READ | ACTS CHAPTER 25
Paul’s Trial Before Festus
25 Three days after arriving in the province, Festus went up from Caesarea to Jerusalem, 2 where the chief priests and the Jewish leaders appeared before him and presented the charges against Paul. 3 They requested Festus, as a favor to them, to have Paul transferred to Jerusalem, for they were preparing an ambush to kill him along the way. 4 Festus answered, “Paul is being held at Caesarea, and I myself am going there soon. 5 Let some of your leaders come with me, and if the man has done anything wrong, they can press charges against him there.”
6 After spending eight or ten days with them, Festus went down to Caesarea. The next day he convened the court and ordered that Paul be brought before him. 7 When Paul came in, the Jews who had come down from Jerusalem stood around him. They brought many serious charges against him, but they could not prove them.
8 Then Paul made his defense: “I have done nothing wrong against the Jewish law or against the temple or against Caesar.”
9 Festus, wishing to do the Jews a favor, said to Paul, “Are you willing to go up to Jerusalem and stand trial before me there on these charges?”
10 Paul answered: “I am now standing before Caesar’s court, where I ought to be tried. I have not done any wrong to the Jews, as you yourself know very well. 11 If, however, I am guilty of doing anything deserving death, I do not refuse to die. But if the charges brought against me by these Jews are not true, no one has the right to hand me over to them. I appeal to Caesar!”
12 After Festus had conferred with his council, he declared: “You have appealed to Caesar. To Caesar you will go!”
Festus Consults King Agrippa
13 A few days later King Agrippa and Bernice arrived at Caesarea to pay their respects to Festus. 14 Since they were spending many days there, Festus discussed Paul’s case with the king. He said: “There is a man here whom Felix left as a prisoner. 15 When I went to Jerusalem, the chief priests and the elders of the Jews brought charges against him and asked that he be condemned.
16 “I told them that it is not the Roman custom to hand over anyone before they have faced their accusers and have had an opportunity to defend themselves against the charges. 17 When they came here with me, I did not delay the case, but convened the court the next day and ordered the man to be brought in. 18 When his accusers got up to speak, they did not charge him with any of the crimes I had expected. 19 Instead, they had some points of dispute with him about their own religion and about a dead man named Jesus who Paul claimed was alive. 20 I was at a loss how to investigate such matters; so I asked if he would be willing to go to Jerusalem and stand trial there on these charges. 21 But when Paul made his appeal to be held over for the Emperor’s decision, I ordered him held until I could send him to Caesar.”
22 Then Agrippa said to Festus, “I would like to hear this man myself.”
He replied, “Tomorrow you will hear him.”
Paul Before Agrippa
23 The next day Agrippa and Bernice came with great pomp and entered the audience room with the high-ranking military officers and the prominent men of the city. At the command of Festus, Paul was brought in. 24 Festus said: “King Agrippa, and all who are present with us, you see this man! The whole Jewish community has petitioned me about him in Jerusalem and here in Caesarea, shouting that he ought not to live any longer. 25 I found he had done nothing deserving of death, but because he made his appeal to the Emperor I decided to send him to Rome. 26 But I have nothing definite to write to His Majesty about him. Therefore I have brought him before all of you, and especially before you, King Agrippa, so that as a result of this investigation I may have something to write. 27 For I think it is unreasonable to send a prisoner on to Rome without specifying the charges against him.”
25 Three days after arriving in the province, Festus went up from Caesarea to Jerusalem, 2 where the chief priests and the Jewish leaders appeared before him and presented the charges against Paul. 3 They requested Festus, as a favor to them, to have Paul transferred to Jerusalem, for they were preparing an ambush to kill him along the way. 4 Festus answered, “Paul is being held at Caesarea, and I myself am going there soon. 5 Let some of your leaders come with me, and if the man has done anything wrong, they can press charges against him there.”
6 After spending eight or ten days with them, Festus went down to Caesarea. The next day he convened the court and ordered that Paul be brought before him. 7 When Paul came in, the Jews who had come down from Jerusalem stood around him. They brought many serious charges against him, but they could not prove them.
8 Then Paul made his defense: “I have done nothing wrong against the Jewish law or against the temple or against Caesar.”
9 Festus, wishing to do the Jews a favor, said to Paul, “Are you willing to go up to Jerusalem and stand trial before me there on these charges?”
10 Paul answered: “I am now standing before Caesar’s court, where I ought to be tried. I have not done any wrong to the Jews, as you yourself know very well. 11 If, however, I am guilty of doing anything deserving death, I do not refuse to die. But if the charges brought against me by these Jews are not true, no one has the right to hand me over to them. I appeal to Caesar!”
