Acts 25:23
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. 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.
The verse records a formal hearing arranged at Festus's command because Agrippa wanted to hear Paul. Agrippa II and Bernice entered the place of hearing with great royal pomp and display. They were accompanied by military chief captains and officers and the principal leading men of Caesarea, and the rich clothing, weapons, and armor of the assembly made the occasion an imposing display in honor of the royal visitors. At Festus's command Paul was brought forth before them still a prisoner held in bonds and chains.
The presentation was not a new trial but to satisfy the curiosity of the guests. Festus explained that Paul had been left in bonds and had appealed to Caesar, and that the accusations concerned Jewish beliefs and Jesus, whom Paul affirmed to be alive. The hearing belongs to a postponed trial because Roman law required Paul's accusers to appear in person before it could proceed, and his enemies used the delay to prepare an appeal to the emperor, even though Lysias, Felix, Festus, and Agrippa had all declared him innocent.
The delay in sending Paul to Rome gave him the opportunity to present the reasons for his faith before Agrippa II and the assembled leading men. His imprisonment thus brought the gospel before rulers, nobles, and other powerful leaders, so that a message many thought unfit for ordinary listeners was heard by them. The scene shows Paul in chains facing human power while being led toward a criminal's death under Nero, the ruler of a world empire.