Acts 26:19-32
¹⁹ Whereupon, O king Agrippa, I was not disobedient unto the heavenly vision: ²⁰ But shewed first unto them of Damascus, and at Jerusalem, and throughout all the coasts of Judaea, and then to the Gentiles, that they should repent and turn to God, and do works meet for repentance. ²¹ For these causes the Jews caught me in the temple, and went about to kill me. ²² Having therefore obtained help of God, I continue unto this day, witnessing both to small and great, saying none other things than those which the prophets and Moses did say should come: ²³ That Christ should suffer, and that he should be the first that should rise from the dead, and should shew light unto the people, and to the Gentiles…
TRANSCRIPT
The apostle Paul had shared his testimony to king Agrippa of how he was once a zealous Jew persecuting the Christians and how Jesus had appeared to him on the road to Damascus – saved him and called him to preach the gospel to the Gentiles. In a sense, Paul was speaking about the call to salvation and the call to the ministry, which were both the sovereign call of God. To the majority of people, there is an interval between the call to salvation and the call to the ministry. What do we mean? A person, after his conversion, would grow from a spiritual babe drinking milk, as in the elementary doctrines of the Bible, to a spiritual adult eating solid food, as in the things hard to be understood. At some point God would call this person to serve Him.
If he is called to be a preacher, then he has to be trained in the Bible college, but for Paul he was uniquely different. His call to salvation and his call to the ministry occurred at the same time because he was already well versed in the Old Testament. The only problem was that he could not recognise Jesus as the Messiah so once his spiritual eyes were opened and the Lord saved him, he was ready to serve and, on top of that, the apostles were all filled with the Spirit in a most mighty way to do the Lord’s work and some to write the Holy Scriptures.
Can a person reject the call of salvation or the call to the ministry? Most certainly not. It is the irresistible grace of God. Initially the person may deny, resist or ignore that call just like Jonah who refused to go to Nineveh, but subsequently he was brought to his knees. No one would be able to resist God’s grace and mercy. In our lifetime, we have heard many wonderful testimonies of how people were saved by God’s irresistible grace. As we have mentioned in our previous message, humanly speaking, some people were the most unlikely candidates to be Christians. Perhaps of all the people on the face of this earth, the Apostle Paul was the most unlikely person to be a Christian. He was the best example of someone saved by God’s irresistible grace.
I. The Response of Paul
Tonight, we will continue with our message about Paul standing before King Agrippa – Part Three. Our first point is the response of Paul. After Paul had shared his testimony, he said in verse 19, “Whereupon, O king Agrippa, I was not disobedient unto the heavenly vision”. In other words, instead of being disobedient to the heavenly vision he had received of the Lord Jesus Christ on the road to Damascus, Paul responded by obeying God’s call to salvation and to the ministry. Do you realise that obedience is the prerequisite to the Christian faith? To the Christian life? You see if a person truly believes in God, he will acknowledge God’s authority. He will express his trust and belief in God. He will show proof that he loves God through his worship, through his services, prayer life, giving, fellowship and so forth. Essentially, he is obeying what God has commanded him to do. It is all about obedience.
Sometimes a person may profess he believes God, but we do not see any evidence of obedience in that person’s life. That is not possible because a true believer will respond in obedience, not disobedience. We are not referring to perfect obedience. No one can be perfect. But there will always be evidence of our obedience. Therefore, Paul responded in obedience and what did he do? Verse 20, “But shewed first unto them of Damascus, and at Jerusalem, and throughout all the coasts of Judaea, and then to the Gentiles, that they should repent and turn to God, and do works meet for repentance.” Firstly, Paul’s obedience led him to preach the gospel in Damascus and then he proceeded to go into Jerusalem and then throughout the regions of Judaea, and throughout his missionary journeys he reached out to the Gentiles. Wherever he went he preached the gospel message, and the message was always the same “that [the people] should repent and turn to God and do works meet for repentance”. ‘Meet’ means worthy, appropriate to be called true repentance.
Perhaps this is the best definition of the word repentance; repentance means a change of mind that results in a change of behaviour. So, when a person has truly experienced an evangelical repentance, he will change and turn to God and that turning to God will cause him to perform works worthy, appropriate to be called true repentance. That was the reason why James said in James 2:18 “Yea, a man may say, Thou hast faith, and I have works: shew me thy faith without thy works, and I will shew thee my faith by my works”. Look at verse 21 “For these causes the Jews caught me in the temple, and went about to kill me.” It was because of his obedience to the call of God that the Jews arrested him in the temple and tried to kill him. In fact, they had plotted to kill him on two occasions, but God had delivered him. His work was not yet done. That was the reason why God delivered him. You know one day you and I will have to die and when we draw our last breath that will also mean our work on this earth is done. It is finished and God will take us home.
