Paul on Trial - The Book of Acts

Join Julia Jeffress Sadler as she takes us on an incredible adventure in Episode 215.

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Episode Transcript

Speaker 1 (00:00):
But arise and stand on your feet, For I have
appeared to you for this purpose, to appoint you a
servant and a witness, both of the things which you
have seen and of the things which I will reveal
to you, delivering you from the people and from the gentiles,
to whom I send you to open their eyes, that

(00:22):
they may turn from darkness to light, and from the
power of Satan to God, that they may receive remission
of sins and an inheritance among those who are sanctified
by faith in me Acts twenty six sixteen through eighteen.
Dear God, how we want to be as bold and

(00:45):
obedient as Paul. We each have a story you have
given us. Please help us to be brave in sharing
it with others. Please put people in our path today
who want to know more about you. Thank you for
shining your light in the darkness and making us brave
in Jesus' name, our Prey, Amen.

Speaker 2 (01:08):
Thank you for praying with us today. The Kid's Bible
in a Year podcast is sponsored by Little Passports, delivering
monthly activity kit subscriptions that help kids explore the world,
cultivate curiosity, and discover new interests with hands on crafts
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(01:32):
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Speaker 3 (01:42):
Paul on trial. In our last story, the Jews plotted
to kill Paul, but he was sent to the governor Feelings.
In this story, Paul will be accused before Feelings and
placed in prison for two years. Fastus take over as
governor and Paul will ask to appeal his case to

(02:04):
Caesar as inspired by acts.

Speaker 1 (02:11):
Hagen. Friends is joy here and Welcome back to the
Kids Bible in a year podcast. Paul is still on
child but this might be his strongest sermon ever. He's
telling his story again. Trust in God to show him
the next step to take. Listen in.

Speaker 3 (02:32):
When they heard that Paul had been sent to Caesarea,
the High Priest decided to go there as well. He
came with a few other leaders and a lawyer to
help his case. They gave their case and evidence against
Paul to Felix, the Governor. This man is the worst
thing to happen to the Jewish people. He upsets the
Jewish people everywhere he goes now he comes to mock

(02:55):
Us and God. Paul knew this wasn't true. I didn't
do anything that would make everything they did to me okay.
I follow Jesus, but I don't try and preach to people.
I went to the temple to finish my end of
a deal with God, but a mob appeared and tried
to hurt me. They should be on trial for trying

(03:17):
to kill me. I have done nothing wrong. These pharisees
in front of me don't even hate me.

Speaker 4 (03:24):
We all believe in the same thing.

Speaker 3 (03:27):
We both believe that God can bring people back from
the dead. Felix listened to both of them, but didn't
say anything. Felix thought maybe Paul would give him something
if he let Paul go free. The governor decided that
Paul could go without paying anything and let him go free.
They met a few times to talk about his journey

(03:48):
with Jesus and what it is like to follow him.
Felix looked at Paul, feeling overwhelmed. I can't make this
decision now, I'll do it at a better time. Two
years passed and Felix was no longer the governor. A
man named Festus took his place. He wanted to make
the Jewish council happy. He looked at Paul and asked him,

(04:11):
can you go back to Jerusalem and go back on trial.
I'll face my punishment if I deserve it, but we
both know I'm innocent. I'd rather face Caesar than go
back to Jerusalem. Paul told him, okay, so you'll go
to Caesar. A few days after this happened, King Agrippa
and his sister were coming to visit Festus. They all

(04:33):
sat together and Festus brought up Paul and what was
happening with his trial. King Agrippa told Festus that he
wanted to hear Paul's case for himself. The next day,
Festus called a large group to gather in his palace.
Paul now stood in front of Festus and King Agrippa.
Paul knew this was his only chance to be seen

(04:55):
as innocent. I'm so glad you're here, King Agrippa, because
you you know all the ways of the Jewish people,
the ways of my people.

Speaker 1 (05:05):
I have always been.

Speaker 3 (05:06):
A Jew, and I am a Pharisee. I care about
following the law. There is even a time in my
life where I killed and arrested people who followed Jesus.
But one day I was traveling to Damascus and I
was hit by a bright light. There was this loud
voice that asked me why I was doing this. I responded,
who are you?

Speaker 1 (05:26):
Are you God?

Speaker 3 (05:27):
The voice responded, I am Jesus. I am the one
you are trying to hurt. Stand up. You are now
my friend and servant. You will tell people about me,
the Jews and Gentiles. King Agrippa, I have done everything
the Lord asked me. I tell everyone that Jesus is

(05:48):
our savior. Wherever I go, I ask God for forgiveness,
and I guide people to do the same thing. So
I don't understand why I am here. I don't understand
why people want me dead when we believe all the
same things. The scripture says that the Messiah would go
through pain, die, and then come back from the dead.

