A verse by verse commentary on Acts chapter 25 dealing with the trial of Paul before Festus and where he appeals to Caesar. King Agrippa heard of Paul and wanted to listen to him.

1. ACTS 25 COMME TARY
EDITED BY GLE PEASE
Paul’s Trial Before Festus
1 Three days after arriving in the province, Festus
went up from Caesarea to Jerusalem,
BAR ES, "Now when Festus was come - See the notes on Act_24:27.
Into the province - The province of Judea; for Judea at that time was a Roman
province.
After three days - Having remained three days at Caesarea.
He ascended - This was the usual language in describing a journey to Jerusalem.
Thus, the English people speak of going up to London, because it is the capital. See the
notes on Act_15:1.
To Jerusalem - The governors of Judea at this time usually resided at Caesarea; but
as Jerusalem had been the former capital; as it was still the seat of the religious solemni
ties; as the Sanhedrin held its meetings there; and as the great, and rich, and learned
men, and the priests resided there, it is evident that a full knowledge of the state of the
province could be obtained only there. Festus, therefore, having entered upon the duties
of his office, early went to Jerusalem to make himself acquainted with the affairs of the
nation.
CLARKE, "Now when Festus was come into the province - By the province is
meant Judea; for, after the death of Herod Agrippa, Claudius thought it imprudent to
trust the government in the hands of his son Agrippa, who was then but seventeen years
of age; therefore Cuspius Fadus was sent to be procurator. And when afterwards
Claudius had given to Agrippa the tetrarchate of Philip, that of Batanea and Abila, he
nevertheless kept the province of Judea more immediately in his own hands, and
governed it by procurators sent from Rome. Joseph. Ant. lib. xx. cap. 7, sec. 1. Felix
being removed, Porcius Festus is sent in his place; and having come to Caesarea, where
the Roman governor generally had his residence, after he had tarried three days, he went
up to Jerusalem, to acquaint himself with the nature and complexion of the ecclesiastical
government of the Jews; no doubt, for the purpose of the better administration of justice
among them.
GILL, "Now when Festus was come into the province,.... Of Judea, which was a

2. Roman province, over which he was made governor by Nero, the Roman emperor, in the
room of Felix; he now being landed in some part of the province, namely, at Caesarea,
and so might be said to have entered upon the government of it, as the phrase will bear
to be rendered;
after three days he ascended from Caesarea to Jerusalem; he very likely came
by sea from Italy to Judea, and landed at Caesarea; for though Joppa was the nearest
port to Jerusalem, yet Caesarea was the safest, and most commodious port, being made
so by Herod; See Gill on Act_18:22, and besides, it seems to have been very much the
residence of the kings and governors of Judea, Act_12:19 here Festus stayed three days
after his landing, to rest himself after the fatigue of the voyage, and then went up to
Jerusalem, the metropolis of the province of Judea.
HE RY 1-3, "We commonly say, “New lords, new laws, new customs;” but here was
a new governor, and yet Paul had the same treatment from him that he had from the
former, and no better. Festus, like Felix, is not so just to him as he should have been, for
he does not release him; and yet not so unjust to him as the Jews would have had him to
be, for he will not condemn him to die, nor expose him to their rage. Here is,
I. The pressing application which the high priest and other Jews used with the governor
to persuade him to abandon Paul; for to send him to Jerusalem was in effect to abandon
him. 1. See how speedy they were in their applications to Festus concerning Paul. As
soon as ever he had come into the province, and had taken possession of the
government, into which, probably, he was installed at Caesarea, within three days he
went up to Jerusalem, to show himself there, and presently the priests were upon him to
proceed against Paul. He staid three days at Caesarea, where Paul was a prisoner, and
we do not find that in that time Paul made any application to him to release him, though,
no doubt, he could have made good friends, that he might hope to have prevailed by; but
as soon as ever he comes up to Jerusalem the priests are in all haste to make an interest
with him against Paul. See how restless a thing malice is. Paul more patiently bears the
lengthening out of his imprisonment than his enemies do the delay of his prosecution
even to the death. 2. See how spiteful they were in their application. They informed the
governor against Paul (Act_25:2) before he was brought upon a fair trial, that so they
might, if possible, prejudge the cause with the governor, and make him a party who was
to be the judge. But this artifice, though base enough, they could not confide in; for the
governor would be sure to hear him himself, and then all their informations against him
would fall to the ground; and therefore they form another project much more base, and
that is to assassinate Paul before he came upon his trial. These inhuman hellish
methods, which all the world profess at least to abhor, have these persecutors recourse
to, to gratify their malice against the gospel of Christ, and this too under colour of zeal
for Moses. Tantum religio potuit suadere malorum - such was their dire religious zeal.
3. See how specious the pretence was. Now that the governor was himself at Jerusalem
they desired he would send for Paul thither, and try him there, which would save the
prosecutors a great deal of labour, and looked most reasonable, because he was charged
with having profaned the temple at Jerusalem, and it is usual for criminals to be tried in
the court where the fact was committed; but that which they designed was to way-lay
him as he was brought up, and to murder him upon the road, supposing that he would
not be brought up under so strong a guard as he was sent down with, or that the officers
that were to bring him up might be bribed to give them an opportunity for their
wickedness. It is said, They desired favour against Paul. The business of prosecutors is
to demand justice against one that they suppose to be a criminal, and, if he be not
proved so, it is as much justice to acquit him as it is to condemn him if he be. But to

3. desire favour against a prisoner, and from the judge too, who ought to be of counsel for
him, is a very impudent thing. The favour ought to be for the prisoner, in favorem vitae -
to favour his life, but here they desire it against him. They will take it as a favour if the
governor will but condemn Paul, though they can prove no crime upon him.
JAMISO 1-3, "Act_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 Caesarea
- 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.
Festus ... after three days ... ascended ... to Jerusalem — to make himself
acquainted with the great central city of his government without delay.
HAWKER 1-5, "Now when Festus was come into the province, after three days he
ascended from Caesarea to Jerusalem. (2) Then the high priest and the chief of the Jews
informed him against Paul, and besought him, (3) And desired favor against him, that he
would send for him to Jerusalem, laying wait in the way to kill him. (4) But Festus
answered, that Paul should be kept at Caesarea, and that he himself would depart shortly
thither. (5) Let them therefore, said he, which among you are able, go down with me,
and accuse this man, if there be any wickedness in him.
I beg the Reader at the opening of this Chapter to remark, that notwithstanding the
awful state those perjured persons had fallen into, by having sworn not to eat or drink
till they had killed Paul, (see Act_23:12 etc.) yet still the high priest, and the leading
body of the Jews thirsted for his blood. No time could wear away this enmity. No
alteration can ever take place in this deep-rooted hatred against Christ and his people.
Reader! depend upon it, the same exists in the present hour. A zeal like that of Paul’s, for
the glory of Christ, unalloyed with a mixture of pharisaical righteousness, the preachers
of such a doctrine must ever be the objects of general hatred and displeasure. No foes of
Christ equaled the self-righteous Pharisee, while the Son of God was upon earth! And no
enemy now is greater against the pure truths of the Gospel, than characters of the same
description.
CALVI , "1.Then when Festus. The second action is described in this place,
wherein Paul hath as hard a combat, and is in no less danger than in the first.
Seeing he was left in bonds, Festus might suspect that the cause was doubtful, and so
gather an unjust prejudice. But there was another thing which was cause of great
danger. We know that new rulers, because they will win the favor of those who are
in the provinces, use to grant them many things at their first coming; so that it was
to be thought that the death of Paul should be to Festus a fine means to win favor
with all. Therefore, the faith of the holy man is assailed afresh with a new trial, as if
the promise had been vain whereto he had hitherto trusted; but the grace of God
doth so much the more plainly show itself in delivering him, because, contrary to all
hope, he is delivered out of the jaws of death. The Jews prevent the governor with
their false accusations, yet they do not as yet seek to have him punished, but they do
only desire that he may not be brought into any foreign court to plead his cause.
They desire that ambitiously as a great benefit, which was to look to equal. How is it
then that they do not obtain, save only because God doth hold the mind of Festus, so
that he doth stoutly deny that which he was afterward ready to grant? And as the

4. Lord did then hold his mind bound with the secret bridle of his providence, so when
he granted him freedom of will he bound his hands, that he could not execute that
which he would. Let this confidence support us in dangers, and let it also stir us up
to call upon God; and let this make our minds quiet and calm, in that the Lord, in
stretching forth his hand, and breaking such a strong conspiracy, did show an
eternal example of his power in defending his. −
COFFMA , "Here are two defenses of Paul, one legal and formal, after which Paul
appealed to Caesar, and the other formal enough, but without any legal significance.
evertheless, we shall treat them as two separate defenses. Each is important and
significant in its own right. The first of these was before the new governor Festus
(Acts 25:1-12); the second was before Festus and his guests King Agrippa and his
sister Bernice (Acts 25:23-27). All of the next chapter is taken up with Paul's
address in the presence of royalty.
Festus therefore, having come into the province, after three days went up to
Jerusalem from Caesarea. (Acts 25:1)
PORCIUS FESTUS TAKES OVER
While it may be true, as Boles said, that "Festus was a better man than Felix, there
being a strong contrast here between the honesty and straightforwardness of Festus
and the wickedness of Felix,"[1] it is true, nevertheless, that Festus was a worse
governor, affording a startling proof that a strong evil ruler is sometimes better
than a good weak one. The incompetence of Festus must have been the
laughingstock of the whole temple crowd in Jerusalem. He was naive, totally
ignorant of the devices of the people he had come to rule, agreeable, gullible, and
obsessed with such a desire for popularity that he would gladly have sacrificed an
innocent man to enhance his standing with the Sanhedrinists.
It was that latter trait which, at the last, marred Felix's handling of Paul's case. As
Howson declared:
Another governor of Judaea opened the prison that he might make himself popular;
and Felix from the same motive riveted the chains of an innocent man. Thus the
same enmity of the world against the gospel which set Barabbas free left Paul
bound.[2]
Festus would fall into the same error as Felix.
Up to Jerusalem ... Although Caesarea was his capital, Festus quite properly
understood that Jerusalem, as the largest city of his province and the center of the
religious hierarchy of Israel, was of major concern to him; hence the trip so soon
after entering into his new dominion.
[1] H. Leo Boles, Commentary on the Acts ( ashville: Gospel Advocate Company,
1953), p. 388.

