²⁴Festus said, “King Agrippa, and all you gentlemen here present with us, you see this man about whom all the people of the Jews appealed to me, both at Jerusalem and here, loudly declaring that he ought not to live any longer. ²⁵But I found that he had committed nothing worthy of death; and since he himself appealed to the Emperor, I decided to send him. ²⁶Yet I have nothing definite about him to write to my lord. Therefore I have brought him before you all and especially before you, King Agrippa, so that after the investigation has taken place, I may have something to write. ²⁷For it seems absurd to me in sending a prisoner, not to indicate also the charges against him.”

In a formal inquiry, Festus lays out his dilemma and what he wants to accomplish by this meeting. The initial trial escalated quickly to the point where Paul, the accused Roman citizen, appealed to Rome, but Festus needs justification to send Paul to Rome as requested. Endorsing a frivolous appeal would make Festus look bad in the eyes of the emperor. He thinks it absurd to do so without a clear charge worthy of such extreme action.

Yet Paul was not being frivolous; his life was on the line. The Jews were trying to manipulate the Roman system to assassinate Paul. In the process, they had accused him to the Roman governor, and Paul was using the Roman system to thwart their plan. Their political maneuvering was backfiring on them. If we look forward a bit, Paul will escape their clutches; their efforts to silence him will only result in the message gaining a wider hearing. No wonder that “He who sits in the heavens laughs, the Lord scoffs at them” (Ps. 2:4, see Ps. 37:13).

Festus’ acknowledgment concerning Paul sounds familiar: “I found that he had committed nothing worthy of death.” Another Roman ruler, Pilate, spoke of Jesus, “I find no guilt in this man” (Luke 23:4). As we have seen throughout this trial, the author Luke parallels to some degree the experiences of Paul and Jesus. Yet there was a significant difference in their responses to being questioned. Luke writes of Jesus’ questioning by Herod Agrippa I, “And he [Herod] questioned Him [Jesus] at some length; but He answered him nothing” (Luke 23:9). Jesus knew His time had come to die (John 13:1) so did not try to defend Himself. Paul, on the other hand, knew his time had not yet come to die; he still had to testify in Rome.

God’s sovereignty worked through Festus’ inquiry to provide Paul a captive audience of both Jewish and Gentile leaders, and Paul will now take full advantage to speak of his conversion and the central truth about Jesus Christ.

Lord, You are able to shine Your truth through the most oppressive schemes of those who would suppress the gospel. You are an amazing God!