Verses 10-11
Paul turned this offer down perhaps because he feared that in Jerusalem popular opinion against him might sway his judge even more strongly than it had in Caesarea. His appeal for a trial in Rome was the right of every Roman citizen who believed he was in danger of violent coercion or capital punishment in a lower court. [Note: Longenecker, "The Acts . . .," p. 545.] Only Roman citizens who were murderers, pirates, or bandits caught in the act could not make this appeal. [Note: Barclay, p. 189.]
At this time Nero was emperor, but in the early years of his rule (A.D. 54-62) he was a relatively admirable emperor, and Paul had no reason to fear him now (A.D. 59). Only after A.D. 62 did Nero begin to rule erratically and to turn against Christianity.
Nothing in the New Testament indicates that Paul’s appeal to Caesar was contrary to God’s will. He probably saw this appeal as the way he could reach Rome having been detained in Caesarea for two year.
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