Acts 25:18 - Printer Friendly

ESV: When the accusers stood up, they brought no charge in his case of such evils as I supposed.

NIV: When his accusers got up to speak, they did not charge him with any of the crimes I had expected.

NASB: When the accusers stood up, they did not begin bringing any charges against him of crimes that I suspected,

CSB: The accusers stood up but brought no charge against him of the evils I was expecting.

NLT: But the accusations made against him weren’t any of the crimes I expected.

KJV: Against whom when the accusers stood up, they brought none accusation of such things as I supposed:

NKJV: When the accusers stood up, they brought no accusation against him of such things as I supposed,

Festus is recounting to King Agrippa II the trial he oversaw, suggesting the Sanhedrin intended to accuse Paul of egregious crimes against the state and the Mosaic law. Of course, this is not what happened. In the initial trial, two years before, the Sanhedrin had accused Paul of inciting riots throughout the Roman Empire, defiling a religious structure, and leading a cult (Acts 24:5–6). Under certain circumstances, any of these could be capital offenses—even for a Roman citizen, as Paul was.

Digging into the evidence, neither Felix—the governor then—nor Festus see the crime. Although Paul has been involved in several riots, only two have been in the governors' jurisdiction: on the temple Mount when a mob attacked Paul because of a false accusation (Acts 21:27–36), and a fight between the members of the Sanhedrin (Acts 23:6–10). Paul didn't defile the temple, and his accusers refused to come to either trial (Acts 21:27–29; 24:17–19). And, so far as the Romans are concerned, Christianity is a sect of Judaism, not an illegal religion forbidden by Roman law.

Although it's unclear in the text, the foundational "crime" Paul seems to have committed is insisting that Jesus of Nazareth rose from the dead. The Sanhedrin may disagree, but as far as the Romans are concerned, it's merely "certain points of dispute with him about their own religion" (Acts 25:19).

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.

When Felix is called back to Rome to answer for his cruelty, he leaves a bit of a mess. Paul is still under house arrest without charges (Acts 24). When the new governor Festus refuses to exonerate him, Paul appeals to a higher court. Paul is a Roman citizen, so Festus must send him. Yet he still has no formal charges. After inviting King Agrippa II and the city leaders to hear Paul's testimony, they realize Paul has done nothing wrong and should have been released. Paul and Luke survive a harrowing sea voyage but finally arrive at Rome (Acts 27—29).

The summary of the book of Acts is provided in Jesus' words in Acts 1:8: ''But you will receive power when the Holy Spirit has come upon you, and you will be my witnesses in Jerusalem and in all Judea and Samaria, and to the ends of the earth.'' In Acts 2:1–13, the Christ-followers receive the Holy Spirit. Acts 2:14—7:60 describes the rapid growth of the church in Jerusalem. Chapters 8—12 find Jewish persecution inadvertently spreading the gospel throughout Judea and Samaria. And in chapters 13—28, Paul and his companions spread the good news throughout the Roman Empire.