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 the principal men of the city, at the command of Festus Paul was brought in.

ARRANGEMENTS ARE MADE FOR PAUL'S APPEARANCE

Great pomp ... Here is the only appearance in the New Testament of this word "pomp."[19] The touch of the eyewitness narrator is evident; and one may imagine the ostentatious display of royal apparel, military uniforms, soldiers at attention, the decorations and flags that adorned the hall of meeting, and, over all, the proud demeanor of the Roman deputy Festus, who would hardly have allowed himself to be surpassed in splendor by his royal guests.

How sad it all was. What a pity, Luke must have thought, that all that external beauty was lavished upon a weakling like Festus and his profligate guests. Little could any of them have realized that their place in history would turn almost altogether upon the important little man whom the soldiers brought chained into their presence. They did not know this, but Paul knew it; "The weakness of God is stronger than men" (1 Corinthians 1:25).

Chief captains and principal men of the city ... These were the chiliarchs of the Roman garrison commanded by the governor, each of whom led a tenth of a legion or a thousand men. The plural here suggests that the military arm was a strong one. The principal men of Caesarea would have been its business and leaders.