Chapter Twenty-Six
Paul Testifies Before Agrippa and Bernice
26:1 So Agrippa said to Paul, “You have permission to speak for yourself.” Then Paul stretched out his hand and made his defense: 2 “I consider myself fortunate that it is before you, King Agrippa, I am going to make my defense today against all the accusations of the Jews, 3 especially because you are familiar with all the customs and controversies of the Jews. Therefore I beg you to listen to me patiently.
Paul recognizes the king and states that he considers himself fortunate that he, a man with intimate knowledge of not only Judaism, but also the politics regarding the Jewish leadership, is hearing his case. So he pleads with him to be patient as he offers his testimony.
26:4 “My manner of life from my youth, spent from the beginning among my own nation and in Jerusalem, is known by all the Jews. 5 They have known for a long time, if they are willing to testify, that according to the strictest party of our religion I have lived as a Pharisee. 6 And now I stand here on trial because of my hope in the promise made by God to our fathers, 7 to which our twelve tribes hope to attain, as they earnestly worship night and day. And for this hope I am accused by Jews, O king! 8 Why is it thought incredible by any of you that God raises the dead?
Paul begins by saying that the Jews are well aware of his upbringing, he was trained from his earliest childhood in his own country and then later in Jerusalem. They have known him for a long time and can testify that he lived in accordance with the strictest sect of their religion, that he lived as a Pharisee. And now he is on trial because of his hope in the fulfillment of God’s promise made to their ancestors. He points out that this is the same promise that the twelve tribes hope to see fulfilled as they continue to worship night and day, and now he is being accused of having that same hope. Paul then asks, “Why does it seem incredible to any of you that God can raise the dead?” (Acts 26:8, NLT)
26:9 “I myself was convinced that I ought to do many things in opposing the name of Jesus of Nazareth. 10 And I did so in Jerusalem. I not only locked up many of the saints in prison after receiving authority from the chief priests, but when they were put to death I cast my vote against them. 11 And I punished them often in all the synagogues and tried to make them blaspheme, and in raging fury against them I persecuted them even to foreign cities.
After establishing that he was born and raised as a Jew and became a Pharisee, Paul notes that he also thought that he should oppose Jesus of Nazareth and began to do so in Jerusalem. After receiving the authority from the chief priests he imprisoned many believers, and even voted against them when they were condemned to death. Paul admitted that he would go to synagogues to get them to blaspheme and since he was so furious and enraged against them he pursued them in foreign cities.
26:12 “In this connection I journeyed to Damascus with the authority and commission of the chief priests. 13 At midday, O king, I saw on the way a light from heaven, brighter than the sun, that shone around me and those who journeyed with me. 14 And when we had all fallen to the ground, I heard a voice saying to me in the Hebrew language, ‘Saul, Saul, why are you persecuting me? It is hard for you to kick against the goads.’ 15 And I said, ‘Who are you, Lord?’ And the Lord said, ‘I am Jesus whom you are persecuting. 16 But rise and stand upon your feet, for I have appeared to you for this purpose, to appoint you as a servant and witness to the things in which you have seen me and to those in which I will appear to you, 17 delivering you from your people and from the Gentiles—to whom I am sending you 18 to open their eyes, so that they may turn from darkness to light and from the power of Satan to God, that they may receive forgiveness of sins and a place among those who are sanctified by faith in me.’
Paul next focuses on his encounter with Jesus that led to his conversion. Having the authority and commission of the chief priests he was en route to Damascus when a very bright light shone all around him and those traveling with him. At the time they all fell to the ground when they heard a voice speaking to him in Hebrew (Greek Hebraidi, pertaining to the Hebrews, some believe that the word refers to the language of the Jews which at the time was Aramaic) “Saul, Saul, why are you persecuting me?” Paul adds, “It is hard for you to kick against the goads,” a phrase not mentioned before, that points to the futility of fighting the will of God. Paul recalls him saying, “Who are you Lord?” and was told that it was Jesus, the one he had been persecuting. Jesus then instructed Paul, “Now get to your feet! For I have appeared to you to appoint you as my servant and witness. Tell people that you have seen me, and tell them what I will show you in the future.” (Acts 26:16, NLT) Jesus informed Paul that He would rescue him from his own people, the Jews, as well as from the Gentiles, who He is sending him to them to open their eyes to the truth, so that they can turn from their darkness (condemned in sin) to light (righteousness from faith in Jesus), from being under the influence of Satan to being a child of God. The forgiveness of sins is available to all through faith in Jesus.
26:19 “Therefore, O King Agrippa, I was not disobedient to the heavenly vision, 20 but declared first to those in Damascus, then in Jerusalem and throughout all the region of Judea, and also to the Gentiles, that they should repent and turn to God, performing deeds in keeping with their repentance. 21 For this reason the Jews seized me in the temple and tried to kill me. 22 To this day I have had the help that comes from God, and so I stand here testifying both to small and great, saying nothing but what the prophets and Moses said would come to pass: 23 that the Christ must suffer and that, by being the first to rise from the dead, he would proclaim light both to our people and to the Gentiles.”
Paul concludes his testimony by telling the king that he was not disobedient to that heavenly vision as he declared the gospel first in Damascus, then in Jerusalem, the whole region of Judea, and to the Gentiles, calling everyone to repent and turn to God. And for that the Jews seized him in the Temple and tried to kill him. He then points out that God has been with him and helping him, allowing him to testify to everyone, from the least to the greatest, teaching nothing beyond what Moses and the prophets had said would happen. That the Christ must suffer and be the first to rise from the dead, and that by doing so proclaim God’s light to Jews and Gentiles alike.
