# Acts 26 đ: Paul Before King Agrippa
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> [!info] Table of Contents
> [[#đ Scripture Text (NET)]]
> [[#đ Verse-by-Verse Commentary]]
> [[#đ¤ Interesting Facts / Historical and Cultural Insights]]
> [[#đ§ Chapter Summary]]
> [[#âď¸ Christ in This Chapter]]
> [[#đ Key Observations / đ Life Application]]
> [[#đŹ Discussion Questions]]
> [[#âď¸ Key Verses to Remember]]
> [[#đ Related Passages]]
> [[#đ Devotional Reflection]]
> [[#đ Outline]]
> [[#đ Internal Notes]]
## đ Scripture Text (NET)
(The NET Bible: New English Translation. Biblical Studies Press, 2005)
#### Paul Offers His Defense
**Principle**: Be prepared to tell your story.
[[#Verse 01.]] So Agrippa said to Paul, âYou have permission to speak for yourself.â Then Paul held out his hand and began his defense:
[[#Verse 02.]] âRegarding all the things I have been accused of by the Jews, King Agrippa, I consider myself fortunate that I am about to make my defense before you today,
[[#Verse 03.]] because you are especially familiar with all the customs and controversial issues of the Jews. Therefore, I ask you to listen to me patiently.Â
[[#Verse 04.]] Now all the Jews know the way I lived from my youth, spending my life from the beginning among my own people and in Jerusalem.Â
[[#Verse 05.]] They know, because they have known me from time past, if they are willing to testify, that according to the strictest party of our religion, I lived as a Pharisee.Â
[[#Verse 06.]] And now I stand here on trial because of my hope in the promise made by God to our ancestors,Â
[[#Verse 07.]] a promise that our twelve tribes hope to attain as they earnestly serve God night and day. Concerning this hope the Jews are accusing me, Your Majesty!Â
[[#Verse 08.]] Why do you people think it is unbelievable that God raises the dead?Â
[[#Verse 09.]] Of course, I myself was convinced that it was necessary to do many things hostile to the name of Jesus the Nazarene.Â
[[#Verse 10.]] And that is what I did in Jerusalem: Not only did I lock up many of the saints in prisons by the authority I received from the chief priests, but I also cast my vote against them when they were sentenced to death.Â
[[#Verse 11.]] I punished them often in all the synagogues and tried to force them to blaspheme. Because I was so furiously enraged at them, I went to persecute them even in foreign cities.
### Paul's Account of His Conversion and Commission
**Principle**: Tell your story with boldness.
[[#Verse 12.]] âWhile doing this very thing, as I was going to Damascus with authority and complete power from the chief priests,Â
[[#Verse 13.]] about noon along the road, Your Majesty, I saw a light from heaven, brighter than the sun, shining everywhere around me and those traveling with me.Â
[[#Verse 14.]] When we had all fallen to the ground, I heard a voice saying to me in Aramaic, âSaul, Saul, why are you persecuting me? You are hurting yourself by kicking against the goads.âÂ
[[#Verse 15.]] So I said, âWho are you, Lord?â And the Lord replied, âI am Jesus whom you are persecuting.Â
[[#Verse 16.]] But get up and stand on your feet, for I have appeared to you for this reason, to designate you in advance as a servant and witness to the things you have seen and to the things in which I will appear to you.Â
[[#Verse 17.]] I will rescue you from your own people and from the Gentiles, to whom I am sending youÂ
[[#Verse 18.]] to open their eyes so that they turn from darkness to light and from the power of Satan to God, so that they may receive forgiveness of sins and a share among those who are sanctified by faith in me.â
[[#Verse 19.]] âTherefore, King Agrippa, I was not disobedient to the heavenly vision,Â
[[#Verse 20.]] but I declared to those in Damascus first, and then to those in Jerusalem and in all Judea, and to the Gentiles, that they should repent and turn to God, performing deeds consistent with repentance.Â
[[#Verse 21.]] For this reason the Jews, after they seized me while I was in the temple courts, were trying to kill me.Â
[[#Verse 22.]] I have experienced help from God to this day, and so I stand testifying to both small and great, saying nothing except what the prophets and Moses said was going to happen:
[[#Verse 23.]] that the Christ was to suffer and be the first to rise from the dead, to proclaim light both to our people and to the Gentiles.â
