ACTS 26:32 — KING JAMES VERSION 0
“Then said Agrippa unto Festus, This man might have been set at liberty, if he had not appealed unto Cesar.”
Agrippa said to Festus, 'This man could have been set free if he had not appealed to Caesar.' - The tragic irony: Paul 'could have been set free' (apolyo, apolyo-'released') if not for his appeal to Caesar. His invocation of the Emperor's judgment, made necessary by Festus's weakness and the pressure of Jewish accusers, now stands as an irrevocable commitment. Paul's appeal to law paradoxically binds him legally to a trial in Rome. Yet, as Jesus promised, he will reach Rome and witness before kings-and the Gospel will advance further than any local release could have achieved.
Church Fathers on Acts 26:32
See how again also they pass sentence in his favor, and after having said, You are beside yourself, Acts 26:24 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 Cæsar. But this was done providentially, that he should also depart with bonds. Unto bonds, he says, as an evil doer. 1 Timothy 2:9 For if his Lord was reckoned among the transgressors Mark 15:28, much more he: but as the Lord…
Nicene & Post-Nicene / Ante-Nicene Fathers translations · public domain
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