For Paul there was still work for him to be done so God delivered him verse 22 (and 23) ”Having therefore obtained help of God, I continue unto this day, witnessing both to small and great, saying none other things than those which the prophets and Moses did say should come: That Christ should suffer, and that he should be the first that should rise from the dead, and should shew light unto the people, and to the Gentiles.” God helped Paul. He had given him strength to do the work of the ministry until this day, which means that even at this point in time when he was under house arrest, God was still helping and strengthening him as this was all part of his ministry. Sometimes the ministry will take us to different places and some of these places could be places you and I would least desire to be in. We may be persecuted, we may be tried, we may be tested. Like Paul, he was put under bonds. Although at this point in time it was not so much like an imprisonment but nonetheless, he was still restricted on his way to appeal to Caesar. The words ‘small and great’ were not references to physical statutes but rather to those people who were influential and powerful like Felix, Festus, King Agrippa and those people of low estates, maybe the servants attending to the king and the Roman governments.
Paul’s message was always the same, consistent with the prophets and Moses – a reference to the Old Testament. Whatever they had prophesied about what the Messiah would do, Paul preached. Jesus should suffer, which he did, and he should be the first that should rise from the dead. This “first” to be risen from the dead was not first in chronology. Why? Because there were others who were risen from the dead before Christ, like Lazarus for example. However, Lazarus still had to die later on. This first was first in pre-eminence.
One theologian gave this illustration. The first fruit of the harvest, without that first fruit, if you never get that first fruit, there would be no other fruits of the harvest. Christ was the first to be risen from the dead in pre-eminence, which means he surpasses all the rest who will ever be resurrected after him. He is superior to all the rest who will be resurrected after him. Without him there will be no hope of the resurrection. My friends, if our Lord Jesus was not risen from the dead there will be no hope for you and me. And because he lives, that is the reason why we will live also, because he was risen, that is the reason why we will also be raised from the dead. He is the first to be risen in pre-eminence.
II. The Response of the Critics
Our second point is “The Response of the Critics. Let us not forget that it was the Roman governor Festus who had turned to King Agrippa for help, so he was also present during this whole time. He was listening carefully to what Paul was speaking. It was up to a certain point that he could not take it anymore, because he was bewildered how an educated and intelligent man like Paul could believe Jesus of Nazareth who was crucified by the Romans. As far as the Romans were concerned, Jesus was a criminal and he died. So, how could Paul believe that a dead person could be alive, and even worse, how could he ever believe that the dead person could be speaking to him? That would be madness. Therefore verse 24 says, “And as he thus spake for himself, Festus said with a loud voice, Paul, thou art beside thyself; much learning doth make thee mad.” In other words, ‘Paul you are crazy. Your great learning has caused you to lose touch with reality. You are mad.’
Have you ever been accused of being mad? Or being a fanatic? Or crazy person? Because of your Christian faith. Maybe you tried to evangelise to your unbelieving loved ones and friends, or you tried to live a good Christian testimony in front of your colleagues or in your school, or you made some decisions that seems odd to your unbelieving friends, and people think that you are crazy. Well, take comfort. Paul was accused of being crazy. In fact, Jesus himself was also being accused of being crazy. Remember in John chapter 10 after our Lord Jesus spoke of himself being the Good Shepherd who laid down His life for His sheep. What did the people say? Let me quote for you John 10:20. “And many of them said, He hath a devil, and is mad; why hear ye him?” If he is mad, if he is crazy, why do you take time to hear this crazy person?
You and I should not be surprised if the world accuses us of being mad, crazy and a fanatic. They did the same to our Lord and Saviour Jesus Christ. Paul responded verse 25 “But he said, I am not mad, most noble Festus; but speak forth the words of truth and soberness.” On the contrary he was speaking words of soberness, which means words from a sound mind, a healthy mind, a very clear mind. He was totally in control of his senses; that is what it means.
Remember Paul was trying to evangelise to King Agrippa, so, he turned his attention to the king. Verse 26 “For the king knoweth of these things, before whom also I speak freely: for I am persuaded that none of these things are hidden from him; for this thing was not done in a corner.” In other words, Paul called King Agrippa to testify for him since the Jews believed in the resurrection, and this matter about the death and resurrection of Jesus Christ was common knowledge amongst the Jews. It was something everyone was aware of, not something hidden in secret. Surely King Agrippa would have heard about what had happened. He was aware of what had happened and the fact that he had kept quiet showed that he was confirming the truth that Paul was speaking the truth.
Then Paul boldly asked Agrippa verse 27 “King Agrippa, believest thou the prophets? I know that thou believest.” My friends, in the course of our evangelism efforts, after we have shared the gospel, there must come a point whereby we issue a direct question. Do you believe? That will create the opportunity for the person to confess his sins, turn to the Lord Jesus Christ for salvation, ask the Lord to save him so that he could receive the forgiveness of sins. If he does not believe, then we can continue to share and clarify if he has any doubts or questions. We do not want to walk away thinking that that person is saved but the reality is he’s not. So, a direct question is always essential and beneficial. Especially in evangelism. Do you believe? “I know that thou believest.”