5. [2] J. S. Howson, Life and Epistles of St. Paul (Grand Rapids, Michigan: Wm. B.
Eerdmans, Publishers, 1966), p. 614.
BE SO , "Acts 25:1-3. When Festus was come into the province — And had taken
possession of the government; after three days he ascended from Cesarea — The
usual residence of the Roman governors; to Jerusalem — The capital city; probably,
both that he might gratify his curiosity in the sight of so celebrated a place, and also
that he might there, as at the fountain-head, inform himself of the present state of
their public affairs. Then the high- priest, &c., informed him against Paul — In so
long a time their rage was nothing cooled: so much louder a call had Paul to the
Gentiles. And besought him — That he would not (as, it is probable, they pretended
Lysias and Felix had done) obstruct the course of public justice against one whom
they knew to be so notorious an offender; and desired favour against him —
Requested of him, as a peculiar favour; that he would send for him to Jerusalem —
To be judged there; laying wait, &c. — Secretly purposing to lay an ambush of
desperate wretches for him, who they knew would readily undertake to intercept
and kill him by the way. “The high- priests, about this time, were, according to the
account Josephus gives of them, such monsters of rapine, tyranny, and cruelty, that
it is not to be wondered such a design should have been favoured by him who now
bore the office. Josephus also mentions a great number of assassins at this time,
called sicarii, or poniarders, from the weapons they carried, by whom many
innocent persons were murdered.”
PETT, "‘Festus therefore, having come into the province, after three days went up
to Jerusalem from Caesarea. And the chief priests and the principal men of the Jews
informed him against Paul, and they besought him, asking a favour against him,
that he would send for him to Jerusalem, laying a plot to kill him on the way.’
Once Festus arrived in the province he almost immediately ‘went up’ to Jerusalem
from Caesarea in order to bring matters under control there, for it was in Jerusalem
that the main political body of the Jews, the Sanhedrin, operated. This resulted in
the chief priests and other leaders of the Jews speaking to him of Paul, to Paul’s
detriment, and requesting that Paul be sent for and brought to Jerusalem for trial.
Time may have passed but they had not forgotten him. You did not call Ananias a
‘whited wall’ in public and get away with it, and while he had possibly by this time
been replaced by Ishmael as High Priest, the insult to the High Priesthood still
stung. (The expression ‘chief priests’ probably indicates that Ananias was still
involved even though he had been deposed as High Priest, by Agrippa II).
This instant approach about Paul might serve to confirm that throughout his
imprisonment his influence had continued to be felt throughout Judaea, and that he
had thus been brought continually to their minds. Otherwise they would surely not
have seen him as of such prime importance that it was one of the first things that
they wanted dealt with.
But nor could they forgive the fact that he was a Christian Jew, who was prominent
in winning people to the new faith, and for going to the Gentiles. Their continuing

6. purpose was that Paul might be killed at some time while on the way to Jerusalem,
for they recognised that really they could produce no case against him. They had
already tried and failed. So things had not changed. The cessation of activity had
not been due to their dropping their case, but due to their recognition that while
Felix was in power they would get nowhere. They now hoped under the new
procurator to resolve the matter by getting rid of Paul once and for all.
BURKITT, "St. Luke here informs us, that Festus being come to the government,
and going up to Jerusalem, the high-priest and rulers of the Jews quickly began to
inform him against Paul, and besought him that he would send for him to
Jerusalem, resolving to lay some villains by the way to kill him as he came; but the
Divine Providence so overruled the matter, that Festus would not consent to it, but
ordered his accusers to come to Cesarea, and implead him there.
Here note, 1. How restless is the rage, and unwearied the malice and enmity, which
the persecutors of the truth have against the professors and preachers of it. The
high-priest, and chief of the Sanhedrin or ecclesiastical court, continue their
murderous designs against the innocent apostle; and are sorry they could not get an
heathen governor as cruel as themselves to join with them. Heathens have
sometimes blushed at the mention of those crimes, which the professors of religion
have committed without either shame or remorse.
ote, 2. How deplorably corrupt and degenerate the Jewish church at this time was!
Lord, what priests and church-governors were here, who call it a favour to have an
opportunity granted them to murder an innocent man in cold blood, contrary to the
law of nature and of nations!
But behold the justice of God upon them; they were now given up to a reprobate
sense, and are hurried headlong by a diabolical spirit, a little before their final
destruction. O Jerusalem, Jerusalem, who killedst the prophets, and stonedst them
that were sent unto thee!
ote, 3. What an overruling Providence was here seen, in that Festus, by no
flatteries nor persuasions, would be prevailed with to remove the apostle from
Cesarea to Jerusalem. This broke the high-priest's measures, who designed to have
killed him by the way. " o, saith Festus, the prisoner shall not come to you, but you
shall go to him."
This was a marvellous providence for the apostle's preservation. O how easy is it for
the most wise God to baffle and blast the most cunning contrivances of the devil; to
befool the enemies of his church and people, by making the counsels of the wicked to
be of no effect! God looks and laughs at all the plots of wicked men against the
righteous: frustration and disappointment attend all their designs, and perdition
and destruction doth awe their persons, He that sitteth in heaven laughs them to
scorn, the Lord has them in derision. Psalms 2:5

7. BIBLICAL ILLUSTRATOR 1-12, "Now when Festus was come into the province.
The Christian in reference to changes of government
Kings may die and governors be changed, but Jesus Christ is the same yesterday, today,
and forever. The Christian knows this, and—
I. Looks back on departed governors.
1. Without harsh judgment, for he knows that they stand, or will stand, before the
highest Judge.
2. Without immoderate praise, for he sees that all the glory of the world is vanity.
II. Looks toward the new government.
1. Without extravagant hope, for he knows that there is nothing new under the sun.
2. Without anxious fear, for he knows that Christ reigns. (K. Gerok.)
Paul before Festus
I. The antecedent circumstances. Notice—
1. The arrival of Festus (Act_25:1). After arriving (about A.D. 60) in Caesarea, the
seat of the civil government, and continuing there “three days,” he goes up to
Jerusalem, the metropolis of the Jewish people, not only from curiosity, but to study
the spirit, institutions, and manners of a people with whose interests he would have,
henceforth, much to do.
2. The appeal of the Jews concerning Paul. From Act_25:2; Act_3:1-26 two things
are manifest:
(1) The national importance which the Sanhedrin attached to Paul. More than
two years had passed away since they raised the mob against him. One might
have thought that the changes which two years made in thought and feeling had
almost effaced his very name from their memory. Had it been merely personal
enmity it would undoubtedly have been so. But it was the religious influence of
this man, working mightily before their eyes, and sapping the very foundation of
their religious system, prestige, and power.
(2) The servility and hypocrisy of religious bigotry. The arguments they
employed are not given. No doubt they bowed before Festus as cringing
sycophants, urging every consideration that bigotry could suggest. They pleaded
for justice, but meant murder.
3. The reply of Festus (Act_25:4-5). Perhaps he had one of those presentiments
which is often the offspring and the organ of God in the soul. But though he does not
give the reason of his refusal, he promises an early trial, and requests them to go
down with him and bring their accusation.
II. The attendant circumstances (Act_25:6). Festus shows himself to be a man of his
word, and a man prompt in action. Note—
1. The charges of Paul’s enemies, and his denial of them (Act_25:7).
(1) Judging from Paul’s answer they were the old ones. But whatever they were
they could “not prove” them.

8. (2) His manner of treating them was perhaps substantially the same as in Act_
24:10; Act_24:21; hence the historian does not record his defence.
2. The request of Festus to Paul, and his refusal.
(1) The request of Festus (Act_24:9). So far we have discovered nothing
censurable in his conduct, but here evil shows itself. Popularity was dearer to
him than justice. He had seen enough to feel that Paul was innocent and ought to
be acquitted, but, for the sake of getting a good name with the Jews, he proposes
to Paul another trial at Jerusalem. Accursed love of popularity! Pilate condemned
Christ “to do the Jews a pleasure.” Felix kept Paul bound two years for the same
reason. All that can be said in palliation is that Festus merely submitted it to the
choice of Paul.
(2) The refusal of Paul (Act_24:10-11). Notice—
(a) His demand for political justice. He had committed no crime cognisable
by the Jews, and could hope for no justice from them. As a Roman citizen, he
demanded Roman justice.
(b) His consciousness of moral rectitude. Festus, no doubt, knew that Felix
had found no fault with him; as a shrewd man he must have seen that his
accusers were capable of fabricating the most groundless charges, and from
the spirit of the apostle, that he was an innocent man.
(c) His sublime heroism.
(i) He dared death. To a truly great man truth and honour are far more
precious than life. Men’s dread of death is always in proportion to their
disregard of moral principles.
(ii) He dared his judge too. “No man may deliver me unto them.” The right to appeal to
Caesar belonged to him as a Roman citizen, and it was strictly forbidden to put any
obstruction in the way of a Roman citizen when he had appealed. Paul knew this, and he
dared his judge by appealing to Caesar.
III. The resultant circumstances (verse12). In this “Unto Caesar shalt thou go,” we may
see—
1. The triumph of justice over policy. Festus, in desiring him to go to Jerusalem,
thought it a stroke of policy, but Paul’s appeal to Caesar forced him to abandon the
purpose.
2. The triumph of generosity over selfishness. A generosity inspired by the gospel of
Christ had awakened in Paul a strong desire to go to Rome (Act_19:21; Rom_1:11;
Rom_15:23-24). This was strengthened by years. But how had selfishness, working
in the Jews, wrought to thwart it! Here, however, in the fiat, “Unto Caesar shalt thou
go,” the door of Rome is thrown open to him: his way is made safe and sure and
cheap.
3. The triumph of the Divine over the human. God had purposed that Paul should go
to Rome (Act_23:11). The purpose of the Jews was to kill him at Jerusalem. The Lord
reigns, and so controls the opposing and conflicting passions of the world as
ultimately to realise His own decree. As we believe, amid the darkness and
desolations of the severest winter, that summer is on its march, and will cover the
world with life and beauty, so let us believe, amongst all the workings of human
depravity, that God’s great purpose to redeem the world to holiness and bliss is

