Paul's Odyssey #10 - Festus the People Pleaser

Odyssey: "A long and adventurous journey or experience."
In 2023 & 2024 we spent the summer months on the life of the Apostle Paul and covered his first two missionary journeys as presented in the book of Acts. This summer we're looking at his 3rd missionary journey which lasted about 5 years and covered over 2,500 miles.

A couple of take-home thoughts from last week included:
1. Are we simply religious or are we a true follower of Jesus...is He both Lord and Savior of our life?
2. If we are procrastinating a decision about committing our life to Jesus (like Felix), then we run the risk of our life ending or our heart hardening.

Last week, in Acts 24:27 [NLT] we saw a transition in the authority over Paul's situation from Felix to Festus.
Today we look at Acts 25 and find Paul interacting with a new Roman official or procurator. His name was Porcius Festus. A procurator was in charge of the province's financial affairs, including collections of taxes, paying bills and salaries, and land prices. We might call him a "career politician" as he lacked insight into the people he was ruling or even the situations in which they were placed. Acts 25 is a great example of this.

As we look at Acts 25 [NLT] today, we'll look at just the first half of the chapter and focus primarily on Porcius Festus.

Acts 25:1-2
Historians have written that Festus was a decent guy with some potential as a leader but he inherited a tough spot as Felix had made a mess of things in Israel.
So in comes Festus and he headed off to Jerusalem to try and smooze with the Jewish leaders. But he immediately had to deal with the Apostle Paul mess. Have you ever had to deal with or try to fix someone else's mess? And was your future, reputation, and even maybe your life on the line?

A lesson we see from Festus...information gathering before decision making.
We see a few common sense principles in verses 3-5.
1. We must be aware of the agendas that others may have.
2. A slow cautious approach is usually best when handling problems that have gone on for a while.
3. A change of environment...neutral ground can put everyone on equal footing.

In verses 6-8 we see that Festus reopened the Jew's case against Paul.
Festus is sitting in a seat of judgment; he had the power.
The Jewish leaders had the floor.
Paul had the evidence, his integrity, and his God. It's at this point where our faith is truly revealed.

In verse 9 we notice a flaw in the character of Festus - he is a people pleaser. He wanted to please or appease the religious leaders.
People pleasing can stem from trauma in one's past including abuse, neglect, and dysfunctional family dynamics. This is also known as a Fawn Response. An unconscious survival strategy that involves using excessive agreeableness to avoid conflict, punishment, or disapproval from others particularly in childhood or abusive relationships.
The motive here is not about others, but one's self.
People pleasing is a form of idolatry because it places the approval and opinions of other people above God's approval and opinion of us.
We should not be trying to serve or please a human "god" rather than the divine.

In verses 10-12 we see that Paul stood up for his legal rights. It was the right of every Roman citizen to have his case heard by Caesar himself after initial trials and appeals failed to reach a satisfactory decision. This was in effect an appeal to the supreme court of the Roman Empire.

Some things to remember...
1. We must understand that the world and life are usually not fair.
2. A nation that honors God has a greater likelihood of having a justice system that we can count on.
3. People pleasing is not a positive trait and in its worst form, is a form of idolatry.
4. Sometimes in life all we will have is the truth (evidence), our integrity, and our relationship with God.
5. Judgment Day will set all things right...make sure you prepare for it!