Acts 26

¹Then Agrippa said to Paul, "You have permission to speak for yourself." So Paul motioned with his hand and began his defense: ²"King Agrippa, I consider myself fortunate to stand before you today as I make my defense against all the accusations of the Jews, ³and especially so because you are well acquainted with all the Jewish customs and controversies. Therefore, I beg you to listen to me patiently.
⁴"The Jews all know the way I have lived ever since I was a child, from the beginning of my life in my own country, and also in Jerusalem. ⁵They have known me for a long time and can testify, if they are willing, that according to the strictest sect of our religion, I lived as a Pharisee. ⁶And now it is because of my hope in what God has promised our fathers that I am on trial today. ⁷This is the promise our twelve tribes are hoping to see fulfilled as they earnestly serve God day and night. O king, it is because of this hope that the Jews are accusing me. ⁸Why should any of you consider it incredible that God raises the dead?

Acts 26:1-8

Explanation:

The Prisoner's Defense, Part 1 (26:1-8)

Agrippa, in the chair, directs Paul to speak. The apostle "stretches out" his hand in the stance of an orator commencing his speech. The captatio benevolentiae of Paul's exordium places Agrippa in the right frame of mind for hearing him by declaring the "good fortune" he reckons he has in making his defense before one so well acquainted with all the Jewish customs and controversies (see 21:21; 23:29; 25:19 to see how such relate to Paul's case). Further, with polite address (deomai; 21:39) Paul "begs" the king's "patience" in listening to him (compare 24:4). By this introductory appeal in Paul's exordium Luke emphasizes not only the apostle's respectful demeanor, worthy of emulation by all who are judged for their faith, but also that what is at issue is a theological matter.

As Paul moves in his exordium from introductory appeal (26:2-3) to the presentation of his ethos, himself (vv. 4-5), he affirms that his background as a strict Pharisee places him in continuity with his Jewish religious roots. Within his nation, particularly in Jerusalem, he has consistently lived out the Old Testament and Jewish ideal of piety ever since I was a child (1 Kings 18:12; Ps 70[71]:5, 17 LXX; Lk 18:21; Sirach 6:18). He has done this publicly; the Jews, who have known it for a long time (anothen; Lk 1:3), can so testify if they are willing (compare Acts 23:1; 24:16, 19). He has practiced piety strictly, according to the Pharisee sect of our religion. Josephus says of them, "There was a group of Jews priding itself on its adherence to ancestral custom and claiming to observe the laws of which the Deity approves" (Jewish Antiquities 17.41). Luke uses threskeia, which means "religion, esp. as it expresses itself in religious service or cult" (Bauer, Gingrich and Danker 1978:363). He may have particularly in mind the Pharisees' laws of ritual purity and their regulations for the performance of temple worship. This life of piety has continued up until this day (ezesa, culminative aorist, "I have lived"). Paul places himself squarely within Jewish orthopraxy. The accusers' charges are baseless (21:28; 24:5-6).

In a reverse parallelism construction that begins and ends with a statement of the charge Paul believes is the reason for his trial, the apostle commences his narration, the statement of the facts of the case (26:6-8). The point at issue is the hope for messianic end-time salvation (23:6; 24:15; 28:20). In the middle of this articulation Paul states that the twelve tribes also are hoping to arrive at that same goal. Thus he affirms a continuity of his gospel message with Jewish orthodoxy.

Paul is certainly on solid ground when he claims that "the hope" for the Old Testament saint and the Intertestamental Jew was messianic end-time deliverance (Is 25:6-12 [see v. 9 LXX, elpizomen]; 51:5 LXX; 2 Macc 2:18; 1 Enoch 40:9; Testament of Benjamin 10:11; 2 Baruch 30:1). Indeed, the Jews looked forward to the fulfillment of the promises made to the fathers in the end time (2 Baruch 51:3). They did see the end-time salvation as commencing with a resurrection of the righteous, though admittedly the Sadducees did not (2 Macc 7:11, 14, 23; compare Acts 23:6; 24:21). Luke does not hesitate to populate his narrative with pious Jews living expectantly for that deliverance (Lk 2:25, 38; 7:19; 23:51). Paul emphasizes the way they live out their expectation: in fervent (en ekteneia, often descriptive of prayer; Lk 22:44; Acts 12:5), consistent (day and night, at morning and evening sacrifice; Lk 2:37) corporate worship of God (latreuo; Acts 24:14; 27:23). It is certainly a "living hope," a goal which they were expecting to attain (compare Phil 3:11-14, where Paul shows the same stance toward the full manifestation of the hope).

