Verse 1.  “Festus then, having arrived in the province, three days later went up to Jerusalem from Caesarea.”

Governor Felix had now been recalled to Rome by the Caesar of the Roman Empire and Governor Porcius Festus was appointed in his place.  Felix had offended the Jews in many respects and it was wise to recall him before he started a civil war.  Festus would govern for only a short time (he would die in office in A.D. 62) and then be replaced by Governor Albinus.  Right at the time of Festus’ death, James, the half-brother of Jesus, and leader of the Church at Jerusalem, was murdered at the order of Ananus, the high priest of the moment.

To his credit, Festus did try to put down some of the unrest in the land, by sending Roman soldiers to attack the bandits that were all over the place.  Not much progress was made, however.  As we see in this verse, Festus had first on his agenda a visit to the Jewish rulers in the city of Jerusalem.  Nothing much came of his visit, nor did the many bandits decrease significantly in number.  And the Apostle Paul remained imprisoned in the palace built by Herod the Great, within the city of Caesarea.  Can you imagine bottling up the Apostle Paul?  He had the gifts of God and the calling of God, and the will to make it happen!  But he remained imprisoned at Caesarea.

Verse 2.  “And the chief priests and the leading men of the Jews brought charges against Paul, and they were urging him,”

Time had passed, but Josephus the historian related the events that were occurring.  The Chief Priest was no longer Ananias, but Ismael the son of Phabi, who was appointed by King Agrippa, right before Felix left office as governor.  Ismael soon was to depart for Rome, to appeal to Caesar Nero about a wall the Jews built to keep the Temple from being overlooked - Agrippa had ordered it to be torn down!  Ismael would be detained in Rome as a hostage and then would be succeeded by Joseph Cabi, the son of Simon.  Ismael had not yet left for Rome and was still in Jerusalem.

The High Priest and the other leading priests thought the time was right to bring more charges against the Apostle Paul.  They wanted Paul to be taken to Jerusalem, but we shall see in the next verse that they had additional motives in bringing the new charges.  The Jewish leaders didn’t accomplish the death of the Apostle Paul during the tenure of Governor Felix and they thought that perhaps Governor Festus would be more agreeable to their wishes.

Verse 3.  “requesting a concession against Paul, that he might have him brought to Jerusalem (at the same time, setting an ambush to kill him on the way).”

A very important Scripture for us is Matthew 5:37, where we see Jesus’ words, “Let your ‘Yes’ be ‘Yes’ and your’ No’ be ‘No’; for whatever is more than these is from the evil one.”  Jesus alerted us to the hidden motives that are so common in mankind.  The request of the chief priests seemed straightforward enough – they wanted Paul to be sent by newly appointed Roman Governor Festus, so that new charges could be filed against him.  But just like the Lord God knows your true motives and mine, this verse exposed their true intention.

They (the Jewish leaders) planned to set an ambush and kill the Apostle, somewhere on the road between Caesarea and Jerusalem.  No doubt, they also would have killed the Roman soldiers that transported him.  They were coming against God’s man, who had been kept safe by God’s protection (the soldiers of the Roman Empire).  As we find often in history, so-called “religious” men (the leaders in Jerusalem at the moment) were against the very God they pretended to serve.

Verse 4.  “Festus then answered that Paul was being kept in custody at Caesarea and that he himself was about to leave shortly.”

The religious Jewish leaders in Jerusalem, asked for what is called a “change of venue” - they wanted the criminal trial against the Apostle Paul moved to Jerusalem.  The real reason for the request was that they intended to ambush him on the way and kill him (verse 3).  But Governor Festus told them that Paul would be “kept in custody at Caesarea”.  For whatever human reason, he denied this request of the Jewish leaders.

Actually, Festus’ reasoning was not mysterious.  Paul was a Roman citizen and the Roman city of Caesarea was the proper place to try a Roman in a Court of Law.  But more than that, it is awesome that God so often works through people who don’t have any interest in Him at all.  As we learn in the Book of Proverbs, “The king’s heart is in the hand of the Lord; like the rivers of water, He turns it wherever He wishes” (Proverbs 21:1).  “No”, the governor said.  Paul would remain where he was – in Caesarea!

Verse 5.  “‘Therefore,’ he said, ‘let the influential men among you go there with me, and if there is anything wrong about the man, let them prosecute him.’”

