Acts 25:3 “They requested Festus … to have Paul transferred to Jerusalem, for they were preparing …to kill him …”

Acts 26:32 “Agrippa said … ’This man could have been set free if he had not appealed to Caesar.’”

Paul found himself caught in a Catch-22 situation.  “Catch-22” is a name given to any situation or dilemma from which there is no escape because of mutually conflicting orders or conditions.  In Paul’s situation if he had not appealed to Caesar, Festus would have sent him to Jerusalem and the Jews would have killed him on the way.  However, because he was innocent, King Agrippa would have set him free, but he could not because Paul had appealed to Caesar.

Life is full of Catch-22 situations.  They are most common in matters dealing with government bureaucracy and legal matters.  These no win situations happen to everybody, and they happen all the time.  God does not give Christians a special pass allowing us to avoid the frustrations of living in a messed up world.  God does give us extra grace to deal with the frustrations.  It is normal for frustration to cause feelings of anger, but Christians do not allow anger to cause them to behave or speak in a way that would shame the name of Christ.

Paul, strengthened by the Holy Spirit, turned his no win situation into an opportunity.  First, he shared the gospel with King Agrippa, Bernice, the high-ranking military officials and all the prominent men of the city.  Only God knows the result of Paul’s message, but we do know that Paul gave everyone who heard him an opportunity to find victory in Jesus.  He continued to obey the Lord who had told him, “… you must also testify in Rome. (Acts 23:11)”

Paul would spend the rest of his life as a prisoner of the Roman Empire.  He did not live as a frustrated angry man; he lived with a joy that only comes from a relationship with Christ.  In Catch-22 situations, Christ gives victory.