When the accusers stood up, they brought no accusation against him of such things as I supposed, but had some questions against him about their own religion and about a certain Jesus, who had died, whom Paul affirmed to be alive. (Acts 25:18-19)

A Certain Jesus

Paul had spent more than two years in Caesarea after his arrest in Jerusalem. The governor of the region was Felix, who listened to Paul’s defense but took no action. Felix, as was the custom of Roman officials, sought bribes to release Paul. Instead, Paul used every opportunity to preach the gospel to Felix and his adulterous wife, Drusilla, about righteousness, self-control, and the final day of judgment. When Felix retired, Porcius Festus became governor.

A few weeks after the arrival of Festus, King Agrippa and his wife Bernice came to Caesarea to greet the new governor. Festus laid Paul’s case before the king, and Agrippa sought to hear from Paul. In his explanation to the king about the case against Paul, Festus tells the king that the case sprang from accusers in Jerusalem charging Paul with various Jewish laws, but the king found no cause to charge Paul. The Jews wanted Paul returned to Jerusalem, but the governor decided he would stay in Caesarea. When asked if he was willing to go to Jerusalem to face his accusers, Paul demanded the right of a Roman citizen to appeal his case to Rome. Because of his appeal to Augustus, Paul would be sent to Rome.

The case against Paul, as Festus understood the charge, had to do with Paul preaching about a certain Jesus who had been killed but seen alive after His death. Paul had admitted that Jesus had been put to death, but he maintained that he had been raised from the dead. King Agrippa was a Jew by religion. He was curious about the story Paul told of a risen Christ. Paul’s defense was based on a certain Jesus and His story. Everything Paul had endured in his life as an apostle came from his love and dedication to a certain Jesus whom he believed with all his heart had risen from the dead.

Hope must be centered upon a certain Jesus to believe in eternal life. Everything a man must believe is focused on the story and life of Jesus. The character of the saint is a certain man, Jesus. What a man does comes from him following a certain Jesus. God gave His Son so that the world can come to know a certain Jesus. It was a certain Jesus that showed the power of God through the many miracles. The teaching of a certain Jesus changed the world. It was a certain Jesus the Jewish leaders wanted to kill – and did. The man crucified between two thieves was a certain Jesus.

What made the gospel story powerful was that a certain Jesus, buried in a certain tomb by Nicodemus and Joseph of Arimathea, was sealed with a certain large stone, with a certain Roman guard standing outside. On a certain day, the first day of the week, a certain Jesus could not be found in His tomb. Later that day, and for the next forty days, a certain Jesus appeared to His disciples. The preaching of the gospel taught that a certain Jesus was the Son of God.

There is no name under heaven given among men that will save one except the name of a certain Jesus. This certain Jesus is the only way, the only truth, and the only life. If a man refuses to believe in a certain Jesus, there will be a certain and terrible consequence. Obedience to a certain Jesus will result in a certain hope and promise of eternal life. What does a certain Jesus mean? Everything eternal.