Religion & Spirituality:Christianity
Hello and welcome to the show today! It is such a pleasure to have you with us again today as we study the Word of God together.
What To Do With Paul— Over the past few weeks we have been moving in our study of the book of Acts into the final stage of Paul’s ministry, as he is now a prisoner in chains. He has stood before the Roman Tribune and the crowd in Jerusalem; he has stood before the Sanhedrin (the Jewish council responsible for condemning Jesus); he has stood before the Roman Governor Felix (who kept him in prison for 2 years, though he had no grounds to do so), then he stood before the Roman Governor Festus, who wants to do his Jewish accusers a favor and send him back to Jerusalem to be tried. Obviously that would not bode well for Paul; and so Paul is forced to appeal his case to Caesar. And Festus has no choice but to send him. But then Herod Agrippa II and Bernice come to town, and so Festus decides to have Paul stand before them as well; and his hope is that Agrippa might help him to establish charges against Paul that would make sense; charges that would be sent with Paul to Rome. So Paul has had a real time of it. He is really getting bounced around. Nobody really knows what to do with Paul. Oh and let’s not forget that during all this time there are two assassination attempts on Paul’s life. So Paul has REALLY been through a lot.
Paul’s Testimony— And so Paul comes to stand before Herod Agrippa II and Bernice (and Festus is there as well). And he’s invited to speak, and so Paul shares the most powerful evidence he could have shared, his testimony. And in it he gives a number of key statements. First, he says “I lived a Pharisee”, meaning that all his life he lived as one of the most educated and most elite Jewish spiritual leaders. And, being zealous to defend Judaism from what he perceived to be a heretical group of people who followed Jesus Christ, he came to viciously ravage the Christian church. But then he say key statement number 2: “I saw a light”. While on the road to Damascus to further his persecution of Christians, he was struck by a blinding light. And then he says key statement number 3, “I heard a voice”. Jesus appeared to him on that road to Damascus and spoke to him; and called him to be His missionary to the Gentiles. And that leads into our passage today, where Paul tells of how he responded to Jesus. He says…
Acts 26:19-20 (NKJV)— 19 “Therefore, King Agrippa, I was not disobedient to the heavenly vision, 20 but declared first to those in Damascus and in Jerusalem, and throughout all the region of Judea, and then to the Gentiles, that they should repent, turn to God, and do works befitting repentance.
KEY STATEMENT 4: “I was not disobedient”— And key statement number 4 is found here: “I was not disobedient”. God said “Jump!” Paul asked, “How high?” At least that’s how obedience was described to me when I was young. Wherever God told him to go, he went. To whomever God called him to go, he went. And that even included the Gentiles. Now the Jews had reacted violently to that, but also to Paul saying something else absolutely unthinkable; that they also needed to repent; that they (just as he had been) were in spiritual darkness and needed to (like he did) turn to faith in Jesus Christ, the very one they had persecuted and crucified. But sadly, that was something that many of them were not willing to do, which is why Paul says…
Acts 26:21-23 (NKJV)— 21 For these reasons the Jews seized me in the temple and tried to kill me. 22 Therefore, having obtained help from God, to this day I stand, witnessing both to small and great, saying no other things than those which the prophets and Moses said would come— 23 that the Christ would suffer, that He would be the first to rise from the dead, and would proclaim light to the Jewish people and to the Gentiles.”
KEY STATEMENT 5: “to this day I stand”— And here we find key statement number 5: “to this day I stand”. Paul didn’t just have a great beginning. No, he (as he tells Timothy in 2 Timothy 4:7, I have fought the good fight, I have finished the race, I have kept the faith. The fact that Paul had continued on in the midst of so much resistance, so much loss of reputation, and so little worldly gain spoke volumes as to the proof of his conversion and was itself evidence of the faithfulness of God in his life. Now after Paul says this, it says…
Acts 26:24-26 (NKJV)— 24 Now as he thus made his defense, Festus said with a loud voice, “Paul, you are beside yourself! Much learning is driving you mad!”
25 But he said, “I am not mad, most noble Festus, but speak the words of truth and reason. 26 For the king, before whom I also speak freely, knows these things; for I am convinced that none of these things escapes his attention, since this thing was not done in a corner.