12 After Festus had conferred with his council, he declared: “You have appealed to Caesar. To Caesar you will go!”
Festus Consults King Agrippa
13 A few days later King Agrippa and Bernice arrived at Caesarea to pay their respects to Festus. 14 Since they were spending many days there, Festus discussed Paul’s case with the king. He said: “There is a man here whom Felix left as a prisoner. 15 When I went to Jerusalem, the chief priests and the elders of the Jews brought charges against him and asked that he be condemned.
16 “I told them that it is not the Roman custom to hand over anyone before they have faced their accusers and have had an opportunity to defend themselves against the charges. 17 When they came here with me, I did not delay the case, but convened the court the next day and ordered the man to be brought in. 18 When his accusers got up to speak, they did not charge him with any of the crimes I had expected. 19 Instead, they had some points of dispute with him about their own religion and about a dead man named Jesus who Paul claimed was alive. 20 I was at a loss how to investigate such matters; so I asked if he would be willing to go to Jerusalem and stand trial there on these charges. 21 But when Paul made his appeal to be held over for the Emperor’s decision, I ordered him held until I could send him to Caesar.”
22 Then Agrippa said to Festus, “I would like to hear this man myself.”
He replied, “Tomorrow you will hear him.”
Paul Before Agrippa
23 The next day Agrippa and Bernice came with great pomp and entered the audience room with the high-ranking military officers and the prominent men of the city. At the command of Festus, Paul was brought in. 24 Festus said: “King Agrippa, and all who are present with us, you see this man! The whole Jewish community has petitioned me about him in Jerusalem and here in Caesarea, shouting that he ought not to live any longer. 25 I found he had done nothing deserving of death, but because he made his appeal to the Emperor I decided to send him to Rome. 26 But I have nothing definite to write to His Majesty about him. Therefore I have brought him before all of you, and especially before you, King Agrippa, so that as a result of this investigation I may have something to write. 27 For I think it is unreasonable to send a prisoner on to Rome without specifying the charges against him.”
DEVOTIONAL
This portion of the book of Acts could have been titled as the three trials of Paul. Complete with all the tension of a riveting courtroom drama, Paul would appear first before Felix, then Festus, who succeeded Felix as Governor, and finally Herod Agrippa. All this took place before Paul finally set sail for Rome. While Paul wasn’t afraid to face the lions, which he stated in verse 11, he also wanted to avoid martyrdom and not put his head in a lion’s mouth if he could help it.
Contrary to Antonius Felix, Governor Porcius Festus was known historically as a good man and an effective Roman governor, despite the many problems left for him by Felix. He would have been briefed by the previous administration on Paul’s situation and aware of the accusations as well as various failed plots to have Paul killed. Though not caring for Paul personally or knowing much about Jesus and his followers, Festus would have maneuvered to avoid Jews murdering a Roman citizen under his watch, while also wanting to maintain good relations with the leaders of the millions of people he was responsible for. Suffice to say, Festus was stepping into a complicated situation.
In chapter 25, we see a growth of corruption and hatred against the men of God. In Acts 23, where the plot to murder Paul was first launched, we read how it was the zealots responsible for the plot with approval from the Pharisees and the High Priest. Now, in Acts 25, we find that two years later it is the Jewish religious leaders themselves who are initiating and leading the very immoral thing they were only minimally involved in earlier. Sin grows in the darkness of mens’ hearts that are full of bitterness and hatred. These religious leaders must have been aware of the potential influence Paul and the gospel could have on men of influence and power within the Roman Empire. (A fear which would come fully to fruition 250 years later) This fear explains why the Jewish leaders desperately wanted to get Paul back to Jerusalem, so that they could ambush him on the road, murder him, and be done once and for all with this man who promoted “The Way”. They figured that if they could kill him, they could kill his influence as well. This wasn’t the first and it certainly wouldn’t be the last time evil men plotted against the men of God. Men like Joseph and Daniel in the Old Testament were the targets of false accusations. These tactics of the enemy continue today with many examples of false accusations, slander, manipulation and blatant deception.
