Three days after arriving in the province, Festus went up from Caesarea to Jerusalem, where the chief priests and the Jewish leaders appeared before him and presented the charges against Paul. 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. Festus answered, “Paul is being held at Caesarea, and I myself am going there soon. Let some of your leaders come with me, and if the man has done anything wrong, they can press charges against him there.” 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. 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.

--Parallel verses:
‭‭I Peter‬ ‭2‬:‭12‬-‭15‬
Live such good lives among the pagans that, though they accuse you of doing wrong, they may see your good deeds and glorify God on the day he visits us. Submit yourselves for the Lord’s sake to every human authority: whether to the emperor, as the supreme authority, or to governors, who are sent by him to punish those who do wrong and to commend those who do right. For it is God’s will that by doing good you should silence the ignorant talk of foolish people.

What is fascinating here, is that after two years in prison, and what I am sure was a massive investigation by the Jews as to wrong-doing by Paul, nothing of any merit was found to accuse him. I imagine these chief priests were fairly relentless, interviewing his neighbors, family members, and church leaders. But the love of Christ shown through Paul in a brilliant way. He embodied the commands Peter gave in our parallel verses.

Paul submitted to every earthly authority. He followed Jewish laws, even though he knew some of them were not necessary to be a follower of God. He was kind, thoughtful, and patient in affliction. And as a result of the godly character of Paul, the Jews looked foolish in the baseless accusations. God was on his side.

How do I appear to those around me? Am I a person who submits to authority and is focused on doing the good deeds God calls me to act on?

Lord, thank you for the model of Paul. He was faithful and he lived a life of integrity. His character reflected his relationship with Jesus. May this also be said of me.