Surrender in the Face of Injustice

Acts 25:1-27

Justice is something that the Bible speaks much about. Jesus came to fulfill God’s justice - to die so God’s wrath might be appeased. To offer mercy to the repentant. In Israel’s justice system, there were provisions of mercy for the downtrodden and equitable punishment for transgressors. Not the other civilizations. The Great Edict of Horemheb in 1300 BC described Egyptian law. Criminals had their noses cut off as a mark of humiliation and warning to others. Such criminals were sent away to a far off city. The Greeks named it Rhinoculura - cut off the nose city. But even in such wicked systems, there was a system of appeals. Queen Esther could appeal to King Ahasuerus. This was the same in Roman law. No one could be convicted or accused without due process. In Israel, complex cases would be referred to a court of experts if it was too difficult for a local judge. There was a hierarchical system. So too in Singapore - state courts comprise of district and magistrate courts, with specialized courts like the small claims tribunal; but sitting at the top is the Supreme Court with the high and appeals court. What this tells us is that people fight for justice. But we also know that despite the best minds and intentions, justice will not be perfect on earth! Even in Israel, despite the superior justice system, there was a lot of injustice and delay of justice. Why? Because there’s no true and lasting justice here. Sometimes people receive no apology, compensation, or vindication in their whole life time. What should we do? Give up? Exhaust all recourse? Or place ourselves in God’s hands? We see that Paul demonstrated 3 virtuous characteristics. Firstly, bold wisdom is needed in the face of uncertainty. Secondly, patience must rise in the face of injustice. Thirdly, knowledge of the sovereign God invokes sacrificial surrender. May these guide us in times of severe injustice.

Firstly, bold wisdom is needed in the face of uncertainty. Paul had been waiting for his trial date. Remember, he was whisked away from Jerusalem to Caesarea with the promise of a trial. His accusers came but the case of deferred. The material witness didn’t show up. He was expected to bribe the officials to be freed. But no evidence had been brought against him. Yet, he was still in prison! After 2 failed trials, there was no verdict. And he remained in prison for 2 years. What did Paul do? In the face of all of these things, he made a bold request. Enough was enough. You see, after Felix left, there was a new governor - Festus. But he dragged his feet as well. 3 days after his arrival, he went to Jerusalem. There, the leaders requested Paul to be returned to Jerusalem. They wanted to ambush and kill him en route, verse 3. But Festus was wise enough to deny this. He said to them in verses 4-5, that Paul should stay in Caesarea. If they wanted to accuse him, they could go there. But Festus stayed in Jerusalem for another 10 days, verse 6. And when he finally reached Caesarea, he waited another day before bringing Paul before him. Paul had waited in prison for a long time. He was already in prison for 2 years, and now there was a further delay of 13 days - that’s 745 days of waiting. And when the accusers finally did come down in verse 7, they brought charges they couldn’t prove. And in verse 9, Festus suggested that Paul be returned to Jerusalem to be tried. “But Festus, wanting to do the Jews a favor, answered Paul and said, “Are you willing to go up to Jerusalem and there be judged before me concerning these things?”” You see, Festus wanted to find favor with the Jews. We always think that justice is blind - but it’s not. So given this delay and the miscarriage of justice - Paul appealed to Caesar.

In verses 10-11, he said, “Then said Paul, I stand at Caesar's judgment seat, where I ought to be judged: to the Jews have I done no wrong, as thou very well knowest. For if I be an offender, or have committed any thing worthy of death, I refuse not to die: but if there be none of these things whereof these accuse me, no man may deliver me unto them. I appeal unto Caesar.” You want me to go back to Jerusalem? But I’m here at a Roman court to be judged. I’ve done no wrong to the Jews - you’ve heard all the testimony by Claudius Lysias - there’ve been no charges with substantial evidence. I’m a Roman citizen, and you suggest I return there? No! You can imagine how he would’ve spoken - I’ll go when hell freezes over, when the fat woman sings, when cows fly, etc. So as a Roman citizen, he appealed to Caesar - to a higher court. And as a result, Festus said - okay, since you have appealed to Caesar, you’ll go to Caesar.

