Bible Study 10/29/25

Acts 25:1-22

So last week we saw the trial of the apostle Paul. The Jews showed up with their accusations, and none of them really stuck as Paul either refuted or ignored the charges. Even though everything was working out in Paul’s favor, Felix had no interest in releasing, but for the sake of keeping the peace and with a desire to do the Jews a favor he kept Paul in prison, with some freedoms. To some extent, it was house arrest. But while Felix kept Paul in prison, he kept coming back to visit him and each time heard more and more about the gospel, at least up until he didn’t like what he was hearing. But he wasn’t just there to hear Paul speak, but he kept coming back in hopes that Paul might finally payout a nice bribe to be released from prison. As far as we can tell from the text, this took place for at least the last two years of Felix’s term as governor. This lands us in our first two verses.

Acts 25:1–2 Festus then, having arrived in the province, three days later went up to Jerusalem from Caesarea. And the chief priests and the leading men of the Jews brought charges against Paul, and they were urging him,

Porcius Festus is new on the scene as we were only briefly introduced to him last week as the successor to Governor Felix. History records Festus as being a good ruler, though he had a fairly short period in office and would’ve only been able to have done so much. His term started around 58-60 AD and ended with his death in 62 AD. Luke records here that immediately upon beginning his term he decided to take a visit down to Jerusalem. Given that Rome and Jerusalem had close, although troubled, relations, his coming to Jerusalem would certainly be to hear the Jewish authorities thoughts on any matters that might require his attention. Of course, the Jews seem to have had a knack for holding a grudge. Remember, we are now two years beyond the trial of Paul before governor Felix, and that seems to not have been long enough for the Jews to forget that they hadn’t successfully gotten Paul killed yet. So the new governor comes to town and the Jews are nice and quick to let the new guy in on all the suffering they’ve been experiencing, all by one man - Paul. The theme of Paul’s life continues - the Jews will follow him to the ends of the earth to see an end to his ministry. Makes you wonder what they’ve been doing for the last two years while Paul has been having a fairly easy, though limited, go at life.

Verses 3-5.

Acts 25:3–5 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). Festus then answered that Paul was being kept in custody at Caesarea and that he himself was about to leave shortly. “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.”

Time to bring back the old plan! Surely it will work this time. Their request is simple…and identical to the one they made two years ago - just bring Paul back down to Jerusalem so that the case against him might finally be concluded. A Roman court could sit in Caesarea or Jerusalem, but it could be that the Jews thought they could try Paul before the Sanhedrin without the governor taking part. Luke adds a little side not to the text and it seems the Jews might also stick with the plan of ambushing and killing Paul on his way. Makes you wonder if those 40 guys that made the original plot are still just waiting there all this time. Also makes you wonder how they thought they would get away with such a plan. They may not have known about the 500 soldiers that escorted Paul out of Jerusalem two years prior, but unless they raised up more than 40 men to the task they couldn’t have possibly thought it was going to work.

Festus was unwilling to be at the beck and call of the Jews; they would have to fold in with his plans as he would not go along with their’s. Paul was being held in Caesarea, so Festus told them that some of them could come back with him to Rome and they can get down to the bottom of things there. We might assume that Festus might’ve had at least some knowledge of everything that happened with Paul during Felix’s term, but that might not have been the case. He knew he was in custody, but maybe he thought that was all there was to it.

Verses 6 and 7.

Acts 25:6–7 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. 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,

Festus wasn’t interested in wasting any time. He stayed in Jerusalem for a little over a week, then got right to work when he got back home to Caesarea. He rested from his travel, then the next day he brought Paul’s case back up before the court two years after the trial began. The Jews that came back with Festus started throwing accusations against Paul, bringing serious charges as Luke notes, likely similar to the same charges that Tertullus brought up on behalf of the Jews. Given that it’s been two years, it wouldn’t be surprising if they tried a little harder to make their points. But as Luke also notes, they still couldn’t do anything to prove anything that they were saying. Since the case was now two years old, it would have been difficult in any case to secure eyewitnesses to specific accusations, and so the Jews must have had to be content with more broad accusations. We can remember from last week that the original charge that started all of this, the defiling of the temple, which was brought up by the Jews from Ephesus wasn’t defended at all because those eyewitnesses didn’t even come forward then. No way they’re going to get them there two years later.

At this stage, this trial seems to merely be a case of beating a dead horse and little more than that. Whatever desperation the Jews had, and for whatever reason they had it, it wasn’t getting them anywhere fast. But they seemed content to waste their time with this. Verse 8.

Acts 25:8 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.”

