Expositor's Bible Commentary Commentary Acts 25:23

"So on the morrow, when Agrippa was come, and Bernice, with great pomp, and they were entered into the place of hearing with the chief captains and principal men of the city, at the command of Festus Paul was brought in." — Acts 25:23 (ASV)

Luke describes Agrippa and Bernice as entering the audience chamber of Herod the Great’s Caesarean palace “with great pomp,” accompanied by a procession of “high ranking officers and the leading men of the city.” The Romans always knew how to process well. The sight of Agrippa’s royal robes, Bernice’s finery, and the military and civil dignitaries decked out in their official attire doubtless overwhelmed those unaccustomed to such displays. Paul the prisoner was then brought in. But though the situation asserted the importance of Roman officialdom and the inferiority of the man who stood before it, Luke’s inspired insight penetrated the trappings and saw that the situation was really reversed. And his evaluation has prevailed in history.