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<center><h1>Matthew Henry's Complete Commentary
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on the Whole Bible</h1>
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[<A HREF="MHC00000.HTM">Table of Contents</A>]<BR>
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Matthew Henry<BR><I>Commentary on the Whole Bible</I> (1721)
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<!-- (Begin Body) -->
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<CENTER>
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<BR><FONT SIZE=+3><B>A C T S.</B></FONT>
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<BR>
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<BR><FONT SIZE=+2>CHAP. XXV.</FONT>
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<HR SIZE=1 WIDTH=50>
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<FONT SIZE=-1>
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<P>
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Some think that Felix was turned out, and Festus succeeded him, quickly
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after Paul's imprisonment, and that the two years mentioned in the
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close of the foregoing chapter are to be reckoned from the beginning of
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Nero's reign; but it seems more natural to compute them from Paul's
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being delivered into the hands of Felix. However, we have here much the
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same management of Paul's case as we had in the foregoing chapter;
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cognizance is here taken of it,
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I. By Festus the governor; it is brought before him by the Jews,
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<A HREF="http://bible.gospelcom.net/bible?version=KJV&passage=Ac+25:1-3">ver. 1-3</A>.
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The hearing of it is appointed to be, not at Jerusalem, as the Jews
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desired, out at Cæsarea,
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<A HREF="http://bible.gospelcom.net/bible?version=KJV&passage=Ac+25:4-6">ver. 4-6</A>.
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The Jews appear against Paul and accuse him
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(<A HREF="http://bible.gospelcom.net/bible?version=KJV&passage=Ac+25:7">ver. 7</A>),
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but he stands upon his own innocency
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(<A HREF="http://bible.gospelcom.net/bible?version=KJV&passage=Ac+25:8">ver. 8</A>);
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and to avoid the removing of the cause to Jerusalem, to which he was
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pressed to consent, he at length appeals to Cæsar,
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<A HREF="http://bible.gospelcom.net/bible?version=KJV&passage=Ac+25:9-12">ver. 9-12</A>.
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II. By king Agrippa, to whom Festus relates his case
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(<A HREF="http://bible.gospelcom.net/bible?version=KJV&passage=Ac+25:13-21">ver. 13-21</A>),
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and Agrippa desires he might have the hearing of it himself,
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<A HREF="http://bible.gospelcom.net/bible?version=KJV&passage=Ac+25:22">ver. 22</A>.
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The court is accordingly set, and Paul brought to the bar
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(<A HREF="http://bible.gospelcom.net/bible?version=KJV&passage=Ac+25:23">ver. 23</A>),
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and Festus opens the cause
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(<A HREF="http://bible.gospelcom.net/bible?version=KJV&passage=Ac+25:24-27">ver. 24-27</A>),
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to introduce Paul's defence in the next chapter.</P>
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</FONT>
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<A NAME="Ac25_1"> </A>
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<A NAME="Ac25_2"> </A>
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<A NAME="Ac25_3"> </A>
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<A NAME="Ac25_5"> </A>
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<A NAME="Ac25_6"> </A>
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<A NAME="Ac25_7"> </A>
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<A NAME="Ac25_8"> </A>
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<A NAME="Ac25_9"> </A>
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<TABLE WIDTH="100%" BORDER=0>
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<TR><TD><FONT SIZE=+1><I>Paul Arraigned before Festus; Paul's Fourth Defence; Paul Appeals to Cæsar.</I></FONT></TD>
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<TR><TD><HR SIZE=1></TD></TR>
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</TABLE>
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<P>
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<FONT SIZE=+1>1 Now when Festus was come into the province, after three days
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he ascended from Cæsarea to Jerusalem.
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2 Then the high priest and the chief of the Jews informed him
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against Paul, and besought him,
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3 And desired favour against him, that he would send for him to
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Jerusalem, laying wait in the way to kill him.
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4 But Festus answered, that Paul should be kept at Cæsarea,
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and that he himself would depart shortly <I>thither.</I>
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5 Let them therefore, said he, which among you are able, go
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down with <I>me,</I> and accuse this man, if there be any wickedness
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in him.
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6 And when he had tarried among them more than ten days, he
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went down unto Cæsarea; and the next day sitting on the judgment
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seat commanded Paul to be brought.
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7 And when he was come, the Jews which came down from Jerusalem
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stood round about, and laid many and grievous complaints against
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Paul, which they could not prove.
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8 While he answered for himself, Neither against the law of the
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Jews, neither against the temple, nor yet against Cæsar, have I
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offended any thing at all.
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9 But Festus, willing to do the Jews a pleasure, answered Paul,
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and said, Wilt thou go up to Jerusalem, and there be judged of
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these things before me?
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10 Then said Paul, I stand at Cæsar's judgment seat, where I
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ought to be judged: to the Jews have I done no wrong, as thou
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very well knowest.
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11 For if I be an offender, or have committed any thing worthy
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of death, I refuse not to die: but if there be none of these
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things whereof these accuse me, no man may deliver me unto them.
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I appeal unto Cæsar.
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12 Then Festus, when he had conferred with the council,
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answered, Hast thou appealed unto Cæsar? unto Cæsar shalt thou
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go.
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</FONT></P>
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<P>
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We commonly say, "New lords, new laws, new customs;" but here was a new
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governor, and yet Paul had the same treatment from him that he had from
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the former, and no better. Festus, like Felix, is not so just to him as
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he should have been, for he does not release him; and yet not so unjust
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to him as the Jews would have had him to be, for he will not condemn
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him to die, nor expose him to their rage. Here is,</P>
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<P>
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I. The pressing application which the high priest and other Jews used
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with the governor to persuade him to abandon Paul; for to send him to
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Jerusalem was in effect to abandon him.
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1. See how speedy they were in their applications to Festus concerning
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Paul. As soon as ever he <I>had come into the province,</I> and had
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taken possession of the government, into which, probably, he was
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installed at Cæsarea, within <I>three days he went up to
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Jerusalem,</I> to show himself there, and presently the priests were
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upon him to proceed against Paul. He staid <I>three days at
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Cæsarea,</I> where Paul was a prisoner, and we do not find that
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in that time Paul made any application to him to release him, though,
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no doubt, he could have made good friends, that he might hope to have
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prevailed by; but as soon as ever he comes up to Jerusalem the priests
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are in all haste to make an interest with him against Paul. See how
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restless a thing malice is. Paul more patiently bears the lengthening
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out of his imprisonment than his enemies do the delay of his
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prosecution even to the death.
