But when his accusers rose to speak, they did not charge him with any of the crimes I had expected. Sermons
I. WHEREIN PAUL'S ACCUSERS FAILED. They could not prove any crime that was cognizable by the Roman authorities. They were in danger of being themselves charged with violence done to a Roman citizen. II. WHEREIN PAUL'S ACCUSERS WERE WEAK. They brought before a civil judge only matters of opinion. On these freedom was allowed, so long as that freedom did not lead to acts of rebellion or disorder. They did not even bring matters of opinion that were of public concern, but only such as were made subjects of party contention. Their little isms they thought of more importance than the government of the empire. Festus haughtily says that the questions concerned their own superstition. III. WHEREIN PAUL'S ACCUSERS CONFIRMED HIS TEACHING. They set out prominently Paul's great truth, that Jesus was alive, and had present power to save. From his enemies we learn what Paul preached - Christ risen; Christ living; Christ saving now. Christ, as "alive from the dead," is declared (1) innocent, (2) accepted, (3) Divine, (4) related to us as Mediator. We know clearly what made the Jewish party so mad against the apostle. No other apostle or disciple had shown, as he had done, what was involved in our Lord's resurrection. Still if our preaching is to be a saving power on men, we must declare Christ risen from the dead, and "able to save unto the uttermost all who come unto God by him." - R.T.
And after certain days King Agrippa and Bernice came unto Caesarea. Each of the characters thus brought on the scene has a somewhat memorable history.1. The former closes the line of the Herodian house. He was the son of the Agrippa whose tragic end is related in Acts 12:20-23, and was but seventeen years of age at the time of his father's death, in A.D. 44. He did Hot succeed to the kingdom of Judaea, which was placed under the government of a procurator; but on the death of his uncle Herod, the king of Chalets, in A.D. 48, received the sovereignty of that region from Claudius, and with it the superintendence of the temple and the nomination of the high priests. Four years later he received the tetrarchies that had been governed by his great-uncles Philip and Lysanias (Luke 3:1), with the title of king. In A.D. 55 Nero increased his kingdom by adding some of the cities of Galilee (Jos. "Ant." 19:09, § 1; 20:01, § 3; 8, § 4). He lived to see the destruction of Jerusalem, and died under Trajan ( A.D. 100) at the age of seventy-three. 2. The history of Bernice, or Berenice (the name seems to have been a Macedonian form of Pherenice), reads like a horrible romance, or a page from the chronicles of the Borgias. She was the eldest daughter of Herod Agrippa I, and was married at an early age to her uncle the king of Chalets. Alliances of this nature were common in the Herodian house, and the Herodias of the Gospels passed from an incestuous marriage to an incestuous adultery (See Matthew 14:1). On his death Berenice remained for some years a widow, but dark rumours began to spread that her brother Agrippa, who had succeeded to the principality of Chalcis, and who gave her, as in the instance before us, something like queenly honours, was living with her in a yet darker form of incest, and was producing in Judaea the vices of which his father's friend, Caligula, had set so terrible an example (Sueton. "Calig." c. 24). With a view to screening herself against these suspicions, she persuaded Polemon, king of Cilicia, to take her as his queen, and to profess himself a convert to Judaism, as Azizus had done for her sister Drusilla, and accept circumcision. The ill-omened marriage did not prosper. The queen's unbridled passions once more gained the mastery. She left her husband, and he got rid at once of her and her religion. Her powers of fascination, however, were still great, and she knew how to profit by them in the hour of her country's ruin. Vespasian was attracted by her queenly dignity, and yet more by the magnificence of her queenly gifts. His son Titus took his place in her long list of lovers. She came as his mistress to Rome, and it was said that he had promised her marriage. This, however, was more than even the senate of the empire could tolerate, and Titus was compelled by the pressure of public opinion to dismiss her, but his grief in doing so was matter of notoriety. "Dimisit invitus invitam (Sueton. Titus," c. 7; Tacit, "Hist." 2:81; Jos. "Ant." 20:07, § 3). The whole story furnished Juvenal with a picture of depravity which stands almost as a pendent to that of Messalina ("Sat." 6:155-9). (Dean Plumptre.) Here we have —I. BITTER ANTAGONISM. This is revealed in the Jews. They hated "the one Jesus whom Paul preached as having died and risen again." There are men now who hate Christianity — its principles, author, advocates, and disciples. The opposition, however, is as futile as it is wicked. II. IDLE CURIOSITY. This is revealed in Agrippa. "I will also hear the man myself." Being a Jew, he could not have been ignorant of Paul, and now an opportunity occurred for him to see the man and hear his tale. His wish was not a wish for spiritual instruction. Multitudes now go to hear preachers from the same motive. III. PROUD INDIFFERENCE. This is revealed in Festus. He cared nothing about "this one Jesus who was dead, and whom Paul affirmed to be alive." Religious indifferentism is the prevalent sin of Christendom. This is worse, for many reasons, than theoretic infidelity. IV. VITAL FAITH. This is revealed in Paul. 1. Paul had a faith. 