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Agrippa II, king of numerous small territories north and east of Galilee, was the son of Agrippa I (12:1-23) and a great-grandson of Herod the Great. Drusilla, the wife of Felix (24:24), was his sister; he lived in an incestuous relationship with Bernice, another sister, who later became the mistress of Titus before he became emperor in a.d. 79. Festus acquaints Agrippa with the gist of the case against Paul (25:14-22), admitting that there is no legal case (v.7), only the question of resurrection. Obviously Luke has not given the entire account of the first hearing before Festus (vv.7-12). It must have followed the pattern of the hearing before Felix, however, since there the issue of the Resurrection was raised (24:21).
In solving his dilemma between Paul and the Jews, Festus has created another problem for himself. He has no valid charges on which to send Paul to the emperor. Now he seeks the help of Agrippa and the leading officials to develop charges (25:23-27).
Paul notes that Agrippa, who, as a Roman king, tried valiantly to appease the Jewish nation, was well acquainted with the dynamics of Judaism and was well suited to understand Paul’s case (26:2-3). Paul takes his stand as a staunch Pharisee who has been attacked for his belief in resurrection (vv.4-8). He shares with Agrippa the zeal of his Pharisaism, which persecuted followers of Jesus to death (vv.9-11), and gives the witness of his encounter with the risen Jesus (vv.12-18).
As Paul explains his understanding of the suffering and resurrection of the Messiah and his obedience to the risen Lord among the Jews and Gentiles, which resulted in his persecution by the Jews (26:19-23), Festus sees an opportunity to acquit Paul by reason of insanity (v.24). After all, who but a madman would risk his life and face such opposition for the sake of a strange hallucination? Paul refuses such acquittal, affirming that he speaks of reality that is not merely a personal aberration but the life-shaping experience of a new community of God’s people (vv.25-26). He infers that Agrippa is aware of the Christian movement and calls upon him to affirm that the movement is the fulfillment of the prophets (v.27).
Paul puts Agrippa on the spot. If he denies the prophets, he loses face with the Jews; if he agrees with Paul, he becomes a “madman” and loses face with Festus. Agrippa evades the issue (v.28), but Paul presses the point by calling all his hearers to this “madness” of life in obedience to the risen Lord (v.29).
The hearers agree that Paul should be released, leaving Festus with his problem of having to send Paul to Rome without any charges (26:30-32).