### Agrippa Not Quite Persuaded
**Principle**: Don't be afraid to speak to everyone.
[[#Verse 24.]] As Paul was saying these things in his defense, Festus exclaimed loudly, âYou have lost your mind, Paul! Your great learning is driving you insane!âÂ
[[#Verse 25.]] But Paul replied, âI have not lost my mind, most excellent Festus, but am speaking true and rational words.Â
[[#Verse 26.]] For the king knows about these things, and I am speaking freely to him, because I cannot believe that any of these things has escaped his notice, for this was not done in a corner.Â
[[#Verse 27.]] Do you believe the prophets, King Agrippa? I know that you believe.âÂ
[[#Verse 28.]] Agrippa said to Paul, âIn such a short time are you persuading me to become a Christian?âÂ
[[#Verse 29.]] Paul replied, âI pray to God that whether in a short or a long time not only you but also all those who are listening to me today could become such as I am, except for these chains.â
[[#Verse 30.]]Â So the king got up, and with him the governor and Bernice and those sitting with them,Â
[[#Verse 31.]] and as they were leaving they said to one another, âThis man is not doing anything deserving death or imprisonment.âÂ
[[#Verse 32.]] Agrippa said to Festus, âThis man could have been released if he had not appealed to Caesar.â
## đ Verse-by-Verse Commentary
###### Overall.
###### Verse 01.
###### Verse 02.
###### Verse 03.
###### Verse 04.
###### Verse 05.
###### Verse 06.
###### Verse 07.
###### Verse 08.
###### Verse 09.
###### Verse 10.
###### Verse 11.
###### Verse 12.
###### Verse 13.
###### Verse 14.
###### Verse 15.
###### Verse 16.
###### Verse 17.
###### Verse 18.
###### Verse 19.
###### Verse 20.
###### Verse 21.
###### Verse 22.
###### Verse 23.
###### Verse 24.
###### Verse 25.
###### Verse 26.
###### Verse 27.
###### Verse 28.
###### Verse 29.
###### Verse 30.
###### Verse 31.
###### Verse 32.
## đ¤ Interesting Facts / Historical and Cultural Insights
1. This is the third account of Paul's conversion in Acts (chapters 9, 22, and 26).
2. Paul stretched out his hand (26:1), a common gesture for a speaker beginning a formal defense.
3. Paul says he cast his vote against believers when they were put to death (26:10).
4. Only this account includes Jesus' words, "It is hard for you to kick against the goads" (26:14), a Greek proverb about resisting a stronger force.
5. A goad was a sharpened stick used to drive oxen. Kicking against it only hurt the animal.
6. Jesus spoke to Paul in Aramaic (26:14), Paul's mother tongue.
7. Paul's commission in 26:18 echoes Isaiah's Servant who opens blind eyes and is a light for the nations (Isaiah 42:6-7).
8. Festus shouted that Paul was out of his mind because of too much learning (26:24).
9. Paul said these things had not been done in a corner (26:26), meaning Jesus' death and resurrection were public events.
10. Agrippa admitted that Paul could have been released if he had not appealed to Caesar (26:32).
## đ§ Chapter Summary
> [!note] đą Still growing. This section is on its way.
## âď¸ Christ in This Chapter
Christ is the risen Messiah who suffered and was the first to rise from the dead, proclaiming light to Israel and the Gentiles (26:23). He sends His people to open eyes and turn them from darkness to light (26:18; Colossians 1:13).
## đ Key Observations / đ Life Application
> [!note] đą Still growing. This section is on its way.
## đŹ Discussion Questions
1. Jesus sent Paul to open people's eyes and turn them from darkness to light (26:18). How does that describe your own story?
2. Paul said, "I was not disobedient to the heavenly vision" (26:19). What has God called you to that you need to keep obeying?
3. Agrippa asked if Paul was trying to persuade him to become a Christian so quickly, and Paul prayed that everyone listening would become like him (26:28-29). How can we share Jesus with both boldness and love?
## âď¸ Key Verses to Remember
- đ verse 18: Paul is sent to open eyes and turn people from darkness to light and from Satan's power to God.
- đ verse 19: Paul was not disobedient to the heavenly vision.
- đ verse 23: The Christ would suffer, rise first from the dead, and proclaim light to all.
- đ verses 28-29: Paul prays that all his hearers would become like him, except for his chains.
## đ Related Passages
- đ [[Acts 09#Verse 03.|Acts 9:3-6]] - The Damascus road.
- đ [[Isaiah 42#Verse 06.|Isaiah 42:6-7]] - A light for the nations, opening blind eyes.
- đ [[Colossians 01#Verse 13.|Colossians 1:13]] - Rescued from the domain of darkness.
- đ [[Luke 24#Verse 44.|Luke 24:44-47]] - Repentance and forgiveness proclaimed to all nations.
- đ [[1 Corinthians 15#Verse 20.|1 Corinthians 15:20]] - Christ the firstfruits of those who have died.
## đ Devotional Reflection
đ SOAP: [[Acts 26 - SOAP|Do You Wish Others Had What You Have?]]
## đ Outline
> [!note] đą Still growing. This section is on its way.
## đ Internal Notes
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### Outline
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