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Commentary on Acts 26 verses 24–32
We have reason to think that Paul had a great deal more to say in defence of the gospel he preached, and for the honour of it, and to recommend it to the good opinion of this noble audience; he had just fallen upon that which was the life of the cause - the death and resurrection of Jesus Christ, and here he is in his element; now he warms more than before, his mouth is opened towards them, his heart is enlarged. Lead him but to this subject, and let him have leave to go on, and he will never know when to conclude; for the power of Christ's death, and the fellowship of his sufferings, are with him inexhaustible subjects. It was a thousand pities then that he should be interrupted, as he is here, and that, being permitted to speak for himself (Act 26:1), he should not be permitted to say all he designed. But it was a hardship often put upon him, and is a disappointment to us too, who read his discourse with so much pleasure. But there is no remedy, the court thinks it is time to proceed to give in their judgment upon his case.
I. Festus, the Roman governor, is of opinion that the poor man is crazed, and that Bedlam is the fittest place for him. he is convinced that he is no criminal, no bad man, that should be punished, but he takes him to be a lunatic, a distracted man, that should be pitied, but at the same time should not be heeded, nor a word he says regarded; and thus he thinks he has found out an expedient to excuse himself both from condemning Paul as a prisoner and from believing him as a preacher; for, if he be not compos mentis - in his senses, he is not to be either condemned or credited. Now here observe,
1.What it was that Festus said of him (Act 26:24): He said with a loud voice, did not whisper it to those that sat next him; if so, it had been the more excusable, but (without consulting Agrippa, to whose judgment he had seemed to pay profound deference, Act 25:26), said aloud, that he might oblige Paul to break off his discourse, and might divert the auditors from attending to it "Paul, thou art beside thyself, thou talkest like a madman, like one with a heated brain, that knowest not what thou sayest;" yet he does not suppose that a guilty conscience had disturbed his reason, nor that his sufferings, and the rage of his enemies against him, had given any shock to it; but he puts the most candid construction that could be upon his delirium: Much learning hath made thee mad, thou hast cracked thy brains with studying. This he speaks, not so much in anger, as in scorn and contempt. He did not understand what Paul said; it was above his capacity, it was all a riddle to him, and therefore he imputes it all to a heated imagination. Si non vis intelligi, debes negligi - if thou art not willing to be understood, thou oughtest to be neglected. (1.) He owns Paul to be a scholar, and a man of learning, because he could so readily refer to what Moses and the prophets wrote, books that he was a stranger to; and even this is turned to his reproach. The apostles, who were fishermen, were despised because they had no learning; Paul, who was a university-man, and bred a Pharisee, is despised as having too much learning, more than did him good. Thus the enemies of Christ's ministers will always have something or other to upbraid them with. (2.) He reproaches him as a madman. The prophets of the Old Testament were thus stigmatized, to prejudice people against them by putting them into an ill-name: Wherefore came this mad fellow unto thee? said the captains of the prophet, Kg2 9:11; Hos 9:7. John Baptist and Christ were represented as having a devil, as being crazed. It is probable that Paul now spoke with more life and earnestness than he did in the beginning of his discourse, and used more gestures that were expressive of his zeal, and therefore Festus put this invidious character upon him, which perhaps never a one in the company but himself thought of. It is not so harmless a suggestion as some make it to say concerning those that are zealous in religion above others that they are crazed.