Imagine preparing for court and your entire defense comes down to just one sentence - “I haven’t done anything against anyone.” Because of the lacking evidence, Paul was able to defend himself by merely denying the charges. He rejected the charges that he had attacked the Jews either by acting against their law or by desecrating the temple, similar charges which were made against Stephen before he was stoned. To be clear, Paul also stated that he had done nothing against Rome, appealing specifically to Emperor Caesar. With this confidence in his doing nothing wrong, Paul would press a little more into appealing to the Emperor’s jurisdiction to finally settle this case. But before he gets to Caesar, he has to get passed these Jews.

Verse 9.

Acts 25:9 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?”

Here, as had happened in the case of the trial before Felix, everything should’ve come to an end and Paul should’ve been acquitted on all charges. But, as also happened in the case of the trial before Felix, Festus saw an opportunity to get into the good graces of the Jews and decided to try and do them a favor. Paul must’ve been having some pretty significant dejavu at this point. So he asked Paul if he would be on board with going down to Jerusalem and stand trial there. Though he doesn’t suggest that he go stand trial before the Sanhedrin, but still before Festus. Despite refusing such an option to the Jews earlier, Festus now seems willing to hold his own court in Jerusalem, though most certainly just to suit his own convenience.

The question quickly arises - what could actually come from switching the scene of the court while the case remained the same? What new information would be found in Jerusalem that wasn’t already being presented by the Jews that came from Jerusalem to state their case? Perhaps since Festus was the new guy on the job he might have thought that the case could come to fuller light in Jerusalem because it would have been easier to gather the evidence the Jews needed to support their case. Of course, we know that won’t work because there is no evidence.

Verse 10.

Acts 25:10 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.

Not surprising, Paul refused to agree to go down to Jerusalem. Obviously he knew about the plot to kill him two years ago, so I could imagine he would assume that the same plot would’ve come back up, as Luke also assumed, had he gone back to Jerusalem.

What Festus would’ve probably proposed would be to also have some representatives of the Sanhedrin on his judicial council. It was the custom for a Roman judge to set up a group of advisers to aid him in coming to a decision, so Paul may have feared that the chances of gaining even neutral advisers at best was slim to none. There was no sense in putting himself into a losing situation, even if he might never back down from such a situation anyway. So he insisted that the present court, a Roman one, was the one before which he should be judged. The question at issue now was whether he had broken Roman law, as was in effect admitted by the Jews.

Verse 11.

Acts 25:11 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.”

If Paul had committed a crime against Rome for which death would have been the penalty, then he was ready to face a Roman punishment. If, as we already know, the charges against him were baseless, then there was aboslutely no reason for him to be punished as a means of the governor earning favor with the Jews. This seems to have been Paul’s concern, especially since he had already been going through this for the last two years under Felix who already attempted to use Paul as a political pawn. If Roman justice was to be done, then the only means by which it could be done was by appealing to Caesar.

Howard Marshall From an early date Roman citizens had possessed the right of appeal against a magistrate’s conduct of their case to the people. When the Roman state became an empire, the right of appeal was directed to the emperor. The precise details of the process and the limits of its applicability are unsure. By the second century it seems clear that magistrates had to send citizens charged with certain offences to Rome for trial. In other cases it appears that magistrates could try and even execute Roman citizens without any right of appeal. Sherwin-White upholds the view of A. H. M. Jones that crimes committed against statutory laws were dealt with on the spot, but that in other cases there was a right of appeal, although an accused man might not necessarily avail himself of it. When a person did appeal, the magistrate had no choice but to transfer the case to Rome. The right of appeal was presumably confined to Roman citizens.

Verse 12.

Acts 25:12 Then when Festus had conferred with his council, he answered, “You have appealed to Caesar, to Caesar you shall go.”

Festus then proceeded to confer with his council about Paul’s demand to go before Caesar. Although he was bound to honor the appeal, there may have been some question whether the procedure applied in this particular case. Even if the case was a clear one, it is quite possible that a magistrate would go through the formality of discussion with his council. Since the is Roman case that seems to have predominantly involved Jewish law to this point, a little extra conversation may have been needed to figure out what the next step was.

Paul is probably quite grateful at this point that the council consisted of only Roman officials and not members of the Sanhedrin like there would be had he agreed to go stand trial in Jerusalem.

There would be a bit of time before arrangements could be made for sending Paul to Rome. In the meantime there was a state visit by Herod Agrippa II to Festus, and the Festus took advantage of the visit to discuss the problem he was having with Paul and his case.

Verse 13.

Acts 25:13 Now when several days had elapsed, King Agrippa and Bernice arrived at Caesarea and paid their respects to Festus.

