Acts 25

Festus therefore, having come into the province, after three days went up to Jerusalem from Caesarea.

Then the high priest and the principal men of the Jews informed him against Paul, and they begged him,

asking a favor against him, that he would summon him to Jerusalem, plotting to kill him on the way.

However Festus answered that Paul should be kept in custody at Caesarea, and that he himself was about to depart shortly.

“Let them therefore”, he said, “that are in power among you go down with me, and if there is anything wrong in the man, let them accuse him.”

When he had stayed among them more than ten days, he went down to Caesarea, and on the next day he sat on the judgment seat, and commanded Paul to be brought.

When he had come, the Jews who had come down from Jerusalem stood around him, bringing against him many and grievous charges which they could not prove,

while he said in his defense, “Neither against the law of the Jews, nor against the temple, nor against Caesar, have I sinned at all.”

But Festus, desiring to gain favor with the Jews, answered Paul and said, “Are you willing to go up to Jerusalem and be judged by me there concerning these things?”

But Paul said, “I am standing before Caesar’s judgment seat, where I ought to be tried. I have done no wrong to the Jews, as you also know very well.

For if I have done wrong and have committed anything worthy of death, I don’t refuse to die; but if none of those things is true that they accuse me of, no one can give me up to them. I appeal to Caesar!”

Then Festus, when he had conferred with the council, answered, “You have appealed to Caesar. To Caesar you shall go.”

Now when some days had passed, King Agrippa and Bernice arrived at Caesarea and greeted Festus.

As he stayed there many days, Festus laid Paul’s case before the king, saying, “There is a certain man left a prisoner by Felix;

about whom, when I was at Jerusalem, the chief priests and the elders of the Jews informed me, asking for a sentence against him.

I answered them that it is not the custom of the Romans to give up any man to destruction before the accused has met the accusers face to face and has had opportunity to make his defense concerning the matter laid against him.

When therefore they had come together here, I didn’t delay, but on the next day sat on the judgment seat and commanded the man to be brought.

When the accusers stood up, they brought no charges against him of such things as I supposed;

but had certain questions against him about their own religion and about one Jesus, who was dead, whom Paul affirmed to be alive.

Being perplexed how to inquire concerning these things, I asked whether he was willing to go to Jerusalem and there be judged concerning these matters.

But when Paul had appealed to be kept for the decision of the emperor, I commanded him to be kept until I could send him to Caesar.”

Agrippa said to Festus, “I also would like to hear the man myself.” “Tomorrow,” he said, “you shall hear him.”

So on the next day, when Agrippa and Bernice had come with great pomp, and they had entered into the place of hearing with the commanding officers and the principal men of the city, at the command of Festus, Paul was brought in.

Festus said, “King Agrippa, and all men who are here present with us, you see this man about whom all the multitude of the Jews petitioned me, both at Jerusalem and here, crying that he ought not to live any longer.

But when I found that he had committed nothing worthy of death, and as he himself appealed to the emperor, I determined to send him,

of whom I have no certain thing to write to my lord. Therefore I have brought him out before you, and especially before you, King Agrippa, that, after examination I may have something to write.

For it seems to me unreasonable, in sending a prisoner, not to also specify the charges against him.”

Chapter overviewAI-generated

Overview. This chapter records the transfer of Paul’s case from Felix to the new governor, Festus, and the unfolding of events that lead to Paul’s appeal to Caesar. As Jewish leaders seek Paul’s death through political manipulation, Festus seeks to navigate Roman legal procedure while managing local tensions. The chapter culminates in Paul’s formal appeal to the emperor, setting in motion his journey to Rome and underscoring the unfolding providence by which the gospel will reach the heart of the empire.

Flow.

Festus, newly arrived in Judea, is immediately petitioned by Jewish leaders to transfer Paul to Jerusalem, where they plan to ambush and kill him—a plot foiled by Festus’s refusal.
Upon examining Paul in Caesarea, Festus finds no guilt in him, yet offers a politically motivated suggestion that Paul be tried in Jerusalem, prompting Paul to exercise his Roman right to appeal to Caesar.
Festus consults with his council and affirms Paul’s appeal, binding himself to send Paul to Rome.
The stage is set for further examination when King Agrippa and Bernice arrive, and Festus, seeking help in formulating charges, agrees to have Paul present his case before the king.

Connections. Following chapter 24, where Paul defends himself before Felix and is left in custody despite being found not liable, chapter 25 shows the continuity of Paul’s unjust imprisonment under a new governor. Though the political leadership changes, the opposition from Jewish authorities persists, and the legal stalemate deepens. Festus’s perplexity about Paul’s case—especially its religious dimensions—prepares the way for chapter 26, where Paul will testify before Agrippa and articulate the gospel’s fulfillment of Jewish hope in Christ, making explicit what has been legally ambiguous.

What it teaches. The chapter upholds the integrity of lawful judgment and the protection of individual rights under civil authority, principles consistent with the providential ordering of justice (; WCF 24.1). Paul’s appeal to Caesar is not an act of defiance but a lawful recourse that aligns with God’s sovereign plan to bear witness in Rome (). The inability of Paul’s accusers to substantiate their charges affirms the innocence of the apostle and, by implication, the truth of the faith he proclaims—faith in a risen Jesus, which the civil authorities find neither seditious nor criminal (cf. HC LD 30). The magistrates’ duty to judge impartially, without delivering men to destruction without a hearing, reflects the justice required by God (WCF 21.1; ).

Apply. Paul’s appeal to Caesar secured his journey to Rome, not by human strategy alone, but by divine appointment through lawful means.

AI-generated. Not a substitute for Scripture, your pastor, or the confessions.