Acts 26
26
1Agrippa said to Paul, “You may now present your case.”
So Paul motioned with his hand. Then he began to present his case. 2“King Agrippa,” he said, “I am happy to be able to stand here today. I will answer all the charges brought against me by the Jews. 3I am very pleased that you are familiar with Jewish ways. You know the kinds of things they argue about. So I beg you to be patient as you listen to me.
4“The Jewish people all know how I have lived ever since I was a child. They know all about me from the beginning of my life. They know how I lived in my own country and in Jerusalem. 5They have known me for a long time. So if they wanted to, they could tell you how I have lived. I have lived by the rules of the Pharisees. Those rules are harder to obey than those of any other Jewish group. 6Today I am on trial because of the hope I have. I believe in what God promised our people of long ago. 7It is the promise that our 12 tribes are hoping to see come true. Because of this hope they serve God with faithful and honest hearts day and night. King Agrippa, it is also because of this hope that these Jews are bringing charges against me. 8Why should any of you think it is impossible for God to raise the dead?
9“I believed that I should oppose the name of Jesus of Nazareth. So I did everything I could to oppose his name. 10That’s just what I was doing in Jerusalem. On the authority of the chief priests, I put many of the Lord’s people in prison. I agreed that they should die. 11I often went from one synagogue to another to have them punished. I tried to force them to speak evil things against Jesus. All I wanted to do was hurt them. I even went looking for them in the cities of other lands.
12“On one of these journeys I was on my way to Damascus. I had the authority and commission of the chief priests. 13About noon, King Agrippa, I was on the road. I saw a light coming from heaven. It was brighter than the sun. It was shining around me and my companions. 14We all fell to the ground. I heard a voice speak to me in the Aramaic language. ‘Saul! Saul!’ it said. ‘Why are you opposing me? It is hard for you to go against what you know is right.’
15“Then I asked, ‘Who are you, Lord?’
“ ‘I am Jesus,’ the Lord replied. ‘I am the one you are opposing. 16Now get up. Stand on your feet. I have appeared to you to appoint you to serve me. And you must tell other people about me. You must tell others that you have seen me today. You must also tell them that I will show myself to you again. 17I will save you from your own people and from the Gentiles. I am sending you to them 18to open their eyes. I want you to turn them from darkness to light. I want you to turn them from Satan’s power to God. I want their sins to be forgiven. They will be forgiven when they believe in me. They will have their place among God’s people.’
19“So then, King Agrippa, I obeyed the vision that appeared from heaven. 20First I preached to people in Damascus. Then I preached in Jerusalem and in all Judea. And then I preached to the Gentiles. I told them to turn away from their sins to God. The way they live must show that they have turned away from their sins. 21That’s why some Jews grabbed me in the temple courtyard and tried to kill me. 22But God has helped me to this day. So I stand here and tell you what is true. I tell it to everyone, both small and great. I have been saying nothing different from what the prophets and Moses said would happen. 23They said the Messiah would suffer. He would be the first to rise from the dead. He would bring the message of God’s light. He would bring it to his own people and to the Gentiles.”
24While Paul was still presenting his case, Festus interrupted. “You are out of your mind, Paul!” he shouted. “Your great learning is driving you crazy!”
25“I am not crazy, most excellent Festus,” Paul replied. “What I am saying is true and reasonable. 26The king is familiar with these things. So I can speak openly to him. I am certain he knows everything that has been going on. After all, it was not done in secret. 27King Agrippa, do you believe the prophets? I know you do.”
28Then Agrippa spoke to Paul. “Are you trying to talk me into becoming a Christian?” he said. “Do you think you can do that in such a short time?”
29Paul replied, “I don’t care if it takes a short time or a long time. I pray to God for you and all who are listening to me today. I pray that you may become like me, except for these chains.”
30The king stood up. The governor and Bernice and those sitting with them stood up too. 31They left the room and began to talk with one another. “Why should this man die or be put in prison?” they said. “He has done nothing worthy of that!”
32Agrippa said to Festus, “This man could have been set free. But he has made an appeal to Caesar.”
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Acts 26: NIrV
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Acts 26
26
King Agrippa Hears Paul. 1Then Agrippa said to Paul, “You may now speak on your own behalf.” So Paul stretched out his hand and began his defense. 2#Paul’s final defense speech in Acts is now made before a king (see Acts 9:15). In the speech Paul presents himself as a zealous Pharisee and Christianity as the logical development of Pharisaic Judaism. The story of his conversion is recounted for the third time in Acts in this speech (see note on Acts 9:1–19). “I count myself fortunate, King Agrippa, that I am to defend myself before you today against all the charges made against me by the Jews, 3especially since you are an expert in all the Jewish customs and controversies. And therefore I beg you to listen patiently. 4My manner of living from my youth, a life spent from the beginning among my people#Among my people: that is, among the Jews. and in Jerusalem, all [the] Jews know. 5#Phil 3:5–6; Gal 1:13–14; 2 Cor 11:22. They have known about me from the start, if they are willing to testify, that I have lived my life as a Pharisee, the strictest party of our religion. 6#23:6; 24:15, 21; 28:20. But now I am standing trial because of my hope in the promise made by God to our ancestors. 7Our twelve tribes hope to attain to that promise as they fervently worship God day and night; and on account of this hope I am accused by Jews, O king. 8Why is it thought unbelievable among you that God raises the dead? 9#8:3; 9:1–2; 22:19; Phil 3:6. I myself once thought that I had to do many things against the name of Jesus the Nazorean, 10and I did so in Jerusalem. I imprisoned many of the holy ones with the authorization I received from the chief priests, and when they were to be put to death I cast my vote against them.#9:14. 11Many times, in synagogue after synagogue, I punished them in an attempt to force them to blaspheme; I was so enraged against them that I pursued them even to foreign cities.
