Paul’s defense before King Agrippa (Acts 26)
By Rev.Katherine Liu
Bruce
Christian Arts
Ministries: Biblical precepts & Gospel music
Paul’s defense before Agrippa
Scriptrues reading (Acts
26)
1 The 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, 3 and 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. 5 They 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. 6 And now it is because of my
hope in what God has promised our fathers that I am on trial today.7
This 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. 8 Why should any of you consider it incredible
that God raises the dead?
9 I too was convinced that I ought to
do all that was possible to oppose the name of Jesus of Nazareth. 10
And that is just what I did in Jerussalem. On the authority of the chief
priests I put many of the saints in prison, and when they were put ot death, I
case my vote against them. 11 Many 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. 13 About noon, I saw a light from heaven, brighter than the sun, blazing around me and my companions. 14 We 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?” “I am Jesus, whom you are persecuting,” the Lord replied.
16 “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. 17 I will rescue you from your own people and from the Gentiles. I am sending you to them.
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19 So then, King Agrippa, I was not disobedient to the
vision from heaven. 20 First to those in Damascus, then 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. 21 That is why the Jews seized me in the
temple courts and tried to kill me. 22 But 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 –23 That
the Christ would suffer and as the first
to rise from the dead, would proclaim light to his own people and to the
Gentiles.
24 At 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. 26 The 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.
27 King Agrippa, do
you believe the prophets? I know you do.” 28 Then Agrippa said to
Paul, “Do you think that in such a short time you can persuade me to be a
Christian?”
29 Paul 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.”30 The king rose, and with him the governor and
Bernice and those sitting with them. 31 They left the room, and
while talking with one another, they said, “ This man is not doing anything
that deserves death or imprisonment.” 32 Agrippa said to Festus,
“This man could have been set free if he had not appealed to Caesar.”
Verse 14 A goad on a plow is a sharppointed stick used to subdue and prod
an ox yoked to the plew. The Lord’s word here signifies that Saul was already
yoked to the plow and had no choice but to take the Lord’s yoke obediently for
the carrying out of the Lord’s commission. It was hard for him to kick against
the goads on the Lord’s plow.
Verse 16 Not only a minister but also a witness. Aminister is for the
ministry; a witness, for the testimony. The ministry is related mainly to the
work, to what a minister does; a testimony is related to the person, to what a
witness is. “I have appeared unto thee for this purpose.” Millions
of people wake up every morning and don’t want to get up. They don’t have a
purpose in life. They don’t have a reason for being. Saul of Tarsus was a man
who had lost his reason for being. He lay on the ground, blinded by a light
from heaven, hurting inside because he’d been fighting against God. But God
said to him: “ Rise, and stand uppn thy feet” For I have appeared unto thee for
this purpose, to make thee a minister and a witness.” God was saying to him, “
get up, stand up, and stay up, for I have a purpose for your life.” And Paul
received that commission as the beginning of a whole new way of living. Jesus
is saying to you and me, “Get up on the inside…listen to My voice inside
you…agree with My Word…put your faith to work…and I will make something of your
life.”
Verse 18 This was to carry out the fulfillment of God’s jubilee, the
acceptable year of the Lord, proclaimed by the Lord Jesus in Luke 4:18-21
according to God’s New Testament economy. The first item of the spiritual
and divine blessings of the New Testament jubilee, which are the blessings of
the gospel of God, is to open the eyes of those who are fallen and turn them
from darkness to light, that they may see the divine things in the spiritual
realm. To see these things requires spiritual sight and divine light. Darkness
is a sign of sin and death; Light is a sign of righteousness and life
(John1:4;8:12). The authority of Satan is Satan’s kingdom, which begs to
darkness(Matt.12:26) . “ to God” to
the authority of God, to God’s kingdom, which belongs to light. “ forgivness” The base of all the
blessings of the New Testament jubilee.
“an inheritance” Lit., a portion;
referring to a portion of an inheritance. This inheritance is the Triune God
Himself with all He has, all He has done, and all He will do for His redeemed
people. The Triune God is embodied in the all inclusive Christ (col.1:12). The
Holy Spirit, who has been given to the saints, is the foretaste, the pledge,
and the guarantee of this divine inheritance (Rom.8:23;Eph.1:14), which we are
sharing and enjoying today as a foretaste in God’s New Testament jubilee, and
which we will enjoy in full in the coming age and for eternity (1Pet.1:4). In
the type of the jubilee in Lev.25:8-13, the main blessings are the liberty
proclaimed and the returning of every man to his own possession. In the
fulfillment of the jubilee here, liberation from the authority of darkness and
the receiving of the divine inheritance are the primary blessings.
“Sanctified”
not only positionally but also dispositionally (Rom.6:19). To be sanctified
positionally is only to have a change in position and purpose; to be sanctified
dispositionally is to be transformed in nature by and with the holy nature of
God (2Cor.3;18). To be sanctified is to be saturated with God as our possession
for our enjoyment today. Our sanctification will consummate in our maturity in
the divine life that we may resemble God and be qualified to fully possess and
enjoy Him as our inheritance in the coming age and for eternity.
Paul was under compulsion to preach the gospel. “Woe
is unto me, if I preach not the gospel.” ( 1 Corinthians 9:16). He even dared
to speak in King Agrippa’s court. See his flashing eyes, hear his vibrant
voice, his piercing word. Feel the fire of his soul, the anointing of his
being, the spirit of his message. Grasp the purpose of his preaching, the
conviction of his spirit. if you do you will know how King Agrippa felt when he
cried, “Almost thou persuades me to be a Chrsitian.” My prayer is, “God, help
us to stir up your gift is us…help us make You our Source…to plant our seeds of
faith and expect our miracle –harvests.”
Verse 19
Not a doctrine, a theory, a religious creed, or any theology, but a
heavenly vision, in which the apostle saw the divine things concerning the
dispensing of the Triune God into His chosen, redeemed, and transformed people.
All his preaching in this book and his writing in his fourteen Epistles, from
Romans through Hebrews, are a detailed description of this heavenly vision seen
by Paul.
Verse 22 or, assistance . The Greek word originally meant alliance. This
implies that the apostle was allied with God and realized God’s assistance in
this alliance.
Verse 23 light Indicating the enlightenment of God, who
is light (1John1:5), shining in Christ, who is the light of the world (John
8:12;9:5), through the preaching of the gospel of the glory of Christ
(2Cor.4:4,6).
Verse 24 you are out of your mind,Paul! Festus, a Roman, simply could not
comprehend Paul’s line of thought and language. Agrippa, a Jew, had no such
semantic problems.
Verse 26 Agrippa, a Jew by religion, knew the things of the Old Testament
and of resurrection.
Verse 32 In this section 21:27-26:32, a long narration of the Jews’ final
persecution of the apostle, the genuine characteristics of all the involved
parties were made manifest: (1) the darkness, blindness, hatred, and hypocrisy
of the Jewish religion, (2) the injustice and corruption of Roman politics; (3)
the transparency, brightness, faithfulness, and courage of the apostle; and (4)
the Lord’s encouraging care for His witness and His sovereignty over the entire
situation for the carrying out of His divine purpose. “ not appealed to Caesar” But without his appeal to Caesar, the apostle
might have been killed by the Jews through Festus’s unjust handling of him and
thus his life might not have been preserved to that day.
Bibliography,
King James, The Holy Bible (KJV), Cleveland, OH:
The world publishing company
Ryrie, Charles C. The Ryrie study Bible (NIV). Chicago,
IL: The Moody Bible Institute, 1986
Lee, Witness. The New Testament (R.V.) Anaheim,
CA: Living Stream Ministry, 1985.
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