FRIDAY February 2, 2024
Accountable for Knowledge
And after some days King Agrippa and Bernice came to Caesarea to greet Festus. When they had been there many days, Festus laid Paul’s case before the king, saying: “There is a certain man left a prisoner by Felix, about whom the chief priests and the elders of the Jews informed me, when I was in Jerusalem, asking for a judgment against him.”
Acts 25:13-15
King Agrippa and Bernice came to Caesarea to visit the new Roman Governor of Caesarea, Festus. King Agrippa was the last of the Herod’s. Bernice was his younger sister. Previously, she was married to her uncle, Herod, King of Chalcis, but after his death, she had an incestuous relationship with her brother. After another disastrous marriage to Polemon, King of Pontus, she returned to live with her brother. Wiersbe’s Commentary on Acts tells us more about them and the situation at hand:
Festus had a state visit from Herod Agrippa II and Herod’s sister, Bernice. This youthful king ... was the great grandson of the Herod who killed the Bethlehem babes, and the son of the Herod who killed the apostle James (Acts 12). The fact that his sister lived with him created a great deal of suspicion on the part of the Jewish people, for their law clearly condemned incest (Leviticus 18:1–18).
Rome had given Herod Agrippa II legal jurisdiction over the temple in Jerusalem, so it was logical that Festus share Paul’s case with him. Festus was smart enough to understand that the Jewish case against Paul had nothing to do with civil law. It was purely a matter of “religious questions” (Acts 18:14–15; 23:29), which the Romans were unprepared to handle, especially the doctrine of the Resurrection. Acts 25:19 proves that Paul was defending much more than the resurrection in general. He was declaring and defending the Resurrection of Jesus Christ.
The king was an authority on Jewish religious affairs. He would have been pleased to hear Paul. He already had knowledge of Jesus Christ, but what would he do with that knowledge?
The Bible is not an end in itself, but a means to bring men to an intimate and satisfying knowledge of God.
~A.W. Tozer~
For more from Raul Ries, please visit SomebodyLovesYou.com!