9. marching on in stately certainty. (D. Thomas, D. D.)
Paul before Festus
I. Festus represents a certain class of mind.
1. In reference to his general character. When Felix had been removed Festus was
appointed to succeed him, because he was more just and incorruptible, and more
likely to be popular among the Jews. His general character was evinced in these
transactions.
(1) He was firm in his purpose not to consent to the removal of Paul to
Jerusalem. It was a simple request on the part of the Jews, and it seemed to
involve nothing wrong. But his answer was every way becoming one who
represented the majesty of the Roman law (Act_24:4).
(2) He was prompt in bringing Paul to trial. Felix had kept him in prison for two
years with the hope of a bribe; Festus took his case in hand the very day after his
return.
(3) He readily conceded the right of Paul to carry the case before the Roman
emperor.
(4) He gave utterance to a noble sentiment in stating a great principle of the
Roman law (Act_24:16). The trials in the Inquisition and in the Star chamber
derived their enormity mainly from a violation of this principle; and the chief
progress which society has made in the administration of justice has consisted in
little more than in securing, by proper sanctions and provisions, the law here
enunciated by Festus.
2. In reference to the sentiments which he entertained on the subject of religion
(Act_24:18-19). Festus regarded the “questions” in the ease—
(1) As pertaining to the Jews, and of no matter to him. The word “superstition”
was commonly employed by a Greek to describe religion. Festus therefore meant
no disrespect of the faith of the people he had just come to govern. It was merely
a matter to be settled by themselves, one with which he had no concern either as
a man or as a magistrate, any more than he was concerned with the religion of
the Greeks or the Egyptians. In this respect Festus is a representative of a very
large and respectable class. They are men who would not revile religion, nor
disturb others in the quiet enjoyment of it. Their own purpose is to lead a moral
life; to settle questions which do pertain to themselves as magistrates, business
men, politicians, and philanthropists. Our difficulty with such is in persuading
them to regard religion as having any personal claim on them.
(2) As one of little importance, “of one Jesus,” implying that He was an obscure
person, and perhaps also that it was of little consequence whether he was alive or
dead. Festus could see no great results to be attached to the inquiry. Does not
this represent the views of a very large class in regard to this and, indeed, to all
religious questions? If a man pays his debts, is kind to the poor, and just to all, it
is, in their opinion, of little consequence what he believes; nor can his conviction
respecting the resurrection of Christ, or any doctrine, materially affect his
character or his destiny. Our work with such men is to convince them that the
most important questions are those which pertain to religion.

10. (3) Festus took no pains to inquire into or to settle these points. He was intent
on other objects. They did come before the mind of Felix, for he trembled. They
did come before the mind of Agrippa, for he was “almost persuaded.” But they
took no such hold on the mind of Festus. In this respect, also, he was the
representative of a large class. They are engaged in other inquiries; they
investigate points of jurisprudence, history, science, art; but they have no interest
in ascertaining whether Christ rose from the dead. Our difficulty with these men
is to get the question before their minds at all. We place the Bible in their hands—
they will not read it. We set before them works on the evidences of religion, but
for them they have no attractions.
II. Is this the proper manner in which to treat the subject of religion? Let such as Festus
note—
1. That every man has in fact an interest in the great questions which belong to
religion. Man is made to be a religious being; and he never approaches the perfection
of his nature, or meets the design of his existence, until the religious principle is
developed. Man is distinguished by this from every other inhabitant of our world. To
deprive him of this capability would as essentially alter his nature as to deprive him
of reason. In the question whether there is a God, and what He is, one man is as
much concerned as any other man can be. Whether man is a fallen being—whether
an atonement has been made for sin—whether the Bible was given by inspiration of
God, etc.
are things pertaining to all men in common.
2. Every man is bound to perform the duties which religion requires, and none more
than Festus himself. There is a very common, and not wholly an unnatural, mistake
on this point. Many seem to feel that the obligations of religion are the result of a
voluntary covenant; that there is nothing lying back of a profession of religion to
oblige anyone to attend to its duties, any more than there is to bind a man to enlist as
a soldier, or to enter into a contract for building a bridge. When a profession of
religion has been made they admit it to be binding. Now, Christians do not object to
being held to the performance of the duties of religion, growing out of their
involuntary covenant with God. But the profession of religion does not create the
obligation, it only recognises it.
3. Every man needs the provisions which the gospel has made for salvation. If Festus
had inquired into the “superstition,” a few questions would have opened such visions
of glory, honour, and immortality as had never dawned on the mind of a Roman. The
natural mistake which men make on this point is, that while one class may need the
provisions made in the gospel, there are others for which these are unnecessary. It is
like the feeling which we have about medicines: they are useful and desirable for the
sick, but not needful for those who are in health. So if men feel that they are sinners,
it is proper for them to make application to the system which proclaims and
promises peace. But where this necessity is not felt, men do not think that the gospel
pertains to them. Yet the gospel assumes that every one of the race is in
circumstances which make the plan of redemption necessary for him; that there is no
such virtue in man as to meet the demands of the law; and that no one enters heaven
who is not interested in the Saviour’s death.
4. It is as certain of one man as it is of another, that unless he is interested in religion
he will be lost. If one can be saved without religion, another can in the same way; and
consequently religion is unnecessary for any.

11. Conclusion:
1. Men are not merely lookers-on in the world. Each man that passed by the Cross
had the deepest personal interest, if he had known it, in the great transaction. So
Festus, if he had known it, had the deepest personal interest in the question whether
the unknown man who was affirmed to be dead was really alive. And so with
everyone that hears the gospel.
2. The interest which a man has in these things is not one from which he can escape.
It attends him everywhere, and at all times.
3. No man should desire to drive the subject from his mind. Why should he? Why
should he not feel that he has a God and a Saviour? Why should he not have a hope
of future happiness? (A. Barnes, D. D.)
Paul before Festus
An instructive example how both the children of the world and the children of light
remain the same.
I. The children of the world.
1. Paul’s accusers. They have learnt nothing, and forgotten nothing: they bring
forward the old lies, and employ the same artifices as they had devised before in the
case of Paul and Christ.
2. Paul’s judges. Instead of a licentious Felix, a proud Festus, who at first showed a
noble bearing (Act_24:4-5), but soon, like his predecessor, surrendered
righteousness to please men (Act_24:9)—in short, under another name, the same
man of the world.
II. The children of God. Paul is the same in—
1. Undaunted courage. The two years’ imprisonment had neither broken his courage
nor paralysed his presence of mind: his defence is as clear and firm as ever.
2. In his meekness and patience. No desire of revenge against his wicked enemies, no
conspiracy against his unrighteous judges, no impatience at so long a trial; but calm
submission to Roman law, and confident trust in the Divine protection. (K. Gerok.)
Sneakism
Unfortunately there is a good deal of sneakism to be found in society; but as it is not
polite to give any example painted from life, we may have a very coherent notion of the
spirit of the offence if we notice that embodiment of it which is to be seen in the lion
worm. The lion worm is a curious and voracious little creature, having a tapering form,
the head being more pointed than the tail. Like the ant lion, that formidable insect, it
makes a species of cavity in the loose earth, and there waits in ambuscade for its prey. A
portion of its body lies concealed under the sand, the rest stretches across the bottom of
the den, and appears so stiff and motionless that at first sight it might be taken for a bit
of straw, half an inch in length. If, however, any insect in search of food should happen
to walk into the cave of the lion worm, the little morsel of stubble in an instant becomes
all animation, falls like a serpent on its prey, and winding its body in coils around its
victim, compresses it to death, and sucks out the juices by means of a couple of hooks

12. fixed to its head. No one can observe these actions without coming to the conclusion that
sneakism in men or worms is just the same thing, with merely a change of method and
appliances suitable to the place and occasion. (Scientific Illustrations.)
Christian epochs
We are now in the midst of great historical scenes. The painter cannot let them alone.
There are some things which men willingly let die, but there are other things which will
not die.
I. What a long life hatred has! Two years had elapsed, but the fury of the Jews had not
cooled. We leave some things to time, calling it “all-healing Time.” Time cannot put hell
out! Well might the apostle warn the Churches against “bitterness and wrath and anger
and clamour”; he had felt the hatred which he deprecated. Religious hatred is the worst.
The Church has herself to blame for the little progress Christianity has made in the
world. Religious hatred thought less of murder than of ceremonial pollution. The Jews
desired that Paul should come to Jerusalem; and they would take care to have assassins
on the road. Yet these men would not eat until they had washed their hands! The more
you attend to mere ceremony the more you fritter away the substance of your character.
II. How wondrously opportunities are created by human mistakes! The Christian elders
thought that Paul had better make a compromise in order to do away with suspicion. If
they had been out doing Paul’s kind of work, they would have left compromise millions
of miles behind them; but they had been in the metropolis studying—always a very
perilous and risky business. So all this trouble came upon Paul through their weak-
minded and mistaken advice. But the Lord turned the human mistake into a Divine
opportunity. It gave Paul his highest audiences. He was talking to rabbles before—just an
open-air preacher, a man taking opportunities as they occurred—but now he was a
preacher to procurators and kings. We know not what we do. Could we stand back in the
eternity of God and watch men, we should not be troubled by their doings. When they
are making weapons against us, we should say, “No weapon that is formed against me
shall prosper.” “Why do the heathen rage, and the people imagine a vain thing?” There is
only one man can do you any injury of a permanent kind, and that man is yourself. If you
are right, you cannot be injured; your enemies will only be creating opportunities for
you. The Lord maketh the wrath of man to praise Him; the remainder of that wrath He
doth restrain.
III. Long-continued hardship had not soured the mind of Paul. That is the test of his
quality. When he appears before Festus we mark in him the same quietness, the same
dignity, the same defence—that is Christianity. If it were a fight in words the battle might
go wrong for our cause sometimes, because there are men against us, skilled in sentences
and arguments; but it is an affair of the sweetness of the soul. Long-suffering is
eloquence. This is a Christian miracle. There are three remarkable things about Paul in
this connection. Here presents—
1. Spiritual influence. He cannot be let alone. Chained at Caesarea, he is still an
active presence in Jerusalem. You cannot get rid of some men. If you kill them, they
will haunt you as Herod was haunted by the new man whom he suspected to be the
beheaded John. Paul represented the kind of influence which follows society,
colouring its questions, lifting up its wonder, troubling its conscience.
2. Spiritual confidence. He would rather be fighting, but the Lord had appointed him
to waiting. “The battle is not mine, but God’s. It is better that I should be shut up in

