Elder Kevin Wood preaches on Acts 25-26. No recording is available, but the full text of his sermon is provided below.
Introduction
This week, we conclude our long journey through the book of Acts. Last week, Sean spoke about the Apostle Paul’s appearance before Felix, the Roman governor. Paul had defended himself against the charges brought by the Jews, and had claimed that by following what they called the Way, he was simply following the teachings contained in the Law and the Prophets. Most significantly, this included the belief in the resurrection of the dead, a belief particularly dear to the Pharisees, who were among his greatest opponents and who had once called Paul – then Saul – one of their own. At issue, of course, was Paul’s preaching that Jesus had risen from the dead, proving that he was the long-awaited Messiah.
The remainder of chapter 24 tells how Felix, wanting to appease the Jews and also hoping that Paul would bribe him, kept delaying a decision on the case. The end result is that Paul spent the next two years in prison, although this was probably more like a house arrest. At that point, Felix was succeeded by a new governor, Porcius Festus, but he left Paul in prison as a final favor to the Jews.
I. Paul’s Dilemma
Paul is in a dilemma. Or perhaps it would be more accurate to say that those holding him as a prisoner are in a dilemma. They can’t quite figure out why he should remain in their custody, but they also don’t want to release him for fear of the Jews. This had been the situation faced by Felix, and it is the situation inherited by Festus, the new governor.
To get a full sense for this dilemma, let us read from chapter 25.
25 Now three days after Festus had arrived in the province, he went up to Jerusalem from Caesarea. 2 And the chief priests and the principal men of the Jews laid out their case against Paul, and they urged him, 3 asking as a favor against Paul that he summon him to Jerusalem — because they were planning an ambush to kill him on the way. 4 Festus replied that Paul was being kept at Caesarea and that he himself intended to go there shortly. 5 “So,” said he, “let the men of authority among you go down with me, and if there is anything wrong about the man, let them bring charges against him.”
6 After he stayed among them not more than eight or ten days, he went down to Caesarea. And the next day he took his seat on the tribunal and ordered Paul to be brought. 7 When he had arrived, the Jews who had come down from Jerusalem stood around him, bringing many and serious charges against him that they could not prove. 8 Paul argued in his defense, “Neither against the law of the Jews, nor against the temple, nor against Caesar have I committed any offense.” 9 But Festus, wishing to do the Jews a favor, said to Paul, “Do you wish to go up to Jerusalem and there be tried on these charges before me?” 10 But Paul said, “I am standing before Caesar’s tribunal, where I ought to be tried. To the Jews I have done no wrong, as you yourself know very well. 11 If then I am a wrongdoer and have committed anything for which I deserve to die, I do not seek to escape death. But if there is nothing to their charges against me, no one can give me up to them. I appeal to Caesar.” 12 Then Festus, when he had conferred with his council, answered, “To Caesar you have appealed; to Caesar you shall go.”
13 Now when some days had passed, Agrippa the king and Bernice arrived at Caesarea and greeted Festus. 14 And as they stayed there many days, Festus laid Paul’s case before the king, saying, “There is a man left prisoner by Felix, 15 and when I was at Jerusalem, the chief priests and the elders of the Jews laid out their case against him, asking for a sentence of condemnation against him. 16 I answered them that it was not the custom of the Romans to give up anyone before the accused met the accusers face to face and had opportunity to make his defense concerning the charge laid against him. 17 So when they came together here, I made no delay, but on the next day took my seat on the tribunal and ordered the man to be brought. 18 When the accusers stood up, they brought no charge in his case of such evils as I supposed. 19 Rather they had certain points of dispute with him about their own religion and about a certain Jesus, who was dead, but whom Paul asserted to be alive. 20 Being at a loss how to investigate these questions, I asked whether he wanted to go to Jerusalem and be tried there regarding them. 21 But when Paul had appealed to be kept in custody for the decision of the emperor, I ordered him to be held until I could send him to Caesar.” 22 Then Agrippa said to Festus, “I would like to hear the man myself.” “Tomorrow,” said he, “you will hear him.”
