As I read on and study Acts 26, I find Paul to be "pretty smooth" as he proclaims the Message of the Gospel to the Roman appointed leaders of his day. What strikes me is how respectful he is to both their positions of leadership and to them as individuals. He in no way looks upon them as some sort of "messed up sinners", rather he includes them as he makes his case in court that day. As a result, there is a respect given to Paul...amidst all the accusations.
A Gleaning from the Book of Acts...chapter 26
" As the case against Paul opened that day, with King Agrippa and Queen Bernice presiding, King Agrippa says to Paul: "Go ahead, tell us about yourself."
Paul then proceeds to take his place in the trial room, raising his hand as was the custom in Paul's day...a public display of honor and respect to the king...
Paul then spoke: " I am so fortunate King Agrippa, to have ample opportunity to make my defense against all these charges brought against me...with you here, a truly fair judge. You King Agrippa are well-versed with the Jewish customs, beliefs, and inner-conflicts of my people. I only request some patience at this time while I proceed with my story.
All these people here are acquainted with me...many have known me since childhood. Many here are also aware of my early religious training as a child in Jerusalem. These same people here today are also aware how I became...a Pharisee, the strictest sect within our own Jewish religion, and many here today are also aware of my service to the life of a...Pharisee.
The reason I have been brought here to trial is because all my hopes rest in this fact: the very fulfillment of God's promise in regards to the Jewish Messiah.. I am of a complete certainty this Messiah we look for...has already come, and we have no reason to continue to look further.
All my fellow Jewish brethren that make up the 12 tribes of Israel are of the same belief...we are on "the same page"..we are after the very same hope....the very promise made by our forefathers long ago concerning the Coming of the Messiah. Day and night the Jewish people have expressed this hope with an expectation..demonstrated through the worship and praise at our Synagogues as defined in our very Law.
Yet, it is this hope that has brought me to this very place today. The charge brought against me is this: I recognize this hope we seek, our Messiah, has already come, died, and is now risen from the dead.
Now understand, there was a time I would never had believed this way, nor given it any train of thought. In fact, I took all of our beliefs very personally, including the Coming of a Messiah. Furthermore, I took it upon myself to violently oppose anyone who 1) dared to believe our Messiah had already come, 2) believe our Messiah had come, died, and rose from the dead, and 3) anyone claiming our Messiah to be this Jesus of Nazareth...the true Jewish Messiah.
In fact, through the authority of the High Priests who serve in the Synagogue of Jerusalem, I personally sent many who laid claim to this Jesus being the Jewish Messiah...to jail! Along with this, if any of these so-called "Believers in Him" or "Christians" were to be executed for such heretical beliefs, I was right there...leading the "charge", and as a result I was very active in seeing these people put to their very death.
There were also numerous times I would have these "Believers" publicly disgraced...in our very Synagogues, hoping they would deny they ever believed in this Jesus of Nazareth being a Messiah, and hoping they would curse His very name!
In my tenacious and bitter fury toward these "Christians", I harassed, troubled, molested, and persecuted anyone that was sympathetic to this cause or joined their ranks...chasing them down to other cities and villages beyond the Gates of Jerusalem.
Until one day...King Agrippa
One day I was on a mission...to Damascus. I was after more of the "wicked and evil Believers" of the Jewish faith. I was travelling well-armed with the full blessings from the High Priests of Jerusalem....and then...
It was around noon as I was on my way to Damascus...when out of nowhere came this Blazing Light. It was much brighter than anything I had ever seen...including the glare of the sun, and it released so much power it literally struck me down along with my entourage. I mean we were face down on the ground when this Light "hit" us, and what proceeded next changed the very textbook of my life. I then heard this clear and loud voice address me in Hebrew and say: "Saul, Saul...why are you being so cruel? Do you have any idea what type of danger you have put yourself in? You actually have the audacity to believe your will is greater than Mine?"
I then responded as I lay face down on the ground: "Who are you...Lord?" Then, this Voice spoke once more and said: " I AM the One you have been hunting down... like some sort of wild animal. Well, now you have found Him! First, get up to your feet when I address you! I AM here now because I have chosen you...for the purpose of proclaiming this News...you too have been found...by Me! I now want you to tell all those "bent beneath their load" in life that I AM who I said I AM! You have been chosen to confirm what has happened to you this day, and for things I will show you in the future.
I AM sending you to rescue those who are lost, both to your own people and those outside the Jewish community....the Gentiles! You are to proclaim to the Gentiles what you have seen and heard this day...that I AM alive! Through the Message you proclaim, their eyes will be opened, the Darkness will scatter, and the Light of the Good News will enter their very hearts and lives.
