ACTS CHAPTER 25:1-27, “Paul
Appears Before Festus And King Agrippa”
By
Jim Bomkamp
1.
INTRO
1.1.
In our last study, we looked
at Paul imprisoned for his faith in Caesarea for a period that appears to have
been as long as two years, and yet during that time we find him always
‘content’ in Christ and making the most of each opportunity to share his faith
1.1.1.
We focused on three
different types of responses to God in the lives of the people mentioned:
1.1.1.1.Paul is faithful and obedient to God as His slave no matter what
circumstances he finds himself in
1.1.1.2.The high priest is calloused and hardened in his relationship to God
and thus he is completely given over to evil yet all the while giving the outward impression of the utmost of holiness
and devotion to God
1.1.1.3.Felix, the governor, is curious about God and salvation through Christ,
yet he is a procrastinator and thus never makes a decision for Christ
1.1.2.
We saw how that Paul had
come to that place in his life where he accepted everything that came his way
as being from God and therefore he was committed to being as faithful to Christ
as His slave and witness in one situation as in any other
1.1.2.1.We saw how that Paul was content wherever God had him and in whatever
ministry he was in
1.1.2.2.We saw that Paul had realized that how he reacted to every situation he
was in was much more important than the circumstance itself
1.2.
In our study today we are
going to see Paul appear before the new Roman governor Porcius
Festus, who replaced Felix, and then before King Agrippa and Bernice
1.2.1.
We will see how that Porcius Festus is probably one of the best of the governors
to reign in Caesarea, as the Roman governors went, for he seems to for the most
part take Roman justice seriously and seek to be fair to all
1.2.1.1.We will look at Festus as a typical non-regenerated man who has no
spiritual understanding, and this places him in a quandary for he does not know
how he should handle Paul’s situation
1.2.2.
We will see then that when
Paul is taken before his accusers and Festus that Paul is forced to appeal to
Caesar in order to avoid being tried by the Jews in
1.2.3.
After Paul’s exercising of
his right as a Roman to appeal to Caesar, Festus is then presented with the
dilemma of how he can send a man who has appealed to Caesar to Caesar when he
knows of no charge for which the man is or has been found guilty
1.2.4.
Paul seeks the help of King
Agrippa, when he comes to town, so that he might get his opinion as to what to
write to Caesar Nero about the charges for which Paul should be examined
1.2.5.
Paul then appears before
King Agrippa and preaches the gospel to him, and King Agrippa is convicted of
his sin and filled with fear at the apprehension of future eternal judgment
1.2.5.1.We will look at King Agrippa as a man who wanted so desperately to be
someone of importance that he cannot admit his need of a savior or imagine
turning his life over to Christ
2.
VS 25:1 - “25:1 Festus therefore, having
arrived in the province, three days later went up to
2.1.
had been a procrastinator,
unwilling it seems to make important decisions and take on his responsibilities
as governor of the region. This man, Porcius Festus, who replaced him, immediately displayed
that he was a man who took his responsibilities in administering Roman justice
seriously. He was a man of action, and
immediately he undertook his new responsibilities as governor. He went up to
3.
VS 25:2-3 - “2
And the chief priests and the leading men of the Jews brought charges against
Paul; and they were urging him, 3 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).” - The chief
priests and leading men of the Jews again brought charges against Paul, this
time before Festus
3.1.
The Sanhedrin
had now become united in their stand against Paul, and they sought to ask a
special favor of Festus. They had
formulated a plot in which they would kill Paul.
3.1.1.
They knew
that Festus did not know their history concerning their commitment to murder
Paul, so they thought if they could just get him to send Paul to them that they
would be able to ambush Paul in route and murder him.
3.1.2.
The Roman Commander
in
4.
VS 25:4-5 - “4 Festus then answered that Paul
was being kept in custody at
4.1.
Through God’s
intervention, Festus was not persuaded by the Jewish leaders to bring Paul to
4.2.
Festus told
the leaders that if they wanted to bring charges against Paul they could travel
with him to
5.
VS 25:6-7 - “6
And 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. 7 And after he had arrived, the Jews who had come down from
Jerusalem stood around him, bringing many and serious charges against him which
they could not prove;” - After ten
days Festus went down to Caesarea and brought Paul before his accusers
5.1.
Eight to ten
days after arriving in
5.2.
The day after
arriving in Caesarea, Paul was brought before the ‘tribunal’ court and judgment
seat of Festus, and the Jews who had accompanied Festus from
5.3.
Luke includes
the footnote here that the Jews could not prove any of the charges which they
brought against Paul. These charges were
based upon hearsay and were not backed up by any personal testimony from
eye-witnesses or physical evidence.
