the prisoner,

he is cool and he's calm and he's collected.

But everyone else is angry.

Everyone else is shouting at him.

His accusers are shouting at him.

The judge is shouting at him.

Paul, you're out of your mind.

You're insane.

Why?

Is the question, isn't it?

Why is there such anger?

Why such hostility against him?

Why such unreasonable hatred towards Paul?

And the reason is this.

The message that he preaches.

What lies behind it?

Why are they so desperate to silence him?

Why do they want him dead?

Strange thing, isn't it?

I think psychologically it's proven

that often people will accuse others unfairly

and passionately of the very things

that they're guilty of themselves.

In fact, the more unreasonable,

the more angry they are,

the more likely they are to be guilty

of the very things they're accusing others of doing.

It's a phenomenon, isn't it?

It's recognized by psychologists.

It's what people often say

about Bible-believing Christians.

There is, despite

incessant news of a quiet revival,

there is neither quiet nor revival,

there is, isn't there,

in our culture,

hostility

towards the biblical message

of the Lord Jesus.

When people really understand

what we believe about human flourishing

and about human sexuality,

when people really believe

what we understand

about rejecting the Lord Jesus Christ

and the reality of hell,

what is the response?

That Christians are dangerous.

At least the fundamentalist Christians are.

Real Christians who believe the Bible,

they are dangerous.

These people, actually,

they believe in a violent God.

They threaten

our stable, multicultural society

and actually we need to silence them.

They are not allowed to express those opinions.

We need to cancel them.

And so if you regard yourself

as a true Christian

and you explain the message

of the gospel,

you will find that people think

you're a violent,

hate-filled,

murderous fundamentalist.

And the UK modern society

would be a better place without you.

I've got an atheist friend

who's a lovely fellow

who worships science

and mocks me

mercilessly

at the rugby club

and he cannot see me

without talking about God.

He cannot

see me without saying,

are you here to influence

young men,

vulnerable young men?

Every time I see him.

What's the response?

The response is this,

why are you so angry

about a God

who doesn't exist?

That's the great question

for atheism, isn't it?

I don't believe in God

and yet I hate him.

Why is that person

so angry

about a God

they don't believe in?

There's actually

nothing reasonable

to it.

There's something else

going on, isn't there?

There's a close-mindedness

to it.

There's a hard-heartedness

to it.

I said to my friend

that I prayed for him.

He said,

I don't give you consent

to pray for you.

I told him I couldn't care less.

Let's move on

from the hard-heartedness

of the Jewish leaders.

There's nothing new

under the sun, is there?

And let's notice

the half-heartedness

of Festus.

Just look at that.

Look at verses 9 to 11.

Let me read it.

But Festus wishing

to do the Jews a favour.

Can you see that?

Said to Paul,

do you wish to go up

to Jerusalem

and there be tried

on these charges before me?

But Paul said,

I am standing before

Caesar's tribunal

where I ought to be tried.

To the Jews,

I've done no wrong,

as you yourself know very well.

If then I'm a wrongdoer

and have committed anything

for which I deserve to die,

I do not seek to escape death.

But if there's nothing

to their charges against me,

no one can give me up to them.

I appeal to Caesar.

Pretty straightforward.

You can't send me up

to Jerusalem.

I'm not prepared

to go to Jerusalem.

The interesting thing

to notice here

is that Festus

changed his mind.

Do you notice

verse 4 and 5

he refuses?

Three days

after taking office

he goes up to Jerusalem

and the Jews

want him to bring

Paul to Jerusalem

to stand a kind

of show trial.

But Festus refuses

very strongly

and firmly there

in verses 4 and 5.

But in verse 9

we're told that he

moots the idea

with Paul.

Would you like to go up?

Are you willing to go?

What's he thinking?

Why has there been

a change of mind?

Why a change of policy?

Why?

Try and get into

the psychology behind it.

Festus is thinking

isn't it

this will look

very good on my CV

if I can pull this off.

The clue is there

in verse 9 isn't it?

It's very simple.

He's a politician

wanting to do

a favour to the Jews.

It's not about

saving justice

it's about

saving his career.

Festus

by all accounts

was a very good politician.

Sadly

only lasted

two years in office

and then he died.

But whereas

Felix was probably

the worst governor

that Palestine ever had

Festus is probably

one of the best.

So he was a good guy

in lots of ways

but he was

a double-minded man.

Can you see?

He's not motivated

by justice here

but by self-interest.

What's good for me?

So where

as the Jewish leaders

are they

closed their mind

they'd hardened

their hearts

to the truth.

Festus is double-minded.

Look at verses 18 to 20.

