We want to be shaped by it, we want to be faithful servants, effective witnesses of our Lord Jesus.
So to that end, we ask that you would address us, teach us, and by the power of Holy Spirit, change us this morning.
In Jesus' name we pray, amen.
Acts chapter 25, starting verse 13.
I'm going to be, it's a long passage, I'm going to jump around a little bit, so I invite you to your Bible's open.
Acts 25, verse 13.
Now when some days had passed, the Rippa the king and Bernice arrived at Caesarea and greeted Festus.
And as they stayed there many days, Festus laid Paul's case before the king, saying,
There is a man left prisoner by Felix, and when I was at Jerusalem, the chief priests and the elders of the Jews laid out their case against him, asking for a sentence of condemnation against him.
I answered them that it was not the custom of the Romans to give up anyone before the accused met the accusers face to face and had opportunity to make his defense concerning the charge laid against him.
So when they came together here, I made no other way, but on the next day took my seat on the tribunal and ordered the man to be brought.
When the accusers stood up, they brought no charge in his case of such evil as I supposed.
Rather, they had certain points to dispute with him about their own religion and about a certain Jesus, who was dead, but whom Paul asserted to be a Bible.
Being at a loss how to investigate these questions, I asked whether he wanted to go to Jerusalem and be tried there regarding him.
But when Paul had a deal to be kept in custody for the decision of the emperor, I ordered him to be held until I could send him to Caesar.
Then Agrippa said to Festus, I would like to hear the man myself.
Tomorrow, said he, you will hear him.
So on the next day, Agrippa and Bernice came with great pomp, and they entered the audience hall with the military tribunes and the prominent man of the city.
Then at the command of Festus, Paul was brought up.
And Festus said, 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.
But I found that he had done nothing deserving death.
And as he himself appealed to the emperor, I decided to go ahead and send him.
But I had nothing definite to write to my lord about him.
Therefore, I have brought him before you all, and especially before you, King Agrippa,
so that after we have examined him, I may have something to write.
For it seems to be unreasonable in sending a prisoner not to educate the charges.
So the greatest party of religion, I've lived as a Pharisee.
And now I stand here on trial because of my hope in the promise made by God to our fathers,
to which our twelve tribes hope to attain as they earnestly worship night and day.
And for this hope, I am accused by Jews, O King.
Why is it thought incredible by any of you that God raises the dead?
I myself was convinced that I ought to do many things in opposing the name of Jesus of Nazareth.
And I did so in Jerusalem.
I not only locked up many of the saints in prison after receiving authority from the chief priests,
but when they were put to death, I cast my vote against them.
And I punished them often in all the synagogues and tried to make them blaspheme.
And in raging fury against them, I persecuted them even to foreign cities.
In this connection, I journeyed to Damascus with the authority and commission of the chief priests.
At midday, O King, I saw on the way a light from heaven,
brighter than the sun that shone around me and those who journeyed with me.
And when we had all fallen to the ground, I heard a voice saying to me in the Hebrew language,
Saul, Saul, why are you persecuting me?
It is hard for you to kick against the goats.
And I said, who are you, Lord?
And the Lord said, I am Jesus whom you are persecuting.
But rise and stand upon your feet, for I have appeared to you for this purpose,
to appoint you as a servant and witness to the things in which you have seen me
and to those in which I will appear to you,
delivering you from your people and from the Gentiles to whom I am sending you,
to open their eyes so that they may turn from darkness to light
and from the power of Satan to God,
that they may receive forgiveness of sins
and a place among those who are sanctified by faith in me.
Therefore, O King Agrippa,
I was not disobedient to the heavenly vision,
but declared first to those in Damascus, then in Jerusalem,
and throughout all the region of Judea,
and also to the Gentiles,
that they should repent and turn to God,
performing deeds in keeping with their repentance.
For this reason, the Jews seized me in the temple and tried to kill me.
To this day, I have had the help that comes from God,
and so I stand here testifying, both to small and great,
saying nothing but what the prophets and Moses said would come to pass,
that the Christ must suffer,
and that by being the first to rise from the dead,
he would proclaim light, both to our people and to the Gentiles.
