The Judgment of Caesar

"I stand at Caesar's judgment seat"

Acts 25:10-12 The Judgment of Caesar

ACTS 25:10 10 So Paul said, “I stand at Caesar’s judgment seat, where I ought to be judged. To the Jews I have done no wrong, as you very well know.

Did Paul know that Festus knew he was innocent?
"To the Jews I have done no wrong, as you very well know" (Acts 25:10).

ACTS 25:11 11 “For if I am an offender, or have committed anything deserving of death, I do not object to dying; but if there is nothing in these things of which these men accuse me, no one can deliver me to them. I appeal to Caesar.”

Why did Paul appeal to "Caesar's judgment seat" (Acts 25:10)?
Having been sent from Jerusalem to Caesarea because the Jews had plotted to murder him, Paul most probably knew that a similar plot was behind their wish to have him head back to Jerusalem. But more importantly, Rome was where Jesus wanted him to go next - "Be of good cheer, Paul; for as you have testified for Me in Jerusalem, so you must also bear witness at Rome" (Acts 23:11) - and this appeal would provide him a free voyage to Rome, complete with a Roman military escort. And as a Roman citizen, Paul had the legal right to appeal to have his case heard by Caesar.

ACTS 25:12 12 Then Festus, when he had conferred with the council, answered, “You have appealed to Caesar. To Caesar you shall go.”

With which "council" (Acts 25:12) did Festus confer?
Not the Jewish council of Sanhedrin, for its members were the plaintiffs against Paul. Festus conferred with a body of men who had been chosen from the leading Romans in Caesarea to serve as his advisers.

Did Festus and his council think Paul's appeal was justified?
"You have appealed to Caesar. To Caesar you shall go" (Acts 25:12).