13. Caesarea, that I may see how God can do without me.” Presently he will see the
meaning of it all, and write to his friends, “The things which have happened unto me
have fallen out rather unto the furtherance of the gospel.”
3. The highest aspect of spiritual culture. He is being trained, mellowed. All the land
is better for the rain which softens it—aye, for the frost which reduces it to powder.
From the human side, Paul was being punished; from the Divine side, he was being
rested and trained. There are two sides in all human events. If we take the lower
aspect of our life we shall groan, fret, and chafe; but if we take the upper view—that
is to say, look down upon it from God’s point—we shall see all things work together
for good. (J. Parker, D. D.)
2 where the chief priests and the Jewish leaders
appeared before him and presented the charges
against Paul.
BAR ES, "Then the high priest - The high priest at this time was Ismael, the son
of Fabi. He had been promoted to that office by Agrippa (Josephus, Antiq., book 20,
chapter 8, section 8). It is probable, however, that the person here intended was
Ananias, who had been high priest, and who would retain the name. See the notes on
Act_23:2. Some mss. read “high priests” here in the plural number, and this reading is
approved by Mill and Griesbach. There is, however, no improbability in supposing that
the high priest Ismael might have been also as much enraged against Paul as the others.
Informed him against Paul - Informed him of the accusation against him, and
doubtless endeavored to prejudice the mind of Festus against him. They thus showed
their unrelenting disposition. It might have been supposed that after two years this
unjust prosecution would be abandoned and forgotten. But malice does not thus forget
its object, and the spirit of persecution is not thus satisfied. It is evident that there was
here every probability that injustice would be done to Paul, and that the mind of Festus
would be biased against him. He was a stranger to Paul, and to the embittered feelings of
the Jewish character. He would wish to conciliate their favor upon entering into the
duties of his office. A strong representation, therefore, made by the chief men of the
nation, would be likely to prejudice him violently against Paul, and to unfit him for the
exercise of impartial justice.
CLARKE, "The high priest - informed him against Paul - They supposed that
as Felix, to please them, on the resignation of his government, had left Paul bound, so
Festus, on the assumption of it, would, to please them, deliver him into their hand; but,
as they wished this to be done under the color of justice, they exhibited a number of
charges against Paul, which they hoped would appear to Festus a sufficient reason why a

14. new trial should be granted; and he be sent to Jerusalem to take this trial. Their motive
is mentioned in the succeeding verse.
GILL, "Then the high priest,.... Ananias, as in Act_23:2 the Alexandrian copy, the
Vulgate Latin version, and all the Oriental versions, read, "the chief priests", the whole
college of the priests:
and the chief of the Jews; their rulers and elders, the members of the Jewish
sanhedrim;
informed him against Paul; they took the first opportunity of waiting upon him,
when he was come to Jerusalem; hoping it might be a favourable one to them, since he
was just entering upon his government, and might be willing to gratify the chief of the
nation, and gain their affection and esteem, and since as yet he was not acquainted with
their wicked dispositions and artifices; and brought a bill of information against Paul,
and gave a large account of him, what a wicked man he was, and what evils he had
committed; they laid many things to his charge, and very heavily accused him, and
endeavoured to prepossess the governor, and prejudice him against him:
and besought him; that he would grant them the following request.
JAMISO , "Then the high priest — a successor of him before whom Paul had
appeared (Act_23:2).
and the chief of the Jews — and “the whole multitude of the Jews” (Act_25:24)
clamorously.
informed him against Paul ...
COFFMA , "COFFMA , "The pressure of this request from the leading Jews was
implicit in the fact that they were powerful enough to have "brought about the
removal of Festus' predecessor";[3] and they doubtless thought they could take
advantage of Festus' newness in office and his natural desire to please such an
important group of his subjects.
Laying a plot to kill him ... Festus, of course, had no idea whatever of the murderous
duplicity and cunning deceit of the religious apparatus in the Judean capital. He
should have known that the "favor" they had asked of him was based upon some
damnable scheme of their own; but Festus seems to have accepted their request as
honorable. It was his jealousy for his own prerogatives which led him to deny their
request, as in the next verse.
E D OTE:
[3] E. H. Plumptre, Ellicott's Commentary on the Holy Bible (Grand Rapids,
Michigan: Zondervan Publishing House, 1959), p. 162.

15. ELLICOTT,"(2) Then the high priest and the chief of the Jews . . .—Some of the
best MSS. give the plural, “the chief priests.” It is clear that they hoped to take
advantage of the newness of Festus to his office. He was likely enough, they thought,
to accept their statements and to yield to the pressure of those who had shown
themselves powerful enough to bring about his predecessor’s recall. And they have
not forgotten their old tactics. Once again priests and scribes are ready to avail
themselves of the weapon of the assassin. Possibly Festus had heard from Felix or
Lysias, or others, of the former plot, and took care to be on his guard against this,
and so the conspirators were again baffled.
SCHAFF, "Acts 25:2. Then the high priest and the chief of the Jews informed him
against Paul. Directly after his arrival at the seat of his new government, the
procurator went up to the real capital of the province, Jerusalem, to become in some
way acquainted with the national chiefs of that strange nation over whom he was
placed. The majority of the older MSS., instead of ‘high priest’ read here ‘chief
priests,’ including the ‘chiefs of the priestly courses,’ and not improbably those who
had for a longer or shorter period filled the office themselves of high priest. If the
reading ‘high priest’ be correct, the name of this high official here referred to would
be Ismael the son of Plato, who had very recently been appointed to that dignity by
Herod Agrippa II., in succession to that Ananias of whom we read when Paul was
arrested and brought before the Sanhedrim, on the occasion when he addressed him
as ‘Thou whited wall’ (Acts 23:3). ‘The chief of the Jews’ is a general expression
signifying the most eminent and influential men in the nation. Several of these
would naturally have a seat in the Sanhedrim; but this ‘information against Paul,’
and request that he should be tried by a Jewish tribunal, evidently proceeded from a
broader area among the people than would be covered were the reference confined
to the supreme council of the Sanhedrim.
The representation to Festus was evidently made as one in which the nation
generally was interested. It is clear that, owing to the machinations of his sleepless
enemies, a very strong hostile feeling to the great Gentile apostle had sprung up, of
which this ‘information’ and ‘petition’ to the new procurator was the result.
3 They requested Festus, as a favor to them, to
have Paul transferred to Jerusalem, for they were
preparing an ambush to kill him along the way.
BAR ES, "And desired favour against him - Desired the favor of Festus, that

16. they might accomplish their wicked purpose on Paul.
Would send for him to Jerusalem - Probably under a pretence that he might be
tried by the Sanhedrin; or perhaps they wished Festus to hear the cause there, and to
decide it while he was at Jerusalem. Their real motive is immediately stated.
Laying wait in the way to kill him - That is, they would lie in wait, or they would
employ a band of Sicarii, or assassins, to take his life on the journey. See the notes on
Act_21:38; Act_23:12. It is altogether probable that if this request had been granted,
Paul would have been killed. But God had promised him that he should bear witness to
the truth at Rome Act_23:11, and his providence was remarkable in thus influencing the
mind of the Roman governor, and defeating the plans of the Jewish council.
GILL, "And desired favour against him,.... Paul; they asked what would be a
favour to them, and a prejudice to him: or "of him", that is, of Festus; they asked a
favour of him, and desired it as such, as what would be gratefully accepted and
acknowledged by them; which sense is confirmed by the Syriac version; the Arabic
version renders it "to", or "upon them"; that is, they asked him to grant a favour to them,
or bestow one on them, which is as follows:
that he would send for him to Jerusalem; that his case might be heard before him,
and he might be tried and judged by him, as they pretended:
laying wait in the way to kill him; this was their design, though they concealed it,
and pretended no other view than that justice might take place: their scheme was, that if
they could have prevailed upon Festus to have sent for Paul to Jerusalem, from
Caesarea, they would have provided men, perhaps the same forty and upwards as before,
in Act_23:12 to have laid in wait for him in the way as he came, and to have killed him:
the whole of this shows the malice of these men, the badness of their cause, the
indefatigableness and diligence to attain their end, the danger the apostle was in, and the
care of Providence over him.
JAMISO , "And desired favour against him,.... Paul; they asked what would be a
favour to them, and a prejudice to him: or "of him", that is, of Festus; they asked a
favour of him, and desired it as such, as what would be gratefully accepted and
acknowledged by them; which sense is confirmed by the Syriac version; the Arabic
version renders it "to", or "upon them"; that is, they asked him to grant a favour to them,
or bestow one on them, which is as follows:
that he would send for him to Jerusalem; that his case might be heard before him,
and he might be tried and judged by him, as they pretended:
laying wait in the way to kill him; this was their design, though they concealed it,
and pretended no other view than that justice might take place: their scheme was, that if
they could have prevailed upon Festus to have sent for Paul to Jerusalem, from
Caesarea, they would have provided men, perhaps the same forty and upwards as before,
in Act_23:12 to have laid in wait for him in the way as he came, and to have killed him:
the whole of this shows the malice of these men, the badness of their cause, the
indefatigableness and diligence to attain their end, the danger the apostle was in, and the
care of Providence over him.

