Agrippa II Proclaims Paul’s Innocence

Roughly two years passed between Paul’s arrest in Jerusalem and the conclusion of his hearing before Festus, the Roman governor of Judea, and Herod Agrippa II, the Jewish king. Arrested under the pretense of violating the temple, teaching contrary to the Jewish law, and inciting other Jews to riots, Paul demonstrated his innocence in his many hearings before the Sanhedrin and then successive Roman governors. He was in custody simply for his theological convictions that Jesus is the Messiah, convictions that broke no Jewish or Roman law (Acts 21:27–26:29).

We find Paul’s innocence confirmed yet again in today’s passage as Luke tells us the conclusion that the authorities in Caesa­rea reached regarding the Apostle. After Paul finished his defense, Festus, Agrippa II, and several other officials including Agrippa’s wife, Bernice, conferred together. They agreed that Paul had done nothing deserving of death or even of imprisonment. Yet the Apostle could not be released from custody, for he had made an appeal to Caesar, and such an appeal could not be dispensed with. If Paul had never appealed to the emperor, he could have been set free. To honor the Roman citizenship rights of Paul, the office of Caesar, and Roman law, however, the Apostle now had to be sent on to Rome, as Agrippa II noted (26:30–32).

Paul’s continuing imprisonment and transport to the city of Rome to make an appeal was not a setback in the Apostle’s mission. As we know, Paul wanted to go to Rome to proclaim the gospel in the capital of the empire and minister to the church there (Acts 19:21; Rom. 15:22–29). Paul even asked the church in Rome to pray for his deliverance from the unbelievers in Judea and success in his plans to make it to the capital city (Rom. 15:30–32). We do not know if Paul expected his deliverance from the unbelieving Jews and his journey to Rome through the means of an arrest in the Jerusalem temple and appeals made to Caesar. Through it all, however, God in His providence was working to preserve the Apostle’s life and bring him before the most powerful earthly king of the day to bear witness to the truth of the supreme King of the universe, Jesus Christ. God in His providence often operates in such ways, drawing together people and events in sequences that we cannot anticipate but that always work together for the sake of His kingdom. As He does so, let us trust that God is always working for our good and for His glory.