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Texts -- Acts 25:2-27 (NET)

Context
25:2 So the chief priests and the most prominent men of the Jews brought formal charges against Paul to him . 25:3 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 . 25:4 Then Festus replied that Paul was being kept at Caesarea , and he himself intended to go there shortly . 25:5 “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 .” 25:6 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 . 25:7 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 . 25:8 Paul said in his defense , “I have committed no offense against the Jewish law or against the temple or against Caesar .” 25:9 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 ?” 25:10 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 . 25:11 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 !” 25:12 Then , after conferring with his council , Festus replied , “You have appealed to Caesar ; to Caesar you will go !”
Festus Asks King Agrippa for Advice
25:13 After several days had passed , King Agrippa and Bernice arrived at Caesarea to pay their respects to Festus . 25:14 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 . 25:15 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 . 25:16 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 . 25:17 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 . 25:18 When his accusers stood up , they did not charge him with any of the evil deeds I had suspected . 25:19 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 . 25:20 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 . 25:21 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 .” 25:22 Agrippa said to Festus , “I would also like to hear the man myself.” “Tomorrow ,” he replied , “you will hear him .”
Paul Before King Agrippa and Bernice
25:23 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. 25:24 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 . 25:25 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. 25:26 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 . 25:27 For it seems unreasonable to me to send a prisoner without clearly indicating the charges against him .”

Pericope

NET

Bible Dictionary

  • APPEAL

    [ebd] a reference of any case from an inferior to a superior court. Moses established in the wilderness a series of judicatories such that appeals could be made from a lower to a higher (Ex. 18:13-26.) Under the Roman law the most...
    [isbe] APPEAL - a-pel': If an appeal be, as it properly is, a petition for the removal of a case that has been decided for rehearing and review and final decision by a higher court, we find no such instance either in the Old Testam...
    [smith] The principle, of appeal was recognized by the Mosaic law in the establishment of a central court under the presidency of the judge or ruler for the time being, before which all cased too difficult for the local court were to...

  • Paul

    [ebd] =Saul (q.v.) was born about the same time as our Lord. His circumcision-name was Saul, and probably the name Paul was also given to him in infancy "for use in the Gentile world," as "Saul" would be his Hebrew home-name. He w...
    [nave] PAUL Called also Saul, Acts 8:1; 9:1; 13:9. Of the tribe of Benjamin, Rom. 11:1; Phil. 3:5. Personal appearance of, 2 Cor. 10:1, 10; 11:6. Born in Tarsus, Acts 9:11; 21:39; 22:3. Educated at Jerusalem in the school of Ga...

  • FESTUS; PORCIUS

    [isbe] FESTUS; PORCIUS - fes'-tus, por'-shi-us Porkios Phestos): The Roman governor or procurator who succeeded Felix in the province of Judea (Acts 24:27), and was thus brought into prominence in the dispute between Paul and the S...

  • MONEY

    [isbe] MONEY - mun'-i: Various terms are used for money in the Bible, but the most common are the Hebrew keceph, and Greek argurion, both meaning silver. We find also qesiTah, rendered by Septuagint "lambs," probably referring to m...

  • Prisoners

    [nave] PRISONERS Joseph, Gen. 39:20-23; 40; 41:1-44. Jeremiah, Jer. 38:6-28; 39:14. John the Baptist, Matt. 11:2; 14:3-12; Mark 6:17; Luke 3:20. Jesus, Matt. 26:47-75; 27; Mark 14:43-72; 15; Luke 22:47-71; 23; John 18:3-40; 19. ...

  • Festus

    [nave] FESTUS Called also Porcius Festus, governor of Judaea, and successor to Felix, Acts 24:27. Tries Paul, Acts 25.

  • Minister

    [nave] MINISTER, a sacred teacher. Index of Sub-topics Miscellany of Minor Sub-topics; Call of; Character and Qualifications of; Charge Delivered to; Courage of; Duties of; Duties of the Church to; Emoluments of; Faithful, Instanc...

  • Herod Arippa II.

    [ebd] the son of Herod Agrippa I. and Cypros. The emperor Claudius made him tetrarch of the provinces of Philip and Lysanias, with the title of king (Acts 25:13; 26:2, 7). He enlarged the city of Caesarea Philippi, and called it N...

  • PAUL, THE APOSTLE, 5

    [isbe] PAUL, THE APOSTLE, 5 - V. Work. 1. Adjustment: There was evidently a tumult in Paul's soul. He had undergone a revolution, both intellectual and spiritual. Before he proceeded farther it was wise to think through the most im...

