*Acts 26:1-32
Given the opportunity to defend himself before King Agrippa, Paul recounts his past as a persecutor of Christians and his conversion to Christianity brought on by a vision of Jesus.
- Paul’s Defense Before Agrippa:
- Governor Festus grants Paul the opportunity to speak before King Agrippa, Queen Bernice, and other dignitaries.
- Paul expresses his gratitude for the chance to defend himself before Agrippa, who is knowledgeable about Jewish customs and controversies.
- Paul’s Background and Zeal for Jewish Traditions:
- Paul recounts his life as a Pharisee, emphasizing his strict adherence to Jewish law and his initial persecution of Christians, which he pursued zealously.
- He describes his role in imprisoning Christians and even approving their executions.
- Paul’s Conversion on the Road to Damascus:
- Paul details his dramatic conversion experience while on his way to Damascus, where a light from heaven blinded him, and Jesus spoke to him.
- He explains how Jesus commissioned him to turn from darkness to light and from Satan to God, promising that he would witness both to Jews and Gentiles.
- Paul’s Ministry to the Gentiles:
- After his conversion, Paul obeyed the heavenly vision and began preaching that people should repent and turn to God, demonstrating their repentance by their deeds.
- This mission, he explains, is why the Jews seized him in the temple and tried to kill him.
- Paul Asserts His Faithfulness to Scripture:
- Paul defends his teachings and actions by stating they are consistent with what the prophets and Moses said would happen: the Messiah would suffer, rise from the dead, and bring the message of light to both the Jewish people and the Gentiles.
- Festus’s Interruption and Paul’s Reply:
- During Paul’s defense, Festus interrupts, accusing Paul of being insane due to excessive learning. Paul responds by insisting that he is speaking the sober truth.
- Paul’s Appeal to Agrippa:
- Paul directly addresses King Agrippa, asking if he believes the prophets. Agrippa is taken aback and reacts somewhat defensively, remarking to Paul that he might almost persuade him to become a Christian.
- Paul expresses his wish that not only Agrippa but all listening might become as he is, except for his chains.
- Agrippa’s Private Discussion and Conclusion:
- After the hearing, Agrippa confers with Festus and concludes that Paul could have been set free if he had not appealed to Caesar.
- Both Agrippa and Festus agree that Paul has done nothing deserving death or imprisonment.
Acts 26:1-32 teaches us the power of sharing our story with confidence. Paul stood before King Agrippa and boldly told how Jesus changed his life. Even though not everyone believed him, he remained faithful to his mission. This reminds us that our personal experiences with God can inspire others, even if they don’t immediately accept the message. We can apply this by sharing our faith with honesty and courage, trusting that God can use our story to touch hearts in His perfect timing.
Acts 26:1-32 (WEB)
26:1 Agrippa said to Paul, “You may speak for yourself.”Then Paul stretched out his hand, and made his defense. 2 “I think myself happy, King Agrippa, that I am to make my defense before you today concerning all the things that I am accused by the Jews, 3 especially because you are expert in all customs and questions which are among the Jews. Therefore I beg you to hear me patiently.4 “Indeed, all the Jews know my way of life from my youth up, which was from the beginning among my own nation and at Jerusalem; 5 having known me from the first, if they are willing to testify, that after the strictest sect of our religion I lived a Pharisee. 6 Now I stand here to be judged for the hope of the promise made by God to our fathers, 7 which our twelve tribes, earnestly serving night and day, hope to attain. Concerning this hope I am accused by the Jews, King Agrippa! 8 Why is it judged incredible with you if God does raise the dead?9 “I myself most certainly thought that I ought to do many things contrary to the name of Jesus of Nazareth. 10 I also did this in Jerusalem. I both shut up many of the saints in prisons, having received authority from the chief priests; and when they were put to death I gave my vote against them. 11 Punishing them often in all the synagogues, I tried to make them blaspheme. Being exceedingly enraged against them, I persecuted them even to foreign cities.12 “Whereupon as I traveled to Damascus with the authority and commission from the chief priests, 13 at noon, O king, I saw on the way a light from the sky, brighter than the sun, shining around me and those who traveled with me. 14 When we had all fallen to the earth, I heard a voice saying to me in the Hebrew language, ‘Saul, Saul, why are you persecuting me? It is hard for you to kick against the goads.’15 “I said, ‘Who are you, Lord?’“He said, ‘I am Jesus, whom you are persecuting. 16 But arise, and stand on your feet, for I have appeared to you for this purpose: to appoint you a servant and a witness both of the things which you have seen and of the things which I will reveal to you; 17 delivering you from the people and from the Gentiles, to whom I send you, 18 to open their eyes, that they may turn from darkness to light and from the power of Satan to God, that they may receive remission of sins and an inheritance among those who are sanctified by faith in me.’19 “Therefore, King Agrippa, I was not disobedient to the heavenly vision, 20 but declared first to them of Damascus, at Jerusalem, and throughout all the country of Judea, and also to the Gentiles, that they should repent and turn to God, doing works worthy of repentance. 21 For this reason the Jews seized me in the temple and tried to kill me. 22 Having therefore obtained the help that is from God, I stand to this day testifying both to small and great, saying nothing but what the prophets and Moses said would happen, 23 how the Christ must suffer, and how, by the resurrection of the dead, he would be first to proclaim light both to these people and to the Gentiles.”24 As he thus made his defense, Festus said with a loud voice, “Paul, you are crazy! Your great learning is driving you insane!”25 But he said, “I am not crazy, most excellent Festus, but boldly declare words of truth and reasonableness. 26 For the king knows of these things, to whom also I speak freely. For I am persuaded that none of these things is hidden from him, for this has not been done in a corner. 27 King Agrippa, do you believe the prophets? I know that you believe.”28 Agrippa said to Paul, “With a little persuasion are you trying to make me a Christian?”29 Paul said, “I pray to God, that whether with little or with much, not only you, but also all that hear me today, might become such as I am, except for these bonds.”30 The king rose up with the governor and Bernice, and those who sat with them. 31 When they had withdrawn, they spoke to one another, saying, “This man does nothing worthy of death or of bonds.” 32 Agrippa said to Festus, “This man might have been set free if he had not appealed to Caesar.”