Paul Goes Before Agrippa

Last time. In our last lesson Felix kept Paul in prison for two years. Then “Porcius Festus succeeded Felix” (24:27). Paul had appealed to Caesar, the Roman emperor (25:11-12). A king visits. “King Agrippa and Bernice came to Caesarea to greet Festus” (25:13). This was a later King Agrippa, not the Herod of Acts 12. He ruled lands near Judea under Rome. A fair trial. Festus told the king, “It is not the custom of the Romans to deliver any man to destruction before the accused meets the accusers face to face” (25:16). God used Roman law to protect Paul. The real question. The accusers had questions “about a certain Jesus, who had died, whom Paul affirmed to be alive” (25:19). To affirm means to say firmly that something is true. Festus did not see it, but the whole case was about Jesus. Great pomp. The next day Agrippa and Bernice “had come with great pomp” (25:23). Pomp is a big, fancy show of how important you are. No crime. Festus said Paul “had committed nothing deserving of death” (25:25). Yet he had “nothing certain to write” to the emperor (25:26). What we learn. Festus thought the trial was about religious arguments, but it was really about whether Jesus is alive. That is the most important question for you too. God does not care about fancy shows. He cares about your heart.

The setting (25:13). Paul had been held two years when “Porcius Festus succeeded Felix” (24:27). Paul had appealed to Caesar (25:11-12). “And after some days King Agrippa and Bernice came to Caesarea to greet Festus.” This was a later King Agrippa, not the Herod of Acts 12. He ruled territory near Judea under Rome. Festus’s summary (25:14-15). “There is a certain man left a prisoner by Felix, about whom the chief priests and the elders of the Jews informed me.” Festus means the leaders who accused Paul; Paul himself was Jewish. Roman justice (25:16). “It is not the custom of the Romans to deliver any man to destruction before the accused meets the accusers face to face.” God used a pagan legal system to keep His servant alive. The real issue (25:19). The dispute was “about a certain Jesus, who had died, whom Paul affirmed to be alive.” Festus called it a question of “their own religion.” He most likely did not see that he had just named the center of the gospel. Phantasia (25:23). Agrippa and Bernice came “with great pomp.” Pomp is phantasia (say: fan-tah-SEE-ah), a show or display, the outward glitter of rank. They “entered the auditorium with the commanders and the prominent men of the city.” Then Paul was brought in. The verdict before the trial (25:24-25). Festus said they had cried out “that he was not fit to live any longer,” but “I found that he had committed nothing deserving of death.” Nothing to write (25:26-27). “I have nothing certain to write to my lord concerning him.” It seemed “unreasonable to send a prisoner and not to specify the charges against him.” Application. The room was full of rank and glitter, and the prisoner was the one with the message. The question Festus brushed aside, whether Jesus is alive, is the question every person must answer.

In our last lesson, Felix kept Paul in prison for two years. Now Festus was the governor. Paul had asked for Caesar to hear his case. Festus told King Agrippa about Paul. The leaders who accused Paul could not name a real crime. The real question was about Jesus. Was Jesus dead, or was He alive? Paul said Jesus is alive! The king and his friends came in fancy clothes. But God does not look at clothes. God looks at our hearts. And God made sure a king would hear about Jesus.

Festus could not find anything Paul did wrong. Paul only said that Jesus is alive. That is the best news of all!

Glad to speak. Agrippa said, “You are permitted to speak for yourself” (26:1). Paul said, “I think myself happy, King Agrippa, because today I shall answer for myself before you” (26:2). Agrippa knew the Jewish customs well (26:3), so he could understand. A Pharisee. Paul said, “according to the strictest sect of our religion I lived a Pharisee” (26:5). He had tried very hard to keep God’s law. The promise. “And now I stand and am judged for the hope of the promise made by God to our fathers” (26:6). Paul hoped for the same thing as “our twelve tribes,” the whole Jewish people (26:7). He was Jewish, and so was his hope. A big question. “Why should it be thought incredible by you that God raises the dead?” (26:8). Incredible means too hard to believe. If God made life, raising the dead is not too hard for Him. Honest about his past. “I myself thought I must do many things contrary to the name of Jesus of Nazareth” (26:9). He put believers in prison and chased them “even to foreign cities” (26:11). What we learn. Paul did not hide his sin to look good in front of a king. He told the truth, because his story was really about Jesus’ mercy. You can be honest about your sin too, because Jesus forgives.

