圣经Festus arrived in office and after three days, he went up from Caesarea to Jerusalem.
The chief priests and Jewish leaders accused Paul against him,
And he begged him for mercy, and brought Paul to Jerusalem. They will ambush and kill him on the road.
But Festus replied, Paul is being held in custody in Caesarea, and I am about to go there myself.
And he said, Those who are powerful among you, come down with me, and if there is anything wrong with them, let them accuse them.
Festus stayed with them for only ten or eight days before going down to Caesarea. The next day, he sat down in the church and ordered Paul to be brought up.
Paul came, and the Jews who came down from Jerusalem stood around, accusing him of many important things that cannot be proven.
Paul recounted, ‘I have not violated any of the laws of the Jews, the Temple, or Caesar.’.
But Festus wanted to please the Jews, so he asked Paul, “Are you willing to go up to Jerusalem and listen to me judge this matter there?”?
Paul said, I stand in front of Caesar’s church, and this is where I should be judged. I have not done anything unjust to the Jews, as you are well aware of.
If I do anything unjust and commit any worthy crime, even if I die, I will not refuse. If everything they accuse me of is not true, no one can hand me over to them. I will appeal to Caesar.
Festus discussed with the council and said, “Since you have appealed to Caesar, you can go to Caesar.”.
After a while, King Agrippa and the family of Bernice came to Caesarea and greeted Festus.
After staying there for many days, Festus told the king about Paul and said, “There is a man here who was left in prison by Felix.”.
When I was in Jerusalem, the chief priests and the elders of Judea reported his situation to me, asking me to condemn him.
I told them that no matter who, the defendant has not yet confronted the plaintiff and has not had the opportunity to divide the matter against him, it is not a Roman rule to convict him first.
When they all arrived here, I did not delay. The next day, I sat down in the court and ordered the person to be brought up.
The person who accuses him stands and accuses him. What was reported was not the kind of evil I had anticipated.
But there were a few debates about respecting ghosts and gods for themselves, and about a person named Jesus who was already dead, but Paul said he was alive.
How to inquire about these matters is a dilemma in my heart. So he asked him, “Are you willing to go up to Jerusalem and hear these things there?”?
But Paul begged me to stay, and he wanted to hear the judgment of the emperor. So I ordered him to stay until I sent him to Caesar.
And Agrippa said to Festus, I myself am willing to hear this man argue. Festus said you can listen tomorrow.
The next day, Agrippa and Bernice arrived with great power and entered the public hall with the commanders of thousands and the nobles of the city. Festus gave a command and someone brought Paul in.
Festus said, King Agrippa and all those who are here, see this man, all the Jews in Jerusalem and here, who have pleaded with me and called out, saying, Let him not live again.
But I found out that he didn’t commit any damn crime. And he sued the emperor himself, so I decided to release him
As for this person, I have nothing definite to tell the Lord. Therefore, I brought him before you and specifically brought him before you, King Agrippa, so that after questioning, I could make a report.
In my opinion, it is unreasonable to release a prisoner without specifying his crime.
