“And I, being perplexed how to enquire concerning these things, asked whether he would go to Jerusalem and there be judged of these matters. But when Paul had appealed to be kept for the decision of the emperor, I commanded him to be kept till I should send him to Caesar.”
The result was that perplexed about how to deal with such matters he had asked Paul if he was willing to put himself in the hands of a Jewish court, with Festus himself presiding to ensure fairplay (Acts 25:9), so that these matters could be decided by Jewish experts. This had seemed to him the best solution. Who better to decide such matters? (He was as yet unaware of the intricacies of the Jewish mind, nor of the make up and different beliefs of that court, and the deep divisions within it. Nor of how skilled the chief priests were at obtaining their own way. Nor was he yet aware of the strong national feeling and religious bigotry that existed among the Jews. Nor had he recognised that it would almost have been a case of the accusers also being the judges).
But Paul had not been happy with such a suggestion and had appealed to Caesar to decide the matter, which was his right. Thus he had commanded that he be kept in custody until he was able to send him to Caesar. But now he had the dilemma of what charges he was to ask Caesar to judge him on.