137 Acts 26:1-8 PAULS FIRST LINE OF DEFENSE BEFORE AGRIPPA Introduction: In our previous text the Apostle Paul was brought for a hearing by Festus, the new governor of Judea, before Herod Agrippa II, who was king in a neighboring Roman province. It was a very majestic affair. Governor Festus, King Agrippa, his sister Bernice and all of the great dignitaries of the city of Caesarea were present. Paul was not on trial in this hearing. He had already appealed his case to the Roman Caesar. But while he was awaiting transportation to Rome, King Agrippa and his sister, Bernice, had come for a visit and Festus brought Paul in before Agrippa for questioning so that Agrippa might help him to word the letter that he would have to send with Paul to the Caesar. None of Paul’s accusers were present. Yet he is still a prisoner and he stands before them in chains. I. Paul’s joy at the opportunity to speak before King Agrippa V. 1, “Then Agrippa said unto Paul, Thou art permitted to speak for thyself...” Since the purpose of this hearing was not to determine Paul’s guilt or innocence and since no accusers were present to present their charges nor were there witnesses present to give their testimony for or against, Paul was called immediately to speak. He would thus be given opportunity to confess to any crime which he had done or he would have opportunity to seek to show that he was not guilty of any crime. (V. 1), “...Then Paul stretched forth the hand, and answered for himself.” The outstretched arm of Paul served more than one purpose. For one thing it was a gesture of courtesy to the people before whom he had opportunity to speak. For another thing, it was a means of getting the full attention of the king and all of the people present. Such a gesture is still commonly used by public speakers today to help hold the attention of their audience. In Paul’s case, his outstretched arms must have been all the more impressive because his arms were bound by chains. It must have raised the question in the minds of the onlookers: Is he a dangerous man, a threat to society, a wicked criminal or is he a man who has been falsely accused ? Is he unjustly kept in those chains and within prison walls? It must have been a sobering experience to look upon him. There must have been a cheerful note in Paul’s voice as he spoke directly to King Agrippa. V. 2, “I think myself happy, king Agrippa, because I shall answer for myself this day before thee touching all the things whereof I am accused of the Jews.” Paul was happy to have an opportunity to speak in his behalf. He was especially happy to be able to explain his innocence to King Agrippa and he will tell him why. V. 3, “Especially [because I know] thee to be expert in all customs and questions which are among the Jews: wherefore I beseech thee to hear me patiently.” Paul was aware that he had been at a disadvantage in proclaiming his innocence to Governor Felix and Governor Festus. They were both Romans and were not familiar with the Jewish religion nor Jewish customs. But Agrippa was a Jew, at least in his religion. He was not of the Jewish bloodline, but he was a Jew by religion. His father, who was a descendant of Esau, had joined the Jewish religion and Agrippa had been brought up in the Jewish faith. He was very familiar with the Old Testament. He was familiar with the Law of Moses. He was familiar with all of the laws and customs of the Jewish religion and of the Jewish people. He knew about the life and ministry of Jesus. He knew about the miracles which Jesus had performed. He knew that many of the Jewish people believed that Jesus is the Christ, which God, through the prophets of old had promised would come. He knew that the disciples of Jesus and many others of the Jewish people believed Jesus to be the Christ. He also knew about the crucifixion of Jesus and he had heard reports that Jesus had risen from the grave and had returned bodily to heaven. Paul felt that he would have a better chance of being believed by Agrippa than with a Roman magistrate. Paul, of course, knew that Agrippa could not pronounce him innocent and set him free because he had already appealed his case to the Caesar. But he felt that it he got a favorable hearing before Agrippa, then the letter which Festus would write to the Caesar would relate that information to the Caesar and he would have a better hearing with the Caesar. The Caesar would be more apt to believe what his own officials had to say about Paul than what the Jewish officials might say in letters which they might send to him. So Paul was genuinely happy that he was getting this opportunity to speak before Agrippa in his behalf. II. Paul’s first line of defense Paul’s first line of defense was to show Agrippa that his religious beliefs were in harmony with the historic beliefs of the Jewish people. The Jewish leaders had tried to convince both Felix and Festus that Paul’s religious beliefs were in radical contradiction to traditional Jewish belief. They knew that the Romans were inclined to let the Jewish Sanhedrin settle matters of dispute regarding their religion. If they could persuade the Roman authorities that Paul was not worthy to live they had a good chance of convincing the Romans to put Paul to death --- like they had persuaded Pilate to crucify Jesus. Neither Felix nor Festus knew enough about the Jewish religion to know whether not Paul had broken from the historic Jewish faith. But Agrippa was well informed and he would be able to recognize that what Paul believed was in keeping with the Old Testament teachings and the old time Jewish religion. V. 4-5, “My manner of life from my youth, which was at the first among mine own nation at Jerusalem, know all the Jews. Which knew me from the beginning, if they would testify, that after the most straitest sect of our religion I lived a Pharisee.” Paul stated to Agrippa that the manner of his life was known among the Jewish people from his early youth. The Jewish people and the Jewish leaders at Jerusalem knew about him from his youth. They knew his deeds. They knew his habits. They knew his customs. They knew his religious beliefs and his religious activities. They knew him to be a Pharisee. The Pharisees were the largest religious denominational group among the Jewish people. They knew him to be a very strict Pharisee in his religious beliefs. Therefore, from his earliest youth, Paul had held to the religious beliefs and traditions which were held by the majority of the Jewish people. It is very likely that Agrippa already knew about Paul and about Paul’s reputation in those early years. If so, he already knew that Paul was telling him the truth now. If he had not already heard about Paul’s early life, he knew men whom he could ask and they would tell him. Paul mentioned Jerusalem and the fact that the Jews of Jerusalem knew him or at least knew about him. He had not been born at Jerusalem. He had been born at Tarsus. But he had been sent to Jerusalem at an early age to be schooled