Acts 26

CHAPTER 26THEME: Paul before AgrippaThis testimony of Paul is not a defense of himself. It is a declaration of the gospel with the evident purpose of winning Agrippa and the others present to Christ. This is a dramatic scene, and this chapter is one of the greatest pieces of literature, either secular or inspired. This chapter was marvelous to me even before I was saved. When I was a young man, I was connected with a little theater. You know that everybody at some time wants to be an actor, and I had the foolish notion that I could become one. The director suggested that I memorize chapter 26 of the Book of Acts. She didn’t give me the Bible, but this chapter was printed in some other book and I memorized it from that. I must say that it has always had a tremendous effect upon me.

Acts 26:1

PAUL’S TESTIMONY BEFORE AGRIPPAThe appearance of Paul before Agrippa is, in my judgment, the high point in the entire ministry of this apostle. It is a fulfillment of the prophecy that he should appear before kings and rulers. Undoubtedly it was God’s will that he should come before King Agrippa. I have already indicated that this made a profound impression on me when I memorized it. I must confess that it had some effect upon my decision later on to study for the ministry. There are several features about this chapter that we ought to note before we get into Paul’s message before King Agrippa. First of all, I want to make it clear again that Paul is not on trial. This is not a court trial. Paul is not making a defense before Agrippa. He is preaching the gospel. In view of the fact that this great apostle had appealed to Caesar, not even King Agrippa could condemn him, and he is certainly out of the hands of Governor Festus, as the final verse of this chapter confirms: “Then said Agrippa unto Festus, This man might have been set at liberty, if he had not appealed unto Caesar” (v.

Act_26:32). They no longer had the authority to condemn him. Neither could they set him free. They are helpless. So Paul is not attempting to make a defense. Rather he is trying to win these men for Christ. This was not a trial, but it was a public appearance of Paul before King Agrippa and the court so that they might learn firsthand from the apostle what “that way” really was. You see, everyone was talking about The Way. Someone would ask another, “Say, have you heard about this new thing, The Way?” The other would reply, “Well, I have heard some things about it. It is something new going around. What’s it all about?” I would imagine that even Festus and Agrippa had some sort of exchange like that. Agrippa would have said, “I’ve been hearing about this but I’d like to know more about it.

We ought to get it from an expert.” Therefore they have this public appearance to explain The Way. I think this was one of the most splendid opportunities that any minister ever had to preach Christ. There has never again been an opportunity quite like this. This was an occasion filled with pagan pomp and pageantry. It was a state function filled with fanfare and the blowing of trumpets. There was the tapestry and tinsel. The function was attended by all the prominent personages of that section and the prestige of Rome. There must have been a scramble for people to be able to attend this occasion. The purple of Agrippa and the pearls of Bernice were in evidence. There were the gold braid and the brass hats of the Roman Empire. The elect and the elite, the intelligentsia and the sophisticates had all turned out in full regalia. There would be the pride and ostentation and the dignity and display which only Rome could put on parade in that day. Notice again how Dr. Luke records it: “And on the morrow, when Agrippa was come, and Bernice, with great pomp, and was entered into the place of hearing, with the chief captains, and principal men of the city, at Festus’ commandment Paul was brought forth” (Act_25:23). This stirs the imagination. I trust that somehow we can picture this scene before us as we listen to the message of Paul. This elaborate gathering is for just one purpose: to hear from a notable prisoner by the name of Paul. He is the one who has already been over the greater part of the Roman Empire, certainly the eastern part of it, preaching The Way. When the door of that great throne room swings open, a prisoner in chains is ushered into this colorful scene. He is dressed in the garb of a prisoner, and he is chained to two guards. He is unimpressive in his personal appearance. This is the man who teaches and preaches the death, the burial, and the resurrection of Christ for men because they are sinners and need a Savior. This is the one who can speak with authority about the new Way. And they will listen to this man because he knows how to speak and because he is an intelligent man. The light of heaven is on his face. He is no longer Saul of Tarsus but Paul the apostle. What a contrast he is to that gay, giddy crowd of nobility gathered there! Festus told how the Jews had tried to kill Paul. My, how they hated him, and yet they had no real charge against him. That whole crowd looked at Paul, and I rather think that he looked over the whole crowd. Paul is not a scintillating personality. Some liberal has called him, “Pestiferous Paul.” Well, you can call him that if you want to. Maybe in the Roman Empire that is what they thought of him. Remember that the Lord Jesus had said, “If the world hate you, ye know that it hated me before it hated you” (Joh_15:18). This man is true to the Lord Jesus, so the world will hate him. I do not think, frankly, that Paul was physically attractive. Yet he had the dynamic kind of attraction which the grace of God gives to a man. He was energized by the Holy Spirit. Oh, that you and I might be able to say with Paul, “I am crucified with Christ: nevertheless I live; yet not I, but Christ liveth in me: and the life which I now live in the flesh I live by the faith of the Son of God, who loved me, and gave himself for me” (Gal_2:20). Now let’s turn our eyes from the glitter and the glamour of the occasion to the two men who stand out in this assembly: Agrippa and Paul. What a contrast! One of them is in purple, the other is in prison garb. One is on a throne, the other is in shackles. One wears a crown, the other is in chains. Agrippa is a king, but in the slavery of sin. Paul is a chained prisoner, rejoicing in the freedom of sins forgiven and liberty in Christ. Agrippa is an earthly king who could not free Paul nor himself. Paul is an ambassador of the King who had freed him and who could free Agrippa from the damning effects of sin. We need to remember that King Agrippa was a member of the family of Herod. He belonged to the rottenest family that I know anything about. It is the worst family that is mentioned in the Bible. I think old Ahab and Jezebel were like Sunday school kids compared to the Herod family. You know the old bromide about giving the Devil his due. Well, let’s give the Herods their due. Agrippa was an intelligent man and a great man in many respects in spite of his background. He knew the Mosaic Law, that is, he knew the letter of it. Paul rejoiced in this because it gave him an opportunity to speak to a man who was instructed and who would understand the nature of the charges. As I have said before, I can’t help but believe that Paul was getting a little impatient during those two years of incarceration. He had appeared before the mob in Jerusalem, before the captain, then before Felix (publicly, then privately many times), then he appeared before Festus. Now he must appear before Agrippa. None of these other men fully understood the background of the charges against Paul. Neither did they understand the gospel. This is true even of the Roman captain in Jerusalem. It is amazing that these people could have lived in that area, have been exposed to Christians, have heard the apostle Paul, and still not really have understood. Yet that was the situation. Paul’s plea to Agrippa to turn to Christ is magnificent. It is logical and it is intelligent. Rather than being a defense, it is a declaration of the gospel.

