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November 4, 2012

ADULT SUNDAY SCHOOL LESSON

PAUL BEFORE KING AGRIPPA

MINISTRY INVOCATION

“Help us to know truth and be staunch in standing by that truth. In Jesus’

Name, we pray. Amen.”

WHAT YOU SHOULD KNOW AND UNDERSTAND

It is difficult to stand by our convictions when others think we are

crazy. Where do we find strength to stand our ground? Confident that

he spoke the truth, Paul did not back down from sharing the truth of his

faith in Christ.

APPLIED FULL GOSPEL DISTINCTIVE

“We believe that it is God’s desire that all Believers live under the Divine

Direction of the Holy Ghost. We believe that the filling of the Holy Ghost is

an ongoing ministry of the Spirit in the life of the Believer, that enables the

Believer to live a life of power, victory, and glory to God.”

TEXT:

Background Scripture – Acts 25:23-26:32

Key Verse – Acts 26:25

Lesson Scripture – Acts 26:19-32

19 “So, King Agrippa, I did not prove disobedient to the heavenly vision,

20 but kept declaring both to those of Damascus first, and also at Jerusalem and then

throughout all the region of Judea, and even to the Gentiles, that they should repent

and turn to God, performing deeds appropriate to repentance.

21 “For this reason some Jews seized me in the temple and tried to put me to death.

22 “So, having obtained help from God, I stand to this day testifying both to small and

great, stating nothing but what the Prophets and Moses said was going to take place;

23 that the Christ was to suffer, and that by reason of His resurrection from the dead

He would be the first to proclaim light both to the Jewish people and to the

Gentiles.”

24 While Paul was saying this in his defense, Festus said in a loud voice, “Paul, you

are out of your mind! Your great learning is driving you mad.”

25 But Paul said, “I am not out of my mind, most excellent Festus, but I utter words of

sober truth.

26 “For the king knows about these matters, and I speak to him also with confidence,

since I am persuaded that none of these things escape his notice; for this has not

been done in a corner.

27 “King Agrippa, do you believe the Prophets? I know that you do.”

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28 Agrippa replied to Paul, “In a short time you will persuade me to become a

Christian.”

29 And Paul said, “I would wish to God, that whether in a short or long time, not only

you, but also all who hear me this day, might become such as I am, except for these

chains.”

30 The king stood up and the governor and Bernice, and those who were sitting with

them,

31 and when they had gone aside, they began talking to one another, saying, “This man

is not doing anything worthy of death or imprisonment.”

32 And Agrippa said to Festus, “This man might have been set free if he had not

appealed to Caesar.”

COMMENTARY

26:19–20a Returning to the outline of his ministry, Paul showed how he had

carried out the commission of Christ. He had not been disobedient to his vision

of Christ (v. 19); he had not “kick[ed] against the goads.” He had carried out not

only the Lord’s commission to him to be a servant and a witness (v. 16) but

indeed the Lord’s commission to his disciples on the ascension day, preaching

first in Damascus, then in Jerusalem, then in all the land of Judea, and finally to

the Gentiles (v. 20; cf. Acts 1:8). The narrative of Acts mentions Paul’s preaching

in Damascus after his conversion (9:20–25) as well as his subsequent witness in

Jerusalem (9:28f.). There is no mention of a larger witness of Paul “in all Judea.”

26:20b As is true throughout this speech, Paul did not pass up any

opportunity to testify to the gospel before the king. Thus, in speaking of his

witness to Jews and Gentiles, he included the characteristic appeal he made—to

“repent and turn to God” (v. 20). Repenting (metanoein) and turning (epistrephein)

to God are variant expressions of the same act, for true repentance is a complete

change of mind, an about-face from sin and self to God. The manifestation of this

complete change of direction, the proof of the genuineness of repentance, is a life

characterized by good works. Works can never be the basis of salvation. They

are, however, the inevitable result of a genuine experience of turning to God in

Christ.

26:21–22a Verses 21–22a complete Paul’s testimony to his life as a Christian

witness. It did not always go easily. Ultimately, the mob descended on him in the

temple because of his testimony to Christ, leading to his arrest (v. 21). Even in

that instance, the Lord kept his promise to Paul and rescued him (v. 22a; cf. v.

17). Even though in bonds, his witness was unhindered, as even now he testified

before the king. It was not just before kings and governors that the Lord had

enabled Paul to witness. It was before “small and great alike.” Just as there were

no geographical or racial boundaries in Paul’s ministry (v. 20), so there were no

social barriers. It was the same gospel for all, and Paul bore his witness to all

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without discrimination, whether to the peasant farmers of Lystra or the Jewish

king himself.