And as he was saying these things in his defense,
Festus said with a loud voice,
Paul, you are out of your mind.
Your great learning is driving you out of your mind.
But Paul said,
I am not out of my mind, most excellent Festus,
but I am speaking true and rational words.
For the king knows about these things,
and to him I speak boldly,
for I am persuaded that none of these things had escaped his notice,
for this has not been done in a corner.
King Agrippa,
do you believe the prophets?
I know that you believe.
And Agrippa said to Paul,
In a short time,
would you persuade me to be a Christian?
And Paul said,
Whether short or long,
I would to God that not only you,
but also all who hear me this day,
might become such as I am,
except for these chains.
Then the king rose,
and the governor,
and Bernice,
and those who were sitting with them,
and when they had withdrawn,
they said to one another,
This man is doing nothing to deserve death or imprisonment.
And Agrippa said to Festus,
This man could have been set free,
if he had not appealed to Caesar.
This is God's holy and authoritative word.
In the book,
The Insanity of God,
which is one of the books
that are on our 2022 Trinity Reads Book Challenge,
Nick Ripken tells many of the stories
that he has collected over the 20 years
of visiting and interviewing hundreds of believers
who live in areas
where there is intense persecution of Christians.
And at the end of the book,
Ripken makes the startling observation
that our persecuted believers around the world
do not ask us to pray
that their persecution would cease.
Instead,
they ask us to pray
that, quote,
they would be faithful
and obedient
through their persecution
and suffering.
Because Jesus taught
that persecution
will be the norm
and not the exception
for Christians.
And because 2 Timothy 3.12
teaches that indeed
all who desire to live
a godly life in Christ Jesus
will be persecuted.
Our brothers and sisters
in persecuted countries
believe that praying
for the end of persecution
is tantamount to praying
that people will no longer follow Christ.
Ripken notes that
even in countries
where it is most intense
and pervasive,
quote,
persecution is completely avoidable.
If someone simply leaves Jesus alone,
doesn't seek him or follow him,
then persecution
will simply not happen.
Beyond that,
even if someone
becomes a follower of Jesus,
persecution will likely not happen
if the faith
is kept private and personal.
If a person is silent
about their faith in Jesus,
the chance of being persecuted
is very small.
So if our goal
is reducing persecution,
that task is easily achieved.
First,
just leave Jesus alone.
Second,
if you do happen to find him,
just keep him to yourself.
The reason for persecution, then,
is that people keep finding Jesus
and then they refuse
to keep him to themselves.
Having said this,
Ripken asks a provocative question.
He says,
perhaps the question should not be,
why are others persecuted?
Perhaps the better question is,
why are we not?
Could it be that we are not persecuted
because our lives
are indistinguishable
from that of unbelieving
people in the world?
Could it be that we are not persecuted
because we have been silent
about Jesus?
When our brothers and sisters
in persecuted parts of the world
have shared Jesus
at the risk of being beaten,
ostracized, jailed,
and even killed,
have we kept Jesus
to ourselves
from the comfort
of our free western world?
In this passage,
we see the apostle Paul
on trial yet again.
And once again,
we see Paul
bear faithful witness
to Jesus.
Even in dire circumstances,
whenever he opens his mouth,
it seems Paul can't help himself
but to speak of Jesus.
And through Paul's example,
Luke reminds us
that we too are servants
and witnesses
of the risen Lord Jesus.
And we've been sent out
to open people's eyes
so that they might turn
to the light of Christ.
That's the main point
that Luke is making here.
So let's talk first
about how Jesus
is the resurrected Lord
and then secondly
about how we are his servants
and witnesses
in this passage.
So this is taking place
sometime between 58 and 60 AD.
It's when Porcius Festus
who replaced Antonius Felix
as the Roman procurator
of Judea.
And Paul is under trial again.
This time,
he is being interrogated
by King Agrippa.
