Acts 25:1-5. Festus has just succeeded Felix as Governor in Cesarea. After three days, he goes to Jerusalem where the chief priests and other powerful Jews inform him against Paul. They ask him, as a favor, to return Paul to Jerusalem, "planning an ambush to kill him on the way." Festus replies that Paul is being kept in Caesarea and the Jews should return there with him and accuse Paul of whatever they have against him.

After only three days on the job, Festus goes to Jerusalem to find out about Paul. I would think that a new governor would have a lot of things to get in order and to learn about before focusing on a well-treated religious prisoner. Why, then, was Paul Festus' first priority? I think it is because, as minor as it may seem, this dispute over Paul actually is a dispute about the most meaningful thing there is - the Truth. I think we can't help ourselves but to feel the call and the pull toward the Truth (i.e., God), and when the Truth is being questioned or challenged, we all feel unease until things are settled.

Festus was not a Jew, but Judaism was the holder of the Truth, so I think he knows, if even subconsciously, that peace will not be kept unless the Jews are at peace with the Truth. This built-in call toward truth that he is feeling, and which we all feel, even if we try to deny it, drives Festus to begin his governorship by going to Jersusalem to inquire after Paul. There is a "disturbance in the force" when the Truth is being challenged. The Jews in Festus' time are divided over Christ, who is the Truth  The ones who do not believe in Christ are the leaders of the religion, but they are unable to present a real case against Him, and are acting in decidedly ungodly ways. This is confusing to outsiders who do not know Jewish law - one would think that the leaders of the Jews would know better than anyone who Jesus was and how to show that He was a fraud, or at least not let it bother them if some are preaching about Him, but instead the powerful are persecuting a fellow Jew for merely talking about Christ, who was also a Jew.

This same division among tghe Jews flared up with Jesus and Is now flaring up again with Paul. Even for those who do not yet know about Christ, the division among God's chosen people affects the peace of the entire world. Festus is feeling this unease, I am sure, and this makes understanding and dealing with Paul his top priority as new governor. Unfortunately, the division caused by Christ will last a lot longer than Paul's lifetime.