So Paul said, “I stand at Caesar’s judgment seat, where I ought to be judged… I appeal to Caesar.” (Acts 25:10-11)

It was a complicated situation.

Paul was held in Roman custody in the coastal city of Caesarea, waiting for a trial over a crime he didn’t commit, based on false accusations from those who hated Paul and the gospel of Jesus he preached.

When Paul was first put in custody, the Roman governor was Felix, who was eventually replaced by Festus. Felix was happy to delay the proceedings, hoping for bribes. When Festus came, he wanted to have a trial and resolve the matter regarding Paul.

When it was time for the trial, Paul faced powerful and corrupt adversaries. They wanted to have the trial in Jerusalem instead of Caesarea, knowing there was a secret plot to assassinate Paul on the way to Jerusalem.

Acts 25 doesn’t make it clear if Paul knew about this plot against his life. Whether he knew or not, God guided Paul to appeal to his right as a Roman citizen to be tried by Caesar in Rome. When Paul said, “I stand at Caesar’s judgment seat, where I ought to be judged…I appeal to Caesar” perhaps it was through supernatural knowledge, or perhaps through God-given common sense and deduction. One way or another, Paul demanded to stand trial before Caesar.

Rightly and wisely, Paul wanted to avoid martyrdom if he could. He wasn’t afraid to face the lions, but he didn’t want to put his head in a lion’s mouth if he could avoid it.

It was the right of every Roman citizen to have his case heard by Caesar himself, after initial trials and appeals failed to reach a satisfactory decision. This was in effect an appeal to the supreme court of the Roman Empire.

Paul’s appeal made sense. He was convinced that the evidence was on his side and that he could win in a fair trial. Paul appealed specifically to Caesar Nero, who was later a notorious enemy of Christians. But the first five years of his reign, under the influence of good men around him, Nero was regarded as a wise and just ruler. Paul had no reason at this time to believe that Nero would be anti-Christian.

I am fascinated by the fact that there were times when Paul refused to appeal to his rights. In Philippi, Paul could have stated his Roman citizenship much sooner and saved a lot of suffering (Acts 16:19-24). Paul had the right to be supported by the churches he served, but often gave up that right (1 Corinthians 9:3-7).

Yet there were times when Paul stood on his rights, such as here and in Acts 22:25-26.

We should be grateful for the rights given to us by God, and even more grateful if our government recognizes some of those rights. We should also pray for the Spirit-led discernment to know when to stand on our rights, and when to give them up.

But the following night the Lord stood by him and said, “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)

This must have been a difficult night for Paul. His greatest desire was to see the salvation of his fellow Jews (Romans 9:1-4), and two great opportunities to present the gospel to large and influential groups among the Jews had come to nothing.

It was in the darkness of that night when the fears came upon Paul; when his trust in God seemed to falter; when he worried about what God was going to do and if he was going to make it. It was in the darkness of that night that Jesus came to Paul and stood by him.

Paul was alone, but he wasn’t alone; if everyone else forsook him, Jesus was enough. Better to be in jail with the Lord than to be in heaven without him. Paul had been miraculously delivered from jail cells before; but this time, the Lord met him right in the jail cell.

We often demand that Jesus deliver us out of our circumstances when He wants to meet us right in them. We sometimes think we are surrendering to Jesus when we are only demanding an escape. God wants to meet us in whatever we face now.

Jesus was not only with Paul; He gave him words of comfort. The words be of good cheer tell us that the night brought with it an emotional and perhaps spiritual darkness upon Paul. Jesus was there to cheer His faithful servant after he had spent himself for Jesus’ sake.

Anyone can be of good cheer when everything is great; but the Christian can be of good cheer when everything is rotten, knowing that God is mighty and wonderful no matter what the crisis of the moment.

Paul could have been discouraged about the lack of results from the sermon in Jerusalem. But the results were not his responsibility. His responsibility was to bring the Word of God and to testify of Jesus; the results were God’s responsibility. You have testified for Me in Jerusalem means that Jesus complimented Paul on a job well done.

Yet, though Paul had done a good job, there was more to do. Rome was Paul’s next assignment. The greatest words a faithful child of God can hear are “There is more for you to do.” Those words grieve the lazy servant but bring joy to a faithful servant.

It can be said to every child of God: There is more for you to do. More people to bring to Christ, more ways for you to glorify Him, more people to pray with, more humble ways to serve His people, more hungry people to feed, more needy people to clothe, more weary saints for you to encourage.

Today, receive the encouragement Jesus has for you – then continue with His ongoing purpose for you.

 

And after those days we packed and went up to Jerusalem. (Acts 21:15)

Paul and his companions were on their way to Jerusalem. They had traveled a long way, mostly across the Mediterranean Sea. Now they were on the last part of their journey, going from Caesarea on the coast inland toward Jerusalem.

Luke traveled with Paul, indicated by using we in this sentence. In writing about this part of the trip, Luke said something small, yet in my mind, significant. He noted, we packed. This is noticeable because this was the end of a long journey, yet Luke never before stated that they packed. They sailed from Miletus to Cos, from Cos to Rhodes, from Rhodes to Patara, from Patara to Tyre, Tyre to Ptolemais, and then finally from Ptolemais to Caesarea. They packed and unpacked at each step along the way, but Luke never mentioned it. Only here he did, as they prepared to leave Caesarea and go to Jerusalem.

This makes me think that this was the first time Luke visited Jerusalem, and like any follower of Jesus, he was excited. He knew this was the famous City of David, the location of the great temple, and the place where Jesus taught, did miracles, died, rose again, and ascended to heaven. Luke thought that every detail of this last part of their long journey was exciting, and like an excited tourist, he even mentioned, we packed.