6.
VS 25:8 - “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.”” -
Paul told the council that he had committed no offenses
6.1.
Paul defends
himself to Festus saying that he had ‘committed no offense’.
6.1.1.
He had not
offended ‘the Law of the Jews’ because Christianity was prophesied about in the
Law and the Prophets of the Old Testament.
6.1.1.1.Christ is the fulfillment of the Law of the Jews.
6.1.2.
He had not
committed an offense against ‘the temple’ because he was ceremonially clean
when he entered there.
6.1.3.
He had
violated no Old Testament law concerning the temple, plus he had not allowed
any Gentiles into the temple as originally some Asian Jews had accused him when
they had seen Paul in the temple.
6.1.4.
Paul had not
committed an offense against ‘Caesar’, since he had broken no Roman law for
which he ought to be prosecuted.
7.
VS 25:9-11 - “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?” 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. 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.”” - Paul appeals to Caesar
7.1.
Festus wanted
to avoid falling into disfavor with the Jewish leaders, especially since he had
just come into office as governor of the land.
According to the Jewish leaders’ requests, he therefore asked Paul if he
would be willing to, ‘go up to
7.1.1.
However, Paul
knew that the Jews were committed to murdering him, and that he would die if he
went to
7.2.
If Paul had
requested a hearing of Caesar so that he might preach the gospel to him, it
would not have been granted. However,
the Lord placed Paul in these circumstances so that he might have that very
opportunity to preach the gospel to all of the leaders of
7.3.
Paul tells
Festus that he is standing before ‘Caesar’s tribunal’ in
7.4.
Paul tells
Festus that he is willing to die for any wrong that he has done which is worthy
of death, however Paul stood for his rights as a Roman citizen and as a child
of God, and he told Festus that if he has not done anything deserving of death,
that he shall not die for false charges.
7.4.1.
Paul claimed
his rights as a Roman citizen to appeal his case before Caesar. As a result of his appeal, Paul ends up going
to
7.4.2.
As the Holy
Spirit leads us, there are times when it is OK for us Christians to claim our
rights as a citizen of the country of which we live. There also may come a time when we as a
Christian should claim his rights as a child of God.
8.
VS 25:12 - “12 Then when Festus had conferred
with his council, he answered, “You have appealed to Caesar, to Caesar you
shall go.”” - Festus told Paul that
since he had appealed to Caesar that he would go to Caesar
8.1.
Festus seems
to be a man who tried to honestly and uprightly administer justice under the
Roman law, and therefore since Paul had appealed to Caesar, he grants that he
will indeed send Paul to Caesar for his appeal.
8.2.
Festus is now
presented with a dilemma because he has no formal charge against Paul that he
can write and send with Paul to Caesar, for which Paul could be tried on
appeal.
9.
VS 25:13 - “13 Now when several days had
elapsed, King Agrippa and Bernice arrived at
9.1.
After several
days, King Agrippa arrived to visit Festus, and he and ‘Bernice’ ‘paid their
respects to Festus’. King Agrippa was
actually ‘King Agrippa II’. There are
many Herod’s mentioned in the New Testament and for that reason I believe that
it is important to understand the dynasty of Herod The Great.
9.2.
Jewish History Lesson:
9.2.1.
When the Old
Testament period had ended with the writing of the book of Malachi, Persia
ruled the world, and through God’s working the Persian emperors Cyrus and Artaxerxes had helped Israel rebuild the temple (under
Ezra) and the wall around Jerusalem (under Nehemiah).
9.2.2.
In 332 BC
the Persian Empire was defeated by Alexander, and the Grecian empire of
Alexander the Great included
9.2.3.
In 323 BC Alexander
the Great died, and until 198 BC
9.2.4.
In 198 BC
9.2.5.
In 168 BC Antiochus
IV sacrificed a pig on the altar of the temple in
9.2.6.
In 167 BC Antiochus
IV ordered an altar to Zeus erected in the
9.2.7.
In 166 BC Mattathias died, and Judah Maccabaeus took his place as
leader. The Hasmonean Jewish Kingdom begins; It lasted until 63 BC. During this time the temple was cleansed and
the sacrifices resumed.
9.2.8.
In 142 BC the Syrians recognized Jewish autonomy.
9.2.9.
In 139 BC the
Roman Senate recognized Jewish autonomy.
9.2.10.In 130 BC the Syrians under Antiochus VII
besiege
9.2.11.In 96 BC an eight year civil war began in
9.2.12.In 67 BC there was another civil war for
control of Judea and Pompey, the Roman commander, conquered
9.2.13.In 47 BC Antipater, who was an Edomite (descendant of Esau from what is now modern day
9.2.14.Herod the Great had the
title of king of
9.2.15.Herod the Great desired
greatly to be liked by the Jews so he kept their law, and rebuilt their temple.
