Then Agrippa said unto Festus, I would also hear the man myself. To morrow, said he, thou shalt hear him.
This verse belongs to the account of Paul's hearings before the Roman officials Festus and Agrippa at Caesarea, where Paul stands in chains before Agrippa while his case is being heard. After Festus told Agrippa about the case, Agrippa became interested and asked to hear Paul personally for himself, and Festus arranged for Paul to be brought before him the next day. In this, Festus refused to sacrifice justice to please Paul's accusers and arranged a fair hearing.
The meeting set for the next day was not a new tribunal for Paul to defend himself, but a private audience assembled largely to satisfy the curiosity of Agrippa and Festus's distinguished guests. Yet the arrangement gave Paul an opportunity to present the reasons for his faith before Agrippa and the other principal men at Caesarea. God's providence in this account preserves Paul's life.
The surrounding legal proceedings show that a case could be delayed when the accusers had not appeared in person, and that officials' caprice or self-interest could prolong an accused person's detention. Paul's imprisonment and eventual death under Nero show that faith in God's word can stand firm against human power and policy, even when a believer is helpless and facing a criminal's death.
This verse belongs to the account of Paul's hearings before the Roman officials Festus and Agrippa at Caesarea, where Paul stands in chains before Agrippa while his case is being heard. After Festus told Agrippa about the case, Agrippa became interested and asked to hear Paul personally for himself, and Festus arranged for Paul to be brought before him the next day. In this, Festus refused to sacrifice justice to please Paul's accusers and arranged a fair hearing.
The meeting set for the next day was not a new tribunal for Paul to defend himself, but a private audience assembled largely to satisfy the curiosity of Agrippa and Festus's distinguished guests. Yet the arrangement gave Paul an opportunity to present the reasons for his faith before Agrippa and the other principal men at Caesarea. God's providence in this account preserves Paul's life.
The surrounding legal proceedings show that a case could be delayed when the accusers had not appeared in person, and that officials' caprice or self-interest could prolong an accused person's detention. Paul's imprisonment and eventual death under Nero show that faith in God's word can stand firm against human power and policy, even when a believer is helpless and facing a criminal's death.