There are a few other things to consider about we packed and went.

It shows us that God loves order and packing merely is ordering what we have in preparation for travel. God is a God of order and planning, and our desire to have things in order reflects His image in us. We should never make idols of order and organization, but it is essential to be mindful of them because God is full of order and organization.

It shows us that it is wise to prepare for where we are going. Paul, Luke, and the others traveling with them knew that packing would help them be ready for their travel to Jerusalem and their time there. Therefore, they took the foresight to get prepared by carefully packing. The same principle is true for us. We all have an appointment with the future. This is true for the near future, and it is wise for us to prepare for what lies ahead in this life.

It is even more valid for our eternal future. Each of us has an appointment with eternity, one that no one escapes. It would be best if you did your packing for that journey. Give your attention to eternal things right now.

That means:

– Attention to God’s word, which is eternal.
– Attention to people, who are eternal.
– Attention to giving, the sending of treasure ahead to heaven.

Before you go up to the New Jerusalem, make sure you’ve packed and prepared for the trip. Are you ready for travel?

 

Now God worked unusual miracles by the hands of Paul, so that even handkerchiefs or aprons were brought from his body to the sick, and the diseases left them and the evil spirits went out of them. (Acts 19:11-12)

Acts 19 tells the story of the amazing work God did in Ephesus, and in the whole region that surrounded that great city. It was a remarkable work of the Holy Spirit, deeply rooted in the word of God, and through the hands of God’s willing servants.

Another part of the amazing work done in Ephesus is described in Acts 19:11: God worked unusual miracles. I suppose that every miracle is unusual, but Luke explained that even for miracles, these were unusual. Luke then gave an example: that Paul’s handkerchiefs (literally, “sweat-bands”) or aprons could be laid on a person even without Paul present, and that person was healed or delivered from demonic possession.

It was unusual for God to use handkerchiefs or aprons in such a way. These were probably part of what Paul wore when he did his leatherworking as he provided for himself and others in Ephesus. These handkerchiefs or aprons were brought from his body to the sick. We don’t really know how this worked, other than the same way that the shadow of Peter (Acts 5:15) or the hem of Jesus’ garment (Matthew 14:36) might heal – these items became a point of contact by which a person released faith in Jesus as their healer.

We can imagine this happening at first almost by accident – perhaps a person in need of healing took a handkerchief from Paul in a superstitious manner and was healed. But it became a pattern that other people imitated. As we will see, the superstitious practice of magic and sorcery was prevalent in Ephesus. So, it should not surprise us that some took a quite superstitious view of the miracles done through Paul.

God will stoop down to meet us even in our crude superstitions. This never means that God is pleased with our superstition, but that in His mercy He may overlook them to meet a need. Many years ago, I remember seeing what looked to be loosely rolled up newspapers on a pulpit in Bulgaria. I was told they were pieces of fabric (wrapped in newspapers) that the pastor prayed over, and they were taken home to sick people. This was a common practice in these Bulgarian churches.

To take the phrase literally, these were miracles not of the ordinary kind. This means that we should not expect that God would regularly use methods like this to bring healing. And, it’s not like Paul possessed some power to do these things. It does not say that Paul did these unusual miracles, but that God worked them by the hands of Paul.

Here is a glorious truth: God works both in the ordinary and the unusual. Test all things, but don’t despise the ordinary, and don’t reject the unusual. Jesus is big enough to work in both!

These were more fair-minded than those in Thessalonica, in that they received the word with all readiness, and searched the Scriptures daily to find out whether these things were so. Therefore many of them believed, and also not a few of the Greeks, prominent women as well as men. (Acts 17:11-12)

As Paul traveled through the area that we know today as Greece, he went from city to city, preaching the good news of Jesus Christ. In Berea, he followed his familiar strategy, and found that the audience was more fair-minded than those in Thessalonica.

Two things earned this compliment for the Bereans: first, they received the word with all readiness. Second, they searched the Scriptures daily to find out whether these things were so.

The Bereans heard the teaching of the most famous apostle and theologian of the early church, and the human author of at least 13 New Testament books. Yet, they searched the Scriptures when Paul taught, to see if his teaching was truly Biblical. They would not accept Paul’s teaching without checking for themselves, so they could know if these things were so.

When the Bereans heard Paul teach, their settled reaction wasn’t “My, he’s a fine speaker.” It wasn’t “I don’t like the way he talks.” It wasn’t “What a funny preacher.” Instead, the Bereans wanted to know, “Are these things…so? Does this man teach the truth? We must search the Scriptures daily to find out whether these things are so.”

Their research was not casual; it had a certain character.

– They searched the Scriptures. It was worth it to them to work hard at it, and investigate what the word of God said, and how Paul’s teaching matched up with it.

– They also searched the Scriptures daily to find out. It wasn’t a one-time, quick look. They made it a point of diligent, extended study.

– Also, they searched the Scriptures daily to find out. They believed they could understand and find out truth from the Bible. For them, the Bible was not just a pretty book of poetry or mystery or nice spiritual inspiration for thoughts-for-the-day. It was a book of truth, and that truth was there to find out.

But with all their diligent searching and concern for the truth, the Bereans did not become skeptics. They also received the word with all readiness. When Paul preached, they had open hearts; but also clear heads. Many people have clear heads but closed hearts, and never receive the word with all readiness. It was bothof these things that made the Bereans more fair-minded than those in Thessalonica.

Paul had nothing to fear by the diligent searching of the Scriptures by the Bereans. If they were really seeking God and His word, they would find out that what Paul preached was true. This is exactly what happened among the Bereans, and therefore many of them believed.

Be like the Bereans. Search the Bible. Search it daily. Search it to find out God’s truth.