1
Three days after Festus arrived in Caesarea to take up his duties as governor, he went up to Jerusalem.
2
The high priests and top leaders renewed their vendetta against Paul.
3
They asked Festus if he wouldn't please do them a favor by sending Paul to Jerusalem to respond to their charges. A lie, of course - they had revived their old plot to set an ambush and kill him along the way.
4
Festus answered that Caesarea was the proper jurisdiction for Paul, and that he himself was going back there in a few days.
5
"You're perfectly welcome," he said, "to go back with me then and accuse him of whatever you think he's done wrong."
6
About eight or ten days later, Festus returned to Caesarea. The next morning he took his place in the courtroom and had Paul brought in.
7
The minute he walked in, the Jews who had come down from Jerusalem were all over him, hurling the most extreme accusations, none of which they could prove.
8
Then Paul took the stand and said simply, "I've done nothing wrong against the Jewish religion, or the Temple, or Caesar. Period."
9
Festus, though, wanted to get on the good side of the Jews and so said, "How would you like to go up to Jerusalem, and let me conduct your trial there?"