Governor Festus, who was saying the words of this verse to the Jewish religious leaders in Jerusalem, was about to return to Caesarea.  He had said all he wanted to say and was now going to leave.  He was firm on the point that the prisoner, Paul the Apostle, would not be moved to another, more dangerous location.  He may well have heard about the plot against the man, and he may have been offered a bribe to place Paul into harm’s way.

“Come to Caesarea,” he was telling them.  “I’m leaving now,” and “you, Mr. High Priest, along with any of the other religious leaders here in Jerusalem, are welcome to go with me!”  Actually, he was INSISTING, as the Roman Governor in charge of Judea, that some of the Jewish leaders must travel with him to Caesarea.  “If there are any crimes you want to allege against Paul, come and do it now!”  Paul’s Lord, Jesus Christ, was in charge of all that was occurring.

Verse 6.  “After he had spent not more than eight or ten days among them, he went down to Caesarea, and on the next day he took his seat on the tribunal and ordered Paul to be brought.”

Newly appointed Governor Festus had now met with the Jewish leaders on a number of occasions, remaining in Jerusalem with them for more than a week.  He seemed to be able to make decisions, having no problem in saying “No” to the request that the Apostle Paul be transferred to Jerusalem for his criminal trial.  Decisiveness is seen in this verse also, for he very suddenly left Jerusalem, and on arrival back in Caesarea, scheduled the next phase of Paul’s trial for the following day.

It’s important for us to see that the Governor’s priorities were secondary to the purposes of God.  Paul was destined by the Lord’s direction for him, to go to Rome.  At a time when Paul had been depressed and was wondering whether he had somehow misunderstood the Lord, Jesus appeared to him and said, “take courage, for as you have solemnly witnessed to My cause at Jerusalem, so you must witness at Rome also” (Acts 23:11).  The Governor’s attitudes and the desires of the Jewish leaders were subordinate to Gods purposes, whether they trusted in Him or not. The Lord’s will was to be done in the life of Paul.

Verse 7.  “After Paul arrived, the Jews who had come down from Jerusalem stood around him, bringing many and serious charges against him which they could not prove,”

You have an accuser.  His name is Satan and his intention is that you, along with everybody else, will be condemned.  Unlike the charges against Paul at that moment, you and the rest of us are “guilty as charged”.  We really did rebel against the love of God, each attempting to run life “my way”.  His charges are true, but we have an Attorney who has come up with an amazing defense.  When we plead guilty to the charges (which isn’t such a great problem, because we are guilty), we discover that He has already served the sentence for what we have done.

The Judge, who looks surprisingly like our Defense Attorney, acknowledges that the sentence has already been carried out and we are remanded to the custody of our Attorney, and then set free.  And much like Jesus said to the formerly paralyzed man, we are cautioned to go and “sin no more” (John 5:14).  There’s a great bonus, because we WOULD sin, on purpose or accidentally, and Jesus has sent the Court Appointed Holy Spirit of God to us, Who does what we cannot do, from the INSIDE!  First we are declared INNOCENT, and then He begins the process of making the innocence real, inside you and me.

Verse 8.  “while Paul said in his own defense, ‘I have committed no offense either against the Law of the Jews or against the temple or against Caesar.’”

Paul was innocent of the criminal charges that had been filed against him.  Don’t misunderstand: he was a sinner like the rest of us.  As he said in Romans 7:25-26, “O wretched man that I am! Who will deliver me from this body of death? I thank God - through Jesus Christ our Lord!  So then, with the mind I myself serve the law of God, but with the flesh the law of sin.”  There is a sin nature within the heart of mankind that is like a cancer, infecting us all.  We can only be delivered through the grace of God, given in Christ Jesus.  There is no other way.

But the charges brought against Paul by the Jewish leaders were not true.  He had been and continued to be, a good Jew who did not willfully break the Law of God.  He did nothing wrong in the Jerusalem Temple.  Yes, a riot did start, but it was because others who saw him did not like him.  They started the trouble; not him.  And he committed no crime against the Caesar of Rome.  He was not guilty of breaking Roman or Jewish Law.

Verse 9.  “But Festus, wishing to do the Jews a favor, answered Paul and said, ‘Are you willing to go up to Jerusalem and stand trial before me on these charges?’”