If Paul has such strong continuity with pious Jews, why is there such opposition to him and his message of hope? Paul declared that in the risen and exalted Lord Jesus the promises have been fulfilled and the hope is now a present reality (Acts 13:32/2 Sam 7:11-17; Acts 13:23). This Paul will explicitly proclaim at the climax of the proof section of his speech (26:22-23).

This is the main question for every individual, whatever his or her religious, ideological or cultural heritage: Is Jesus your hope? The Christian message asks, Will you repent of your false hopes--the American dream for the next generation, the Hindu's Nirvana, the Muslim's paradise--and let Jesus be your true hope?

Paul concludes his narratio by stating the point for the judge's decision: Why should any of you consider it incredible that God raises the dead? Though Paul thinks of Jesus' resurrection in particular, he puts the point as a general question. In so doing he reveals what a challenge the resurrection of Christ is to any human worldview. To Agrippa, if he is under the influence of aristocratic Sadducean thought, God's raising the dead is unbelievable (23:8). Festus has already declared himself on this subject (25:19). If, in general, resurrections do not happen, then what is claimed about Jesus did not occur. But if it did happen to Jesus, then a central feature of one's worldview, belief about what happens after death, must be radically reoriented. Here there is certainly a radical discontinuity between Paul's claims about Jesus' resurrection and the assumptions of Jew and Gentile alike. Yet there is continuity with the Old Testament faith and Israel's living hope (26:6-7, 22-23). And for all humankind, because of this resurrection's saving significance, it is our defining moment.

Acts 26

⁹"I too was convinced that I ought to do all that was possible to oppose the name of Jesus of Nazareth. ¹⁰And that is just what I did in Jerusalem. On the authority of the chief priests I put many of the saints in prison, and when they were put to death, I cast my vote against them. ¹¹Many a time I went from one synagogue to another to have them punished, and I tried to force them to blaspheme. In my obsession against them, I even went to foreign cities to persecute them.
¹²"On one of these journeys I was going to Damascus with the authority and commission of the chief priests. ¹³About noon, O king, as I was on the road, I saw a light from heaven, brighter than the sun, blazing around me and my companions. ¹⁴We all fell to the ground, and I heard a voice saying to me in Aramaic, 'Saul, Saul, why do you persecute me? It is hard for you to kick against the goads.'
¹⁵"Then I asked, 'Who are you, Lord?'
¹⁶" 'I am Jesus, whom you are persecuting,' the Lord replied. 'Now get up and stand on your feet. I have appeared to you to appoint you as a servant and as a witness of what you have seen of me and what I will show you. ¹⁷I will rescue you from your own people and from the Gentiles. I am sending you to them ¹⁸to open their eyes and turn them from darkness to light, and from the power of Satan to God, so that they may receive forgiveness of sins and a place among those who are sanctified by faith in me.'
¹⁹"So then, King Agrippa, I was not disobedient to the vision from heaven. ²⁰First to those in Damascus, then to those in Jerusalem and in all Judea, and to the Gentiles also, I preached that they should repent and turn to God and prove their repentance by their deeds. ²¹That is why the Jews seized me in the temple courts and tried to kill me. ²²But I have had God's help to this very day, and so I stand here and testify to small and great alike. I am saying nothing beyond what the prophets and Moses said would happen-- ²³that the Christ would suffer and, as the first to rise from the dead, would proclaim light to his own people and to the Gentiles."

Acts 26:9-23

Explanation:

The Prisoner's Defense, Part 2 (26:9-23)

Paul begins his probatio (proof) by removing any suspicion that he was positively disposed to belief in Jesus as the crucified and risen Messiah. He details the scope, extent and intensity of his opposition to Christians as Christ's persecutor (26:9-11). Pharisee though he was, Paul did not believe that a resurrection had occurred in the case of Jesus. It seemed to him that it was his moral duty (dei) to do all that was possible to oppose the name of Jesus of Nazareth--that is, Christ's presence and power among his people (Polhill 1992:500) or the message about Jesus, especially his resurrection (O'Toole 1978:49). The scope of his persecution target was large: he pursued many of the saints, . . . many a time, going from one synagogue to another. His persecution of Christians extended from synagogue punishment intended to get them to recant (this Paul relates from a Christian perspective in his reference to "blaspheming"; compare Pliny Letters 10.96.5) to imprisonment to consenting to their deaths. So intense was Paul's opposition that he pursued Christians to cities outside Palestine. An "exceedingly furious rage" drove him to do it (NIV obsession against may not be strong enough). Yet even such strong persecution was not outside the sovereign plan of God; and Jesus has promised such for all true disciples (Lk 12:4, 8-12; 21:12-19).

