Acts 25:1-12

Paul’s defense before Festus 25:1-12

This is the shortest of Paul’s five defenses that Luke documented. Paul made his five defenses to the Jewish mob on the Antonia Fortress stairway (Acts 22:1-21), to the Sanhedrin (Acts 23:1-6), to Felix (Acts 24:10-21), to Festus (Acts 25:8; Acts 25:10-11), and to Herod Agrippa II (Acts 26:1-26). This one is quite similar to Paul’s defense before Felix except that now the apostle appealed to the emperor.

"Luke’s apologetic purpose is to show that only when Roman administrators were largely ignorant of the facts of the case were concessions made to Jewish opposition that could prove disastrous for the Christian movement." [Note: Longenecker, "The Acts . . .," p. 544.]