2.How Paul cleared himself from this invidious imputation, which whether he had ever lain under before is not certain; it should seem, it had been said of him by the false apostles, for he ways (Co2 5:13), If we be beside ourselves, as they say we are, it is to God; but he was never charged with this before the Roman governor, and therefore he must say something to this. (1.) He denies the charge, with due respect indeed to the governor, but with justice to himself, protesting that there was neither ground nor colour for it (Act 26:25): "I am not mad, most noble Festus, nor ever was, nor any thing like it; the use of my reason, thanks be to God, has been all my days continued to me, and at this time I do not ramble, but speak the words of truth and soberness, and know what I say." Observe, Though Festus gave Paul this base and contemptuous usage, not becoming a gentlemen, much less a judge, yet Paul is so far from resenting it, and being provoked by it, that he gives him all possible respect, compliments him with his title of honour, most noble Festus, to teach us not to render railing for railing, nor one invidious character for another, but to speak civilly to those who speak slightly of us. It becomes us, upon all occasions, to speak the words of truth and soberness, and then we may despise the unjust censures of men. (2.) He appeals to Agrippa concerning what he spoke (Act 26:26): For the king knows of these things, concerning Christ, and his death and resurrection, and the prophecies of the Old Testament, which had their accomplishment therein. He therefore spoke freely before him, who knew these were no fancies, but matters of fact, knew something of them, and therefore would be willing to know more: For I am persuaded that none of these things are hidden from him; no, not that which he had related concerning his own conversion, and the commission he had received to preach the gospel. Agrippa could not but have heard of it, having been so long conversant among the Jews. This thing was not done in a corner; all the country rang of it; and any of the Jews present might have witnessed for him that they had heard it many a time from others, and therefore it was unreasonable to censure him as a distracted man for relating it, much more for speaking of the death and resurrection of Christ, which was so universally spoken of. Peter tells Cornelius and his friends (Act 10:37), That word you know which was published throughout all Judea concerning Christ; and therefore Agrippa could not be ignorant of it, and it was a shame for Festus that he was so.
II. Agrippa is so far from thinking him a madman that he thinks he never heard a man argue more strongly, nor talk more to the purpose.
1.Paul applies himself closely to Agrippa's conscience. Some think Festus was displeased at Paul because he kept his eye upon Agrippa, and directed his discourse to him all along, and that therefore he gave him that interruption, Act 26:24. But, if that was the thing that affronted him, Paul regards it not: he will speak to those who understand him, and whom he is likely to fasten something upon, and therefore still addresses Agrippa; and, because he had mentioned Moses and the prophets as confirming the gospel he preached, he refers Agrippa to them (Act 26:27): "King Agrippa, believest thou the prophets? Dost thou receive the scriptures of the Old Testament as a divine revelation, and admit them as foretelling good things to come?" He does not stay for an answer, but, in compliment to Agrippa, takes it for granted: I know that thou believest; for every one knew that Agrippa professed the Jews' religion, as his fathers had done, and therefore both knew the writings of the prophets and gave credit to them. Note, It is good dealing with those who have acquaintance with the scriptures and believe them; for such one has some hold of.
2.Agrippa owns there was a great deal of reason in what Paul said (Act 26:28): Almost thou persuadest me to be a Christian. Some understand this as spoken ironically, and read it thus, Wouldst thou in so little a time persuade me to be a Christian? But, taking it so, it is an acknowledgement that Paul spoke very much to the purpose, and that, whatever others thought of it, to his mind there came a convincing power along with what he said: "Paul, thou art too hasty, thou canst not think to make a convert of me all of a sudden." Others take it as spoken seriously, and as a confession that he was in a manner, or within a little, convinced that Christ was the Messiah; for he could not but own, and had many a time thought so within himself, that the prophecies of the Old Testament had had their accomplishment in him; and now that it is urged thus solemnly upon him he is ready to yield to the conviction, he begins to sound a parley, and to think of rendering. He is as near being persuaded to believe in Christ as Felix, when he trembled, was to leave his sins: he sees a great deal of reason for Christianity; the proofs of it, he owns, are strong, and such as he cannot answer; the objections against it trifling, and such as he cannot for shame insist upon; so that if it were not for his obligations to the ceremonial law, and his respect to the religion of his fathers and of his country, or his regard to his dignity as a king and to his secular interests, he would turn Christian immediately. Note, Many are almost persuaded to be religious who are not quite persuaded; they are under strong convictions of their duty, and of the excellency of the ways of God, but yet are overruled by some external inducements, and do not pursue their convictions.
