What does Acts 26:2 mean?

King Agrippa II, Governor Festus, and the local leaders of Caesarea Maritima are listening to Paul. The Sanhedrin accused him of serious crimes, which they can't prove. Because the Roman governors, first Felix and then Festus, refused to dismiss the charges, Paul appealed his case to Caesar (Acts 25:10–12). Very quickly, Festus realized he's about to send a prisoner to Rome who probably committed no crime. He hopes the audience can help him determine what to tell Caesar's court (Acts 25:23–27).

Agrippa will be particularly useful. His great-grandfather was Herod the Great. Although his grandfather, Aristobulus, spent little time in Judea, his father, Agrippa I, was king from AD 41 to 44. Agrippa knows the people, the culture, and the religion in a way Festus, who arrived only a few weeks before, never will.

The presentation follows the pattern of a Roman legal defense: the exordium, or introductory address (Acts 26:2–3); the narratio, or explanation and context of the events (Acts 26:4–18); and the argumentio, or formal defense (Acts 26:19–23). As is custom, he starts with a polite greeting. As is Paul's custom, the politeness does not drift into unearned flattery.

The defense does address the legal charges, but the narratio allows Paul to spend significant time on his testimony. His early life as a devout, zealous Pharisee and his conversion to Christ-follower explains the Sanhedrin's animosity almost as much as his ministry teaching that their enemy—Jesus—rose from the dead.