Bible Study Lesson for Acts 25:1-12: Paul Stands Trial Before Festus

Verses 1-12 describes Paul's trial before Festus
Verses 13-22 describes how Festus consults with King Agrippa
Verses 23-27 describes the first part of Paul's trial before King Agrippa (finished in the next chapter)

Read Acts 25:1-2. These two verses tell us something about the character of the individuals involved in this story. Jerusalem was 60 miles from Caesarea; this would have taken two days to travel. Festus doesn't waste any time checking in with the native rulers of the area he was assigned to rule. He's in the province three days and then he's off on business. You can't help thinking that some other governors would have spent some time, first, getting the governor's palace decorated to one's taste, first! I think this shows that Festus is a conscientious governor and/or a very shrewd one. As for the Jewish leaders, the fact that, after two years, they are still fanatical about bringing charges against Paul says a lot about how intense their hatred is. You would think that they would have forgotten about him and gone on with their lives, but no, clearly they haven't. (Remember those forty Jews who in chapter 23 had taken a vow not to eat until they've killed Paul? I wondered what happened to them. If they kept to their oath, they would have all died by starvation by now... there's no indication that any of them followed Paul to Caesarea and tried to assassinate him in Herod's palace! Perhaps those forty men did die of starvation and that is one of the reasons why the Jewish leaders hate Paul so much... )

Read Acts 25:3. It does sounds like the same group that made that food vow, since the plot is the same, kill Paul by ambush. You don't get the sense that these people trust Roman justice very much... if they did, they wouldn't be trying to do an "end round" it like this. I admit I'm surprised that the Jews didn't try to bribe Felix into having Paul killed or at least set up Paul up for an ambush, since the previous Roman governor was known to be susceptible to accepting bribes. I can only assume that Felix was too afraid of what could happen to him, as a Roman governor, if word got out that he was implicated in the assassination of a Roman citizen.

Read Acts 25:4-5. Now why Festus doesn't agree to have Paul brought to Jerusalem is unclear. As we are going to read in verse 9, Festus is going to ask Paul if he is willing to go to Jerusalem, so it is clearly not because Festus is aware of the plot and wants to keep Paul safe. It is possible that Festus tells the Jews to "come to Caesarea to present your case" simply for practical reasons. Since he was new to the province, perhaps he was not aware of all the political ramifications and tensions of what is going on between Paul and the Jewish leaders and he is just thinking "OK, what is easiest for me? My council is in Caesarea, that's where Paul is, so we'll hold the trial there."

Read Acts 25:6. Festus spends some time with the Jewish leaders and begins to get an idea of how they think and a sense of their political power. I think this has a bearing on why he later tries to please them. When he "convenes the court" this means he is ready to make his decision binding, as a formal ruling.

Read Acts 25:7. So much packed into this one sentence! These politically powerful Jews all come to Caesarea (having to make this uncomfortable 2 day trip) to bring "serious charges" against Paul, but they can't prove any of them! My guess is that they couldn't provide either witnesses or any other evidence. I can just imagine how frustrating and enraging that must have been for them! They can almost taste vengeance, but they can't provide any legal reason for their enemy to be killed!

Read Acts 25:8. I'm sure Paul said more than this in his defense, but this is the crux of the matter: he had not broken any laws, either Jewish or Roman. Paul actually preached that we should respect law and order in his letter to the Romans. Read Romans 13:1-7. Paul is a shining example of this: for all that he is mistreated by the authorities over him again and again, he always shows appropriate respect for their positions. In his first letter to Timothy, he encourages praying for our political leaders. Read 1 Timothy 2:1-2.

Read Acts 25:9. So here were see one of Festus' character weakness: he cares more about pleasing the Jews than justice. At this point he should have ruled in Paul's favor and simply let him go, but he knew that would anger the Jewish leaders and Festus knew he would have to deal with these leaders for the remainder of his governorship; they could make his life very unpleasant, if they wanted to, for all that they were leaders of a "conquered" nation.

Read Acts 25:10. Paul's response makes it clear that, no, he is not willing to stand trial before a Jewish religious court. He far prefers to be tried in a Roman civil court. He is confident and tells Festus quite bluntly "I have not done any wrong to the Jews, as you yourself know very well." I can't help wondering how governor Festus felt about being spoken to in such a fashion. I'm sure it was quite different from the fawning and the flattery that the Jews would have used.

Read Acts 25:11. My interactive commentary says: "Nero had become the emperor by this time. It was the right of every Roman citizen to have his case heard before Caesar himself (or his representative) in Rome. This was the highest court of appeal, and winning such a case could have led to more than just Paul's acquittal. It could have resulted in official recognition of Christianity as distinct from Judaism." I had to wonder, though, at what exactly Paul meant when he said "If, however, I am guilty of doing anything deserving death, I do not refuse to die." I'm not quite sure what Paul could have done to prevent himself from dying, in any case... I'm wondering if a better translation would be "I am willing to die," which makes more sense in English.

Read Acts 25:12. Festus would have had a council of officials and legal experts to advise him. I don't really know why he needed to confer with his council, personally; I can't see any other legal avenue he had. My sense is that Paul's trial would have been made too public for him to do anything else. Once Paul had appealed to Caesar his wish had to be granted.

To be continued...

Sources
Editors. Compton's Interactive Bible (software)
Philip Yancey and Tim Stafford (notes). The Student Bible. NIV Version