When we are chained to God’s sovereignty, we are free to enjoy His grace and providence. “The Lord reigns; let the peoples tremble!” (Psalm 99:1). Yet, they do not (ref. Psalm 36:1; Romans 3:18).

While the five trials certainly had their suspense, and the sea journey has its perils, there should be no doubt that Paul will reach Rome. God promised he would go there. And God, the good Father, never breaks a promise.

For the fifth text in a row in Acts, we have a man, the Apostle Paul, being put on the spot and forced to give a defense against accusations that could cost him his very life.

The three men judging Paul’s third, fourth, and fifth trials are the middle men. They stand between Jerusalem and Rome, in Caesarea. They stand between imprisonment and freedom, for the Apostle Paul. And, they stand between belief and unbelief, in the gospel of Jesus Christ.

The three men we are about to meet in Paul’s third, fourth, and fifth trials are the middle men. They stand between Jerusalem and Rome, in Caesarea.  

Deja vu was not kind to the Apostle Paul. Earlier in his life, he had been part of a Jerusalem mob who put a person on trial, named Stephen, simply for being a Christian and preaching the gospel, then summarily executed him.

The Lord Jesus Christ endured five trials after His arrest. He appeared before Annas, then Caiaphas, then the Sanhedrin (Council), then Herod Antipas, then Governor Pontius Pilate.

Paul “went up to Jerusalem,” even though prophetic warnings assured him nothing but trouble awaited. He went to do good, and a lot of good he did. Just what good did Paul do?

For the remainder of the book of Acts, we are going on an extraordinary sea and land cruise that will take Paul and his companions from their missionary exploits in Europe and Asia back to the mother church in Jerusalem, then all the way westward to Rome.