Permission (26:1). Agrippa said, “You are permitted to speak for yourself.” “So Paul stretched out his hand and answered for himself.” A qualified hearer (26:2-3). “I think myself happy, King Agrippa, because today I shall answer for myself before you concerning all the things of which I am accused by the Jews, especially because you are expert in all customs and questions which have to do with the Jews.” Paul, a Jew himself, means the leaders who brought the charges (25:15). His record (26:4-5). His life was known “from my youth,” and “according to the strictest sect of our religion I lived a Pharisee.” He was no outsider to Israel’s faith. The hope (26:6-7). “And now I stand and am judged for the hope of the promise made by God to our fathers. To this promise our twelve tribes, earnestly serving God night and day, hope to attain.” The charge against him was, at heart, that he believed God had kept His promise to Israel. The question (26:8). “Why should it be thought incredible by you that God raises the dead?” The God who gives life can give it again. The resurrection of Jesus is the proof that the promise has begun to come true. The confession (26:9-11). “I myself thought I must do many things contrary to the name of Jesus of Nazareth.” He imprisoned “many of the saints,” cast his vote against them, and “persecuted them even to foreign cities.” Application. Paul did not polish his past before a king. A believer’s story is not a record of how good he was, but of how great Christ’s mercy is. That kind of honesty points people to Jesus.

Agrippa let Paul speak. Paul was glad, because the king knew the Jewish ways. Paul was Jewish too. He had always tried to obey God’s law. He trusted the promise God made to his people long ago. Paul asked a big question. Why should anyone think God cannot raise the dead? Then Paul told the truth about his past. He had been very angry at the people who followed Jesus. He put many of them in jail. Paul did not hide his sin. He wanted the king to see how much Jesus had forgiven him.

Paul told the king the truth about his past. He had hurt people who loved Jesus. But Jesus forgave him.

The light. On the way to Damascus, “at midday, O king, along the road I saw a light from heaven, brighter than the sun” (26:13). The voice. Paul heard a voice “in the Hebrew language,” and he asked, “Who are You, Lord?” The answer came: “I am Jesus, whom you are persecuting” (26:14-15). Jesus also said, “It is hard for you to kick against the goads.” A goad was a pointed stick used to move an ox. Fighting Jesus only hurt Paul. A new job. “But rise and stand on your feet; for I have appeared to you for this purpose, to make you a minister and a witness” (26:16). A minister is a servant. A witness tells what he has seen. Sent. Jesus sent Paul “to open their eyes, in order to turn them from darkness to light” (26:18). He promised that people would “receive forgiveness of sins” by faith in Him. Obeyed. Paul said, “Therefore, King Agrippa, I was not disobedient to the heavenly vision” (26:19). He told people everywhere to repent and turn to God, and to show it by the way they lived (26:20). What we learn. Jesus met an enemy and made him a messenger. When Jesus shows you what He wants, do it, the way Paul did.

The third telling (26:12-13). “At midday, O king, along the road I saw a light from heaven, brighter than the sun, shining around me and those who journeyed with me.” Paul had told this story to the crowd in Jerusalem (22:6-11). Now he told it to a king. The voice (26:14-15). The voice spoke “in the Hebrew language”: “Saul, Saul, why are you persecuting Me? It is hard for you to kick against the goads.” A goad was a sharp stick for driving oxen; an ox that kicked against it only hurt itself. “I am Jesus, whom you are persecuting.” The commission (26:16-17). “Rise and stand on your feet; for I have appeared to you for this purpose, to make you a minister and a witness.” Jesus promised, “I will deliver you from the Jewish people, as well as from the Gentiles, to whom I now send you.” The purpose (26:18). “To open their eyes, in order to turn them from darkness to light, and from the power of Satan to God, that they may receive forgiveness of sins and an inheritance among those who are sanctified by faith in Me.” Forgiveness comes by faith in Jesus. Optasia (26:19). “Therefore, King Agrippa, I was not disobedient to the heavenly vision.” Vision is optasia (say: op-tah-SEE-ah), something seen, a sight God shows. Paul’s whole life since then was his answer to what he had seen. The message (26:20). He preached “that they should repent, turn to God, and do works befitting repentance.” A changed heart shows up in a changed life. Application. Light from heaven came once on one road. Most of Paul’s obedience happened on ordinary days afterward. When God makes His will clear in His Word, the faithful answer is to obey.

