Acts 26

     26:1-3.  King Herod Agrippa II did indeed know the Jews, and like all the Herods, he was hated by them.  The Herods had been Jews now for several generations, but they were by ancestry Idumeans, i.e., descendants of Edom (Esau).  The Herods were all as carnally minded as their ancient father, right up to Acts 26:28.

     26:4-8.  Paul has been teaching no new thing, but the very hope of the fathers which has always been the hope of all Israel, “our twelve tribes.”  Paul knows nothing of any 10 lost tribes.  None of the faithful is ever lost to God, who is faithful to his promises.  (Also, can we not assume no tribe was without some living representative who lived to see their Messiah?  E.g., Anna of the tribe of Asher, Luke 2:36.)  How ironic then, Paul says, that it is Jews by whom he is accused because he has this hope.  Why should they have all people consider it incredible if God raises the dead?  (See Jesus’ answer to the Sadducees, Luke 20:37-38.)

     26:9-19.  Here for the third time (twice with Paul telling it) is the amazing story of Paul’s conversion.  Like the people who now sought his death, he, a Pharisee who believed in the resurrection of the dead, had once gone out under the authority of a Sadducee high priest who did not believe it, to round up good Jews whose only crime was that they believed the resurrection to be true with all their heart.  Paul knew what it was like to be in the dominion of Satan.  But then the light shown upon him, and Christ had raised him up from the deadness of sin to a great work.  He was to carry the gospel of forgiveness of sins by faith in Jesus to all men, even Gentiles.  And this he had been faithful to do.

     26:20.  Note the content of the gospel call.  Repent and turn to God.  Act accordingly.

     26:21.  The reason for the hatred toward him was his preaching salvation to the Gentiles.

     26:22-23.  But this was always what God’s purpose was, as clearly taught by both prophets and Moses, that through Christ’s atoning death and resurrection the light of salvation would come to both Jews and Gentiles.

     26:24.  Paul teaches us in 1 Cor.1:22-24 that Christ crucified is a stumbling block to the Jews, and to the Gentiles foolishness, and so it proved to be in this case.  Festus, having no OT background, was having trouble making sense of it all.  Perhaps he should be forgiven for assuming too much learning was driving Paul mad.  Even today, universities can easily be mistaken for mad houses, as higher learning far too often seems to lead to a dreadful separation of mind and reality.

     26:25.  The margin, “Lit., of truth and rationality,” seems far better here than “of sober truth.”

     26:28.  In spite of the tears shed over sermons and hymns sadly lamenting that Agrippa was “almost persuaded,” he was no such thing.  He was extricating himself from the uncomfortable position Paul had put him in, that was all.

     26:32.  It was easy to say that Paul might have been set free, but of course he would not have been.  That would have taken much more courage for the sake of principle than anyone in authority possessed.  These were practical men.