23 So on the next day Agrippa and Bernice came with great pomp, and they entered the audience hall with the military tribunes and the prominent men of the city. Then, at the command of Festus, Paul was brought in. 24 And Festus said, “King Agrippa and all who are present with us, you see this man about whom the whole Jewish people petitioned me, both in Jerusalem and here, shouting that he ought not to live any longer. 25 But I found that he had done nothing deserving death. And as he himself appealed to the emperor, I decided to go ahead and send him. 26 But I have nothing definite to write to my lord about him. Therefore I have brought him before you all, and especially before you, King Agrippa, so that, after we have examined him, I may have something to write. 27 For it seems to me unreasonable, in sending a prisoner, not to indicate the charges against him.”
Paul’s dilemma is that he finds himself held a prisoner by authorities who don’t why they are holding him. Note that Paul has already defended himself at least three other times: before the mob as he was taken into custody at Jerusalem, in chapter 22; before the Sanhedrin, the Jewish ruling council, also at Jerusalem, in chapter 23; and before Felix after he was transferred to Caesarea, in chapter 24.
But now he gets another opportunity to explain his situation to those who have the power to decide his fate, even whether he will live or die. And so now we move from Paul’s dilemma to Paul’s defense.
II. Paul’s Defense
Although it is technically Festus who will make the decision, all present understand that it is really Agrippa whom Paul must convince, for the king can sway the opinion of the governor. And the king was more intimately involved in the affairs of the Jews in Jerusalem: it was he who chose the high priest each year, and he also served as the President of the Temple and its treasury. Thus chapter 26 begins as follows:
26:1-3: So Agrippa said to Paul, “You have permission to speak for yourself.” Then Paul stretched out his hand and made his defense: “I consider myself fortunate that it is before you, King Agrippa, I am going to make my defense today against all the accusations of the Jews, especially because you are familiar with all the customs and controversies of the Jews. Therefore I beg you to listen to me patiently.
Paul opens his defense with the boldly ironic claim that he considers himself fortunate to appear before Agrippa. Given the history of that name – Agrippa – how could any Christ-follower possibly feel fortunate to have his or her fate in their hands?
The King Agrippa in our text today is Herod Agrippa II. He was culturally Jewish, but at heart he was thoroughly Roman. He belonged to a family which was politically powerful but morally suspect, and which figures prominently in the gospels.
His father, Herod Agrippa I, had been responsible for beheading the Apostle James and for imprisoning the Apostle Peter. Peter’s life had only been spared through the miraculous intervention of an angel of the Lord. Herod Agrippa I himself was struck down by God when he accepted the acclaim of the people who cried out: “The voice of a god, and not of a man!” [chapter 12]
Herod Agrippa II’s great uncle – the brother of his grandfather – was Herod Antipas. He was the one who had had John the Baptist beheaded at the request of Salome, the daughter of Herodius, another member of the Herod family [Matthew 14].
And Herod Agrippa II’s great-grandfather? That would be the most famous, or infamous, Herod of them all, Herod I or Herod the Great, the villain of the Christmas story, the one who ordered the murder of all male babies under two years old around Bethlehem after the birth of Jesus.
And then there was Bernice – sometimes referred to as Berenice – who accompanied Herod Agrippa II on this trip. She was his sister, but according to the Jewish historian Josephus and others, she was more than that: she was supposedly also his lover, the two of them living in incest. During her lifetime, Bernice was married at least three times, including once to her own uncle, and also had relationships with various other prominent men.
And just to weave an even more tangled web, Herod Agrippa II had another sister, Drusilla, who made a brief appearance in Acts chapter 24. She was the wife of Felix, the former Roman governor who had left Paul in prison. Actually, she was Felix’s second wife, and it was also Drusilla’s second marriage. Both Felix and Drusilla divorced their first spouses in order to marry each other; Drusilla did this even though she was a Jew and this went against Jewish law.
Given all this family history with its intrigues and questionable morals, Paul’s task, to convince Herod Agrippa II of his innocence, and to convince him to act and judge uprightly, was a tall order indeed.
