Lives of Scripture

When the apostle Paul, arrested in Jerusalem, faced a plot by Jewish leaders who wanted him tried in Jerusalem so they could ambush and kill him along the way, he exercised his right as a Roman citizen and appealed his case directly to the emperor: "I am standing before Caesar's tribunal, where I ought to be tried... I appeal to Caesar" (Acts 25:8-11). Once made, the appeal was binding -- Governor Festus declared, "You have appealed to Caesar, to Caesar you shall go" (25:12), and later summarized the situation to King Agrippa, still uncertain what charge to send with him (25:25-27; 26:32). The appeal set in motion Paul's long voyage to Rome, including a violent storm and shipwreck, with Paul reassuring his fellow travelers that an angel had told him he must stand before Caesar (27:24). Once in Rome, Paul lived under guard for two years awaiting his hearing, during which he continued preaching and teaching about Jesus openly (28:16-31). Writing from that Roman imprisonment, Paul later sent greetings from believers, "especially those of Caesar's household" (Philippians 4:22) -- evidence that the gospel had reached into the emperor's own staff. Caesar himself never appears as a character, but his court is the destination that shapes the entire second half of Acts.