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2. See how spiteful they were in their application. They <I>informed
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the governor against Paul</I>
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(<A HREF="http://bible.gospelcom.net/bible?version=KJV&passage=Ac+25:2"><I>v.</I> 2</A>)
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before he was brought upon a fair trial, that so they might, if
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possible, prejudge the cause with the governor, and make him a party
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who was to be the judge. But this artifice, though base enough, they
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could not confide in; for the governor would be sure to hear him
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himself, and then all their informations against him would fall to the
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ground; and therefore they form another project much more base, and
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that is to assassinate Paul before he came upon his trial. These
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inhuman hellish methods, which all the world profess at least to abhor,
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have these persecutors recourse to, to gratify their malice against the
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gospel of Christ, and this too under colour of zeal for Moses.
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<I>Tantum religio potuit suadere malorum--Such was their dire religious
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zeal.</I>
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3. See how specious the pretence was. Now that <I>the governor was
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himself at Jerusalem they desired he would send for Paul thither,</I>
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and try him there, which would save the prosecutors a great deal of
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labour, and looked most reasonable, because he was charged with having
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profaned the temple at Jerusalem, and it is usual for criminals to be
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tried in the court where the fact was committed; but that which they
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designed was to way-lay him as he was brought up, and to murder him
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upon the road, supposing that he would not be brought up under so
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strong a guard as he was sent down with, or that the officers that were
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to bring him up might be bribed to give them an opportunity for their
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wickedness. It is said, <I>They desired favour against Paul.</I> The
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business of prosecutors is to demand justice against one that they
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suppose to be a criminal, and, if he be not proved so, it is as much
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justice to acquit him as it is to condemn him if he be. But to desire
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favour against a prisoner, and from the judge too, who ought to be of
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counsel for him, is a very impudent thing. The favour ought to be for
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the prisoner, <I>in favorem vitæ--to favour his life,</I> but
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here they desire it against him. They will take it as a favour if the
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governor will but condemn Paul, though they can prove no crime upon
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him.</P>
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<P>
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II. The governor's resolution that Paul shall take his trial at
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Cæsarea, where he now is,
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<A HREF="http://bible.gospelcom.net/bible?version=KJV&passage=Ac+25:4,5"><I>v.</I> 4, 5</A>.
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See how he manages the prosecutors.
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1. He will not do them the kindness to send for him to Jerusalem; no,
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he gave orders <I>that Paul should be kept at Cæsarea.</I> It does not
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appear that he had any suspicion, much less any certain information, of
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their bloody design to murder him by the way, as the chief priests had
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when he sent him to Cæsarea
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(<A HREF="http://bible.gospelcom.net/bible?version=KJV&passage=Ac+23:30"><I>ch.</I> xxiii. 30</A>);
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but perhaps he was not willing so far to oblige the high priest and his
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party, or he would maintain the honour of his court at Cæsarea
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and require their attendance there, or he was not willing to be at the
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trouble or charge of bringing Paul up; whatever was his reason for
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refusing it, God made use of it as a means of preserving Paul out of
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the hands of his enemies. Perhaps now they were more careful to keep
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their conspiracy secret than they had been before, that the discovery
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of it might not be now, as it was then, the defeat of it. But though
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God does not, as then, bring it to light, yet he finds another way, as
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effectual, to bring it to nought, by inclining the heart of the
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governor, for some other reasons, not to remove Paul to Jerusalem. God
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is not tied to one method, in working out salvation for his people. He
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can suffer the designs against them to be concealed, and yet not suffer
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them to be accomplished; and can make even the carnal policies of great
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men to serve his gracious purposes.
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2. Yet he will do them the justice to hear what they have to say
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against Paul, if they will go down to Cæsarea, and appear against
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him there: "<I>Let those among you who are able,</I> able in body and
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purse for such a journey, or able in mind and tongue to manage the
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prosecution--<I>let those among you</I> who are fit to be managers,
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<I>go down with me, and accuse this man;</I> or, those who are
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competent witnesses, who are able to prove any thing criminal upon him,
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let them go and give in their evidence, if there be any such wickedness
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in him as you charge upon him." Festus will not take it for granted, as
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they desire he should, that there is wickedness in him, till it is
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proved upon him, and he has been heard in his own defence; but, if he
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be guilty, it lies upon them to prove him so.</P>
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<P>
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III. Paul's trial before Festus. Festus staid <I>at Jerusalem about ten
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days,</I> and then <I>went down to Cæsarea,</I> and the prosecutors,
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it is likely, in his retinue; for he said they should <I>go down with
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him;</I> and, since they are so eager in the prosecution, he is willing
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this cause should be first called; and, that they may hasten home, he
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will despatch it <I>the next day.</I> Expedition in administering
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justice is very commendable, provided more haste be not made than good
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speed. Now here we have,
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1. The court set, and the prisoner called to the bar. Festus <I>sat in
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the judgment-seat,</I> as he used to do when any cause was brought
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before him that was of consequence, and he <I>commanded Paul to be
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brought,</I> and to make his appearance,
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<A HREF="http://bible.gospelcom.net/bible?version=KJV&passage=Ac+25:6"><I>v.</I> 6</A>.
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Christ, to encourage his disciples and keep up their spirits under such
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awful trials of their courage as this was to Paul, promised them that
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the day should come when they <I>should sit on thrones, judging the
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tribes of Israel.</I>
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2. The prosecutors exhibiting their charges against the prisoner
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(<A HREF="http://bible.gospelcom.net/bible?version=KJV&passage=Ac+25:7"><I>v.</I> 7</A>):
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<I>The Jews stood round about,</I> which intimates that they were many.
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<I>Lord, how are they increased that trouble me!</I> It intimates also
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that they were unanimous, they stood by one another, and resolved to
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hold together; and that they were intent upon the prosecution, and
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eager in clamouring against Paul. They <I>stood round about,</I> if
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possible, to frighten the judge into a compliance with their malicious
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design, or, at least, to frighten the prisoner, and to put him out of
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countenance; but in vain: he had too just and strong an assurance to be
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frightened by them. <I>They compassed me about like bees, but they are
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quenched as the fire of thorns,</I>
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<A HREF="http://bible.gospelcom.net/bible?version=KJV&passage=Ps+118:12">Ps. cxviii. 12</A>.