So, when Paul said that he considered himself fortunate to lay his case before Agrippa, did he really mean it or was he just “sucking up” to him? It may have been at least partly “sucking up”, but let us take Paul at his word here; as he noted, Agrippa was “familiar with all the customs and controversies of the Jews”. He knew the importance of the Law and the Prophets to the Jews, even if he himself didn’t live fully in accordance with their teaching. He knew of the promise of a Messiah. He knew the difference between a Pharisee and a Sadducee, that the former believed in the resurrection of the dead while the latter did not.
Paul begins by reminding Agrippa, Bernice, and Festus of his thoroughly Jewish and unimpeachable background, which is a stark contrast to their own character and behavior:
26:4-8: “My manner of life from my youth, spent from the beginning among my own nation and in Jerusalem, is known by all the Jews. They have known for a long time, if they are willing to testify, that according to the strictest party of our religion I have lived as a Pharisee. And now I stand here on trial because of my hope in the promise made by God to our fathers, to which our twelve tribes hope to attain, as they earnestly worship night and day. And for this hope I am accused by Jews, O king! Why is it thought incredible by any of you that God raises the dead?
Remember that it is because of the Pharisees that Paul is in this situation; they are the ones who have brought the charges against him. And so Paul reminds his audience of his own Pharisaic background. When he had defended himself before the Sanhedrin in chapter 23, he had called himself “a Pharisee, a son of Pharisees” (v. 6). As he will later write to the Philippians: “If anyone else thinks he has reason for confidence in the flesh, I have more: circumcised on the eighth day, of the people of Israel, of the tribe of Benjamin, a Hebrew of Hebrews; as to the law, a Pharisee” (3:4-5).
Because Paul had been a Pharisee, he has no trouble believing in the resurrection of the dead. And this belief underlies the hope which he has for the future.
As we observed at the beginning of our service today, this is the first Sunday of Advent, that special time of the year when we prepare ourselves for the celebration of our Savior’s birth. The traditional theme of the first Sunday of Advent is hope. The passages which we read today, from Isaiah and Luke, prophesied the coming of the Messiah, the foundation of our hope. We have hope for the future not because of anything within ourselves nor anything in this world, but because of Jesus Christ, the Prince of Peace and the Son of the Most High, whose kingdom will have no end.
As a Pharisee, Paul had hope. And he also had zeal, a lot of zeal, which in the past he expressed by opposing and persecuting the followers of Jesus:
26:9-11: “I myself was convinced that I ought to do many things in opposing the name of Jesus of Nazareth. And I did so in Jerusalem. I not only locked up many of the saints in prison after receiving authority from the chief priests, but when they were put to death I cast my vote against them. And I punished them often in all the synagogues and tried to make them blaspheme, and in raging fury against them I persecuted them even to foreign cities.”
Paul had zeal, but it was misdirected. Thankfully for him and for the church, God intervened, as Paul relates in a summary of his incredible conversion:
26:12-18: “In this connection I journeyed to Damascus with the authority and commission of the chief priests. At midday, O king, I saw on the way a light from heaven, brighter than the sun, that shone around me and those who journeyed with me. And when we had all fallen to the ground, I heard a voice saying to me in the Hebrew language, ‘Saul, Saul, why are you persecuting me? It is hard for you to kick against the goads.’ And I said, ‘Who are you, Lord?’ And the Lord said, ‘I am Jesus whom you are persecuting. But rise and stand upon your feet, for I have appeared to you for this purpose, to appoint you as a servant and witness to the things in which you have seen me and to those in which I will appear to you, delivering you from your people and from the Gentiles — to whom I am sending you to open their eyes, so that they may turn from darkness to light and from the power of Satan to God, that they may receive forgiveness of sins and a place among those who are sanctified by faith in me.’”
You might recall that Paul also included the story of his conversion in chapter 22 when he defended himself before the mob after he was arrested at the Temple. It would appear that Paul liked to tell the story, and thought it important to tell the story.
