Acts 25:1-12

Acts 25:1-12 … After languishing in prison two years, Felix is replaced by Festus and as any good administrator might do, Festus first sets about meeting and greeting his constituency in Jerusalem. They’ve been harboring their hatred of Paul for more than two years! And so they raise the possibility of bringing Paul to Jerusalem for trial, while plotting to ambush him on the way. But Festus is on to these rascals and holds an initial hearing in Caesarea, close by his seaside palace. At the hearing, Festus raises the possibility of a trial in Jerusalem with Paul (Acts 25:9) but Paul declines, I think for two reasons: first, he’s a Roman citizen and entitled to a Roman trial, which is the venue right there at Caesarea. And second, recall that God had told Paul (Acts 23:11) that he would witness to Him in Rome, and so Paul, exercising his civil right as a Roman, appealed to Caesar, which obligates Festus to send him to Caesar (kind of an appeals court would be the way to think of that).