Acts 26
June 4
Reading: Acts 26
1 So Agrippa said to Paul, "You have permission to speak for yourself."
Then Paul stretched out his hand and made his defense:
2 "I consider myself fortunate that it is before you, King Agrippa, I am going to make my defense today against all the accusations of the Jews, 3 especially because you are familiar with all the customs and controversies of the Jews. Therefore I beg you to listen to me patiently.
4 "My manner of life from my youth, spent from the beginning among my own nation and in Jerusalem, is known by all the Jews. 5 They have known for a long time, if they are willing to testify, that according to the strictest party of our religion I have lived as a Pharisee. 6 And now I stand here on trial because of my hope in the promise made by God to our fathers, 7 to which our twelve tribes hope to attain, as they earnestly worship night and day. And for this hope I am accused by Jews, O king! 8 Why is it thought incredible by any of you that God raises the dead?
9 "I myself was convinced that I ought to do many things in opposing the name of Jesus of Nazareth. 10 And I did so in Jerusalem. I not only locked up many of the saints in prison after receiving authority from the chief priests, but when they were put to death I cast my vote against them. 11 And I punished them often in all the synagogues and tried to make them blaspheme, and in raging fury against them I persecuted them even to foreign cities.
12 "In this connection I journeyed to Damascus with the authority and commission of the chief priests. 13 At midday, O king, I saw on the way a light from heaven, brighter than the sun, that shone around me and those who journeyed with me. 14 And when we had all fallen to the ground, 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 And I said, 'Who are you, Lord?' And the Lord said, 'I am Jesus whom you are persecuting. 16 But rise and stand upon your feet, for I have appeared to you for this purpose, to appoint you as a servant and witness to the things in which you have seen me and to those in which I will appear to you, 17 delivering you from your people and from the Gentiles-- to whom I am sending you 18 to open their eyes, so that they may turn from darkness to light and from the power of Satan to God, that they may receive forgiveness of sins and a place among those who are sanctified by faith in me.'
19 "Therefore, O King Agrippa, I was not disobedient to the heavenly vision, 20 but declared first to those in Damascus, then in Jerusalem and throughout all the region of Judea, and also to the Gentiles, that they should repent and turn to God, performing deeds in keeping with their repentance. 21 For this reason the Jews seized me in the temple and tried to kill me. 22 To this day I have had the help that comes from God, and so I stand here testifying both to small and great, saying nothing but what the prophets and Moses said would come to pass: 23 that the Christ must suffer and that, by being the first to rise from the dead, he would proclaim light both to our people and to the Gentiles."
24 And as he was saying these things in his defense, Festus said with a loud voice, "Paul, you are out of your mind; your great learning is driving you out of your mind."
25 But Paul said, "I am not out of my mind, most excellent Festus, but I am speaking true and rational words. 26 For the king knows about these things, and to him I speak boldly. For I am persuaded that none of these things has escaped his notice, for this has not been done in a corner. 27 King Agrippa, do you believe the prophets? I know that you believe."
28 And Agrippa said to Paul, "In a short time would you persuade me to be a Christian?"
29 And Paul said, "Whether short or long, I would to God that not only you but also all who hear me this day might become such as I am-- except for these chains."
30 Then the king rose, and the governor and Bernice and those who were sitting with them.
31 And when they had withdrawn, they said to one another, "This man is doing nothing to deserve death or imprisonment."
32 And Agrippa said to Festus, "This man could have been set free if he had not appealed to Caesar."
Now King Agrippa stands before God with Paul as the witness for the prosecution. King Agrippa was a very wealthy and religious man. He was pretentious and manipulative and really had no right to the throne, just as his father (Acts 12) had no right to rule.
Paul honors King Agrippa and addresses him respectfully. For the third time in Acts we hear about Paul’s conversion. He shares the testimony of how God worked in his life. Paul presents himself as a Pharisee and a believer in the coming resurrection. Then Paul describes his zeal in persecuting Christians. Agrippa surely understands all that.
Beginning in verse 12, Paul describes his meeting with Jesus Christ on the road to Damascus. For the first time, Paul tells us that Jesus spoke to him and said, “It is hard to kick against the goads.” (vs. 14) What was Jesus saying? A goad is a pointy stick that is used for prodding oxen to get them to move. An ox that kicks at the goad is displaying irritation, anger, and futility. The kicking is doing him no good.
What goads had Paul been kicking against? Well, he had seen Christians witnessing. He heard Stephen preach about how the Jews are “constantly resisting the Holy Spirit.” (Acts 7:51) You can imagine that Paul did not like that. Then he saw Stephen die, saying that Jesus was “standing at the right hand of God.” (Acts 7:56) Apparently that moment stuck in Paul’s memory and made him angry. Sometimes when people are convicted of sin it stays with them and bugs them. Paul was trying to fight off these thoughts, but to no avail.
Paul makes it clear to Agrippa that it is God’s work and God’s will that he is doing. When he gets to Christ’s resurrection from the dead (vs. 23) Festus interrupts and says that Paul is crazy. Why? Festus cannot believe that someone killed by the Romans could come back to life. This just doesn’t happen. But it did happen. So, Paul turns to Agrippa and asks if he believes the prophets. Agrippa seems for a moment as if he might be ready to believe. He is thinking about it.
Sometimes the best witness is just to tell your story of how the Lord saved you.