Rather they had certain points of dispute with him about their own religion and about a certain Jesus, who was dead, but whom Paul asserted to be alive.
English Standard Version (ESV)
What's striking here is Festus's dismissive framing: he calls their religious disputes "questions about their own superstition" and refers to Jesus as "a certain Jesus, who was dead." This reveals how a Roman official, detached from the Jewish faith and completely unfamiliar with the resurrection, viewed the core of Paul's message not as a divine revelation, but as a trivial, obscure debate about a deceased figure.
Rather they had certain points of dispute with him about their own religion and about a certain Jesus, who was dead, but whom Paul asserted to be alive.
English Standard Version (ESV)
Festus, trying to explain Paul's case to King Agrippa, downplays the charges, stating that the Jewish leaders didn't accuse Paul of any Roman crimes. Instead, their dispute was over their own religious practices and Paul's bold claim that Jesus, who had died, was actually alive.
Why would a Roman governor like Festus refer to the Jewish faith as 'superstition' or 'religion' with such detachment?
When Festus spoke to King Agrippa about the Jews' accusations against Paul, he used the word 'superstition' (or 'religion' in some translations). This word, 'deisidaimonia' in the original Greek, could be used neutrally by outsiders to describe any religious practice they didn't personally follow.
Paul’s defense didn’t just focus on Jewish law, but on a startling claim about a specific person. What was so crucial about this one name?
While Festus downplayed the Jewish grievances as mere 'questions about their own religion,' he pinpointed the core of the conflict: 'and about a certain Jesus, who was dead, but whom Paul asserted to be alive.' This was the real issue.
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Understand the original words
zētēma · Greek Noun
A formal disagreement, controversy, or argument, often implying a point of contention regarding doctrine, practice, or legal interpretation.
deisidaimonia · Greek Noun
The outward practice of worship, piety, or religious system; in this context, referring to the Jewish system of belief and ritual.
Iēsous · Greek Proper Noun
The central figure of the Christian faith, the historical and divine person who suffered death by crucifixion and was physically resurrected from the dead.
phaskō · Greek Verb
To maintain, declare, or state with confidence as a matter of fact; used here for the bold proclamation of the truth of the resurrection.
zaō · Greek Adjective/Participle
The state of being restored to life after physical death, the core victory of Christ over sin and death.
Festus, a Roman governor unfamiliar with Jewish religious nuances, struggles to comprehend the core of Paul's defense, reducing the profound theological debate about Jesus' resurrection to mere 'questions about their own religion' and a 'dead man named Jesus.'
c. AD 30
Crucifixion of Jesus
Jesus of Nazareth is crucified in Jerusalem under the Roman governor Pontius Pilate.
c. AD 30 - 59
Early Spread of Christianity
The Apostle Paul, initially a persecutor, converts and becomes a primary missionary for the new movement, spreading its message throughout the Roman Empire.
c. AD 58
Paul's Arrest in Jerusalem
Paul is arrested in Jerusalem by Jewish authorities and is subsequently handed over to Roman custody due to accusations of desecrating the Temple.
c. AD 58 - 60
Paul's Imprisonment and Appeals
Paul is held in custody in Caesarea Maritima, appealing first to Felix and then to Festus, the Roman governors, to avoid being tried by Jewish leaders in Jerusalem.
c. AD 60— this verse
Festus and King Agrippa
The Roman governor Festus meets with King Herod Agrippa II and his sister Bernice in Caesarea to discuss Paul's case, as Festus seeks advice on how to proceed with the appeal.
This passage directly summarizes the core of Paul's message, echoing Festus's description of Paul affirming Jesus to be alive and highlighting the resurrection as central to the gospel.
John 11:25Jesus himself declared, 'I am the resurrection and the life,' a profound statement that underpins Paul's assertion of Jesus's continued existence, even after death.
Acts 17:18Here, Paul's message about Jesus and the resurrection was similarly met with confusion and dismissal by Epicurean and Stoic philosophers in Athens, showing a pattern of misunderstanding from secular authorities.
Philippians 2:9-11This passage speaks of Jesus being highly exalted and given a name above all names, a divine affirmation of his life and authority that Paul would have used to support his claim of Jesus being alive.
Acts 2:24Peter's sermon on the day of Pentecost also centers on the resurrection, proclaiming that God raised Jesus, 'having loosed the pangs of death, because it was not possible for him to be held by it,' mirroring Paul's affirmation.
ellicottActs 25:19: "But had certain questions against him of their own superstition, and of one Jesus, which was dead, whom Paul affirmed to be alive."
(19) Certain questions against him of their own superstition. —The word is of the same import as that used by St. Paul in Acts 17:22 (where see Note), and the use here shows its comparatively neutral character. Festus was speaking to a Jewish king, and would not knowingly have used an offensive term. He falls back, accordingly, upon one which an outsid…
gillActs 25:19: "But had certain questions against him of their own superstition, and of one Jesus, which was dead, whom Paul affirmed to be alive."
But had certain questions against him of their own superstition,.... Or religion; as about their law, which they said Paul had spoke against; and about their temple, which they pretended he had polluted; and about the resurrection of the dead, which he asserted, and some denied: and of one Jesus which was dead, whom Paul affirmed to be alive; for it se…
What's striking here is Festus's dismissive framing: he calls their religious disputes "questions about their own superstition" and refers to Jesus as "a certain Jesus, who was dead." This reveals how a Roman official, detached from the Jewish faith and completely unfamiliar with the resurrection, viewed the core of Paul's message not as a divine revelation, but as a trivial, obscure debate about a deceased figure.
Festus, trying to explain Paul's case to King Agrippa, downplays the charges, stating that the Jewish leaders didn't accuse Paul of any Roman crimes. Instead, their dispute was over their own religious practices and Paul's bold claim that Jesus, who had died, was actually alive.
Festus, trying to explain Paul's case to King Agrippa, downplays the charges, stating that the Jewish leaders didn't accuse Paul of any Roman crimes. Instead, their dispute was over their own religious practices and Paul's bold claim that Jesus, who had died, was actually alive.
"Rather they had certain points of dispute with him about their own religion and about a certain Jesus, who was dead, but whom Paul asserted to be alive." — What's striking here is Festus's dismissive framing: he calls their religious disputes "questions about their own superstition" and refers to Jesus as "a certain Jesus, who was dead." This reveals ho…
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Last reviewed October 2026