S: If, however, I am guilty of doing anything deserving death, I do not refuse to die. But if the charges brought against me by these Jews are not true, no one has the right to hand me over to them. I appeal to Caesar!” (Acts 25:11 NIV)
O: Fetsus of Rome, went up to Caesarea to hear the case being made against the Apostle Paul. When he got there he realized the Jewish leaders had no real chargers to file against him. The disputes they had with Paul were about his belief in Jesus, and Festus was unsure how to deal with the matter because he didn't find any fault with Paul. As Paul stood trial before him, he spoke boldly, declaring that he wouldn't refuse death if he was guilty of any wrong, but if the charges are false, he didn't want to be handed over to the Jews, who plotted to kill him anyway upon transport to Jerusalem. Paul requested that his case be taken higher up to Caesar.
A: As believers we have to be able to live with the fact that everyone will not be on our side. The Jewish leaders of the day never wanted Paul to have a fair trial, they wanted to ambush him and kill him before he was ever tried by the Jewish people. I don't know if Paul realized that he averted danger by requesting that his case be heard by Caesar, but his boldness and courage, to do and say what was right, afforded him an audience with the right people. Even if people don't fully understand or believe what we do as Christians, we can never be afraid to speak the truth about what we believe, because the truth will set you free. In moments where the world may want to come against us, there is a power and a boldness that we can tap into that gives us an audience with influencers. Paul was put into a situation that should have killed him, but because of his boldness to speak the truth about Jesus, he ended up influencing Festus, an influencer of his day. Festus had no other choice but to grant Paul's request, because of the power and authority in which Paul spoke. The fact of the matter is, "The truth will always give you leverage over your enemies." I'm encouraged today that the truth about who Jesus is, gives me power to overcome in any situation.
P: God thank You for the truth about Your Son Jesus, that sets the captives free. Even when I feel like the world is against me, I still believe that what the Word says is true in 1 John 4:4, "Greater is He that is in me, than He that is in the world." Amen.