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<I>When they stood round about him, they brought many and grievous
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accusations against Paul,</I> so it should be read. They charged him
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with high crimes and misdemeanors. The articles of impeachment were
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many, and contained things of a very heinous nature. They represented
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him to the court as black and odious as their wit and malice could
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contrive; but when they had opened the cause as they thought fit, and
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came to the evidence, there they failed: <I>they could not prove</I>
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what they alleged against him, for it was all false, and the complaints
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were groundless and unjust. Either the fact was not as they opened it,
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or there was no fault in it; <I>they laid to his charge things that he
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knew not,</I> nor they neither. It is no new thing for the most
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excellent ones of the earth to have all manner of evil said against
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them falsely, not only <I>in the song of the drunkards,</I> and upon
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<I>the seat of the scornful,</I> but even <I>before the
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judgment-seat.</I>
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3. The prisoner's insisting upon his own vindication,
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<A HREF="http://bible.gospelcom.net/bible?version=KJV&passage=Ac+25:8"><I>v.</I> 8</A>.
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Whoever reproaches him, his own heart does not, and therefore his own
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tongue shall not; <I>though he die, he will not remove his integrity
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from him.</I> When it came to his turn to speak <I>for himself,</I> he
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insisted upon his general plea, Not guilty: <I>Neither against the law
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of the Jews, nor against the temple, nor yet against Cæsar, have
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I offended any thing at all.</I>
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(1.) He had not violated the law of the Jews, nor taught any doctrine
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destructive of it. <I>Did he make void the law by faith? No, he
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established the law.</I> Preaching Christ, <I>the end of the law,</I>
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was no offence against the law.
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(2.) He had not profaned the temple, nor put any contempt at all upon
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the temple-service; his helping to set up the gospel temple did not at
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all offend against that temple which was a type of it.
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(3.) He had not offended against Cæsar, nor his government. By
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this it appears that now his cause being brought before the government,
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to curry favour with the governor and that they might seem friends to
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Cæsar, they had charged him with some instances of disaffection
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to the present higher powers, which obliged him to purge himself as to
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that matter, and to protest that he was no enemy to Cæsar, not so
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much as those were who charged him with being so.</P>
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<P>
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IV. Paul's appeal to the emperor, and the occasion of it. This gave the
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cause a new turn. Whether he had before designed it, or whether it was
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a sudden resolve upon the present provocation, does not appear; but God
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puts it into his heart to do it, for the bringing about of that which
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he had said to him, <I>that he must bear witness to Christ at
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Rome,</I> for there the emperor's court was,
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<A HREF="http://bible.gospelcom.net/bible?version=KJV&passage=Ac+23:11"><I>ch.</I> xxiii. 11</A>.
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We have here,</P>
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<P>
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1. The proposal which Festus made to Paul to go and take his trial at
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Jerusalem,
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<A HREF="http://bible.gospelcom.net/bible?version=KJV&passage=Ac+25:9"><I>v.</I> 9</A>.
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<I>Festus</I> was <I>willing to do the Jews a pleasure,</I> inclined to
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gratify the prosecutors rather than the prisoner, as far as he could go
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with safety against one that was a citizen of Rome, and therefore asked
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him whether he would be willing to go up to Jerusalem, and clear
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himself there, where he had been accused, and where he might have his
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witnesses ready to vouch for him and confirm what he said. He would not
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offer to turn him over to the high priest and the sanhedrim, as the
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Jews would have had him; but, <I>Wilt thou go thither, and be judged of
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these things before me?</I> The president, if he had pleased, might
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have ordered him thither, but he would not do it without his own
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consent, which, if he could have wheedled him to give it, would have
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taken off the odium of it. In suffering times, the prudence of the
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Lord's people is tried as well as their patience; being sent forth
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therefore as sheep in the midst of wolves, they have need to be wise as
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serpents.</P>
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<P>
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2. Paul's refusal to consent to it, and his reasons for it. He knew, if
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he were removed to Jerusalem, notwithstanding the utmost vigilance of
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the president, the Jews would find some means or other to be the death
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of him; and therefore desires to be excused, and pleads,
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(1.) That, as a citizen of Rome, it was most proper for him to be
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tried, not only by the president, but in that which was properly his
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court, which sat at Cæsarea: <I>I stand at Cæsar's
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|
judgment-seat, where I ought to be judged,</I> in the city which is the
|
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metropolis of the province. The court being held in Cæsar's name,
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|
and by his authority and commission, before one that was delegated by
|
|
him, it might well be said to be his judgment seat, as, with us, all
|
|
writs run in the name of the sovereign, in whose name all courts are
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held. Paul's owning that he ought to be judged at Cæsar's
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|
judgment-seat plainly proves that Christ's ministers are not exempted
|
|
from the jurisdiction of the civil powers, but ought to be subject to
|
|
them, as far as they can with a good conscience; and, if they be guilty
|
|
of a real crime, to submit to their censure; if innocent, yet to submit
|
|
to their enquiry, and to clear themselves before them.
|
|
|
|
(2.) That, as a member of the Jewish nation, he had done nothing to
|
|
make himself obnoxious to them: <I>To the Jews have I done no wrong, as
|
|
thou very well knowest.</I> It very well becomes those that are
|
|
innocent to plead their innocency, and to insist upon it; it is a debt
|
|
we owe to our own good name, not only not to bear false witness against
|
|
ourselves, but to maintain our own integrity against those who bear
|
|
false witness against us.
|
|
|
|
(3.) That he was willing to abide by the rules of the law, and to let
|
|
that take its course,
|
|
|
|
<A HREF="http://bible.gospelcom.net/bible?version=KJV&passage=Ac+25:11"><I>v.</I> 11</A>.
|
|
|
|
If he be guilty of any capital crime that deserves death, he will not
|
|
offer either to make resistance or to make his escape, will neither
|
|
flee from justice nor fight with it: "I refuse not to die, but will
|
|
accept of the punishment of my iniquity." Not that all who have
|
|
committed any thing worthy of death are obliged to accuse themselves,
|
|
and offer themselves to justice; but, when they are accused and brought
|
|
to justice, they ought to submit, and to say both God and the
|
|
government are righteous; as it is necessary that some should be made
|
|
examples. But, if he be innocent, as he protests he is, "<I>If there be
|
|
none of these things whereof these accuse me,</I>--if the prosecution
|
|
be malicious and they are resolved to have my blood right or
|
|
wrong,--<I>no man may deliver me unto them,</I> no, not the governor
|
|
himself, without palpable injustice; for it is his business as much to
|
|
protect the innocent as to punish the guilty;" and he claims his
|
|
protection.</P>
|
|
|
|
<P>
|
|
|
|
3. His appealing to court. Since he is continually in danger of the
|
|
Jews, and one attempt made after another to get him into their hands,
|
|
<I>whose tender mercies were cruel,</I> he flies to the <I>dernier
|
|
resort--the last refuge</I> of oppressed innocency, and takes sanctuary
|
|
there, since he cannot have justice done him in any other way: "<I>I
|
|
appeal unto Cæsar.</I> Rather than be delivered to the Jews"
|
|
(which Festus seems inclined to consent to) "let me be delivered to
|
|
Nero." When David had divers times narrowly escaped the rage of Saul,
|
|
and concluded he was such a restless enemy that he should <I>one day
|
|
perish by his hands,</I> he came to this resolution, being in a manner
|
|
compelled to it, <I>There is nothing better for me than to take shelter
|
|
in the land of the Philistines,</I>
|
|
|
|
<A HREF="http://bible.gospelcom.net/bible?version=KJV&passage=1Sa+27:1">1 Sam. xxvii. 1</A>.
