“Let them therefore, said he, which among you are able, go down with me, and accuse this man, if there be any wickedness in him.”
So he said, 'Let some of your leaders come with me and press charges against this man, if he has done something wrong.' - Festus invokes the proper forms: if there is substance to the charge, present it before the magistrate. His willingness to hear the case ('if...he has done something wrong') is conditional, not predetermined. The judicial process, though flawed, at least allows Paul to answer for himself in a public setting.
Church Fathers on Acts 25:5
But Festus answered, that Paul should be kept at Cæsarea, and that he himself would depart shortly there. Let them therefore, said he, which among you are able, go down with me, and accuse this man, if there be any wickedness in him. And when he had tarried among them more than ten days, he went down unto Cæsarea; and the next day sitting on the judgment seat commanded Paul to be brought. Acts 25:4-6 But after they came down, they immediately made their accusations…
Nicene & Post-Nicene / Ante-Nicene Fathers translations · public domain
COMMUNITY REFLECTIONS
Publish a reflection on this verse
No reflections on this verse yet. Be the first to write one!