Herod Agrippa II was the sone of Herod Agrippa I whose death was described back in Acts chapter 12. He had been granted various territories in the north-east of Palestine by the Romans and he ruled over these territories with the status of a king. During the troubles that would come down the road from here for the Jews he would do his best to intervene and preserve peace, but he would be unsuccessful. Bernice was not his wife but actually his slightly younger sister. Her husband, Herod of Chalcis, who was actually her uncle, had died, so after his death she went to live with her brother, a close association that ultimately invited some scandal-mongering. She later had an affair with Titus before he had become emperor. The couple paid a courtesy visit to Festus shortly after he had become governor and Festus waited for the right opportunity to bring up the issue of Paul to the king to see what he thought on the matter.

Verses 14 and 15.

Acts 25:14–15 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; 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.

At some point during the King’s stay, perhaps during a time where they were just talking about work in a more casual manner, Festus decided to finally get the ball rolling on the Paul conversation. Agrippa was for all practical purposes a Jew, for example having the right of appointing a high priest, so Festus might have thought that getting the input of a Jew who had no official association with the case might shed a little light on it.

So Luke records here that Festus gave the details of the case so far to Agrippa, telling the story as it would appear from the Roman point of view. We saw his first contact with the case in our first couple verses when he visited Jerusalem to see if the Jews had any issues that he might be able to help with. The Jewish leaders had brought forth their renewed accusations against Paul and sought for Festus to finally settle a case that had been going on for two years, hoping he would be the one to finally put Paul to death. Felix wasn’t brave enough to deal with it, so they held out hope that Festus would be the guy.

Verses 16 and 17.

Acts 25:16–17 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. 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.”

Festus continues to fill Agrippa in on the case by telling him that he had refused to give into their request of handing Paul back over to them for judgment. Roman law demanded a fair trial in which an accused person could both hear the charges that were being brought against them and the supporting evidence while also being able to bring forth a defense for themselves in the process. Whatever had happened during Felix’s term, where the exact same scenario played out, Festus saw it necessary to reopen the matter and deal with it himself to ensure that justice was done. Once the accusers had assembled, Festus wasted no time in calling the case back to order and bringing Paul back before his court to hear the charges and bring his defense.

With the way that Festus is brining these details together, I almost get the sense that he is spending a little bit of time on how much better than he is than Felix. “Well, Felix left this guy for two years, so when I heard that, I didn’t waste any time.” That’s kinda been a theme these last couple chapters - somebody somewhere is trying to bring forth a report that sheds at least a little bit of light on how great they are. Festus was apparently no different.

Verses 18 and 19.

Acts 25:18–19 When the accusers stood up, they began bringing charges against him not of such crimes as I was expecting, 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 might have expected that a prisoner whom the Jews were so zealous to prosecute must have been charges with some pretty serious and significant crimes. When it came to the point, as we already know, the charges against Paul with fairly trivial and petty, regardless of how passionate the Jews might have been about them. They were merely matters concerned with their own religion, which of course really mattered little to Rome.

More particularly, the main issue seemed to be Paul’s statements about Jesus having risen from the dead. Interestingly, the original accusation of temple desecration has now completely left the building. No longer even a footnote, just gone. The issue now, from Rome’s point of view, is the resurrection. Festus speaks of it as something that he fails to comprehend, and that is part of what seems to make it difficult to see how it could have become a point on which to hang a criminal charge. But this is precisely the point. The real ground of dispute, which Paul stated plainly a long time ago, is that Paul preaches the resurrection of Jesus, something which the Sadducees refused to believe on principle and which the Pharisees likewise refused to believe at the very least about Jesus. Such an opinion might be unacceptable to the Jewish leaders, but ultimately it was a matter of concern for their own law and would hardly come within Roman thought as a ground for a criminal charge. The Jews had managed to convert their religious charge against Jesus into a political charge when they brought him before Pilate. They had as much evidence then as they do now, but far more success. Of course that is not on part of the Jews, but according to the purposes and plans of God.

Last three verses, 20-22.

Acts 25:20–22 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. 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.” Then Agrippa said to Festus, “I also would like to hear the man myself.” “Tomorrow,” he said, “you shall hear him.”

Festus recounts that he had made his suggestion of trying Paul at Jerusalem since none of these trumped up charges bothered Rome in the slightest. Of course we remember in verse 9 that his real motivation was to win the favor of his new constituents, though here he claims that his motive had been simple confusion over what to do next. In reality, he just didn’t want to deal with the consequences of setting an innocent man free.

Of course we remember that Paul refused to go, and that brings it to the main point of the conversation. Paul, a Roman citizen, wants to go before the emperor. The wording here states that Paul demanded to remain in Roman custody until he could be brought before the emperor for examination, perhaps appealing for protection from the Jews so that he might live to see his next day in court.

Agrippa provided the way for Festus to get further light on the problem by suggesting that he himself might take an opportunity to go hear from Paul himself. Something in the conversation had made him curious to hear more, and perhaps went along with or against some rumors that he had already been hearing. Festus was happy to grant the request.

NEXT WEEK: Acts 25:23-26:18