Acts 25:1-12: Responding to Injustice

Acts 25:1-12: Responding to Injustice

We’ve been working our way passage by passage through the book of Acts, and today the next passage we come to is Acts 25:1-12. It says,

1 Now three days after Festus had arrived in the province, he went up to Jerusalem from Caesarea. 2 And the chief priests and the principal men of the Jews laid out their case against Paul, and they urged him, 3 asking as a favor against Paul that he summon him to Jerusalem—because they were planning an ambush to kill him on the way. 4 Festus replied that Paul was being kept at Caesarea and that he himself intended to go there shortly. 5 “So,” said he, “let the men of authority among you go down with me, and if there is anything wrong about the man, let them bring charges against him.” 6 After he stayed among them not more than eight or ten days, he went down to Caesarea. And the next day he took his seat on the tribunal and ordered Paul to be brought. 7 When he had arrived, the Jews who had come down from Jerusalem stood around him, bringing many and serious charges against him that they could not prove. 8 Paul argued in his defense, “Neither against the law of the Jews, nor against the temple, nor against Caesar have I committed any offense.” 9 But Festus, wishing to do the Jews a favor, said to Paul, “Do you wish to go up to Jerusalem and there be tried on these charges before me?” 10 But Paul said, “I am standing before Caesar’s tribunal, where I ought to be tried. To the Jews I have done no wrong, as you yourself know very well. 11 If then I am a wrongdoer and have committed anything for which I deserve to die, I do not seek to escape death. But if there is nothing to their charges against me, no one can give me up to them. I appeal to Caesar.” 12 Then Festus, when he had conferred with his council, answered, “To Caesar you have appealed; to Caesar you shall go.” 

May God bless the reading of his Word.

Let’s pray: Father, your word is a lamp to our feet and a light for our paths. Shine your light brightly this morning. Help us to see everything we need to see about who you are, what you’ve done, what you promise, what you teach, and what you desire for our lives. Minister to us by your Holy Spirit, for it’s in Jesus’ name we pray, amen. 

In 1964, Paul Gatling was convicted of a murder that he didn’t commit. The victim of the murder, Lawrence Rothbort, had been shot and killed in his home in the Crown Heights neighborhood of Brooklyn, New York, the previous year, and a witness placed Gatling in that area around the time of the murder. So, detectives brought Gatling in for questioning but refused to allow him to speak with his attorney until after the multi-hour questioning session had been completed. Gatling, who was 6-foot-1, was then placed in a lineup with three shorter men, and Mrs. Rothbort, the wife of the deceased, was called in to identify him. However, she didn’t pick him out—even though she was reportedly told to focus on “the tall one.” 

A few nights later, as Gatling was again being interviewed by investigators, Mrs. Rothbort went back to the police station where the interview was taking place, observed Gatling being interviewed, and only then did she tell detectives that he was the man who had killed her husband. On the basis of that identification though—which, again, was made after the woman failed to identify Gatling in a lineup—Gatling was charged with murder, and his attorney persuaded him to plead guilty in order to avoid the possibility of the death penalty. So, he followed his lawyer’s advice and pleaded guilty and was sentenced to 30 years to life in prison. A week later, he asked the judge to withdraw his plea, but his petition was denied. He then continued to proclaim his innocence and filed several other petitions over the next several years, but all of them were denied as well. 

However, fifty years later, a division of the District Attorney’s office known as the Conviction Review Unit became aware of Gatling’s case and began looking into it and actually uncovered additional evidence pointing to Gatling’s innocence, which was enough to reverse to verdict. And so, after 50 years, a Brooklyn judge finally exonerated Paul Gatling—now 81 years old—officially clearing his record, and the current District Attorney also issued Gatling a public apology for his wrongful conviction and imprisonment. Yet, of course, those years that Paul Gatling spent in prison are years that he won’t ever get back. 

Now, that’s a very dramatic example of injustice. Yet, those kinds of things do happen. And there are also a wide variety of other injustices that take place as well. For example, there can be unjust laws that privilege some people above others or unjust hiring practices that wrongfully discriminate against certain people. Also, perhaps one the most common examples of injustice is when people spread lies about someone and falsely make claims about the person that have no basis in reality. Those lies can have an enormous impact on a person’s life and reputation. It’s also not uncommon for those who are in positions of power—such as a manager in the workplace or a school administrator or a police officer or a local government official—to abuse their power and act in an unjust way toward those who are under them. So, over the course of your life, it’s very likely that you’ll be the victim of some kind of injustice to at least some degree. If nothing else, I can pretty much guarantee that you’ll be mistreated at times by people that you know and have a relationship with. As the popular saying goes, life isn’t fair. Experiencing injustice is one aspect of living in a fallen world.  

