PREVIOUS CHAPTER - NEXT CHAPTER - HELP - GR VIDEOS - GR YOUTUBE - TWITTER - SD1 YOUTUBE CHAPTER 25 Ac 25:1-12. FESTUS, COMING TO JERUSALEM, DECLINES TO HAVE PAUL BROUGHT THITHER FOR JUDGMENT, BUT GIVES THE PARTIES A HEARING ON HIS RETURN TO CÆSAREA--ON FESTUS ASKING THE APOSTLE IF HE WOULD GO TO JERUSALEM FOR ANOTHER HEARING BEFORE HIM, HE IS CONSTRAINED IN JUSTICE TO HIS CAUSE TO APPEAL TO THE EMPEROR. 1-3. Festus . . . after three days . . . ascended . . . to Jerusalem--to make himself acquainted with the great central city of his government without delay.
2. Then the high priest--a successor of him before whom Paul had
appeared
(Ac 23:2).
3. desired favour--in
Ac 25:15,
"judgment."
4-6. answered that Paul should be kept--rather, "is in custody."
5. Let them . . . which among you are able, go down--"your leading men."
7. the Jews . . . from Jerusalem--clamorously, as at
Jerusalem; see
Ac 25:24.
9, 10. Festus, willing to do the Jews a pleasure--to ingratiate himself
with them.
10. Then said Paul, I stand at Cæsar's judgment seat--that
is, I am already before the proper tribunal. This seems to imply that
he understood Festus to propose handing him over to the Sanhedrim for
judgment (and see on
Ac 25:11),
with a mere promise of protection from him. But from going to Jerusalem
at all he was too well justified in shrinking, for there assassination
had been quite recently planned against him.
11. I appeal to Cæsar--The right of appeal to the supreme power, in case of life and death, was secured by an ancient law to every Roman citizen, and continued under the empire. Had Festus shown any disposition to pronounce final judgment, Paul, strong in the consciousness of his innocence and the justice of a Roman tribunal, would not have made this appeal. But when the only other alternative offered him was to give his own consent to be transferred to the great hotbed of plots against his life, and to a tribunal of unscrupulous and bloodthirsty ecclesiastics whose vociferous cries for his death had scarcely subsided, no other course was open to him.
12. Festus--little expecting such an appeal, but bound to respect it.
Ac 25:13-27. HEROD AGRIPPA II ON A VISIT TO FESTUS, BEING CONSULTED BY HIM ON PAUL'S CASE, DESIRES TO HEAR THE APOSTLE, WHO IS ACCORDINGLY BROUGHT FORTH.
13. King Agrippa--great-grandson of Herod the Great, and
Drusilla's brother (see on
Ac 24:24).
On his father's awful death
(Ac 12:23),
being thought too young (seventeen) to succeed, Judea, was attached to
the province of Syria. Four years after, on the death of his uncle
Herod, he was made king of the northern principalities of Chalcis, and
afterwards got Batanea, Iturea, Trachonitis, Abilene, Galilee, and
Perea, with the title of king. He died A.D. 100,
after reigning fifty-one years.
14, 15. when there many--"several"
16-21. to deliver any man to die--On the word "deliver up," see on Ac 25:11. 18. as I supposed--"suspected"--crimes punishable by civil law.
19. questions . . . of their own superstition--rather,
"religion" (see on
Ac 17:22).
It cannot be supposed that Festus would use the word in any
discourteous sense in addressing his Jewish guest.
20. because I doubted of such manner of questions--The "I" is emphatic. "I," as a Roman judge, being at a loss how to deal with such matters. 21. the hearing of Augustus--the imperial title first conferred by the Roman Senate on Octavius.
22-27. I would also hear--"should like to hear."
23. when Agrippa was come, and Bernice, with great pomp--in the same
city in which their father, on account of his pride, had perished, eaten
up by worms [WETST].
26. I have no certain--"definite"
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