Those that hear the Message you proclaim...will receive forgiveness, be freed from sin, and they will be made clean and free...because of Me. This Message they receive through you will come alive in their hearts by the same power it operates in you this day...by faith!"
And so King Agrippa, I obeyed this Voice of His appearing, for I knew then as I know now...this Voice was the Voice of the Messiah...that being Jesus...of Nazareth!
After the encounter, my first stop was in Damascus, followed by my return to Jerusalem. From that point I travelled all through Judea, proclaiming this Good News...our Messiah has come...Jesus our True Messiah! I travelled on...into the lands inhabited by the Gentiles, and they too received the Message of the Messiah, everyone hearing and giving their hearts to the belief of Jesus our Messiah...and all of it done through faith!
This is why, O King Agrippa, these Jewish leaders are here in attendance today... for they too have the same thoughts I once had, prior to my "Damascus Experience"..with Him!
The people here today in this court room have tried to seize me and do away with me...much like I did with the Believers before I met Him, yet I am here to proclaim by God's Grace the Messiah has already come...has died, and now has gloriously resurrected...and His Name is Jesus...the true Messiah!
At that moment, Governor Festus suddenly shouted: "Paul! You are insane! All this study and analysis of the Scriptures have made you completely crazy! Get a grip on it man...come back to the real world!"
Yet, Paul continued and said: " Gracious and honorable Festus, what I have told you this day are not the words of a crazy man. I am not only very much sane but am completely accurate with all I have shared with you.
King Agrippa is well acquainted with the Sacred Scriptures, and as I speak with the utmost confidence in Jesus...I am here to tell you He is our Messiah! I am sure the words I speak do not mislead in any way from the writings of the Law of Moses or the Prophets, and King Agrippa is quite knowledgeable of the Scriptures and aware my words are not from some "dark or secret corner" of the Scriptures themselves."
It was at this point in the trial King Agrippa addresses Paul by saying: " Paul, do you seriously think this one conversation I have with you today have the power to influence me to become...as you worded it...a Christian?...a Believer? Do you have any idea how well-trained I am on this subject?"
Paul replies to King Agrippa with these words: " Whether it takes one conversation or many, I would to God that all men...including you my dear King...would have ears to listen to the Message this day...and become such as I... a "Believer"...a "Christian", yet without these chains I have that bind my hands and feet."
At this point, the leaders of the court arose: King Agrippa, Governor Festus, Queen Bernice, along with all those that were seated with the King, adjourned the trial while they went into another room to discuss what decisions would be required next concerning Paul.
In this meeting, it was immediately thought by all that Paul was completely innocent, and all charges brought against him were of no bearing to Paul going to prison, let alone being put to death.
In fact, King Agrippa spoke to Governor Festus and said: "Paul could be let go and given his freedom this very minute ...had he not requested to have a hearing before Caesar in Rome."
On to Rome.....
A Gleaning from the Book of Acts...chapter 26
" As the case against Paul opened that day, with King Agrippa and Queen Bernice presiding, King Agrippa says to Paul: "Go ahead, tell us about yourself."
Paul then proceeds to take his place in the trial room, raising his hand as was the custom in Paul's day...a public display of honor and respect to the king...
All these people here are acquainted with me...many have known me since childhood. Many here are also aware of my early religious training as a child in Jerusalem. These same people here today are also aware how I became...a Pharisee, the strictest sect within our own Jewish religion, and many here today are also aware of my service to the life of a...Pharisee.
The reason I have been brought here to trial is because all my hopes rest in this fact: the very fulfillment of God's promise in regards to the Jewish Messiah.. I am of a complete certainty this Messiah we look for...has already come, and we have no reason to continue to look further.
All my fellow Jewish brethren that make up the 12 tribes of Israel are of the same belief...we are on "the same page"..we are after the very same hope....the very promise made by our forefathers long ago concerning the Coming of the Messiah. Day and night the Jewish people have expressed this hope with an expectation..demonstrated through the worship and praise at our Synagogues as defined in our very Law.
Yet, it is this hope that has brought me to this very place today. The charge brought against me is this: I recognize this hope we seek, our Messiah, has already come, died, and is now risen from the dead.
Now understand, there was a time I would never had believed this way, nor given it any train of thought. In fact, I took all of our beliefs very personally, including the Coming of a Messiah. Furthermore, I took it upon myself to violently oppose anyone who 1) dared to believe our Messiah had already come, 2) believe our Messiah had come, died, and rose from the dead, and 3) anyone claiming our Messiah to be this Jesus of Nazareth...the true Jewish Messiah.
