Before Lent, we learned (but may have forgotten by now) that Paul petitioned for the Roman legal system to hear his grievances. He could do that since he was a Roman citizen. Paul knew that the Jewish Sanhedrin would not give him an honest hearing for preaching and teaching “the Way.” But more than that, he wanted to confess Jesus all the way into Rome.
The previous Roman Governor at Caesarea had kept Paul in prison for two years! The new governor, Porcius Festus, tries to follow Roman Law—but also wants to keep the Jewish leadership happy! So, since Paul had appealed to Caesar, Festus said, “To Caesar you have appealed; to Caesar you shall go.”
Paul before Agrippa and Bernice
However, King Herod Agrippa and Bernice (his sister) arrive in Caesarea for a state visit to Festus. Agrippa, Bernice, and Festus’s wife Drusilla (Acts 24: 24) were all children of Herod Agrippa I, who had James the Apostle killed (Acts 12:1-2) and whose own death Luke recounted earlier (Acts 12:23). Agrippa II was the last of Herod’s line to rule in Judea (renamed Palestine in 70 AD); he died around 90 AD.
Read Acts 26:13-22
- What does Festus do in his discourse to Agrippa and Bernice?
- How does Festus contrast the Roman legal system with that of the Jewish legal system (Sanhedrin)? (vs. 16, 19)
Deisidaimonia: The normal word for religion in the New Testament is threskeia (James 1:26-27, Colossians 2:18, and Acts 26:5). However, when Luke recorded Festus’ words describing the dispute between the Sanhedrin and Paul, Festus literally said, “point of dispute about fearing a demon or divinity.” The word the ESV translates as “religion” is a compounded word with the word “god” and “demon” in it: deisidaimonia. Festus was not saying that this was simply some religious dispute; if so, Luke would have recorded him using the word threskeia. Festus was condescending, implying how this argument between Paul and the Sanhedrin, to him, was just superstitious nonsense.
Paul before Agrippa
Read Acts 25:23-27
- What is Festus’ legitimate concern with Paul? (vs. 27)
- But what can we see Festus doing with Paul in relation to Agrippa?
- Why would Festus act like such a “bureaucrat”?
Paul Makes His Defense
Read Acts 26:1
Verse 1 contains the only gesture that Luke mentions during Paul’s defense. This was not Paul flailing his arms about like your pastor may sometimes do. Instead, Paul used a specific gesture, showing that he was beginning his exordium. An exordium was the first part of one’s defense where the defendant appealed to the favor of the judge, in this case, Agrippa, before getting to the main point of his case.
The usual gesture was for the defendant to place his middle finger (between the index and ring fingers) against the thumb and extend the remaining three. This motion was deliberate and restrained. Through word and gesture, the defendant was recognizing the authority of the judge.
The normal pattern for one’s defense was an exordium, a narratio (stating the case), and a refutatio, a refutation of the charges. Paul does not go into a formal refutation, which would have required him to tearing down of Judaism. Instead, Paul’s narratio is that “the Way” is the proper realization of Judaism.
Read Acts 26:2-3 (the exordium)
- Any discussion?
Read Acts 26:4-8
- How does Paul’s appeal to Herod Agrippa show what Paul knew about him? (Remember the difference between the Pharisees and Sadducees)
Excursus: The Roots of Herod’s Family Line Being Pharisees
The background for Herod’s family goes back to disagreements between early forms of the Sadducees and Pharisees. King Jannaeus, a Hasmonian (part of the Maccabean dynasty) ruled Judea from 103 -76 BC. He sided with the Sadducees, even crucifying 800 Pharisees at one point during the conflict!
The last 10 years of Jannaeus’ reign was one of peace, because he had killed and suppresed his opposition. The economy and the religious life of the people rebounded. But also, the Sadducees as a group within Judaism had more influence and power then they would have at any time after that.
After Jannaeus’ death, the Pharisees wanted revenge and restarted the war. They petitioned Roman General Pompey to “restore peace,” thus allying themselves with the Romans to gain control. This culminated in a civil war that ended when Pompey captured Jerusalem in 63 BC. Thus, Roman occupation came to Judea in large part because of the Pharisees.
Rome installed a procurator named Antipater, an Edomite descendant and the father of Herod the Great. As procurator, Antipater sent his son, Herod, to Galilee to crush a revolt lead by the priest Zacharias, a Sadducee. To do that, Herod killed thousands, including all the Sanhedrin, except Hillel and Shammai (they then set up the primary schools of Judaic thought at that time). Herod appointed his men to fill the Sanhedrin, which now included Pharisees. (Earlier, during the latter part of the reign of John Hyrcanus [ruled 134 – 104 BC], a Hasmonean, all the Pharisees were removed from the Sanhedrin.)
After Antipater died in 44 BC, Herod became leader. He married the last Hasmonian princess, Alexandra Salome. This gave him legitimacy because of her link to the Maccabees–and Jewish sons! But Herod also killed all the other known descendants of the Maccabean dynasty. In 40 BC, the Roman Senate designated him “the King of the Jews.” In 6 BC, Judea became an official province of the Roman Empire.
Paul knew this history and that the family of Herod had always been of the Pharisee persuasion.
———-
Read Acts 26:9-11
- What does Paul establish in this part of his defense?
Read Acts 26:12-18
- What belief of the Pharisees is crucial in Paul’s defense?
- How does Paul use that to establish the credibility of “the Way”?
Read Acts 26:19-23
- If the resurrection is real, if Jesus is risen from the dead, then how does what Paul describe in these verses become a normal response to those events?
Paul, You’re Crazy!
Read Acts 26:24-25
- What does Festus, a Roman, think has happened to Paul?
Paul Appeals Directly to Agrippa as a Jew and Roman
Read Acts 26:26-29
- What did Paul say to King Herod about Jesus?
- What did Paul do to Herod when he said, “Do you believe in the prophets?”
- How does Herod respond?
Paul Will Go to Rome
Read Acts 26:30-32
- How does Herod chastise Festus?
- But why does Paul have to go to Rome?
- Discuss: Do you think Herod had the authority to release Paul because he was not guilty? If so, “reading between the lines,” why didn’t he?
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