“Lasting Loyalty”
Click below to download the Cornerstone Connections leader’s guide and student lesson. This week’s resources also include two lesson plans and a discussion starter video which offer different ways of looking at the topic. Each lesson plan includes opening activities, scripture passages, discussion questions, and real-life applications.
Acts 25:1-12
We will all be called by Christ to endure trials for Him with character and integrity. What better way to prepare for that future than by today living a life devoted to Him?
Scripture Passages
Acts 25:1-12
Exodus 14:13-14
OVERVIEW
Have you ever been wrongly accused? Have you ever felt as if someone wanted to take advantage of you? In our lesson today, the Jewish leaders tried to pull a fast one on the legal system, but for once the system worked and Paul avoided going to a place where he was sure to lose.
OPENING ACTIVITY:
PLACES YOU WOULD GO
Ask each student to think about a place they would go if money were no object, where they could hide from a disaster—world war, pandemic, famine, etc.
QUESTIONS
TRANSITION
Being accused doesn’t make one feel great, but being wrongly accused is doubly difficult. Paul faced a challenging decision. By law he had rights to go to Caesar, but appealing to Caesar was a big deal and changed the trajectory of Paul’s ministry and life. Be careful what you ask for.
BIBLE STUDY GUIDE
Read Acts 25:1-5.
1Three days after arriving in the province, Festus went up from Caesarea to Jerusalem, 2 where the chief priests and the Jewish leaders appeared before him and presented the charges against Paul. 3 They requested Festus, as a favor to them, to have Paul transferred to Jerusalem, for they were preparing an ambush to kill him along the way. 4 Festus answered, “Paul is being held at Caesarea, and I myself am going there soon. 5 Let some of your leaders come with me, and if the man has done anything wrong, they can press charges against him there.”
QUESTIONS
Read Acts 25:6-9.
6 After spending eight or ten days with them, Festus went down to Caesarea. The next day he convened the court and ordered that Paul be brought before him. 7 When Paul came in, the Jews who had come down from Jerusalem stood around him. They brought many serious charges against him, but they could not prove them.
8 Then Paul made his defense: “I have done nothing wrong against the Jewish law or against the temple or against Caesar.”
9 Festus, wishing to do the Jews a favor, said to Paul, “Are you willing to go up to Jerusalem and stand trial before me there on these charges?”
QUESTIONS
Read Acts 25:10-16.
10 Paul answered: “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!”
13 A few days later King Agrippa and Bernice arrived at Caesarea to pay their respects to Festus. 14 Since they were spending many days there, Festus discussed Paul’s case with the king. He said: “There is a man here whom Felix left as a prisoner. 15 When I went to Jerusalem, the chief priests and the elders of the Jews brought charges against him and asked that he be condemned.
16 “I told them that it is not the Roman custom to hand over anyone before they have faced their accusers and have had an opportunity to defend themselves against the charges.
QUESTIONS
Read Exodus 14:13-14.
13 Moses answered the people, “Do not be afraid. Stand firm and you will see the deliverance the Lord will bring you today. The Egyptians you see today you will never see again. 14 The Lord will fight for you; you need only to be still.”
QUESTIONS
APPLICATION
Paul was wrongly accused by a group of religious leaders who were intent on destroying his life—both personal and professional. What made the religious leaders so eager to harm Paul? Can you imagine a time or place where Christians were/are being wrongly accused because of their personal religious beliefs? How would you defend yourself? Do you think God would be with you in a similar way to that of Paul and the other Apostles who were treated unfairly—in other words, how does God help His people when they are in trouble for their faith?
FOLLOW UP
SCRIPTURE PASSAGE
LEADER’S NOTE
For a Relational Bible Study (RBS) you’ll want to get into the Scripture passage and encourage the youth to imagine participating in the story while it’s happening. Then you will be able to better apply it to your own situation today.
You will need to ask God for the Holy Spirit to be present as your small group discusses the questions (no more than 3-6 people in a group is recommended). Start with the opening question. It is a personal question and the answer is unique for each individual. There is no right answer and nobody is an expert here, so don’t be surprised when you hear different responses. You are depending on the Holy Spirit to be present and to speak through your group. Say what God prompts you to say, and listen to what others share.
Take turns reading the chapter out loud. Follow that with giving the students some time to individually mark their responses to the questions (a PDF version of the handout is available as a download). This gives each person a starting point for responding when you start to share as a group. Next, begin the discussion by asking the students to share what they marked and why on each question as you work your way through. Feel free to take more time on some questions than others as discussion warrants.
Encourage each person in the group to apply what is discussed to their personal lives and to share with the group what they believe God wants them to do. Then ask them to pray that God will help each of them to follow through in doing so. Remind them to expect that God will show them ways to live out the message of this passage in the coming week, and that they are free to ask others in the group to help hold them accountable.
