Paul had been warned by the Holy Spirit about his arrest in Jerusalem, and sure enough, after only having been there a week, the Jews from Ephesus spotted Paul in the temple, caused a riot, and Paul was arrested. He was prepared, and had a chance to witness to both the crowd as well as the Sanhedrin. When it was discovered that 40 men were involved in a plot to kill Paul, he was whisked off to Caesarea by the Romans. But Paul was prepared for Caesarea too, and he was allowed to present his case before the governor, Felix. When Paul refused to give Felix a bribe, he was left in jail. Now, after having been in jail for two years, there is a change in Roman governors, and Paul will once again have a chance to defend himself, now before Porcius Festus. Paul is prepared.

Abraham Lincoln said: "I will prepare myself, and when the time comes, I will be ready."

After Festus becomes governor, he only takes three days before going to visit Jerusalem. He knows that this is where the power base for the Jews is.

There is a new high priest by this time. His name is Ishmael.

offended – hamartano – to be without a share in; to miss the mark; to sin

Caesar – the emperor in Rome has changed as well. A man named Nero is now sitting on the throne. It was Nero who appointed Festus to replace Felix. At this time, Nero is still known as a good ruler. History tells us that he didn’t go crazy until some time after Paul’s witness to him.

As a Roman citizen, he has the right to a trial before a Roman judge, not a Jewish one.

This was the legal right of every Roman citizen, unless the person was a well-known robber or pirate.

the council – sumboulion – not the "Sanhedrin", these are Festus’ Roman counselors.

Agrippa – This is actually Herod Agrippa II. His father, Herod Agrippa I, was the guy who had James the brother of John killed (Acts 12:1). His great grandfather was the one who tried to kill the baby Jesus. He is not the king of Judea, but Emperor Claudius made him king of Chalcis (AD 50) to the north of Judea, as well as gave him control over the temple and the appointing of the high priests. He’s young, about 30 years old.

Bernice – This is Herod Agrippa II’s sister. Drusilla (the wife of Felix, the last governor) is also their sister. Bernice was jealous of Drusilla’s beauty and was known to treat her harshly. She had been married to her uncle, the previous king of Chalcis, but was married now to Polemon, the king of Cilicia, though separated from him. It is believed that Agrippa and Bernice at this time were living in an incestuous relationship. She would later become mistress to Titus, the Roman who would conquer Jerusalem.

Festus is the new Roman ruler on the block. Agrippa and Bernice have come to welcome him to town, cozy up to him, etc.

superstition – NAS, NIV "religion". This wasn’t what Festus had expected.

At least Festus has this correct. He’s got Paul’s main point down.

I doubted – aporeo – to be without resources, not to know how to decide or what to do. Festus didn’t have a clue how to handle this situation.

This was the bind that Festus was in. What would he tell Caesar?

Paul likely has a chain on his hand, one which was attached to a Roman soldier.

To Paul specifically, Jesus had said,

answer – apologeomai ("apology", "apologetics") – to defend one's self, make one's defence; to give a full account of

Agrippa was the king in charge of regulating the temple and appointing the high priests. He’s not ignorant of Judaism.

I gave my voice against – literally, to vote by putting a pebble into an urn.

This is a horrible picture of a man gone berserk, a maniac on the loose looking for Christians, forcing them to blaspheme the name of Jesus or die.

A "prick" was a "goad", a sharp stick used for urging oxen or horses to move along. If the animal kicked against the goad, it would only hurt itself.

Apparently Paul’s conscience had begun bothering him. Somewhere inside he knew he was doing the wrong thing in persecuting these Christians.

I still imagine that this was the most incredibly difficult, awkward thing a person could ever face.

Here is Paul facing some kind of awesome, powerful being. One who knows him by name and one who he has offended. And then to find out that it’s the very Jesus whose followers he’s been persecuting. Wow!

We have a job description of sorts for Paul, but one which also serves to give us a brief description of what it means to become a Christian.

showed – apaggello – to bring tidings to proclaim, to make known openly

Paul obeyed by beginning to tell people about Jesus.

meet – worthy of

Paul was willing to witness to everyone. He didn’t care whether it was a Jewish king or a Philippian jailor. Everybody deserved to hear the message.

Paul’s message was simply one that was consistent with the Scriptures. He wasn’t making up some new message.

beside thyself – mainomai – to rave; of one who so speaks that he seems not to be in his right mind. This is the same word that Paul had used to describe himself before he had become a Christian (Acts 26:11). mad – mania (same root word) – madness, frenzy

learning – gramma – a letter; any writing, a document or record. Note: Students, this is not a verse that lets you out of studying!

Actually, it’s a verse that shows who is being convicted at this point. Throw a rock into a pack of dogs, the one the yelps loudest is the one that was hit. If he really thought Paul crazy, would he be sending him to Caesar?

speak forth – apophtheggomai – to speak out, not a word of everyday speech but one "belonging to dignified and elevated discourse". Not the ranting of a madman.

soberness – sophrosune – soundness of mind; self-control, sobriety

The things of Jesus and the message of His followers was not some secret ritual. Festus may not have been there, but Agrippa knows it’s all been common knowledge.

Paul has Agrippa cornered. After all, Agrippa is the Jew in charge of temple worship. He had better believe the prophets. If Agrippa answers "yes", then he is agreeing that Jesus fulfills the Jewish prophecies of the Messiah. If he answers "no", then he’s in trouble with the Jews since he’s the one in charge of the temple.

Almost – oligos – little, small, few; of time: short

It could be that Agrippa is seriously considering the claims of Paul, but it also could be spoken a little sarcastically:

I would – euchomai – to pray to God; to wish, to pray, to pray for

He gently reminds them of the oddity of his imprisonment for his message.

Was Paul’s appeal a mistake?