Day 133 — A Dead Man Paul Claimed to Be Alive (Acts 25:13-22) | September 5

Festus had a problem. He had to write a legal brief for Caesar explaining charges that did not exist, and sending a Roman citizen to the emperor with a confused memo would be career suicide. Then King Agrippa and Bernice arrived on a courtesy call, and Festus saw a way out. Trying to summarize the whole controversy for the king, the confused pagan governor accidentally preached the gospel in eleven words. The dispute came down to a certain Jesus, a dead man Paul claimed to be alive. Strip away the temple charges, the riots, and the procedure, and that is what is left. That has always been the story. Christianity stands or falls on that single historical claim. Festus held the gospel in his hand and set it aside as a curiosity. Then Agrippa, with a free afternoon, said he would like to hear the man himself, and God assembled tomorrow’s congregation through a confused governor and a bored king.