(06:09):
He would save everyone, even the Gentiles. Festus didn't agree. Paul,
you sound so crazy, You know so much, yet you
sound stupid. Paul frowned. I am not crazy, and I
don't lie. King Agrippa knows that everything I'm saying is true.

(06:30):
King Agrippa has read the scriptures and he believes. Don't
you King Agrippa challenged, Paul, do you think you can
convince me to become a Christian? King Agrippa and Festus
spoke privately, and they decided that Paul was innocent and
he wouldn't go to jail. We would set him free
if he hadn't decided to speak to Caesar instead. So

(06:53):
now we will send him.

Speaker 1 (06:55):
There, all right, So what happened here? As we open?
Paul is in cesarea, standing before and not so great
governor named Felix. Let's just say he wasn't really worried
about doing what was right. He was mostly worried about

(07:18):
doing what was best for himself. The Jewish leaders who
wanted Paul arrested were saying all kinds of nice things
about Felix. You're such a great ruler. You love to
give your people peace and prosperity. They knew it wasn't true.
This is called flattery, and the Bible warns us about

(07:41):
this in the Proverbs. It means giving someone compliments that
aren't true, just so you can get what you want.
The Bible says, if you see a person who flatters
others this way, run from them. So Paul is accused
before the governor of making everyone upset and causing too

(08:02):
many problems. Paul defends himself, not using flattery, but giving
them the facts and proving that he has done nothing wrong.
And what did Felix do, once again what he thought
was best for himself. He couldn't let Paul go free,
because then lots of people would accuse him of believing

(08:25):
this gospel preached by Paul, and they would be mad
that he couldn't arrest or punish him because there was
no proof of any crime. So he decided not to
do anything. He kept him in jail with a little freedom,
and allowed Paul's friends to come and see him again.
Felix is a great example of the kind of leader

(08:48):
you do not want to be. When you are only
worried about making people like you and not worried about
obeying God and doing what is right, things will allays
go wrong. Not to mention, no one will respect you
or trust you. Paul continued to take every opportunity he

(09:09):
had to share the gospel of Felix, and he listened,
but in the end he did not have the strength
to follow Jesus because he was too afraid of what
others would think. So he said, I'll do it later
before we are too rough on Felix. Don't We often
do this too, Maybe we know that something we are

(09:33):
doing is wrong, but we think, h I'll stop later,
I'll make everything right later, just one more time. When
God says to obey, he means right away. We don't
know how many may days we have left on this earth,
so why not do the right thing today. Well, two

(09:54):
years passed and a governor named Festus comes into power
take the place of Felix. The Bible says that because
Festus wanted to make the Jews happy, he took Paul
out of jail, saying he was sending him back to
Jerusalem for another trial, but Paul asked to go to

(10:16):
Caesar instead. Thanks to God's protection, Festus agreed. King Agrippa
came to visit, and, after hearing all about this Paul,
he wanted to see him for himself. So Festus gathered
a large group in his palace and Paul took the opportunity.
As usual, he told his story again. He preached his

(10:39):
heart out again, he built his case again. He argued
and taught and shared until there was nothing else to
say except do you believe King Agrippa and Festus knew
deep down Paul was not lying. They knew deep down
he was not crazy. And it's as if Agrippa wanted

(11:00):
to believe, wanted to confess, but it just seemed like
too much for him. Paul was left standing there once
again with no proof of any wrongdoing, so off he
was sent to Caesar. Thanks for joining me today. I
know this trial, Steph, can get a little confusing. All

(11:21):
we really need to remember is one thing. Paul was faithful,
and he obeyed God, even when it was hard, and
over and over again, God took care of him, no
matter how many chances he was given, no matter how
scary things got, Paul kept telling his story about how

(11:42):
Jesus saved him and telling it well, did you know
that you have a story too, Who can you tell
your story to today? Well, we have just a few
more times together to make sure to come back and
hear how the whole old Bible wraps itself up in
one big, amazing story. Paul's story is soon coming to

(12:07):
an end, but really it's only the beginning. The Bible
is the best story ever told. It's God's story to you,
and it's all true. Did you love today's podcast, Well,
we would love for you to stay tuned for new
adventures by subscribing to Kids Bible in a Year, your

(12:28):
companion and exploring the Word of God. Thanks Phil. Listening
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Speaker 4 (12:51):
Thanks for listening to Kids Bible in a Year. I
want to invite our adult listeners to check out my
other show, Unapologetic God's Truth on in today's topics. It's unfiltered, important, inspiring,
and we have awesome conversations and amazing guests such as
Candice Cameron Bray, Vice President, Mike Pince, doctor Robert Jeffers,

(13:14):
Shandon Breen, Maddy Pruett, and so many others. We are
helping you have conversations that empower you to have bold
faith in a broken world. You'll be excited, inspired, and
encouraged in your faith as you check out and Apologetic.
Remember that you can tune in wherever you get your

(13:34):
podcasts and on pray dot Com.