2. His faith was in Christ. 3. His faith was his very life.To it he lived, and for it he was prepared to suffer and to die. "For me to live," he said, "is Christ, and to die is gain." (D. Thomas, D. D.) A noble picture, from which we recognise —I. THE GLORY OF GOD, who sets open doors before His servants even in bonds, and knocks with His Word at palaces as well as huts. II. THE FIDELITY OF HIS SERVANT who bears testimony to the Lord everywhere undazzled by the splendour of human greatness, and unclogged by the fetters of his own trouble. (K. Gerok.) I. IT SHOULD DO EVERYTHING WHICH BELONGS TO ITS OFFICE.1. In respect of accusers: to receive and listen to them patiently (vers. 15-18). 2. In respect of the accused: to hear their defence impartially, and to protect their persons against the craft and violence of their enemies (vers. 16, 18, 21). II. IT SHOULD OMIT EVERYTHING WHICH DOES NOT BELONG TO ITS OFFICE. 1. It should assume no judgment in matters of faith. 2. It should not arbitrarily anticipate the higher judge (ver. 25), but conscientiously prepare the way. (K. Gerok.) 1. Their highest standpoint is that of civil law, as here with Festus.2. Their judgment is depreciatory: they reckon them as belonging to the domain of superstition, and pride themselves on not understanding such questions (vers. 19-21). 3. Their sympathy is, as with Agrippa, an affair of curiosity and fashion (ver. 22). (Lisco.) 1. The precious articles of the Christian faith are to it the offspring of superstition, not worth the trouble of being accurately instructed therein (vers. 19, 20).2. The living Head of the Church is "one Jesus" who is dead, of whose power and presence there is no trace (ver. 19). 3. The chosen servants of God are to it incomprehensible and whimsical men, of whom nothing can be made (vers. 24-27). (K. Gerok.) When any member of Mr. Kilpin's church at Exeter came with details of real or supposed injuries received from a fellow member, after listening to the reporter, Mr. Kilpin would inquire if they had mentioned these grievances to their offending brother or sister. If the reply was in the negative — and usually it was so — he would then calmly order a messenger to fetch the offender, remarking that it would be ungenerous to decide, and unscriptural to act, merely from hearing the statement of one party. This determination always produced alarm, and the request that nothing might be mentioned to the party implicated. Assertions and proofs are very different grounds for the exercise of judgment, and are more distinct than angry persons imagine.People Agrippa, Augustus, Bernice, Felix, Festus, PaulPlaces Caesarea, JerusalemTopics Accusation, Accusers, Bringing, Case, Charge, Charges, Crimes, Evil, Evils, Expected, Expecting, Got, Guilt, Mind, Misdemeanours, None, Nothing, Speak, Standing, Stood, Supposed, Suspecting, ThinkingOutline 1. The Jews accuse Paul before Festus.8. He answers for himself, 11. and appeals unto Caesar. 14. Afterwards Festus opens his matter to king Agrippa; 23. and he is brought forth. 25. Festus clears him of having done anything worthy of death. Dictionary of Bible Themes Acts 25:17Library 1 Cor. 15:3-4. Foundation Truths. [4] "I delivered unto you first of all that which I also received, how that Christ died for our sins according to the Scriptures; "And that He was buried, and that He rose again the third day according to the Scriptures."--1 Cor. 15:3-4. THE text which heads this paper is taken from a passage of Scripture with which most Englishmen are only too well acquainted. It is the chapter from which the lesson has been selected, which forms part of the matchless Burial Service of the Church of England. Of … John Charles Ryle—The Upper Room: Being a Few Truths for the Times Whether a Judge May Condemn a Man who is not Accused? Whether Ambition is Opposed to Magnanimity by Excess? Whether it is Lawful for the Accused to Escape Judgment by Appealing? Acts 26:24-29. Portraits. Messiah Worshipped by Angels The Candour of the Writers of the New Testament. The Intercession of Christ Jerusalem to Rome From Antioch to the Destruction of Jerusalem. One Argument which Has Been Much Relied Upon but not More than Its Just Weight... 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