Acts 28:19
But when the Jews spake against it, I was constrained to appeal unto Cæsar; not that I had ought to accuse my nation of. But when the Jews spake against it, I was constrained to appeal unto Cæsar; not that I had ought to accuse my nation of.
Paul came to Rome as a prisoner after wintering at Melita and sailing west on the Castor and Pollux to Puteoli, where by the centurion's permission he stayed seven days with the few Christians there. The Christians in Italy who had received his letter to the Romans eagerly anticipated his visit without expecting him in chains, and loved him more because of his sufferings. They learned of his approach through constant communication over the one hundred forty miles between Puteoli and Rome, and went out to meet and welcome him. Three days after reaching Rome, he met with the leading Jews there to explain why he had come as a prisoner, speaking to them first before his enemies could prejudice them against him.
He had done nothing against the people or the customs of the fathers, but was delivered as a prisoner from Jerusalem into Roman hands. The Romans examined him and would have set him free because there was no capital charge against him. Because the Jews spoke against his cause and opposed his release, Paul was forced to appeal to Caesar. The appeal was not made to accuse his nation or to bring a charge of wrongdoing against his own people, but only to defend his own case. He explained that he was bound with a chain for the sake of Israel's hope.
He spoke in a simple, direct, cautious and kind manner, saying nothing about the abuse he had suffered or the repeated plots to kill him. He sought no personal attention or sympathy but only to defend the truth and uphold the honor of the gospel. That appeal brought him before Nero for examination, a debased, cruel and despotic ruler before whom condemnation seemed humanly certain. As long as Paul remained loyal to God he had nothing to fear, for the God who had protected him before could still shield him from Jewish malice and from Caesar's power. God did shield him so that at the examination the charges were not sustained and, contrary to general expectation and entirely unlike Nero's character, Nero declared him guiltless, his bonds were removed, and he was free again.
The verse belongs to the account of Paul in chains and facing a criminal's death under Nero yet standing firm in faith against worldly power, showing how trust in God's word can withstand even an empire. The surrounding account places it amid his calm self-defense before Nero against Jewish charges of sedition and heresy. Jews and Romans also accused him of instigating the burning of the city. The verse itself does not explain the appeal to Caesar or the disavowal of accusing the nation.