  • ACTS OF THE APOSTLES, 13-OUTLINE

    [isbe] ACTS OF THE APOSTLES, 13-OUTLINE - XIII. Analysis. 1. The connection between the work of the apostles and that of Jesus (Acts 1:1-11). 2. The equipment of the early disciples for their task (Acts 1:12 through 2:47). (a) The ...

  • Appeal to Caesar

    [nave] APPEAL TO CAESAR Paul makes, to Caesar, Acts 25:10, 11, 21-27; 26:32; 28:19. See: Change of Venue; Court, Superior, and Inferior.

  • Citizenship

    [ebd] the rights and privileges of a citizen in distinction from a foreigner (Luke 15:15; 19:14; Acts 21:39). Under the Mosaic law non-Israelites, with the exception of the Moabites and the Ammonites and others mentioned in Deut. ...
    [isbe] CITIZENSHIP - sit'-i-zen-ship: All the words in use connected with this subject are derived from polis, "city." 1. Philological: These words, with the meanings which they have in the Bible, are the nouns, polites, "citizen";...
    [smith] The use of this term in Scripture has exclusive reference to the usages of the Roman empire. The privilege of Roman citizenship was originally acquired in various ways, as by purchase, (Acts 22:28) by military services, by fa...
    [nave] CITIZENSHIP. Duties of Ex. 22:28 Acts 23:5. Num. 27:20; Ezra 6:10; Ezra 7:26; Ezra 10:8; Prov. 16:14, 15; Prov. 24:21; Prov. 25:6, 7, 15; Eccl. 8:2-4; Eccl. 10:4, 20; Jer. 29:7; Matt. 17:24-27; Matt. 22:17-21 Mark 12:14-17...

  • Bernice

    [ebd] bearer of victory, the eldest daughter of Agrippa I., the Herod Agrippa of Acts 12:20. After the early death of her first husband she was married to her uncle Herod, king of Chalcis. After his death (A.D. 40) she lived in in...
    [isbe] BERNICE - ber-ni'-se (Bernike "victorious"): One of the shameless women of the Bible, mentioned in Acts 25:13,23; 26:30. She was the eldest daughter of Herod Agrippa I (Acts 12:1,6,11,21) who ruled from 38-45 AD. Her whole l...
    [nave] BERNICE, daughter of Agrippa, Acts 25:13, 23; 26:30.

  • CAESAREA

    [ebd] (Palestinae), a city on the shore of the Mediterranean, on the great road from Tyre to Egypt, about 70 miles northwest of Jerusalem, at the northern extremity of the plain of Sharon. It was built by Herod the Great (B.C. 10)...
    [smith] (Acts 8:40; 9:30; 10:1,24; 11:11; 12:19; 18:22; 21:8,16; 23:23,33; 25:1,4,6,13) was situated on the coast of Palestine, on the line of the great road from Tyre to Egypt, and about halfway between Joppa and Dora. The distance ...

  • CAESAR

    [ebd] the title assumed by the Roman emperors after Julius Caesar. In the New Testament this title is given to various emperors as sovereigns of Judaea without their accompanying distinctive proper names (John 19:15; Acts 17:7). T...
    [isbe] CAESAR - se'-zar (Kaisar): Originally the surname of the Julian gens (thus, Caius Julius Caesar); afterward a name borne by the Roman emperors. In the New Testament the name is definitely applied to Augustus (Lk 2:1, "Caesar...

  • FESTUS, PORCIUS

    [ebd] the successor of Felix (A.D. 60) as procurator of Judea (Acts 24:27). A few weeks after he had entered on his office the case of Paul, then a prisoner at Caesarea, was reported to him. The "next day," after he had gone down ...
    [smith] (Festus means festival), successor of Felix as procurator of Judea, (Acts 24:27) sent by Nero probably in the autumn of A.D. 60. A few weeks after Festus reached his province he heard the cause of St. Paul, who had been left ...

  • ACCUSER

    [ebd] Satan is styled the "accuser of the brethren" (Rev. 12:10. Comp. Job 1:6; Zech. 3:1), as seeking to uphold his influence among men by bringing false charges against Christians, with the view of weakening their influence and ...
    [isbe] ACCUSER - a-kuz'-er: This word, not found in the Old Testament, is the rendering of two Greek words: (1) kategoros, that is, a prosecutor, or plaintiff in a lawsuit, or one who speaks in a derogatory way of another (Acts 23:...

