"A HARMONY OF THE LIFE OF PAUL"

Imprisonment In Caesarea (58-60 A.D.)

INTRODUCTION
  1. Following his arrest in Jerusalem, Paul was given an armed escort to Caesarea...
    1. In response to a plot by some Jews to kill him - Ac 23:12-24
    2. Accompanied by a letter from the Roman commander (Claudius Lysias) in Jerusalem, to the Roman governor Felix - Ac 23:25-33
  2. Upon reading the letter, and learning that Paul was from Cilicia, Felix...
    1. Promised to grant Paul an audience when his accusers had come - Ac 23:34-35
    2. Commanded Paul to be kept in Herod's Praetorium - Ac 23:35

[Thus begins the next phase of Paul's life, in which he spent two years of imprisonment in Caesarea. It would prove to be a time of prophetic fulfillment (cf. Ac 9:15), for Paul would have the opportunity to preach Jesus to two Roman governors and a Jewish king...]

  1. PAUL BEFORE FELIX
    1. ACCUSATIONS AGAINST PAUL...
      1. Made by Ananias the high priest, elders, and an orator named Tertullus - Ac 24:1
      2. Tertullus' speech
        1. Opening statements, complimenting Felix - Ac 24:2-4
        2. Charges against Paul - Ac 24:5-6
          1. A plague
          2. A creator of dissension among Jews throughout the world
          3. A ring leader of the sect of Nazarenes
          4. Tried to profane the temple - cf. Ac 21:27-29
        3. They wanted to judge him by Jewish law, but Lysias prevented them - Ac 24:6-8
        4. Closing statement, calling upon Felix to examine Paul himself - Ac 24:8
      3. Supporting testimony by the Jews present - Ac 24:9
    2. PAUL'S DEFENSE...
      1. Permitted to speak, Paul gladly responds - Ac 24:10
      2. Paul's defending arguments, part one - Ac 24:11-13
        1. It has only been twelve days since Paul arrived in Jerusalem to worship
        2. He had not disputed with anyone, nor incited crowds, either in the temple, synagogues, or in the city
        3. His accusers cannot prove their charges against him (see part two)
      3. Paul's affirmation of his faith and hope - Ac 24:14-16
        1. He worships God according to the Way they call a sect
        2. He believes all things written in the Law and the Prophets
        3. He has hope in God regarding the resurrection of the dead - cf. Ac 23:6
        4. He always strove to have a good conscience before God and men - cf. Ac 23:1
      4. Paul's defending arguments, part two - Ac 24:17-21
        1. He came to Jerusalem to bring alms and offerings for his nation - cf. Ro 15:25-27
        2. He was found purified in the temple by Jews from Asia, but neither with a multitude nor with tumult - cf. Ac 21:26-27
        3. The Jews from Asia should be the ones making accusation against him
        4. The Jews from Jerusalem who could find only one thing wrong with him:
          1. His statement before the Sanhedrin council - cf. Ac 23:6-9
          2. I.e., his belief in the resurrection of the dead, which divided the council
    3. FELIX'S PROCRASTINATION...
      1. He suspends judgment until Lysias can come - Ac 24:22
      2. Paul is allowed limited freedom, along with visitors - Ac 24:23
      3. Paul before Felix and Drusilla - Ac 24:24-25
        1. Drusilla, his wife who was Jewish
          1. Youngest daughter of Herod Agrippa I, and sister of Bernice - Ac 25:13
          2. Married to King Azia of Emesa, who had agreed to be circumcised
          3. Atomos, a magician from Cyprus, helped Felix win Drusilla away from her husband
        2. Paul reasoned about righteousness, self-control, and the judgment to come (because of their adulterous marriage?)
        3. Felix, fearful, sends Paul away for a more convenient time
      4. Felix, hoping Paul would pay for his release, talks with him often - Ac 24:26

      [After two years (58-60 A.D.), Felix is replaced by Porcius Festus. Wanting to please the Jews, Felix leaves Paul bound (Ac 24:27). This sets the stage for...]

  2. PAUL BEFORE FESTUS
    1. PAUL'S TRIAL ARRANGED...
      1. Three days after arriving in Caesarea, Festus goes to Jerusalem - Ac 25:1
      2. He is petitioned by the high priest and other chief men - Ac 25:2-3
        1. To send Paul to Jerusalem
        2. Whom they hope to kill on the way
      3. Festus arranges for the trial at Caesarea - Ac 25:4-6
        1. Determining that Paul should be kept there
        2. Festus himself would be going there, which he does after ten days
        3. Paul's accusers invited to come and present their charges
        4. Paul is brought before Festus and the judgment seat
    2. THE TRIAL AND PAUL'S APPEAL...
      1. The Jews from Jerusalem make charges they cannot prove - Ac 25:7
      2. Paul denies any offense against the Law, the temple, or Caesar - Ac 25:8; cf. Ac 21:28
      3. Trying to please the Jews, Festus asks if Paul is willing to go to Jerusalem and be judged there - Ac 25:9
      4. Paul appeals to Caesar, which Festus grants - Ac 25:10-12

      [As a Roman citizen, Paul exercises his right to appeal his case before Caesar. Before Festus sends Paul to Rome, the governor takes advantage of an opportunity to have Paul examined by one known for his knowledge of Jewish law, King Agrippa II...]

