Agrippa - Acts 25:1-13

Felix’s time as the proconsul for Judaea has come to an end and Porcius Festus comes to take over the position. This is when Felix returns to Rome and is tried and convicted of crimes of cruelty against the Jewish people he was supposed to govern. Festus came into the province at Caesarea and “after three days he ascended from Caesarea to Jerusalem.” Luke says “ascended” because Caesarea is a coastal city and Jerusalem in much higher in elevation further inland.

Let’s remember that it’s been two years since the initial confrontation between Paul and the Jewish leadership, but apparently they were still mad about it because when Festus got to Jerusalem, “the high priest and the chief of the Jews informed him against Paul.” I don’t even know what happened yesterday, so keeping a grudge for two years seeming absolutely insane to me. I mean, don’t get me wrong, I can hold on to hurt feelings just like the rest of them, but it takes a lot to get me to commit to spending that amount of emotional energy to someone.
The chief priests ask Festus to send Paul back to Jerusalem so that they could try him themselves, knowing the whole time that they would be “laying wait in the way to kill him.” But Festus declines to return Paul right now and tells them “which among you are able, go down with me, and accuse this man, if there be any wickedness in him.” Festus stays in Jerusalem another ten days and then heads home to Caesarea where he commands Paul to be brought before him the next day.
With Paul standing in front of him, Festus allows “the Jews which came down from Jerusalem” to lay “many grievous complaints against Paul, which they could not prove.” Let’s remember that they’ve had 2 years to come up with any arguments against Paul, and not only have they been unable to prove anything, they hadn’t even bothered to persuade Felix anymore after they failed the first time.
Paul states that he hasn’t broken the law against the Jews, the temple, “not yet against Caesar, have I offended any thing at all.” Festus is new to his position and isn’t interested in starting off on the wrong foot with the people he’s meant to govern, so like Felix, “Festus, willing to do the Jews a pleasure” asks Paul to go to Jerusalem to be judged, like the chief priests asked him. I guess it makes sense, the Roman leadership aren’t interested in going against protocol, which perhaps sending Paul to Jerusalem would be, but if he could convince Paul to go back there willingly then it would be a win/win for Festus.
Paul sees the trap instantly and essentially tells Festus “you know I haven’t done anything wrong, but if I had I would be willing to pay the price.” It’s kind of a confusing sentence, from what I’m getting Paul is saying, “I am willing to be punished if I had done something wrong, but if I haven’t done anything wrong, you can’t make me go back to them,” and again, he plays the Roman citizen trump card saying, “I appeal unto Caesar.” The IM comments, “As a Roman citizen, Paul had the right to appeal to have his case tried directly before Caesar in Rome.” Festus says, “fine, you can go to Caesar if that’s what you want.”
After a few more days “King Agrippa and Bernice came to Caesarea to salute Festus.” A little background on these people is important. The IM says, “Herod Agrippa II (also called Marcus Julius Agrippa) was the seventh and last king in the Jewish Herodian dynasty. He ruled the territory northeast of the Sea of Galilee from about A.D. 55 to 93.” I just want to stop here and point out that this represents a 38 year reign, in a time when Roman leadership, especially in the provinces was like a popcorn machine, so knowing nothing else, I would say that he probably did an ok job.
The IM gives the heritage of Herod Agrippa II -> his father, Herod Agrippa I (who killed James and put Peter in prison) -> his grandfather, Herod Antipus (who had John the Baptist beheaded) -> his great-grandfather, Herod the Great (who murdered the baby boys in Bethlehem hoping to kill the Messiah that the wise men told him about). This family has a long and bloody history in working against not only the Savior but also against humanity, because really, who kills a bunch of babies because you want to stay king? Spoiler alert: It didn’t work, because Herod the Great died shortly thereafter. Even if he wouldn’t have killed all those babies, he wouldn’t have lived long enough to be impacted by the new “king of the Jews.”
With that ancestry, Agrippa brought with him Bernice who apparently was his sister, with, the IM speculates “whom some believed he was having an incestuous affair.” I love the slut shaming here, honestly I just feel bad for her. Again, listening to this “History of Rome” podcast, one aspect that has been made abundantly clear is that marriage was meant to be an institution of alliances and that women were considered property in the same way that slaves were.
So we can say “she was having an affair with her brother” but what I really think it means is that she was probably in a situation in which she could not leave where she was being raped by her brother consistently. I think that that would be a more accurate description of their relationship, affair vs. rape. It’s like Sally Hemings, the slave that Thomas Jefferson had an “affair” with resulting in six children. Was it an affair? She couldn’t leave, she couldn’t decline his sexual advances, basically, she couldn’t say no, so she couldn’t every say yes. It was rape, Thomas Jefferson raped Sally Hemings for years, caused her to bear six of his children, and yet now it’s considered an “affair”? No, there was no consent, it was not an “affair.” I think that Agrippa’s relationship with his sister would have been the same way.
Anyway, Agrippa is this guy who comes from a long line of persecutors, and is probably raping his sister, hmmm….. interesting. Let’s keep in mind also that Agrippa isn’t just Roman, he’s also Jewish. The Herod dynasty was a quasi-Jewish Roman mix. Apparently the original Herod was an Idumaean whose family was forced to accept Judaism when John Hycanus conquered the region of Idumaea back in 140-130 BCE. That forced conversion resulted in mass circumcision and intermarrying with Jews and adopting some of their culture. Thus were the Herod Roman and Jewish.