  • Augustus

    [isbe] AUGUSTUS - o-gus'-tus Augoustos: (1) The first Roman emperor, and noteworthy in Bible history as the emperor in whose reign the Incarnation took place (Lk 2:1). His original name was Caius Octavius Caepias and he was born in...
    [nave] AUGUSTUS, a title of Roman emperors, Luke 2:1; Acts 25:21, 25; 27:1.

  • Indictments

    [nave] INDICTMENTS. Instances of Naboth on charge of blasphemy, 1 Kin. 21:13, with vs. 1-16. Jeremiah of treasonable prophecy, but of which he was acquitted, Jer. 26:1-24; a second indictment, Jer. 37:13-15. Three Hebrew captive...

  • PROVINCE

    [isbe] PROVINCE - prov'-ins (medhinah, "jurisdiction"; eparchia (English Versions of the Bible, province) (Acts 23:34; 25:1)): 1. Meaning of the Term 2. Roman Provincial Administration (1) First Period (2) Second Period (3) Third P...
    [smith] In the Old Testament this word appears in connection with the wars between Ahab and Ben-hadad. (1 Kings 20:14,15,19) The victory of the former is gained chiefly "by the young" probably men of the princes of the provinces ...
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Arts

Questions

  • The imprisonment of Paul had a great impact on his ministry. In the first place, we know that there were several imprisonments. Scholars debate about how many, but we know that Paul was, for a short time, in prison in Philipi...

Sermon Illustrations

Judgment Seat; Evangelistic Activities in Acts

Resources/Books

Expository Notes on the Bible (Constable)

