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I AM APPEALING TO THE EMPEROR’S TRIBUNAL (ACTS 25:1-12)

REFLECTION
“I am appealing to the emperor’s tribunal” is the theme for our reflection. To appeal is to make a serious and urgent request. A tribunal is a court of justice. Paul urgently requested to be tried before the court of the Roman Emperor when he realised that a trial within the Governor’s court would not serve justice. We shall reflect on the fact that Christians must ensure that justice is done and must be seen to be done.

Beloved in the Lord Paul had been accused by the Chief Priest and other religious fanatics of Judaism of distorting their religion. They told the first governor Felix who was judged the case, ““We have found this man to be a troublemaker, stirring up riots among the Jews all over the world. He is a ringleader of the Nazarene sect 6 and even tried to desecrate the temple; so we seized him. (Acts 24:5-6). Governor Felix could not prosecute Paul for lack of evidence “At the same time he was hoping that Paul would offer him a bribe, so he sent for him frequently and talked with him.   27 When two years had passed, Felix was succeeded by Porcius Festus, but because Felix wanted to grant a favour to the Jews, he left Paul in prison. (Acts 24:26-27) Dear friend, Paul had already suffered injustice under Governor Felix. He ought to be freed if there was no evidence to prosecute him but he was left in prison without a trial. This is happening in Ghana and other countries too, there are people in jail without trial for political reasons. We must be concerned about this form of injustice.

After Governor Felix was replaced by Governor Porcius Festus, Paul’s case was revisited. Again we find the elements of impartiality and injustice in the trial of Paul’s case under the new Governor. Governor Felix wanted to do the bidding of the Jewish leaders who had plotted to ambush and kill Paul by requesting that he be transferred and tried in Jerusalem instead of Caesarea. (Act 25:1-10) But the Lord had already given direction to Paul during his arrest in Jerusalem, “Take courage! As you have testified about me in Jerusalem, so you must also testify in Rome.” (Acts 23:11). It is upon this direction and the injustice suffered by Paul that he applied the law as a Roman citizen by appealing to Govern Felix ““I am now standing before Caesar’s court, where I ought to be tried. I have not done any wrong to the Jews, as you yourself know very well. 11 If, however, I am guilty of doing anything deserving death, I do not refuse to die. But if the charges brought against me by these Jews are not true, no one has the right to hand me over to them. I appeal to Caesar!” 12 After Festus had conferred with his council, he declared: “You have appealed to Caesar. To Caesar, you will go!” (Acts 25:10-12). We learn two important lessons from Paul’s approach. Firstly, we must pray and listen to the Lord at all times and secondly, we must be interested in knowing our rights, privileges and the course of justice by studying the law. If Paul had been ignorant of the law, he would have continued to suffer unjustly and his mission of preaching the Gospel in Rome would have ended prematurely. Beloved in the law in every given situation we must ask two relevant questions, what does the Word of God say concerning this issue and what is the position of the law concerning this issue? The Word of God and the law stand for Justice and liberation, it is for this purpose Christians all over the world must be interested in issues of justice and human dignity.

In summary, we have discovered that as Christians, we must ensure that justice should not only be done but also seen to have been done. We must champion the issue of justice and human dignity in our churches and communities. Again, we must have a prison ministry that fights the course of people who are in prison without trial or have unjustly been tried. Shalom.

PRAYER

May the Holy Spirit empower us to fight against impartiality and injustice in the world. Grant us the courage to represent victims of abuse of power and injustice in our churches and communities. Amen.