So how, then, can we respond to injustices committed against us in a biblical way? That’s what we’ll see this morning in Acts 25:1-12. Now, before we dig into this passage, let’s remind ourselves of what Paul’s been through so far. Back in Acts 21, Paul is falsely accused by certain malicious Jews of acting in ways that undermine the Old Testament Law. His accusers also jump to conclusions about something they had seen earlier in the day and falsely accuse Paul of unlawfully bringing a Gentile into the temple. And they end up forming a mob and severely beating Paul right there in the Jerusalem temple. It all happens very quickly. Nobody slows down to actually gather the facts. Instead, as soon as the crowd of people at the temple hears the accusations against Paul, they immediately assume he’s guilty and try to kill him. Fortunately, the commander of the Roman soldiers in Jerusalem—called a “tribune”—hears about what’s happening and rescues Paul from the mob and eventually transfers him into the custody of Felix, the regional governor, in the city of Caesarea.  

Yet, Paul continues to experience injustice at the hand of Felix. Even though Felix is very familiar with the nature of the controversy surrounding Paul, he nevertheless leaves Paul in prison. In fact, he does this for two whole years. During those two years, he frequently calls Paul in to speak with him, but Scripture tells us he was actually just hoping that Paul would offer him a bribe. We’re then told in Acts 24:27 that “When two years had elapsed, Felix was succeeded by Porcius Festus. And desiring to do the Jews a favor, Felix left Paul in prison.” Felix knew that the Jews wanted him to keep Paul in prison, so, as a favor to them, that’s exactly what he did. So, that’s what happened up to this point. Paul has faced one injustice after another. 

And now, we read this in our main passage, Acts 25:1-3: 1 Now three days after Festus had arrived in the province, he went up to Jerusalem from Caesarea. 2 And the chief priests and the principal men of the Jews laid out their case against Paul, and they urged him, 3 asking as a favor against Paul that he summon him to Jerusalem—because they were planning an ambush to kill him on the way. So the Jews apparently weren’t that creative. This was the very same way they originally plotted to kill Paul back in Acts 23 when he was in the tribune’s custody. Yet, even though their plans for an ambush didn’t work the first time, they decide to give it another go. I can just imagine them here approaching Festus during his visit to Jerusalem and being like, “You know, Festus, Caesarea’s just so far for us to travel to prosecute Paul. Why don’t you just bring Paul here to Jerusalem…you know, for a trial.” 

The story then continues in verses 4-8: 4 Festus replied that Paul was being kept at Caesarea and that he himself intended to go there shortly. 5 “So,” said he, “let the men of authority among you go down with me, and if there is anything wrong about the man, let them bring charges against him.” 6 After he stayed among them not more than eight or ten days, he went down to Caesarea. And the next day he took his seat on the tribunal and ordered Paul to be brought. 7 When he had arrived, the Jews who had come down from Jerusalem stood around him, bringing many and serious charges against him that they could not prove. 8 Paul argued in his defense, “Neither against the law of the Jews, nor against the temple, nor against Caesar have I committed any offense.” So, again, it’s like déjà vu. All of this is pretty much exactly what happened when Paul was arguing his case before the previous governor, Felix. The Jews come to Caesarea, make a very weak case against Paul, and Paul gives his defense. 

Then, verse 9: “But Festus, wishing to do the Jews a favor, said to Paul, “Do you wish to go up to Jerusalem and there be tried on these charges before me?” If you remember, that phrase “wishing to do the Jews a favor,” is the exact same phrase that was used back in Acts 24:27, where it said that reason Felix left Paul in prison was because he “desir[ed] to do the Jews a favor.” And now Festus wants to do the Jews a favor by sending Paul to Jerusalem for the rest of his trial. Of course, Festus was fully aware of the significant risks of sending Paul to Jerusalem. It was basically a death sentence. And Paul knew that as well. So, left with no other option, Paul does the only thing he can do. 

Look at verses 10-12: 10 But Paul said, “I am standing before Caesar’s tribunal, where I ought to be tried. To the Jews I have done no wrong, as you yourself know very well. 11 If then I am a wrongdoer and have committed anything for which I deserve to die, I do not seek to escape death. But if there is nothing to their charges against me, no one can give me up to them. I appeal to Caesar.” 12 Then Festus, when he had conferred with his council, answered, “To Caesar you have appealed; to Caesar you shall go.” You see, one of the privileges of Roman citizenship was the ability to appeal your case to the emperor. And since Paul’s a Roman citizen, that’s exactly what he ends up doing. He understands the terrible injustice he’s facing and is left with no other option but to appeal to the emperor himself. 

