Acts Chapter Twenty-Five

Acts Chapter Twenty-Five (NIV)
Acts Chapter Twenty-Five (NASB)

I. SYNOPSIS

Verses 1-12: Paul appeals to Caesar.

Verses 13-27: King Agrippa and Bernice visit Caesarea.

II. KEY PASSAGES

(A) Acts 25:10-11--"But Paul said, 'I am standing before Caesar's tribunal, where I ought to be tried. To the Jews I have done no wrong, as you yourself know very well. If then I am a wrongdoer and have committed anything for which I deserve to die, I do not seek to escape death. But if there is nothing to their charges against me, no one can give me up to them. I appeal to Caesar.'” Paul recognized that Festus was trying to please the Jews, which would have made a Jerusalem trial dangerous. As a Roman citizen, Paul had the right to appeal to Caesar--a long way from the influence of the Jewish leaders in Jerusalem.

(B) Acts 25:26--Festus says, "But I have nothing definite to write to my lord about him. Therefore I have brought him before you all, and especially before you, King Agrippa, so that, after we have examined him, I may have something to write." Roman leaders would often assemble a panel of officials when judging a difficult case. Here Festus consults with Herod Agrippa II, great-grandson of Herod the Great, and his half-sister Bernice.