The Why Behind It All
Acts 23:12-26:32
Contributed by Enid Victor
“But God has helped me to this very day; so I stand here and testify to small and great alike.” —Acts 26:22
“Take courage! As you have testified about me in Jerusalem, so you must also testify in Rome” (23:11). These words from the Lord must have encouraged and strengthened Paul for the next set of trials that he was to endure. In this section of Acts, we first read of the plot to kill Paul, which he learns from his nephew. The Roman commander saves Paul by sending him under heavy guard to Caesarea, where Paul will stand before Governor Felix. There, lawyer Tertullus states his case against Paul, who then tells Felix that Tertullus in fact has no case against him, otherwise the witnesses would be there. Felix is not “convinced” one way or the other (really, he didn’t want to make the Jews or the Romans mad). So, he allows Paul to stay in jail, periodically calling for Paul, expecting him to offer Felix a bribe.
Two years go by. That’s right, two years, waiting for something to happen. Then Felix is replaced by Festus, who was equally flummoxed about what to do. Festus tries to convince Paul to go to Jerusalem for the trial. But Paul knows that he won’t get a fair trial in Jerusalem. So, he appeals to Caesar, and since he is a Roman citizen, Festus must comply. Festus consults with King Agrippa, who questions Paul as well. In chapter 26, we hear Paul’s story for a third time in Luke’s account (Acts 9, 22). This time we read more about Jesus’ plan for Paul.
Knowing what Paul has experienced, and what he is about to experience, reading Paul’s testimony and remembering Jesus’ words to Paul (Acts 23:11), we can be encouraged that Paul will live to travel to Rome to testify about Jesus there. Paul knows that he is not going to get a fair trial anywhere and is confident that he must continue to share the gospel with whomever he encounters, even King Agrippa or the emperor himself.
Paul receives courage from Jesus’ words. By telling his story again, he manifests Jesus’ love for him and obeys Jesus’ command to him. When like Paul, we practice remembering God’s faithfulness – to ourselves and to others – we find an invitation to partake of an extra measure of strength. Strength needed to continue in our journey, especially when enduring hardship.
Last February, when my husband was in the hospital on a ventilator with covid pneumonia, I would regularly rehearse the ways in which God had been faithful to me and my family in the past. I would recall our daughter’s heart surgery at 2 months old; our time of separation when my husband worked in Chicago. God was faithful in those times; His faithfulness remains constant. This truth gave me and my family the comfort and strength to endure.
Even when Paul faced layers of inconceivable suffering – flogging, imprisonment, unjust trials, shipwrecks, and a snake bite – he had strength in the Lord to persevere because he knew God was with him.
Consider –
╬ Stories of God’s faithfulness are so encouraging to the church. What story can you remember of God’s faithfulness? Share it with someone so that they will have another story to remember in the future. Remember and give thanks.
╬ Our lives are lived always in the companionship of the triune God. God knows and is willing to provide what we need. Ask God what you need right now, telling Him you will humbly receive His provision.
╬ Comforter and Redeemer, we praise you for your faithfulness – yesterday, today, and tomorrow. We pray that, in times of trouble, you will remind us of your faithfulness, your goodness and kindness, and your sovereignty over all things. In Jesus’ name. Amen.