Paul's conversion and commissioning transformed him from Christ's persecutor into Christ's apostolic convert (26:12-18). Here we meet not only the most telling evidence that Jesus is risen but also the clearest exposition of that resurrection's significance.

In this third recounting of his conversion (compare 9:1-9; 22:5-11) Paul, traveling with the high priest's authority and commission to arrest Christians, is himself arrested by Christ on the Damascus Road. In this account of the light that drove him to his knees, Luke, following Paul, emphasizes its power and its concrete or objective nature. Its brilliance is brighter than the sun, and that at noontime. It "shines around" not only Paul but his companions (perilampto; NIV's blazing around renders periastrapto present in 9:3; 22:6). As in the other two accounts, we are reminded that although part of the experience--seeing the risen Lord and receiving the message--occurred personally to Paul and no one else, it was an objective experience in space and time, for the companions heard a voice, though not the message. They saw a light, though not Jesus (9:7; 22:9).

Light is appropriate to the theophany of the heavenly risen Lord in his divine mode of being (Ex 20:18; Deut 4:12; Is 60:1-3; O'Toole 1978:63). It is a fitting metaphor for the revelation and salvation he brings (Is 42:6; 49:6; Lk 2:32; Acts 26:18, 23; Krodel 1986:461). Our Lord's dealing with Paul here teaches us that to get the attention of those who are self-confident enough in their religion to persecute others, God may take extraordinary steps to literally bring them to their knees.

Saul, Saul, why do you persecute me? This question at the same time declares Paul's guilt and opens the way for him to be free of it. To this point in his life Jesus was just the name of a dead messianic pretender, which Paul did everything in his power to make his followers renounce (26:9-11). Now he is overpowered by Jesus' living presence; indeed, he had been in a losing battle with Christ all along. It is hard for you to kick against the goads. Did Ecclesiastes 12:11, "The words of the wise are like goads," come to his mind? To change the metaphor, the word of the Lord had kept growing and spreading like wildfire, especially in the time of persecution (Acts 8:3-4). Those who tried to stamp it out simply sent more sparks into the wind to ignite hearts in many more places. Paul learned, as does anyone who consistently says no to the faith, that it takes work to resist the truth of the gospel and the life of the Spirit.

Paul's response of humble submission, Who are you, Lord? places him in the only position that can turn the condemnatory accusation into an answer full of hope. I am Jesus, whom you are persecuting. In these simple statements from heaven Jesus declares that he is risen from the dead and exalted to the Father's right hand. He proclaims his supremely triumphant salvation victory. Paul cannot successfully oppose Christ and his mission--and why would he want to anyway? Jesus further announces that Christians are peculiarly the Messiah's people. To persecute them is to persecute him.

These truths are the light Paul needs to be converted. And any conversion involves that defining moment when we enter into a personal relationship with the risen Jesus Christ by embracing the good news that this suffering and risen Messiah is mighty to save those who repent of their rebellion against him (Lk 24:46-47).

Paul's conversion is at the same time a commissioning to a lifework of gospel witness (Acts 26:16-18). In words reminiscent of the call of the Old Testament prophets, Jesus commands him, Get up and stand on his feet, for he is to bear a divine message that will place him in danger. Hence a promise of divine protection must be added (Jer 1:7-8, 17-19; Ezek 2:1-2).

What is distinctive in the appointment, though not necessarily unique, is the nature of the mission and the nature of the audience. The Lord appoints Paul a servant (hyperetes). With this term for "assistant" Jesus stresses that Paul is to do exactly his master's bidding (Lk 1:2; 4:20; Acts 13:5). And he further specifies the service as witness of what you have seen of me and what I will show you (compare 22:17-21). He will proclaim a message that he is convinced of and that is based on "direct personal knowledge" (Strathmann 1967b:476; Acts 23:11; 26:22). His audience is both Jews (Luke refers to them by that spiritually significant term, laos, "the people"; the NIV rendering obscures this; see 13:15, 31; 28:26-27) and Gentiles. The direct Gentile mission, so offensive to his fellow Jews, is so necessary in God's saving plan that it is even part of the gospel message (Lk 24:46-47). It must ever determine the target audience of Paul's mission and ever be the flash point of opposition to it (9:15; 13:46-50; 22:15, 21-22). All who will answer Christ's call to be witnesses will face the challenge of responding with courage and confidence.

