Acts 26:32

Acts 26:32. Then said Agrippa unto Festus, This man might have been set at liberty, if he had not appealed unto Cæsar. On first thought, it would seem as though this appeal of the apostle was a disastrous step for him to have taken. But on looking deeper into that busy life-story of his, we see how, in the providence of God, the appeal which prolonged the imprisonment assisted the work of the great missionary. Had he been free at this juncture, it is a question whether he would not have fallen a victim to the murderous plots of his relentless enemies at Jerusalem, who we know had bands of Sicarii (assassins) in their pay to carry out their violent schemes. As it was, he was conducted safely to Rome, the city he had been so long anxious to visit. The very circumstances of his arrival as an imperial prisoner, probably from their publicity, assisted him in his work of telling out his Master's message; so all things worked together for the glory of God.