Paul’s Explains His Conversion to Agrippa (26:1–23)

This is now the third occasion where Luke chooses to include a recounting of Paul’s conversion experience (see 9:1–30; 22:3–21). In this instance, he summarizes the essence of what Paul says as he stands before King Agrippa. This is not a formal court defense, but is rather more of an opportunity for the curious Agrippa to find out firsthand what Paul is proclaiming that is stirring up so much trouble. As in Paul’s previous presentation, it is important to consider the distinctive audience and setting, since Paul adapts them to the unique demands of each occasion. Here Paul appeals particularly to Agrippa, who knows better than Festus the traditions and culture of the Jews.

I consider myself fortunate (26:2). Paul begins his address to Agrippa by respectfully expressing his appreciation for the opportunity and by commending Agrippa’s grasp of Jewish customs and manners. Paul politely urges him to carefully listen to his entire case.

The Jews all know the way I have lived (26:4). Paul’s first line of argument is to demonstrate that he was and remains utterly Jewish in all that he proclaims. He has not broken away from the ancestral faith and embraced something entirely new.

My hope in what God has promised our fathers (26:6). Paul still bases his faith entirely on the Torah, the Writings, and the Prophets (what we now call the Old Testament). The difference is that he has come to believe that the promises throughout the Scriptures have been fulfilled in Jesus the Messiah. On this basis, he then attempts to establish for Agrippa that the central issue is one of interpretation of the Old Testament hope. Has it or has it not been fulfilled in the person of Jesus?

Why should any of you consider it incredible that God raises the dead? (26:8) Paul immediately goes to the key stumbling block for many Jews in accepting what he has to say about Jesus—the issue of his resurrection. There is no Christian faith without the resurrection. Paul previously told the Corinthians, “if Christ has not been raised, our preaching is useless and so is your faith” (1 Cor. 15:14). Paul asks rhetorically why it is so incredible to believe in the resurrection. This is particularly true for Pharisees who, in principle, affirmed a belief in end-time resurrection.

All that was possible to oppose the name of Jesus (26:9). Paul now admits to his own previous unwillingness to recognize Jesus as Messiah and how that resulted in his fervor to persecute Christians. Here he indicates that he had a part in putting many saints to death. We know of Stephen, but history is silent about the names and stories of the others. Paul saw the Jesus movement as “a cancer attacking the vitals of Israel’s life; it must be uprooted.”504 This is understandable from the vantage point of the Jew since Christianity called into question the traditional role of the temple, the law, the sacrifices, and the purity regulations.

I cast my vote against them (26:10). When Paul says that he cast his vote against those he was persecuting (26:10), this simply means that he approved of their death,505 not that he was a member of the Jewish ruling council (the Sanhedrin). He was too young at this point in his life to be a member of the Sanhedrin.

I went from one synagogue to another to have them punished (26:11). Paul gave vent to his zeal by traveling to a number of synagogues throughout Judea and then on the frontiers of Israel to oppose the spread of Christianity. The synagogues each had their own ruling body that could administer punishments to its members (such as the thirty-nine lashes), but in certain cases Paul sought extradition to Jerusalem. Once in Jerusalem, the accused were imprisoned and some were found guilty of a capital offence and put to death.

Tried to force them to blaspheme (26:11). One of the methods Paul used when he interrogated the believers was to compel them to repudiate Christ. This apparently met with little success since these believers preferred synagogal punishments, imprisonment in Jerusalem, and even death over denying their precious Lord.

On one of these journeys I was going to Damascus (26:12). Paul goes on to tell of his dramatic encounter with the risen Christ on the road to Damascus. It is told in almost precisely the same terms as it was narrated twice previously in the book of Acts.

In Aramaic (26:14). Paul now makes it explicit that the Lord Jesus speaks to him in Aramaic. But this is previously intimated by the Aramaic form of Paul’s name (Saoul).