Festus is talking

to Agrippa

and when the accusers

stood up

they brought no charge

in his case

of such evils

as I suppose.

Rather they had

certain points of dispute

with him

about their own religion

about a certain Jesus

who was dead

but whom Paul

asserted to be alive.

It's an interesting thing

isn't it?

Do you notice that?

Then verse 19

such an incredible

way of putting it.

The man who is

the saviour of the world

the most influential

human being

that's ever existed

can you see how he's

described?

A dead man

named Jesus

who Paul claimed

was alive.

Festus says

I was quite surprised

he didn't realise

that was what

it was all about.

It wasn't what

I was expecting.

Roman law

doesn't actually

cover resurrection.

Insurrection

well I know all

how to deal with that

but resurrection

I've not got any

experience of that.

Festus is out

of his depth

he's clearly

out of his depth

and he's not really

that interested.

It's so obvious

isn't it?

He's dismissive about it.

Some man named

Jesus

Jesus

a really common

name

he died

this guy says

he came back

to death

came back

to life.

He shrugs it off

but can you

can you just

see under the

veneer

can you just

see underneath

the surface

here

that of course

in that

shrugging it off

Paul is putting

his

Festus is putting

his finger

right on the issue.

Why are the Jews

so angry?

Why are they

so murderous?

Because of the

resurrection of

Jesus Christ

the resurrection

of Jesus

actually reverses

the verdict

of history

I don't think

again I brought

this out in the

book of Acts

but the preaching

of the book of Acts

is you thought

Jesus was this

you threw him

on the scrap heap

of history

but he has died

but he has been

raised to life

he is God's king

forevermore

and what are you

going to do

with him?

they thought

he was just

one of the

dozens of

messiahs

they got rid

of him

they thought

this is the

end of this

Jesus

this Jesus

whom you

have crucified

God has

raised from

the dead

so where does

that leave you?

Well no wonder

you are angry

and if Jesus

is alive

from the dead

if Jesus

has risen

from the dead

then to live

as though

he is dead

well then

who is the fool?