Acts 26:2

Paul is now speaking to a man who understands what he is talking about. Agrippa is an intelligent man, he knows the Mosaic Law, and he understands the Jewish background. Paul really rejoices in this opportunity to speak to such an instructed man who will understand the true nature of the case. Paul likewise is well instructed in the Mosaic Law, but Paul has met Christ. Now the Law has a new meaning for him. The soul of Paul is flooded with a new light.

Now he sees that Christ is the end of the Law for righteousness. Now he knows that God has supplied that which He had demanded. He knows that God is good and that through Christ God is gracious. Paul wants King Agrippa to know this. There is a consummate passion filling the soul of the apostle as he speaks. I think this is his masterpiece.

His message on Mars’ Hill is great, but it does not compare at all to this message. Although there were probably several hundred people present to hear this message, Paul is speaking to only one man, King Agrippa. Paul is trying to win this man for Christ. Paul starts with a very courteous introduction, telling Agrippa how he rejoices in this opportunity. Then he proceeds to give King Agrippa a brief sketch of his youth and background. Then he tells of his conversion. Finally he makes his attempt to reach the man for Christ. Now first of all I am going to ask you to read this entire message without interruption. Actually it tells its own story. Then I shall make some comments about it. After Paul gives a simple explanation of his conduct, which was the natural outcome of his background, he goes on to tell how he lived a Pharisee, and then of the experience he had on the Damascus road. He said, “I thought I should do many things contrary to the name of Jesus of Nazareth.” The Lord Jesus has never had an enemy more bitter and brutal than Saul of Tarsus. He had an inveterate hatred of Jesus Christ and of the gospel. He tells how he wasted the church in Jerusalem and how he shut up many of the saints in prison. This is one reason he could endure two years of prison and such abuse from the religious leaders. He had been one of them. He knew exactly how they felt. Then in verse Act_26:13 he recounts his experience on the Damascus road, how the Lord Jesus waylaid him, how he fell to the ground and heard Jesus speak to him. Then Paul realized he was going against the will of God. Many years later, as he was writing to the Philippians about this experience he said, “But what things were gain to me, those I counted loss for Christ. Yea doubtless, and I count all things but loss for the excellency of the knowledge of Christ Jesus my Lord: for whom I have suffered the loss of all things, and do count them but dung, that I may win Christ” (Php_3:7-8). A revolution really took place in his life. He had trusted religion, but when he met Jesus Christ, he got rid of all his religion.

