Acts 25:1-12 | Bondage to BitternessNäide

The Bondage of Bitterness

Festus followed Felix as governor of Judea. His reign was brief, from 59 to 62 AD. As soon as Festus took office, Paul’s enemies tried to manipulate him. As outlined in yesterday’s devotional, the Jewish religious leaders didn’t waste any time trying to get Festus to transfer Paul from Caesarea to Jerusalem so they could ambush him on the way. Festus refused their request, realizing that Paul wouldn’t get a fair trial in Jerusalem, and instead, traveled to Caesarea with the Jewish leaders to hold the trial.

Before heading for Caesarea, Acts says that Festus spent “eight to ten days with them.” What they talked about during this time isn’t recorded by Luke, but it wouldn’t be a stretch to think the Jewish leaders were trying to convince the new governor of Paul’s alleged crimes.

The day after they arrived in Caesarea, Festus convened the court and ordered Paul to 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 (Acts 25:7, NIV).

Without missing a beat, the religious leaders leveled serious but unsupported claims against Paul. Hearsay, slander, and twisted truths from people held captive to bitterness.

Bitterness spews lies. A life in bondage to bitterness will lead you to do the unthinkable – to bend the truth, to turn people against one another, even to kill. Bitterness is bondage. Lies are its fruit. Christ faced it. You can too. And Christ invites us to the truth, the truth that leads to freedom. Even if we’re on the receiving end of other people’s bitterness and lies.

Is there bitterness in your life? Expose the lie that is keeping you in bondage and embrace the freedom the truth offers. Have you been on the receiving end of someone else’s bitterness? Lean into the fact that God knows what’s true, and that what he thinks is ultimately what matters.

Prayer

Ask God to forgive anytime you’ve lied about another person, or sought to sway things to turn people against them. Ask God for perspective and strength if you are enduring the lies or bitterness of another.