Expositor's Bible Commentary Commentary Acts 25:24

"And Festus saith, King Agrippa, and all men who are here present with us, ye behold this man, about whom all the multitude of the Jews made suit to me, both at Jerusalem and here, crying that he ought not to live any longer." — Acts 25:24 (ASV)

Festus opened the proceedings by turning the dignitaries’ attention to Paul with the words “You see this man!” After saying that he could not substantiate the charges against Paul, he told them how Paul had appealed to Caesar. Then, asking for help with what he would have to write in sending Paul to the imperial court, Festus turned the inquiry over to King Agrippa.

A number of subtle touches in these verses are particularly appropriate for the situation. The title Sebastos (“Emperor,” v.25; GK 4935), found only here and in v.21 in the NT, is the Greek equivalent of Augustus (a title first conferred on Octavian by the Senate in 27 B. C. to denote one who is lifted above other mortals). The addition of Kyrios (“Lord” or “His Majesty”; GK 3261) to the imperial title began in the time of Nero (A. D. 54–68). Despite its associations with deity in the eastern realms of the empire, the growth of the imperial cult, and the pretensions to divinity of such emperors as Nero and Domitian, Kyrios did not by itself signal to Romans the idea of deity but rather connoted that of majesty. Likewise, Festus’s statement (v.27) that he thought it “unreasonable” to send on a prisoner with unspecified charges against him is typical of the facesaving language used among officials, for the failure to specify charges was a dereliction of duty.