What was gain he counted loss. Jesus Christ, whom he had hated above everything else, became for him the most wonderful Person in his life. Then Paul describes for Festus and King Agrippa the reality of the vision he had. The Lord commissioned him to preach to the Gentiles and promised to deliver him from them. That was a telling blow since there he stands before these two powerful Gentiles who cannot touch him because he has appealed to Caesarand yet he is able to preach the gospel to them! Beginning with verse Act_26:19, Paul tells his response to the vision that he had. “Whereupon, O king Agrippa, I was not disobedient unto the heavenly vision.” The implication is, “What else could I have done? Wouldn’t you have done the same thing?” From the beginning Paul is making it clear that The Way is a development and fulfillment of the Old Testament. “Having therefore obtained help of God, I continue unto this day, witnessing both to small and great, saying none other things than those which the prophets and Moses did say should come” (v. Act_26:22). It is not contrary to the Old Testament. Now Paul presents the gospel to this man King Agrippaand all the crowd assembled there that day heard it. “That Christ should suffer, and that he should be the first that should rise from the dead, and should shew light unto the people, and to the Gentiles” (v. Act_26:23). I think Paul emphasized that word Gentiles because the king was a Gentile. Notice that he has presented the gospel: that Christ died for our sins, that He was buried, and that He rose again. Paul, as always, emphasized the Resurrection. Friend, we should never preach the death of Christ without also preaching about His resurrection.

Paul confronts that august assembly with the fact that God has intruded into the history of man and that God has done something for man. God demonstrated His loveGod so loved the world that He gave His Son. Suddenly there is an interruption. Evidently Governor Festus is on a hot seat.

Acts 26:24

It seems unfortunate that Paul is interrupted at this point. But notice how courteously Paul answers him. Certainly his calm response demonstrates that he is not a madman and he is not a fanatic. In our day, friend, there are many witnesses, especially ministers, who are so afraid that they won’t appear intellectual, but will be considered fanatical, that they do not declare the great truths of the gospel. Friend, we ought to be willing to take the place of madmenbut not act like them. We should present the gospel soberly as Paul did. Notice that having answered Governor Festus, Paul went right back to King Agrippa with the question.

Acts 26:26

It is possible to believe the facts without them being meaningful to you. You may know the facts of the gospelthat Jesus died for your sins and rose againbut your relationship to these facts is the thing that is essential.

Acts 26:28

Agrippa was an intelligent man. He answered, “Almost thou persuadest me to be a Christian.” Friend, do you know that you can almost be a Christian and then be lost for time and eternity? How tragic that is! “Almost” will not do. It must be all or nothing. Either you accept Christ or you don’t accept Christ. No theologian can probe the depths of salvation and its meaning. Yet it is simple enough for ordinary folk like most of us to understand. Either you have Christ or you don’t have Christ. Either you trust Christ or you don’t trust Christ. Either He is your Savior or He is not your Savior. It is one of the two. There is no such thing as a middle ground. It cannot be almost. It must be all. Paul answered, “I would to God, that not only thou, but also all that hear me this day, were both almost, and altogether such as I am, except these bonds.” Paul is saying that he longs for them to have a relationship to Christ and be like he isexcept for the chains. He wouldn’t want chains on anyone. This is the man who had been a proud and zealous Pharisee. This is the man who a few years before bound Christians in chains and put them to death. Now his attitude is different. He wants all people to become Christians and to have a vital and personal relationship with Jesus Christ. One cannot help but be struck by the mighty transformation that had taken place in Saul of Tarsus. What is the explanation? It is that Jesus was alive! He was back from the dead. This is why Paul said very early in his testimony before Agrippa, “Why should it be thought a thing incredible with you, that God should raise the dead?” There is nothing unreasonable about that. Nineteen hundred years of man’s development in knowledge in many fields makes the Resurrection even more credible in our day. Actually, it should be easier for you to believe in the Resurrection than it was for folk in that day. Since Jesus is back from the dead, there is another and coming judgment. There is another throne, and Jesus is seated upon it. And there is another prisonerthe prisoner is you or me. Either you have bowed to Him and accepted Him as your Lord and Savior, or you will be accountable to Him in that day. The Resurrection is very important to the unsaved man as well as the saved man.

Acts 26:30

It is obvious that Paul is going to Rome now. We have mentioned before that there are those who question whether Paul did the right thing when he appealed to Caesar. Some feel that Paul made a mistake. I don’t think it was a mistake at all. In the Epistle to the Romans Paul expressed his longing to go to Rome. “Making request, if by any means now at length I might have a prosperous journey by the will of God to come unto you. For I long to see you, that I may impart unto you some spiritual gift, to the end ye may be established” (Rom_1:10-11). He is going to Rome all right. You may question whether or not he had a “prosperous journey.” I have a friend in the ministry who ran a series of messages for young people (which were tremendous, by the way), and the title of the series was “Paul’s Prosperous Journey to Rome.” It was a prosperous journey in that it was the will of God that he should go to Rome.