Do You Get Mad When Confronted With the Truth?ናሙና

Why Did Festus Get Mad At Paul? 

In Acts chapter 26, we read about how Paul shares his conversion testimony with Agrippa. After Paul had finished his testimony and stated his deep-seated convictions on the resurrection of Jesus Christ from the dead, Festus blurted out, ‘Paul, you are out of your mind! Your great learning is driving you mad.’” 

Festus was a rationalist, an anti-supernaturalist and he regarded Christians as crazy. He was not only hardened to the truth but also thought that everyone who did not think like him was mad. 

He also saw in the way that Paul shared his testimony that it was something that was real. The resurrection of Jesus had made a deep-seated change in a hardcore person like Paul. He was confronted with reality. He was faced with the truth. But instead of accepting it, he brushed it off by calling Paul mad.

The phrase ‘hitting the nail on the head’ basically means to be accurately right about something or to find the exact answer.

What do you do when confronted with the truth? Do you behave like Festus and call others mad, or are you like Paul who when he was confronted with the truth on the road to Damascus in Acts 9 responded in obedience to the voice of Jesus.

The question is who was really crazy -- Festus or Paul? Festus was the one who was not rational because he did not want to look at all of life from God's viewpoint. Sin had taken its toll on Festus as he had a world view that revolved only around himself. His philosophy seemed to have been “Enjoy life now for there is nothing beyond the grave”. It was Festus who was mad not Paul. 

David Dockery defines a worldview as “It is a comprehensive life system that seeks to answer the basic questions of life. A Christian worldview is not just one’s personal faith expression, not just a theory. It is an all-consuming way of life, applicable to all spheres of life. . . . A Christian worldview has the stamp of reason and reality and can stand the test of history and experience. “

What is your worldview? Is it biblical? Do you look at life from God’s viewpoint or your own? A Christian worldview becomes a driving force in life, giving us a sense of God’s plan and purpose for this world. Our identity is shaped by this worldview.

What you choose to believe about something, including yourself, has dramatic impacts. Festus chose to reject the truth about the resurrection and called it madness and died just two years later with no change in his life. Paul changed his worldview about God believing in Jesus as the Messiah and made an impact in this world and left a legacy.

Quote: I believe in Christianity as I believe that the sun has risen. Not only because I see it, but because by it I see everything else. ~ CS Lewis

Prayer: Lord, help me to see the world through Your lens. Help me not to be conformed to the views of this world. Amen.