OVERVIEW
The Apostle Paul got “knocked off his high horse” when God definitely got his attention (Acts 9:3-4). After that time, he experienced miracle after miracle. And yet, Paul also found himself arrested, beaten, and placed in jail multiple times.
If you’re looking for a similar response and intervention by God each time you take a stand for Him, you wouldn’t be familiar with the great variety Paul experienced. He challenged a powerful man in the community whom Paul struck blind, and then the man converted to Christianity (Acts 13:7-12). Yet when Paul preached a scathing rebuke to those in Antioch of Pisidia, He received a welcome the first Sabbath but got run out of town by a mob the next Sabbath (Acts 13:14-16, 44-50). Next he went to Iconium, where he and Barnabas performed miraculous signs and wonders. But they had to flee for their lives (Acts 14:1-6). In Lystra the people worshiped them, considering them to be gods, but then turned on them and stoned them to the point that they figured they had killed Paul (Acts 14:9-19). Last quarter we covered a number of these amazing stories in the book of Acts.
When Paul made his fateful trip to Jerusalem, he received multiple warnings that he would be jailed (Acts 20:22-23, 36-37; 21:10-11). But that didn’t seem to faze Paul. In Paul’s words, “I am ready not only to be jailed at Jerusalem but also to die for the sake of the Lord Jesus” (Acts 21:13 NLT). While we might be tempted to do everything possible to avoid such treatment, Paul’s conviction and leading by the Holy Spirit to share Jesus with everyone far surpassed any fear or worry about jail. He simply continued to share Jesus while he was in jail (see Philippians 1:12-14). We may expect God to free us from prison, but that didn’t seem to be an issue for Paul.
When people falsely accused Paul in Jerusalem, the Jewish leaders would have killed him if the Roman soldiers hadn’t arrived to save Paul (Acts 21:26-36). Even so, Paul created a pause and gave a sermon to those who wanted to kill him (Acts 21:37-22:23). How strange that the pagan Roman soldiers were the ones who saved Paul’s life from the death the Jewish leaders and the mobs they incited tried to accomplish. A group of 40 Jewish men even took a vow to not eat or drink anything until they had killed Paul (Acts 3:12-15). You can’t make up these stories!
Paul spent the next two years in jail. What a waste! Did he wonder why God didn’t rescue him from that place like God had rescued Peter (Acts 12)? Paul faced trials before prosecutors and he served as his own defense attorney. He met with the Roman governor repeatedly. When the governor moved and a new governor took his place, Paul met with him as well as with King Agrippa.
While we often seek a soft life, Paul embraced the challenges that came with spreading the good news of Jesus, even though some people strongly opposed him. In general, young people are usually more willing to take great risks like this than adults. But Paul, an adult at this time, lived out his commitment to Christ with a youthful zeal.
Will the young people in your Youth Sabbath School live for Jesus with the same type of zeal as Paul, or will they take a more careful approach and seek safety over responding to God’s call on their lives? Will they let the power and influence of humans direct them more than the power and influence of Jesus?
Let’s consider Acts 25 and the different people involved and the power or influence they had. Sometimes a position provides power, and sometimes it doesn’t. The Christian always looks for direction from the power and influence of Christ first, and lets human powers fall wherever they may fall.
“Power and Placement”
Who has power/influence over you? Who/what gives them that power?
Read Acts 25:1-27.
1 Three days after arriving in the province, Festus went up from Caesarea to Jerusalem, 2 where the chief priests and the Jewish leaders appeared before him and presented the charges against Paul. 3 They requested Festus, as a favor to them, to have Paul transferred to Jerusalem, for they were preparing an ambush to kill him along the way. 4 Festus answered, “Paul is being held at Caesarea, and I myself am going there soon. 5 Let some of your leaders come with me, and if the man has done anything wrong, they can press charges against him there.”
6 After spending eight or ten days with them, Festus went down to Caesarea. The next day he convened the court and ordered that Paul be brought before him. 7 When Paul came in, the Jews who had come down from Jerusalem stood around him. They brought many serious charges against him, but they could not prove them.
8 Then Paul made his defense: “I have done nothing wrong against the Jewish law or against the temple or against Caesar.”
9 Festus, wishing to do the Jews a favor, said to Paul, “Are you willing to go up to Jerusalem and stand trial before me there on these charges?”
10 Paul answered: “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!”
13 A few days later King Agrippa and Bernice arrived at Caesarea to pay their respects to Festus. 14 Since they were spending many days there, Festus discussed Paul’s case with the king. He said: “There is a man here whom Felix left as a prisoner. 15 When I went to Jerusalem, the chief priests and the elders of the Jews brought charges against him and asked that he be condemned.