Never missing an opportunity to fulfill his ministry, Paul climaxes his report of Jesus' commissioning by proclaiming its purpose in terms of outcomes (26:18; compare Col 1:12-14). He winsomely lays before his audience the salvation blessings that can be theirs if they too will but trust in this risen Savior. With a healing metaphor Jesus tells Paul he is to open their eyes. This stands for "the spiritual health of those who find salvation in Christ and receive his revelation" (O'Toole 1978:74). Luke will use the metaphor of "closed eyes" for a sinful condition (Acts 28:27/Is 6:10; compare Lk 19:42) and "seeing eyes" for those blessed to witness of God's saving purposes (Lk 2:30; 10:23; compare Is 42:7).

Paul further enlarges on the transformation that this salvation brings: those who receive Paul's witness will turn . . . from darkness to light, and from the power of Satan to God. They can abandon the gloom, ignorance and evil of an environment without the messianic Savior (Lk 1:79; 11:33-36; 22:53; Acts 13:11) for the light of hope, revelation and goodness found in the living presence of the Risen One (Lk 2:32; Acts 13:47/Is 49:6). The bondage of Satan's power ("authority"; Lk 4:6; 22:53) can be exchanged for the gracious sovereignty of God, who is greater (Lk 4:36; 5:24; Acts 8:19).

The positive blessings that flow from this transformation encompass one's past, present and future. There is forgiveness of sins, one of Luke's favorite ways of describing what salvation provides for us (Lk 4:18/Is 61:1; Lk 24:47; Acts 2:38; 5:31; 10:43; 13:38). And there is a new eternal destiny grounded in a new identity. We have a place (kleros, a lot or portion of an inheritance, Ps 77[78]:55 LXX; compare Acts 1:17; 8:21) among those who are sanctified by faith in Jesus (16:31; 20:32; 20:21; 24:24). Trust in Christ is our defining moment.

As further proof of the reality of this encounter and in order to bring its significance to bear on his present circumstances, Paul now portrays himself as Christ's obedient witness (26:19-23). As a faithful witness, he follows the risen Lord's command by preaching in Damascus (9:19-22), in Jerusalem (9:26-28; 22:17-21), in all Judea (9:28-30) and to the Gentiles also (11:25-26; 13:46; 14:27; 22:21). Paul stresses the radical about-face involved in embracing the good news. "To convert is not just to give one's life a new direction but in practice to reorientate oneself continually to the goal by the radical setting aside of evil" (Behm and Wurthwein 1967:1004). With conversion, repentance and the new life that proves the genuineness of that repentance, there is no room to drive a wedge between Jesus as Savior and Jesus as Lord. If one is not truly committed to him as Lord, one cannot rightly claim he is one's Savior.

Paul's faithful witness has also been a contested witness. Paul preached the same gospel to Jew and Gentile alike, inviting both to receive salvation blessings in the same way: by repentance and faith in Messiah Jesus. This obliterated the religious distinction between Jew and Gentile that ethnic pride had so carefully preserved. On account of this mission and message the Jews seized him in the temple and tried to kill him (21:30-31). And so today, the universal offer of salvation based on grace received by repentance will still be resisted.

Paul gives one final proof that his mission is from God. He was arrested and beaten by a bloodthirsty mob, and while he was in Roman custody the Jews hatched ambush plots, even involving newly arrived Festus. But with God's help he is still alive and bearing witness to small and great alike.

Now he wants to engage Festus, Agrippa and the rest in a consideration of the truth of the message, especially its fulfillment of Old Testament prophecy (Lk 24:46; Acts 3:18). With an introductory ei, with its implication "that the proposition which follows is denied and must be argued out" (Lake and Cadbury 1979:321; compare Acts 17:3), Paul lays out two central propositions of the gospel: the Messiah's suffering and, since the resurrection, his provision of salvation blessings to Jew and Gentile alike. Both stand in continuity with the Old Testament but move beyond the current Jewish understanding of it. A Messiah who suffers is possible only if he is the same person as the Suffering Servant (Lk 22:37/Is 53:12). Only a Messiah who rises first from the dead can be the source of salvation blessings: light now proclaimed through his disciples to all (Acts 2:25-36/Ps 16:8-11; 110:1; Acts 13:46-47/Is 49:6). The point is clear. Without the resurrection of Christ, the defining moment in human history, there is no future hope for anyone. But when we let Christ's resurrection be our defining moment, the lights come on for our past, present and future.