It was the right of every Roman citizen to have his case heard by Caesar himself if initial trials and appeals failed to reach a satisfactory decision. This was, to use modern terms, an appeal to the supreme court of the Roman Empire. Paul’s appeal to Caesar after two years of protective custody made logical sense. He was convinced the evidence was on his side and that he could win in a fair trial. Paul also knew that God was directing him to go to Rome, and an appeal to Caesar was the fastest and most direct route. Rome would even provide the ship for the journey, as well as Roman guards to serve as escorts all the way to the steps of Caesars throne. The Caesar at that time was Nero, who was later a notorious enemy of Christians and the church as large. Despite what we know of who Nero would become, we also know that in the first five years of his reign, under the influence of good men around him, Nero was regarded as a wise and just ruler. Paul had no reason at this time to believe that Nero would be anti-Christian or that he would not listen intently to the Gospel. Paul would be no less safe in Rome than he would be in Jerusalem. Though safety was not on Paul’s mind, he also knew that no matter what situation he stumbled into, Jesus himself had stood by him and would continue to do so in whatever storms were about to come.
In our own lives, we may find ourselves in complicated and confusing situations. We may face our own legal problems, whether our fault or the fault of someone else. We may face a court of public opinion where our name and reputation are slandered. We may face those who hate us or are offended by what we stand for. We may even face all of this from within our own family. The key to this, no matter what lies before us, is to walk everyday closer to Jesus, depending on him in an increasing measure and using whatever you are facing as an opportunity to present the gospel to others. In a sense, Paul’s appeal to Caesar was really an appeal to God. Paul essentially threw his arms in the air and declared that his life was and is fully in the hands of God. Paul would willingly and faithfully walk into the lion’s den because he knew, like Daniel, that God would be with him every step of the way.
Contrary to Antonius Felix, Governor Porcius Festus was known historically as a good man and an effective Roman governor, despite the many problems left for him by Felix. He would have been briefed by the previous administration on Paul’s situation and aware of the accusations as well as various failed plots to have Paul killed. Though not caring for Paul personally or knowing much about Jesus and his followers, Festus would have maneuvered to avoid Jews murdering a Roman citizen under his watch, while also wanting to maintain good relations with the leaders of the millions of people he was responsible for. Suffice to say, Festus was stepping into a complicated situation.
In chapter 25, we see a growth of corruption and hatred against the men of God. In Acts 23, where the plot to murder Paul was first launched, we read how it was the zealots responsible for the plot with approval from the Pharisees and the High Priest. Now, in Acts 25, we find that two years later it is the Jewish religious leaders themselves who are initiating and leading the very immoral thing they were only minimally involved in earlier. Sin grows in the darkness of mens’ hearts that are full of bitterness and hatred. These religious leaders must have been aware of the potential influence Paul and the gospel could have on men of influence and power within the Roman Empire. (A fear which would come fully to fruition 250 years later) This fear explains why the Jewish leaders desperately wanted to get Paul back to Jerusalem, so that they could ambush him on the road, murder him, and be done once and for all with this man who promoted “The Way”. They figured that if they could kill him, they could kill his influence as well. This wasn’t the first and it certainly wouldn’t be the last time evil men plotted against the men of God. Men like Joseph and Daniel in the Old Testament were the targets of false accusations. These tactics of the enemy continue today with many examples of false accusations, slander, manipulation and blatant deception.
It was the right of every Roman citizen to have his case heard by Caesar himself if initial trials and appeals failed to reach a satisfactory decision. This was, to use modern terms, an appeal to the supreme court of the Roman Empire. Paul’s appeal to Caesar after two years of protective custody made logical sense. He was convinced the evidence was on his side and that he could win in a fair trial. Paul also knew that God was directing him to go to Rome, and an appeal to Caesar was the fastest and most direct route. Rome would even provide the ship for the journey, as well as Roman guards to serve as escorts all the way to the steps of Caesars throne. The Caesar at that time was Nero, who was later a notorious enemy of Christians and the church as large. Despite what we know of who Nero would become, we also know that in the first five years of his reign, under the influence of good men around him, Nero was regarded as a wise and just ruler. Paul had no reason at this time to believe that Nero would be anti-Christian or that he would not listen intently to the Gospel. Paul would be no less safe in Rome than he would be in Jerusalem. Though safety was not on Paul’s mind, he also knew that no matter what situation he stumbled into, Jesus himself had stood by him and would continue to do so in whatever storms were about to come.
In our own lives, we may find ourselves in complicated and confusing situations. We may face our own legal problems, whether our fault or the fault of someone else. We may face a court of public opinion where our name and reputation are slandered. We may face those who hate us or are offended by what we stand for. We may even face all of this from within our own family. The key to this, no matter what lies before us, is to walk everyday closer to Jesus, depending on him in an increasing measure and using whatever you are facing as an opportunity to present the gospel to others. In a sense, Paul’s appeal to Caesar was really an appeal to God. Paul essentially threw his arms in the air and declared that his life was and is fully in the hands of God. Paul would willingly and faithfully walk into the lion’s den because he knew, like Daniel, that God would be with him every step of the way.
