Acts 25:15
About whom, when I was at Jerusalem, the chief priests and the elders of the Jews informed me, desiring to have judgment against him. About whom, when I was at Jerusalem, the chief priests and the elders of the Jews informed me, desiring to have judgment against him.
When Festus was at Jerusalem, the chief priests and the elders of the Jews brought Paul's case before him, informing against Paul as a prisoner and asking that judgment be given against him. They pressed Festus to condemn him even though repeated examinations had found him innocent. Their formal request for judgment concealed a plot to have Paul killed on the journey to Jerusalem, for their hatred and determination to take his life had not weakened during his imprisonment, and the delay in bringing the charges gave them time to pursue their plan against him.
As Festus later explained, the accusations were not of ordinary crimes but concerned questions of the Jewish religion and Jesus, who had died but whom Paul affirmed to be alive. Festus recounted this appeal when laying Paul's case before Agrippa because he wanted Agrippa to hear Paul. Since Paul had appealed to Caesar, Festus had to send him to Rome, and the delay in arranging the journey gave Paul opportunity to explain his faith before prominent hearers, including King Agrippa II.
As with Jesus on the cross, where the Jewish priests and rulers pressured the Roman governor to carry out their will, this seeking of a Roman governor's judgment against a prisoner illustrates how human authorities opposed those who trusted God.