3.Paul, not being allowed time to pursue his argument, concludes with a compliment, or rather a pious wish that all his hearers were Christians, and this wish turned into a prayer: euxaimēn an tō Theō - I pray to God for it (Act 26:29); it was his heart's desire and prayer to God for them all that they might be saved, Rom 10:1. That not only thou but all that hear me this day (for he has the same kind design upon them all) were both almost, and altogether, such as I am, except these bonds. Hereby, (1.) He professes his resolution to cleave to his religion, as that which he was entirely satisfied in, and determined to live and die by. In wishing that they were all as he was, he does in effect declare against ever being as they were, whether Jews or Gentiles, how much soever it might be to his worldly advantage. He adheres to the instruction God gave to the prophet (Jer 15:19), Let them return unto thee, but return not thou unto them. (2.) He intimates his satisfaction not only in the truth, but in the benefit and advantage of Christianity; he had so much comfort in it for the present, and was so sure it would end in his eternal happiness, that he could not wish better to the best friend he had in the world than to wish him such a one as he was, a faithful zealous disciple of Jesus Christ. Let my enemy be as the wicked, says Job, Job 27:7. Let my friend be as the Christian, says Paul. (3.) He intimates his trouble and concern that Agrippa went no further than being almost such a one as he was, almost a Christian, and not altogether one; for he wishes that he and the rest of them might be not only almost (what good would that do?) but altogether such as he was, sincere thorough-paced Christians. (4.) He intimates that it was the concern, and would be the unspeakable happiness, of every one of them to become true Christians - that there is grace enough in Christ for all, be they ever so many - enough for each, be they ever so craving. (5.) He intimates the hearty good-will he bore to them all; he wishes them, [1.] As well as he wished his own soul, that they might be as happy in Christ as he was. [2.] Better than he now was as to his outward condition, for he excepts these bonds; he wishes they might all be comforted Christians as he was, but not persecuted Christians as he was - that they might taste as much as he did of the advantages that attended religion, but not so much of its crosses. They had made light of his imprisonment, and were in no concern for him. Felix detained him in bonds to gratify the Jews. Now this would have tempted many a one to wish them all in his bonds, that they might know what it was to be confined as he was, and then they would know the better how to pity him; but he was so far from this that, when he wished them in bonds to Christ, he desired they might never be in bonds for Christ. Nothing could be said more tenderly nor with a better grace.
III. They all agree that Paul is an innocent man, and is wronged in his prosecution. 1. The court broke up with some precipitation (Act 26:30): When he had spoken that obliging word (Act 26:29), which moved them all, the king was afraid, if he were permitted to go on, he would say something yet more moving, which might work upon some of them to appear more in his favour than was convenient, and perhaps might prevail with them to turn Christians. The king himself found his own heart begin to yield, and durst not trust himself to hear more, but, like Felix, dismissed Paul for this time. They ought in justice to have asked the prisoner whether he had any more to say for himself; but they thought he had said enough, and therefore the king rose up, and the governor, and Bernice, and those that sat with them, concluding the case was plain, and with this they contented themselves, when Paul had more to say which would have made it plainer. 2. They all concurred in an opinion of Paul's innocency, Act 26:31. The court withdrew to consult of the matter, to know one another's minds upon it, and they talked among themselves, all to the same purport, that this man does nothing worthy of bonds - he is not a dangerous man, whom it is prudent to confine. After this, Nero made a law for the putting of those to death who professed the Christian religion, but as yet there was no law of that kind among the Romans, and therefore no transgression; and this judgment of theirs is a testimony against that wicked law which Nero made not long after this, that Paul, the most active zealous Christian that ever was, was adjudged, even by those that were no friends to his way, to have done nothing worthy of death, or of bonds. Thus was he made manifest in the conscience of those who yet would not receive his doctrine; and the clamours of the hot-headed Jews, who cried out, Away with him, it is not fit he should live, were shamed by the moderate counsels of this court. 