We have seen that the apostle Paul in his trials and tribulations, has been passed from pillar to post but he never lost sight of the fact that God was in control of life as long as he remained faithful to the task of witnessing for Christ. And in the previous chapter, we saw how if any man ever had an excuse to give up on God, Paul would be that man.
But he decided not to give up, even when he was being passed around from one legal courtroom to another. God really does know who’s going where and even though Caesar didn’t know the apostle Paul was coming to Rome, God certainly did.
But before God gets Paul to Rome he has some unfinished business in yet another courtroom. In this chapter, we read about Paul continuing to make his defence before King Agrippa.
Remember that Festus had the full authority of Rome behind him, but here Luke tells us that it was Agrippa who told Paul he was permitted to speak.
And so with an outstretched hand, Paul began by saying he was happy to make his defence before the king, especially because King Agrippa would have been familiar with Jewish teachings and customs.
Paul must have had a long talk in mind which is the reason he begged the king to be patient and so, he goes on and talks about his citizenship. He reminds the king that though he was born in the city of Tarsus, he was brought up in Jerusalem and was well known among the Jews.
In fact, he was so well known amongst the Jews, Paul says, why not ask those who are accusing me today? Because the truth of the matter is, some of his accusers may well have remembered the zealous young Pharisee from his school days. They would have remembered Saul as he was known back then during his time as a persecutor.
Remember earlier Paul said he was being judged for his hope in the resurrection, Acts 24:21, but here, notice what Paul tells Agrippa he was being judged for.
Have the charges been changed without anyone knowing about it? Is Paul changing his argument? I don’t believe he is, I believe that when Paul says, he was now being judged ‘for the hope of the promise made by God to our fathers’. I believe he is referring to the promised Messiah.
And what was the hope that the Messiah would bring with Him? The hope the Messiah brought with Him was the hope of the resurrection of the dead.
The Jews had over 400 years to wait on the very Messiah they were promised. And they missed Him because they were so focussed on all the technicalities in looking good and they forgot to look up.
That’s why Paul argued that this very hope was sought by all the tribes of Israel. In fact, he said their daily earnest service to God was based upon that very hope.
And Paul couldn’t understand this charge because he said it was the very essence of that hope which was the basis of the Jews’ accusations against him. They missed the Messiah and they didn’t even understand their own argument.
The Jews knew about the Messiah, they knew about the hope they had in the resurrection of the dead but they forgot the Scriptures applied to them too. But not only did the Jews know about God’s abilities, but so did King Agrippa. That’s why Paul asked him, ‘why should any of you consider it incredible that God raises the dead?’
Because Paul asked this specific question, this shows us that his accusers were primarily of the Sadducees, who if we remember didn’t believe in the resurrection of the dead which is sad you see. And so, Paul from looking at his upbringing as a Jew moves on to his time as a persecutor of the Lord’s church.
Paul says he took action to stop the teachings about Jesus and His followers because he was convinced that is what the Lord wanted him to do. And so just as Agrippa’s family had pursued an end to the life of Jesus, Paul had pursued an end to the teachings of Jesus.
He says that many of those saints were shut up in prison in Jerusalem because of his actions. And when Paul says, ‘when they were put to death, I cast my vote against them.’ What he is saying here, is that as a member of the Sanhedrin he voted to condemn them.
But as we know, he didn’t stop there, he punished them in every synagogue, and he even went to cities outside of Jerusalem in an effort to get them to speak against the name of Jesus.
What Paul is basically saying here is, don’t tell me what the Jewish beliefs are, I know them, don’t tell me how zealous you have to be against anyone who teaches anything against our forefather’s teachings, I was. Paul says when it came to being a Jew he was right at the top with the best of them, Philippians 3:5-6.
And so, Agrippa must be a patient man as Paul continues with his defence.
In these verses, Paul basically repeats what happened on the road to Damascus, but here he shares the account of his conversion and his purpose for that conversion.
