Acts 25:21Meaning & Commentary from the Church Fathers

See how the rulers always avoided the enmity of the Jews, were often compelled to act contrary to justice, and sought pretexts for delay. Thus Festus postponed the case not out of ignorance, but knowingly.

King Herod Agrippa was Herod Agrippa II, son of Herod Agrippa I; see Acts ch. 12. He possessed, with the title of king, the tetrarchies of Philip and Lysanias; Lk 3:1. He was the last king of the Herodian family, with whom that royal line came to an end.

Being in a vassal relationship to Rome, he considered it his duty to congratulate Festus on his new appointment. For this purpose he came to Caesarea soon after Festus entered upon the office of procurator of Judea.

During this visit of Agrippa, Festus brought to the attention of his distinguished guest the difficult case of the prisoner Paul. He told Agrippa about the fury aroused throughout the Jewish people at the mere mention of this man’s name, and about the fruitlessness of the trial just concluded. However much the Jews tried to distort the essence of the matter, it was clear that it consisted in subtleties of the Mosaic law. It also concerned the question of “a certain Jesus who had died, whom Paul affirmed to be alive,” and, in general, matters that did not fall under Festus’s jurisdiction.

“For the decision of Augustus,” that is, for the judicial decision of the emperor. From the time of Octavian, Augustus was the customary title of the Roman emperors.

The statement about Festus's difficulty in deciding the substance of Paul's case is just. Yet it is doubtful that he proposed trial in Jerusalem precisely because he was perplexed, for he did not say this to Paul. One may think it was evident to him that even there, in Jerusalem, Paul's case could not be examined with proper correctness, especially on so great a question: is Jesus alive or not?

This question remains a question for unbelievers even to this day. Even Thomas, the Apostle of Christ, was tormented by it until the Lord Himself assured him. Paul too was tormented by this question until Christ appeared to him and he became Christ's servant.