Festus Presents Paul to Herod and Bernice

With the arrival of King Herod Agrippa II and his wife, Bernice, Festus thought that he might finally have some assistance in dealing with the charges of the Jews against Paul. Festus was not a Jew and did not have a sufficient understanding of Jewish theological disputes to know what to tell the emperor about Paul, who had appealed to Caesar to hear his case, as was his right as a Roman citizen. At root, the Jews opposed Paul because of theological differences and not really because they believed him to be seditious against Rome. To his credit, Festus understood this, but he was at a loss regarding what to say to the emperor when he sent Paul to Rome, for the Roman Empire was interested not in Jewish religious disputes but in violations of Roman law. Since Agrippa II and Bernice were Jewish, Festus thought that they could help him figure out how to explain the whole matter to Caesar when Paul went to Rome for trial (Acts 25:1–22).

In today’s passage, Luke begins to describe Paul’s hearing before Agrippa II and Bernice. We read about an occasion of “great pomp,” as Luke describes it in Acts 25:23. The Jewish monarch and his wife entered the meeting hall “with the military tribunes and the prominent men of the city” (v. 23). Likely there were five of these military tribunes, each of whom commanded one thousand soldiers, since that is the number of such figures who were stationed there in Caesarea. The whole setting conveys a sense of irony. Here were the worldly powers arriving and presuming to put the Apostle on trial. In reality, however, the world is put on trial whenever it confronts the truth of the gospel and the servants of Christ. After all, when the gospel is preached, sin is condemned, God’s merciful provision of Christ is announced, and sinners are offered the opportunity to receive Him by faith. Those who trust in Jesus are declared righteous in God’s court, but those who reject Him remain condemned (John 3:16–18; Rom. 4; 2 Cor. 5:21). The world may prosecute the church on this side of heaven, but ultimately only God’s verdict matters.

Once everyone gathered, Festus described the conundrum he faced in explaining Paul’s case to Caesar (Acts 24–27). We can sympathize with his frustration, since it was the stalling tactics of his predecessor Felix that forced Festus to deal with the Apostle (ch. 24). After all, he had not chosen to take Paul into custody. Paul’s arrest, nevertheless, would enable Festus to hear the Apostle preach the gospel.