Acts 25

This chapter belongs to the closing section of Acts, which recounts Paul's imprisonment and trials at Caesarea. In Acts 24 the governor Felix kept Paul in custody for two years, after which his successor, Festus, took office. This chapter describes how Festus handled Paul's case.

Outline

• Verses 1–5 Three days after taking office, Festus goes up to Jerusalem, where the chief priests ask him to have Paul brought to Jerusalem. They intend to lie in wait along the road and kill him. Festus replies that they should come down to Caesarea and bring their accusations there.
• Verses 6–12 After eight or ten days, a hearing is held in Caesarea. The accusers cannot prove their charges, and Paul defends himself, stating that he has committed no offense against the law, the temple, or Caesar. When Festus asks whether he is willing to be tried in Jerusalem, Paul appeals to Caesar.
• Verses 13–22 King Agrippa and Bernice arrive to pay their respects, and Festus explains the case. He says that the charges concern not any crime but questions of religion and Paul's claim that Jesus is alive. Agrippa asks to hear Paul for himself.
• Verses 23–27 The next day, Paul is brought before an assembly gathered with great pomp. Festus states that Paul has done nothing deserving death, but that he has brought him forward because he has no charge to report to the emperor.

Key Verses

• Acts 25:11 "I appeal unto Caesar" — the immediate occasion for Paul's journey to Rome.
• Acts 25:19 "of one Jesus, which was dead, whom Paul affirmed to be alive" — shows that even to a Gentile governor the central issue was the resurrection.
• Acts 25:25 "he had committed nothing worthy of death" — a Roman official's acknowledgment of Paul's innocence.

Characters and Places

• Paul: The apostle held in custody at Caesarea.
• Festus: Governor of Judea and successor to Felix. See Felix and Festus.
• Agrippa: A king of the Herodian dynasty, commonly identified as Agrippa II.
• Bernice: The woman who came with Agrippa, known to have been his sister.
• Chief priests: The Jewish leaders who brought charges against Paul.
• Caesarea: A port city on the Mediterranean coast and the seat of the Roman governor.

Points for Reflection

• Paul's appeal is commonly read as part of the fulfillment of the word in Acts 23, "so must thou bear witness also at Rome" (Acts 23:11). An ambush plot also appears again here, following the one in chapter 23.
• Paul had earlier disclosed that he was a Roman citizen (Acts 22:25–28). The text does not explain the legal nature of the procedure for appealing to the emperor, and the matter is debated among scholars.
• The text does not name the emperor, though on chronological grounds he is generally identified as Nero.
• After Festus, Agrippa likewise finds Paul innocent in Acts 26. This recurring pattern of figures on the Roman side acknowledging Paul's innocence supports the interpretation that Luke sought to show that Christianity posed no threat to Roman order.