Today, everyone is supposed to be entitled to a speedy trial. That’s the theory. But it doesn’t happen. And for Paul, it also didn’t happen. Paul had another painful wait. In verse 13, after certain days, King Agrippa and Bernice came. They had come to meet with Festus. And therefore, Festus was busy entertaining. Verse 14 says they stayed many days. While they were enjoying the party, Paul’s transfer was tardy. And it was also unjust as it was uncertain. During the party, Festus gave a report to Agrippa - I went to Jerusalem, I met with the chief priests, and offered them a chance for another trial. And when they came to Caesarea, verse 17 - “without any delay on the morrow I sat on the judgment seat, and commanded the man to be brought forth.” Without any delay! There was nothing but delay and uncertainty. Just as Paul had to be bold to exercise wisdom to make this appeal, he had to be patient because there was still much uncertainty. Due process was not happening. But this does show us something - Paul knew enough about what was happening that he appealed to Caesar. He could read the providence and the occurrences. The flip flopping, the ding donging, the vacillation - but yet Paul exercised bold wisdom and patience. Proverbs 19:11 says in the NIV - “A person's wisdom yields patience.”

And Paul needed to be wise and patient. Because Festus was even worse than Felix. Secondly, patience must rise in the face of injustice. The people were unjust. Claudius may have sent Paul to Caesarea to keep him safe - but remember, he was about to have Paul whipped if it was not for Paul’s caution that he was a Roman citizen. Similarly, Felix did keep Paul safe so the enemies couldn’t take his life, but he was only interested in a bribe. Festus also had no interest in true justice. We had already seen in verse 9 it’s because he wanted to gain political favor. When he first came to Judea, he went to meet with the Sanhedrin as the new governor - to establish a good relationship with them because Felix had a disastrous one. So when he called Paul to return to Jerusalem to stand trial, it’s because he wanted to please the Jews. It was a political move. In this, he was no different from Felix. Why did Felix keep him in prison and not release him when he left office? It’s because he didn’t want them to write in complaint of him. He held a man in prison for his own benefit. And this was the same with Festus. The Jews were known for their obstinacy - it was one of the most troublesome provinces of the Roman empire. If you recall, in the gospels, Jesus referred to the account of the Galileans whose blood mingled with the blood of the sacrifices? There were so many uprisings and riots by the Jews. And they never had good relations with their governors. Pontius Pilate had planned to build a tower and an aqueduct - but after building half-way, he didn’t have enough money. So he thought he could persuade the Jews to let him use the temple treasury to build the tower. Of course, they were most obstinate and didn’t allow him to - and the tower stood half built - a testament to his foolishness. And Jesus used it to show the foolishness of not counting the cost. But my purpose of bringing it up is to show how bad the relationship was between governors and the Jews. And this governor resolved to be the first governor to have a good relationship at the start of his career. And the way he’d do that was to throw Paul at them - to satisfy them like throwing a cat into a pack of dogs, or throwing a mouse into a python pit, or extraditing an escapee back to North Korea. This is what Paul had to bear with - a man who wanted to gain political favor.

But Paul also had to bear with Festus wanting to pervert justice. Paul was held without formal charges. Festus wanted to handover Paul to the Jews. Paul appealed to Caesar. And so now Festus had to send him to Caesar. But the bottom line was this - send him to Caesar with what charges? If Festus released Paul, the Jews would riot. But if Festus sent Paul to Caesar, what charge would he bring? And that’s where King Agrippa came in. Festus told him in verses 15-16 that the Jews wanted to have him executed. But Festus told them that it was wrong as a Roman to deliver him to die without a charge. Now, it’s not that Festus didn’t try to get Paul executed - after all, he suggested he go back to Jerusalem. So that’s what led Paul to invoke the name of Caesar. But there still was no charge - only questions on religion and custom. So Festus had to figure out what kind of charges he could bring against Paul. That’s why he went to Agrippa - because Agrippa would know Jewish law. And Agrippa agreed to look into the matter. Verse 22 - “Then Agrippa said unto Festus, I would also hear the man myself. To morrow, said he, thou shalt hear him.” The next day, verse 23 says that Agrippa and Bernice came with great pomp - they came into the place of the hearing - into the court room. Agrippa meant to do a good thing. And there were high ranked officers and the important men of the city. Paul was then brought in.

But listen to the words intending to pervert justice in verses 25-27 - “But when I found that he had committed nothing worthy of death, and that he himself hath appealed to Augustus, I have determined to send him. Of whom I have no certain thing to write unto my lord. Wherefore I have brought him forth before you, and specially before thee, O king Agrippa, that, after examination had, I might have somewhat to write. For it seemeth to me unreasonable to send a prisoner, and not withal to signify the crimes laid against him.” Meaning - King Agrippa, I’ve found nothing wrong with Paul. He didn’t do anything worthy of the death penalty. But since he appealed to Caesar, I have to send him. But I don’t know what to charge him with. So I need you, King Agrippa, with your knowledge of Jewish ways, that after you examine Paul, you can suggest crimes I can charge him with. Now, if Paul was not guilty, then he should’ve set him free even if he appealed to Caesar. But he wanted to drum up charges against him - which is a perversion of justice - because in verse 24, the Jews wanted him dead. And I can’t execute him without charges. If Festus wanted to advance his career and move up the corps of diplomats, he better come up with some trumped up charges to make the Jews happy. This was a perversion of justice.

