Acts 25:1-5 1Then, three days after Festus had arrived in the province, he went up to Jerusalem from Caesarea. 2And the chief priests and the leaders of the Jews presented charges against Paul, and they urged him, 3asking as a favor against him, that he summon him to Jerusalem, since they had planned an ambush to kill him on the way. 4Then Festus replied that Paul would be kept at Caesarea and that he himself intended to go there shortly. 5 “So, let those prominent among you,” he said, “go down with me, and if there is anything wrong about the man, let them bring charges against him.”
The saga of Paul’s imprisonment continues in this chapter as he was handed from one leader to the other, all unsure of what to do. They believed Paul to be innocent of breaking any Roman laws, but they tried to keep peace with the leaders in Jerusalem who claimed he was guilty and needed to be executed. Festus was appointed governor of the province of Judea after Felix was recalled to Rome. Porcius Festus became the procurator around the year AD 58 or 59 and ended at his death from an illness in 62. He is only mentioned in history in Acts and by Josephus in his Antiquities 20.8.9-11 and 9:1. According to Josephus, Festus was a good and just leader. The story of his interaction with Paul suggests some of the same; however, Festus also failed to uphold Paul’s innocence as a Roman citizen but, like Felix, attempted to placate the Jews.
When Festus began his position as governor of Judea, he strategically went up to Jerusalem. It was important to understand the Jewish context since the population of his province had a significant percentage of Jews. He needed to meet the Jewish leaders and understand their situation. Felix’s poor leadership had led to a lot of tension between the Gentiles and the Jews, which left Festus in a difficult situation. As the representative of the conquerors, Festus had to maintain a balance of peace. The Jewish leaders had not forgotten Paul during the two years of his imprisonment. It appears that one of the first items on their agenda in meeting the new governor was to make their case against Paul. It is significant that Paul had made such an impact on the Jews. The problem went all the way to the top, with the chief priests and leading men among the people. Since Paul was under the protection of the Romans, the Jews needed to isolate him somehow so they could ambush and kill him. They wanted to take the matter into their own hands.
At least Festus was wise enough as a leader not to give in to the Jews’ request but to have another formal trial of Paul. Festus wanted the Jewish leaders in positions of authority to visit him in Caesarea to plead their case against Paul. He needed to find out more about the situation. Although Festus was doing what he thought best in his new position, he was an instrument of God by protecting Paul from the Jews’ plot to kill him. God was with Paul throughout this time, but it must have been challenging and a test of his faith. He had a lot of time to think deeply about theology and pray earnestly for all the people and places he had been in his travels.