9.2.16.‘Herod the Great’ is
actually the title that Herod gave to himself, for more than anything he
desired to be great. In order to be
great he built huge buildings which were incredible works of architecture and
beauty, and by far his greatest achievement was the Jewish temple which to this
day is one of the most incredible structures ever built.
9.2.17. Herod The Great married ten wives,
and his families plotted and intrigued against each other continually. In his
last years Herod was insane and paranoid, and became bloodthirsty. He executed
(6 B.C.) Aristobulus and Alexander, his sons by Mariamne, granddaughter of Hyrcanus
II. He executed (4 B.C.) Antipater, son of his first wife, when he found out
that Antipater had instigated the plots that led to the execution of Aristobulus and Alexander. His paranoia even led him to
sadly execute his wife Miriamne whom he loved very
much. This was the Herod who was ruling
at the time of Jesus' birth and who ordered the massacre of the infants in the
environs of
9.2.18.Herod the Great finally divided his kingdom among his
four sons who then became tetrarchs (1/4 rulers): Archelaus,
Herod Antipas, and Philip.
9.2.18.1.Archelaus (d. after A.D. 6) ruled
9.2.18.2.Herod Antipas
(d. after A.D. 39), tetrarch of
9.2.18.2.1.Herod Antipas divorced his wife, daughter of Aretas, to marry his niece Herodias, wife of his half
brother Herod Philip, whom she divorced to marry him. This affair gained Herod
Antipas many enemies. Selfish ambitions
of his wife Herodias eventually ruined him. She drove him to seek to get the
title of ‘king’ from the emperor in A.D. 39, but this plan backed fired because
the emperor Caligula was paranoid himself, and Herod Antipas was imprisoned by
Caligula never to be heard of again.
9.2.18.3.Philip (d.
A.D. 34) was tetrarch of the region east of
9.2.19.The eldest son of the executed Aristobulus,
Herod Agrippa I (d. A.D. 44), was a man of some ability. Out of
friendship Caligula made him king (A.D. 39) of Philip's tetrarchy;
later he was made (A.D. 41) ruler of S Syria and of
9.2.20.Bernice was King Agrippa II’s
sister, and he was living with her in a very evil and incestuous relationship.
9.2.20.1.It is interesting that in the book of Acts that every
time King Agrippa II is mentioned that Bernice is mentioned with him, and yet
nothing else is mentioned about Bernice.
It is as if in the mind of God that Bernice is always associated with
King Agrippa II because of his participation with her in the sin of
incest. Until a person is saved, their
sin is ever before the Lord.
9.2.20.1.1.Non-Christians need to realize that until they receive
Jesus Christ as their Lord and their Savior, their sins are ever before the
Lord. He does not forget the many evil
things that each person has done until that day that they receive Christ.
9.2.21.All of the descendants of Herod the Great’s dynasty (which ended with Herod Agrippa II),
followed much in the footsteps of the their forefather
Herod the Great. They all wanted to be
great. However, none were nearly as wise
and competent as was Herod the Great. In
our study today, we see that Herod Agrippa II came into
9.2.21.1.Several years ago I worked for a company who was
granted a huge contract to design a custom full cabin control system (lighting,
audio, video, attendant call, cell phones, heating and air conditioning,
switching and control system) for the richest man in the world’s private jets. The Sultan of Brunei, the richest man in the
world at that time, had a fleet of three Boeing commercial jets which had been
custom-designed to be a flying palace for him.
Everywhere the sultan went he had to be surrounded only by gold, so the
interior of these planes, including the switch panels we designed, all had to
be made of brushed gold. This sultan
even owned a huge resort on an island for which he had hired men to go find the
most beautiful women in every country of the world to come and live and be his
personal harem, paying them a huge salary.
He had a few hundred of these women there who
previously had been beauty queens, etc., and they had to dance provocatively
before him in his disco, and if he chose to sleep with any of them they had to
be willing to go with him.
9.2.21.1.1.Men who have as their motivation in life to be the
most important, influential, powerful of men can never be satisfied. Regardless of whatever they achieve, they
still want more. You see, the Donald
Trumps in this world cannot be satisfied when there is a Bill Gates who has
more.
9.2.21.1.2.Solomon, the author of the book of Ecclesiastes was a
man like this. He sought to gain all
wisdom, riches, wealth, goods, women, and all of the best that this world had
to offer. Yet, in the end after he had
satiated himself with all of these things he was not content.