|
|
|
|
So Paul here. But it is a hard case that a son of Abraham must be
|
|
forced to appeal to a Philistine, to a Nero, from those who call
|
|
themselves the seed of Abraham, and shall be safer in Gath or Rome than
|
|
in Jerusalem. <I>How is the faithful city become a harlot!</I></P>
|
|
|
|
<P>
|
|
|
|
V. The judgment given upon the whole matter. Paul is neither released
|
|
nor condemned. His enemies hoped the cause would be ended in his death;
|
|
his friends hoped it would be ended in his deliverance; but it proved
|
|
neither so nor so, they are both disappointed, the thing is left as it
|
|
was. It is an instance of the slow steps which Providence sometimes
|
|
takes, not bringing things to an issue so soon as we expect, by which
|
|
we are often made ashamed both of our hopes and of our fears, and are
|
|
kept still waiting on God. The cause had before been adjourned to
|
|
another time, now to another place, to another court, that Paul's
|
|
<I>tribulation might work patience.</I>
|
|
|
|
1. The president takes advice upon the matter: <I>He conferred with the
|
|
council</I>--<B><I>meta tou symbouliou,</I></B> not with the council of
|
|
the Jews (that is called <B><I>synedrion</I></B>), but with his own
|
|
counsellors, who were always ready to assist the governor with their
|
|
advice. <I>In multitude of counsellors there is safety;</I> and judges
|
|
should consult both with themselves and others before they pass
|
|
sentence.
|
|
|
|
2. He determines to send him to Rome. Some think Paul meant not an
|
|
appeal to Cæsar's person, but only to his court, the sentence of
|
|
which he would abide by, rather than be remitted to the Jew's council,
|
|
and that Festus might have chosen whether he would have sent him to
|
|
Rome, or, at least, whether he would have joined issue with him upon
|
|
the appeal. But it should seem, by what Agrippa said
|
|
|
|
(<A HREF="http://bible.gospelcom.net/bible?version=KJV&passage=Ac+26:32"><I>ch.</I> xxvi. 32</A>),
|
|
|
|
that <I>he might have been set at liberty if he had not appealed to
|
|
Cæsar</I>--that, by the course of the Roman law, a Roman citizen
|
|
might appeal at any time to a superior court, even to the supreme, as
|
|
causes with us are removed by <I>certiorari,</I> and criminals by
|
|
<I>habeas corpus,</I> and as appeals are often made to the house of
|
|
peers. Festus, therefore, either of choice or of course, comes to this
|
|
resolution: <I>Hast thou appealed unto Cæsar? Unto Cæsar
|
|
thou shalt go.</I> He found there was something very extraordinary in
|
|
the case, which he was therefore afraid of giving judgment upon, either
|
|
one way or other, and the knowledge of which he thought would be an
|
|
entertainment to the emperor, and therefore he transmitted it to his
|
|
cognizance. In our judgment before God those that by justifying
|
|
themselves appeal to the law, to the law they shall go, and it will
|
|
condemn them; but those that by repentance and faith appeal to the
|
|
gospel, to the gospel they shall go, and it will save them.</P>
|
|
|
|
<A NAME="Ac25_13"> </A>
|
|
<A NAME="Ac25_14"> </A>
|
|
<A NAME="Ac25_15"> </A>
|
|
<A NAME="Ac25_16"> </A>
|
|
<A NAME="Ac25_17"> </A>
|
|
<A NAME="Ac25_18"> </A>
|
|
<A NAME="Ac25_19"> </A>
|
|
<A NAME="Ac25_20"> </A>
|
|
<A NAME="Ac25_21"> </A>
|
|
<A NAME="Ac25_22"> </A>
|
|
<A NAME="Ac25_23"> </A>
|
|
<A NAME="Ac25_24"> </A>
|
|
<A NAME="Ac25_25"> </A>
|
|
<A NAME="Ac25_26"> </A>
|
|
<A NAME="Ac25_27"> </A>
|
|
|
|
<A NAME="Sec2"> </A>
|
|
<TABLE WIDTH="100%" BORDER=0>
|
|
<TR><TD><FONT SIZE=+1><I>Agrippa's Visit to Festus; Paul Arraigned before Agrippa.</I></FONT></TD>
|
|
<TR><TD><HR SIZE=1></TD></TR>
|
|
</TABLE>
|
|
|
|
<P>
|
|
<FONT SIZE=+1>13 And after certain days king Agrippa and Bernice came unto
|
|
Cæsarea to salute Festus.
|
|
14 And when they had been there many days, Festus declared
|
|
Paul's cause unto the king, saying, There is a certain man left
|
|
in bonds by Felix:
|
|
15 About whom, when I was at Jerusalem, the chief priests and
|
|
the elders of the Jews informed <I>me,</I> desiring <I>to have</I> judgment
|
|
against him.
|
|
16 To whom I answered, It is not the manner of the Romans to
|
|
deliver any man to die, before that he which is accused have the
|
|
accusers face to face, and have licence to answer for himself
|
|
concerning the crime laid against him.
|
|
17 Therefore, when they were come hither, without any delay on
|
|
the morrow I sat on the judgment seat, and commanded the man to
|
|
be brought forth.
|
|
18 Against whom when the accusers stood up, they brought none
|
|
accusation of such things as I supposed:
|
|
19 But had certain questions against him of their own
|
|
superstition, and of one Jesus, which was dead, whom Paul
|
|
affirmed to be alive.
|
|
20 And because I doubted of such manner of questions, I asked
|
|
<I>him</I> whether he would go to Jerusalem, and there be judged of
|
|
these matters.
|
|
21 But when Paul had appealed to be reserved unto the hearing
|
|
of Augustus, I commanded him to be kept till I might send him to
|
|
Cæsar.
