Acts 25:9 - Printer Friendly

ESV: But Festus, wishing to do the Jews a favor, said to Paul, "Do you wish to go up to Jerusalem and there be tried on these charges before me?"

NIV: Festus, wishing to do the Jews a favor, said to Paul, "Are you willing to go up to Jerusalem and stand trial before me there on these charges?"

NASB: But Festus, wanting to do the Jews a favor, replied to Paul and said, 'Are you willing to go up to Jerusalem and stand trial before me on these charges?'

CSB: But Festus, wanting to do the Jews a favor, replied to Paul, "Are you willing to go up to Jerusalem to be tried before me there on these charges?"

NLT: Then Festus, wanting to please the Jews, asked him, 'Are you willing to go to Jerusalem and stand trial before me there?'

KJV: But Festus, willing to do the Jews a pleasure, answered Paul, and said, Wilt thou go up to Jerusalem, and there be judged of these things before me?

NKJV: But Festus, wanting to do the Jews a favor, answered Paul and said, “Are you willing to go up to Jerusalem and there be judged before me concerning these things?”

Porcius Festus replaced Governor Felix around AD 58. Felix had been such a cruel, corrupt ruler that he was recalled to Rome after many complaints from his people. That happened under the rule of the infamously depraved Nero. Festus is reportedly a good ruler—fair and reasonable—and even destroyed the Sicarii assassins Felix had used to do his dirty work.

Practically the first order of business Festus attends to after arriving at his new post is to go to Jerusalem to meet with the Sanhedrin—the Jewish religious and cultural leaders. They immediately ask for a favor. Paul has been under house arrest in the capital, Caesarea Maritima, ever since Felix refused to rule on his trial two years prior (Acts 24:22–27). The Sanhedrin asks Festus to return Paul to Jerusalem for a new trial. Festus requests they first send representatives to present their charges at a hearing in Caesarea (Acts 25:1–5).

At the hearing, Festus takes his place on the tribunal seat, establishing that this is an official, legal trial and he is acting in his official capacity. Things get murkier, however, when he realizes the Sanhedrin doesn't have a case. The charges are serious, but they have no witnesses and no evidence. Paul easily refutes their claims, and Festus is stuck (Acts 25:6–8). How can he please the Sanhedrin when there's no legal cause?

He asks nicely. He asks Paul if he wouldn't mind going to Jerusalem for a new trial. Paul has none of it. He replies, "I am standing before Caesar's tribunal, where I ought to be tried" (Acts 25:10). Paul is a Roman citizen and has the right to choose where he will be tried. The alleged crime happened in Jerusalem. The governor's seat is in Caesarea. Paul is a native of Tarsus. All these places are under Festus's jurisdiction. Paul gets to choose which of these three places the trial may occur, and he chooses here and now.

Paul has reason to. The reason he is in Caesarea and not Jerusalem is that two years prior the Sanhedrin had conspired with forty other men to trick the Roman army tribune to bring Paul out into the open so they could kill him (Acts 23:12–15). Paul may suspect they will try again—and they plan to (Acts 25:3). Paul resorts to his last card: he appeals his case to Caesar (Acts 25:11), meaning he wants the case taken to a higher court. He does escape the Sanhedrin's death plot and win his freedom from Caesarea, but nearly dies in a shipwreck, gets bitten by a viper, and spends another two years under house arrest in Rome (Acts 27—28).

Acts 25:6–12 shows Paul taking legal matters into his own hands. He has been incarcerated in Caesarea Maritima for two years without charges. Felix has been replaced by Festus, and the Sanhedrin return to Caesarea to see if their paltry evidence will slip by the new governor. When Festus unwittingly seems about to enable the Sanhedrin to kill Paul, Paul plays his trump card: he is a Roman citizen and he appeals to a higher court, in Rome. After a short audience with King Agrippa II and the leaders of Caesarea, Paul gets his wish (Acts 26—28).

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.