3. Agrippa gave his judgment that he might have been set at liberty, if he had not himself appealed to Caesar (Act 26:32), but by that appeal he had put a bar in his own door. Some think that by the Roman law this was true, that, when a prisoner had appealed to the supreme court, the inferior courts could no more discharge him than they could condemn him; and we suppose the law was so, if the prosecutors joined issue upon the appeal, and consented to it. But it does not appear that in Paul's case the prosecutors did so; he was forced to do it, to screen himself from their fury, when he saw the governor did not take the care he ought to have done for his protection. And therefore others think that Agrippa and Festus, being unwilling to disoblige the Jews by setting him at liberty, made this serve for an excuse of their continuing him in custody, when they themselves knew they might have justified the discharging of him. Agrippa, who was but almost persuaded to be a Christian, proves no better than if he had not been at all persuaded. And now I cannot tell, (1.) Whether Paul repented of his having appealed to Caesar, and wished he had not done it, blaming himself for it as a rash thing, now he saw that was the only thing that hindered his discharge. He had reason perhaps to reflect upon it with regret, and to charge himself with imprudence and impatience in it, and some distrust of the divine protection. He had better have appealed to God than to Caesar. It confirms what Solomon says (Ecc 6:12), Who knows what is good for man in this life? What we think is for our welfare often proves to be a trap; such short-sighted creatures are we, and so ill-advised in leaning, as we do, to our own understanding. Or, (2.) Whether, notwithstanding this, he was satisfied in what he had done, and was easy in his reflections upon it. His appealing to Caesar was lawful, and what became a Roman citizen, and would help to make his cause considerable; and forasmuch as when he did it it appeared to him, as the case then stood, to be for the best, though afterwards it appeared otherwise, he did not vex himself with any self-reproach in the matter, but believed there was a providence in it, and it would issue well at last. And besides, he was told in a vision that he must bear witness to Christ at Rome, Act 23:11. And it is all one to him whether he goes thither a prisoner or at his liberty; he knows the counsel of the Lord shall stand, and says, Let it stand. The will of the Lord be done.
See how again also they pass sentence in his favor, and after having said, "Thou art beside thyself," they acquit him, as undeserving not only of death, but also of bonds, and indeed would have released him entirely, if he had not appealed to Caesar. But this was done providentially, that he should also depart with bonds. "Unto bonds," he says, "as an evil doer." For if his Lord "was reckoned among the transgressors," much more he: but as the Lord did not share with them in their character, so neither did Paul. For in this is seen the marvellous thing, the being mixed up with such, and yet receiving no harm from them.
"And Agrippa said to Festus." Then Agrippa said to Festus: "This man might have been set at liberty, if he had not appealed to Caesar." Then Paul was delivered to centurion Julius with the guards, to sail to Italy. Going on board, they came to Sidon on the second day, where the centurion, treating Paul kindly, permitted him to go to his friends. From there they came to Cyprus, from there to Lystra; from there, having been moved over into a ship of Alexandria, they sailed past Crete to Salmone, and then reached Good-havens after some time. There, with the sailing season being now over, Paul told his companions it would be better if they could winter in that place to avoid being shipwrecked. The centurion, improvidently disagreeing with him, hastened towards the harbor of Phenice, which was more safely situated.
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SUMMARY
Acts 26:32 records the joint verdict of King Agrippa II and Governor Festus concerning the Apostle Paul's legal status, declaring that Paul was innocent of any capital crime and could have been released had he not exercised his right as a Roman citizen to appeal his case directly to Caesar. This statement underscores Paul's legal blamelessness in the eyes of Roman law, while simultaneously highlighting the paradoxical consequence of his appeal, which, though intended for justice, ultimately prolonged his imprisonment and set him on a divinely orchestrated path to Rome.
CONTEXT
EXPOSITION AND ANALYSIS
Key Word Analysis
Verse Breakdown
Literary Devices
The verse employs Irony, specifically Situational Irony, as Paul's appeal to Caesar, a legal right intended to secure justice and prevent his return to Jerusalem where he faced assassination, becomes the very reason he cannot be immediately released despite being found innocent. This unexpected outcome highlights the complex interplay of human agency and divine will. Furthermore, there is an element of Foreshadowing, as Agrippa's statement implicitly points to Paul's inevitable journey to Rome, fulfilling the Lord's earlier promise to Paul that he must bear witness in the imperial capital. The scene also contains Dramatic Irony, where the reader is aware of God's overarching plan for Paul to reach Rome (Acts 23:11), while the characters on stage (Agrippa, Festus) are only concerned with the immediate legalities, unknowingly playing a part in a larger divine narrative.