The area we now call “Israel” was, at the time these words were written, a part of the Roman Empire.  Felix, who preceded Festus as the Roman Governor, made many mistakes and a civil war nearly started there place because of him.  Festus intended to heal those wounds and had just spent over a week in Jerusalem, trying to do exactly that.

As we saw in verse 3, the underlying reason the Jews wanted a change of venue to a Jewish court, was because they had assassins who intended to kill Paul while he was being transported.  Governor Festus would not give the order to send him, but he thought that maybe Paul would go voluntarily.  Such a move would make the Jews happy and it would also satisfy the authorities in Rome.  “Wouldn’t hurt to ask”, he must have thought.

Verse 10.  “But Paul said, "I am standing before Caesar's tribunal, where I ought to be tried. I have done no wrong to the Jews, as you also very well know.”

Paul the Apostle had given his heart to Jesus Christ, and all those who trust in the Lord are led by the Holy Spirit of God.  Paul KNEW, through Him, that he was in the center of the will of God, right at that moment.  God had given this man Roman citizenship at the time of his birth, and that fact was a useful tool.  A Roman was to be tried in a Roman Court, and Paul was calmly replying, “No, I will remain in Caesarea; I will not agree to the request by the Jewish leaders that I return to Jerusalem.  To go back to Jerusalem would be wrong, because the charges they brought against me are false.  I did no wrong to them.”

Verse 11.  “If, then, I am a wrongdoer and have committed anything worthy of death, I do not refuse to die; but if none of those things is true of which these men accuse me, no one can hand me over to them. I appeal to Caesar.”

Paul was right at that moment in a Court of Law, on trial for his life.  A Motion had just been made to the Judge (Governor Festus) for a Change of Venue.  The Jewish leaders wanted to move this criminal case from a Roman Courtroom in Caesarea, back to a Jewish Court in Jerusalem.  Paul had been asking the Judge to deny the motion.

But now a surprise!  Paul knew it was the Lord’s will for him to testify about his Lord Jesus Christ, in the Capitol of the Roman Empire (Acts 23:11 – the Lord Himself had told him so).  Inside himself, Paul now suddenly knew what he must do, and he filed a Motion of his own.  He asked that the case be transferred to the City of Rome and be heard by Caesar himself!

Verse 12.  “Then when Festus had conferred with his council, he answered, ‘You have appealed to Caesar, to Caesar you shall go.’”

Governor Festus was surprised by the Apostle Paul’s request that the criminal case against him be transferred to Rome, and it was certainly a surprise that Paul wanted the case to be heard by Caesar.  Paul assuredly had that right as a Roman citizen, and after talking with his advisors, Festus granted the request.

It’s amazing how often we fret and fume, waiting for an outcome on the human level.  The decision has been made in the mind and heart of God, long before the outward events unfold.  Jesus Himself had said Paul would go to Rome (Acts 23:11), and more than two years had passed since that time (Acts 24:27).  The Jews still fumed and the Romans continued to talk, but it is God who has the outcome, in Paul’s life, in yours and in mine.

Verse 13.  “Now when several days had elapsed, King Agrippa and Bernice arrived at Caesarea and paid their respects to Festus.”

This was King Herod Agrippa II, son of Herod Agrippa, and he was the brother of Drusilla, wife of former Governor Felix (Acts 24:24).  He was only seventeen when his father died, and Caesar Claudius had been very slow in entrusting his father’s dominions to this man.  It was this Herod who made Ismael, the son of Phabi, High Priest, and he was also the man who built a palace at Jerusalem, which overlooked the Temple.  He was to be the last of the Herods, which would have pleased the Jews, if they had known he was the last, but he was to rule for fifty years.

Bernice was his sister, and was thought to be in an incestuous relationship with him.  That is precisely the information our tour guide gave us when we were in Jerusalem a couple of years ago, and Herod’s contemporaries thought the same thing.  Bernice had been married twice and then went to live with her brother.  Later, she was to become the mistress of first Vespasian and then Titus.  It would have been expected that a subordinate king (Herod Agrippa) would come and pay his respects to the Roman Governor (Festus).  And here he was.

Verse 14.  “While they were spending many days there, Festus laid Paul's case before the king, saying, "There is a man who was left as a prisoner by Felix;

The Greek word for “many” here, can also be “some” or “several”, and actually means “more days than necessary.”  They had much to talk about.  It was reasonable that Roman Governor Festus would discuss the criminal proceedings against the Apostle Paul, with a local official like Herod Agrippa.  The Romans had a lot of trouble understanding why the Jews were upset so much, and Festus knew he had a “hot” issue in the matter of the Apostle Paul.

