What does Acts 25:25 mean?
Governor Festus has only held the position for a few weeks, but he already has taken the opportunity to invite Herod Agrippa II and the leaders of the capital Caesarea Maritima to a spectacle. The Jews want a man dead—a man who hasn't committed any identifiable crime (Acts 25:23–24). That man—Paul—then engaged his rights as a Roman citizen. He demanded his trial be taken out of the reach of Festus or the Jews and into the hands of Caesar's courts in Rome (Acts 25:11).The problem for the Roman authorities is that Paul has not committed a crime. Nor can they determine what he could be charged with. All they know is that Jewish leaders are adamant about Paul being punished. The Romans are blatantly looking to trump up some accusation so they can keep peace with the Sanhedrin. To do so, Festus must send Paul to Rome, along with the reason he is transferring a prisoner to a higher court. Festus hopes that the crowd, made of officials and military officers who have lived with the Jews much longer than he has, can tell him what to write (Acts 25:26–27).
After Festus's introduction, Paul will speak. He will explain that the primary cause of conflict between himself and the Sanhedrin is that he believes in the resurrection of the dead. Specifically, he believes Jesus of Nazareth rose from the dead. In fact, Paul saw him, on his way to Damascus to arrest Jesus' followers there. Instead of returning to Jerusalem with criminals, Paul returned with a Lord and Savior. The Sanhedrin doesn't want him dead because he desecrated the temple or started riots. They want him dead because he teaches that Jesus saves (Acts 26:1–29).
When Paul finishes, Agrippa, Bernice, Festus, and other dignitaries discuss what they've just heard. They unanimously agree that Paul has committed no crime. Agrippa points out that if Paul hadn't appealed to Caesar, he should have been freed (Acts 26:30–32). But Paul must go to Caesar, and there's nothing anyone can do about it.