So, as we’ve been seeing for several chapters now, Paul suffers one injustice after another. At this point in the narrative, he’s now been repeatedly denied justice for over two years with no end in sight. Yet, through it all, his conduct is exemplary. And that brings us to what I believe is the main idea of this passage—that God calls us to respond to injustice in a way that glorifies him. God calls us to respond to injustice in a way that glorifies him. 

Because, remember that injustice is not only something Paul faced but is also something we also can sometimes experience in various ways and to various degrees. And that really shouldn’t be surprising since the reality is that we’re living in a fallen world that’s populated by people who have sinful hearts. So injustices are going to take place and will sometimes affect us in a very direct way. We should expect that—just as, if we were walking through a swamp, we’d expect to be bitten by mosquitos. Yet, again, God calls us to respond to injustice in a way that glorifies him. And as we can see from this passage—and actually not just from this particular passage but from the entire narrative of Paul’s imprisonment in Acts—there are five ways in which I believe we can do that. Five ways, modeled by Paul, in which we can respond to injustice in a way that glorifies God. 

Remind Yourself That God Is at Work

First, remind yourself that God’s at work in and through your circumstances. God hasn’t taken a break or fallen asleep at the wheel but is actively working in and through your circumstances to accomplish his purposes. We saw this back in Acts 23:11, where God told Paul, as he was sitting there in that prison cell, “Take courage, for as you have testified to the facts about me in Jerusalem, so you must testify also in Rome.” Paul had been longing for some time to minister in Rome with the belief that God was calling him to go there. And here, God not only confirms that calling but even tells him that his unjust imprisonment isn’t a hindrance to him going to Rome but is actually the very thing that would bring him there. That would eventually happen, of course, through Paul’s appeal to Caesar. So, leave it to God, in his infinite wisdom and power, to use unjust circumstances to accomplish his glorious purposes. 

It reminds me of the story of Joseph in the book of Genesis. Joseph went through an incredible amount of unjust treatment. His brothers were jealous of the fact that he was daddy’s favorite, and so when a caravan of slave traders was passing through, they sold Joseph into slavery. Joseph then lived for a while as a slave in Egypt and managed to rise to a privileged position in the household of a prominent Egyptian named Potiphar. However, Potiphar’s wife falsely accused Joseph of trying to rape her, so Joseph was sent to prison. But while in prison, he got the opportunity, with God’s help, to interpret a dream for the Egyptian king, called Pharaoh. And Pharaoh was so pleased with Joseph that he made him the second highest ruler in all of Egypt—second only to Pharaoh himself. Then, a few years later, there was a severe famine all over that region of the world. So Joseph’s brothers traveled to Egypt to buy food. And who should they encounter in Egypt but their little brother Joseph, whom they had sold into slavery. And they were understandably fearful at what Joseph would do to them, because they were now entirely at his mercy. But Joseph said something to them that I’ve never been able to forget. He said to his brothers in Genesis 50:20, “You meant evil against me, but God meant it for good.” “You meant evil against me, but God meant it for good.” So even though what Joseph’s brothers did was unquestionably wrong and terribly unjust, Joseph recognized that God was actually the one behind their actions and was using everything that happened to accomplish his perfect purposes. 

Yet, of course, the greatest example of God using unjust circumstances to accomplish his purposes isn’t with the Apostle Paul or with Joseph but with Jesus himself. From the false accusations made against Jesus to the kangaroo court that was held in the middle of the night to the way Pontius Pilate turned Jesus over to the Jews even though he knew Jesus was innocent of any criminal behavior—everything that happened to Jesus that led to him dying on the cross was terribly unjust. Yet God was at work through it all. In Acts 2:23, Peter states that Jesus was “delivered up [on the cross] according to the definite plan and foreknowledge of God.” From the very beginning, God planned it. And his purpose in doing so was to rescue his people from their sin. You see, by dying on the cross, Jesus took on himself the sins of the world. He died in our place and suffered the judgment for our sin. Somebody had to suffer that judgment, and typically that “somebody” would be us. But in his love, Jesus voluntarily stood in our place and suffered on our behalf. So, God used the outrageous injustice that the Jews committed against Jesus in order to carry out the greatest rescue mission this world has ever known. 

So, whenever we experience injustice in our lives, the first thing we need to do is to remind ourselves that God’s at work. Even if we don’t understand what he’s doing, he’s still at work and accomplishing his purposes in and through our circumstances. 

