Expositor's Bible Commentary Commentary Acts 26:24

"And as he thus made his defense, Festus saith with a loud voice, Paul, thou art mad; thy much learning is turning thee mad." — Acts 26:24 (ASV)

At this point Festus broke into Paul’s address, unable to endure it any longer. He may not have been speaking for the Jews, to whom a suffering Messiah and a direct ministry to Gentiles were outrageous. But no sensible Roman could believe in the resurrection of a man from the dead—and even if he did privately accept such a strange view, he would not allow it to interfere with his practical living or bring him into danger of death. Paul, Festus concluded, was so learned in his Jewish traditions that he had become utterly impractical. Such talk was the height of insanity.