Acts 25:10-12·~1 min
Paul Appeals to Caesar
Paul says he is already standing before Caesar’s judgment seat, where he ought to be tried, and that no one has the right to hand him over if the accusations are false. He therefore appeals to Caesar, and after conferring with his council, Festus grants the appeal.
P10aul replied, “I am standing before the judgment seat of Caesar, where I ought to be tried. I have done nothing wrong to the Jews, as you yourself know very well. 11If, however, I am guilty of anything worthy of death, I do not refuse to die. But if there is no truth to their accusations against me, no one has the right to hand me over to them. I appeal to Caesar!” 12Then Festus conferred with his council and replied, “You have appealed to Caesar. To Caesar you will go!”
Section summaryWhen Festus offers Jerusalem as a concession, Paul refuses to be handed back into local danger and insists that his case belongs before Caesar’s tribunal, where he is already standing. With that appeal, the path of the story shifts decisively from provincial hearing to imperial review.
Role in the chapterThis short section is the legal turning point of the chapter. Paul’s appeal closes off another Jerusalem return and sets Rome directly in view.