Acts 26

1 – 3

Agrippa said to Paul, “You may now speak to defend yourself.” Then Paul raised his hand and began to speak. He said, “King Agrippa, I will answer all the charges that the Jews make against me. I think it is a blessing that I can stand here before you today. I am very happy to talk to you, because you know so much about all the Jewish customs and the things that the Jews argue about. Please listen to me patiently.

They did not know what was going on spiritually but Agrippa and Festus were the ones who were really standing before God on trial. They were not looking for the truth but they were looking for something to accuse Paul of. The world is also watching our lives to find something to accuse us of.

Be careful to live properly among your unbelieving neighbors. Then even if they accuse you of doing wrong, they will see your honorable behavior, and they will give honor to God when he judges the world 1 Peter 2:12

4 – 5

“All the Jews know about my whole life. They know the way I lived from the beginning in my own country and later in Jerusalem. They have known me for a long time. If they want to, they can tell you that I was a good Pharisee. And the Pharisees obey the laws of the Jewish religion more carefully than any other group of Jewish people.

I was circumcised when I was eight days old. I am a pure-blooded citizen of Israel and a member of the tribe of Benjamin—a real Hebrew if there ever was one! I was a member of the Pharisees, who demand the strictest obedience to the Jewish law.

I was so zealous that I harshly persecuted the church. And as for righteousness, I obeyed the law without fault.

I once thought these things were valuable, but now I consider them worthless because of what Christ has done. Philippians 3:5-7

6 – 8

Now I am on trial because I hope for the promise that God made to our ancestors. This is the promise that the 12 tribes of our people hope to receive. For this hope the Jews serve God day and night. My king, the Jews have accused me because I hope for this same promise! Why do any of you people think it is impossible for God to raise people from death?

Paul is saying that he is on trial because he knows Jesus the Messiah that was promised Israel. He is showing how the Jews did not accept God had promised to them.

Paul is reminding them that there are people in the Old Testament who were raised from the dead. He is asking them that if they believe these things could happen in the Old Testament, then why not believe this could happen in the case of Jesus?

9 – 10

“I too thought I ought to do many things against Jesus from Nazareth. And in Jerusalem I did many things against God’s people. The leading priests gave me the power to put many of them in jail. When they were being killed, I agreed that it was a good thing.

Paul never forgot the evil things that he did. Paul could not forget the face of Stephen. Paul had never met anybody like this and had never felt the power of the Holy Spirit when someone was talking the way Stephen talked. Acts 6:15

11. In every synagogue, I often punished them. I tried to make them say evil things against Jesus. I was so angry against them that I even went to other cities to find them and punish them.

Pliny, a Roman leader, wrote a letter to the Emperor Trajan asking for advice on how to know if someone was a Christian. Trajan said that a real Christian will not speak against Christ.

12 – 15

“One time the leading priests gave me permission and the power to go to Damascus. On the way there, at noon, I saw a light from heaven. The light was brighter than the sun. It flashed all around me and the men who were traveling with me. We all fell to the ground.

Then I heard a voice speaking to me in the Jewish language. The voice said, ‘Saul, Saul, why are you doing things against Me? You are only hurting yourself by fighting Me.’ I said, ‘Who are you, Lord?’ The Lord said, ‘I am Jesus. I am the One you are trying to hurt.

It is interesting that Jesus only told Paul His name after Paul humbled himself and called him Lord.

16 – 17

Stand up! I have chosen you to be My servant. You will be My witness—you will tell people the things that you have seen and the things that I will show you. This is why I have come to you today. I will not let your own people hurt you. And I will keep you safe from the non-Jewish people too. These are the people I am sending you to.

We cannot help people if we let them control us. Being afraid of people puts our feet in a trap. Proverbs 29:25

18. I send you to open their eyes that they may turn away from darkness to the light. I send you that they may turn away from the power of Satan and turn to God. Then their sins can be forgiven and they can have a place with those people who have been made holy by believing in me.’

We all have a life message that we can use to explain the Gospel. Paul’s message seems to be that God showed him that he was blind and then showed him how his eyes could be opened. Acts 9:18

19 – 21

“King Agrippa, after I had this vision from heaven, I obeyed it. I began telling people that they should change their hearts and lives and turn to God. I told them to do things to show that they really had changed.

I told this first to those in Damascus, then in Jerusalem and in every part of Judea, and also to the non-Jewish people. This is why the Jews took me and were trying to kill me in the Temple.

There is no religion of the world that explains why we are here and how we will spend life after death. The only thing that makes sense is that we are in a spiritual battle and men would rather go to hell then surrender control of their lives to God.

22. But God helped me and is still helping me today. With God’s help I am standing here today and telling all people what I have seen. But I am saying nothing different. I am saying what Moses and the prophets said would happen.
We do not need to add anything to the Bible. The Bible can speak for itself.

23. They said that the Christ would die and be the first to rise from death. They said that the Christ would bring light to the Jewish and non-Jewish people.”

The Jews knew that there were many scriptures about the Messiah that Paul could have quoted to prove these things. Isaiah 53:5 , Psalm 22, Psalm 16:10

And I will appoint You as a covenant to the people, as a light to the nations. Isaiah 42:6

24. While Paul was saying these things to defend himself, Festus said loudly, “Paul, you are out of your mind! Too much study has made you crazy!”

The world says we are crazy because we believe in something that we cannot see and goes against their culture. Doctors say that people have mental problems when they do something that they know is wrong and are afraid that people will find out. We are in our right minds because we know that we have been set free from our sin and we want people to find out!

25 – 27

Paul said, “Most Excellent Festus, I am not crazy. My words are true. They are not the words of a foolish man. King Agrippa knows about these things. I can speak freely to him. I know that he has heard about all of these things. They did not happen off in a corner. King Agrippa, do you believe what the prophets wrote? I know you believe!”

Agrippa studied the Old Testament and knew what the prophets said about the Messiah. Men are responsible for the truth that they have heard.

28. King Agrippa said to Paul, “Do you think you can persuade me to become a Christian in such a short time?”

Agrippa knew that calling someone a Christian was a word for mocking them. He wanted to make fun of Paul in front of everybody because he was feeling guilty.

29. Paul said, “Whether it is a short or a long time, I pray to God that not only you but every person listening to me today would be saved and be like me, except for these chains I have!”

If sinners be damned, at least let them leap to Hell over our dead bodies. And if they perish, let them perish with our arms wrapped about their knees, imploring them to stay. If Hell must be filled, let it be filled in the teeth of our exertions, and let not one go unwarned and unprayed for. Charles Spurgeon

Some want to live within the sound of church or chapel bell; I want to run a rescue shop, within a yard of hell. C.T. Studd

30 – 32

Then King Agrippa, Governor Festus, Bernice, and all the people sitting with them stood up and left the room. They were talking to each other. They said, “There is no reason why this man should die or be put in jail.” And Agrippa said to Festus, “We could let this man go free, but he has asked Caesar to hear his case.”

We can see that even after the best Gospel witness, if a man is living in adultery and darkness he will have to make a decision to stop fighting his conscience and listen to the truth.