Acts 26

²⁴At this point Festus interrupted Paul's defense. "You are out of your mind, Paul!" he shouted. "Your great learning is driving you insane."
²⁵"I am not insane, most excellent Festus," Paul replied. "What I am saying is true and reasonable. ²⁶The king is familiar with these things, and I can speak freely to him. I am convinced that none of this has escaped his notice, because it was not done in a corner. ²⁷King Agrippa, do you believe the prophets? I know you do."
²⁸Then Agrippa said to Paul, "Do you think that in such a short time you can persuade me to be a Christian?"
²⁹Paul replied, "Short time or long--I pray God that not only you but all who are listening to me today may become what I am, except for these chains."
³⁰The king rose, and with him the governor and Bernice and those sitting with them. ³¹They left the room, and while talking with one another, they said, "This man is not doing anything that deserves death or imprisonment."
³²Agrippa said to Festus, "This man could have been set free if he had not appealed to Caesar."

Acts 26:24-32

Explanation:

The Rulers Respond (26:24-29)

The Roman governor's "commonsense" outburst shows that he sees neither Jesus' resurrection nor the salvation blessings that flow from it as fit topics for rational discussion (compare 25:19). Such notions can come only from one who is out of his mind, whose great learning and exploration of such mysteries are driving him insane.

Paul is preaching for a decision with convincing conviction, and the only way Festus can rationalize his rejection is to declare the messenger mad and his message gibberish. Festus's reaction is instructive for Luke's audience. Their initial response might well be the same. And how many today, with their "commonsense" approach to life, would react as Festus did? It is obviously not the response Paul or Luke is looking for.

Paul answers Festus calmly but firmly. He denies the governor's estimate of his mental condition. He declares that what he is saying (rhemata apophthengomai implies Spirit-filled speech; 2:4, 14; 10:44; 13:42) is true and reasonable. Its veracity (1 Kings 17:24; Lk 20:21) and rational soundness commend it as reliable (note "reasonable" [sophrosyne] contrasted with "mania" in Greek literature: Xenophon Memorabilia 1.1.16; Plato Phaedrus 244D; Protagoras 323B). In fact, Paul can make such an assertion because his message is about an objective historical fact, a public event of which even King Agrippa is aware.

In the post-Enlightenment secularized West, where religion has for some generations been removed from the arena of public discourse and confined to private feelings and opinion, Paul's ringing defense of the gospel as true and reasonable utterances of things not done in a corner should give us courage to bring gospel truth back into the public arena. Christianity does make sense. It will stand up to public scrutiny. In response to "commonsense" dismissals of the faith as insanity, we must call for patience and a judicious assessment of the facts. Christians have nothing to fear from such scrutiny. Indeed, we believe because of, not in spite of, the facts.

Paul turns to Agrippa, seeking common ground in acceptance of the Old Testament prophets' authority. But Agrippa will not be drawn into a discussion of spiritual matters. His sophisticated avoidance of the slightly embarrassing prospect of discussing matters of religion in public is expressed in the dismissive: "Do you want to convince me that in such a short time you have made me a Christian?"

But Paul won't let him off the hook. Time is not the issue. Paul doesn't care how long it takes. So important is this salvation for Agrippa and all who hear Paul that he prays God they may receive it, "become what he is." Then, with a touch of humor or nobility, he adds, Except for these chains.

How tragic is Agrippa's sophisticated avoidance of a confrontation with the risen Christ! At least Festus looked at it directly and called it madness. Agrippa sets conditions that the evangelist cannot meet. To all those who say, "It will take more than this to make me a Christian," Paul warns, "Your conditions are irrelevant in the light of the supreme importance of the salvation this gospel offers. Don't let your requirements prevent you from receiving God's provision."

The Consensus: The Prisoner Is Innocent (26:30-32)

The hearing is over. The dignitaries exit and in private discussion agree on Paul's innocence: This man is not doing anything that deserves death or imprisonment (compare 23:29; 25:18). And as if to explain the anomaly of an innocent Roman citizen in chains, Agrippa adds, This man could have been set free, if he had not appealed to Caesar. This is not a matter of Roman jurisprudence but of Roman politics. Even though a person could be acquitted and released after an appeal to Caesar (Sherwin-White 1963:65), not to honor such an appeal would be to slight the emperor's prestige. These declarations of innocence make it clear that Paul and Christianity cannot be charged with sedition against the state. Nothing in the conduct of the messenger calls into question the truthfulness of the message. Luke's Roman audience and we must come to terms with the gospel and the defining moment it offers by dealing directly with its truth claims.