Acts 25:20 - Printer Friendly

ESV: Being at a loss how to investigate these questions, I asked whether he wanted to go to Jerusalem and be tried there regarding them.

NIV: I was at a loss how to investigate such matters; so I asked if he would be willing to go to Jerusalem and stand trial there on these charges.

NASB: And being at a loss how to investigate such matters, I asked whether he was willing to go to Jerusalem and stand trial there on these matters.

CSB: Since I was at a loss in a dispute over such things, I asked him if he wanted to go to Jerusalem and be tried there regarding these matters.

NLT: I was at a loss to know how to investigate these things, so I asked him whether he would be willing to stand trial on these charges in Jerusalem.

KJV: And because I doubted of such manner of questions, I asked him whether he would go to Jerusalem, and there be judged of these matters.

NKJV: And because I was uncertain of such questions, I asked whether he was willing to go to Jerusalem and there be judged concerning these matters.

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.

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.