It is hard for you to kick against the goads (26:14). A goad is a long stick with a sharpened, pointed end. It was used by the keepers of livestock, particularly oxen, to prod the animal when it was yoked up to a wagon or farm implement. The animal, of course, did not like being jabbed with the stick and would kick at the object. The kicking was obviously useless and the animal soon learned it was better to submit to the farmer’s direction rather than to kick against the goad. This expression came to be used figuratively in a variety of literary contexts. It became proverbial in classical Greek writers to express the futility of struggling against one’s destiny. Euripides, for instance, has Dionysus say to Pentheus: “I would control my rage and sacrifice to him if I were you, rather than kick against the goad.”506 The writer of Ecclesiastes says that “the words of the wise are like goads” (Eccl. 12:14). Here the message the Lord was conveying to Paul was that it would be useless for him to persist on the wrong path of resisting what God had accomplished in Christ and what he was now accomplishing through the church.

Appoint you as a servant (26:16). Paul now gives us more details of what the Lord said to him on this occasion than either of the other two accounts. Jesus announced that he was appointing Paul as a “servant.” This is a rich expression pointing back to Isaiah’s prophecy of the coming “Servant of the Lord,” who would be a light to the Gentiles (Isa. 42:1–7). Jesus came in direct fulfillment of this prophecy, constantly referring to himself and his ministry in terms of the language and imagery of “the servant” in Isaiah. The Lord was now commissioning Paul to continue the ministry of the Lord Jesus in the world as his agent.

I will rescue you (26:17). The Lord promised Paul protection as he fulfilled his ministry. This does not mean that Paul would be free from suffering; on the contrary, the Lord told him he would face suffering. It did mean that the Lord would protect him sufficiently to carry out his divinely intended mission.

Turn them from darkness to light, and from the power of Satan to God (26:18). Jesus promised to work through Paul to reach many Gentiles with the message of the cross. This redemptive message would save them, fulfilling the terms of Isaiah 42:6–7: “[You will be] a light for the Gentiles, to open eyes that are blind, to free captives from prison and to release from the dungeon those who sit in darkness.” This would not be just a simple task, but a real spiritual battle. People had been deceived and were held in bondage by the power of sin and the power of a living, intelligent being opposed to God and his kingdom program.

DARKNESS AND LIGHT

Forgiveness of sins and a place among those who are sanctified by faith in me (26:18). Two great benefits result from this message of redemption. Both forgiveness and sanctification become key themes in Paul’s preaching to the Gentiles. Paul later reflected the language of this passage well when he wrote to the Colossians: “For he has rescued us from the dominion of darkness and brought us into the kingdom of the Son he loves, in whom we have redemption, the forgiveness of sins” (Col. 1:13–14).

I was not disobedient (26:19). Having told Agrippa of his encounter with the risen Christ, Paul now defends his course of actions by insisting that he could not possibly disobey instructions given to him directly by God.

I preached that they should repent (26:20). The essence of what he has been proclaiming to the Gentiles is a message of repentance. This includes a sorrow for sin, but also a reorientation of the whole of one’s life around the kingdom of God and the work of the Messiah. True repentance can be seen in a changed lifestyle.

I have had God’s help to this very day (26:22). In spite of the many dangers he faced and the threats to his life, not least of which was the Jewish mob that apprehended him in the temple and tried to kill him, Paul has continued fulfilling his commission because of the daily help God provides. Throughout his ministry, he draws on the enabling power of God. A few years later he remarked, “I labor, struggling with all his energy, which so powerfully works in me” (Col. 1:29).

I am saying nothing beyond what the prophets and Moses said would happen (26:22). Summing up his defence to Agrippa, Paul insists that the heart of his message is nothing other than what was announced in the Old Testament: The Messiah would suffer, die, and rise from the dead and this message would bring saving light to both Jews and Gentiles.

The Response of Agrippa and Festus (26:24–32)

Paul is not able to finish his presentation before he is interrupted by Festus, who has now concluded that Paul is no threat; he is simply an educated nut. This opens up a period of dialogue between Festus, Agrippa, and Paul. The apostle does his best to seize this opportunity to clearly communicate the gospel to these men, particularly Agrippa, whom he sees as more open. Spiritually, there is no positive response to Paul’s message. Legally, the procurator and the king both recognize Paul’s innocence of all charges. It is significant that both of these officials find nothing illegal about Christianity.