you see

if it really

happened

this is 30

years after

the event

if it really

happened

that this

man Jesus

died

and Paul

says he

came back

from the

dead

you cannot

just shrug

as Festus

does

this is not

some kind

of finer

point of

philosophical

discussion

Paul says

in Corinth

he is on

record

saying if

you can

disprove

that Jesus

Christ

came back

from the

dead

you can

dismantle

Christianity

because if

Christ

has not

risen

from the

dead

your

faith

is

vain

futile

a waste

of time

if

Jesus

died

and did

not

rise

I am

a massive

fool

and so

are you

for believing

it

and Paul

is saying

if he

did rise

from the

dead

who is

the fool

now

Festus

notice

verse 26

he says

to Festus

and Agrippa

this was

not something

done in a

corner

isn't that

brilliant

it's not

hidden away

this is

something that

can be

investigated

here is

something that

is on

public

record

30 years

down the

track

after it

happened

one writer

said it's

the best

attested

fact in

history

Charles

Colson

he was

an insider

in Washington

he worked

in the

White House

he was

involved

in a

scandal

called

Watergate

and he

became a

Christian

while serving

his prison

sentence

this is

what he

said

he commented

on the

40 years

that Jesus

Christ's

disciples

never backed

down on

their witness

to the

resurrection

even to

the point

of martyrdom

and he

said this

we

that's

the

Washington

insiders

that concocted

this story

we couldn't

hold our

stories together

for three

weeks under

that kind

of pressure

he said

I was

around the

most powerful

men in

the world

but we

could not

hold the

lie

if the

resurrection

was not

true

those

disciples

could

never

howl

out

someone

would

have

dug

up the

tapes

or something

or maybe

you're a

fan of

the

Simpsons

some of

you are

too young

for the

Simpsons

kind of

glorious

cultural

commentators

and if you

know of a

man called

Lionel

Hutz

in the

Simpsons

he's the

lawyer

and Lionel

Hutz

is based

on a

real life

lawyer

who is a

very different

character

by all

accounts

Lionel

Hutz

is based

on Sir

Lionel

Luccu

who according

to the

Guinness Book

of Records

is the

most successful

lawyer ever

he has

apparently

245

consecutive

murder

acquittals

which is

pretty

impressive

but Sir

Lionel

Luccu

became a

Christian

at the

age of

64

and what

persuaded

him to

change his

mind was

this dead

guy called

Jesus

who Paul

said was

alive

listen to

the world's

most successful

lawyer he

says I

spent more

than 42

years as a

defence lawyer

appearing in

many parts

of the

world I

can say

unequivocally

that the

evidence for

the resurrection

of Jesus is

so overwhelming

that there is

no room for

doubt

you see

what Festus

so calmly

writes off as

a dead man

who Paul says

has come to

life is

actually

news like

there's a

bomb in the

building

there's a

bomb in the

building

you're not

very convinced

do you

are you

still sitting

there

there's a

bomb in the

building

if you saw

flashing lights

heard sirens

police and army

people come

wearing their

gear

coming in

through the

doors

the bomb

disposal unit

van outside

and they

come into

the room

and they

shout

there is a

bomb in

the building

you would

not sit

there

you'd

evacuate the

building

straight away

and the

resurrection is

that kind of

message

it isn't some

point of

doctrine that

the Jews are

debating with

Paul it is

bomb in the

building stuff

if this man

Jesus really

died and

really came

back from

the tomb

and if the

tomb is

empty in

Jerusalem

if this

thing that

was not

done in

a corner

if this

thing that

has been

done can

be proven

it's

bombing the

building

stuff

and you

cannot just

go on

thinking about

your career

festus

if you only

knew that

you're going

to just

last two

more years

anyway

you can't

just shrug

it off

festus

if there

really is

a bomb

in the

building

it's

madness

not to

do

anything

about

it

and if

Jesus

really did

rise from

the dead

which is

what the

Bible

teaches

and is

at the

heart

of

Paul's

gospel

then it

means

that the

end of

the world

where every

single human

being will

rise from

the dead

has broken

into time

and we

are now

living in

the last

days

between

Jesus

resurrection

and our

resurrection

resurrection

and that's

what the

resurrection

tells you

it's actually

what Jewish

belief taught

it's what Paul

had in

common with

these Jewish

leaders

they believed

that at the

end of the

age there

would be a

resurrection

of the

dead

and Paul

is saying

in Jesus

that has

happened

and you

cannot just

shrug your

shoulders and

think that's

interesting

it's bombing

the building

stuff

you cannot

continue to be

a Jewish

leader and

not recognise

Jesus as

the Messiah

you cannot

continue to be

a career

politician like

Festus and

put your

career first

if Jesus

has risen

from the

dead

because it

changes

everything

it changes

absolutely

everything

what you've

thought about

him is not

who he was

and you

will meet

him

thirdly

the whole

heartedness

of Paul

there's such

a contrast

between the

half heartedness

of the Jews

the hard

heartedness

of the Jews

and the

half heartedness

of Festus

look at

verses 24

and 25

of chapter

26

as he was

saying these

things in his

defence

Festus cried out

with a loud

voice

Paul you are

out of your

mind

you're nuts

your great

learning is

driving you

out of your

mind

it wasn't

the first

time

that

Christians

have been

called

nuts

and out

of your

mind

and it

certainly

wasn't

the last

time

in 1736

George

Whitfield

was ordained

in his

hometown

of Gloucester

he's one of

the great

Methodist

leaders

along with

John Wesley

one of the

great

18th century

preachers

the following

Sunday

George

Whitfield

preached

his first

sermon

in his

first church

and it

was a

sermon

that

apparently

15

people

were

converted

on the

spot

one and a

half

rows

were

converted