26:22b–23 Verses 22b–23 provide Paul’s final and climactic reference to the

gospel in his speech. He had spoken of turning the eyes from darkness to light, of

repentance and the forgiveness of sins, of obtaining a portion with the saints in

the eternal kingdom (vv. 18, 20). Now he centered on the key to all of this, the

means by which enlightenment, forgiveness, and salvation are all realized—the

death and resurrection of Christ. It is a familiar pattern to the reader of Acts—the

opening of the Old Testament Scriptures and demonstrating from “Moses and

the prophets” that the Messiah must suffer and rise from the dead. In the

summary of Paul’s speech before Agrippa, the explicit texts are not cited; but one

is already familiar with them from Peter’s sermons at Pentecost (2:24–36) and

before the temple crowd (3:17–26) and from Paul’s sermon in the synagogue of

Pisidian Antioch (13:32–39).

There he provided them with the scriptural base for their understanding of

his death and resurrection, and there he first granted them the commission to

proclaim their witness to both Jew and Gentile. In the Old Testament, it is the

servant psalms which most clearly point to Christ’s sufferings, and that Paul had

them in mind is indicated by his speaking of the proclaiming of “light to his own

people and to the Gentiles.” That was the role of the servant (Isa 42:6f.; 49:6; cf. v.

18). Paul was a servant of the Servant (cf. v. 16). In fulfilling his commission to be

a witness to Christ, he was enabling Christ to fulfill his role as a light to the

nations. He was enabling all who responded in faith to share in the resurrection

life.

(8) Paul’s Appeal to Agrippa (26:24–29)

26:24–25 With the theme of the resurrection, Paul had come to the high point

of his speech. By this time, it had become too much for Festus. After all the talk

about the Jewish Scriptures, the reference to resurrection was the last straw for

the Roman procurator. He already had expressed to Agrippa his own total

incomprehension concerning Paul’s claim that Jesus had risen from the dead

(25:19). “You are out of your mind, Paul,” he blurted out. “All your learning, all

your searching of the Scriptures, has lifted you out of the real world” (author’s

paraphrase). It was an offhanded compliment. Festus was showing a genuine

respect for Paul’s learning. Still, he was showing the kind of popular prejudice

often directed against scholars: “Too much learning alters the perspective, puts

one out of touch with the real world. People don’t rise from the dead. Any

sensible Greek or Roman knows that” (cf. 1 Cor 1:18–25). Paul would not be put

off by the governor’s remark. Politely, addressing the governor with full

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deference as “most excellent Festus,” Paul firmly asserted that he was in

possession of his faculties.

26:26 On this particular occasion, it was not the governor but the king with

whom Paul was most concerned. The audience had been called primarily so

Agrippa could hear Paul, and Paul had constantly addressed the king directly

throughout his speech (vv. 2, 7, 19). The content of the speech was particularly

suited to the Jewish king, as Paul stressed his thoroughly Jewish background and

the roots of his gospel in the hope of Israel and the prophetic Scriptures. So, Paul

turned from the governor and once again addressed Agrippa: “The king is

familiar with these things.” Agrippa knew the Jewish hope in the resurrection.

He knew the Scriptures, understood what Paul was talking about when he

referred to the prophets. More than that, he would know something about the

Christians and their faith in Christ’s resurrection. The events had been too public

to escape the notice of any Palestinian Jew. They had not occurred “in a corner”

(v. 26).

The phrase “not in a corner” is somewhat ambiguous. It could mean that the

Christian movement was not an esoteric group hidden from public view. It could

also mean that Christianity was not a small, insignificant movement, a “corner”

affair of no real impact on the larger world. The two possibilities are not

mutually exclusive. The expression “not in a corner” is often found in Greek

philosophical writings, particularly in contexts where philosophers are accused

of withdrawing into their “ivory towers” and not confronting the larger society

in the markets and streets. This meaning well fits Paul’s situation. His witness

had been fully public. He had met the Athenians in the marketplace and

addressed them on the Areopagus. He had stood before the magistrates of

Philippi and before the proconsul Gallio in Corinth. He had preached to the

crowd in the temple square and spoken before the Jewish Sanhedrin. His case

had been heard by the Roman governors Felix and Festus and now by the Jewish

king himself. Paul’s activity was certainly no affair done in a secluded corner but

open to full public view. But more than that, his witness was worthy of the

serious consideration of all the world, of Jew and Greek, of small and great.

