Paul's Appearances Before Roman Judges

At the end of his third missionary journey, Paul was arrested for his faith in Jesus and appeared before several Roman judges, where he boldly shared his personal faith story.

Agrippa and Festus sat together in judgment of Paul. Festus was the newly appointed Roman governor over Palestine replacing the corrupt Felix. Agrippa, the part-Jew puppet king allowed by Rome to rule over Galilee and East of Jordan, was eager to hear Paul’s defense. He opened the trial: “Go on, tell us your story.”

Paul took the stand and spoke. “My life from childhood is an open book. Just about every Jew in town knows my story and could tell you, if they are willing to admit it, that I lived as a faithful Pharisee, part of the strictest sect of Judaism. I am on trial today because of my wholehearted hope in the promise God made to my ancestors, who hoped for the same thing down through the centuries—the coming of Messiah. I believe He has come, was killed, and has risen from the dead. Is it so odd to believe that God can raise the dead?

“It’s true. I, too, used to oppose this Jesus of Nazareth fervently as if in service to God. By authority of the high priests, I threw these believers in prison (not realizing they were God’s people), and when called upon, voted for execution. I raided their meetings and tried to get them to curse Jesus. I even pursued them to foreign cities.

“While traveling to Damascus on one such mission, a flash of light brighter than the noonday sun above us shone on us. It was so bright, O King, that we fell to the ground. Then I heard a voice: ‘Saul, Saul, why are you torturing Me? Why do you fight against Me?’

“I asked who this was. The voice said He was Jesus whom I was persecuting! Then He told me He had a job for me.

“‘I’m sending you to foreigners to open their eyes so they may turn from darkness to light, turn from Satan to God, that they may receive forgiveness of sins, and a place in my family by trusting in Me.’

“So, King Agrippa, I obeyed! I proclaimed the life change Jesus desired (turning to God from the old way of life) right there in Damascus, then in Jerusalem and the surrounding countryside, and then to the whole world.

“It’s for the ‘whole world’ part that the Jews grabbed me in the temple that day and tried to kill me. But God has protected me. The Jews won’t admit it, but Moses and the prophets wrote the same thing I proclaim: that the Messiah must die, be raised from the dead, and announce God’s light both to Jews and to non-Jews.”

Festus couldn’t keep quiet any longer. He interrupted: “Paul, you’re insane! Too much studying has driven you mad.”

But Paul replied, “No sir, with all due respect, Festus, Your Honor, I am not mad. I speak the truth rationally. The king knows what I am talking about and has known for a long time. He doesn’t miss much of what goes on here, and I’m convinced he didn’t miss this—it was all done in the open. You believe the prophets, don’t you, King Agrippa? I know you do!”

Agrippa answered: “For years I have watched this nation, but do you think you’ll persuade me to become a Christian in such a short time?”

“That’s my prayer. Whether quickly or not, I long to see you and everyone in this room become like me—trusting in Jesus that is, not in chains.”

The king and his sister, the governor and their advisors got up and went into the next room to confer. They agreed that Paul had done nothing to deserve prison, let alone death. Paul’s story of his life before he responded in faith to Jesus, his life-changing encounter with Jesus, and his life after he trusted Jesus may not have convinced them to believe in Jesus that day, but it did convince them of his innocence.