|
|
22 Then Agrippa said unto Festus, I would also hear the man
|
|
myself. To morrow, said he, thou shalt hear him.
|
|
23 And on the morrow, when Agrippa was come, and Bernice, with
|
|
great pomp, and was entered into the place of hearing, with the
|
|
chief captains, and principal men of the city, at Festus'
|
|
commandment Paul was brought forth.
|
|
24 And Festus said, King Agrippa, and all men which are here
|
|
present with us, ye see this man, about whom all the multitude of
|
|
the Jews have dealt with me, both at Jerusalem, and <I>also</I> here,
|
|
crying that he ought not to live any longer.
|
|
25 But when I found that he had committed nothing worthy of
|
|
death, and that he himself hath appealed to Augustus, I have
|
|
determined to send him.
|
|
26 Of whom I have no certain thing to write unto my lord.
|
|
Wherefore I have brought him forth before you, and specially
|
|
before thee, O king Agrippa, that, after examination had, I might
|
|
have somewhat to write.
|
|
27 For it seemeth to me unreasonable to send a prisoner, and
|
|
not withal to signify the crimes <I>laid</I> against him.
|
|
</FONT></P>
|
|
|
|
<P>
|
|
|
|
We have here the preparation that was made for another hearing of Paul
|
|
before King Agrippa, not in order to his giving judgment upon him, but
|
|
in order to his giving advice concerning him, or rather only to gratify
|
|
his curiosity. Christ had said, concerning his followers, <I>that they
|
|
should be brought before governors and kings.</I> In the former part of
|
|
this chapter Paul was brought before Festus the governor, here before
|
|
Agrippa the king, for a testimony to both. Here is,</P>
|
|
|
|
<P>
|
|
|
|
I. The kind and friendly visit which king Agrippa made to Festus, now
|
|
upon his coming into the government in that province
|
|
|
|
(<A HREF="http://bible.gospelcom.net/bible?version=KJV&passage=Ac+25:13"><I>v.</I> 13</A>):
|
|
|
|
<I>After certain days, king Agrippa came to Cæsarea.</I> Here is
|
|
royal visit. Kings usually think it enough to send their ambassadors
|
|
to congratulate their friends, but here was a king that came himself,
|
|
that made the majesty of a prince yield to the satisfaction of a
|
|
friend; for personal converse is the most pleasant among friends.
|
|
Observe,</P>
|
|
|
|
<P>
|
|
|
|
1. Who the visitants were.
|
|
|
|
(1.) King Agrippa, the son of that Herod (surnamed <I>Agrippa</I>) who
|
|
killed James the apostle, and was himself eaten of worms, and great
|
|
grandson of Herod the Great, under whom Christ was born. Josephus calls
|
|
this <I>Agrippa the younger;</I> Claudius the emperor made him king of
|
|
Chalcis, and <I>tetrarch of Trachonitis and Abylene,</I> mentioned
|
|
|
|
<A HREF="http://bible.gospelcom.net/bible?version=KJV&passage=Lu+3:1">Luke iii. 1</A>.
|
|
|
|
The Jewish writers speak of him, and (as Dr. Lightfoot tells us) among
|
|
other things relate this story of him, "That reading the law publicly,
|
|
in the latter end of the year of release, as was enjoined, the king,
|
|
when he came to those words
|
|
|
|
(<A HREF="http://bible.gospelcom.net/bible?version=KJV&passage=De+17:15">Deut. xvii. 15</A>),
|
|
|
|
<I>Thou shalt not set a stranger king over thee, who is not of thy
|
|
brethren,</I> the tears ran down his cheeks, for he was not of the seed
|
|
of Israel, which the congregation observing, cried out, Be of good
|
|
comfort, king Agrippa, thou art our brother; for he was of their
|
|
religion, though not of their blood."
|
|
|
|
(2.) Bernice came with him. She was his own sister, now a widow, the
|
|
widow of his uncle Herod, king of Chalcis, after whose death she lived
|
|
with this brother of hers, who was suspected to be too familiar with
|
|
her, and, after she was a second time married to Polemon king of
|
|
Cilicia, she got to be divorced from him, and returned to her brother
|
|
king Agrippa. Juvenal (<I>Sat.</I> 6) speaks of a diamond ring which
|
|
Agrippa gave to Bernice, his incestuous sister:--</P>
|
|
|
|
<CENTER>
|
|
<TABLE BORDER=0>
|
|
<TR><TD>--------------Berenices
|
|
<BR>In digito factus pretiosior; hunc dedit olim
|
|
<BR>Barbarus incestæ, dedit hunc Agrippa sorori.