Historically Verifiable— Now what Paul is doing here is he’s appealing to the facts. This wasn’t just some hypothetical philosophical or theological issue. Someone had died and then had come back from the dead. There were still people around who had seen Jesus and witnessed His miracles. The empty tomb could still be seen. People were still alive who had themselves seen Jesus after His resurrection. This wasn’t a philosophical debate. It was a historically reliable event that took place and could be verified. And not only were there present witnesses, but past witnesses as well who prophesied that all these things would come to pass, which is why Paul asks…
Acts 26:27-28 (NKJV)— 27 King Agrippa, do you believe the prophets? I know that you do believe.”
28 Then Agrippa said to Paul, “You almost persuade me to become a Christian.”
Sidestepping The Issue— Now this is where things get really interesting because Paul is trying to close the deal. And Agrippa realize it. It suddenly dawns on Agrippa that Paul is not really the one on trial. Agrippa’s on trial. Paul is not just defending himself or his faith; no, he’s actually trying to persuade him to become a follower of Jesus Christ!!! And Paul has really put Agrippa on the spot, because if Agrippa answers Paul saying “I don’t believe the prophets”, he would anger the Jews. But if he acknowledges that he does believe the prophets, then he would have to give weight to Paul’s words. And so he does what so many people (even today) do. He side-steps the issue; and then (as we’ll see in a minute) he simply ends the discussion when it gets a little too close for comfort. But before that happens, Paul responds, saying to Agrippa…
Acts 26:29 (NKJV)— 29 And Paul said, “I would to God that not only you, but also all who hear me today, might become both almost and altogether such as I am, except for these chains.”
Invisible Chains— Now it is here that Paul really reveals his own heart. He was aware that Agrippa and those in the audience were (because of their lack of faith in Christ) more in bondage spiritually than he was physically. And he was more concerned about that than the fact that he himself was in chains. He cared more about theirs because theirs were the eternal one. And similarly, you and I need to be aware of the spiritual chains of those around us who do not yet know Jesus Christ. And we must be willing to bear anything to help them be rid of those chains. We need to have the burning desire that Paul had to reach those people and (by persuading them to faith) give them the keys by which they can be free and enter the Kingdom of Heaven. Now it says…
Acts 26:30-32 (NKJV)— 30 When he had said these things, the king stood up, as well as the governor and Bernice and those who sat with them; 31 and when they had gone aside, they talked among themselves, saying, “This man is doing nothing deserving of death or chains.” {(And so once again Luke highlights for us the innocence of Paul.)}
32 Then Agrippa said to Festus, “This man might have been set free if he had not appealed to Caesar.”
Expedited Shipment— Now that would be a depressing note to end on if we forgot that it was actually Paul’s desire to go to Rome anyway. He wanted to bring the Gospel of Jesus Christ to the epicenter if the empire where he knew it could make a far-reaching impact. And so his appealing to Cesar became the very means of getting exactly where God wanted him to be. Paul was a master of seeing the possibilities in the midst of his problems. Every trial was a divine appointment, through which he found opportunities to lift up the name of Jesus. And that is what you and I need to do as well.
Almost— Now one of the things that is depressing, and really saddened my heart in studying this passage, was what Agrippa says to Paul in verse 28: “You almost persuade me to become a Christian.” Here we see that he was on the very verge of finding new life in Jesus, but couldn’t or wouldn’t cross the threshold. Why? Because he was too tied to the world. He was too wrapped up in his ungodly relationship with his sister (which we talked about some weeks ago). He was too caught up in his fame and his power. And yet now we see that it is Paul and the Jesus he proclaimed that is remembered. But all that Agrippa had is dead and gone. He chose those things that pass away. Jesus had warned (and continues to warn us) in…
Matthew 6:19-21 (NKJV)— 19 “Do not lay up for yourselves treasures on earth, where moth and rust destroy and where thieves break in and steal; 20 but lay up for yourselves treasures in heaven, where neither moth nor rust destroys and where thieves do not break in and steal. 21 For where your treasure is, there your heart will be also.
Heavenly Treasures— That’s a lesson to each, and everyone of us; because so often we are tempted to entangle ourselves with the things of the world. We can become like the seed sown among the thorns in Jesus’ Parable of the Sower in Matthew 13. He warns us, saying…
Matthew 13:22 (NKJV)— 22 Now he who received seed among the thorns is he who hears the word, and the cares of this world and the deceitfulness of riches choke the word, and he becomes unfruitful.
Let me ask you, is that you today? If so, let me ask you another question; one that comes straight from the Bible…
Mark 8:36 (NKJV)— 36 For what will it profit a man if he gains the whole world, and loses his own soul?
Don’t let anything stop you from knowing Christ in all of his fullness today. Amen.
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