Chapter 25, verse 13
tells us that Agrippa the king
and Bernice arrived at Caesarea
and greeted Festus.
The Agrippa mentioned here
in this passage
is Agrippa the second.
He is the great grandson
of Herod the first
who tried to kill Jesus
when he was an infant.
And the son of Herod Agrippa the first
who appears several times
throughout the book of Acts
as a violent persecutor
of the church.
So he's got quite the heritage here,
this Agrippa.
And Bernice that is mentioned here
is Agrippa the second's sister.
And also she happened to be
the older sister of Drusilla
who we know is the wife
of Festus,
Festus' predecessor Felix
that was mentioned
in chapter 24.
Agrippa the second
is a client king
appointed by the Roman emperor
to rule over the Jewish world,
over Jerusalem and Judea
and surrounding regions.
Because of this,
Agrippa was an expert
in Jewish affairs.
He was intimately familiar
with the controversies
of the Jews,
the theology of the Jews,
their politics, etc.
So he likely would have
been aware already
of the waves that Paul
was causing among the Jews.
And that's why later
in chapter 26 verses 2-3
Paul says this to Agrippa.
He says,
I consider myself fortunate
that it is before you
King Agrippa
I am going to make
my defense today
against all the accusations
of the Jews.
Especially because
you are familiar
with all the customs
and controversies
of the Jews.
So this is a great opportunity
for Paul to be vindicated.
And given this background,
Agrippa's interest
in Paul makes sense.
And so when Festus
mentions that he is
holding Paul in prison,
he says immediately
in 25 verse 22,
I would like to hear
the man myself.
And Festus grants him
the wish.
But before Festus
gives the floor
to Agrippa,
he gives a summary
of the situation
of his assessment
of Paul twice.
First informally
in chapter 25
verses 14-21
and then again formally
during the official
proceedings in
verses 24-27.
And in both of those times,
Festus mentions
Paul's innocence.
He says in verses
18-19,
when the accusers
stood up,
they brought no charge
in his case
of such evils
as I supposed.
Rather,
they had certain points
of dispute with him
about their own religion
and about a certain
Jesus who was dead
but whom Paul
asserted to be alive.
So the Jews were,
as we've been following
in this story,
were falsely accusing
Paul of desecrating
the temple
and of starting a riot
and they were trying
to get a capital
sentence for him.
But Paul was not guilty
of any of those crimes.
He was innocent
and he was only claiming
that Jesus is
the promised Messiah
and that he died
and was raised
from the dead
and that all must put
their faith in him.
And so again,
in verses 24-25,
Festus summarizes,
the whole Jewish people
were shouting that Paul
ought not to live any longer
but I found that he
had done nothing
deserving death.
Paul's not guilty
of any crime
and that's how
believers should be
when they bear witness
in a hostile world.
We should be innocent
and yet we must bear
bold witness to Jesus.
So what then
was the reason
why Jews wanted
to kill Paul so badly?
Festus' assessment
was that it had to do
with the question
of the resurrection,
Jesus' resurrection.
And his conclusion
is consistent
with what Paul's
been saying all along
because he's been saying
from chapter 23 onward
every time that
it's because of his claim
that Jesus was raised
from the dead
that he is now
being persecuted.
It's with respect
to the resurrection
of the dead
that he was on trial.
And that's the point
that Paul emphasizes
again before Agrippa.
Look at chapter 26
verses 68 with me.
It says,
Paul says,
And now I stand
here on trial
because of my hope
in the promise
made by God
to our fathers
to which our 12 tribes
hope to attain
as they earnestly
worship night and day.
And for this hope
I am accused
by Jews, O King.
Why is it thought
incredible
by any of you
that God
raises the dead?
A consequence
of the fall
of humanity
because of Adam's sin
was loss of access
to the tree of life
as we know
from Genesis 3.
God had placed
the tree of life
in the Garden of Eden
for people to eat it
and to dwell forever
in his presence.
But because of Adam's sin
death came into the picture
as a penalty for sin.
