Festus, wishing to do the Jews a favor, said to Paul, “Are you willing to go up to Jerusalem and stand trial before me there on these charges?” –Acts 25:9

Today’s Scripture Reading (January 18, 2015): Acts 25

Laurence Peter is probably best remembered as the co-author of the humorous book “The Peter Principal: Why Things Always Go Wrong.” The Peter Principle basically states that we are promoted because we have been successful in the positions we have held previously, not because we are best suited for the job that we are about to take. The Peter Principle is often phrased this way, ‘we are promoted to level of our incompetence.’ As long as we are successful, we are promoted. But once we reach the level of our incompetence, we fail, or at the very least we stop being successful. And so we remain in that position. The end result is that most career people are incompetent in the positions that they fill. And so they have stopped being promoted.

Governor Felix was corrupt, but he wasn’t incompetent. The same can’t be said for his replacement. Festus had to be incompetent at his position, or he would have never made this suggestion to Paul. Felix was willing to placate the Jews by keeping Paul locked up – at least until he was paid - but Festus wanted to placate the Jews by putting the Apostle on trial in a Jewish court. The problem was that the court proceedings were a sham. There were forty assassins roaming the Middle East ready to assassinate Paul at their first opportunity. The purpose of the trial was simply to get Paul out in the open where the assassins kill him. There would be no trial, just a body which needed to be disposed.

And it is likely that Rome would not have been pleased at this end for one of its citizens. It is not that the Rome was against capital punishment, they had perfected the art of crucifixion (although crucifixion was seldom used as a punishment for a citizen of Rome, and when Paul’s time would eventually come, he would be executed by beheading.) But Rome, in all cases, reserved the right of execution. And when it came to its own citizens it would make no exceptions. The idea that only Rome had the right to kill you was actually one of the perks of citizenship.

Festus probably never realized how much his incompetence could have cost him on this day. In reality, he was the big winner of the day. Paul refusal to be tried in a Jewish court meant that Paul would continue to live and Festus would continue to be governor – at least for a little while.

Tomorrow’s Scripture Reading: Acts 26