under the noted Jewish teacher, Gamaliel. The Jewish leadership at Jerusalem knew him to be one of the star students of Gamaliel. They had accepted Paul, or Saul, as he was known then. They had placed their stamp of approval upon him by accepting him as a trainee for the Sanhedrin Council. Paul was being trained by the members of the Sanhedrin Council to become a member of the Council some day. They had used him to hold their coats when they stoned Stephen. When he began to persecute Christians, they had given him documents which would authorize him to arrest Christians. Paul had held to old time Jewish religion from his earliest youth. He had never changed from those old time teachings. Paul asserted that it was because he still held to the old time Jewish religious teachings that he was under arrest and was at that time standing before Agrippa in chains. V. 6, “And now I stand and am judged for the hope of the promise made of God unto our fathers.” Paul declared to Agrippa that he was now a prisoner because he believed in the promises which God had made to Israel through the prophets of old. In other words, Paul said, “The prophets of old declared that He would send the Christ. I am a prisoner because I believe that promise. I am a prisoner because I believe that God has kept that promise. I believe that God has sent the Christ just as He promised that He would do.” In other words, Paul said, “King Agrippa, I am not a prisoner because I have broken from the old Jewish beliefs. I am a prisoner because I hold to the old traditional Jewish religion.” V. 7, “Unto which [promise] our twelve tribes, instantly serving [God] day and night, hope to come. For which hope's sake, king Agrippa, I am accused of the Jews.” The Greek word which here is translated “instantly” is translated in modern versions as “zealously, intensely, earnestly.” Paul said that God’s promise that He would send a Savior, the Christ, was a promise which the Jewish people had clung to down through the centuries. They have earnestly, zealously, intensely believed in that promise and treasured it night and day through the years. Paul had not broken from that promise. Paul still believed that promise. It was because he believed it so strongly that he was in chains and in prison. It was because Paul clung tenaciously to that promise that the Jewish leaders at Jerusalem had brought false accusations against him saying that he had broken form the old time Jewish faith and that he had tried to pollute the Jewish temple. Paul had not specifically mentioned Jesus by name to Agrippa up to this point. But he seemed to understand that Agrippa would know that what he believed was that Jesus is the fulfillment of that promise of old. He seemed to understand that Agrippa knew that preached that even though Jesus had been crucified that He, never-the-less, is the Christ who was promised. He seemed to understand that Agrippa already knew that he preached that God had raised Jesus from the dead. Jesus was crucified, but God raised Him from the dead. In our next verse Paul, himself, asks a question to his listeners. It seems that Paul did not direct the question Agrippa alone. He directed the question to Agrippa and to all who were present. V. 8, “Why should it be thought a thing incredible with you, that God should raise the dead?” God had promised that He would send a Savior. Why should the Jewish leaders doubt that God had kept His promise in the person of Jesus of Nazareth? Jesus was not born in Nazareth. He was born in Bethlehem, the town in the prophets of old had said that the Christ would be born. God had promised that the Christ would be slain. He had said that He would go as a sheep to the slaughter. He said that it was by His stripes that lost sinners could be healed. Why would the Jewish leaders think that just because Jesus had been crucified that this means that He is not the Christ? God had said that the Christ would be raised from the grave. Even King David had prophesied that the grave could not hold him. Why would men find it hard to believe that God has kept His promise and raised Jesus from the grave? Paul is saying in effect to King Agrippa, “Agrippa, I am not guilty of departing from the old Jewish faith by believing and preaching that Jesus is the Christ, that He has been raised from the dead, that Jesus is the Savior of men, that Jesus is man’s only hope of staying out of hell and going to heaven. It is because I believe the promises of God recorded in writing of the prophets of old that I am being falsely accused. That is the reason that I stand in chains before you this day.” III. Some things that we ought to learn We ought to learn to believe God’s holy word. When God has said it, it is absolutely true. It was true when God said it, it is true today, and it will be true forever. We may not always understand God’s word, but we should know that it is right whether we understand it or not. It may be that the people around us not believe God’s word, but we should believe it. God’s word is true whether or not people believe it. The truthfulness of God’s word does not require the approval of mere men. When the all knowing, all wise God says something it is true even if nobody believes it. God’s word is true and we should know that it is true. We ought to learn to study God’s holy word and seek to rightly understand it. Paul wrote to Timothy and said, “Study to show thyself approved unto God, a workman that needeth not to be ashamed, rightly dividing the word of truth,” II Tim. 2:15. It is not only important that we believe the Bible to be the holy word of God and that we believe it to be true because it is the word of God. We need to study and seek to rightly understand it. We should pray and sincerely ask God to help us to understand it. We should be willing to change our belief what God’s word teaches. We ought to learn to preach and teach and take a stand for the word of God. Paul was a faithful servant of God teaching and preaching the word of God even when it brought persecution and hardships upon himself. We should learn to do the same thing. We need not be offensive in our preaching, but we should never shun to declare the truth of God’s holy word. We learn that man’s only hope of staying out of the torturous fires of hell is by placing his faith in the Lord Jesus Christ to save his soul. God promised to send a Savior. Jesus is that Savior. He died on the cross that lost souls may be saved. He arose from the grave and stands ready at all times to save those who call upon His holy name asking to be saved. God sends the gospel into every land so that all may have opportunity to be saved. The Holy Spirit of God knocks at your hears door urging you. God gives sufficient time for one to repent of his sins and turn to Jesus and trust in Him to save his soul. But if one wastes away all his opportunities and all of his opportunities he will burn in eternal fires forever. He will forever regret that he never trusted Jesus to be his Savior.