THE HEART OF THE MATTER: DEAD OR ALIVE?

Acts 25:13-19

A few days later King Agrippa and Bernice arrived at Caesarea to pay their respects to Festus. 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. When I went to Jerusalem, the chief priests and elders of the Jews brought charges against him and asked that he be condemned. I told them that it is not the Roman custom to hand over any man before he has faced his accusers and has had an opportunity to defend himself against their charges. 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. When his accusers got up to speak, they did not charge him with any of the crimes I had expected. 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."

There were a lot of issues swirling around Paul. In our passage today, Festus sums it all up very succinctly when he explains to King Agrippa: "... they had some points of dispute with him about their own religion and about a dead man named Jesus who Paul claimed was alive." But are some points of law and a dead guy all this whole hoopla has been about? Is that really the heart of the matter? I think Festus explanation shows he has completely missed the point of Jesus. I think many of us can lose that point from time to time as well.

Not long ago my oldest daughter Natalie asked me about my grandfather. I told her about his job, where he lived, what he liked doing, and some of my favorite stories about him. We had a really nice chat and she walked away with a pretty good "flavor" of who my grandfather was -- at least from my perspective. But that didn't change the fact he died over 30 years ago and she would never have the chance to meet and get to know him personally. So it is with Jesus as well if we only know about Him -- the stories are nice, but what does it have to do with me? For Festus, Jesus was just a dead guy who Paul claimed was alive. Take a moment and really give some thought to what Jesus means to you. Is He dead or alive?

Ask yourself this question, "If Jesus is alive to me am I living right now according to my belief and faith?" In John 4:13, Jesus answered the Samaritan woman, "Everyone who drinks this water will be thirsty again, but whoever drinks the water I give him will never thirst. Indeed, the water I give him will become in him a spring of water welling up to eternal life." This world and its troubles can make us all feel a little parched from time to time. Won't you take a drink of "living water" today?

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