Sha’ul’s Appears Before Felix, Festus, and Agrippa ~ Part 4

Note: To examine the graphics in this series, click on them for a pop-up version.

We continue in the Book of Acts. Sha’ul’s Appears to the Roman Authorities beginning in Acts 24:24.

Sha’ul’s In Prison for Two Years

²⁴ After some days, Felix came with his wife, Drusilla, who was Jewish. He sent for Sha’ul and listened to him as he spoke about trusting in the Messiah Yeshua.

Drusilla, the youngest daughter of Herod Agrippa I (see 12:1). Since she was Jewish, it may have been from her that Felix acquired “a rather detailed knowledge of things connected with the Way” (v. 22). She died with her son in the eruption of Mount Vesuvius that destroyed Pompeii in 79 CE.

²⁵ But when Sha’ul began to discuss righteousness, self-control, and the coming Judgment, Felix became frightened and said, “For the time being, go away! I will send for you when I get a chance.”

Righteousness, self-control, and the coming Judgment. Sha’ul delivered a complete salvation message suited to the condition of his hearer: the past, when Yeshua through His atoning death made righteousness available to everyone (Romans 3:21–26, 5:8); the present, when the Ruach empowers Believers to lead increasingly holy lives, with self-control being not only necessary but possible (Galatians 5:22–23); and the future, when everyone—including Felix, you and me—will be judged (1C 3:10–15). Felix was frightened enough not to want to hear more about judgment but not frightened enough to believe the Gospel, which offers an alternative to the divine penalty for sin, death. “How will we escape if we ignore such a great deliverance?” (Messianic Jews 2:3)

²⁶ At the same time, he hoped that Sha’ul would offer him a bribe, so he sent for him rather often and kept talking with him.

He hoped Sha’ul would offer him a bribe. The “charitable gift” (v. 17) piqued his interest. Perhaps he thought the Gentiles who contributed to the Jewish nation might provide the funds to buy Sha’ul’s freedom.

²⁷ After two years, Felix was succeeded by Porcius Festus, but because Felix wanted to grant the Judeans a favor, he left Sha’ul still a prisoner.

Porcius Festus, procurator of Judea from 59 to 62 CE. The Porcia family had attained senatorial rank in Rome centuries earlier.

Jews Ask for Sha’ul

25 ¹ Three days after Festus had entered the province, he went up from Caesarea to Yerushalayim.

Festus had just arrived from Rome, was unfamiliar with Judea, and went to Yerushalayim as soon as he could to acquaint himself with the leaders and the current issues.

² There, the Head CoHanim and the Judean leaders informed him of the case against Sha’ul, and they asked him ³ to do them the favor of having the man sent to Yerushalayim. (They had plotted to have him ambushed and killed en route.)

The Judean leaders did not make a demand. Still, they made use of the opportunity to ingratiate themselves with Festus by giving him the pleasure of granting an apparently minor and harmless request. They counted on his ignorance of the reason why Sha’ul had been sent down from Yerushalayim in the first place, namely, because of a plot not unlike the one described here. They hoped Festus would send Sha’ul with a small guard that could be easily overcome.

⁴ Festus replied that Sha’ul was being kept under guard in Caesarea and that he was about to go there shortly himself.

Perhaps Festus was, in fact, familiar with why Sha’ul was in Caesarea, or he preferred to adhere to the normal course of Roman justice rather than make an exception that could produce untoward consequences for which he would be blamed. Maybe he was too busy to deal with this special request so early in his term of office, or he may have suspected not all was kosher. He plays safe and offers standard procedure, and the Judean leaders can only accede.

⁵ “So,” he said, “let competent men among you come down with me and press charges against the man if he has daone something wrong.”

Festus Hears Sha’ul’s Case

⁶ After staying with them at most eight or ten days, Festus went down to Caesarea; and on the following day, he took his seat in court and ordered Sha’ul to be brought in.

Festus remained in Yerushalayim only long enough to get his bearings (25:1), eight or ten days. The very next day, after returning to Caesarea, he arranged for Sha’ul’s retrial.

⁷ When he arrived, the Judeans who had come down from Yerushalayim stood around him, bringing many serious charges against him which they could not prove. ⁸ In reply, Sha’ul said, “I have committed no offense—not against the Torah to which the Jews hold, not against the Temple, and not against the Emperor.” [1]

Once again, no good case was made against Sha’ul, and once again, he defended himself against the three principal possible accusers—the Pharisees, concerned with the Torah; the Sadducees and Cohanim, concerned with the Temple; and the Roman state, embodied in the Emperor. Luke omits the specifics of both accusation and defense.

In our next post, we will continue to learn about Sha’ul’s Appearances Before Felix, Festus, and Agrippa.

Click here for the PDF version.

[1] Acts 24:24 – 25:8