The Rundown - Acts 25:14-27

Agrippa and Bernice are in Caesarea visiting Festus in his new position of governor, and while they are there, Festus realizes that Agrippa could help him with Paul. Paul had requested trial by Caesar himself and Festus had agreed. However, just like Lysias had written a letter to Felix explaining what had happened, Festus needs to write a letter to Caesar explaining why Paul needed to come to Rome to be tried. The problem here is that the Jews who were accusing him had no proof that Paul had committed any crimes, so really, Festus should have let Paul go, but because he didn’t want Paul to go back into the community and cause problems again, he was hanging on to him.

As a Roman citizen, Paul had appealed to his right to be tried by Caesar instead of his people in Jerusalem, but Festus couldn’t just send him to Rome saying, “the people in my province don’t like this guy and I couldn’t resolve the matter peacefully, so here you go, you deal with it.” This is why the visit by Agrippa was so fortuitous. The IM says, “Because Agrippa was a Jew and was therefore more familiar with Jewish affairs than Festus, who was a Roman, Festus hoped that Agrippa could help him understand the accusations against Paul and also help draft his letter to Caesar.”
Festus tells Agrippa about the situation with Paul, that he had been left for Festus by Felix and that the chief priests in Jerusalem were very anxious to have Festus condemn him or at least return him to Jerusalem so that they could do it themselves.  Festus recalls telling the Jewish leadership that Romans didn’t just render judgment without a fair trial, but when it came time for that fair trial, they didn’t bring up any of the charges that Festus thought that they would.
Instead they “had certain questions against him of their own superstition, and of one Jesus, which was dead, whom Paul affirmed to be alive.” It seems that it was at this point that Festus discovered that this was a religious dispute, and one that he didn’t understand at all. Festus tried to get Paul to go back to Jerusalem to deal with the religious issues, but instead Paul “appealed to be reserved unto the hearing of Augustus.” Agrippa agrees to help figure out this matter, and decides to “hear the man myself,” and arrange to hear Paul the next day.  
The next day when Agrippa comes back, he has a whole entourage “with the chief captains, and principal men of the city.” Festus orders that Paul be brought out and introduces him to Agrippa essentially saying, “here is the guy that the Jews have been telling me should die. I personally didn’t find him guilty of anything, but he wants to go to Caesar, so I will send him. So please help me figure out what is going on and help me write my letter to Caesar because I can’t just send him without saying what he’s been accused of.”
Kind of a cliff hanger for the long weekend, but I’m excited to see what happens because I’ve always heard that Agrippa tells Paul “almost thou persuadest me to be a Christian,” and I never heard the story about what was said or how that happened and so I’m eager to find out. Very exciting for next week.