And in all the genealogies
of the Old Testament
in Genesis, Numbers,
1 and 2 Chronicles,
Ezra,
we find the haunting refrain,
So and so lived
this many years
and he died.
And that raises
a huge theological question.
God, can you do anything
about death?
You promised Abraham
that his descendants
will be as innumerable
as the stars in the sky,
but who cares?
He's dead.
You used Moses
to rescue the Israelites
out of Egypt,
but he died
before he could even
enter the promised land.
You promised David
that one of his descendants
will reign on his throne
forever,
but what gives?
He'll never see it.
He's dead.
Yes, Lord,
you have done much
for your people.
You rescued them
out of their slavery
in Egypt.
You brought them
into a land
flowing with milk and honey.
You gave them a nation
and a kingdom,
but what about death?
People are still
falling like flies
left and right.
Can you do something
about that?
Can you undo
that?
some of us
have lost loved ones
recently,
and we continue
to remember
with sadness,
and we wonder,
why death?
death?
Yes, Christians
have been used
by God
in ancient times
and modern times
to raise the dead,
as prophets Elijah
and Elijah have done,
as apostles Peter
and Paul have done,
as Jesus himself did,
but all of those people,
even those who were
temporarily reanimated,
eventually died again.
Again,
death is
the most significant
consequence of the fall,
but can death
itself be defeated?
The prophets
of the Old Testament
picked up on this theme
and relate to us
what God promised
to do about death.
In Isaiah 25, 8,
it says,
He will swallow up
death forever,
and the Lord God
will wipe away
tears from all faces,
and the reproach
of His people
He will take away
from the earth.
Isaiah 26, 19,
Your dead shall live,
their body shall rise.
You will,
to you who dwell
in the dust,
awake and sing for joy.
In Ezekiel 37,
after God raises,
miraculously,
a valley of dry bones
and brings them
back to life,
He promises this,
Behold,
I will open your graves
and raise you
from your graves,
O my people.
I will bring you
into the land of Israel,
and you shall know
that I am the Lord
when I open your graves
and raise you
from your graves,
O my people.
In Daniel 12,
verse 2,
perhaps one of the
most famous examples,
it says,
Multitudes who sleep
in the dust of the earth
will awake,
some to everlasting life,
others to shame
and everlasting contempt.
And this is Paul's point.
When numerous passages
of Scripture
point to this promise
of the resurrection,
that God is going to deal
with this problem of death
once and for all,
why should anyone
who believes
in the Word of God
find it unbelievable
that God raises the dead?
Paul's faith
in the resurrected Jesus
was rooted
in the Jewish Scriptures.
Contrary to being
someone who is anti-Jewish,
Paul is arguing that,
no,
I am being
a faithful Jew.
This is what I've been taught
in the Jewish Scriptures.
Jesus is the fulfillment
of the hope
of the 12 tribes of Israel.
And it's precisely
for proclaiming this Messiah
that we had all been waiting for
that you are not
persecuting me.
So Paul continues
in verses 22 to 23,
To this day,
I have had the help
that comes from God,
and so I stand here
testifying both
to small and great,
saying nothing
but what the prophets
and Moses said
would come to pass,
that the Christ
must suffer,
and that by being
the first to rise
from the dead,
he would proclaim light
both to our people
and to the Gentiles.
Hosea chapter 6,
verse 2,
prophesied specifically
that the Messiah
would die
and be raised
on the third day.
And he prophesied
that our resurrection
would be connected
to be wrapped up
with Jesus' resurrection,
the Messiah's resurrection.
And that's what Paul's saying
when he says here
that Jesus was the first
to rise from the dead.
That implies
that Jesus is not the last
to rise from the dead.
There will be others
who follow in his footsteps.
This is the idea
that Jesus is the first fruits
from the dead,
which Paul,
that's an idea
that Paul expands upon
in 1 Corinthians 15,
verses 19 to 26.
I think I have that
to project for you.
He says,
If in Christ
we have hope
in this life only,
we are of all people
most to be pitied.