Festus started out with a statement, which was something like, “(former) Governor Felix really dumped one into my lap.  After speaking with the leaders in Jerusalem, I am very concerned about what to do.  You are partly Jewish by birth, King Herod Agrippa.  Do you know anything about the issues?  What do you suggest would be the best way to proceed?”

Verse 15.  “and when I was at Jerusalem, the chief priests and the elders of the Jews brought charges against him, asking for a sentence of condemnation against him.”

Newly appointed Governor Festus was continuing to pour out his woes to King Herod Agrippa II, about the case against the Apostle Paul:  “I was in Jerusalem for over a week, King Herod, and all the Jewish leaders wanted to talk about, including the High Priest himself, was the death of this Paul person.  They had even more charges to bring against him, and I didn’t understand any of it.  Why, he’s a Roman citizen, protected by Roman Law.  They wanted me to treat him like he wasn’t a Roman and have him sent back to Jerusalem.  They wanted me to sentence him to death!  Him!  A Roman!  Imagine!”  Herod and his sister Bernice would have been listening with wide eyes at the statements of Governor Felix, because they were being pressured by the Jewish leaders, also.

Verse 16.  “I answered them that it is not the custom of the Romans to hand over any man before the accused meets his accusers face to face and has an opportunity to make his defense against the charges.”

Roman Governor Festus was continuing to tell King Agrippa of Judea about his concerns in relation to the Apostle Paul.  The Jewish leaders demanded that Paul be brought to Jerusalem for his criminal trial and had been shouting out charges against the man.  Festus was shocked.  What kind of man WAS this Saul or Paul person?  What did the charges mean?

King Agrippa was not to be any real help, for he just wanted to keep his throne.  The Jews wanted Paul’s life to be taken.  The Romans wanted order at all cost, and only Paul knew what the outcome of these matters would be.  He had one real question:  “How long before God sends me to Rome?”  In the meantime, Festus had kept Paul in Caesarea, on the ground that Paul was a Roman – all must conform to Roman Law.  The Romans were confused and the Jews were angry, but God would have the outcome.

Verse 17.  “So after they had assembled here, I did not delay, but on the next day took my seat on the tribunal and ordered the man to be brought before me.”

Governor Festus continued to bring King Agrippa up-to-date on what had happened.  Festus desperately wanted to do WELL in his assignment as Roman Governor of the region.  His predecessor, Felix, had failed in the position and this man wanted to succeed.  We may wonder how differently Festus might have acted, if he could have somehow known that he only had two more years to live?  Time is short, eternity is long - we must look to the Lord.

In this verse, Festus is relating his efficiency in bringing the Jewish leaders to Caesarea, to state their charges in front of Paul, as required by Roman Law.  Festus also emphasized how quickly he had set the matter for trial.  Perhaps, he must have thought, “King Agrippa will put in a good word for me.”  No matter, for Paul would go to ROME in God’s time. 

Verse 18.  “When the accusers stood up, they began bringing charges against him not of such crimes as I was expecting,”

Festus had seldom seen such PASSION as was exhibited by the Jewish leaders. Those kind of emotions typically emerge when something TERRIBLE has happened.  He had expected to find that Paul had somehow led the High Priest’s children astray, or stolen had money from the Temple in Jerusalem.  Something!  But all he heard was yelling as to what he thought were differences of opinion about Jewish Law.  It was not what he expected.  There was no evidence of any crime!  There had to be a crime committed before someone could be condemned under Roman Law.  Festus was very nervous at that moment.

Verse 19.  “but they simply had some points of disagreement with him about their own religion and about a dead man, Jesus, whom Paul asserted to be alive.”

Festus continued speaking and now uttered words that, if he understood them, would change him – forever!  He had heard the Gospel (good news) about Jesus Christ, King of Kings, Lord of Lords; the Lamb of God.  As Paul said in another place, “But now Christ is risen from the dead and has become the first fruits of those who have fallen asleep. For since by man came death, by Man also came the resurrection of the dead.  For as in Adam all die, even so in Christ all shall be made alive” (1 Corinthians 15:20-22).