THEOLOGICAL AND THEMATIC CONNECTIONS
Acts 26:32 powerfully illustrates the intricate workings of divine providence, demonstrating how God can orchestrate human decisions, legal systems, and even apparent setbacks to fulfill His sovereign purposes. Paul's appeal to Caesar, a human choice made under duress, became the divinely appointed means for him to reach Rome, a long-held desire and a strategic location for Gospel proclamation. This verse underscores that God's plans are not thwarted by human actions or legal complexities but often unfold through them, transforming what seems like a delay or impediment into a pathway for greater kingdom advancement. It reassures believers that even when circumstances appear to be against them, God is at work, weaving all things together for His glory and the good of His people.
REFLECTION AND APPLICATION
Acts 26:32 offers profound spiritual lessons for believers navigating life's complexities. It reminds us that God's timetable and methods often differ from our own expectations. Paul's continued imprisonment, despite his innocence, was not a failure but a divinely ordained detour that ultimately led him to Rome, a strategic center for the spread of the Gospel. This teaches us to trust God's sovereignty even when our circumstances seem paradoxical or unjust. What appears to be a setback—a delayed release, a prolonged trial, an unexpected obstacle—may, in God's hands, be a crucial step toward a greater purpose. We are called to remain faithful in our testimony and mission, even when faced with delays or detours, understanding that God is capable of using every situation, including our own choices and their consequences, to advance His kingdom. Our ultimate freedom and purpose are found not in immediate release from earthly trials, but in faithful obedience to God's call, knowing He works all things for good.
Questions for Reflection
FAQ
Why did Agrippa and Festus not simply release Paul if they found him innocent?
Answer: Although Agrippa and Festus recognized Paul's innocence of any capital crime, they could not simply release him because Paul had already exercised his right as a Roman citizen to appeal his case to Caesar (Acts 25:11-12). Once an appeal to the emperor was made, the provincial authorities' jurisdiction over the case was superseded. They were legally bound to send Paul to Rome for the emperor's judgment, regardless of their own assessment of his innocence. This legal formality, while preventing his immediate freedom, ironically ensured his journey to Rome, fulfilling God's promise to him (Acts 23:11).
What was the significance of Agrippa's statement for Paul's ministry?
Answer: Agrippa's statement was profoundly significant for Paul's ministry on several levels. Firstly, it legally affirmed Paul's innocence before high-ranking Roman officials, debunking the false accusations of the Jewish leaders and demonstrating that the Gospel was not a threat to Roman order. Secondly, it validated Paul's decision to appeal to Caesar, as it confirmed that returning to Jerusalem would have meant certain death. Most importantly, it set the stage for Paul's journey to Rome, the capital of the empire, fulfilling God's direct promise that Paul would bear witness there (Acts 23:11). This seemingly restrictive legal outcome was, in fact, the divinely appointed means to advance the Gospel to the heart of the Gentile world.
CHRIST-CENTERED FULFILLMENT
Acts 26:32, though a legal declaration concerning Paul, points to profound Christ-centered truths. Just as Paul, though innocent, was bound by legal process and sent to Caesar, so too was Christ, though perfectly righteous, "delivered up according to the definite plan and foreknowledge of God" (Acts 2:23). Paul's journey to Rome, marked by suffering and imprisonment, mirrors the path of Christ, whose suffering and death were not a defeat but the very means by which God achieved humanity's salvation and established His kingdom. Paul's appeal to Caesar, a worldly authority, ultimately serves the purpose of proclaiming the King of kings, Jesus Christ, in the imperial capital, demonstrating that God's kingdom advances not through worldly power or immediate liberation, but often through apparent weakness, suffering, and the faithful witness of His servants. Paul's willingness to endure this "detour" for the sake of the Gospel echoes Christ's submission to the Father's will, even unto death on the cross, for the ultimate triumph of redemption (Philippians 2:8-9). Thus, Paul's journey is a microcosm of the greater divine narrative, where God uses human systems and seemingly adverse circumstances to bring about His perfect, redemptive plan, culminating in the universal reign of Christ (Ephesians 1:20-22).