REVIEW:
This is the third time Paul is giving his defense– before Felix (Acts 24), before Festus (Acts 25), two years later and now before King Agrippa II (Acts 26). In Acts 25
we saw that King Herod Agrippa II and his sister Bernice (rumour had it that they had an incestuous relationship) were making a visit to Caesarea to meet the new governor, Festus. King Herod Agrippa is a Jew, but he is loyal
to the Roman empire. Festus the new
governor of the territory in which Herd Agrippa
is king tells him about Paul
who had been imprisoned by the previous governor, Felix. Agrippa expresses a desire to hear from Paul himself. This happens
in Acts 26, the chapter which we
shall now review.
ACTS 26
v. 1
The hearing begins with real pomp
and ceremony (26:23). Paul is brought before the court in chains (26:29).
Agrippa summons Paul to speak for himself. “Paul
stretched out his hand and made his defense.” This was a usual gesture on
the part of the speakers who addressed public assemblies. Orators and those
that addressed public meetings stretched their the right hand out while the left hand remained under the cloak. Here the effect must
have been impressive, for we remember that he was chained.
What a picture Paul must have presented here. By the way, we only have
one description of the Apostle Paul in an apocryphal writing,entitled, The
Acts of Paul and Thecla[1],“A
man of small stature, with a bald head and crooked legs, in a good state of
body, with eyebrows meeting…and a nose somewhat hooked; full of friendliness,
for now he appeared like a man, and now he appeared as an angel.”
Note the detail with which Luke records Paul’s defense before
King Agrippa and keep in mind that it is more than Paul which is on trial
here. Christianity is on trial here.
We can learn much from Paul, and the general
way in which he defends and presents himself in the public eye. Apart of the
customary displays of acknowledgement and respect in vv. 2,3
to the governing authorities, we
learn something important about Paul’s way of presenting himself before a watching world.
In vv.4,5 he says,
“My manner of life from my youth, spent
from the beginning among my own nation
and in Jerusalem, is known by all the Jews. 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”.
Paul must have been a familiar figure in Jerusalem, when as a young man, he sat at the feet of Rabbi Gamaliel (22:3). Under Gamaliel he gained a reputation for scholarship,
righteousness and religious zeal. Many Jews knew how he had lived as a child,
first in Tarsus, then in Jerusalem. Paul’s opening defense therefore has to do
with his own integrity, character and demeanour. In essence he is saying, “I have nothing to hide. My life is an open
book. Everybody knows where I have come from and how I have lived. You can check out the facts for yourself. I am not lying. I am not trying to deceive you.
You know me better!"
It is a wonderful thing to have a strong moral
and ethical basis. And it does carry some weight. Many people at the coast knew
my father. He was a hardworking, honest business man, who treated his work
force fair and well, and he was well respected in the community in Walvis Bay. Over
many years I have come across many people that have affirmed this. He was not a
believer, but he was strongly shaped by a Christian work ethic. He kept his
word and made good his promises. I know!
And so, Paul has a strong basis in proceeding to give his
testimony. He will not deceive. He will tell the truth, because this is how he
has grown up. He can be listened to. And
so, in this very intimidating setting Paul
is called to give an account of his faith in Jesus, and in
particular he addresses again the matter of his hope in the resurrection - based upon a clear
promise made by God to the Jewish fathers. Paul’s hope in the resurrection was
obviously hugely strengthened when he did meet, in person the resurrected Lord Jesus (whom the Jews had handed
over to the Romans to be killed) on the
Road to Damascus.
In vv. 9 –18 Paul shares his personal testimony in terms of how Christ first encountered
him on the road to Damascus, when he was
in the process of persecuting Christians. Here he was made
to understand that in persecuting Christians, he was in fact persecuting Jesus
(note the organic union between Christ and his people).
Paul testifies how he was changed radically by this
encounter. He now knew that this Jesus
whom he had persecuted was truly alive. The resurrection of Jesus (which the Jews said was a hoax)
was true after all! It
confirmed the promise of God to the Jewish
fathers. In vv. 22,23 he ends by saying that this what Moses and the prophets (the Scripture) had prophesied…”that the Christ (i.e. the Messiah) 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.” Isaiah 53 would be a classic
text reference
I remind you that this history tends to repeat itself. Martin Luther, at the time of the Reformation wrote in his Commentary on the letter to the
Galatians (Gal. 1:4), “We teach no new thing, but we repeat and
establish old things which the apostle and all godly teachers have taught
before us." Remember the
context! The Catholic Church said that
the Reformation was a new thing, and that the doctrine of the Reformers was a
new doctrine. But it wasn’t. Luther and the Reformers merely repeated what the
Bible and her apostles had said, particularly with respect to the doctrine of salvation. Salvation is by grace
through faith in Jesus alone. Salvation is not (as the RC church teaches …
through faith in the acts of the church
e.g. in baptism, eucharist, extreme unction etc). Paul merely said that which the Bible had previously said, but
which the present Jews chose to ignore at their own
peril. Again, please note that they ought to have believed Paul, simply on the
basis of Paul’s own credible life and testimony, for his life had been an open book to them.
