What does Acts 25:20 mean?
Festus continues to describe to King Agrippa II and Bernice the trial that occurred the second week of his assignment as governor.Three days after he arrived in the capital, Caesarea Maritima, Festus went to Jerusalem to meet with the Jewish leaders in hopes of establishing a good and peaceful relationship. They immediately asked an official favor: to bring Paul, who had been under house arrest in Caesarea, to Jerusalem for trial. Instead, Festus invited them to Caesarea, where Paul was being held, to present their case (Acts 25:1–5).
Several days later, all the parties met for the trial. Festus quickly became aware that the Sanhedrin didn't have a case. Their accusations were spurious and unfounded, and they had neither evidence nor witnesses. Wishing to accommodate them, Agrippa requested Paul's permission to move the trial to Jerusalem (Acts 25:6–9).
As a Roman citizen, Paul had the right to choose whether to hold his trial in Jerusalem, where the alleged offenses occurred, Caesarea, the city of the presiding judge, or Tarsus, his hometown. All three were in Festus's jurisdiction. Tarsus was many days travel from Caesarea. Paul didn't want to go to Jerusalem because the Sanhedrin had already tried to convince a Roman official to bring him into the open so they could assassinate him (Acts 23:12–15). He may not have known for sure the Sanhedrin was planning on doing it again, but it was a safe bet (Acts 25:3).
Instead, Paul accused the governor of not doing his job and appealed his case to Caesar (Acts 25:10–12). If the Sanhedrin wanted Paul out of the way, they got their wish. If they wanted him dead, he was out of their reach.
Acts 25:13–22 relates how the new governor, Festus, draws King Agrippa II into his conundrum. Festus wants to be on good terms with the Jewish leaders in Jerusalem, but they want to try Paul for crimes that are obviously baseless. While Festus ponders what to do, Paul appeals his case to Caesar (Acts 25:1–12). But Festus can't send Paul to Rome without formal charges. Agrippa is intrigued and agrees to hear what Paul has to say.
In Acts 25, the new governor, Festus, must clean up Felix's mess. He tries to ingratiate himself with the Sanhedrin but when they ask him to bring Paul to Jerusalem for trial, he refuses. The Sanhedrin agrees to come to Caesarea Maritima, instead, to present their accusations. Festus quickly realizes they don't have a case. Yet when he hesitates to dismiss the charges, Paul appeals the case to a higher court. Festus then invites King Agrippa II, the king's sister Bernice, and the city leaders to hear Paul and determine how to justify Paul's presence before Caesar.
