4, 2012 ADULT SUNDAY SCHOOL LESSON PAUL BEFORE KING AGRIPPA MINISTRY INVOCATION

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1 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: 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. 1

2 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 2

3 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 3

4 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 4

5 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 5

6 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. 6