There is sometimes a fine line between intelligence and insanity. Have you noticed that some of the smartest people in the world are also some of the quirkiest people in the world? Think of the “mad scientist” motif. The Unabomber possessed a brilliant mind, but he used it for evil.
Festus listened closely to Paul and concluded that he had lost his mind. The Governor noticed what we may miss: Paul was brilliant. He had the equivalent of a Ph. D. in the study of the Torah. Paul’s train of thought took Festus by surprise to a place he did not expect. The concept of resurrection sounded like sheer insanity to this Roman leader.
A friend of mine who has a Ph. D. from a renowned university in England, can’t understand why we believe in “the fairy tales” of the Bible. He thinks we are out of our minds. How do we respond to that? In his second letter to the Corinthians, Paul explains: “If we are ‘out of our mind,’ as some say, it is for God; if we are in our right mind, it is for you. For Christ’s love compels us because we are convinced that one died for all and therefore all died. And he died for all, that those who live should no longer live for themselves but for him who died for them and was raised again (2 Corinthians 5:13-15).
Without the conviction of the Holy Spirit, nobody can believe that Christ died for their sins and rose again. In Christ, we believe in and speak of Christ’s resurrection. This may seem crazy to others. But to those who believe, it makes all the sense in the world. Pray that God will open the hearts and minds of the non-Christians we encounter. Pray that God will make us bold to share his truth, even when others scorn our words.
