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Commentaries
English
Acts
  
23So the next day, when Agrippa and Bernice had come with great pomp, and had entered the auditorium with the commanders and the prominent men of the city, at Festus’ command Paul was brought in,24And Festus said, “King Agrippa and all the men who are here present with us, you see this man about whom the whole assembly of the Jews petitioned me, both at Jerusalem and here, crying out that he was not fit to live any longer.25But when I found that he had committed nothing deserving of death, and that he himself had appealed to Augustus, I decided to send him.26I have nothing certain to write to my lord concerning him. Therefore I have brought him out before you, and especially before you, King Agrippa, so that after the examination has taken place I may have something to write.27For it seems to me unreasonable to send a prisoner and not to specify the charges against him.”


Agrippa II had aspired for some time to see Paul, the mainspring of Christianity. Festus paved the way for him to meet him. So the last king of the Jews came with his sister and retinue, accompanied by the sounds of trumpets, music, and acclamations, into the royal reception room. After him came Festus, the governor, in magnificent glory, followed by his powerful officers, having asked the prominent men at Caesarea to attend this official meeting. At last he asked Paul, the weak prisoner, to present himself before this dazzling display of grandiosity. He had been unjustly imprisoned for two years. Christ had, however, prepared Paul for this crowded throng of nobility, a site which no other apostle or preacher had ever seen.
The governor introduced this meeting by delineating the Jews’ demand for him to immediately sentence Paul to death. He gave addition to his previous reports, stating that the highest council at Jerusalem, through a clamorous demonstration, had supported this demand. But the Roman governor, in the first trial, did not find that he had done anything for which he deserved the death sentence. As he was preparing to send Paul to Jerusalem for the second trial by the Jews, in accordance with their request, Paul had seized the opportunity, saying he wanted to appear for trial before Caesar himself. Here the problem began with Festus, who could not justify keeping Paul imprisoned for two years. He did not understand the reasons for the violation of the Jewish law, the offence with which Paul was charged. A certain man named Jesus had died and been raised. He did not want to write this to Caesar, in case the latter might mock him or suppose that he believed in reincarnation and ghosts.
How astonishing! Festus, in verse 26, before the great council, called Caesar not only master, but lord, as we read in the original Greek text, which indicates that at that time they had begun to deify Caesar. This fact afterwards caused great persecution, torture, pain, and barbarous death for many Christians, who did not render worship to Caesar, but gave themselves up to their Lord Jesus. Those who believed in Caesar called him lord with the full sense of the word. They regarded him greater than Caesars, and called him god himself. This title, which the governor in adulation gave to Caesar, made evident the great problem of all times: no one is worthy to be called Lord except Jesus. So who is your Lord? To whom do you belong? Whom do you serve at all times?

Prayer
O Lord Jesus Christ, we praise You, magnify You, and worship You, for You are not dead, but living. You are the Lord of glory, who has defeated death, the evil one and sin. Establish us in your kingdom, and may many of those who seek you enter into everlasting life.