In fact, through the authority of the High Priests who serve in the Synagogue of Jerusalem, I personally sent many who laid claim to this Jesus being the Jewish Messiah...to jail! Along with this, if any of these so-called "Believers in Him" or "Christians" were to be executed for such heretical beliefs, I was right there...leading the "charge", and as a result I was very active in seeing these people put to their very death.
There were also numerous times I would have these "Believers" publicly disgraced...in our very Synagogues, hoping they would deny they ever believed in this Jesus of Nazareth being a Messiah, and hoping they would curse His very name!
In my tenacious and bitter fury toward these "Christians", I harassed, troubled, molested, and persecuted anyone that was sympathetic to this cause or joined their ranks...chasing them down to other cities and villages beyond the Gates of Jerusalem.
Until one day...King Agrippa
One day I was on a mission...to Damascus. I was after more of the "wicked and evil Believers" of the Jewish faith. I was travelling well-armed with the full blessings from the High Priests of Jerusalem....and then...
I then responded as I lay face down on the ground: "Who are you...Lord?" Then, this Voice spoke once more and said: " I AM the One you have been hunting down... like some sort of wild animal. Well, now you have found Him! First, get up to your feet when I address you! I AM here now because I have chosen you...for the purpose of proclaiming this News...you too have been found...by Me! I now want you to tell all those "bent beneath their load" in life that I AM who I said I AM! You have been chosen to confirm what has happened to you this day, and for things I will show you in the future.
I AM sending you to rescue those who are lost, both to your own people and those outside the Jewish community....the Gentiles! You are to proclaim to the Gentiles what you have seen and heard this day...that I AM alive! Through the Message you proclaim, their eyes will be opened, the Darkness will scatter, and the Light of the Good News will enter their very hearts and lives.
Those that hear the Message you proclaim...will receive forgiveness, be freed from sin, and they will be made clean and free...because of Me. This Message they receive through you will come alive in their hearts by the same power it operates in you this day...by faith!"
And so King Agrippa, I obeyed this Voice of His appearing, for I knew then as I know now...this Voice was the Voice of the Messiah...that being Jesus...of Nazareth!
After the encounter, my first stop was in Damascus, followed by my return to Jerusalem. From that point I travelled all through Judea, proclaiming this Good News...our Messiah has come...Jesus our True Messiah! I travelled on...into the lands inhabited by the Gentiles, and they too received the Message of the Messiah, everyone hearing and giving their hearts to the belief of Jesus our Messiah...and all of it done through faith!
This is why, O King Agrippa, these Jewish leaders are here in attendance today... for they too have the same thoughts I once had, prior to my "Damascus Experience"..with Him!
The people here today in this court room have tried to seize me and do away with me...much like I did with the Believers before I met Him, yet I am here to proclaim by God's Grace the Messiah has already come...has died, and now has gloriously resurrected...and His Name is Jesus...the true Messiah!
At that moment, Governor Festus suddenly shouted: "Paul! You are insane! All this study and analysis of the Scriptures have made you completely crazy! Get a grip on it man...come back to the real world!"
Yet, Paul continued and said: " Gracious and honorable Festus, what I have told you this day are not the words of a crazy man. I am not only very much sane but am completely accurate with all I have shared with you.
King Agrippa is well acquainted with the Sacred Scriptures, and as I speak with the utmost confidence in Jesus...I am here to tell you He is our Messiah! I am sure the words I speak do not mislead in any way from the writings of the Law of Moses or the Prophets, and King Agrippa is quite knowledgeable of the Scriptures and aware my words are not from some "dark or secret corner" of the Scriptures themselves."
Paul replies to King Agrippa with these words: " Whether it takes one conversation or many, I would to God that all men...including you my dear King...would have ears to listen to the Message this day...and become such as I... a "Believer"...a "Christian", yet without these chains I have that bind my hands and feet."
At this point, the leaders of the court arose: King Agrippa, Governor Festus, Queen Bernice, along with all those that were seated with the King, adjourned the trial while they went into another room to discuss what decisions would be required next concerning Paul.
In this meeting, it was immediately thought by all that Paul was completely innocent, and all charges brought against him were of no bearing to Paul going to prison, let alone being put to death.
In fact, King Agrippa spoke to Governor Festus and said: "Paul could be let go and given his freedom this very minute ...had he not requested to have a hearing before Caesar in Rome."
On to Rome.....
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