Page 120 - Acts Student Textbook

Jewish war of A.D. 70 and died there in A.D. 100. At the age of 17 his father died, but he was too
young to assume his kingdom. In A.D. 50 Herod Chalcis, Agrippa II's uncle, the King of Chalcis (a
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small kingdom in Northern Palestine), died and Agrippa II was given his kingdom by Emperor
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Claudius. Also, he was given control over the Temple and the High Priesthood. In A.D. 53 he
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exchanged this small kingdom for the tetrarches of Herod Philip (Ituraea and Trachonitis) and
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Lysanius (Abilene). Later, Emperor Nero added certain cities and villages around the Sea of Galilee
to his control. His capital was Caesarea Philippi, which he renamed Neronias.
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Bernice She was the oldest daughter of Herod Agrippa I. She was the sister of Agrippa II, and for a
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period of time may have been his incestuous lover (there is no evidence of this, only rumor). Later
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she was a mistress to Emperor Titus while he was a general. He was the Roman general who
destroyed Jerusalem and the Temple in A.D. 70. She was Drusilla's sister (cf. 24:24). She was married
to Herod Chalcis (Herod Agrippa I's brother, her uncle), but when he died she moved in with her
brother. She later married Polemon, King of Cilicia, but left him to return to her brother who had just
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been given the title of "King." She was the mistress of Emperor Vespasian.

So Festus narrated the matter to King Agrippa, Bernice and other People around (25:16-23)

Festus stated his evaluation of the accusations against Paul to Agrippa. They were not the kind of
things he had expected (no doubt, he had expected some accusations of criminal activity, sedition, or
other such issues that would legitimately concern Roman authority). But the accusations pertained to
matters of religious beliefs and specifically to Paul’s claim that “a dead man, Jesus, is alive.” About
the term "Religion" (25:19), Utlly says, “This is literally a compound term from "fear" and "gods." This
term can mean "superstition," which was exactly what these Roman leaders thought about the
Jewish religion. However, Festus would have not wanted to insult his Jewish dignitaries, so he used
an ambiguous term (so too, Paul, 17:22).” Festus added that the issue was "about a dead man,
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Jesus, whom Paul asserted to be alive" (25:19). The resurrection was one the central pillars of the
sermons (kerygma, see not at 2:14) also in Acts (cf. 26:8). Christianity stands or falls on this
theological assertion (cf. 1 Corinthians 15). Here we can safely say that Paul successfully preached
the gospel to Festus, but Festus treated it as a mere religious argument between Paul and the Jews.
Note that Festus here effectively admitted that Paul did not deserve the treatment he was receiving.
This is what Paul had claimed earlier (25:10; see 25:25). Paul was in prison because of his religious
convictions, not because of anything that would concern Roman authorities. Festus was the third
Roman ruler to state a similar conclusion, yet Paul was still in prison (cf. 23:29).Here Pratte expressed
his surprise, “Roman rulers seem good at recognizing innocence but not good at acting accordingly.
Instead of acquitting Paul, Festus asked Paul if he would agree to go to Jerusalem and be judged
about these matters. Paul refused and appealed to Caesar. Festus granted Paul his request, but kept
him in prison until he could send him to Caesar.” And Agrippa agreed to hear Paul’s case (v22, 23).
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Other important men and commanders were also present. Probably Festus arranged such pomp and
ceremony, not because he thought Paul was so important, but as a way to honor Agrippa and
Bernice. Nevertheless, the result presented Paul with a great opportunity to tell the gospel message
to many prominent people. Today, however, Paul is widely known; but no one would ever have

69 Ibid (15.1)
70 Ibid (16.4)
71 Ibid, Antiquities of the Jews (19.9.2; 20.5.2)
72 Josephus, Jewish Wars, (7.5.1)
73 Ibid, Antiquities of the Jews, (6.5; 7.1; 8.4; 9.6)
74 Tacitus, History, (2.2)
75 Josephus, Antiquities of the Jew, (19.9.1; 15.1; 20.1.3)
76 Ibid, Jewish Wars, (2.1.6; 15.1; 17.1)
77 Uttly, (25:19).
78 Pratte, (p. 368).
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