Page 119 - Acts Student Textbook

Moses (cf. 21:21, 28), the temple (cf. 21:28; 24:6), and Caesar (cf. 16:21; 17:7). The first two are
exactly what Stephen was charged with in 6:13-14. These were the three areas regarding which the
Jews had previously accused him. See notes on 24:13 and context.

What was Festus’ Judgment? (25:9)

Despite the fact that the Jews had no proof against Paul, Festus wanted to gain favor with them, so
he asked Paul if he was willing to go to Jerusalem to stand trial regarding these matters. As a new
ruler, Festus probably wanted to do the Jews a favor so he could have a good start with them. This
was Festus’ failure to Judge the case, it will have future implications on his part. However, he was at
least decent enough to ask Paul about the matter. Doubtless, he suspected Paul was innocent (see
Paul’s comment in v10) and surely knew he was a Roman citizen. He probably knew he could get in
trouble if he forced Paul to stand trial before the Jews, but it did not hurt to ask Paul about it. Then if
Paul refused, at least then Jews could not say he did not try.

How does Paul respond to Festus regarding being tried in Jerusalem by the Jews? (25:10-12)

Now whether or not Festus knew about the previous plot against Paul’s life, Paul surely knew. Paul
went on to use two conditional sentences "If. . .if” (25:11). Here Dr. Uttly says, “These are two first
class conditional sentences which are assumed to be true from the author's perspective or for his
purpose. These two usages in context show how this grammatical construction was used to make a
point. The first is false to reality (but exactly the same condition used by Felix in v. 5); the second is
true to reality.” He no doubt smelled this new plot immediately. It was obvious that Festus wanted
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to please the Jews. But Festus’ response evidently caused Paul to believe that he would have better
hope being tried completely away from Jewish territory. He replied that he had a right, as a Roman
citizen, to be tried by the Romans, not the Jews. He affirmed that even Festus knew this. Paul said he
was willing to be punished, even to the point of death, if he had been truly guilty. But it would be a
miscarriage of justice for him to be turned over to the Jews when there was no proof. He appealed
his case to be heard by Caesar himself. It was the best way to guarantee that Festus could not turn
him over to the Jews. Paul’s decision may also have been influenced by two other facers: first, he for
some time had desired to go to Rome (Acts 23:11; 19:21). Second, Jesus earlier told Paul about
witnessing for Him in Rome. Festus had no choice but to respect Paul’s appeal.

How did Agrippa and Bernice come to know about Paul’s case? (25:13-15)

Some days after Paul had appealed to Caesar, a king named Agrippa, along with a woman named
Bernice, came to visit Festus. “Agrippa ruled Chalcis (in the area of modern Lebanon) and later
Galilee. McGarvey and Stringer say this Agrippa was a son of the Herod who killed James (Acts 12).
Imagine being in Paul’s place and standing trial before such a man. Bernice was Agrippa’s sister.
Coffman and Stringer say that Agrippa and Bernice had an incestuous relationship. Presumably, they
were paying a courtesy visit to get to know the new governor and to establish a working relationship
with him”. After some time, Festus told Agrippa about Paul’s case.
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BACKGROUND

Herod Agrippa II (Marcus Julius Agrippa): He is the son of Herod Agrippa I (cf. Acts 12), who was the
political ruler of Judea and who had control of the Temple and Priesthood (A.D. 41-44) and grandson
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of Herod the Great. He was educated in Rome and was pro-Roman. He returned to Rome after the

66 Uttly, (25:11)
67 Pratte, (p.367)
68 Josephus Jewish Wars (2.12.1,7-8)
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