Yes, the whole issue, for them and for us, is about Christ.  Was He dead?  Yes, He was!  Is He Risen from the dead?  Yes, He is!  And if we trust in this Jesus, who died for our sins and is RISEN from the dead, we shall be set free from sin and death.  Reading these words, we have the hope that Festus will be SHAKEN by what was said, enough so that he’ll wake up and receive the Son of God!  And so should we also be shaken, for Jesus was dead, and is alive, and is reaching out to you and me!  Will you receive the Son of God?

Verse 20.  “Being at a loss how to investigate such matters, I asked whether he was willing to go to Jerusalem and there stand trial on these matters.”

The real One who was on trial at this moment, was Jesus Christ.  Just as all of us will be Judged on our acceptance or rejection of Him; people are also judges.  We weigh the evidence.  Is He the Son of God?  He walked on water.  He raised the dead, healed the sick, opened the eyes of the blind, and died for your sins.  What is your decision, O judge?  Will you receive Him as your Savior and Lord?  It is YOUR fate that awaits the outcome of your decision.

Festus was “at a loss”.  He didn’t know what to do.  If the Jews had started an uprising, he could have dealt with that – he would have sent in Legions of Roman soldiers and through much blood and suffering, put an end to the problem.  But this!  Festus did not know what to do, and had asked Paul for help.  “Will you go back to Jerusalem and stand trial?  PLEASE go, Paul.”  He practically begged anyone who would listen for a solution to the problem of the Apostle Paul.

Verse 21.  “But when Paul appealed to be held in custody for the Emperor's decision, I ordered him to be kept in custody until I send him to Caesar.”

Governor Festus was still speaking to King Agrippa II, and Agrippa’s sister, Bernice.  The Governor was very troubled about what was happening in relation to this Saul, the former Pharisee, who was a Jew but also a Roman citizen known as the Apostle Paul.  Festus had just been giving Agrippa a complete account of what had occurred so far, and Agrippa was intensely interested in the words he had been hearing.

Paul had been faced with a request by the Jewish leaders for his case to be transferred back to Jerusalem, to be heard by a Jewish Court.  Paul knew the demand was not God’s will, and he asked for a Change of Venue of his own – this time to Caesar himself, in Rome, the capitol of the Roman Empire.  Festus had been surprised by Paul’s request, because, from his perspective, there were no valid criminal charges against the man.  The motion for the case to be transferred to Rome was granted, and Paul was to stay in custody until his transfer.

Verse 22.  “Then Agrippa said to Festus, ‘I also would like to hear the man myself.’ ‘Tomorrow,’ he said, ‘you shall hear him.’”

Wouldn’t YOU like to hear Paul?  I would.  But we have the New Testament, which is full of his writings.  Much like we can go to the local library and read the words of philosophers such as Plato or Aristotle, we can easily read the words of the Apostle Paul.  But there’s a difference.  Philosophers will only give their opinions, most of which are in conflict with the ideas every other philosopher who ever lived.  A former Governor named Pilate, had asked, “What is Truth?” (John 18:38).  There were so many conflicting opinions about “truth” that he did not know what to believe.

But when we read the letters of Paul, we also see the mind and heart of God; for Paul wrote the TRUTH, as prompted by the Holy Spirit.  King Herod Agrippa was intrigued by this “Paul” and wanted to speak with him “tomorrow”.  In Chapter 26, we will directly encounter the words of Paul, a man who personally heard the Lord Jesus Christ.  Any one of us can become like Paul, for you can receive Jesus, God the Son, right now.  It’s a matter of hearing and trusting in Him.

Verse 23.  “So, on the next day when Agrippa came together with Bernice amid great pomp, and entered the auditorium accompanied by the commanders and the prominent men of the city, at the command of Festus, Paul was brought in.”

If you are wondering how these words were preserved for us, there are several possibilities, and all of them center around Dr. Luke, the Gentile author of the Books of Luke and Acts.  The “auditorium” was likely the “Praetorium of Herod”, used at that time by the Roman Governors of the region.  It was big enough for a considerable audience, and Luke was likely among them.  Certainly Paul was there, and much of the Book of Acts was told to Luke by Paul and others who had seen and heard the actual events.