But in fact,
Christ has been raised
from the dead,
the first fruits
of those who have
fallen asleep.
For as by a man
came death,
by a man has come
also the resurrection
of the dead.
For as in Adam
all die,
so also in Christ
shall all be made alive,
but each in his own order.
Christ,
the first fruits,
then that is coming
those who belong
to Christ.
Then comes the end
when he delivers
the kingdom to God,
the Father,
after destroying
every rule
and every authority
and power.
For he must reign
until he has put
all his enemies
under his feet.
The last enemy
to be destroyed
is death.
The idea of the first fruits
in the Old Testament
has to do with
bringing the first
of your produce,
the first fruits
of your produce
that you farmed
as well as the first fruits
of your livestock
as an offering to God
in thanksgiving.
And that offering,
the first fruits,
represented the rest
of the harvest.
It was a way
of acknowledging
that really all
that we have
is from God.
It's a good gift
from him.
And really all of it
belongs to him.
But we bring
the first fruits,
the best and the first
things that we have
bought,
we have brought
from our produce
as a way to honor God
and recognize
that it's all from him
and that it all
belongs to him.
And it's a pledge
of the harvest
that is to come.
We're saying
when we give
our first fruits
to God,
there will be
a harvest to follow.
This is just
the first fruits
that God's given
to us.
And in a similar way,
Christ is the first fruits
of the resurrection.
He's the first fruit,
first to be raised
from the dead.
And it's the resurrection
of Christ
that guarantees
his followers
future resurrection.
It's a pledge
for us.
just as when Adam
died,
when Adam sinned
and he died,
he was the first man,
he was the representative
of all of humanity.
And when he died,
he brought death
into all of humanity.
And similarly,
when Jesus,
the new Adam,
the representative
of all those
who pledged
their allegiance
to Jesus,
to him,
when Jesus is raised
from the dead,
that's the guarantee
that all those
who belong to him
will also be raised
from the dead.
1 Corinthians 15,
56 says,
the sting of death
is sin
and the power
of sin is the law.
It's because Jesus
paid the penalty
for sin
that we can be free.
Because if sin
is not dealt with,
death can never
be avoided.
Because wherever
there is sin,
there is death
because death
is the punishment
for sin.
And but by dying
on the cross
for our sins,
taking up our penalty
on the cross,
Jesus dealt with sin
once and for all
so that those
who believe in him
would no longer
be under the power
of death.
Jesus has paid
our debt.
That's what Paul
is proclaiming.
But in order
to be guaranteed
this resurrection,
we have to align
ourselves with Jesus.
Paul says that
in 26,
verse 18
of our book,
in the book of Acts,
that we gain a place
among those
who are sanctified
by faith
in Jesus.
By believing
that Jesus
is the Son of God.
By believing
that Jesus
is the Messianic King,
the Savior
of the world,
and that he died
for our sins
and was raised
from the dead
to give us
eternal resurrection life.
But this faith
is not
a mental assent
only.
It's a belief
that affects
our behavior.
That's why
in verses 18
and 20,
Paul uses
the language
of turning
and repentance.
Paul says
in verse 20
that he preached
that people
should repent
and turn to God
performing deeds
in keeping
with their repentance.
To repent
means to turn.
If you really
believe in Jesus,
there will be
deeds
that are in keeping
with our repentance.
Imagine that
your friend
is driving
and you're sitting
on the passenger side.
You have the GPS
in your hand.
he is going
in the wrong direction.
So you tell him,
hey,
you have to make
a U-turn.
You have to turn around.
And he keeps
driving
in the wrong direction.
So you tell him,
hey,
you made the wrong turn.
You have to turn around.
And he keeps
driving in the wrong direction.
And at that point,
you would wonder,
did my friend
hear me?
Is he ignoring me?
Does he think,
I don't know how to
listen to read the GPS,
not giving him
the right direction?
Because,
if he really heard him,
he would have
turned around.
In a similar way,
when we believe
in Jesus,
you turn
toward him.
You reorient
your life
around him.
Your purposes
and priorities
are realigned
with Jesus'
purposes and priorities.
