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THE K I N G ' S B U S I N E S S
having P au l before them in Jerusalem^ but he had appealed to Caesar. Festus did not know how to make out the papers neces sary for th e commitment to Rome, and so desired, fu rth er information. The king be came interested and expressed his wish to hear P aul himself. The assemblage was a b rillian t one. K in g fAgrippa and his wife, Bernice; the governor in his official uniform ; m ilitary officers and notable personages of the city; a g reat gathering, bu t the noblest one of them all was th e man w ith , the manacled hands who was to address them. I t Was well worth while to be imprisoned, if the door of the prison opened into such a wide place of opportunity. Festus stated the case and P aul re sponded. This was not a court of justice. I t was an audienee given to -a “ m inister and w itness’’ of a new doctrine,—an op portunity for him to set fo rth the claims of the Messiah of the Jew's. Nothing makes more luminous the heavenly char acter of the Gospel th an the contrast be tween the Jews, .with their b itte r hatred, and Paul, w ith his prayerful patience to w ard them. While they eursed and eon- spired to kill him, he loved and longed for them (Rom. 10:1; 9:3) “ B rethren, my h e art’s desire and p ray er to God fo r Isirael is, that, they m ight he saved. * * For I eould w ish th a t myself w ere aceursed from C hrist fo r m y brethren, m y kinsm en ac cording to the flesh.” He never abused his nation. While they manifested all of the m alignant hatred of the old devilish nature, Paul demonstrated the divine power of th a t new life which is from above (John 8:23). He made no defense of himBelf, bu t of the Gospel which he loved. He -seized the oppor tu n ity to evangelize his hearers. In his testimony, he humbled himself and exalted Christ. Paul had lived in Jerusalem from- the age of twelve to thirty-five years. He was a prom inent member of th e Sanhedrin and a persecutor of Christ, This his enemies knew (Gal. 1:14; Phil. 3 :5 ,6 ). He touched the sore spot in the ease when he insisted th a t the animosity of the Jew s arose from the fa c t of his preaching the resurrection
Outline: (1) P a u l’s Personal Experience, vs. 1-18. (2) P a u l’s Prom pt Obedience, vs. 19-21. (3) P a u l’s Persistent Preaching, vs. 22,23. (4) P aul Persuading Agrippa, vs. 24-32. Introduction: Eor two years P au l remained a prisoner- in Caesarea. The unprincipled Eelix was w illing to show th a t.m u e h favor to the Jews. "We have no record of w hat hap pened to him during LESSON th a t period, b u t'w e can EXPOSITION well imagine th a t they T. O. H o rto n - were busy years for the- M aster. We have th e record of bu t a few incidents in the life of Paul. The hundreds of sermons and discourses, the m ultitude of personal deal ings w ith the unsaved and a thousand other details of his eventful life are un recorded; bu t God has given us enough to furnish the basis for our estim ate of his g reat character and to record the trend of affairs in connection w ith th e spread of the Gospel and the organizing of the ehureh. Porcius Pestus succeeds Felix as gov ernor. When he visited Jerusalem the Jew s besought him to tak e action against Paul. The passing years had not lessened their hatred of him and another plot was formed to put him to death. Festus was a b etter man th an Felix and a fair-m inded governor. He insisted on P a u l’s accusers accompanying him to Caesarea and their bringing th eir charges against him. To this they consented and laid many com plaints against him. Paul refused to play into th e ir hands by returning to Jerusalem , and appealed to the higher court of Caesar. (1) Personal Experience, vs. 1-18, “ My manner of life .’’ Festus was not well informed concern ing the customs of the Jews. When, th ere fore, K ing Agrippa (king of th e country east of the Upper Jordan) came to pay him a visit, Festus counseled w ith him con cerning Paul. The Jew s insisted upon
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