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 grandson of Herod the Great (Matt. 2:1).916Herod the Great had tried to destroy the infant Jesus. One of his sons, Antipas, Agrippa II's great uncle, beheaded John the Baptist and tried our Lord. Agrippa II's father, Agrippa I, executed James, the son of Zebedee and the brother of John. He also imprisoned Peter and died in Caesarea (ch. 12). His son, Agrippa II, is the man Paul now faced. He had grown up in Rome and was a favorite of Emperor Claudius. He was the last in the Herodian dynasty and was the best of the Herods.
At the time he visited Festus, Agrippa was the king whom Rome had appointed over the territory northeast of the Judean province. He lived in Caesarea Philippi (Dan of the Old Testament) that he renamed Neronias in honor of Nero. Agrippa was about 30 years old at this time, and his sister, Bernice (Lat. Veronica), was one year younger. He ruled this region from 50 to 70 A.D. Drusilla, Felix's wife, was Agrippa and Bernice's younger sister.
Agrippa and Bernice evidently visited Festus on this occasion to pay their respects to the new governor of their neighboring province. Agrippa and Bernice were essentially favorable to the Jews. They both tried to avert the Roman massacre of the Jews in 66-70 A.D.917
25:14a Festus apparently wanted to discuss Paul's case with Agrippa because he needed to clarify the charges against Paul (v. 27). Agrippa had a reputation for being an expert in Jewish matters since he was part Jewish and had grown up in the Herodian family. He was the person to whom Rome had given the authority to appoint the Jewish high priest and to preserve the temple treasury and vestments.918
25:14b-21 Festus reviewed Paul's situation and confessed his own surprise at the nature of the charges the Jews had brought against him. They were matters concerning the Jewish religion (cf. 18:15; 23:29) and the resurrection of Jesus.919Festus did not know how to deal with these charges (v. 20).
"It is interesting that by this stage the question of Paul's alleged desecration of the temple has quite disappeared from sight, and the topic of the resurrection (23:4; 24:21) has replaced it. . . . The real ground of dispute 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 although they admitted the fact of a final resurrection of all men."920
25:22 The case interested Agrippa, and he asked to hear Paul. Festus readily agreed hoping that Agrippa would be able to help him understand Paul's situation and provide information he could use in his report to the emperor.
Jesus had also appeared before a Jewish king, Herod Antipas, who wanted to meet Him too (Luke 23:8). However, Paul's interview with Agrippa proved to be more satisfying to this king than Jesus' appearance before Antipas had been to that king (cf. Luke 23:6-12).
