Thursday: Paul Before the Leaders
Although Paul was speaking to Agrippa, Festus was the first to react, as seen in Acts 26:24. Festus would have had no problem if Paul had spoken about the immortality of the soul, but even the ancient Greco-Romans knew that both concepts—immortality and resurrection—do not go along well with one other. Thus, they kept the former and rejected the latter. This is why Paul says elsewhere that the gospel was foolishness to Gentiles (1 Cor. 1:23).
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In a respectful manner, Paul defended the sanity of his ideas and turned to Agrippa, a Jew who could not only understand him but also who could confirm that what he was saying was in agreement with the Hebrew prophets (Acts 26:25-26).
Read Acts 26:27-28. What was Agrippa’s response to Paul’s pressing question?
Paul’s question put Agrippa in a difficult position. As a Jew, he would never deny his belief in the Scriptures; on the other hand, if he gave an affirmative answer, there would be no option but for him to accept Jesus as the Messiah. His reply was a clever escape from the logical trap he was in: “Are you so quickly persuading me to become a Christian?“ (Acts 26:28, NRSV; compare with ESV, NIV)—this is a better translation of the Greek than the traditional, “You almost persuade me to become a Christian“ (NKJV).
Paul’s rejoinder reveals an impressive level of commitment to the gospel: “Whether quickly or not, I pray to God that not only you but also all who are listening to me today might become such as I am—except for these chains“ (Acts 26:29, NRSV). In his last words in that hearing, the apostle did not plead to be free, free as were those listening to him. Instead, he wished they could be like him, except for the chains on his arms. Paul’s missionary zeal greatly surpassed his care for his own safety.
Read Acts 26:30-32. How did Agrippa express his conviction of Paul’s innocence?
Festus needed Agrippa’s help only to fill in the report (Acts 25:25-27). Paul’s appeal to Caesar had already been formally granted (Acts 25:12). The prisoner was no longer under the governor’s jurisdiction.
| Read Acts 26:24-28. What did Paul ultimately appeal to, and what should this tell us about what our final authority in matters of faith should always be? |
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Do you believe? To believe
Agrippa had to turn from darkness to light
He had to turn to God for his power.
He had to turn from the life immorality.
He wanted to go with the flow of the crowd.
What made Agrippa stop short?
One side his immoral companion Bernice.
The other side Festus who had just called Paul crazy.
Caught between these two people, Agrippa gives up one of his unique opportunity to become a Christian.
Do you remember the story of people who would accept the truth but would not make the decision to follow Christ?
King Arippa was a Jew - he already had the light - but was not living up to what he knew.
Changing belief-systems is a fairly radical step and I can hardly blame Agrippa for putting it off. Believing is more than intellectual assent and it is a worthwhile exercise to examine our own beliefs and how we came to believe them. The question is particularly pertinent to a person like me, a fourth generation Adventist. And I have to ask myself, whether I believe because it is convenient, or because I have thought the issues through.
Agrippa was faced with a choice, we may learn something by considering the issues and pressures that he faced. Perhaps he maintained his "old beliefs" out of convenience. Are we any better, if we maintain our "Christian beliefs" out of convenience?
Was Agrippa really being asked to change his belief-system? Paul was preaching that Jesus was/is the Messiah which is a fulfillment of the Jewish belief system. Once the Jews could accept Jesus as the Messiah and that their sacrificial system pointed to Jesus' death it would be logical that sacrifices for atonement/forgiveness were no longer necessary, as indicated by the veil in the temple being torn top to bottom. I believe what we see happening to Agrippa and those Jews who accepted Jesus was that they refused to acknowledged that God was progressively revealing His Principles of Life that have always and will always apply but were revealed in different ways from the Garden to Mt Sinai to the Cross, God had only one main Everlasting Covenant that had sub covenants that were part revelations of the main one.
I'm wondering if Paul had no ability to rescind his appeal to Caesar once it was determined by Festus and Agrippa that he was without fault and could be freed?
How many, like Agrippa, reject the offer of mercy that comes with Divine conviction upon the soul? Sin is so deceptive and blinds the conscience so that the individual, though tormented by conviction, will deny it, giving preference to "pleasure in unrighteousness". The vast majority choose this perilous path, whether as a church member or not. We cannot be saved from ourselves without repentance and genuine faith.
Paul used every opportunity to save the lost, presenting the grace of God for sinners found in Christ, who offers forgiveness and eternal life to every soul. He did not soften the Truth for anyone, because he would then be a false witness and they would not see their great need and danger of continuing in sin. If we do not live for the Blessed Hope ourselves, but focus on this life more than we should, we cannot hope to be faithful servants of God. What an example for us in the life of Paul.
Sin is no longer blinding when light comes!John 9:41, 12:22.
Only if we heed that light when it comes. Repentance breaks the hold of sin, which continues if we seek truth to obey it.
But if light comes and we turn from it, the darkness becomes even greater.(Matt 6:22,23)
Our faith should be founded on the truth, which is the Bible. The truth will set us free! If we live this truth we will agree with it.