17. COKE, "Acts 25:3. And desired favour,— That is, desired this favour. Instead of
laying wait, &c. Dr. Doddridge reads and paraphrases the passage thus: "Laying an
ambush of desperate wretches for him, who they knew would readily undertake to
intercept his journey, and to kill him by the way." These assassins were probably
some of the sicarii, mentioned ch. Acts 21:38. The high priests about this time were,
according to the account that Josephus gives of them, such monsters of rapine,
tyranny, and cruelty, that it is not to be wondered at that such adesign should be
favoured by him who now bore the office.
SCHAFF, "Acts 25:3. And desired favour against him, that he would send for him
unto Jerusalem. In Acts 25:15-16, Festus relates the particulars of this request of the
Jews to King Agrippa. From the detailed account, it seems that two formal requests
were made to him by the priests and influential men at Jerusalem - the first was that
he should pronounce a condemnatory judgment against the prisoner Paul, who
some two years before had been accused of sedition and other charges before Felix;
and then, when this request was refused, on the ground that such a condemnation
would be contrary to Roman procedure, they asked that the prisoner Paul might be
formally tried before their national tribunal, as the crimes alleged against him had
mainly to do with their sacred customs and laws.
Laying wait in the way to kill him. This was the real point of their request. Failing
to persuade the Roman governor to condemn Paul, they determined, if they could
induce him to send the prisoner up from Cæsarea to Jerusalem, to lay an
ambuscade and to assassinate the hated azarene teacher. Such a shocking design
could only have been deliberately planned by men of position and political weight in
such a lawless age as that which immediately preceded the fatal Jewish rebellion
against Rome, which terminated with the fall of the city, and the break-up of the
nation. o doubt, when the request was urged, the band of Sicarii (assassins) was
already hired, and the very place where the murder was to be carried out fixed
upon. Josephus, their own historian, tells us how at this time the chief priests and
the leading men in the nation were men who, for the most part, were infamous for
their wickedness.
4 Festus answered, “Paul is being held at
Caesarea, and I myself am going there soon.
BAR ES, "But Festus answered ... - What induced Festus to refuse their request
is not known. It is probable, however, that he was apprised that Paul was a Roman
citizen, and that his case could not come before the Jewish Sanhedrin, but must be heard
by himself. As Caesarea was also at that time the residence of the Roman governor, and

18. the place of holding the courts, and as Paul was lodged there safely, there did not appear
to be any sufficient reason for removing him to Jerusalem for trial. Festus, however,
granted them all that they could reasonably ask, and assured them that he should have a
speedy trial.
CLARKE, "Festus answered, that Paul should be kept at Caesarea - It is truly
astonishing that Festus should refuse this favor to the heads of the Jewish nation, which,
to those who were not in the secret, must appear so very reasonable; and especially as,
on his coming to the government, it might be considered an act that was likely to make
him popular; and he could have no interest in denying their request. But God had told
Paul that he should testify of him at Rome; and he disposed the heart of Festus to act as
he did; and thus disappointed the malice of the Jews, and fulfilled his own gracious
design.
He - would depart shortly - So had the providence of God disposed matters that
Festus was obliged to return speedily to Caesarea; and thus had not time to preside in
such a trial at Jerusalem. And this reason must appear sufficient to the Jews; and
especially as he gave them all liberty to come and appear against him, who were able to
prove the alleged charges.
GILL, "But Festus answered, that Paul should be kept at Caesarea,.... Or that
he was kept there, and was in proper custody, under the care of a centurion, and should
continue there; nor was there any reason why he should be removed, especially since he
should return thither speedily, as he adds:
and that he himself would depart shortly thither; the answer was a very wise and
prudent one, and the reasons given were just and strong; as that Paul had been sent to
Caesarea, was left bound by his predecessor there; there he found him, and there he was
under a proper guard, and there it was right for him to continue; and besides, he himself
should make no stay in Jerusalem, but should depart for Caesarea in a few days, and
therefore it was very improper to send for Paul thither.
HE RY, "II. The governor's resolution that Paul shall take his trial at Caesarea,
where he now is, Act_25:4, Act_25:5. See how he manages the prosecutors. 1. He will
not do them the kindness to send for him to Jerusalem; no, he gave orders that Paul
should be kept at Caesarea. It does not appear that he had any suspicion, much less any
certain information, of their bloody design to murder him by the way, as the chief priests
had when he sent him to Caesarea (Act_23:30); but perhaps he was not willing so far to
oblige the high priest and his party, or he would maintain the honour of his court at
Caesarea and require their attendance there, or he was not willing to be at the trouble or
charge of bringing Paul up; whatever was his reason for refusing it, God made use of it as
a means of preserving Paul out of the hands of his enemies. Perhaps now they were more
careful to keep their conspiracy secret than they had been before, that the discovery of it
might not be now, as it was then, the defeat of it. But though God does not, as then,
bring it to light, yet he finds another way, as effectual, to bring it to nought, by inclining
the heart of the governor, for some other reasons, not to remove Paul to Jerusalem. God
is not tied to one method, in working out salvation for his people. He can suffer the
designs against them to be concealed, and yet not suffer them to be accomplished; and

19. can make even the carnal policies of great men to serve his gracious purposes. 2. Yet he
will do them the justice to hear what they have to say against Paul, if they will go down to
Caesarea, and appear against him there: “Let those among you who are able, able in
body and purse for such a journey, or able in mind and tongue to manage the
prosecution - let those among you who are fit to be managers, go down with me, and
accuse this man; or, those who are competent witnesses, who are able to prove any thing
criminal upon him, let them go and give in their evidence, if there be any such
wickedness in him as you charge upon him.” Festus will not take it for granted, as they
desire he should, that there is wickedness in him, till it is proved upon him, and he has
been heard in his own defence; but, if he be guilty, it lies upon them to prove him so.
JAMISO , "answered that Paul should be kept — rather, “is in custody.”
at Caesarea, and ... himself would depart shortly thither.
COKE, "Acts 25:4. Festus answered— It certainly was extraordinary that Festus,
who, as a new governor and a heathen, could not but incline to make himself
popular, should deny this request, when it had the appearance of being so
reasonable, and came from persons of such eminent rank in the Jewish nation. But
when we consider, how much edification to the churches depended on the
continuance of St. Paul's life; and how evidently, under God, his life depended on
this resolution of Festus; it must surely lead us to reflect by what invisible springs
the Almighty God governs the world; with what silence, and yet at the same time
with what wisdom and energy!
BE SO , "Acts 25:4-5. But Festus — Knowing their design; answered, that Paul
should be kept at Cesarea — So Festus’s care to preserve the imperial privileges was
the means of preserving Paul’s life! By what invisible springs does God govern the
world! With what silence, and yet with what wisdom and energy! evertheless,
Festus was willing to do them the justice of hearing what they had to say against
Paul, if they would go down with him to Cesarea, and appear against him there. Let
them, said he, which among you are able — Who are best able to undertake the
journey, and to manage the cause; go down with me, and accuse this man — In my
hearing: or, let those go and give in their evidence that are competent witnesses, and
are able to prove any thing criminal upon him; if there be any wickedness in him —
For which he ought to be punished according to the Roman laws. So he does not
pass sentence before he hears the cause, nor take it for granted that there was
wickedness in him till it should be proved upon him, and he had been heard in his
own defence.
PETT, "We do not know whether Festus was a little suspicious about this request or
not. He did, however, decline it. He pointed out that Paul was being held in
Caesarea, and that he himself would be going there shortly. Even if he did not know
about it, God did. Luke wants us to realise that God was still in control. Festus’
reason might well have been that as a new arrival in the province he did not want to
be away from Caesarea longer than was necessary in these first few days of his
procuratorship. While the cat was away the mice could play. Or it may simply be

20. that he resented being pushed around and wanted to establish his authority.
SCHAFF, "Acts 25:4. But Festus answered, that Paul should be kept at Cæsarea,
and that he himself would depart shortly thither. The original Greek here somewhat
changes the character of the governor’s reply to the Jewish national party. In the
English the words are somewhat curt and abrupt. In the Greek, they are perfectly
courteous, and even conciliatory. ‘But Festus answered that Paul was kept’ (not
‘should be kept’), that is to say, as he was in prison then, and that as he, Festus, was
on the point of going down to Cæsarea himself, it was not worth while to bring the
prisoner up to Jerusalem now.
5 Let some of your leaders come with me, and if
the man has done anything wrong, they can press
charges against him there.”
BAR ES, "Which among you are able - Enjoy all the advantages of just trial, and
exhibit your accusations with all the learning and talent in your power. This was all that
they could reasonably ask at his hands.
CLARKE, "Let them - which among you are able - Οᅷ δυνατοι, Those who have
authority; for so is this word often used by good Greek authors, and by Josephus. Festus
seems to have said: “I have heard clamours from the multitude relative to this man; but
on such clamours no accusation should be founded: yourselves have only the voice of the
multitude as the foundation of the request which you now make. I cannot take up
accusations which may affect the life of a Roman citizen on such pretenses. Are there any
respectable men among you; men in office and authority, whose character is a pledge for
the truth of their depositions, who can prove any thing against him? If so, let these come
down to Caesarea, and the cause shall be tried before me; and thus we shall know
whether he be a malefactor or not.”
GILL, "Let them therefore, said he, which among you are able,.... Who are at
leisure, can spare time, and to whom it will be convenient, without interrupting other
business, to take such a journey; and who are able to bear the expenses of it, without
hurting their families, and whose health and age will admit of it; and above all, who are
masters of this affair, and are capable of forming charges, and of supporting them with
proper proofs and evidences: let such
go down with me; from Jerusalem to Caesarea: and accuse this man: in proper form,
according to the rules of law, of what he is guilty, and can be proved upon him:

21. if there is any wickedness in him; or committed by him, anything that is absurd
and unreasonable, notoriously flagitious and criminal; that is, contrary to the rules of
reason, the common sense of mankind, and the laws of God and men; and especially of
the Roman empire, or that is blasphemous or seditious.
JAMISO , "Let them ... which among you are able, go down — “your leading
men.”
CALVI , "5.Those, therefore. It is in the Greek word for word, [literally] Those
who are mighty or able; yet he meaneth those who can conveniently. Also, we may
easily conjecture, that they did object the trouble and charges, and besought the
governor that he would not make weary with a superfluous journey so many of their
chief men, and also certain which were very aged; but would rather (which he might
easily do) command Paul to be brought by a few keepers [guards]. Therefore, lest
they complain that he is burdenous unto them, he unloadeth them of this necessity,
and giveth them leave to choose out from among themselves such as they will. In the
mean season, he doth sufficiently declare that he doth not believe their false reports;
and he professeth that he will be an upright judge, and will do nothing but
according to the truth of the matter. The next sentence also is diversely read among
the Grecians. For some books [manuscripts] have the same which is in the old
interpreter but eight or ten days. If this reading like us, the sense shall be, that the
governor came shortly after to Cesarea, lest the Jews should be importunate upon
him under color of his long tarriance. The other reading, which is more usual
among the Grecians, shall have another meaning; though he stayed long enough at
Jerusalem to hear the matter, yet did he not hearken to their requests, who would
have Paul brought thither; whence we may gather a probable conjecture, that he
already knew of their laying await. −
ELLICOTT, "(5) Let them . . . which among you are able.—The adjective is
probably used, as in 1 Corinthians 1:26, Revelation 6:15, in the sense of “powerful,”
“chief,” rather than as specifically referring to their being able to accuse the man of
whom they had complained. What Festus demanded was that the charges against St.
Paul should be supported by the leaders and representatives of the people, and not
by a hired rhetorician like Tertullus.
If there be any wickedness in him.—The better MSS. give simply, “if there be
anything,” practically, i.e., anything worth inquiring into.
SCHAFF, "Acts 25:5. Let them therefore, said he, which among you are able, go
down with me. Bengel suggests that the expression, ‘which among you are able,’
signifies ‘those among you which are able to perform the journey.’ It is better,
however, to understand the meaning to be ‘those among you which are invested with
official authority.’ This best reproduces the force of the Greek words οἱ δυνατοί.
Festus, in his natural desire to gratify the influential persons of the nation over
whom he was placed, never forgot that the accused was a Roman citizen.

