Acts 25:1
XXV. (1) AFTER THREE DAYS HE ASCENDED... — Better, _he went up._ (See Note on Acts 24:1.)... [ Continue Reading ]
XXV. (1) AFTER THREE DAYS HE ASCENDED... — Better, _he went up._ (See Note on Acts 24:1.)... [ Continue Reading ]
THEN THE HIGH PRIEST AND THE CHIEF OF THE JEWS... — Some of the best MSS. give the plural, “the chief priests.” It is clear that they hoped to take advantage of the newness of Festus to his office. He was likely enough, they thought, to accept their statements and to yield to the pressure of those w... [ Continue Reading ]
LET THEM... WHICH AMONG YOU ARE ABLE. — The adjective is probably used, as in 1 Corinthians 1:26; Revelation 6:15, in the sense of “powerful,” “chief,” rather than as specifically referring to their being able to accuse the man of whom they had complained. What Festus demanded was that the charges a... [ Continue Reading ]
MANY AND GRIEVOUS COMPLAINTS. — These were, we may well believe, of the same nature as those on which Tertullus had harangued. The line of St. Paul’s defence indicates the three counts of the indictment. He had broken, it was alleged, the law of Israel, which Rome recognised as the religion of the p... [ Continue Reading ]
WILLING TO DO THE JEWS A PLEASURE. — See Note on Acts 24:27. The invitation was in itself plausible enough. It practically admitted that there was no evidence on the last head of the accusation of which he, as procurator, need take cognizance. It offered the prisoner a trial before his own national... [ Continue Reading ]
I STAND AT CÆSAR’S JUDGMENT SEAT. — The Greek verb is given in a peculiar form, which carries with it the meaning of, _I am standing, and have stood all along_... He, as a Roman citizen, claimed the right to be tried by a Roman court, and finding that the procurator had shown a bias which left littl... [ Continue Reading ]
NO MAN MAY DELIVER ME UNTO THEM. — Literally, _no man may give me up to them as a favour._ The words show that he saw through the simulated fairness of the procurator, and did not shrink from showing that he did so. I APPEAL UNTO CÆSAR. — The history of this right of appeal affords a singular illust... [ Continue Reading ]
HAST THOU APPEALED UNTO CÆSAR? UNTO Cæsar shalt thou go. — There is obviously something like a sneer in the procurator’s acceptance of St. Paul’s decision. He knew, it may be, better than the Apostle to what kind of judge the latter was appealing, what long delays there would be before the cause was... [ Continue Reading ]
KING AGRIPPA AND BERNICE. — Each of the characters thus brought on the scene has a somewhat memorable history. (1) The former closes the line of the Herodian house. He was the son of the Agrippa whose tragic end is related in Acts 12:20, and was but seventeen years of age at the time of his father’s... [ Continue Reading ]
FESTUS DECLARED PAUL’S CAUSE UNTO THE KING. — The matter seems to have come in, as it were, in the course of conversation. Festus probably thought that Agrippa, who knew all about the Jews and their religion, could throw some light on the peculiar position of his prisoner, who, though a Jew, and pro... [ Continue Reading ]
TO WHOM I ANSWERED... — The facts of the case are stated with fair accuracy, but there is a certain measure of ostentation in the way in which Festus speaks of “the manner of the Romans.” It was, perhaps, natural that a procurator just entering on his term of office, should announce, as with a flour... [ Continue Reading ]
CERTAIN QUESTIONS AGAINST HIM OF THEIR OWN SUPERSTITION. — The word is of the same import as that used by St. Paul in Acts 17:22 (where see Note), and the use here shows its comparatively neutral character. Festus was speaking to a Jewish king, and would not knowingly have used an offensive term. He... [ Continue Reading ]
BECAUSE I DOUBTED OF SUCH MANNER OF QUESTIONS. — Better, _I, being perplexed as to the inquiry about these things._ The word implies more than mere doubt, and his perplexity is his justification for bringing the matter before a prince who, being a Jew, might be a better judge of the point at issue.... [ Continue Reading ]
UNTO THE HEARING OF AUGUSTUS. — The title is the Greek equivalent, as seen in the name Sebaste (= Augusta) given to Samaria, for the epithet which, like our “his majesty,” had become a kind of official title of the Roman emperor. It had first been given by the Senate to Octavianus (Sueton. _Aug._ c.... [ Continue Reading ]
I WOULD ALSO HEAR THE MAN MYSELF. — Better, _I also was myself wishing;_ the phrase implying that the wish was not now formed for the first time.... [ Continue Reading ]
WHEN AGRIPPA WAS COME, AND BERNICE, WITH GREAT POMP. — The description may be noted as probably coming from one who had been an eye-witness of the stately parade, and was able to report with precision all that had passed. The fact was the first fulfilment of the promise that the Apostle was to bear... [ Continue Reading ]
HAVE DEALT WITH ME. — The general term, “held communication with me,” is chosen to cover the proposal of Acts 25:2, as well as the direct accusation of Acts 25:7. It would seem from the addition, “and also here,” that the Jews of Cæsarea had also taken part in the proceedings, and that they too had... [ Continue Reading ]
WHEN I FOUND THAT HE HAD COMMITTED NOTHING WORTHY OF DEATH. — The words should be noted as an emphatic declaration on the part of Festus that the accusers had failed to sustain their indictment. But a procurator transmitting a case to the supreme court of the emperor was bound to send a formal repor... [ Continue Reading ]
TO WRITE UNTO MY LORD. — The Greek corresponds to the title of “Dominus,” which, though declined by Augustus and Tiberius (Sueton. _Octav._ c. 53; _Tiber._ c. 27), had been assumed by Caligula and Nero. The first of the emperors had rejected it as an “accursed and ill-omened title,” and had not allo... [ Continue Reading ]