The Jews and the Romans could demonstrate “pomp” with great effect and this would have been quite a show.  It’s interesting that the word for “pomp” meant “outward appearance” and was a medical term of the day, used among medical writers for the outward appearance of diseases.  Luke, of course, had been trained as a doctor, and such terms would have been natural to him.

Verse 24.  “Festus said, ‘King Agrippa, and all you gentlemen here present with us, you see this man about whom all the people of the Jews appealed to me, both at Jerusalem and here, loudly declaring that he ought not to live any longer.’”

Agrippa wanted to hear what the Apostle Paul had to say, and his intention was that the hearing would be in a public arena.  There is no doubt, by the way, that the Jews wanted Paul to die by the quickest possible means, as we see in this verse.  In Matthew 5:21 and forward, Jesus equated anger, of the sort manifested by the Jewish leaders at that moment, with murder.  Anger is a normal part of the human makeup, and Paul carefully separated anger from sin in Ephesians 4:26, when he said, “Be angry but do not sin”.  But the verse continued, “don’t let the sun go down on your anger.”  To nurse a grudge, as these Jewish leaders were doing, demonstrated their murderous hearts and showed they were unrepentant sinners in the sight of a holy God.

Verse 25.  “But I found that he had committed nothing worthy of death; and since he himself appealed to the Emperor, I decided to send him.”

Actually, Paul had, in the days prior to his conversion, done a great deal that made him “worthy of death”.  Paul participated in the murder of the guiltless Stephen, a deacon of the early Church (Acts 7:58-8:1), and he had entered many homes, dragging innocent men and women off to jail (Acts 8:3).  No charges were filed against him for those acts, because the Jewish leaders liked what he did.

He was now guiltless from God’s perspective.  He wrote, “While we were yet sinners, Christ died for us” (Romans 5:8).  Paul was a sinner and a murderer, but he was also forgiven through Jesus Christ.  The innocent died for the guilty and the guilty may be set free.  That same freedom is available to you right now.  The honest words from a repentant heart, “I trust in You, Lord Jesus”, will save you.  Governor Festus saw no guilt in Paul, and neither did Almighty God, but Paul would remain in custody and go to Rome, because of God’s Will and the appeal to Caesar.

Verse 26.  “Yet I have nothing definite about him to write to my lord. Therefore I have brought him before you all and especially before you, King Agrippa, so that after the investigation has taken place, I may have something to write.”

This was a real problem for Governor Festus - the prisoner called Paul the Apostle, was an innocent man.  The Roman Empire was a place governed by extensive rules, and the officials of Rome were required to follow Roman Law.  Festus, like his predecessor, Felix, had kept Paul in custody for a considerable time, but Paul, who was a Roman citizen, had broken no law!  Festus was now faced with sending an innocent man to the Caesar of all Rome – and there were no legitimate criminal charges to tell Caesar about!  He was hopeful that King Agrippa II, could come up with something (anything) of some substance, that he could use to charge the Apostle Paul with a crime.  So far, he had nothing.  Festus continued speaking to King Agrippa.

Like many of us, so often, Governor Festus was presenting his concerns to the wrong person.  Agrippa seemed logical enough as a “sounding board” for the concerns of Governor Festus, but he actually had little power and was weighed down by many concerns of his own.  Festus should have listened to the Apostle Paul and turned to the Lord Jesus Christ.  God would have provided an answer for him.  But so often, prayer to the Lord is the last place we go.

Verse 27.  “For it seems absurd to me in sending a prisoner, not to indicate also the charges against him.”

Paul, a Roman citizen, had RIGHTS that were conferred upon him at birth by the Empire.  He was a Roman citizen who was not only a prisoner at the moment, but he had also BEEN a prisoner for over TWO YEARS!  He was threatened with a sentence of death, but was innocent of any charges!  It was not only absurd and crazy, but it was also dangerous for the Roman Governor who imprisoned a Roman citizen without good cause.  It was dangerous for another reason, not even perceived by Governor Festus and those around him. 

Paul was and is a citizen of heaven, a very real place that most do not even believe exists.  But it is real, and even more important, Jesus Christ is the King of those who are called to be Sons of God.  Just like Caesar would not be pleased with the one who jailed a Roman without cause; our Lord is not pleased with those who touch His little ones.  The safest and best way to live is to trust in the Lord Jesus and let His love reign in your heart and life.  He will set you free, forever, for He Himself has served the sentence that was pronounced against you.  You are innocent - in Him.