16 “I told them that it is not the Roman custom to hand over anyone before they have faced their accusers and have had an opportunity to defend themselves against the charges. 17 When they came here with me, I did not delay the case, but convened the court the next day and ordered the man to be brought in. 18 When his accusers got up to speak, they did not charge him with any of the crimes I had expected. 19 Instead, they had some points of dispute with him about their own religion and about a dead man named Jesus who Paul claimed was alive. 20 I was at a loss how to investigate such matters; so I asked if he would be willing to go to Jerusalem and stand trial there on these charges. 21 But when Paul made his appeal to be held over for the Emperor’s decision, I ordered him held until I could send him to Caesar.”
22 Then Agrippa said to Festus, “I would like to hear this man myself.”
He replied, “Tomorrow you will hear him.”
23 The next day Agrippa and Bernice came with great pomp and entered the audience room with the high-ranking military officers and the prominent men of the city. At the command of Festus, Paul was brought in. 24 Festus said: “King Agrippa, and all who are present with us, you see this man! The whole Jewish community has petitioned me about him in Jerusalem and here in Caesarea, shouting that he ought not to live any longer. 25 I found he had done nothing deserving of death, but because he made his appeal to the Emperor I decided to send him to Rome. 26 But I have nothing definite to write to His Majesty about him. Therefore I have brought him before all of you, and especially before you, King Agrippa, so that as a result of this investigation I may have something to write. 27 For I think it is unreasonable to send a prisoner on to Rome without specifying the charges against him.”
1. Why did the Jewish leaders press Festus right away about Paul?
2. Why did Paul appeal to Caesar?
3. Why did Festus agree to send Paul to Rome?
4. What was it about King Agrippa’s background that added to this scene?
5. What do you think Agrippa wanted to hear from Paul?
6. Why didn’t Festus know what to write to the emperor about Paul?
7. Why didn’t God rescue Paul from jail in Caesarea? Why doesn’t God intervene in your life more often?
8. Who is someone you know who consistently is like “salt” and “light” in the world, even if it bothers some people? How can you be God’s “salt” and “light” now?
SUMMARY
The people placed in positions of power don’t always seem to have the power you might expect. They can threaten, persecute, lock up, and maybe even kill. But sometimes those who don’t seem to be in power actually wield a lot of power/influence over those we thought were in power. Paul experienced the power of the Jewish leaders against him and the power of the Roman soldiers and government heads who saved him and then left him in jail. Yet Paul found a way to go above them by using their own Roman system that included an appeal to Caesar. The drive to live for God provides direction, purpose, and courage that goes way beyond just living for one’s self, or being controlled by political, military, or individual forces. With Jesus, we have power from Him and we trust that He will put us in the place He wants us to be.
APPLICATION
Paul stands out as an amazing role model of someone who stood for God and shared Jesus with others no matter what the circumstances were or what the results might be. The application ideas for this week draw on this resolute witness in whatever your sphere of influence is—wherever God has placed you at this time. As you engage, you will be challenged and grow in your faith, hope, and love for Jesus.
Jesus used these two metaphors—salt and light— to illustrate how His followers operate (Matthew 5:13-16). Paul operated both ways. You can, too. Salt seasons and preserves food. Too much of it isn’t good—for the taste or for the body. But a lack of salt leaves food tasteless and the body physiologically out of balance. Roman soldiers sometimes received their pay in salt rather than in cash (as in the statement, “He isn’t worth his salt”). Sometimes it takes just a little salt to make a difference. When salt stays inside a salt shaker, it really isn’t doing its job. Some followers of Jesus need to “get out of the salt shaker and into the world.” Light removes darkness/evil, and makes the truth easy for others to see. Where things are the darkest, light makes the greatest impact—like lighting a candle in a dark room. In contrast, when the sun is shining, adding one candle to the sunlight would be hardly noticeable.
On the international scene, Russia’s invasion of Ukraine has thrust Ukraine’s little-known leader, Volodymyr Zelensky, into the spotlight. That’s not necessarily new to him because he had been a comedian and actor prior to becoming a politician. But Zelensky’s role in responding to the Russian invasion has catapulted him in the eyes of Westerners—Ukrainians, Europeans, and Americans. When a “deepfake” video of Zelensky with a voice-over that had him surrendering to the Russians hit the internet, Zelensky posted his own current video made on the streets of Kyiv, vowing to fight the Russians and not lay down his weapons until Ukraine had defeated the invaders. He took a stand at a crucial moment and swayed a country and the Western alliance.
You might not be the president of an invaded country right now, but in your world, where will you take a stand this week? It will require courage, and courage comes when you stand with God for what is right, regardless of how much fear you might have.
Related to the second application, take time to consider what and where and when you will share your influence as a follower of Jesus. In fact, sharing Jesus will likely increase your commitment to Christ. Paul had plenty of time on his hands to consider what he would say. In terms of the where and when, it was pretty much everywhere he went and all the time! He wasn’t just waiting for someday in the distant future when he would share Jesus with others. He went for it all the time. When surprising things came up, he consistently stayed with sharing Jesus (the “what”) wherever he was (the “where”) all the time (the “when”).