What about us? How often to we tell our conversion story? How often do we tell others of the hope that we have as believers? This first Sunday of Advent, focused on the theme of hope, would seem to be a wonderful day on which to do that. But so would every day; as the Apostle Peter wrote in his first epistle: “in your hearts honor Christ the Lord as holy, always being prepared to make a defense to anyone who asks you for a reason for the hope that is in you” (3:15).
Our story might not be as spectacular as Paul’s. It may not involve a blinding light and a voice from heaven. But it does involve the light of the gospel breaking through the spiritual darkness of our sin. It does involve the voice of God speaking to us through his Word.
“Amazing grace! how sweet the sound – that saved a wretch like me! I once was lost, but now am found, was blind, but now I see.”
The voice of God says to us just as it says to Paul: “Rise, stand up!” I have a task for you; to share this story, to share your story, with others who need to hear it. I “am sending you to open their eyes, so that they may turn from darkness to light and from the power of Satan to God, that they may receive forgiveness of sins and a place among those who are sanctified by faith in me”.
Any conversion story includes not only a description of our past life and the events surrounding our coming to Christ, but also a description of our new life. What is different now? And so it is with Paul, as he continues his story:
26:19-23: “Therefore, O King Agrippa, I was not disobedient to the heavenly vision, but declared first to those in Damascus, then in Jerusalem and throughout all the region of Judea, and also to the Gentiles, that they should repent and turn to God, performing deeds in keeping with their repentance. For this reason the Jews seized me in the temple and tried to kill me. To this day I have had the help that comes from God, and so I stand here testifying both to small and great, saying nothing but what the prophets and Moses said would come to pass: that the Christ must suffer and that, by being the first to rise from the dead, he would proclaim light both to our people and to the Gentiles.”
Paul’s new life was characterized by obedience: obedience to the vision; obedience to God. Previously, he was zealous, but misguided. Now he is zealous and firmly following God’s will. He is obedient even in the face of opposition and persecution. He is determined to be obedient even to the point of death, if necessary.
Again, we must ask ourselves: what about us? Is our post-conversion life different from our pre-conversion life, in terms of our actions, our beliefs, our attitudes, our desires? Can others see that we are now a “new creature”, and not the same old “old creature”.
Paul’s actions, beliefs, attitudes, and desires have certainly changed. In fact, he speaks of his desire in the concluding portion of our text for today.
We have discussed Paul’s dilemma and Paul’s defense. Let us turn now to Paul’s desire.
III. Paul’s Desire
We pick up in verse 24:
26:24-29: And as he was saying these things in his defense, Festus said with a loud voice, “Paul, you are out of your mind; your great learning is driving you out of your mind.” But Paul said, “I am not out of my mind, most excellent Festus, but I am speaking true and rational words. For the king knows about these things, and to him I speak boldly. For I am persuaded that none of these things has escaped his notice, for this has not been done in a corner. King Agrippa, do you believe the prophets? I know that you believe.” And Agrippa said to Paul, “In a short time would you persuade me to be a Christian?” And Paul said, “Whether short or long, I would to God that not only you but also all who hear me this day might become such as I am — except for these chains.”
Paul’s desire is that all present before him, from King Agrippa down to the lowliest servant or slave, would become such as he was, except for his chains. His desire was that each person present would “turn from darkness to light and from the power of Satan to God, that they may receive forgiveness of sins and” eternal life.
Festus is clearly unconvinced and assumes that Paul has lost his mind. But Paul senses that perhaps Agrippa’s heart and mind are open. He boldly addresses him: “King Agrippa, do you believe the prophets? I know that you believe.”
Agrippa’s response – “In a short time would you persuade me to be a Christian?” – is both encouraging and disheartening. It is encouraging in that it is not an outright rejection. But it is disheartening in that there is still a huge gap between almost persuaded and fully persuaded.