22. And accuse this man, if there be any wickedness in him. The older MSS. read only,
‘if there be anything in him;’ in other words, if there be any real grounds upon
which he, as a Roman, ought to be again formally tried.
6 After spending eight or ten days with them,
Festus went down to Caesarea. The next day he
convened the court and ordered that Paul be
brought before him.
BAR ES, "More than ten days - See the margin. The Syriac reads it, “eight or
ten.” The Vulgate, “not more than eight or ten.” The Coptic, “eight or ten.” Griesbach
supposes this to be the true reading, and has admitted it into the text.
Sitting in the judgment seat - On the tribunal; or holding a court for the trial of
Paul.
Commanded Paul to be brought - To be brought up for trial. He had been
secured, but was placed in the care of a soldier, who was commanded to let him have all
the freedom that was consistent with his security.
CLARKE, "When he had tarried - more than ten days - The strangeness of
this mode of expression suggests the thought that our printed text is not quite correct in
this place; and this suspicion is confirmed by an examination of MSS. and versions:
ᅧµερας ου πλειους οκτω η δεκα, Not more than Eight Or ten days, is the reading of ABC,
several others of great respectability, with the Coptic, Armenian, and Vulgate. Griesbach
admits this reading into the text: and of it Professor White says, Lectio indubie genuina:
“This is doubtless the genuine reading.”
GILL, "And when he had tarried among them more than ten days,.... The
Alexandrian copy, and three of Beza's copies, and some others, and the Vulgate Latin
version read, "no more than eight or ten days"; and the Syriac and Ethiopic versions
leave out the phrase "no more", and read "when he had stayed there", as the former; that
is, at Jerusalem; or "when he had remained among them", as the latter; the Jews, chief
priests, and others, "eight or ten days"; the historian, not being certain to a day,
expresses himself in this manner:
he went down to Caesarea; from whence he came, and where Paul was:

23. and the next day sitting in the judgment seat; the day after he was come to
Caesarea, he sat upon the bench in the court of judicature, to try causes, and particularly
the apostle's, which he was very desirous of knowing, for which reason he so soon took
the bench: and
commanded Paul to be brought; from the place where he was kept a prisoner, to the
judgment hall where Festus was.
HE RY, "III. Paul's trial before Festus. Festus staid at Jerusalem about ten days, and
then went down to Caesarea, and the prosecutors, it is likely, in his retinue; for he said
they should go down with him; and, since they are so eager in the prosecution, he is
willing this cause should be first called; and, that they may hasten home, he will
despatch it the next day. Expedition in administering justice is very commendable,
provided more haste be not made than good speed. Now here we have, 1. The court set,
and the prisoner called to the bar. Festus sat in the judgment-seat, as he used to do
when any cause was brought before him that was of consequence, and he commanded
Paul to be brought, and to make his appearance, Act_25:6. Christ, to encourage his
disciples and keep up their spirits under such awful trials of their courage as this was to
Paul, promised them that the day should come when they should sit on thrones, judging
the tribes of Israel.
COFFMA , "D. PAUL'S FOURTH DEFE SE: THE SPEECH BEFORE
GOVER OR FESTUS
Commentators have lavished praise on Festus for this prompt hearing; but there is
no indication that his promptness was due to anything other than the insistence of
the high priestly conclave on action as soon as possible. What is in evidence here is
not a new governor's anxious desire to further justice, but a servile willingness to
appease Paul's bitter enemies in Jerusalem.
BE SO , "Acts 25:6-8. And when he had tarried there more than ten days — A
short time for a new governor to stay at such a city as Jerusalem; he went down to
Cesarea — As he had said, several of the Jews attending him, as being determined
to lose no time, but to prosecute the affair in the most strenuous manner they
possibly could; and the next day sitting in the judgment-seat — As the governor
used to do, when any cause of consequence was brought before him; commanded
Paul to be brought — And make his appearance. And the Jews, standing round
about — An expression which intimates that there were many of them; laid many
and grievous complaints against Paul — Doubtless like those which Tertullus had
formerly advanced before Felix; which they could not prove — By proper witnesses.
When many accusations against any one are heaped, frequently not one of them is
true. While he answered, either against the law of the Jews, &c. — I openly deny
their charge in every branch of it, and challenge them to make it out by proper
evidence in any instance, or in any degree. To a general charge a general answer
was sufficient.

24. CO STABLE 6-8, "The judgement seat (Gr. bema, Acts 25:6, cf. Acts 25:10; Acts
25:17; Acts 12:21; Acts 18:12; Matthew 27:19; John 19:13; 2 Corinthians 5:10) on
which Festus sat was customarily in a public place. In view of Paul's defense (Acts
25:8), the serious charges made by the Jews appear to have been the same as those
Tertullus had presented (Acts 24:5-6). However the Jews could not prove them and
produced no witnesses, so all Paul had to do was deny them categorically. This trial
seems to have proceeded very much as the one before Felix had (ch. 24). Luke
summarized the proceedings.
BURKITT, "Observe here, 1. The equity and justice of Festus, an heathen judge, in
his proceedings at St. Paul's trial: he will have the high-priest and elders that
accused him, speak to his face; he will have the matter examined by and before
himself. When the malicious bring the innocent upon their trial, God will provide a
judge for their turn.
Observe, 2. The indictment or charge which the Jews brought in against the apostle,
That he had offended against the law, profaned the temple, and raised sedition
against the Roman government.
Here we find the devil at his own trade; namely, stirring up the rage and malice of
the world against the saints of God, under a pretence of their being enemies to the
state, and subverters of civil government.
Observe, 3. That to be loaded with calumnies and reproaches has been the common
lot and constant portion of the friends and servants of Christ, from the beginning of
Christianity; The Jews laid many and grievous things against Paul, which they
could not prove.
Reproach has been the reward of religion and righteousness: but St. Paul easily
wipes off the several reproaches cast upon him, affirming himself to have been
always a religious observer of the law, that he went into the temple upon a religious
account, and that he had never taught nor practised any rebellion against Cesar.
The servants of Christ are happy in their own innocency, and their adversaries
render themselves odious by belying them, and laying that to their charge which
every one can disprove.
SCHAFF, "Acts 25:7. And when he was come, the Jews which came down from
Jerusalem stood round about, and laid many and grievous complaints against Paul,
which they could not prove. As Festus had signified (see Acts 25:4), he speedily went
clown again to Cæsarea; and without any loss of time, on the day following his
return, he summoned Paul before him. His enemies in the meantime had also
arrived, and they seem to have gathered round the prisoner in the judgment-hall in
a menacing manner, probably hoping to intimidate him. Without doubt the many
grievous com-plaints alleged included the ‘profanation of the temple,’ but other
points seem to have been urged which they were unable to prove. Treason against
the state, of course, was the basis of these new charges. The Thessalonian outbreak
and the old charge that the apostle had been teaching that allegiance was due to

25. another king than Cæsar (Acts 17:6-8), were raked up, perhaps this time with
witnesses; but all these things were untrue and unreal, and the Roman saw through
the attempt, and listened and evidently believed Paul’s denial of any treasonable
designs against the emperor. But in spite of his conviction of the prisoner’s
innocence of what he naturally deemed the graver charge, he seems to have felt that
in some way or another the accused had transgressed some of the regulations and
laws of his own strange people, and that it would be well if he would agree (he never
forgot the prisoner was a citizen of Rome) to be handed over to the national Jewish
courts.
HAWKER 6-12, "And when he had tarried among them more than ten days, he went
down unto Caesarea; and the next day sitting on the judgment seat commanded Paul to
be brought. (7) And when he was come, the Jews which came down from Jerusalem
stood round about, and laid many and grievous complaints against Paul, which they
could not prove. (8) While he answered for himself, Neither against the law of the Jews,
neither against the temple, nor yet against Caesar, have I offended anything at all. (9)
But Festus, willing to do the Jews a pleasure, answered Paul, and said, Wilt thou go up to
Jerusalem, and there be judge d of these things before me? (10) Then said Paul, I stand
at Caesar’s judgment seat, where I ought to be judge d: to the Jews have I done no
wrong, as thou very well knowest. (11) For if I be an offender, or have committed
anything worthy of death, I refuse not to die: but if there be none of these things whereof
these accuse me, no man may deliver me unto them. I appeal unto Caesar. (12) Then
Festus, when he had conferred with the council, answered, Hast thou appealed unto
Caesar? unto Caesar shalt thou go.
What an awful view we have here again of a corrupt judge. Festus, as well as Felix,
plainly saw, that there was nothing in which those unprincipled men could criminate
Paul. He knew also, that he had been unjustly detained in prison for more than two years
by Felix. And in the face of these palpable cruelties, to propose another hearing at a
distant day, and to be carried to Jerusalem for that purpose, was the grossest act of
oppression and cruelty imaginable. Oh! Festus! how hast thou long since gone up to the
Jerusalem, the Zion of God, which is above, and there been judge d before Paul’s Lord,
for thy cruelties to his dear servant? Thy conscience then was hardened past all feeling
and thy pleasing the Jews at the expense of God’s truth, amused thy unfeeling soul. But
thy sins were only accumulating, like the gathering of gun-powder in the barrel,
treasuring up wrath against the day of wrath, and revelation of the righteous judgment
of God. And how long since, hath that fire seized upon thy full-bosomed soul of guilt,
and sunk thee into that place of endless torment, which, kindled in God’s anger, burneth
forever to the lowest hell, Deu_32:22.
This appeal of Paul, no doubt, was made from the encouragement he had derived from
the Lord’s vision to him; in which Jesus had told him, that he must bear witness for him
at Rome, Act_23:11. And very sweet, and seasonable, was that gracious visit of the Lord,
to his poor prisoner. In the confidence of which, he demands a hearing before the then
Emperor of Rome, who was Festus’s lord. And, by this means, he not only pleaded his
right, as a Roman, so to be tried; but he perfectly for the time, got free from his enemies
at Jerusalem. Reader!! do not overlook the love of Jesus, on this occasion, to Paul. And,
when you have thanked the Lord Jesus, for this grace to the Apostle then; connect with it
the assurance, that the same grace Jesus sheweth to all his people now. Oh! how sweet
are all the love-visits of Jesus!
Reader! even at this distance of time, I feel my poor heart disposed to bless God, for his

