Paul Before Felix, Festus, and Agrippa

In Caesarea during the mid-first century AD, the high priest Ananias and certain elders brought charges against Paul through an orator named Tertullus. Tertullus accused Paul of being a plague, a creator of dissension among Jews, and a ringleader of the sect of the Nazarenes (Acts 24:1-5). Paul responded to Governor Felix by stating he had not stirred up a crowd and that his accusers could not prove their charges. Felix, who was accompanied by his Jewish wife Drusilla, deferred the matter and kept Paul under house arrest for two years, hoping to receive money from him (Acts 24:24-27).

Felix was succeeded by Porcius Festus. The Jewish leadership requested that Paul be transferred to Jerusalem, intending to kill him on the road, but Festus ordered the trial to remain in Caesarea. During the proceedings, Festus asked Paul if he was willing to go to Jerusalem to be judged. Paul replied that he stood at Caesar's judgment seat and officially appealed to Caesar (Acts 25:9-11). The text does not say whether Festus would have acquitted him otherwise, but the governor granted the appeal to Rome.

King Agrippa II and Bernice arrived in Caesarea to greet Festus. After hearing about the case, Agrippa expressed a desire to hear Paul himself. Paul stood before them and recounted his upbringing, his former persecution of the church, and his vision of Jesus on the road to Damascus (Acts 26:12-19). During the testimony, Festus interrupted, claiming Paul's great learning had driven him mad, but Paul directed his defense to King Agrippa, asking if the king believed the prophets. Agrippa asked Paul if he intended to persuade him to be a Christian in a short time (Acts 26:27-28).