We have seen that Paul continued to be falsely accused by the Jews as they sought his execution and murder at the hands of the Romans. He was forced to appeal to Caesar to be tried in Rome, which will become the human means by which the prophesy of Jesus that Paul would witness in Rome would be fulfilled by these human means.  

In all his trials and tribulations, Paul worked out his call to be a witness of the gospel wherever the Lord put him. As we have seen, he is ever faithful to the calling of Christ no matter the circumstances of this life.

It’s greatly ironic that we are dealing with Paul the prisoner who looked weak, but he is shown to be faithful, strong, and courageous.

There’s a contrast that Luke brings to us with the supposed power but actual weakness of the governors, religious leaders, the secular leaders—they should be strong but shown to be weak. But Paul the prisoner is shown to be strong, courageous, and bold.

Today we will see the Roman governor’s perspective of Paul and his message.

Our primary claim is this: The life of the witness should beautifully adorn the message of the Good News. Our challenge this morning is going to be this: Think about how we live, speak, and engage the world.

How do our actual lives add to or take away from the beauty and power of the message that we believe and the message that we speak?

What do our lives say about the message that we believe and speak? We are going to try to connect those things today.

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