Acts 25:19
But had certain questions against him of their own superstition, and of one Jesus, which was dead, whom Paul affirmed to be alive.
The Roman governor Festus, speaking to King Agrippa, reduces the complex theological dispute between the apostle Paul and the Jewish leaders to a single, profound summary. To Festus, an unbelieving Roman official, the controversy centers on what he perceives as a matter of religious superstition regarding a deceased historical figure. Yet, this precise summary captures the fundamental dividing line between a secular worldview and the Christian faith: the dispute concerning Jesus, whom the world considers dead, but whom Paul unyieldingly affirms to be alive.
The use of the word superstition highlights the stark contrast between human perception and divine revelation. From a worldly vantage point, the gospel message often appears as an obscure or irrational religious debate. Festus views the core of Paul’s defense as a trivial squabble over a dead man. However, to Paul, the resurrection is not a philosophical abstraction or a quaint religious tradition; it is the concrete foundation of reality and the initiating act of a new creation.
This single sentence demonstrates that the entire Christian faith stands or falls on the historical reality of the resurrection. Paul does not attempt to make his message more palatable to the Roman governor by focusing merely on the moral teachings of Jesus or by retreating from the miraculous. Instead, he places the bodily resurrection at the absolute center of his defense. If the Savior remained in the tomb, the message would be a wretched delusion. Because He is risen, it is the power of God unto salvation.
This assessment serves as a powerful reminder of the core of the Christian message. The faith is not a dead religion honoring a deceased founder, but a living relationship with a resurrected Savior. In the face of a skeptical world that often dismisses the miraculous as mere superstition, believers are called to confidently echo this same defense, staking everything on the truth that Jesus is alive.
