Act 25--Paul, the Witness

Paul’s effectiveness as a witness is on display here. Felix and Festus cannot come up with any actual charge against Paul. His life is proven innocent of any formal charge. Yet his message is clear. They cannot bring any charge against him, but they know exactly what he stands for.

The issue over why Paul was imprisoned was in Festus’s impression, “the dead person-Jesus whom Paul claimed was alive” (v.19). It is safe to say that our failure to witness is a failure that is driven more by fear than anything else. We fear the rejection in the court of others opinion. Some of this is legitimate because many of our friends have suffered greatly at the hands of insensitive evangelists. We learn our lesson well to follow Paul’s example of not allowing any offense to cloud the true issue of the person of Christ.

However, the offense of the cross and resurrection is something we cannot avoid. It is unavoidable that people will be disappointed with us and will reject or create distance from us because of our faith. However, if they are going to reject our message, let’s be clear about what they are rejecting. We don’t want them to reject a caricature of Jesus or reject Jesus because his followers misrepresent him.

Try these questions with those whom you are praying for. “Who do you think Jesus is?” “Do you think that Jesus rose from the dead?” “What difference does the resurrection make?”

What kind of questions have worked well for you?