Now three days after Festus had arrived in the province, he went up to Jerusalem from Caesarea.
2 And the chief priests and the principal men of the Jews laid out their case against Paul, and they urged him, 3 asking as a favor against Paul that he summon him to Jerusalem—because they were planning an ambush to kill him on the way. 4 Festus replied that Paul was being kept at Caesarea and that he himself intended to go there shortly. 5 “So,” said he, “let the men of authority among you go down with me, and if there is anything wrong about the man, let them bring charges against him.”6 After he stayed among them not more than eight or ten days, he went down to Caesarea. And the next day he took his seat on the tribunal and ordered Paul to be brought. 7 When he had arrived, the Jews who had come down from Jerusalem stood around him, bringing many and serious charges against him that they could not prove. 8 Paul argued in his defense, “Neither against the law of the Jews, nor against the temple, nor against Caesar have I committed any offense.” 9 But Festus, wishing to do the Jews a favor, said to Paul, “Do you wish to go up to Jerusalem and there be tried on these charges before me?” 10 But Paul said, “I am standing before Caesar’s tribunal, where I ought to be tried. To the Jews I have done no wrong, as you yourself know very well. 11 If then I am a wrongdoer and have committed anything for which I deserve to die, I do not seek to escape death. But if there is nothing to their charges against me, no one can give me up to them. I appeal to Caesar.” 12 Then Festus, when he had conferred with his council, answered, “To Caesar you have appealed; to Caesar you shall go.”
The year before Diane and I were married I and a business buddy built a speculation cabin in a private “fishing village.” Hidden Valley, located in southeast Missouri, had about 100 cabins, four lakes, and a picnic/commons area. Dennis (my partner) and I built a 900 square foot cabin on speculation of selling it for a profit. It sat empty for months. Diane secretly wondered whether it would be our honeymoon cabin, and first home. Happily it did sell, and I didn’t have to write a check to complete the sale! We had escaped the speculation trap.
Speculating can be dangerous – both in the housing realm as well as in regard to others’ motives, thoughts, and plans. But that doesn’t stop me from speculating about the conversations of Felix and the Jewish authorities on their way to Caesarea. This is speculation in the truest and wildest sense because it’s not clear that the Jewish leaders traveled with Felix. Felix had invited them, saying, “let the men of authority among you go down with me” to Caesarea. But they may have traveled separately.
The intent of the Jewish leaders was to silence Paul and even kill him. Paul was the single most powerful human influence for God’s mission to bring all people to faith in Jesus. Their motive was against God. So their actions and conversations were surely not guided by God’s true ways. There certainly would have been much planning, conniving, and conspiring on their way – all within the echo chamber of their hatred for Paul and their disbelief in Jesus.
This, however, is pure speculation. We don’t know what they said. We don’t know if they conspired with Felix along the way. We can only presume to know.
But we do not have to presume to know the heart of God. We do not have to speculate about his plans and purposes. I just shared a Bible verse with our niece whose baby is facing some severe medical issues. Jeremiah 29:11-12 says, “I know the plans I have for you, declares the LORD, plans for welfare and not for evil, to give you a future and a hope. Then you will call upon me and come and pray to me, and I will hear you.”
We need never speculate as to God’s good will toward us. It is all good. Anchored in Jesus’ death and resurrection. To be fully realized in the life of the world to come. We might try to imagine what that will look like, how it will be. But we need never speculate as to whether God wants us to experience the fullness of his goodness, grace, and love.
David Bahn - Reflections 
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