And to further make his point to Agrippa, he tells him that on his way to Damascus in pursuit of even more Christians, he saw a great light, which was brighter than the sun, coming out of heaven at midday and surrounding him and his companions.
And after the group fell to the ground, a voice spoke to him in Hebrew, saying, ‘Saul, Saul, why are you persecuting Me? It is hard for you to kick against the goads.’ Naturally, Paul asked the Voice to identify Himself and the Voice identified Himself as Jesus of Nazareth.
This Jesus of Nazareth told him to stand up because He intended for him to minister and witness for Him both as to the things he had seen and would see.
The Lord went on and promised to protect Paul from harm coming either from the Jews or the Gentiles, to whom he was being sent, which we saw very powerfully last time.
And just in case Agrippa wondered what Paul’s purpose was, Paul tells him his purpose was to open their eyes to their own sinfulness. To show them the way of receiving forgiveness of sins and the great inheritance available to those set apart by their faith in Jesus.
Paul, as you can imagine is now in full flow sermon mode and like all good preachers, he knows when it’s time to get to the point.
Paul could not disobey a voice from heaven, so he preached the Gospel in Damascus and Jerusalem, both to the Jews and Gentiles. Notice, that Paul’s preaching included the necessity of repentance, a turning toward God and living a life showing the works of repentance.
We all know the importance of repentance before a person becomes a Christian, Luke 13:3 / Acts 17:30, but please don’t ever think that is the only time we ever need to repent. Christians are a repentant people and when they sin and confess those sins to God, they need to repent.
In other words, repentance produces fruit, repentance is proven by the actions which follow, 2 Corinthians 7:10. It’s more than feeling sorry for ourselves, it’s a clear demonstration to God and our fellow brothers and sisters in Christ that we are sorry for our sin.
Paul said to Agrippa the minute that he mentioned the word ‘repentance,’ the Jews got really mad, even to the point of trying to seize him in the temple to kill him. But Paul being the devote Christian that he was gave credit where credit was due.
Paul said it was only by God’s help that he was still alive to tell Agrippa that Moses and the prophets had said the Christ would suffer, rise from the dead, and spread the good news among Jews and Gentiles. He wasn’t alive speaking to Agrippa because he was an eloquent speaker, he was still alive because God had a purpose for him.
He gave credit where credit is due and that’s why it’s important to thank God today for the life He has given us today. And so, after a long time of speaking with the king, Festus has heard enough.
Luke tells us that Festus interrupted with a loud declaration that Paul had gone crazy from too much learning. But Paul answered that question by simply saying he was not crazy but spoke the truth. And from our text, it seems that Paul’s failure to defend himself led him to focus more on trying to convert his judges.
The apostle went on to note that the events surrounding and following Jesus’ life were done in the open for all to see and had been well known to King Agrippa.
He then asked Agrippa if he believed the prophets. Paul answered for him, perhaps sensing, or through the Spirit knowing, what the King was thinking, of course, he believed the prophets.
And Agrippa recognized that Paul was using a concise argument intended to persuade him to follow Jesus as the Christ, that’s why he asked the following question.
Luke tells us that Paul expressed his true desire that Agrippa, along with everyone else who heard his voice, would be converted to the point of zealously following the Lord just as he did.
And that should be the goal of every single Christian right here. Now and then people will realise this and do one of two things. They will either want to know more, or they will walk away. That was the choice that Agrippa, Festus, and Bernice had to make.
Agrippa, Festus, and Bernice left the room concluding that Paul had done nothing worthy of death or chains. In fact, King Agrippa stated that Paul could have been released had it not been for his appeal for the case to be heard by Caesar. They left the room but Paul seized the moment and the seed was sown.
These people knew where Paul was brought up, they knew what he was like as a child, they knew what he was like as a Jew, and they knew what he was like before becoming a Christian.
"I tell you the truth, whoever hears my word and believes him who sent me has eternal life and will not be condemned; he has crossed over from death to life."