Leave Vengeance to God

Then, the second way to respond to injustice is to leave vengeance to God. Leave vengeance to God. That language comes from Paul himself not in Acts but in Romans 12:17-19, where he writes, 17 Repay no one evil for evil, but give thought to do what is honorable in the sight of all. 18 If possible, so far as it depends on you, live peaceably with all. 19 Beloved, never avenge yourselves, but leave it to the wrath of God, for it is written, “Vengeance is mine, I will repay, says the Lord.” Our natural inclination, of course, is to take matters into our own hands and try to exact revenge however we can on those who wrong us. Yet, God tells us, “Vengeance is mine, I will repay.” Man, that’s hard! Yet that’s what we’re instructed to do—to leave vengeance to God.

And that’s precisely what we see Paul doing during his imprisonment as well. Of course, his opportunities for revenge are admittedly limited, but we nevertheless get a glimpse of his mentality in Acts 23:3. When Paul is standing before the Sanhedrin—which was like the Jewish Supreme Court—and proclaims his innocence to the Jewish leaders gathered there, the high priest orders the guards to strike him in the mouth. In response, Paul declares, “God is going to strike you, you whitewashed wall! Are you sitting to judge me according to the law, and yet contrary to the law you order me to be struck?” So, Paul definitely speaks his mind here, to say the least, yet even while speaking his mind in a pretty direct way, he still recognizes the principle that retribution is God’s prerogative. God is the one who, Paul says, will strike the high priest. 

And that’s a great reminder for us that a day of reckoning is coming for everyone who treats others unjustly. Nobody is ultimately getting away with anything. Even now, God is preparing his courtroom for the day when perfect justice will be administered—a day when every offense will be made known and every detail of what’s been done will be exposed for all to see. And justice will prevail. “Vengeance is mine, I will repay,” God says. Don’t doubt for a second that the day of perfect justice is coming—the day when everyone will see that justice delayed isn’t justice denied. And it’s in light of that coming day of judgement that we’re called to leave vengeance to God. 

Love Your Enemies 

Moving forward, a third way to respond to injustice in a way that glorifies God is to love your enemies. While Paul is incarcerated, he repeatedly shows more concern for the spiritual welfare of his captors than he does for his own legal interests. Even though he certainly defends himself very skillfully, we see evidence again and again that his main interest is in sharing the gospel with everyone he encounters—whether it’s with the hostile Jewish mob in Acts 22 or with Felix in Acts 24 or, as we’re going to see in the future, with both Festus and King Agrippa in Acts 26. Everywhere he goes, even while imprisoned, Paul demonstrates deep and genuine concern for the spiritual welfare of those who were involved in the injustices against him. He exhibits love for his enemies. 

This behavior, of course, is ultimately drawn from the teaching of Jesus in Luke 6:27-29: 27 “But I say to you who hear, Love your enemies, do good to those who hate you, 28 bless those who curse you, pray for those who abuse you. 29 To one who strikes you on the cheek, offer the other also, and from one who takes away your cloak do not withhold your tunic either.” I’m not sure there’s anything more countercultural than the behavior Jesus commands in these verses. I’m no anthropologist, but I can’t imagine there’s ever been any culture in the history of the world in which it’s been popular to love your enemies because that mentality is radically contrary to human nature. Our natural inclination is to despise our enemies, not love them. 

Yet Jesus not only tells us to love our enemies but even goes far beyond that and actually shows us what that looks like. Even though every single one of us had, in effect, declared ourselves to be his enemies through our rebellion against him, Jesus died to pay for our sins. He didn’t just exhibit simple kindness toward us—he loved us sacrificially. And, incredibly, even as he was in the process of dying in agony on the cross, Jesus exhibited love for his enemies by praying for the very individuals who were crucifying him. He is the ultimate example. 

So, here’s a practical challenge for you to consider doing this week: pick one person who’s wronged you and start praying for them on a regular basis. And don’t pray imprecatory psalms either—those are off limits for this particular exercise. Pray for God’s blessing on them and his work in them and for them. And see if God doesn’t use that to warm your heart and bring you closer to having the love of Christ even for your enemies. 

Be Active in Your Pursuit of Justice

Then a fourth God-glorifying way to respond when you’re treated unjustly is to be active in your pursuit of justice. Be active in your pursuit of justice. This is by far the clearest behavior that’s on display in our main passage of Acts 25:1-12. The main occurrence that’s recorded here, specifically in verse 11, is that Paul appeals his case to Caesar. And by that, he shows that it’s perfectly acceptable to utilize the legal options that are available to the fullest extent possible in order to pursue justice. From the very beginning of his incarceration—as he’s about to be flogged by the tribune in Acts 22—Paul isn’t shy about making use of his Roman citizenship. And here in chapter 25, he makes use of it again in appealing to Caesar. He doesn’t just roll over and let whatever’s going to happen happen. He actively seeks to defend himself and win his case and preserve his life. You see, at no point does Scripture teach that we’re supposed to be passive about injustice—either the injustices committed against us or those committed against others. On the contrary, our faith in a God of justice should lead us to be very active and even passionate in our pursuit of justice through the proper methods. 