9.2.21.1.2.1.In Eccles. 1:2, Solomon wrote, “…Vanity
of vanities all is vanity…”.
9.2.21.1.2.2.In Eccles. 2:1-11, Solomon wrote about how
nothing that he sought after brought true lasting contentment or satisfaction, “2:1
I said to myself, “Come now, I will test you with pleasure. So enjoy
yourself.” And behold, it too was futility. 2 I said of laughter, “It is
madness,” and of pleasure, “What does it accomplish?” 3 I explored with my mind
how to stimulate my body with wine while my mind was guiding me wisely, and how
to take hold of folly, until I could see what good there is for the sons of men
to do under heaven the few years of their lives. 4 I enlarged my works: I built
houses for myself, I planted vineyards for myself; 5 I made gardens and parks
for myself, and I planted in them all kinds of fruit trees; 6 I made ponds of
water for myself from which to irrigate a forest of growing trees. 7 I bought
male and female slaves, and I had homeborn slaves.
Also I possessed flocks and herds larger than all who preceded me in
9.2.21.2.Ken Ortiz has said that Herod Agrippa II
was spiritually blind but his came as a result of the ‘sin of the obstinate’,
that is, he did not desire to know the truth.
9.2.21.3.In Mark 8:36, Jesus had some wisdom to part to
His disciples about the foolishness of being one of those like King Agrippa who
is caught up with being somebody and amassing riches, wealth, power, this
world’s stuff, etc., “6 “For what does it profit a man to gain the whole
world, and forfeit his soul?””
9.2.21.4.True contentment and joy in life comes only from
knowing the creator of the universe personally through the person of Jesus
Christ and the mediation of the Holy Spirit dwelling within the believer.
9.3.
We see here
from this chapter that though Festus, for his part, was a man who was diligent
to pursue his charge as a governor in an upright manner, yet he was in a
dilemma for he did not understand a single thing about what the Jews were
claiming Paul had done wrong. He is
typical of a non-believer, for he has no spiritual understanding, and the
things over which Paul is being accused concern matters of doctrine and
practice of religion. Festus was
ignorant of these kinds of matters which were spiritual in nature.
9.3.1.
Ken Ortiz has said that Festus was spiritually blind but his came as a
result of ignorance.
9.3.2.
In 1 Cor.
2:14, Paul wrote about how the natural man ‘cannot’ understand spiritual
things, “14 But a natural man does not accept the things of the Spirit of
God; for they are foolishness to him, and he cannot understand them, because
they are spiritually appraised.”
9.3.3.
I have told
the story many times, but as soon as I became a Christian in 1973, I began
witnessing to the guy who had been my best friend all through high school. Ron and I would spend time together day after
day over the next four years, and almost every day we were together I would
preach to him about what it meant to be a Christian, and I would talk with him
about all of the things that I had read and understand from the Bible. We discussed just about every issue of
doctrine or scripture that you could imagine.
Then, the day came in 1977 when Ron finally accepted Jesus as his Lord
and Savior. It was such a blessing for
me to see the fruit of those four years in Ron’s having come to salvation. However, something happened that I was not at
all ready for. Ron began asking me all
of the most basic of questions about what the Bible taught and what being a
Christian meant. I was flabbergasted and
I kept saying to him, “Ron, we have been talking about these things for four
years!” Then, I suddenly realized
something. Ron hadn’t understood a
single thing that I had shared with him all of those four years! Being an unbeliever he was totally ignorant
of the true meaning of anything that was spiritual.
9.3.3.1.Festus knew that these words that were being shared
with him were out of his league because he did not understand a word that
anyone was saying about these matters.
He is typical of all who have not come to that place in their lives
where they have received Christ as Lord and Savior, and now have a personal
relationship with Him.
10.
VS 25:14-15 - “14
And while they were spending many days there, Festus laid Paul’s case before
the king, saying, “There is a certain man left a prisoner by Felix; 15 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 upon him.”
- Festus brings Paul’s case before King
Agrippa
10.1.
Festus knew
that he had a dilemma on his hands concerning Paul since he had to send him to
Caesar, and yet he did not have any specific charges to bring against him. Therefore, Festus wisely decided to bring
Paul’s case before King Agrippa so that he could get his input concerning Paul.
10.2.
Festus tells
King Agrippa about the fact that the Jews in
11.
VS 25:16-17 - “16
“And 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. 17 “And so after they had assembled
here, I made no delay, but on the next day took my seat on the tribunal, and
ordered the man to be brought.” -
Festus tells King Agrippa of his dilemma of having Paul as a prisoner
who had not been convicted of nor committed any crime
11.1.
