Acts 25:3  “…while they lay in ambush…”
Totally amazed at the corruptness of the Jewish council.  Paul has been in custody in Caesarea for over two years, and they are still trying to kill him.  New governor comes to town, and they try to implicate him in murdering Paul.

7  “…the Jews who had come down from Jerusalem…”
Festus maintained protocol.  He wouldn’t bring Paul to Jerusalem, but instead told the Jews to send representatives back with him to bring any accusations.  I’m sure he’s been informed that Paul is a Roman citizen.  He’s not going to play loose with that.

9  “…Festus, wanting to do the Jews a favor…”
He did well in dealing with the Jews in Jerusalem.  He listened to their argument and Paul’s rebuttal.  He should have seen that Paul was totally innocent and simply dismissed the case.  But now he’s trying to curry favor.  And Paul will have none of it.

10-11  “…I have done no wrong, as you very well know…no one can deliver me to them…”
Paul can see what is happening.  He’s a Roman citizen, and instead of handling the case as he should, Festus is kowtowing to the Jews.  Paul knows the Jews only want to find a way to kill him.  He confronts Festus with his duty and, since he’s obviously not going to get a fair hearing at this court, he appeals to Caesar.

12  “…To Caesar you shall go”
Paul’s remarks sound a bit like a rebuke, and rightly so.  Festus should have done his duty as a judge instead of trying to curry favor with the Jews.  Paul’s appeal may have made him realize he was being called out.

13-21  “…without any delay…because I was uncertain of such questions…”
Festus tries to cover up his lack of duty action.  He spent ten more days in Jerusalem after becoming aware of the issue.  Sounds like a bit of a delay.  And he claims his reason for asking Paul to move to Jerusalem was due to his lack of knowledge on the subject.  That wasn’t his concern.  He had a Roman citizen who had not been accused of anything regarding Roman law.  He failed to end the issue then and there as he should have.

25  “…when I found that he had committed nothing deserving of death, and that he himself had appealed to Augustus, I decided to send him”
He’s conveniently leaving out a few details which show his failure.  He tries to say Paul had already appealed to Caesar which is why he didn’t just dismiss the case, but that wasn’t so.  Paul was innocent, Festus knew it, and now his lack of action in not letting Paul go is exposed.

26  “I have nothing certain to write to my lord concerning him.”
What an excuse.  When you don’t do as you are supposed to, or you lie about something, it takes more and more effort to cover it up.

I hope you enjoy reading and studying His word.  May it accomplish what He desires.  Please feel free to comment or post questions.  Thanks for reading!

Scripture taken from the New King James Version®. Copyright © 1982 by Thomas Nelson. Used by permission. All rights reserved.