"Festus then, having arrived in the province" The province under consideration would be Syria of which Judea was. part. Festus will try to correct many of the abuses that took place under the past administration and one of the matters left over was the prisoner Paul. "Three days later went up to Jer... [ Continue Reading ]
"Brought charges against Paul" In two years that passed (Acts 24:27), the hatred towards Paul had not waned. The Jewish authorities immediately seek to persuade the new governor to bring Paul up to Jerusalem (Acts 25:3).... [ Continue Reading ]
"At the same time, setting an ambush to kill him on the way" "The zealous forty who had been frustrated in an earlier plot to assassinate Paul or others who emulated their zeal might find. better opportunity on the road from Caesarea to Jerusalem" (Bruce p. 475). Such. plot justifies the large compa... [ Continue Reading ]
Acts 25:4-5 Festus rejects the Jewish offer and responds that he will hear Paul's case and the Jewish leaders can travel to Caesarea and present their case. "Although Festus was. more conciliatory character than Felix, yet on his first visit to Jerusalem he stood firm. In spite of the urgent pleas o... [ Continue Reading ]
"Eight or ten days" "The indefinite 'eight or ten days' is thought to be figured from Luke's standpoint, since in Caesarea he wouldn't know how many days were spent in Jerusalem and how many in travel between the cities" (Reese p. 859). Thus Festus tries Paul's case with speed, remember he has only... [ Continue Reading ]
The Jews threw out many charges and accusations but they could not prove any of them. These accusations were probably very similar to the charges presented in chapter 24 by Tertullus.... [ Continue Reading ]
Paul answers such charges, he had committed no crime against the Law of Moses (but rather taught its accurate fulfillment), nor the temple (he treated it with respect), nor against the Roman government. The charge against Caesar was probably the accusation that he taught. political messiahism. "The... [ Continue Reading ]
"Wishing to do the Jews. favor" It appears that as Festus hears both sides that he is at. loss to figure out what the real argument was. Like many politicians then and now, he seeks to offer. compromise that would place himself in favor with his subjects. "It was. matter of indifference so far as Ro... [ Continue Reading ]
"As you also very well know" Certainly Paul knew that. return to Jerusalem was dangerous for had already escaped one attempted assassination. Paul knew and understood the lengths that these Jews would go to far better than Festus (Romans 10:1 "zeal without knowledge"). In addition, such. trip was co... [ Continue Reading ]
"If, then,. am. wrongdoer and have committed anything worthy of death,. do not refuse to die" Paul recognized that the death penalty was both lawful and biblical. There are crimes that deserve death as. punishment and when such crimes are committed the state has the right to execute the criminal. Pa... [ Continue Reading ]
Festus accepts Paul's appeal.... [ Continue Reading ]
"King Agrippa" Herod Agrippa II was the son of Herod Agrippa. who had died in Acts 12:1 and the great grandson of Herod the Great. Bernice as his sister, and "rumors were rife that their relationship was incestuous. Because he had been only seventeen years old when his father died, he was considered... [ Continue Reading ]
"Festus laid Paul's case before the king" The reason for this is that Festus really does not understand the theological issues that separate Paul and the Sadducees (19-20). The presence of Agrippa II is timely because Agrippa is far more versed in the detailed differences among the Jews and he does... [ Continue Reading ]
Acts 25:14-15 Felix had left this prisoner and when Festus arrived in Jerusalem the Jews immediately wanted Paul to be bought to Jerusalem to stand trial.... [ Continue Reading ]
"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" Festus was. stickler for justice and law and the Romans were very proud of their system. Reese notes, "Many of the judicial prac... [ Continue Reading ]
As Festus notes, he had not delayed but tried this case as soon as possible.... [ Continue Reading ]
The charges brought against Paul caught Festus completely off guard.... [ Continue Reading ]
"To Festus' surprise and perplexity, the accusations appeared mainly to center round disputed points of Jewish religion, with particular reference to 'one Jesus, who was dead, whom Paul affirmed to be alive'. The real point at issue had evidently been made clear enough, though Festus did not realize... [ Continue Reading ]
"Being at. loss how to investigate" This accurately sums up the situation. Give Festus this much credit, he is humble here and admits his own lack of knowledge and skill in this area. But, Festus is not completely honest here, the main reason why he was willing to send Paul to Jerusalem is because h... [ Continue Reading ]
Agrippa expresses interest in hearing Paul's case and Festus acts quickly, "tomorrow" you will hear him. Remember, this Herod was at the long line of. list of Herodian family members who had encountered God's messengers. It was his great-grandfather who had attempted to kill Jesus in the manger, his... [ Continue Reading ]
"Amid great pomp" Yes at the time it looked like from the human perspective that Agrippa, Bernice and Festus were the really important people in this room, but now we know that the truly important individual here was the prisoner. "All these very important people would have been greatly surprised an... [ Continue Reading ]
It is clear what the Jews want, they want Paul executed.... [ Continue Reading ]
"I found that he had committed nothing worthy of death" In like manner, Jesus was declared to be innocent. Not only had Paul committed nothing worthy of death but the full reality was that Paul had done nothing worthy of imprisonment as well. What an awkward situation. Here is. man who has be forced... [ Continue Reading ]
Yes it would be absurd to send. prisoner to Caesar without. clue of what he did that was against the law. This would be both absurd and dangerous to Festus' reputation and life. If he can just get. little help from Agrippa in formulating. letter to Caesar that will sound reasonable he will be out of... [ Continue Reading ]