If you were Paul, how would you feel? 745 days plus even more. Some of you might just say - Aiya! Cut my nose and deport me! But no, he was patient. Thirdly, knowledge of the sovereign God invokes sacrificial surrender. Did you wonder why Paul appealed to Caesar? Why this higher court? Yes, it was because of the miscarriage of justice. Yes, it was his legal right as a Roman citizen. Yes, this was a legitimate recourse. But why Caesar? The Roman emperor at this time may already have been Nero. And Nero hated Christians - he burned down parts of Rome and blamed the Christians for the fire. He was well-known for sewing animal hides to Christians and throwing them to the arena to be torn to bits by lions. He even lit the streets of Rome by burning the bodies of Christians alive. Now, we must first see what was not the reason that Paul appealed to Caesar. It’s not that he was afraid to die. In verse 11, he said - “For if I be an offender, or have committed any thing worthy of death, I refuse not to die.” In other words, Paul said if he did anything wrong - even a crime that required the death penalty, then he’d die for it. He wasn’t fearful of justice - because he was clear in conscience. And he wasn’t fearful of death because Christ himself had died from bogus charges. And if Christ had died from bogus charges, then he as the servant of Christ was not higher than Christ. He was willing to endure hardness as a good soldier of Jesus Christ. And if that required death, he would die. These were words he wrote to Timothy 7 years after this. These were words that he lived.

But the reason he appealed to Caesar was because he was surrendering to a greater king - he didn’t fear death, he feared God. If he appealed to Caesar, off to Caesar he’d go. And Caesar was in Rome. And Jesus already told him that he’d testify of Christ not only in Jerusalem but also in Rome. So Paul knew he was headed to Rome. By appealing to Caesar, he’d accomplish the mission set before him. This means that the delay of possible death was more disagreeable to him than staying in prison but living. But going to Rome to face trial would also mean that he’d undergo further imprisonment. But this unknown, this fate, didn’t bother him. Because what was certain was this - he’d have to go to Rome - and that’s what he wanted, because that’s what Christ said would happen to him. He was surrendered to that fate. If you recall, when Paul was en route to Jerusalem, the prophet Agabus prophesied that Paul would be bound in chains. The Christians pleaded with Paul - with tears - not to go down. Paul rebuked them - why are you breaking my heart? Don’t you know that I must go to Jerusalem? It’s the same here - don’t you know I must go to Rome? If you won’t bring me there, I appeal to Caesar. Now, you have to bring me there.

He didn’t fear death, but feared God, because he knew full well where Nero’s power came from - it came from God. So even if the appeal failed, God was still in control. King Agrippa was the son of the king that executed James. His great uncle Antipas beheaded John the Baptizer. His great grandfather was Herod the Great who tried to kill Jesus. This was a wicked family. Murderers, incestuous - Antipas had married his brother’s wife. And here - Bernice was Agrippa’s sister.

Dearly beloved, how can we apply this message today? There is of course the immediate application. There will be many times that the law doesn’t work for us. We will get no justice, receive no vindication - no matter how much we appeal to a higher court. In the case of Paul - his faith looked up to God. If God extended Paul’s days, Paul would live. And Paul would be comforted - but that comfort can only come from God. Maybe some of you are awaiting judgment - and you’re unsure what it’ll look like. But would you surrender yourself to God? What a great comfort Paul had because he looked to God. Such confidence comes with surrender. Let this cup pass from me, but not as I will, but as thou wilt. And when Christ surrendered to his father, he could face the arrest. Just as Paul went through this perversion of justice, so did his Lord. Jesus fell prey to the hatred of the Jews and there was a Roman governor who didn’t uphold the law. But Christ remained under the law, even though it didn’t work for him. But we remember Christ, who endured the injustice so that he might have the joy of having us. Just as Paul’s faith looked up to God, so can ours.

There is also the application to the church. God has placed judicial processes also in his kingdom. If there are disputes and problems, there’s due process. But that’s where we need men who would not pervert justice - men who are wise and godly, bold, patient, and God-glorifying. Men who are broken and penitent. Men who are surrendered to do God’s will and not their own. Not men who are persecutors, nor those who resort to injustice and lies, or aren’t surrendered to due process. For our Lord, being the very anointed from God, was a shepherd who gently leads his flock, using the rod and staff to comfort and restore, who in the end died for his flock in surrender to the Father’s will. Would you pray and ask God for more of such men to be officers? As we come to another round of nominations, elections, and ordinations - we pray that the Lord would gather such men for his glory and the good of his church.