New Governor but the same old story of partiality, although Festus seems more committed to due diligence in doing things rightly. He convenes the court in Caesarea, the provincial capital, and does not override Paul’s right to refuse a trial in Jerusalem and grants his appeal to be tried in a higher court (although this was Paul’s undeniable right as a Roman citizen). Once again though Festus acts out of a mix of perplexity, fear and self-interest. Although in mitigation he does seem genuinely unsure how to act (v.20) he does at least want to have genuine charges to make against Paul (v27) and he does not leave Paul languishing under arrest but sends him on to Rome at the first opportunity (27:1).

First Festus enlists the help of King Agrippa II. He is the son of Herod Agrippa I who comes to a sticky (or wormy) end in Acts 12. He was a king in name only over various territories in the north-east of Palestine – ruling by courtesy of Rome. Paul appears before for the king and Festus and his defence is set out in the following chapter – the final and most comprehensive of his three discourses.

HIs defence is largely autobiographical in nature. He refers to his early life before his encounter with Jesus (26:4-11), speaks about his moment of conversion (v.12-18) and then he tells of how his life has changed since (v.19-23). It’s a good model for us to follow in telling our own story. Something of our life before knowing Jesus, how we came to believe in Him and the difference it makes to us now. Of course we may not all have a defining moment of conversion – some of us may have been followers of ‘The Way’ (24:14) all our lives – but each one of us has a story to tell.

There are some things worth noting in the manner of Paul’s approach: he summarises a lot – there’s no waffle; he points to Jesus and in particular the hope of the resurrection; he points away from himself and towards God – it’s about Him and not about me; he keeps calm in the face of abuse; he is not afraid to put even King Agrippa on the spot by asking him a direct question (v.27) and he kept his sense of humour (v.29).

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Action:

Think about your own story. If you journal then write it down – no more than 100 words on each section though.

Prayer:

Pray for opportunities today to share your faith and the wisdom to know how.