In fact, Agrippa’s statement is the basis of a well-known gospel hymn by Philip Bliss entitled “Almost Persuaded”. The first stanza goes like this:
“Almost persuaded” now to believe; “Almost persuaded” Christ to receive; Seems now some soul to say, “Go, Spirit, go Thy way, Some more convenient day on Thee I’ll call.”
But as Bliss makes clear in the fourth stanza, “almost” isn’t good enough:
“Almost persuaded,” harvest is past! “Almost persuaded,” doom comes at last; “Almost” cannot avail; “Almost” is but to fail! Sad, sad that bitter wail — “Almost — but lost!”
As they say, “close only counts in horseshoes and hand grenades”, and this is especially true when it comes to salvation. One is either saved, or not saved. I would therefore be remiss at this point to neglect to say to any listening today that if you have never repented of your sin and placed your faith in Jesus Christ, heed the words of the fifth and final stanza of Bliss’s hymn:
Be now persuaded, oh, sinner, hear! Be now persuaded, Jesus is near; His voice is pleading still, Turn now with heart and will, Peace will your spirit fill — Oh, turn today!
Although Paul was in chains and those listening to him were not, he knew that he was in a better position. Better to be a “prisoner of Jesus Christ” than a prisoner of sin! Better to be in chains in this world but have hope for the next, than to be free in this world but without hope for the next.
Agrippa, Bernice, Festus: they were all living their lives without the hope that Paul had. And so Paul’s desire was that they, too, would turn to Christ and secure that hope for themselves.
We have seen Paul’s dilemma, his defense, and his desire. To conclude, let us return to his dilemma, or more specifically, to his new dilemma.
IV. Paul’s (New) Dilemma
Today’s text concludes with these words beginning in verse 30:
26:30-32: Then the king rose, and the governor and Bernice and those who were sitting with them. And when they had withdrawn, they said to one another, “This man is doing nothing to deserve death or imprisonment.” And Agrippa said to Festus, “This man could have been set free if he had not appealed to Caesar.”
Paul could have been set free, had he not appealed to Caesar.
Lest we think this to be tragic, keep in mind that when Paul appealed to Caesar, he really had no other option. If he had agreed to Festus’s suggestion that he stand trial back in Jerusalem, it was essentially a death sentence, and Paul knew it. We already know that 40 Jews had taken an oath to kill Paul [chapter 23].
Furthermore, it was not tragic because it was all according to God’s will and plan. We tend to view things from a limited, earthly perspective. To be free, obviously, is better than to be a prisoner, or enslaved. To be wealthy is better than to be poor. To be healthy is better than to be sick.
But let us not forgot that God has a wider perspective and a deeper understanding. In God’s economy, it is not necessarily better for us to be free, and wealthy, and healthy in this earthly life. He can teach us things through bondage, poverty, and sickness that he can’t teach us in freedom, wealth, and health.
When this earthly life is over, that will be the time for us to move on to experience all of God’s goodness and mercy. That will be the time to enjoy, forever, the freedom, riches, and fullness of life that God promises. That was Paul’s hope, and that is our hope.
Conclusion
Although the Book of Acts contains two more chapters which tell of Paul’s journey to Rome and his stay there, this will be the concluding message in our series which we have called “Acts: The Spirit-Led Church”.
We have seen how the early believers and the early church allowed themselves to be led by God’s Spirit. They did this even in the face of great opposition and persecution. Some, in fact, gave up their very lives. But they did so willingly and joyfully, for they were waiting, to borrow the words of Paul in his letter to Titus, “for our blessed hope, the appearing of the glory of our great God and Savior Jesus Christ” (2:13).
The last message of Paul recorded in Acts occurs after he has arrived at Rome as a prisoner and asks to speak to the Jews there. Among many other things, he says to them: “I have asked to see you and speak with you, since it is because of the hope of Israel that I am wearing this chain” (28:20).
May we today have that same blessed hope. May we today allow ourselves to be a Spirit-led church, made up of Spirit-led believers. May we be equally willing to accept whatever God has in store for us.
May we strive to be like Paul: “such as I am”, as he said to Agrippa. May we have that same zeal and that same desire to share our story and to be used by God.