And so,
if you say
you believe in Jesus,
but your life
gives no evidence
that you have,
in fact,
turned around,
it brings into question
whether you really
repented,
whether you really
believed.
And if you are here
this morning
and you have not
turned around,
if you're still
going in the wrong direction,
then you must
repent and believe
in Jesus.
think of how much
of your time,
your life,
how much of human
activity in general
is driven by
the desire to
prolong life
and avoid death.
All the health
precautions we take,
diets,
exercise,
medicine,
research,
even work.
We work ultimately,
right,
because we need to
earn money so that
we can buy food
to eat
because you can't
live without working.
But despite all
these efforts,
the world has
no answer for death.
The resurrected Jesus
is the only person
who has ever
solved
the problem of death
and he is
our only answer.
And this is why
it's imperative
that those who
have found Jesus,
those who are already
servants of Jesus
and must bear
witness to him,
tell everyone about
his death and
resurrection.
And that brings me
to my second point,
that we are his
servants and witnesses.
The gospel of Jesus
Christ is the good
news,
this is the best
news in all the
world and we are
responsible for
spreading it.
Paul describes his
mission of proclaiming
the gospel in
chapter 26,
verse 18 as
to open their
eyes.
Whose eyes?
He says in
verse 17 and 23,
that is to open
the eyes of both
Jews and Gentiles.
This would have
been surprising for
the Jews because
they didn't think
their eyes need to
be opened.
Well, they are the
chosen people of God
after all, but this
is what Paul
proclaimed, that
the Jews' eyes
also need to be
opened.
This is a good
lesson for us.
It teaches us that
sometimes even the
people who are very
religious and
spiritual, who seem
to think that they
have all the answers,
who have a religious
upbringing and a
spiritual heritage,
maybe even our
pastor's kids, are
lost.
Sometimes I think we
can be lulled into
thinking that people
who seem to be doing
well for themselves in
this world don't need
Jesus.
But that's not the
case.
Everyone is lost
apart from Jesus.
Everyone is a sinner
in need of a Savior.
So Paul says he was
sent out by Jesus,
quote, to open their
eyes so that they may
turn from darkness to
light and from the
power of Satan to God
that they may receive
forgiveness of sins and
a place among those who
are sanctified by faith in
him, in Jesus.
Everyone who doesn't
know Jesus is groping
about in the dark.
Do you really believe
that, brothers and
sisters?
Even the most
intelligent person you
meet, even the most
successful person you
meet, even the person
that appears to have
everything figured out
is hopelessly lost
without Jesus.
Do you believe that?
Everyone who doesn't
know Jesus is under the
power of Satan.
Even the most moral and
law-abiding person, even
the most prolific good
doer that everyone
seems to admire, is
ultimately under the
power of Satan.
Do you really believe
that?
And this is why we as
servants and witnesses
of the risen Lord Jesus,
we must open their eyes
to the light of Christ.
The fact that some
people don't want to
hear the gospel does not
make the gospel any less
of good news.
The fact that some
people don't believe the
gospel does not make it
any less of a good news.
It is the good news.
It is the only good news
of salvation.
It is what we have been
commissioned to share.
And that command, it is a
command.
It comes to us from the
highest possible authority.
In chapter 25, verse 26,
Festus refers to Caesar as
his Lord.
But Paul serves a
different Lord.
He addresses the risen
Jesus as Lord in chapter
26, verse 15.
He says, while he was
journeying to Damascus with
the authority and
commission of the chief
priests to persecute
Christians, he says in
verse 12 to 18, at
midday, O king, I saw on
the way a light from
heaven, brighter than the
sun that shone around me
and those who journeyed
with me.
And when we had fallen to
the ground, I heard a
voice saying to me in the
Hebrew language, Saul,
Saul, why are you
persecuting me?
It is hard for you to
kick against the goals.
And I said, who are you,
Lord?
And the Lord said, I am
Jesus whom you are
persecuting.