Paul told the king how Jesus met him. A light brighter than the sun shone at noon. Paul fell to the ground and heard Jesus speak. Jesus did not punish Paul. He gave Paul a job! Paul would tell people about Jesus everywhere. People could turn from darkness to the light. Their sins could be forgiven by believing in Jesus. Paul obeyed Jesus right away. He told people to change their hearts and turn to God. When Jesus shows you what is right, you can obey Him too.

Jesus met Paul and gave him a job. Paul obeyed right away. We can obey Jesus too.

God’s help. Paul said, “Therefore, having obtained help from God, to this day I stand” (26:22). The first part of that verse is our memory verse. Nothing new. Paul taught only what “the prophets and Moses said would come — that the Christ would suffer, that He would be the first to rise from the dead” (26:22-23). A loud voice. Festus said with a loud voice, “Paul, you are beside yourself! Much learning is driving you mad!” (26:24). Paul answered politely, “I am not mad, most noble Festus, but speak the words of truth and reason” (26:25). Not hidden. These things were “not done in a corner” (26:26). Jesus died and rose where many people could see and know. The king’s answer. Paul asked, “King Agrippa, do you believe the prophets?” Agrippa said, “You almost persuade me to become a Christian” (26:27-28). Except for these chains. Paul said he wished that everyone listening might become “such as I am, except for these chains” (26:29). He wanted them to have Jesus, not his chains. Not guilty. They said, “This man is doing nothing deserving of death or chains” (26:31). Many Christians see a picture of Jesus here: a governor and a Herod found nothing in Jesus deserving death, and now a governor and a king from Herod’s family found nothing in Paul deserving death either. What we learn. A prisoner in chains had what a king did not. Pray that the people you know will come to know Jesus too.

Help to this day (26:21-22). “For these reasons the Jews seized me in the temple and tried to kill me” (26:21). Paul, a Jew himself, means the crowd stirred up in the temple that day (21:27-30). Yet “having obtained help from God, to this day I stand, witnessing both to small and great.” Moses and the prophets (26:22-23). He said “no other things than those which the prophets and Moses said would come — that the Christ would suffer, that He would be the first to rise from the dead, and would proclaim light to the Jewish people and to the Gentiles.” Mainomai (26:24-25). Festus cried, “Paul, you are beside yourself! Much learning is driving you mad!” “Beside yourself” is mainomai (say: MY-no-my), to rave or be out of one’s mind. Paul answered with the same word: “I am not mad, most noble Festus, but speak the words of truth and reason.” Public facts (26:26). “For the king, before whom I also speak freely, knows these things.” Paul added, “this thing was not done in a corner.” Jesus was crucified in Jerusalem at the Passover feast, in front of crowds, and His resurrection was preached in that same city. The question (26:27-28). “King Agrippa, do you believe the prophets? I know that you do believe.” Agrippa answered, “You almost persuade me to become a Christian.” Paul’s wish (26:29). “I would to God that not only you, but also all who hear me today, might become both almost and altogether such as I am, except for these chains.” The verdict (26:30-32). “This man is doing nothing deserving of death or chains.” Agrippa added that he “might have been set free if he had not appealed to Caesar.” Many Christians see Paul following Jesus here: Pilate and Herod also found nothing in Jesus deserving of death. Application. The man in chains was the free man in that room. Pray for those around you the way Paul did: that they would become altogether Christ’s.

God helped Paul every day. Paul told the king what Moses and the prophets said. The Christ would die and be the first to rise from death. Festus shouted that Paul was out of his mind. But Paul stayed calm and kind. He said his words were true. The king asked if Paul could make him a Christian so fast. Paul prayed that everyone there would become like him. He just did not want them in chains. Many Christians see Jesus here. Rulers once said Jesus did nothing wrong. Now rulers said the same about Paul. Paul wanted the king to know Jesus.

Paul wore chains, but his heart was free. He wanted the king to know Jesus. Jesus died and rose for everyone.