26:24 And as he was saying these things in his defense, Festus said with a loud voice, “Paul, you are out of your mind; your great learning is driving you out of your mind.”
Likely triggered by hearing that through Jesus, the Messiah, salvation is available to the Gentiles (being the primary issue for most of the Jews that opposed the teachings of the gospel), Festus loudly interjects with the claim that Paul must be out of his mind.
26:25 But Paul said, “I am not out of my mind, most excellent Festus, but I am speaking true and rational words. 26 For the king knows about these things, and to him I speak boldly. For I am persuaded that none of these things has escaped his notice, for this has not been done in a corner. 27 King Agrippa, do you believe the prophets? I know that you believe.” 28 And Agrippa said to Paul, “In a short time would you persuade me to be a Christian?” 29 And Paul said, “Whether short or long, I would to God that not only you but also all who hear me this day might become such as I am—except for these chains.”
Paul counters Festus’ claim by assuring them that what he is saying is true and that the king knows about what he has been talking about, as none of these things have escaped his notice and were not done secretly. Turning to the king Paul asks him if he believes the writings of the prophets. He asserts, “I know you believe.” King Agrippa replied with a question of his own, “In a short time would you persuade me to be a Christian?” Paul responded, “I pray to God that whether in a short or a long time not only you but also all those who are listening to me today could become such as I am, except for these chains.” (Acts 26:29, NET)
26:30 Then the king rose, and the governor and Bernice and those who were sitting with them. 31 And when they had withdrawn, they said to one another, “This man is doing nothing to deserve death or imprisonment.” 32 And Agrippa said to Festus, “This man could have been set free if he had not appealed to Caesar.”
The king stood up followed by everyone else in the room and as they were leaving, the people were saying to each other that Paul did not deserve to die or be imprisoned. The king told Festus that Paul could have been set free now if he had not appealed to Caesar.
Considerations
Appeal to Caesar
There has been a considerable amount of debate regarding Paul’s “appeal to Caesar,” the debate centers around the question, “Did he do the right thing or did that decision make his situation worse?” The author and teacher, Frederick Fyvie Bruce, better known as Professor FF Bruce, wrote in his book “New Testament History” a reasonable explanation:
Why did Paul appeal to Caesar? He did not appeal while Felix was in office, presumably because Felix had virtually decided on his innocence and was simply postponing his formal acquittal and release. One day, Paul might reasonably have hoped, Felix’s procrastination would come to an end and Paul would be discharged and be able to carry out his compulsorily deferred plan of visiting Rome and the west. But with Felix’s recall and his supersession by Festus, a new and dangerous situation developed; hence Paul’s appeal.
Festus reopened the case, with every intention of proceeding in accordance with the strictest standards of Roman justice. But when he spoke of holding the inquiry in Jerusalem, and implied that he might treat the Sanhedrin as his consilium, Paul became alarmed lest the new governor’s inexperience might put him into the power of his enemies. Accordingly, availing himself of a Roman citizen’s privilege, he made a momentous decision. ‘Standing before Caesar’s tribunal’, he said, ‘I stand where I ought to be tried … If then I am a wrongdoer, and have committed anything for which I deserve to die, I do not seek to escape death; but if there is nothing in their charges against me, no one can give me up to them. I appeal to Caesar’ (Acts 25:10f).
The citizen’s right of appeal (prouocatio) to the emperor appears to have grown out of the earlier right of appeal to the sovereign people. According to Dio Cassius, Augustus in 30 B.C. was granted the right to judge on appeal. A few years later there was enacted the lex Iulia de ui publica, which forbade any magistrate to kill, scourge, chain, torture or even sentence a Roman citizen who had announced his intention to appeal, or prevent him from going to Rome to lodge his appeal there within a fixed time. It has been concluded that, from the date of this enactment, a Roman citizen anywhere in the Empire was protected against a magistrate’s arbitrary infliction of summary punishment (coercitio), although a provincial magistrate might deal with cases which involved a plain breach of established statute law. By the beginning of the second century A.D. it evidently became the regular practice for citizens in the provinces, charged with offences not covered by statute law, to be sent to Rome almost automatically, without having to take the initiative in appealing to Caesar. But there was a steady erosion of citizen privileges as the number of citizens increased throughout the second century—a tendency which culminated in A.D. 212 with Caracalla’s extension of the franchise to all freemen in the Empire. In this as in other respects the picture given in Acts is true to the period with which the narrative deals; Luke’s account of Paul’s appeal not only fits in with what is known of the situation in the mid-first century A.D. but is worthy to be accepted as a substantial contribution to the available evidence.
The provincial judge was obliged to send to Rome an explanatory statement of the case (litterae dimissoriae) along with the accused man, and the inexperienced Festus was glad to be helped in drafting this document by the younger Agrippa, who with his sister Berenice paid the procurator a complimentary visit soon after his arrival in the province. Agrippa sought and was granted an opportunity of hearing Paul for himself, and agreed with Festus that he could not reasonably be convicted on any of the charges brought against him: indeed, he might have been discharged there and then had he not taken the matter out of Festus’s hands by appealing to Caesar.[1]
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[1] Bruce, F. F. (1980). New Testament History (pp. 357–359). Doubleday.