26. timely instruction given to Paul, to make this appeal. Methinks I see the Governor,
looking most pitiful indeed! He is obliged to take counsel with those around him, how to
act. And he that just before had said: wilt thou go up to Jerusalem and there be judge d
before me? is now compelled to conduct himself towards his poor prisoner, as if Paul
had said in answer: be judge d before thee? No! To your sovereign and master, I appeal
for judgment. By Caesar only will I be judge d! And here the Court broke up. The Jews
sent home disappointed. The Governor humbled, Paul triumphant. And how often doth
the Lord thus baffle the designs of bad men, and deliver his people?
7 When Paul came in, the Jews who had come
down from Jerusalem stood around him. They
brought many serious charges against him, but
they could not prove them.
BAR ES, "Grievous complaints - Heavy accusations. Doubtless the same with
which they had charged him before Felix, Act_24:5-6. Compare Act_25:19.
Which they could not prove - Act_24:13, Act_24:19.
CLARKE, "The Jews - laid many and grievous complaints against Paul - As
they must have perceived that the Roman governors would not intermeddle with
questions of their law, etc., they no doubt invented some new charges, such as sedition,
treason, etc., in order to render the mind of the governor evil affected towards Paul; but
their malicious designs were defeated, for assertion would not go for proof before a
Roman tribunal: this court required proof, and the blood-thirsty persecutors of the
apostle could produce none.
GILL, "And when he was come,.... Into court:
the Jews which came down from Jerusalem; along with Festus, perhaps the high
priest with the elders, and Tertullus the orator, as before:
stood round about; either the Apostle Paul, or the judgment seat; the witnesses and
accusers were to stand, as well as the person accused; See Gill on Mar_14:57.
And laid many and grievous complaints against Paul; which they could not
prove; for his moral conversation, both before and after conversion, was very strict and
conformable to the laws of God and man; and yet as pure and inoffensive as he was, he

27. was not exempt from the calumnies of men; and these many and very grievous; but it
was his happiness, and to his honour through the grace of God, that his enemies could
not make good anyone thing against him.
HE RY, "The prosecutors exhibiting their charges against the prisoner (Act_25:7):
The Jews stood round about, which intimates that they were many. Lord, how are they
increased that trouble me! It intimates also that they were unanimous, they stood by one
another, and resolved to hold together; and that they were intent upon the prosecution,
and eager in clamouring against Paul. They stood round about, if possible, to frighten
the judge into a compliance with their malicious design, or, at least, to frighten the
prisoner, and to put him out of countenance; but in vain: he had too just and strong an
assurance to be frightened by them. They compassed me about like bees, but they are
quenched as the fire of thorns, Psa_118:12. When they stood round about him, they
brought many and grievous accusations against Paul, so it should be read. They
charged him with high crimes and misdemeanors. The articles of impeachment were
many, and contained things of a very heinous nature. They represented him to the court
as black and odious as their wit and malice could contrive; but when they had opened
the cause as they thought fit, and came to the evidence, there they failed: they could not
prove what they alleged against him, for it was all false, and the complaints were
groundless and unjust. Either the fact was not as they opened it, or there was no fault in
it; they laid to his charge things that he knew not, nor they neither. It is no new thing
for the most excellent ones of the earth to have all manner of evil said against them
falsely, not only in the song of the drunkards, and upon the seat of the scornful, but even
before the judgment-seat.
JAMISO , "the Jews ... from Jerusalem — clamorously, as at Jerusalem; see
Act_25:24.
many and grievous complaints against Paul — From his reply, and Festus’
statement of the case before Agrippa, these charges seem to have been a jumble of
political and religious matter which they were unable to substantiate, and vociferous
cries that he was unfit to live. Paul’s reply, not given in full, was probably little more than
a challenge to prove any of their charges, whether political or religious.
CALVI , "7.Many and grievous crimes. So long as Paul lived under the law, his
integrity was well known and famous. Again, when he was converted to Christ, he
was a singular pattern of innocence. Yet we see how he is subject to many slanders,
cruel and false accusations. And this is almost always the estate of the servants of
Christ, wherefore they must be the more courageous, to pass valiantly through evil
report and good report; neither let them think it strange to be evil reported of where
they have done good. −
In the mean season, they must do their endeavor, that they may not only have a
clear conscience before God, but that they may be very well able to defend
themselves before men, when they have time and place. For Paul doth not fail in his
cause, but courageously setteth the defense of his innocency against their false
crimes. Furthermore, let us note that the wicked can never be bridled, but they will
speak evil of good men, and will impudently slander them; for they resemble the
nature of Satan, by whose spirit they are led. Therefore, whereas we be commanded

28. to stop the mouth of the wicked, it must not be so taken as if he shall be free from all
backbiting, − (598) whosoever shall behave himself uprightly, but that our life may
answer for us, and may wipe away all blots of false infamy. So we see the
adversaries of Paul, though they had a favorable judge, yet their slanders were all in
vain, seeing he did defend and avouch his innocency by his deeds. And yet it is likely
that they wanted not false witnesses, neither were they slack in suborning them; but
because the Lord giveth his servants invincible strength, so that the brightness of
honesty doth drive away their vain clouds; they are ashamed, and at length they
depart from the judgment-seat with this infamy, that they were false accusers. But
the defense of Paul doth show what things the Jews laid principally to his charge.
The first crime was ungodliness against God, that he overthrew the law and polluted
the temple; the other, rebellion against Caesar and the Roman empire, because he
raised tumults everywhere. He was helped by the singular grace of God to answer
and refute both, who maketh the innocence of his as bright as the morning.
“ Ab omni falsa obtrectatione,” from all groundless detractation.
COFFMA , "The Jews that had come down ... These had evidently traveled with
Festus (Acts 25:5), and no doubt had exercised every possible strategy of
ingratiation and fawning cultivation of the man they hoped to manipulate. This
group was headed by the high priest, an imposing figure indeed; and many a
procurator could tell of the power of such a man. Significantly, the high priest just
two years earlier had been Ananias; but God had already struck that "whited wall,"
and he had been replaced. "The high priest at this time was Ismael the son of Fabi,
who had been appointed by Agrippa."[5]
Charges which they would not prove ... These are of no particular interest at this
point, as it may be certainly concluded that the charges were the same as those
reviewed in the last chapter, with whatever variations the priests might have used in
an effort to dress up their worthless case against Paul. They were as ineffective
before Festus as they had been before Felix. Luke did not bother to record them in
detail; and Paul's defense is summarized (in the next verse), where it is evident that
his reply was the same as before.
E D OTE:
[5] Albert Barnes, otes on the ew Testament (Grand Rapids, Michigan: Baker
Book House, 1953), p. 339.
ELLICOTT,"(7) Many and grievous complaints.—These were, we may well believe,
of the same nature as those on which Tertullus had harangued. The line of St. Paul’s
defence indicates the three counts of the indictment. He had broken, it was alleged,
the law of Israel, which Rome recognised as the religion of the province, and was
therefore subject to the spiritual jurisdiction of the Sanhedrin; he had profaned the
Temple; he was a disturber of the peace of the empire, and taught that there was
another king than ero.

29. PETT, "Present also in the court were the Jews who had come down from
Jerusalem for the purpose, who stood around him bringing against Paul ‘many and
grievous charges which they could not prove.’ It was, however, a maxim of Roman
justice, as of Jewish justice, that a man could not be convicted on accusation alone.
There must be evidence and a case must be proved. And Festus was a just man.
We note that this is the third opportunity that Paul has had to speak and witness
before prominent Jews. We may assume that not all were proof against his
testimony. Even among these men some were being won for Christ
SCHAFF, "Acts 25:8. While he answered for himself. o doubt repeating in the
main the arguments briefly reported in the first trial before the Procurator Felix
(chap. Acts 24:10-21), adding, probably, an indignant denial, and one that
convinced his judge respecting the alleged treason against the emperor and the state.
Some years later, perhaps five or six, it was upon this accusation of treason that
Paul’s enemies no doubt finally compassed their purpose. They contrived, it has
been surmised, in some way to weave round the apostle a network of suspicion that
he had been connected with the disastrous fire of Rome—the fire falsely ascribed to
the persecuted Christians of the imperial city. He was re-arrested, we know, in that
short period of activity and missionary labour which succeeded his liberation from
the Roman imprisonment, as far as we can gather, on no mere Jewish accusation of
transgression against the Mosaic law and the traditional ordinances of his race.
Graver charges, no doubt, were alleged. It was not a difficult matter, in those days
which followed the persecution after the great fire, to bring about the condemnation
of one of the hated azarenes, especially of one so distinguished as the great Paul,
the loved and hated. The second imprisonment at Rome, we learn from his own
words to Timothy (Second Epistle), was close and rigorous in character. The brave,
generous teacher wrote hopeless of life, though full of joy and hope as to his future,
but not here, not with his disciples and his friends. After his Second Epistle to
Timothy, over the apostle’s life and work there falls a great hush, which tells too
surely its own story. We hardly need the universal tradition of the Church to tell us
what the end was.
8 Then Paul made his defense: “I have done
nothing wrong against the Jewish law or against
the temple or against Caesar.”
BAR ES, "While he answered ... - See this answer more at length in Act_24:10-