I think one of the best examples of undeterred passion in the pursuit of justice is William Wilberforce, an evangelical Christian and member of the British Parliament in the late 1700’s and early 1800’s. Wilberforce saw firsthand the horrors of the British slave trade and felt compelled to do something. He didn’t just lament what he saw—he passionately pursued justice. Needless to say, abolishing the British slave trade was no easy task. The British economy was so dependent on the slave trade that the vast majority of people thought there was absolutely no way Britain could survive without it. But Wilberforce was determined to address this grave injustice, and in 1793, he proposed a bill in the British House of Commons that made provisions for gradual abolition of the slave trade. But…it was defeated. Many of the members of parliament didn’t even attend the vote that day because they didn’t want to have to go on the record with their vote. Wilberforce then introduced other bills to abolish the slave trade in 1791, 1792, 1797, 1798, 199, 1804, and 1805, but, to his dismay, all of these bills were defeated as well. 

Now, after all of these failed attempts, most people would probably give up. On top of that, Wilberforce suffered a debilitating physical sickness that sometimes kept him bedridden for weeks, he was the victim of all kinds of outrageous rumors circulating around the country about him, and he was the target of multiple of assassination attempts. And yet, Wilberforce was so passionate and tenacious in his pursuit of justice that he simply refused to give up. Then, finally, in 1807, because of Wilberforce’s efforts, Parliament passed a law that, at long last, abolished the slave trade in the British empire. After 20 years of thankless and tireless campaigning, Wilberforce won the day. He then worked to make sure that the laws were enforced. And then, 26 years after that, right before his death, Wilberforce lived to see Parliament pass another law abolishing not just the slave trade but the entire practice of slavery in all of the British empire. 

You see, Wilberforce understood that faith in a God of justice should motivate us to do more than anyone else in society in our pursuit of justice. Even though the gospel itself is obviously our primary focus, it’s also very appropriate for us exhibit love for God and our neighbor by seeking a more just society. There’s not ultimately any tension or conflict between the Great Commission (of making disciples) and the Great Commandments (of loving God and our neighbor). Instead, when you think about it, the Great Commission is ultimately an expression of the Great Commandments, and the Great Commandments prepare the way for accomplishing the Great Commission. 

Set Your Gaze on Our Eternal Hope

Then a final way to respond to injustice in a way the glorifies God is to set your gaze on our eternal hope. So, we’ve talked about reminding ourselves that God’s at work, leaving vengeance to God, loving our enemies, being active in our pursuit of justice, and now setting our gaze on our eternal hope. 

One of the most conspicuous aspects of the way Paul conducts himself throughout his unjust imprisonment is that he always seems to be calm, collected, confident, and courageous. Now that I think about it, that would probably make a pretty decent sermon outline—you know, I hate to let such good alliteration go to waste. But not only is that good alliteration, it’s also a good description of Paul during his imprisonment. And the reason Paul was able to remain so calm, collected, confident, and courageous throughout his imprisonment is ultimately because he knew that, regardless of what happened to him, his heavenly inheritance was secure. He explains his mentality quite well in 2 Corinthians 4:16-18: 16 So we do not lose heart. Though our outer self is wasting away, our inner self is being renewed day by day. 17 For this light momentary affliction is preparing for us an eternal weight of glory beyond all comparison, 18 as we look not to the things that are seen but to the things that are unseen. For the things that are seen are transient, but the things that are unseen are eternal. He then sums all of that up in the next chapter, 2 Corinthians 5, with this simple and concise statement in verse 7: “For we walk by faith, not by sight.”

That’s what we have to do in the face of injustice—“walk by faith, not by sight.” You see, you may be a victim now, but you’ll be a victor then. You’ll be triumphant one day in the new heavens and new earth, where injustice will be nothing more than a faint and distant memory and will be replaced by perfect love for both God and one another. That’s the hope that the gospel gives us in the midst of all the injustice in this world. The gospel empowers us to face all of the injustice in the world by giving us a hope that’s beyond this world—hope for a glorious future. And the more injustice we suffer, the more we’re in a position to appreciate just how wonderful our future’s going to be. Every day that we're in this fallen world should remind us that we were made for another.