Acts 25: Paul Preached the Power of the Resurrection

Acts 25: Paul Preached the Power of the Resurrection

In Acts 25, Paul is brought before the new Roman governor Festus. King Agrippa comes for a polite welcoming visit. Festus asks for King Agrippa's advice concerning Paul.

It's only a single sentence, perhaps Festus, the new governor of Caesarea, hardly felt it worth mentioning, but he was processing his thoughts and asking for King Agrippa's advice on Paul's case. While it might have seemed insignificant to Festus, it was and continues to be a foundational truth that every believer embraces.

Let me show you what Festus said to King Agrippa about Paul's accusers. Acts 25:18 But when his accusers rose to speak, they did not charge him with any of the crimes I had expected.

19They only

had some contentions

with him regarding their own religion

and a certain Jesus

who had died,

but whom Paul

affirmed to be alive.

Oh, Festus, if you only knew the power of that truth! JESUS IS ALIVE. You saw the problem correctly, the religious leaders didn't want what Paul believed and preached, the resurrection of Jesus, to be true. The Sadducees did not believe in the resurrection, angels or an afterlife, while the Pharisees believed in the resurrection, angels and an afterlife. They didn't get along with each very well, but both the Pharisees and Sadducees agreed on one thing, they wanted to kill Jesus. BUT, when they succeeded at killing him, they couldn't keep Him dead.