But rise and stand upon
your feet, for I have
appeared to you for this
purpose, to appoint you as
a servant and witness to
the things in which you
have seen me and to those
in which I will appear to
you.
This is a scene out of
the throne room.
Because when you go into
the throne room of a
king, you fall prostrate
before them.
And so they all fall to
the ground when the light
shines that is brighter
than the sun.
And when you are
prostrate before the king,
only when the king says
you can rise up, you rise
up.
And that's what Paul does.
Jesus says to him, rise
and stand upon your feet,
for I have chosen you,
appointed you as a servant
and a witness.
Why did Paul do a complete
180 in his life?
Moments before he was
doing the bidding and
then going with the
authority of the high
priests to persecute
believers.
Why did he turn around?
Why is he now proclaiming
the Christ that he was
persecuting once in his
life?
Because he encountered
the risen Lord who has a
higher authority.
authority.
The authority of the risen
Lord overrode the authority
of the chief priests.
In the various spheres of
our lives, we listen to
people who have authority in
those respective spheres,
don't we?
If you're in the classroom,
you listen to the teacher.
If we're in at work, we
listen to our boss.
If you're a child at home,
you listen to your parent.
But here is Jesus who has
risen from the dead.
Here is Jesus who has
ascended to the heavens.
Here is Jesus who is
seated at the right hand of
God the Father himself,
far above all rule and
authority and power and
dominion and above every name
that is named.
Here is Jesus who speaks
from a light from heaven
brighter than the sun.
Only thing that can
possibly be is the
unapproachable light that
God himself dwells in that
we read early in 1 Timothy
6 verse 15.
The risen Jesus is God.
He is the son of God.
He is the king of kings and
lord of lords whose
authority overrides every
other authority.
And his authority extends to
every sphere over the
entire cosmos.
So when Jesus tells us to do
something, we obey.
And this is why Jesus said to
Paul when he appeared to him
in verse 14, Saul, Saul, why
are you persecuting me?
It's hard for you to kick
against the goads.
A goad is a pointed stick that
farmers use to drive
cattle, prod them in the
direction that they wanted to
go.
So if you want them to go
this way, you press them this
way.
But if sometimes cattle will be
rebellious and they'll kick
against it, try going a
different direction.
But that's not a battle that
the cattle can win.
Because the more you turn and
the more you, there's only so
long can the cattle remain under
the pressure of that sharp goad
before it folds and starts to
follow the farmer.
So that expression was used by
the Greeks to refer to
resisting something that has
higher power, something that is
irresistible, ultimately
unavoidable.
Paul could not avoid his
commission, his call, because
God had called him to it.
The Lord Jesus, who had all the
authority, had commanded him to
it.
And so Paul says in verse 19, I
was not disobedient to the
heavenly vision.
He obeyed.
He followed Jesus.
He started proclaiming him
everywhere.
Most of us don't think twice
about obeying human authorities.
Right?
When the traffic cop tells us to
drive through a red light or stop
at a green light, even though we
are, that goes against everything
we have been taught in driving
school.
And it goes against the pattern
that we have come to be
accustomed to every single day.
We do what they tell us to do
because the cop's authority
overrides that of the traffic
light.
So when the Lord Jesus commands
us to go and tell people about
his gospel, it doesn't matter how
much peer pressure we face.
It doesn't matter what the law of
the land is.
We obey because it comes from a
higher authority.
This is why Paul was able to stand
up tall and bear witness to Jesus
even before kings.
Look at chapter 25, verse 23 with me.
It's a great scene.
It says, so on the next day,
Agrippa and Bernice came with great
pomp and they entered the audience
hall with the military tribunes and the
prominent men of the city.
Then at the command of Festus, Paul was
brought in.
Notice the star contrast.
Here's Agrippa and Bernice arrive with
great pomp in their royal regalia,
undoubtedly.
They're accompanied by military
tribunes, probably in their uniforms
and medals and everything that shows
who they are.
And then they're also surrounded by,
Paul's also surrounded by the prominent
men in all their pretenses of power and
luxury.