  3. PAUL BEFORE AGRIPPA
    1. FESTUS' CONFERENCE WITH AGRIPPA...
      1. King Agrippa II and Bernice visit Festus - Ac 25:13
        1. Agrippa II was son of Herod Agrippa I, who beheaded James - Ac 12:1-2,20-23
        2. Bernice was sister to Drusilla, but also to Agrippa II
          1. She was first married to a person named Marcus
          2. She then married her uncle Herod, king of Chalis
          3. Upon his death she married Polemon, king of Pontus and Cilicia, who had to agree to be circumcised
          4. She soon left him, and began an incestuous relationship with Agrippa II
          5. She later became mistress to Titus, Caesar of Rome
      2. Festus describes Paul's case to Agrippa - Ac 25:14-21
        1. Paul was left a prisoner by Felix
        2. Jews from Jerusalem wanted a judgment against Paul
        3. Roman law required that Paul face his accusers
        4. In the trial, it became apparent that the questions involved Judaism and whether Jesus was alive
        5. Paul appealed to Caesar rather than be judged in Jerusalem
      3. Agrippa desires to hear Paul, to which Festus consents - Ac 25:22
    2. PAUL'S DEFENSE BEFORE AGRIPPA...
      1. Paul brought before Agrippa, Bernice, Festus and prominent men of the city - Ac 25:23
      2. Festus' introductory remarks - Ac 25:24-27
        1. Paul has been accused to be worthy of death
        2. Festus had not found him worthy of death
        3. Since Paul has appealed to Caesar, Festus will send him
        4. But he has nothing certain to write Caesar, and solicits Agrippa's examination
      3. Paul's defense - Ac 26:1-23
        1. Paul's introductory remarks, grateful to speak before Agrippa - Ac 26:1-3
        2. Paul reviews his early life - Ac 26:4-11
          1. His youth in Jerusalem, which all knew
          2. His religious convictions as a Pharisee, to which they could attest
          3. His hope in the resurrection of the dead, a promise all Jews should hope to attain
          4. His persecution against the name of Jesus and His disciples
        3. Paul recounts his vision on the road to Damascus - Ac 26:12-18
          1. The light from heaven, the voice of Jesus
          2. The commission given to Paul
            1. To be a witness of what he has seen and heard
            2. To turn Gentiles from darkness to light, from the power of Satan to God
            3. To offer them forgiveness, and an inheritance among those sanctified by faith in Jesus
        4. Paul's concluding remarks - Ac 26:19-23
          1. He was not disobedient to the vision
          2. He proclaimed repentance to those in Damascus, Jerusalem, Judea, and then the Gentiles
          3. For this, Jews seized him in the temple and sought to kill him
          4. Yet with God's help he simply testifies what Moses and the prophets said would happen
            1. That Christ would suffer and be the first to rise from the dead
            2. That He proclaim light to both Jews and Gentiles
      4. Reaction to Paul's defense - Ac 26:24-29
        1. Festus believes Paul to be mad
        2. Paul claims to speak words of truth and reason, of things Agrippa knows well
        3. Paul challenges Agrippa
          1. To believe the prophets
          2. To become a Christian
      5. Agrippa's conclusion - Ac 26:30-32
        1. The king, governor, Bernice, and others go aside to discuss the matter
        2. They all conclude Paul has done nothing worthy of death
        3. Agrippa tells Festus that Paul could have been set free if he had not appealed to Caesar
CONCLUSION
  1. After three trials, and two years of imprisonment in Caesarea, Paul is headed for Rome...
    1. As the Lord revealed in a vision - Ac 23:11
    2. As Paul wanted to do for some time - cf. Ac 19:21; Ro 1:9-11,15; 15:23-29
  2. It may not have been as Paul anticipated, but circumstances gave him the opportunity...
    1. To bear witnesses to two governors, a king, two immoral women, and many others
    2. To eventually bear witness before the Caesar of Rome

All this happened, in keeping with the will of God, and courtesy of the Roman government, with all expenses paid!

As with Joseph in Egypt, Paul's life is a wonderful illustration of God's providence. Indeed, Paul could have easily said to his enemies what Joseph told his brothers:

"But as for you, you meant evil against me; but God meant it for good, in order to bring it about as it is this day, to save many people alive." (Gen 50:20)

May Paul's life, along with that of Joseph's, encourage us to trust in the wonderful providence of God!