26:27–28 Paul was becoming ever bolder in his witness, speaking ever more

“freely” to the king (v. 26). Now he turned to the king and began to press for a

decision: “Do you believe the prophets?” Paul had in mind the messianic

prophecies, the ones he had already referred to (v. 22f.). His direction was clear.

If Agrippa believed the prophets and the prophets point to Christ, then why

didn’t the king believe that Christ is Messiah? Agrippa sensed Paul’s direction

immediately. It put him in an awkward position. On the one hand, he did not

want to answer no and deny the prophets. On the other hand, he was not ready

to answer yes and have Paul press him for a commitment to Christ. Just exactly

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how he did respond is anything but clear. One thing is certain—he evaded Paul’s

question. It is also virtually certain that the phrase en holigo should be translated

“briefly, in a short time,” rather than with “almost.” It seems all the more certain

since Paul played on the statement in the next verse. Agrippa was not ready to

respond to Paul. Did the apostle really think he could turn the mind of the king

with so few words? Would he so quickly make him into a Christian?

26:29 Paul gave an object lesson in bold witness at this point. Most Christians

would have trouble even witnessing to a king, but to persist when once put off is

remarkable. Paul failed to be daunted for a minute by the king’s reply. He left the

invitation open. Playing on Agrippa’s words, he indicated that the timing of the

decision made little difference to him, whether long or short. His real prayer was

that not just Agrippa but everyone in the audience room would become a

Christian believer. At this point Paul may have made several gestures, turning

and directly addressing all in the room, then glancing down and perhaps lifting

his wrists. He wanted them to share his Lord, but not his chains. Paul may well

have seen his trial as a sort of “test case” for the Christian community in the hope

that his ordeal would provide a precedent for Christian innocence and thereby

relieve others from such an experience. It is not certain that he actually wore

chains on this occasion. His status seems to have been one of a privileged free

custody (24:23), and the term “chains” was often used in a metaphorical sense for

imprisonment.

There is every reason to believe that Paul would have continued his witness

had he not been cut short by the king’s rising to his feet (26:30). Agrippa had

heard enough, enough to know that Paul was innocent of any breach of Roman

law. He had heard enough of Paul’s witness too, enough to know he was not

ready to become a Christian (v. 28). In a sense, he represented the more

exemplary Jews in Acts—not like the mobs who stoned Paul or dragged him

before the magistrates or screamed for his hide. He listened to Paul’s testimony

politely, even with interest; yet he remained non-persuaded. That was the

tragedy of the Jews in Acts. They were God’s people; the prophets were their

prophets; Christ was their Messiah; his resurrection fulfilled their hopes. Still, in

large part, they were not persuaded.

(9) Paul’s Innocence Declared by Governor and King (26:30–32)

26:30–32 Paul had made his appearance before governors and kings, very

much in fulfillment of the Lord’s words (Luke 21:12). Agrippa rose to his feet,

followed by Bernice, and then all the other leading Gentiles who had attended

the hearing (cf. 25:23). The latter probably constituted Agrippa’s consilium, his

advisory council on the matter of Paul. If so, their presence heightened the

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impression of Paul’s innocence; for Luke indicated that the whole group as they

departed began to declare to one another that they could find nothing in Paul

deserving of death or imprisonment (v. 31). This is now the fifth time Paul’s

innocence had been declared: first by the Pharisees (23:9), then by the Roman

tribune Lysias (23:29), then twice by the governor Festus (25:18f., 25). In a private

conversation with Festus, Agrippa went even further: If Paul had not made his

appeal to Caesar, he could have been released (v. 32). The reader knows what

Agrippa did not know—how Festus had wanted to do the Jews a favor and how

Paul had felt forced to appeal to save his life (25:9–11).

Then the question rises about why, with this opinion from the Jewish king,

Paul was not now set free. The answer seems to be, just as Agrippa’s remark

indicates, that it would be no easy matter to stop the appeal process. For Festus

to do so would have been an affront to the emperor and an implicit admission of

his own ineptitude in allowing the process to be set in motion. Nevertheless,

Festus now had what he had been seeking from Agrippa, an opinion to write up

in his formal report to the emperor. Evidently, in this instance, it was the opinion

that Paul was innocent of any breach of Roman law. The reminder of Jesus’ own

experience is stark. Governor and king together declared his innocence (Luke

23:14f.), and still he went to the cross. Governor and king declared Paul innocent

likewise, and still he was on his way to Rome in chains.

RELATED DISCUSSION TOPICS

CLOSING PRAYER

“O, God: we have been continually persecuted for Your Name’s sake. Yet, we

have committed to follow and to trust You. In Jesus’ Name. Amen.”