Your great learning is driving you insane (26:24). Festus interrupts Paul’s monologue at the point where he is proclaiming the death and resurrection of Christ. Both aspects of this teaching about the Messiah would have been incomprehensible to Festus. First, before coming to Palestine, Festus would no doubt have been briefed about the Jewish expectation of a messiah figure who would come and lead his people in revolt. Surely he has also heard of the many false messiahs who have already surfaced and led uprisings. These are a significant security risk to Roman rule. But now Festus hears an eloquent discourse on how the Messiah must suffer and die—a notion he has never heard from a Jew. Second, for a Roman, the idea of the resurrection of the body after death was ludicrous. The afterlife was a time when the person would finally be free from the bondage of material existence. It is little wonder that Festus concludes that Paul is raving mad.

True and reasonable (26:25). Paul immediately and courteously denies the accusation and asserts the essential truthfulness of what he is saying. For Paul, it is not merely a matter of perspective or personal belief; rather, the gospel is objectively true. But the gospel is also reasonable (sōphrosynē)—the precise opposite of madness (mania). This characterization of the gospel message was particularly apt for a Gentile since sōphrosynē expressed an ideal of philosophy. It had to do with a knowledge of deity and the relationship of oneself to deity.507

The king is familiar with these things (26:26). Agrippa possesses a knowledge of the Law and the Prophets as well as the prevailing Jewish understanding of these texts. He is also aware of the Jesus movement and the kinds of things that have been asserted about Jesus.

Not done in a corner (26:26). This is a proverbial expression in Greek philosophy.508 Paul is stressing that the central events of what he proclaims—namely, the public ministry, death, and resurrection of Jesus of Nazareth—did not take place in some faraway land or even in a set of private visionary experiences. They happened in Jerusalem itself and involved the principal Jewish and Roman leaders of the nation. As such, these events are open for analysis and verification.

Do you believe the prophets? (26:27). For someone who already believes the message of the prophets, Paul can quickly and convincingly demonstrate the fact that the Messiah must suffer and die, that this death would be an atonement for sin, that there is hope of a bodily resurrection, and that the Messiah would rise from the dead. Paul prepares to explain this to Agrippa, but he is abruptly interrupted by the king.

Do you think that in such a short time you can persuade me to be a Christian? (26:28) Without hearing the tone of Agrippa’s remark, it is difficult to know if he poses this question sarcastically or with some degree of sincerity. The king knows the direction Paul is headed and clearly does not want to hear him continue on at this point.

I pray God that not only you but all who are listening to me today may become what I am (26:29). In a straightforward manner, Paul affirms that it truly is his desire that everyone in this hearing—the procurator, the king, the queen, the military commanders, and the civic leaders of Caesarea—will all become Christians.

REFLECTIONS

In spite of Paul’s eloquent proclamation of the gospel in this august gathering, there was no response. It does not appear that even one of the persons present turned his or her heart to Christ on that day. Like Paul, we will face times when our sharing falls on deaf ears. It is our job to be faithful and to take advantage of the opportunities that God gives us for communicating the gospel.

Except for these chains (26:29). At this point, Paul may have held up his chains as a dramatic gesture to the audience.

This man is not doing anything that deserves death or imprisonment (26:31). After an informal time of discussion, Festus and Agrippa jointly conclude that Paul has committed no capital offense or even anything worthy of imprisonment.

This man could have been set free (26:32). After declaring Paul’s innocence of the charges, Agrippa observes that it is too late to dismiss the charges because of Paul’s appeal to the emperor. Strictly speaking, it would not have been illegal to free Paul, but Festus would have risked offending the emperor. An expert on Roman law notes, “No sensible man with hopes of promotion would dream of short-circuiting the appeal to Caesar unless he had specific authority to do so.”509