Bible Verses About Jerusalem

Everyone sitting in the Sanhedrin stared at Stephen and saw that his face looked like the face of an angel.

and Sha’ul gave his approval to his murder. Starting with that day, there arose intense persecution against the Messianic Community in Yerushalayim; all but the emissaries were scattered throughout the regions of Y’hudah and Shomron.

Some godly men buried Stephen and mourned him deeply.

But Sha’ul set out to destroy the Messianic Community — entering house after house, he dragged off both men and women and handed them over to be put in prison.

However, those who were scattered announced the Good News of the Word wherever they went.

Now those who had been scattered because of the persecution which had arisen over Stephen went as far as Phoenicia, Cyprus and Antioch; they spoke God’s word, but only to Jews.

However, some of these, men from Cyprus and Cyrene, when they arrived at Antioch, began speaking to the Greeks too, proclaiming the Good News of the Lord Yeshua.

The hand of the Lord was with them, and a great number of people trusted and turned to the Lord.

Three days after Festus had entered the province, he went up from Caesarea to Yerushalayim.

There the head cohanim and the Judean leaders informed him of the case against Sha’ul, and they asked him

to do them the favor of having the man sent to Yerushalayim. (They had plotted to have him ambushed and killed en route.)

Festus replied that Sha’ul was being kept under guard in Caesarea, and that he was about to go there shortly himself.

“So,” he said, “let competent men among you come down with me and press charges against the man, if he has done something wrong.”

After staying with them at most eight or ten days, Festus went down to Caesarea; and on the following day, he took his seat in court and ordered Sha’ul to be brought in.

When he arrived, the Judeans who had come down from Yerushalayim stood around him, bringing many serious charges against him which they could not prove.

In reply, Sha’ul said, “I have committed no offense — not against the Torah to which the Jews hold, not against the Temple, and not against the Emperor.”

But Festus, wanting to do the Judeans a favor, asked Sha’ul, “Would you be willing to go up to Yerushalayim and be tried before me there on these charges?”

Sha’ul replied, “I am standing right now in the court of the Emperor, and this is where I should be tried. I have done no wrong to the Judeans, as you very well know.

If I am a wrongdoer, if I have done something for which I deserve to die, then I am ready to die. But if there is nothing to these charges which they are bringing against me, no one can give me to them just to grant a favor! I appeal to the Emperor!”

Then Festus, after talking with his advisers, answered, “You have appealed to the Emperor; you will go to the Emperor!”

After some days, King Agrippa and Bernice arrived at Caesarea to pay their respects to Festus.