What to Tell Nero?

"I have nothing certain to write to my lord concerning [Paul]. Therefore I have brought him out before you and especially before you, King Agrippa"
Acts (25:26a).

Festus fully intends to honor his commitment to send Paul to Nero. But he has problem. Paul's appeal "places the governor in the unenviable position of having to justify sending Paul to Nero without specific charges," Dr. Simon Kistemaker notes in his Acts commentary. "Nero and his official would not take kindly to a governor who showed incompetence in judging trivial matters. . . [But Festus] was unable to formulate a charge against Paul because the accusation of the Jews pertained to religious matters that had nothing to do with Ronan law."
     At this point King Herod Agrippa II and his sister Bernice come to visit Festus and welcome him to his new post. A great-grandson of Herod the Great and son of Herod Agrippa I (see Acts 12), he ruled the northern half of Palestine. Kistemaker notes that Agrippa ",was well versed in the Hebrew Scriptures. " During this visit, a friendship grows up between Agrippa and Fetus, and the governor sees an opportunity to get advice on Paul's case from a Roman official who understand the Jew's motives. He therefore related what he know to the king, noting that the Jews had demanded that he find Paul guilty, something Roman law did not permit him to do without granting Paul a trial. In Festus' view, the Jew's case against Paul comes down to "'some question against him about their own religion and about a certain Jesus, who had died, whom Paul affirmed to be alive,"'
     Intrigued, Agrippa asks to hear Paul. Thus, on the following day, the royals, Along with military and civic leaders, enter Festus' audience chamber, where Festus honors Agrippa by yielding the judge's seat, allowing him to speak and rise first (26:1,30). Though this is not a formal hearing or trial, Festus calls it an "'examination "' (v.26),noting that he has "'nothing certain to write to my Lord concerning [Paul]"' and appealing for assistance in formulating charges against him. As he himself notes, "',it seems to me unreasonable to send a prisoner and not to specify the charges against him."' This is a under statement, for Nero doesn't trifle with matters his underlings should handle. With the word unreasonable, Kistemajer says, "the governor means to say that no one in his right mind would do such a thing."
     The stage is set for Paul to address King Herod Agrippa II in one of his most personal speeches. Remember, he would not have had this opportunity had not the Jews' anger led to his arrest by Romans. Yet Jesus had said Paul would witness to kings (Acts 9:15). Ask God to help you trust that His will is being fine in your all circumstances.