Festus tells
King Agrippa that under Roman law it was not legal to ‘hand over any man’ to
trial or punishment until ‘the accused meets his accusers face to face, and has
an opportunity to make his defense against the charges’. Therefore, as a result Festus took his ‘seat
on the tribunal and ordered Paul to be brought’ before his accusers.
12.
VS 25:18-19 - “18
“And when the accusers stood up, they began bringing charges against him not of
such crimes as I was expecting; 19 but they simply had some points of
disagreement with him about their own religion and about a certain dead man,
Jesus, whom Paul asserted to be alive.” -
Festus tells King Agrippa that the charges that the Jews accused Paul of
were disagreements about their religion
12.1.
Festus tells
King Agrippa that the charges that the Jews had brought against Paul were not
charges of violation against any Roman laws, rather
they were merely disagreements concerning the interpretation and application of
the Jewish Law.
12.2.
Festus tells
Paul that the main point of disagreement between Paul and the Jews was
concerning ‘a certain dead man, Jesus, whom Paul asserted to be alive’. The preaching of the resurrection from the
dead of Jesus Christ was the central point of the preaching of the early church.
12.2.1.Festus did not understand
what could be so important about whether or not a certain man was really dead
or alive, for he had no understanding or appreciation of the significance of
the resurrection of Christ from the dead.
12.2.2.We in the church must always be about the preaching
about the resurrection of Jesus Christ from the dead. Through His resurrection we know that we too
have hope that passes beyond the grave.
12.2.3.We know that we have a savior who can receive us into
His presence when we pass from this life.
We also know that we can pass ‘out of death into life’ and walk in that
resurrection life here and now.
13.
VS 25:20-22 - “20 “And being at a loss how to
investigate such matters, I asked whether he was willing to go to
13.1.
Festus tells
a lie here as he tells King Agrippa that the reason he was wanting Paul to go
to Jerusalem and stand trial on the charges was because he did not know how to
investigate what he calls, ‘such matters’.
In reality, Festus knew that Paul was innocent and yet he sought to
appease the Jews and therefore wanted Paul to go to Jerusalem and be tried
there, knowing that Paul would be convicted and suffer the death penalty as was
the desire of the Jewish leaders.
13.2.
Festus tells
King Agrippa that Paul had appealed to go to Caesar concerning the charges, and
that he had been keeping Paul in the prison since that time.
13.3.
King Agrippa
tells Festus that he wants to hear Paul’s defense of the charges that have been
brought against him. Festus then tells
King Agrippa that on the following day he will bring Paul before him.
14.
VS 25:23 - “23
And so, on the next day when Agrippa had come together with Bernice, amid great
pomp, and had entered the auditorium accompanied by the commanders and the
prominent men of the city, at the command of Festus, Paul was brought in.”
- Paul is brought before King Agrippa
14.1.
As was
mentioned in verse 13 of this chapter, again we see Bernice mentioned as
accompanying King Agrippa.
14.2.
As is typical
of kings, everywhere King Agrippa went he was accompanied by ‘great pomp’ and
circumstance, as happened on this day.
14.3.
This hearing
scheduled for King Agrippa with Paul occurred in ‘the auditorium’ and King
Agrippa was ‘accompanied by the commanders and the prominent men of the city’.
Festus commanded Paul to be ‘brought in’.
15.
VS 25:24-27 - “24
And Festus *said, “King Agrippa, and all you gentlemen here present with us,
you behold this man about whom all the people of the Jews appealed to me, both
at Jerusalem and here, loudly declaring that he ought not to live any longer.
25 “But I found that he had committed nothing worthy of death; and since he
himself appealed to the Emperor, I decided to send him. 26 “Yet I have nothing
definite about him to write to my lord. Therefore I have brought him before you
all and especially before you, King Agrippa, so that after the investigation
has taken place, I may have something to write. 27 “For it seems absurd to me
in sending a prisoner, not to indicate also the charges against him.””
- Festus tells King Agrippa of Paul’s
case and asks his assistance concerning what to write to Caesar about the
charges which Paul was being accused of
15.1.
This
introduction that Festus makes to King Agrippa for this hearing before him of
Paul is interesting.
15.1.1.Festus tells King Agrippa that the Jews both in
15.1.2.Festus tells King Agrippa that his own assessment of
the situation is that Paul ‘had committed nothing worthy of death’.
15.2.
Festus had a
further dilemma on his hands in that Paul had appealed to Caesar to hear his
case, and yet Festus had no formal charges of violation of law to write to
Caesar in order to try him. Festus then
tells Agrippa that the purpose in having him hear Paul’s case is so that he
might have some formal charges to send to Caesar with Paul, by which he might
try him.