  • This is another narrative section of Leviticus (cf. chs. 8-10). Its position in the book must mean that it took place after God had given Moses the instructions about the holy lamps and showbread (24:1-9). This fact underline...
  • Practically all scholars believe that Luke wrote his Gospel before he wrote Acts. Many conservative scholars hold that he wrote Acts during Paul's first Roman imprisonment during which the book ends (60-62 A.D.). Luke accompa...
  • Jesus' trial now moved from its Jewish phase into its Roman phase.497It did not take long for Pilate to determine that Jesus was innocent of any crime worthy of death. Notwithstanding the record stresses how difficult it was ...
  • Longenecker identified five phenomena about the structure of Acts that the reader needs to recognize to appreciate what Luke sought to communicate."1. It begins, like the [Third] Gospel, with an introductory section of distin...
  • I. The witness in Jerusalem 1:1-6:7A. The founding of the church 1:1-2:461. The resumptive preface to the book 1:1-52. The command to witness 1:6-83. The ascension of Jesus 1:9-114. Jesus' appointment of a twelfth apostle 1:1...
  • The key to the apostles' successful fulfillment of Jesus' commission was their baptism with and consequent indwelling by the Holy Spirit. Without this divine enablement they would only have been able to follow Jesus' example,...
  • 9:10-12 Evidently Ananias was not a refugee from Jerusalem (22:12) but a resident of Damascus. He, too, received a vision of the Lord Jesus (v. 17) to whom he submitted willingly (cf. 1 Sam. 3:4, 10). Jesus gave Ananias speci...
  • "Peter's rescue from prison is an unusually vivid episode in Acts even when simply taken as a story about Peter. Because it is not connected with events in the chapters immediately before and after it, however, it may seem ra...
  • Luke recorded the events of Paul's first missionary journey to document the extension of the church into new territory and to illustrate the principles and methods by which the church grew. He also did so to show God's supern...
  • 14:21b-22 The missionaries confined their labors to the Galatian province on this trip. They did not move farther east into the kingdom of Antiochus or the province Cilicia that Paul may have evangelized previously during his...
  • 18:12 An inscription found at Delphi in Central Greece has enabled scholars to date the beginning of Gallio's term as proconsul to July 1, 51 A.D.740Gallio was a remarkable Roman citizen from Spain. His brother, the Stoic phi...
  • This incident reveals more about the effects of the gospel on Ephesian society and religion (cf. vv. 13-20)."Luke's purpose in presenting this vignette is clearly apologetic, in line with his argument for the religio licitast...
  • "Paul's farewell address to the Ephesian elders is the nearest approximation to the Pauline letters in Acts. Its general content recalls how in his letters Paul encouraged, warned, and exhorted his converts. Moreover, its the...
  • 23:25 The commander had to send a copy of the background of Paul's case along with Paul himself. Luke wrote that what follows in the text was substantially what the letter contained.23:26 This is the first mention of the comm...
  • 25:1 Portius Festus was a more moderate and wise governor than Felix.910We can see his wisdom in his decision to meet with the Jewish leaders in Jerusalem soon after he took office. The province in view was Syria, which conta...
  • 25:6-8 In view of Paul's defense (v. 8), the serious charges made by the Jews appear to have been the same as those Tertullus had presented (24:5-6). However the Jews could not prove them and produced no witnesses, so all Pau...
  • The charges against Paul, and particularly his innocence, are the point of this pericope.25:13 This King Agrippa was Marcus Julius Agrippa II, the son of Herod Agrippa I (12:1-11), the grandson of Aristobulus, and the great g...
  • This is the longest of Paul's five defenses. It centers on the gospel with an evangelistic appeal rather than on the charges against Paul. This emphasis harmonizes with Luke's evangelistic purpose in Luke and Acts and is a fi...
  • 25:23 Festus used this occasion to honor Agrippa and Bernice before the local Caesarean leaders. There were five commanders based in Caesarea each with responsibility for 1,000 soldiers. They all had the same authority as Cla...
  • Paul was not on trial here. When he had appealed to Caesar (25:11), he had guaranteed that his next trial would be before the emperor. This was just a hearing designed to acquaint Agrippa with Paul's case so Agrippa could giv...
  • By rising to his feet Agrippa signaled the end of the hearing. Everyone else rose out of respect for him. Luke implied that everyone present concurred that Paul was completely innocent. This had previously been the verdict of...
  • 28:17-20 Paul began immediately to prepare to witness. He wanted to see the leaders of the Jewish community soon for two reasons. He wanted to preach the gospel to them as Jews first. He also wanted to take the initiative in ...
  • Sermons and Speeches in Acts984SpeakersOccasions and or HearersCitiesReferencesPeter (1)Selection of successor to JudasJerusalem1:16-22Peter (2)Signs on the day of PentecostJerusalem2:14-36Peter (3)Healing of lame man in the ...
  • Sequence of Paul's ActivitiesDateEventReferenceBirth in TarsusActs 22:3Early life and theological education in Jerusalem under GamalielActs 22:334Participation in Stephen's stoning outside JerusalemActs 7:57-8:134Leadership i...
  • Sequence of Paul's ActivitiesDateEventReferenceBirth in TarsusActs 22:3Early life and theological education in Jerusalem under GamalielActs 22:334Participation in Stephen's stoning outside JerusalemActs 7:57-8:134Leadership i...
  • To answer his critics and prove the extent of his own service and sufferings for Christ, Paul related many of his painful experiences as an apostle.11:16 Paul apologized again for having to resort to mentioning these experien...
  • The apostle proceeded to express his sincere gratitude to God for his friends in Philippi. He did this to assure them of God's continuing working for them and his satisfaction with their partnership in the work of the gospel....
  • At this point Paul's thinking turned from what had already occurred because of his imprisonment to what he anticipated happening in the future. He referred to this so his readers would uphold him in their prayers and feel enc...
  • v. 22 Paul expected release from his house arrest in Rome soon (cf. Acts 23:29; 24:13; 25:25-27; 26:31-32; Phil. 2:24). This happened, but we have no record that Paul did or did not fulfill his desire to visit Philemon. The p...
  • The writer concluded his warning by reminding his readers of their former faithfulness when tempted to encourage them to endure their present and future testings (cf. 4:12-16; 6:9-20)."The juxtaposition of 10:26-31 and 32-35 ...
  • 3:13 This statement carries on what the psalmist said in the quotation just cited. If God will punish those who do evil (v. 12), who will harm those who do good? God will not, and under normal circumstances no other person wi...
  • 1:9 John now addressed the seven churches to which he sent this epistolary prophecy directly. He described himself to his readers as their brother in Christ and a partaker with them in three things. These were, first, the rel...
  • These persecuted Christians did not need to fear their adversaries or death since they would live forever with Jesus Christ. "Behold"signals an oracular declaration (cf. 2:22; 3:8, 9, 20).96The devil would incite their foes t...

Expositions Of Holy Scripture (Maclaren)

  • Whereupon, O king Agrippa, I was not disobedient unto the heavenly vision, "20. But shewed first unto them of Damascus, and at Jerusalem, and throughout all the coasts of Judaea, and then to the Gentiles, that they should rep...
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