Acts 25-26

Part One

I'm going to tell you an Easter story this morning about a man you probably don't know much about. When I tell you his name, you're going to think of something else, and some of you are going to think I'm just making it up.

But I'm not. This man is in the New Testament. And what he said and did has everything to do with Easter Sunday.

The man's name is... well, I'll wait a second on that. Let's put some other pieces of the puzzle together first. The year is A.D. 60. The place is Caesarea on the shores of the Mediterranean Sea. This man has come to Caesarea to take over for his mostly-inept predecessor as the governor of the Roman province of Judea. The situation is tense and unsettled, for the Jews were a fractious bunch not noted for the art of gentle submission. As this man sets up shop in Caesarea he has one basic goal: Keep the peace, keep the lid on, don't let things boil over. It's not easy because already powerful winds of revolution are blowing across the land.

The man hardly steps off the boat from Italy when he runs into his first problem. There's a fellow in prison in Caesarea. Seems he did something to upset the Jewish leaders. Well, upset is hardly the right word. They want this fellow dead. It's all vague and confusing. And so three days—just three days—after he takes office he makes the 60 mile trip to Jerusalem to pay his respects to the Sanhedrin and also to find out why they are so hot after this fellow in jail. The man in jail was named Paul. He had been there for two years. And lucky to be alive, frankly.

The other man—the new governor—will shortly hear from this fellow Paul. The governor's name? Festus. I told you it would make you think of something else. But it's all there in Acts 25-26. More about that in a few minutes.