30. 21. As the accusations against him were the same now as then, he made to them the
same reply.
CLARKE, "While he answered for himself - In this instance St. Luke gives only
a general account, both of the accusations and of St. Paul’s defense. But, from the words
in this verse, the charges appear to have been threefold:
1. That he had broken the law.
2. That he had defiled the temple.
3. That he dealt in treasonable practices: to all of which he no doubt answered
particularly; though we have nothing farther here than this, Neither against the
law of the Jews, neither against the temple, nor yet against Caesar, have I offended
any thing at all.
GILL, "While he answered for himself,.... As he was allowed by the Roman laws to
do, he pleaded his own cause, and showed the falsehood of the charges exhibited against
him; by observing, that as the crimes alleged against him were reducible to three heads,
neither of them were just and true:
neither against the law of the Jews; the law of Moses, whether moral, ceremonial,
or judicial; not the moral law, that he was a strict observer of, both before and since his
conversion; nor the ceremonial law, for though it was abolished, and he knew it was, yet
for peace sake, and in condescension to the weakness of some, and in order to gain
others, he submitted to it, and was performing a branch of it, when he was seized in the
temple; nor the judicial law, which concerned the Jews as Jews, and their civil affairs:
neither against the temple; at Jerusalem, the profanation of which he was charged with,
by bringing a Gentile into it; which was a falsehood, at least a mistake:
nor yet against Caesar, have I offended at all; for he was charged with sedition,
Act_24:5. Caesar was a common name to the Roman emperors, as Pharaoh was to the
kings of Egypt; and which they took from Julius Caesar the first of them, who was
succeeded by Augustus Caesar, under whom Christ was born; and he by Tiberius, under
whom he suffered; the fourth was Caius Caligula; the fifth was Claudius, mentioned in
Act_11:28 and the present Caesar, to whom Paul now appealed, was Nero; and though
succeeding emperors bore this name, it was also given to the second in the empire, or
the presumptive heir to it: authors are divided about the original of Caesar, the surname
of Julius; some say he had it from the colour of his eyes, which were "Caesii", grey;
others from "Caesaries", his fine head of hair; others from his killing of an elephant,
which, in the language of the Moors, is called "Caesar": the more common opinion is,
that he took his name from his mother's womb, being "Caeso", cut up at his birth, to
make way for his passage into the world; in which manner also our King Edward the
Sixth came into the world.
HE RY, "The prisoner's insisting upon his own vindication, Act_25:8. Whoever
reproaches him, his own heart does not, and therefore his own tongue shall not; though
he die, he will not remove his integrity from him. When it came to his turn to speak for
himself, he insisted upon his general plea, Not guilty: Neither against the law of the
Jews, nor against the temple, nor yet against Caesar, have I offended any thing at all.

31. (1.) He had not violated the law of the Jews, nor taught any doctrine destructive of it.
Did he make void the law by faith? No, he established the law. Preaching Christ, the end
of the law, was no offence against the law. (2.) He had not profaned the temple, nor put
any contempt at all upon the temple-service; his helping to set up the gospel temple did
not at all offend against that temple which was a type of it. (3.) He had not offended
against Caesar, nor his government. By this it appears that now his cause being brought
before the government, to curry favour with the governor and that they might seem
friends to Caesar, they had charged him with some instances of disaffection to the
present higher powers, which obliged him to purge himself as to that matter, and to
protest that he was no enemy to Caesar, not so much as those were who charged him
with being so.
COFFMA , "For all their cunning, the priests overreached themselves by alleging
Paul's sinning against Caesar; for Festus could hardly have let that charge be tried
by them. That it was not true is evident in Festus' apparent willingness to declare
Paul innocent of the charges against Caesar, if Paul would consent to be tried by the
Jews on the other allegations (Acts 25:9). The Caesar mentioned here was ero, the
time being, according to Ramsay, in 59 A.D.[6]
E D OTE:
[6] Sir William M. Ramsay, Pictures of the Apostolical Church (Grand Rapids,
Michigan: Baker Book House, 1959), p. 293.
9 Festus, wishing to do the Jews a favor, said to
Paul, “Are you willing to go up to Jerusalem and
stand trial before me there on these charges?”
BAR ES, "But Festus, willing to do the Jews a pleasure - Desirous of securing
their favor, as he had just entered on his administration. Compare Act_24:27. In this he
evinced rather a desire of popularity than an inclination to do justice. Had he been
disposed to do right at once, he would have immediately discharged Paul. Festus
perceived that the case was one that did not come fairly within the jurisdiction of a
Roman magistrate; that it pertained solely to the customs and questions among the Jews
Act_25:18-20; and he therefore proposed that the case should be tried before him at
Jerusalem. It is remarkable, however, that he had such a sense of justice and law as not
to suffer the case to go out of his own hands. He proposed still to hear the cause, but
asked Paul whether he was willing that it should be tried at Jerusalem. As the question

32. which he asked Paul was one on which he was at liberty to take his own course, and as
Paul had no reason to expect that his going to Jerusalem would facilitate the cause of
justice, it is not remarkable that he declined the offer, as perhaps Festus supposed he
would.
CLARKE, "Willing to do the Jews a pleasure - This was merely to please them,
and conciliate their esteem; for he knew that, as Paul was a Roman citizen, he could not
oblige him to take a new trial at Jerusalem.
GILL, "But Festus, willing to do the Jews a pleasure,.... As did his predecessor
Felix, Act_24:27 he being just entered upon his new government, and having met with
some caresses and civilities from the Jews at Jerusalem, by whom he had been much
pressed and urged about the affair of the apostle:
answered Paul, and said, wilt thou go up to Jerusalem, and there be judged
of these things before me? meaning by the Jewish sanhedrim, he Festus being
present: this was what the Jews had requested of him when he was at Jerusalem, that he
would send for Paul thither, and there let him be judged, and which request he had
denied; but having been solicited and importuned by the Jews, perhaps as, they came
down together, he was inclined to gratify them, and to admit of it that he should be tried
at Jerusalem, before the sanhedrim, he being present; and yet he was unwilling to do
this without the prisoner's consent, he being a freeman of a Roman city; fearing he
should be charged with delivering up a Roman into the hands of the Jews, which might
be resented by the emperor and the Roman senate, should it come to their knowledge.
HE RY, "IV. Paul's appeal to the emperor, and the occasion of it. This gave the cause
a new turn. Whether he had before designed it, or whether it was a sudden resolve upon
the present provocation, does not appear; but God puts it into his heart to do it, for the
bringing about of that which he had said to him, that he must bear witnesss to Christ at
Rome, for there the emperor's court was, Act_23:11. We have here,
1. The proposal which Festus made to Paul to go and take his trial at Jerusalem, Act_
25:9. Festus was willing to do the Jews a pleasure, inclined to gratify the prosecutors
rather than the prisoner, as far as he could go with safety against one that was a citizen
of Rome, and therefore asked him whether he would be willing to go up to Jerusalem,
and clear himself there, where he had been accused, and where he might have his
witnesses ready to vouch for him and confirm what he said. He would not offer to turn
him over to the high priest and the sanhedrim, as the Jews would have had him; but,
Wilt thou go thither, and be judged of these things before me? The president, if he had
pleased, might have ordered him thither, but he would not do it without his own
consent, which, if he could have wheedled him to give it, would have taken off the odium
of it. In suffering times, the prudence of the Lord's people is tried as well as their
patience; being sent forth therefore as sheep in the midst of wolves, they have need to be
wise as serpents.
JAMISO , "Festus, willing to do the Jews a pleasure — to ingratiate himself
with them.
said, Wilt thou go up to Jerusalem, and ... be judged ... before me — or,

33. “under my protection.” If this was meant in earnest, it was temporizing and vacillating.
But, possibly, anticipating Paul’s refusal, he wished merely to avoid the odium of
refusing to remove the trial to Jerusalem.
CALVI , "9.And Festus. Whether Festus knew somewhat of their laying await,
(which we may well conjecture) or whether he were altogether ignorant thereof, he
dealeth unjustly with Paul; and we see how soon those are drawn unto all
corruption which are not guided by the Spirit of God. For Festus doth not openly
contemn or hate Paul; but ambition, and peradventure also desire of gain, got the
upper hand, so that, for pleasing the other part, he doth unjustly bring him in
danger of death; also, it is likely that he was enticed with the smell [hope] of some
reward to hearken so courteously to the priests. otwithstanding, I marvel that he
giveth Paul leave to choose, and doth not rather, according to this authority,
command them to carry him whether he would or no. Surely we gather that he was
kept back with fear, lest he should infringe the privilege of the city of Rome, − (599)
which was a very odious crime. otwithstanding, he studied craftily to persuade
Paul not to refuse to be judged at Jerusalem. For he was not ignorant of that which
indeed came to pass, that a citizen of Rome might lawfully appeal, so that he could
then go no farther. evertheless, it was no thank to him that he was not delivered
into the hands of murderers. − (600) −
“ Jus Romanae civitatis,” the privilege of a Roman citizen.
“ − Quo minus sceleratis latronibus mactandum objiceret ,” that he did not expose
himself to be murdered by nefarious assassins.
COFFMA , "Paul very well knew that the incompetent Festus was no match for the
temple Jews who had no intention whatever of trying Paul; all they wanted was to
expose him sufficiently that their assassins could kill him; after all, it must be
supposed that after two years those forty conspirators were getting pretty hungry.
One may feel nothing except contempt for a governor like Festus. Felix would have
had far too much sense to suppose that such a proposal could end in anything except
death for Paul, had it been accepted. Paul's only hope of saving his life lay in exactly
what he did, appealing to Caesar.
BE SO , "Acts 25:9-12. But Festus, willing to do the Jews a pleasure — To
ingratiate himself with them by a popular action, at the beginning of his
government; to gratify the prosecutors rather than the prisoner, as far as he could
go with safety against one that was a citizen of Rome; answered Paul, Wilt thou go
up to Jerusalem and there be judged? — Festus could have ordered this without
asking Paul. But God secretly overruled the whole, that he might have an occasion
of appealing to Rome. In suffering times the prudence of the Lord’s people is tried
as well as their patience. Being sent forth as sheep in the midst of wolves, they have
need to be wise as serpents. Then said Paul — Apprehensive of the attempt which
might be made upon his life in his journey, or in the city itself; I stand at Cesar’s
judgment-seat — For all the courts of the Roman governors were held in the name