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Paul headed to Rome, amen.

We can all see the fingerprints of God everywhere in this chapter. As I read this account I could see that that the Omniscient and Omnipotent God was controlling and orchestrating every single event, every person, every word spoken, and every single detail! The words of Jesus stayed in the forefront of my mind, “…“Be of good cheer, Paul; for as you have testified for Me in Jerusalem, so you must also bear witness at Rome.” [Acts 23:11] “…you must also bear witness at Rome.” “…you must also bear witness at Rome.” I am reminded of: Isaiah 46:10 “Declaring the end from the beginning, And from ancient times things that are not yet done, Saying, ‘My counsel shall stand, And I will do all My pleasure,”; Daniel 5:21, “….. he knew that the Most High God rules in the kingdom of men, and appoints over it whomever He chooses.”; Proverbs 21:1, “The king’s heart is in the hand of the Lord, Like the rivers of water; He turns it wherever He wishes.” I see how Paul easily could have become frustrated while he waited in prison in Caesarea. Felix knew that Paul was innocent, but he kept him in prison, hoping for a bribe from Paul’s wealthy friends. When that didn’t come, and Felix was recalled to Rome because of the complaints of the Jews, to gain some political capital, he left Paul imprisoned. So God changed govenors! Felix’s successor Festus was a more upright ruler than Felix (according to Josephus). He was a man of action. He had barely arrived in the capital of Caesarea before he went up to Jerusalem to familiarize himself with the situation there. Paul’s Jewish attackers took advantage of the governor’s newness on the job to present their case against Paul and urge that he be brought to Jerusalem for trial. Their real intent was to resurrect their foiled plans from two years before and murder him on the way. God had other plans! Festus wasn’t going to let the Jews get the upper hand by telling him how to manage his affairs, so he told them that they could come to Caesarea and present their case against Paul. When Paul found himself standing before the same angry accusers who had tried to get him executed two years earlier, he easily could have become frustrated. It seemed like more of the “same old same old.” These guys just wouldn’t quit! They didn’t have anything new to say. Their charges, which they couldn’t prove, were basically the same as before, that Paul was violating the Jewish law, that he had desecrated the temple, and that he was a threat to the Roman government [Acts 25:8; Acts 24:5-6]. Paul could have impatiently thought, “When will this ever end, so that I can get on with the more important task of taking the gospel to the Gentiles who have never heard about Christ?” But Paul didn’t grow frustrated or impatient. Instead, he calmly defended himself before this same angry group of Jews and before the new governor. Again God moves! As the trial progressed, Festus saw a way that he could now gain some political capital with the Jews, and so he reversed his earlier decision and offered to move the trial to Jerusalem. Paul could see that he would not get a fair trial there, if he even got there alive, and so he was forced to appeal his case to Caesar. Through this, God sovereignly was working to get His apostle to Rome. Paul invokes his right to see Caesar to show that even the ruler of the known world must hear the gospel. Remember Jesus said, “…you must also bear witness at Rome.”! When Festus granted Paul’s appeal to go to Caesar, he was probably relieved to get this sticky case out of his jurisdiction. But he also created a problem for himself, in that he had to give sufficient rationale to Caesar to trouble him with this case. So God sends Festus some help! About that time King Agrippa and his sister (and lover) Bernice, arrived at the capital to pay their respects to Festus. He was still puzzling over what to write to Caesar, and so he ran the case by Agrippa, who wanted to hear Paul. And so God manipulated all of these diverse and potentially frustrating circumstances not only to get Paul to Rome, but also for Paul to bring the gospel before these influential leaders. From a spiritual perspective of these events, we can look at two prophecies: In Acts 9:15, the Lord had predicted of Paul, “He is a chosen instrument of Mine, to bear My name before the Gentiles and kings and the sons of Israel.” Here Paul bears witness before all three groups. And, in Acts 23:11, the Lord had told Paul, “for as you have solemnly witnessed to My cause at Jerusalem, so you must witness at Rome also.” God was at work behind these frustrating circumstances and repeated false charges to fulfill His purpose for His servant, Paul. That reminds me: “The Lord of hosts hath sworn, saying, Surely as I have thought, so shall it come to pass; and as I have purposed, so shall it stand.” ([sa. 14:24] Again: “So shall my word be that goeth forth out of my mouth: it shall not return to me void, but it shall accomplish that which I please, and it shall prosper in the thing whereto I sent it.” [Isa. 55:11]. I think that the application for us today is that we need to believe that God will protect His servants from the forces of evil and use us according to His sovereign purpose. Even before all of this began, before the Damascus Road experience, before Tarsus, before Paul’s birth—-God was work! He made sure that Saul was born a Roman! Through the whole ordeal Paul never hesitated to use his citizenship to advantage. Paul used his status as a Roman citizen to frustrate his adversaries. His citizenship made kings and governors, soldiers and priests, and Romans and Jews all think twice about their intended actions toward him. Remember that a Roman citizen was guaranteed a fair trial and was protected against certain forms of harsh punishment. A Roman citizen could not be executed without a trial and could not be crucified except by order of the emperor. A citizen could even appeal to Caesar in order to be tried in Rome. Paul was intelligent enough to know all of his rights and savvy enough to know how to use them to his and especially God’s advantage. Not only did his rights as a Roman citizen often save his life in dangerous situations (22:25), they also allowed him to carry the gospel message to jailers, shipmates, kings, and to the emperor in Rome (25:11). Look at how God arranged every little detail! God works, often behind the scenes, to protect and use His servants according to His purpose. God has used Paul’s love for his people and his strong desire to unify the Gentile and Jewish wings of the church to bring him to Jerusalem. He used the counsel of the Jerusalem church leaders, misguided though it may have been, to get Paul into the Temple. He brought along the Jews from Asia at just the right moment to spot Paul and stir up the riot against him. He used Lysias, the commander, to rescue Paul from the angry mob. He used Paul’s nephew overhearing the plot of the Jews, along with Lysias’ protection, to save Paul’s life and get him safely to Caesarea. He used the self-seeking scoundrel Felix to put the Jews at bay for two years, during which time Paul had further influence among the Jewish Christians and Luke had time to research his gospel and the Book of Acts. And now He uses the inexperienced governor’s suggested compromise to set up an appointment for Paul to preach to Festus, Agrippa, and Bernice, as well as to get him an all-expenses paid trip to Rome. As Christians, we will often face circumstances that can either be frustrating or fruitful for the Lord, depending on how we handle it. If we see things only from a human perspective, we’ll grow impatient and frustrated as we think, “What a waste of time!” But if we see God’s sovereign hand orchestrating all of our circumstances according to His plan, then we can rest in Him, knowing that He will work it together for good according to His purpose. I believe that God says what he means and means what He says! “Hallowed be Your name. Your kingdom come. Your will be done on earth as it is in heaven.”

I admire Paul's courage to stand up for himself, and also his integrity to say and mean that if he had done wrong he would take the punishment even if it meant death. How admirable it is to accept deserved punishment, but how much more admirable is it that Jesus accepted the UNDESERVED punishment of death out of love for us.