And then with utter simplicity, it says,
Paul's brought in.
Probably in his plain garb, prisoner garb.
Imagine yourself in Paul's shoes, how easy
it would have been for him to be overwhelmed
and intimidated.
A raid before him is a spectacular display
of earthly wealth, authority, and power.
And here he is, a lone prisoner.
But that's the thing.
Paul is not alone.
He says in chapter 26, verse 22, Paul says,
To this day, I have had the help that comes
from God.
And so I stand here testifying both to small
and great.
Because Jesus, who has all authority in heaven
and on earth, stands by him to help him.
Paul is able to stand up and testify both to small
and great without shrinking.
Sometimes as Christians, we're tempted to fight
fire with fire.
When the world's renowned scientists tell us that
science makes God obsolete, we point to prominent
scientists who believe in God.
When the world's philosophers tell us that God is dead,
we point to Christian philosophers who argue that God is
very much alive.
Oh, you have doctorates?
We have doctorates too.
Oh, you have experts on your side?
We have experts on our side too.
But then when we're outnumbered,
when we feel out-resourced,
when we are outdone,
when we are outlawed,
we shrink.
We shrink.
But we don't need to do that.
Because Jesus, the risen Lord,
has all the authority.
We can hold our heads up high and speak of Jesus
in any situation.
Not only when we have power.
Paul was bold and unapologetic in his witness.
In chapter 26, verse 27,
when Paul asks King Agrippa,
Do you believe the prophets?
I know that you believe.
Agrippa responds,
In a short time,
would you persuade me to be a Christian?
Agrippa is incredulous.
He's having a hard time processing the fact that
Paul is trying to convert him.
Paul, you're on trial here.
You're a prisoner.
And you only have a brief moment here
to defend yourself.
And are you spending that time
trying to persuade me to become a Christian?
During that time.
And Paul's response in verse 29 is amazing.
He says,
Whether short or long,
I would to God that not only you,
but also all who hear me this day
might become such as I am.
Except for these chains.
Is that your heart
for your unbelieving neighbors and friends?
That they would become like I am?
That they would love Christ like I do?
They would know Christ like I do?
Is that your real heart?
How would you answer
if one of your friends or coworkers or neighbors
asked you point blank,
Hey, are you trying to convert me to be a Christian?
Well, no, not exactly.
I'm not trying to get you to change.
I'm not trying to proselytize.
I just want to share my perspective,
my opinion.
That's not Paul's response.
Paul's answer is an emphatic yes.
Yes.
I am trying to convert you.
Yes.
I am trying to convert you
and not you only,
but everyone who hears me.
Because I want everyone to be saved.
Billions of people
on Twitter,
on Facebook,
politicians,
religious teachers,
professors,
they're all trying to persuade us
to believe something
that they believe is true,
that they believe is good.
And it's nonsense that
it's only religious faith
that has to be relegated
to the realm of private opinion.
Even as a prisoner,
even during his defense speech
during trial,
Paul is evangelizing.
What about us?
In the book I mentioned
at the beginning,
The Insanity of God,
one of the believers
who had endured much persecution
in communist Russia
when he was still USSR,
says this to Nick Ripken.
Don't you ever give up
in freedom
what we would never give up
in persecution.
And that is our witness
to the power
of the resurrection
of Jesus Christ.
Let us not be silent
in times of peace
when our brothers and sisters
throughout history
and throughout the world
have spoken up
in times of great persecution.
Let's pray.
God, we pray
that you would shape
and define our reality.
That we would be,
we would see
and live with,
by faith and not by sight.
so that we can truly say
of all those who,
to all those who don't know you,
to God,
I wish that all of you
would be saved.
That all of you
would be like me
who knows Jesus.
to all of you
would be saved.
That we pray
that you would make us
a church
that shares the gospel
with unbelievers
every week.
To small and great,
to the poor and rich,
to the weak
and the powerful.
and we trust,
Lord,
that when we do,
that you will save.
Embolden us,
empower us
as your witnesses.
In Jesus' name,
Amen.