|
|
<BR>
|
|
<BR>That far-famed gem which on the finger glow'd
|
|
<BR>Of Bernice (dearer thence), bestowed
|
|
<BR>By an incestuous brother.--G<FONT SIZE=-1>IFFORD</FONT>.</TD></TR>
|
|
</TABLE>
|
|
</CENTER>
|
|
|
|
<P>
|
|
|
|
And both Tacitus and Suetonius speak of a criminal intimacy afterwards
|
|
between her and Titus Vespasian. Drusilla, the wife of Felix, was
|
|
another sister. Such lewd people were the great people generally in
|
|
those times! <I>Say not that the former days were better.</I></P>
|
|
|
|
<P>
|
|
|
|
2. What the design of this visit was: they <I>came to salute
|
|
Festus,</I> to give him joy of his new promotion, and to wish him joy
|
|
in it; they came to compliment him upon his accession to the
|
|
government, and to keep up a good correspondence with him, that
|
|
Agrippa, who had the government of Galilee, might act in concert with
|
|
Festus, who had the government of Judea; but it is probable they came
|
|
as much to divert themselves as to show respect to him, and to share in
|
|
the entertainments of his court, and to show their fine clothes, which
|
|
would do vain people no good if they did not go abroad.</P>
|
|
|
|
<P>
|
|
|
|
II. The account which Festus gave to king Agrippa of Paul and his case,
|
|
which he gave.</P>
|
|
|
|
<P>
|
|
|
|
1. To entertain him, and give him some diversion. It was a very
|
|
remarkable story, and worth any man's hearing, not only as it was
|
|
surprising and entertaining, but, if it were truly and fully told, very
|
|
instructive and edifying; and it would be particularly acceptable to
|
|
Agrippa, not only because he was a judge, and there were some points of
|
|
law and practice in it well worth his notice, but much more as he was a
|
|
Jew, and there were some points of religion in it much more deserving
|
|
his cognizance.</P>
|
|
|
|
<P>
|
|
|
|
2. To have his advice. <I>Festus</I> was but newly come to be a judge,
|
|
at least to be a judge in these parts, and therefore was diffident of
|
|
himself and of his own ability, and willing to have the counsel of
|
|
those that were older and more experienced, especially in a matter that
|
|
had so much difficulty in it as Paul's case seemed to have, and
|
|
therefore he declared it to the king. Let us now see the particular
|
|
account he gives to king Agrippa concerning Paul,
|
|
|
|
<A HREF="http://bible.gospelcom.net/bible?version=KJV&passage=Ac+25:14-21"><I>v.</I> 14-21</A>.</P>
|
|
|
|
<P>
|
|
|
|
(1.) He found him a prisoner when he came into the government of this
|
|
province; and therefore could not of his own knowledge give an account
|
|
of his cause from the beginning: <I>There is a certain man left in
|
|
bonds by Felix;</I> and therefore, if there were any thing amiss in the
|
|
first taking of him into custody, Festus is not to answer for that, for
|
|
he found him in bonds. When <I>Felix, to do the Jews a pleasure, left
|
|
Paul bound,</I> though he knew him to be innocent, he knew not what he
|
|
did, knew not but he might fall into worse hands than he did fall into,
|
|
though they were none of the best.</P>
|
|
|
|
<P>
|
|
|
|
(2.) That the Jewish sanhedrim were extremely set against him: "The
|
|
<I>chief priests and the elders informed me</I> against him as a
|
|
dangerous man, and not fit to live, and desired he might therefore be
|
|
condemned to die." These being great pretenders to religion, and
|
|
therefore to be supposed men of honour and honesty, Festus thinks he
|
|
ought to give credit to them; but Agrippa knows them better than he
|
|
does, and therefore Festus desires his advice in this matter.</P>
|
|
|
|
<P>
|
|
|
|
(3.) That he had insisted upon the Roman law in favour of the prisoner,
|
|
and would not condemn him unheard
|
|
|
|
(<A HREF="http://bible.gospelcom.net/bible?version=KJV&passage=Ac+25:16"><I>v.</I> 16</A>):
|
|
|
|
"<I>It is not the manner of the Romans,</I> who herein govern
|
|
themselves by the law of nature and the fundamental rules of justice,
|
|
to <I>deliver any man to die,</I> to grant him to destruction" (so the
|
|
word is), "to gratify his enemies with his destruction, <I>before the
|
|
accused has the accusers face to face,</I> to confront their testimony,
|
|
and have both licence and time given him to answer for himself." He
|
|
seems to upbraid them as if they reflected upon the Romans and their
|
|
government in asking such a thing, or expecting that they would condemn
|
|
a man without trying him: "No," says he, "I would have you to know,
|
|
whatever you may allow of among yourselves, the Romans allow not of
|
|
such a piece of injustice among them." <I>Audi et alteram partem--Hear
|
|
the other side,</I> had become a proverb among them. This rule we ought
|
|
to be governed by in our private censures in common conversation; we
|
|
must not give men bad characters, nor condemn their words and actions,
|
|
till we have heard what is to be said in their vindication. See
|
|
|
|
<A HREF="http://bible.gospelcom.net/bible?version=KJV&passage=Joh+7:51">John vii. 51</A>.</P>
|
|
|
|
<P>
|
|
|
|
(4.) That he had brought him upon his trial, according to the duty of
|
|
his place,
|
|
|
|
<A HREF="http://bible.gospelcom.net/bible?version=KJV&passage=Ac+25:17"><I>v.</I> 17</A>.
|
|
|
|
That he had been expeditious in it, and the prosecutors had not reason
|
|
to complain of his being dilatory, for <I>as soon as ever they had
|
|
come</I> (and we are sure they lost no time) <I>without any delay, on
|
|
the morrow,</I> he had brought on the cause. He had likewise tried him
|
|
in the most solemn manner: He <I>sat on the judgment-seat,</I> as they
|
|
used to do in weightier causes, while those that were of small moment
|
|
they judged <I>de plano--upon even ground.</I> He called a great court
|
|
on purpose for the trial of Paul, that the sentence might be
|
|
definitive, and the cause ended.</P>
|
|
|
|
<P>
|
|
|
|
(5.) That he was extremely <I>disappointed</I> in the charge they
|
|
brought against him
|
|
|
|
(<A HREF="http://bible.gospelcom.net/bible?version=KJV&passage=Ac+25:18,19"><I>v.</I> 18, 19</A>):
|
|
|
|
<I>When the accusers stood up against him,</I> and opened their
|
|
indictment, <I>they brought no accusations of such things as I
|
|
supposed.</I></P>
|
|
|
|
<P>
|
|
|
|
[1.] He supposed by the eagerness of their prosecution, and their
|
|
urging it thus upon the Roman governors one after another,
|
|
<I>First,</I> That they had something to accuse him of that was
|
|
dangerous either to private property or the public peace,--that they
|
|
would undertake to prove him a robber, or a murderer, or a rebel
|
|
against the Roman power,--that he had been in arms to head a
|
|
sedition,--that if he were not that Egyptian who lately made an uproar,
|
|
and commanded a party of cut-throats, as the chief captain supposed him
|
|
to be, yet he was one of the same kidney. Such were the outcries
|
|
against the primitive Christians, so loud, so fierce, that the
|
|
standers-by, who judged of them by those outcries, could not but
|
|
conclude them the worst of men; and to represent them so was the design
|
|
of that clamour, as it was against our Saviour. <I>Secondly,</I> That
|
|
they had something to accuse him of that was cognizable in the Roman
|
|
courts, and which the governor was properly the judge of, as Gallio
|
|
expected
|
|
|
|
(<A HREF="http://bible.gospelcom.net/bible?version=KJV&passage=Ac+18:14"><I>ch.</I> xviii. 14</A>);
|
|
|
|
otherwise it was absurd and ridiculous to trouble him with it, and
|
|
really an affront to him.</P>
|
|
|
|
<P>
|
|
|
|
[2.] But to his great surprise he finds the matter is neither so nor
|
|
so; they had <I>certain questions against him,</I> instead of proofs
|
|
and evidences against him. The worst they had to say against him was
|
|
disputable whether it was a crime or no-moot-points, that would bear an
|
|
endless debate, but had no tendency to fasten any guilt upon him,
|
|
questions fitter for the schools than for the judgment-seat. And they
|
|
were questions <I>of their own superstition,</I> so he calls their
|
|
religion; or, rather, so he calls that part of their religion which
|
|
Paul was charged with doing damage to. The Romans protected their
|
|
religion according to their law, but not their superstition, nor the
|
|
tradition of their elders. But the great question, it seems, was
|
|
<I>concerning one Jesus that was dead, whom Paul affirmed to be
|
|
alive.</I> Some think the superstition he speaks of was the Christian
|
|
religion, which Paul preached, and that he had the same notion of it
|
|
that the Athenians had, that it was the introducing of a new demon,
|
|
even Jesus. See how slightly this Roman speaks of Christ, and of his
|
|
death and resurrection, and of the great controversy between the Jews
|
|
and the Christians whether he were the Messiah promised or no, and the
|
|
great proof of his being the Messiah, his resurrection from the dead,
|
|
as if it were no more than this, There was one Jesus that was dead, and
|
|
Paul affirmed he was alive. In many causes issue is joined upon this
|
|
question, whether such a person that has been long absent be living or
|
|
dead, and proofs are brought on both sides; and Festus will have it
|
|
thought that this is a matter of no more moment. Whereas this Jesus,
|
|
whom he prides himself in being thus ignorant of, as if he were below
|
|
his notice, is he that <I>was dead, and is alive, and lives for
|
|
evermore, and has the keys of hell and of death,</I>
|
|
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|
<A HREF="http://bible.gospelcom.net/bible?version=KJV&passage=Re+1:18">Rev. i. 18</A>.
