Acts 25
Paul Appeals to Caesar
1 Now three days after Festus arrived in the province, he went up to Jerusalem from Caesarea.
Felix could not control the rebellion, so Emperor Nero removed him and replaced him with Festus. Caesarea was the Roman capital of Syria. Judea was the Jewish section of Syria. Festus visited Jerusalem to get to know the Jewish leadership.
2 So the chief priests and the most prominent men of the Jews brought formal charges against Paul to him.
The chief priests was the Sanhedrin, all Sadducees. The prominent men were the Pharisees. They were joining forces again to see if they could persuade the new Procurator to execute Paul.
3 Requesting him to do them a favor against Paul, they urged Festus to summon him to Jerusalem, planning an ambush to kill him along the way.
The Jews wanted Festus to start off right with them by summoning Paul to Jerusalem. On the way, they would assassinate him.
4 Then Festus replied that Paul was being kept at Caesarea, and he himself intended to go there shortly.
Festus showed strength in his early leadership position and refused their request.
5 “So,” he said, “let your leaders go down there with me, and if this man has done anything wrong, they may bring charges against him.”
The Jews now had to go back to Caesarea and repeat the charge. This means they would have to listen to Paul's testimony again.
6 After Festus had stayed not more than eight or ten days among them, he went down to Caesarea, and the next day he sat on the judgment seat and ordered Paul to be brought.
Sitting on the judgment seat gave Festus legal authority to act as a judge of Rome.
7 When he arrived, the Jews who had come down from Jerusalem stood around him, bringing many serious charges that they were not able to prove.
The Jews appeared in force of numbers, hoping to impress Festus. They made lots of accusations, but they could not prove any of them.
8 Paul said in his defense, “I have committed no offense against the Jewish law or against the temple or against Caesar.”
Paul's defense was that he did not break the Mosaic Law, the Temple Law, or the Roman Law.
9 But Festus, wanting to do the Jews a favor, asked Paul, “Are you willing to go up to Jerusalem and be tried before me there on these charges?”
Like Felix, Festus could find no crime, but he feared the Jews and wished to appease them. Paul knew that Jerusalem was a dangerous place for him to be on trial.
10 Paul replied, “I am standing before Caesar’s judgment seat, where I should be tried. I have done nothing wrong to the Jews, as you also know very well.”
Paul understood the politics of the situation. As a Roman citizen, Paul demanded that he be judged in a Roman court.
11 “If then I am in the wrong and have done anything that deserves death, I am not trying to escape dying, but if not one of their charges against me is true, no one can hand me over to them. I appeal to Caesar!”
If Paul was guilty, then Festus should have sentenced him to death. If he was innocent, then Festus should have released him. Placing him on trial in Jerusalem was not legal by Roman Law. Paul thought that the trial was unfair, so he appealed to Caesar. This took the decision right out of the hands of Festus.
12 Then, after conferring with his council, Festus replied, “You have appealed to Caesar; to Caesar you will go!”
Festus had no choice but to allow Paul to go to Caesar. However, this was a problem for Festus. He had not given sentence or released him. He did not even know what accusation should be made to Rome. This appeal would make Festus look very weak and very unfair in Rome.
Festus Asks King Agrippa for Advice
13 After several days had passed, King Agrippa and Bernice arrived at Caesarea to pay their respects to Festus. He was also the half-brother of Drusilla, the wife of Felix. She later became a mistress to Vespasian, and even later, a mistress to his son, Titus.
King Agrippa II was the son of King Agrippa I, who martyred James and imprisoned Stephen. Bernice was an incestuous and adulteress wife.
14 While they were staying there many days, Festus explained Paul’s case to the king to get his opinion, saying, “There is a man left here as a prisoner by Felix.”
Festus informed King Agrippa of his problem with Paul.
15 “When I was in Jerusalem, the chief priests and the elders of the Jews informed me about him, asking for a sentence of condemnation against him.”
The Jews wanted him sentenced to death by Roman law.
16 “I answered them that it was not the custom of the Romans to hand over anyone before the accused had met his accusers face to face and had been given an opportunity to make a defense against the accusation.”
Roman law protected their Roman citizens by giving them a fair trial.
17 “So after they came back here with me, I did not postpone the case, but the next day I sat on the judgment seat and ordered the man to be brought.”
Festus listened to the case.
18 “When his accusers stood up, they did not charge him with any of the evil deeds I had suspected.”
Paul had not committed any Roman crime.
19 “Rather they had several points of disagreement with him about their own religion and about a man named Jesus who was dead, whom Paul claimed to be alive.”
The issue was the resurrection of Jesus.
20 “Because I was at a loss how I could investigate these matters, I asked if he were willing to go to Jerusalem and be tried there on these charges.”
This was a mistake and not allowed by Roman Law. If Festus would have allowed Paul to be judged by the Sanhedrin, then the Sanhedrin would have pronounced him guilty in a kangaroo court.
21 “But when Paul appealed to be kept in custody for the decision of His Majesty the Emperor, I ordered him to be kept under guard until I could send him to Caesar.”
Paul appealed to Caesar, but there was no crime to charge against him. Festus desired that King Agrippa give him some advice on how to handle this delicate political matter. Festus did not want to look weak in the eyes of Rome.
22 Agrippa said to Festus, “I would also like to hear the man myself.” “Tomorrow,” he replied, “you will hear him.”
Agrippa knew some things of the new faith and wanted to hear Paul. The Holy Spirit was arranging another divine appointment with kings.
Paul Before King Agrippa and Bernice
23 So the next day Agrippa and Bernice came with great pomp and entered the audience hall, along with the senior military officers and the prominent men of the city. When Festus gave the order, Paul was brought in.
Paul was brought into court with a huge audience of prominent men. He would be given a chance to testify to Rome's elite.
24 Then Festus said, “King Agrippa, and all you who are present here with us, you see this man about whom the entire Jewish populace petitioned me both in Jerusalem and here, shouting loudly that he ought not to live any longer.”
The Jews shouted in very large voices that Paul deserved the death penalty.
25 “But I found that he had done nothing that deserved death, and when he appealed to His Majesty the Emperor, I decided to send him.”
In his heart, Festus knew that Paul was innocent. However, he refused to release him, because he wanted to appease the Jews. Therefore, Paul was forced to appeal to Caesar.
26 “But I have nothing definite to write to my lord about him. Therefore I have brought him before you all, and especially before you, King Agrippa, so that after this preliminary hearing I may have something to write.”
Festus did not know what charge to send to Caesar. The Caesar at this time was Emperor Nero. Notice that Festus called Nero "lord", meaning deity. Caesar Augustus and Caesar Tiberius refused this title, but Nero did not.
27 “For it seems unreasonable to me to send a prisoner without clearly indicating the charges against him.”
Agrippa practiced Judaism, so maybe he could help solve the problem.
