Our Venerable Father Theodore the Sanctified, Disciple of Saint Pachomius (364).
Acts 25:13-19. John 16:23-33.
Read Acts 25:13-19
Glory to Jesus Christ! Glory for ever!
Paul had been imprisoned for two years under Felix the governor. Felix was succeeded by Porcius Festus, but before leaving office Felix decided not to release Paul from prison in order to appease the Jews. Today’s reading begins to detail what happened when King Agrippa and Bernice came to visit Festus. King Agrippa was a grandson of Herod the Great, the one who slaughtered the infants in Bethlehem when he heard the news of the birth of Messiah, and Bernice was Agrippa’s sister. In today’s reading, Festus explains the situation concerning Paul to Agrippa.
Festus tells Agrippa: “When the accusers stood up, they brought no accusation against [Paul] of such things as I supposed, but had some questions against him about their own religion and about a certain Jesus, who had died, whom Paul affirmed to be alive” (Acts 25:18-19). Since Festus did not understand details about the Jewish faith or the claims Paul was making about Jesus, he asked Paul “whether he was willing to go to Jerusalem and there be judged concerning these matters” (Acts 25:20). Instead of going to Jerusalem, Paul appealed to stand before Caesar Augustus. Festus did not want to send Paul to Augustus with no concrete accusations against him. For this reason, he sought the assistance of Agrippa “so that after the examination has taken place [he] may have something to write” (Acts 26:26).
It sounds outrageous that Paul was held in prison for two years while those holding him in custody had no firm understanding of any crime he committed. This reeks of injustice! The leaders desired to pacify the Jews who held such disdain for Paul, and Paul had to suffer for that. However, through the persecution that Paul endured, he was able to preach the gospel message to larger numbers of people, including those with great authority and influence. As Christians, we should not be ashamed of suffering for Christ. Just as Jesus was falsely accused at trial, Paul was falsely accused. We love Christ, and so we must be willing to suffer for Him, just as He willed to suffer for us! Let us imitate the martyrs’ zeal and the example of Paul.