Luke the beloved physician wrote while Paul was making a defense himself before king Agrippa and others,“Festus said with a loud voice, Paul, you are beside yourself; much learning does make you mad. But he said, I am not mad, most noble Festus; but speak forth the words of truth and soberness. For the king knows of these things, before whom also I speak freely: for I am persuaded that none of these things are hidden from him; for this thing was not done in a corner. King Agrippa, believe you the prophets? I know that you believe. Then Agrippa said unto Paul, Almost you persuade me to be a Christian. And Paul said, I would to God, that not only you, but also all that hear me this day, were both almost, and altogether such as I am, except these bonds. And when he had thus spoken, the king rose up, and the governor, and Bernice, and they that sat with them. And when they were gone aside, they talked between themselves, saying, This man does nothing worthy of death or of bonds”, and in chapter twenty-six and verse thirty-two of the book of Acts Luke shared, “then said Agrippa unto Festus, This man might have been set at liberty, if he had not appealed unto Caesar” where we read:
Then said Agrippa unto Festus, This man might have been set at liberty,
if he had not appealed unto Caesar.
The verse begins, “Then said Agrippa unto Festus, This man might have been set at liberty, ...” Luke began with the words, “then said Agrippa” which means “at that time uttered, declared and proclaimed Agrippa whose name means hero-like” “unto Festus” or “toward Festus whose name means festival and was the successor of Felix as procurator of Judea”, “this man might have been set at liberty” which means “this male human being had the possibility of being set free, released and loosed from his bonds” if the following had not occurred. Luke shared how “king Agrippa” told “Festus” that “Paul” had the possibility of being set free and loosed from his bonds if the following had not happened.
The verse goes on to say, “... if he had not appealed unto Caesar.” Luke continued with the words, “if he had not appealed” which means “whether and in case he, Paul, would not have petitioned, cried out to and summoned” “unto Caesar” or “to Caesar whose name means severed and was the surname of Julius Caesar, which adopted by Octavius Augustus and his successors afterwards became a title, and was appropriated by the Roman emperors as part of their title”. Luke shared how “king Agrippa” told “Festus” that “Paul” might have been set free if he had not “petitioned” Caesar to hear his case.
When we think through Luke's words in this verse, we learn how “king Agrippa” and the others judging “Paul” did not find any fault in him. “King Agrippa” believed “Paul” would have been “set free” if he had not made an appeal to “Caesar” to hear his case. Nonetheless, though the people in charged believed “Paul” to be their captive, he was actually captured by God to be His servant to share the gospel of Jesus Christ with whoever would listen. “Paul” was destined to be God's witness in Rome, and had he been set free by “king Agrippa, Festus or others”, he might not have made it to “Rome” to fulfill God's purpose for his life. God's desire is to have a personal relationship with every person through belief and trust in His Son Jesus, and when they submit to Him, He will forgive their sins and grant them everlasting life with Him. Those who carefully study this story of “Paul” will discover God's determination for the world to know and receive His Son Jesus as their “Savior and Lord”.
Next time we begin a new chapter and see Luke share how, “it was determined that we should sail into Italy, they delivered Paul and certain other prisoners unto one named Julius”, so read ahead, and we shall join together then.
Until tomorrow…there is more…
See more devotionals on the website "thewordfortodaywithray.com" or look for the daily devotional book “Equipped for Battle – From Generation to Generation”, the marriage book “So, You Want to Be Married”, “One Year in the Sermon on the Mount” and the new poetry book "Random Mushrooms Volumes I and II" and the new novel "Elizabeth County" in all major bookstore sites, http://www.amazon.com ; http://www.barnesandnobles.com ; download to e-books, and find it locally at www.mrzlc.com/bookstore. All references are from "Strongs Concordance".
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