I almost imagine that Paul would be repeating is statement in his letter
to the Romans in 9:1: “I am
speaking the truth in Christ- I am not lying; my conscience bears me witness in
the Holy Spirit.”
At this point Paul is interrupted (v.24).
Festus interrupts Paul. He is probably
getting uncomfortable or convicted,
and he says: ”Paul, you are out of your mind; your great learning is
driving you out of your mind.” You
are becoming a crazy professor! And Paul
in turn denies that he is crazy and
affirms, “No, … I am speaking true and rational words” (v. 25)
And now Paul does
something which he has done before. He plays the two parties off against
each other. From Festus he turns to king Agrippa (a Jew), and he says to him, “King Agrippa, do you believe the prophets?
I know that you believe” (v.27). Agrippa knows that he can’t
deny the fact, but he is working quick
and hard to get out of this sticky
corner. “Do you think that you can persuade me in such a short moment to become a Christian?” (v.28). The Gospel about Jesus
as presented through the truth and facts
of the Old Testament prophets is
forcing Agrippa’s hand. And he
doesn’t like being in a corner, because he knows more than he is willing to confess– something which is true of every natural man. He does not like facing his
conscience. ‘Do you think you can persuade me in such a short moment? He is clearly planning to get
this conversation over and done
with. That is what people always do when they
do not want to face ultimate truth. Truth demands an honest response, and it can hurt. Even if your record before them is impeccable,
they will cut you off, because they do not like change or hurt!
And thus Paul has only one more thing to say, “I wish
not only you, but all who hear me would become as I am…” — a Christian …except
for these chains.” (v. 29). With
these words Agrippa, Festus, and
Bernice and those sitting with them, rise to leave (v.30), but they are all agreed that nothing that Paul had done or said was worthy of death or imprisonment (v.31). He could have been set free, had he not appealed to a higher authority- Caesar.
The overriding and sad truth however was that they would not
hear the life giving words, the resurrection words, the true and rational words of Paul, all of which was undergirded by a humanly impeccable life, but greater
still, a life so irreversibly and powerfully and dynamically touched by the Lord Jesus on the Damascus road.
O the coldness and darkness of the human heart!
I end with this story. On August 1, 1914, Sir Ernest Shackleton and
his crew left London aboard the ship Endurance, bound for the Antarctic. They
hoped to cross the Antarctica on foot. It never happened because, before the
Endurance could reach land, she became hopelessly stuck in sea ice. And from
this point on, the goal of the captain and crew became simple survival, facing
many hardships facing freezing temperatures and near starvation. But of all the
terrors they faced, none was more discouraging than the darkness of the long
polar night. In early May, the sun vanished altogether not to be seen again
until the end of July. In his comments on this experience, Shackleton's
biographer wrote, “In all the world there
is no desolation more complete than the polar night…no warmth, no life, no
movement. Only those who have experienced it can fully appreciate what it means
to be without the sun day after day and week after week. Few men unaccustomed
to it can fight off its effects altogether; and it has some driven some men
mad.”
It is a sad story, but there is something much sadder, than this, and the Bible speaks about a deep and frosty darkness that encumbers every human soul, and this ultimately leads to a much
greater despair, and that is the spiritual darkness of living in the world and
afterwards in hell without Jesus Christ.
Jesus has been proclaimed by Paul and by us as the light of
the world (see 26:18), delivering us
from darkness and the power of Satan and the chains of sin. And only God (26:29) by the powerful, irresistible
work of the Holy Spirit (see Paul’s own conversion) can do that.If the grace of God is not first at work in the human heart, no one will believe, even if your life speaks as well as Paul's does.
Will you spend some time now, and also in the course of this
coming week to pray again that God, in His great mercy would open those frosty dark
hearts of those that you love and pray for every day? Clearly, your open life and your loving words
will not do it in itself.
Come let us pray and ask this of our merciful Saviour in these closing moments of our
evening worship.
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