|
|
|
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What Paul affirmed concerning Jesus, that he is alive, is a matter of
|
|
such vast importance that if it be not true we are all undone.</P>
|
|
|
|
<P>
|
|
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|
(6.) That therefore he had proposed to Paul that the cause might be
|
|
adjourned to the Jewish courts, as best able to take cognizance of an
|
|
affair of this nature
|
|
|
|
(<A HREF="http://bible.gospelcom.net/bible?version=KJV&passage=Ac+25:20"><I>v.</I> 20</A>):
|
|
|
|
"<I>Because I doubted of such manner of questions,</I> and thought
|
|
myself unfit to judge of things I did not understand, <I>I asked him
|
|
whether he would go to Jerusalem,</I> appear before the great
|
|
sanhedrim, <I>and there be judged of these matters.</I>" He would not
|
|
force him to it, but would be glad if Paul would consent to it, that he
|
|
might not have his conscience burdened with a cause of this nature.</P>
|
|
|
|
<P>
|
|
|
|
(7.) That Paul had chosen rather to remove his cause to Rome than to
|
|
Jerusalem, as expecting fairer play from the emperor than from the
|
|
priests: "He <I>appealed to be reserved to the hearing of Augustus</I>
|
|
|
|
(<A HREF="http://bible.gospelcom.net/bible?version=KJV&passage=Ac+25:21"><I>v.</I> 21</A>),
|
|
|
|
having no other way to stop proceedings here in this inferior court;
|
|
and therefore I <I>commanded him to be kept</I> a close prisoner
|
|
<I>till I might send him to Cæsar,</I> for I did not see cause to
|
|
refuse his appeal, but rather was pleased with it."</P>
|
|
|
|
<P>
|
|
|
|
III. The bringing of him before Agrippa, that he might have the hearing
|
|
of his cause.</P>
|
|
|
|
<P>
|
|
|
|
1. The king desired it
|
|
|
|
(<A HREF="http://bible.gospelcom.net/bible?version=KJV&passage=Ac+25:22"><I>v.</I> 22</A>):
|
|
|
|
"I thank you for your account of him, but <I>I would also hear the man
|
|
myself.</I>" Agrippa knows more of this matter, of the cause and of the
|
|
person, than Festus does; he has heard of Paul, and knows of what vast
|
|
concern this question is, which Festus makes such a jest of, whether
|
|
Jesus be alive or no. And nothing would oblige him more than to hear
|
|
Paul. Many great men think it below them to take cognizance of the
|
|
matters of religion, except they can hear them like themselves in the
|
|
judgment-seat. Agrippa would not for all the world have gone to a
|
|
meeting to hear Paul preach, any more than Herod to hear Jesus; and yet
|
|
they are both glad to have them brought before them, only to satisfy
|
|
their curiosity. Perhaps Agrippa desired to hear him himself, that he
|
|
might be in a capacity to do him a kindness, and yet did him none, only
|
|
put some credit upon him.</P>
|
|
|
|
<P>
|
|
|
|
2. Festus granted it: <I>To-morrow thou shalt hear him.</I> There was a
|
|
good providence in this, for the encouragement of Paul, who seemed
|
|
buried alive in his imprisonment, and deprived of all opportunities of
|
|
doing good. We know not of any of his epistles that bore date from his
|
|
prison at Cæsarea. What opportunity he had of doing good to his
|
|
friends that visited him, and perhaps to a little congregation of them
|
|
that visited him every Lord's-day, was but a low and narrow sphere of
|
|
usefulness, so that he seemed to be thrown by as a <I>despised broken
|
|
vessel, in which there was no pleasure;</I> but this gives him an
|
|
opportunity of preaching Christ to a great congregation, and (which is
|
|
more) to a congregation of great ones. Felix heard him in private
|
|
concerning the faith of Christ. But Agrippa and Festus agree he shall
|
|
be heard in public. And we have reason to think that his sermon in the
|
|
next chapter, though it might not be so instrumental as some other of
|
|
his sermons for the conversion of souls, redounded as much to the
|
|
honour of Christ and Christianity as any sermon he ever preached in his
|
|
life.</P>
|
|
|
|
<P>
|
|
|
|
3. Great preparation was made for it
|
|
|
|
(<A HREF="http://bible.gospelcom.net/bible?version=KJV&passage=Ac+25:23"><I>v.</I> 23</A>):
|
|
|
|
<I>The next day</I> there was a great appearance <I>in the place of
|
|
hearing,</I> Paul and his cause being much talked of, and the more for
|
|
their being much talked against.</P>
|
|
|
|
<P>
|
|
|
|
(1.) Agrippa and Bernice took this opportunity to show themselves in
|
|
state, and to make a figure, and perhaps for that end desired the
|
|
occasion, that they might see and be seen; for <I>they came with great
|
|
pomp,</I> richly dressed, with gold and pearls, and costly array; with
|
|
a great retinue of footmen in rich liveries, which made a splendid
|
|
show, and dazzled the eyes of the gazing crowd. They came <B><I>meta
|
|
polles phantasias</I></B>--<I>with great fancy,</I> so the word is.