12“On one such occasion I was traveling to Damascus with the authorization and commission of the chief priests. 13#9:7. At midday, along the way, O king, I saw a light from the sky, brighter than the sun, shining around me and my traveling companions.#9:3; 22:6. 14We all fell to the ground and I heard a voice saying to me in Hebrew, ‘Saul, Saul, why are you persecuting me?#9:4; 22:7. It is hard for you to kick against the goad.’#In Hebrew: see note on Acts 21:40. It is hard for you to kick against the goad: this proverb is commonly found in Greek literature and in this context signifies the senselessness and ineffectiveness of any opposition to the divine influence in his life. 15And I said, ‘Who are you, sir?’ And the Lord replied, ‘I am Jesus whom you are persecuting.#9:5; 22:8; Mt 25:40. 16Get up now, and stand on your feet.#9:6; 22:10; Ez 2:1. I have appeared to you for this purpose, to appoint you as a servant and witness of what you have seen [of me] and what you will be shown.#The words of Jesus directed to Paul here reflect the dialogues between Christ and Ananias (Acts 9:15) and between Ananias and Paul (Acts 22:14–15) in the two previous accounts of Paul’s conversion. 17I shall deliver you from this people and from the Gentiles to whom I send you,#Jer 1:7. 18to open their eyes#To open their eyes: though no mention is made of Paul’s blindness in this account (cf. Acts 9:8–9, 12, 18; 22:11–13), the task he is commissioned to perform is the removal of other people’s spiritual blindness. that they may turn from darkness to light and from the power of Satan to God, so that they may obtain forgiveness of sins and an inheritance among those who have been consecrated by faith in me.’#Is 42:7, 16; 61:1 LXX; Col 1:13.
19“And so, King Agrippa, I was not disobedient to the heavenly vision. 20On the contrary, first to those in Damascus and in Jerusalem and throughout the whole country of Judea, and then to the Gentiles, I preached the need to repent and turn to God, and to do works giving evidence of repentance. 21#21:31. That is why the Jews seized me [when I was] in the temple and tried to kill me. 22#3:18; Lk 24:26–27, 44–47. But I have enjoyed God’s help to this very day, and so I stand here testifying to small and great alike, saying nothing different from what the prophets and Moses foretold,#Saying nothing different from what the prophets and Moses foretold: see note on Lk 18:31. 23that the Messiah must suffer#That the Messiah must suffer: see note on Lk 24:26. and that, as the first to rise from the dead, he would proclaim light both to our people and to the Gentiles.”#Is 42:6; 49:6; Lk 2:32; 1 Cor 15:20–23.
Reactions to Paul’s Speech. 24While Paul was so speaking in his defense, Festus said in a loud voice, “You are mad, Paul; much learning is driving you mad.” 25But Paul replied, “I am not mad, most excellent Festus; I am speaking words of truth and reason. 26The king knows about these matters and to him I speak boldly, for I cannot believe that [any] of this has escaped his notice; this was not done in a corner.#Not done in a corner: for Luke, this Greek proverb expresses his belief that he is presenting a story about Jesus and the church that is already well known. As such, the entire history of Christianity is public knowledge and incontestable. Luke presents his story in this way to provide “certainty” to his readers about the instructions they have received (Lk 1:4). 27King Agrippa, do you believe the prophets?#If the Christian missionaries proclaim nothing different from what the Old Testament prophets had proclaimed (Acts 26:22–23), then the logical outcome for the believing Jew, according to Luke, is to become a Christian. I know you believe.” 28Then Agrippa said to Paul, “You will soon persuade me to play the Christian.” 29Paul replied, “I would pray to God that sooner or later not only you but all who listen to me today might become as I am except for these chains.”
30Then the king rose, and with him the governor and Bernice and the others who sat with them. 31#In recording the episode of Paul’s appearance before Agrippa, Luke wishes to show that, when Paul’s case was judged impartially, no grounds for legal action against him were found (see Acts 23:29; 25:25). And after they had withdrawn they said to one another, “This man is doing nothing [at all] that deserves death or imprisonment.” 32And Agrippa said to Festus, “This man could have been set free if he had not appealed to Caesar.”#25:11–12.
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