like that

it was

reported

to the

bishop

somebody

reported

to the

bishop

that

he had

driven

Whitfield

had driven

15

people

mad

to which

the bishop

replied

I hope

their madness

lasts till

next Sunday

you see

when somebody

is converted

when somebody

believes in

the Lord

Jesus

and when

somebody

is born

again

and they

begin to

take their

faith in

the Lord

Jesus

Christ

seriously

you're

going to

be accused

of

fanaticism

Tim Keller

in the

reason for

God

says people

will accuse

us of

fanaticism

but the

real problem

with us

is that

we're not

fanatical

enough

and that's

the problem

isn't it

because if

Jesus Christ

really did

rise from

the dead

and if

he's alive

today

then you

and I

ought to be

a lot more

fanatical

than we

are

because it

signals the

end of the

world

and there

is a date

in the

diary of

God

there's only

one date

left in

the diary

of God

and it

is the

day of

judgment

and that's

the significance

of the

resurrection

the resurrection

tells you

that judgment's

coming

and the

very fact

that it

hasn't

happened

yet

is because

God is

compassionate

and he's

patient with

you

and me

and he

doesn't

want you

to perish

and he's

giving us

as a church

family

the opportunity

to take

this message

of the

gospel

to the

ends

of the

earth

but don't

misunderstand

God's

patience

and God's

slowness

the next

date in

the diary

of God

is the

day of

judgment

and God

has served

notice on

the human

race

by raising

this man

Jesus

from the

dead

and Paul

says to you

and I

anyone who

takes

Christianity

seriously

is going

to be

thought of

as mad

I've

thought lots

in the last

few weeks

about the

Lord Jesus

who was

thought of

as mad

by his

family

Jesus is

preaching

to people

he's in

there's crowds

gathering to

hear him

so many

people are

gathering to

hear him

that his

disciples aren't

even able to

eat

they can't

get food

it's so

busy

and then

Mark tells

us that

when his

family

heard that

Jesus was

doing this

they went

to take

charge of

him

because

they

thought

he

was

out

of

his

mind

they

thought

that he

was out

of his

mind

the Lord

Jesus

is that

so encouraging

to some

of you

whose

family

think

you're

out

of

your

mind

is it

so

encouraging

to you

whose

friends

think

you're

out

of

your

mind

that

they

went

to the

man

who

was

most

in

his

mind

the

most

whole

human

being

that's

ever

walked

this

earth

and

they

said

he's

out

of

his

own

family

so

full

of

the

word

of

God

so keen

to do

the

will

of

God

so

zealous

for

the

glory

of

God

and

he

misses

a

meal

and

they

think

he's

out

of

his

mind

some

of

your

friends

and

your

neighbours

they

think

for

you

to

come

to

church

on

a

Sunday

night

you're

out

of

your

mind

but if

Jesus

is who

he says

he is

and the

resurrection

proves

that

those

claims

are

right

you're

in your

own

mind

that's

what

these

men

were

saying

about

Paul

look at

verse

32

this

man

could

have

been

set

free

if

he

had

appealed

to

Caesar

what

kind

of

nutcase

is

he

he

could

have

freed

him

if

he

had

appealed

to

Caesar

they

cannot

understand

what

was

making

Paul

what

was

why

did

Paul

want

to

go

to

Rome

well

we

know

don't

we

from

the

book

of

Acts

because

in

Acts

Acts 23:11

23

verse

11

Jesus

told

him

if

you

look

at

that

take

courage

for

as

you've

testified

about

the

facts

about

me

in

Jerusalem

so

you

will

in

Rome

and

so

Paul

wants

to

go

to

Rome

because

he's

been

told

that

he

will

appear

before

Nero

and

he

will

preach

the

gospel

to

the

ends

of

the

earth

Nero

heard

the

gospel

seems

very

unlikely

that

Nero

was

converted

he

wasn't

amazing

thing is

the

praetorium

guard

who

guarded

Paul

the

kind

of

crack

troops

of

the

empire

they

heard

this

prisoner

they

saw

this

prisoner

and

many

of

them

were

converted

and

they

were

sent

all

over

the

Roman

empire

and

we're

told

that

even

some

of

Caesar's

!

household

were

converted

let me

try and

tie this

together

and apply

it

so I

want to

ask you

what is

your

attitude

to the

message

of the

apostle

Paul

what is

it that

makes

you tick

what is

it that

motivates

you

every

one of

us is

like one

of those

old

fashion

watches

I've

got my

old

watch

on

but

every

old

fashion

watch

has

got a

main

spring

and

the

main

spring

makes

the

watch

tick

and

old

watches

tick

is

the

best

thing

about

watches

isn't

it

old

watches

there

is

something

in

you

that

makes

you

tick

there's

something

that

drives

you

there's

something

that

motivates

you

and

I

want

you

to

think

this

morning

as

we

come

to

the

Lord's

table

what

is

it

that

makes

you

tick

is

it

the

gospel

of

the

Lord

Jesus

is

it

the

message

of

the

Lord

Jesus

who

was

dead

but

is

now

alive

and

is

that

what

motivates

you

you've

got

lots

of

problems

you've

got

lots

of

issues

and

I

don't

want

to

underplay

them

but

you

look

to

every

person

in

this

room

and

they've

got

the

same

some

hide

!

it

better

than

others

but

the

message

that

there

was

a

dead

man

who

is

now

alive

changes

absolutely

everything

and

when it

comes to

this

message

of

that

Lord

Jesus

are

you

hard

hearted

close

minded

like

the

Jewish

leaders

implacably

hostile

blindly

prejudiced

but

all

done

through

a

kind

of

Presbyterian

lens

which

is

lovely

and

people

would

never

think

that

there

are

people

in

churches

aren't

there

that

sit

week

by week

by week

and

they've

closed

their

mind

and

they've

hardened

their

heart

and

you

do

not

have

to

be

mad

and

shouting

and

angry

maybe

you're

here

and

you

think

well

actually

I've

got

an

open

mind

GK

Chesterton

said

an

open

mind

is

like

an

open

mouth

you

open

it

in

order

to

shut

it

on

the

food

and