|
|
Note, Great pomp is but great fancy. It neither adds any read
|
|
excellency, nor gains any real respect, but feeds a vain humour, which
|
|
wise men would rather mortify than gratify. It is but a show, a dream,
|
|
a fantastical thing (so the word signifies), superficial, and <I>it
|
|
passeth away.</I> And the pomp of this appearance would put one for
|
|
ever out of conceit with pomp, when the pomp which Agrippa and Bernice
|
|
appeared in was,
|
|
|
|
[1.] Stained by their lewd characters, and all the beauty of it
|
|
sullied, and all virtuous people that knew them could not but contemn
|
|
them in the midst of all this pomp as vile persons,
|
|
|
|
<A HREF="http://bible.gospelcom.net/bible?version=KJV&passage=Ps+15:4">Ps. xv. 4</A>.
|
|
|
|
[2.] Outshone by the real glory of the poor prisoner at the bar. What
|
|
was the honour of their fine clothes, compared with that of his wisdom,
|
|
and grace, and holiness, his courage and constancy in suffering for
|
|
Christ! His bonds in so good a cause were more glorious than their
|
|
chains of gold, and his guards than their equipage. Who would be fond
|
|
of worldly pomp that here sees so bad a woman loaded with it and so
|
|
good a man loaded with the reverse of it?</P>
|
|
|
|
<P>
|
|
|
|
(2.) The chief captains and principal men of the city took this
|
|
opportunity to pay their respects to Festus and to his guests. It
|
|
answered the end of a ball at court, it brought the fine folks together
|
|
in their fine clothes, and served for an entertainment. It is probable
|
|
that Festus sent Paul notice of it overnight, to be ready for a hearing
|
|
the next morning before Agrippa. And such confidence had Paul in the
|
|
promise of Christ, that it should be <I>given him in that same hour
|
|
what he should speak,</I> that he complained not of the short warning,
|
|
nor was put into confusion by it. I am apt to think that those who were
|
|
to appear in pomp perplexed themselves more with care about their
|
|
clothes than Paul, who was to appear as a prisoner, did with care about
|
|
his cause; for he knew whom he had believed, and who stood by him.</P>
|
|
|
|
<P>
|
|
|
|
IV. The speech with which Festus introduced the cause, when the court,
|
|
or rather the audience, was set, which is much to the same purport with
|
|
the account he had just now given to Agrippa.
|
|
|
|
1. He addressed himself respectfully to the company: "<I>King Agrippa,
|
|
and all men who are here present with us.</I>" He speaks <I>to all the
|
|
men</I>--<B><I>pantes andres,</I></B> as if he intended a tacit
|
|
reflection upon Bernice, a woman, for appearing in a meeting of this
|
|
nature; he does not refer any thing to her judgment nor desire her
|
|
counsel; but, "<I>All you that are present that are men</I> (so the
|
|
words are placed), I desire you to take cognizance of this matter." The
|
|
word used is that which signifies men in distinction from women; what
|
|
had Bernice to do here?
|
|
|
|
2. He represents the prisoner as one that the Jews had a very great
|
|
spite against; not only the rulers, but <I>the multitude of them, both
|
|
at Jerusalem and here at Cæsarea,</I> cry out <I>that he ought
|
|
not to live any longer,</I> for they think he has lived too long
|
|
already, and if he live any longer it will be to do more mischief. They
|
|
could not charge him with any capital crime, but they wanted to have
|
|
him out of the way.
|
|
|
|
3. He confesses the prisoner's innocency; and it was much for the
|
|
honour of Paul and his bonds that he had such a public acknowledgement
|
|
as this from the mouth of his judge
|
|
|
|
(<A HREF="http://bible.gospelcom.net/bible?version=KJV&passage=Ac+25:25"><I>v.</I> 25</A>):
|
|
|
|
<I>I found that he had committed nothing worthy of death.</I> Upon a
|
|
full hearing of the case, it appeared there was no evidence at all to
|
|
support the indictment: and therefore, though he was inclinable enough
|
|
to favour the prosecutors, yet his own conscience brought in Paul
|
|
<I>not guilty.</I> And why did he not discharge him then, for he stood
|
|
upon his deliverance? Why, truly, because he was so much clamoured
|
|
against, and he feared the clamour would turn upon himself if he should
|
|
release him. It is a pity but every man that has a conscience should
|
|
have courage to act according to it. Or perhaps because there was so
|
|
much smoke that he concluded there could not but be some fire, which
|
|
would appear at last, and he would detain him a prisoner in expectation
|
|
of it.
|
|
|
|
4. He acquaints them with the present state of the case, that the
|
|
prisoner had appealed to the emperor himself (where by he put ann
|
|
honour upon his own cause, as knowing it not unworthy the cognizance of
|
|
the greatest of men), and that he had admitted his appeal: <I>I have
|
|
determined to send him.</I> And thus the cause now stood.
|
|
|
|
5. He desires their assistance in examining the matter calmly and
|
|
impartially, now that there was no danger of their being interrupted,
|
|
as he had been with the noisiness and outrage of the prosecutors-that
|
|
he might have at least such an insight into the cause as was necessary
|
|
to his stating it to the emperor,
|
|
|
|
<A HREF="http://bible.gospelcom.net/bible?version=KJV&passage=Ac+25:26,27"><I>v.</I> 26, 27</A>.
|
|
|
|
(1.) He thought it <I>unreasonable to send a prisoner,</I> especially
|
|
so far as Rome, <I>and not withal to signify the crimes laid against
|
|
him,</I> that the matter might be prepared as much as possible, and put
|
|
in a readiness for the emperor's determination; for he is supposed to
|
|
be a man of great business, and therefore every affair must be laid
|
|
before him in as little compass as possible.
|
|
|
|
(2.) He could not as yet write <I>any thing certain</I> concerning
|
|
Paul; so confused were the informations that were given in against him,
|
|
and so inconsistent, that Festus could make nothing at all of them. He
|
|
therefore desired Paul might thus be publicly examined, that he might
|
|
be advised by them what to write. See what a great deal of trouble and
|
|
vexation those were put to, and to what delay, nay, and to what hazard,
|
|
in the administration of public justice, who live at such a distance
|
|
from Rome, and yet were subject to the emperor of Rome. The same was
|
|
this nation of ours put to (which is about as far distant from Rome the
|
|
other way) when it was in ecclesiastical affairs subject to the pope of
|
|
Rome, and appeals were upon all occasions made to his court; and the
|
|
same mischiefs, and a thousand worse, would those bring upon us who
|
|
would again entangle us in that yoke of bondage.</P>
|
|
|
|
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