Now King Agrippa was caught in a dilemma because if he admitted that he believed in the prophets – again a reference to the Old Testament, which as a Jew he would – that would mean the prophets had spoken about the Messiah and the resurrection. That would mean Jesus could possibly be the Messiah. If he did that, he would look very foolish in front of the Roman governor Festus. He would outrage the Jewish leaders. But on the other hand, if he were to deny the prophets, he knew that the Jews respected the prophets, whatever the prophets had said in the Old Testament. So, he was caught in a dilemma. Have you ever encountered a situation whereby you ask a question, and the person gave a seemingly indirect answer to avoid answering your question? Like for example when you ask a person simply, ‘Did you do it?’ And that person said, ‘Well, it seems as if you have already decided that I have done it’. That is what some people would do when they are caught in a dilemma. They have great difficulties to say ‘yes’ or to say ‘no’.
Therefore, King Agrippa chose to avoid answering the question directly by saying in verse 28 “Then Agrippa said unto Paul, Almost thou persuadest me to be a Christian.” The word ‘almost’ was a reference to the time, which means in a short time. It is different from the English word ‘almost’. The English word ‘almost’ means ‘nearly’ but here is a reference to a short time. In other words, King Agrippa was saying, ‘do you think, Paul, you can persuade me to be a Christian in such a short time?’
What was Paul’s response? Verse 29 “I would to God, that not only [you], but also all that hear me this day, were both” – both referring to great and small – “almost,” – in a short time– “and altogether such as I am, except these bonds.” In other words, Paul says ‘I pray to God that not only you King Agrippa but also to those who hear me in this day, your wife Bernice, Festus the Roman governor, all the important guests that came with you including the servants attending to yourself, those of low estate, everyone. I want them to be just like me. To be a believer of the Lord Jesus Christ. I want them to be just like me except my imprisonment, which means except my predicament as a prisoner. He did not wish his imprisonment to happen to anyone.’
If I can give you an illustration. Think about the picture of a father lying on his deathbed in great pain, and his children and relatives surrounding his bed, and he was evangelising to them, and he said ‘I pray that you all will come to believe in the Lord Jesus Christ. Even in this short time I spend in sharing with you the gospel that you will be just like me, a believer. I wish that you will be like me spiritually, not physically because I do not wish for you to suffer this physical affliction.’ Very similar to what Paul was referring to in verse 29. Verse 30 and 31 “And when he had thus spoken, the king rose up, and the governor, and Bernice, and they that sat with them: And when they were gone aside, they talked between themselves, saying, This man doeth nothing worthy of death or of bonds.” Festus might think of Paul as a crazy man. King Agrippa might not agree with Paul’s theology one hundred percent, especially pertaining to Jesus being the Messiah, but one thing they both would agree that Paul had done nothing worthy of death or imprisonment.
If I may put it this way, it is not a crime to be crazy or it is not a crime to believe in a dead person being risen from the grave. It is not a crime to believe that a dead person could speak and give instructions. Paul had committed no crime at all.
Verse 32 “Then said Agrippa unto Festus, This man might have been set at liberty, if he had not appealed unto Caesar.” My friends this was only half-truth. It was true that Paul had appealed to Caesar, but he had to appeal to Caesar because they lacked the courage to release him even though they knew that he was innocent. Even at this point according to the Romans’ law they could still overturn the appeal and acquit Paul, but King Agrippa did not want to take the responsibility, neither did Festus. So, all King Agrippa could say is ‘Well, it was Paul’s fault. He was the one who had appealed to Caesar, otherwise he would have been free.’
They were afraid to offend the Jewish leaders. They wanted to remain popular. They wanted to retain their jobs. One as a Roman governor, the other as the Jewish king assigned by the Romans. My friends, think about this. Is there anything that will stop you from speaking the truth? Anything that will stop you from doing the right thing? If your job is on the line or your financial situation is at a risk, or you will lose all your friends, or your physical life is in danger. Will that cause you to compromise the truth and shy away from doing the right thing? Or are you someone who will always speak the truth? Do the right thing regardless of the consequences?
Before I end, I just like to make one observation as a pastor. I do not know whether Pastor Stephen Khoo, and Reverend Biak, Reverend Lian Uk have experienced the same thing. Sometimes when things go wrong, when someone did something or said something wrong, doctrinally wrong or something is done in an unbiblical way – I am referring to something, which everyone knows is clearly wrong – the immediate reaction is that people will always turn to the minister expecting him to do something or to say something. I’ve experienced this on many occasions. Something happens, someone said something which is doctrinally wrong they would straight away turn to the pastor, expecting him to say something or do something.
What happens when the pastor is not around? The people will still turn to someone. Do you realise that? Perhaps the most mature brother or sister in Christ. If you are that person, that they will turn to when something goes wrong, then take heart. It is actually a blessing, and the reason why is because you are known as someone who will speak and stand for the truth, even in a difficult situation. No one likes to confront others, but they knew that you will and for that reason they turn to you. But you must never be like Festus and King Agrippa who took the easiest way out, put the responsibility or the blame on Paul “[you would have been freed] if [you] had not appealed unto Caesar”. When we come back, we will learn more about Paul’s situation before he goes to Rome. Let us close with a word of prayer.
Our Father in Heaven, we thank Thee for this opportunity for us to consider this portion of Scriptures. We ask of Thee to continuously teach us, help us that we will remember whatever we have learned, and to rightly apply the Word of Truth into our lives. Indeed, Thy Word is so marvellous. There are so many things we can learn, so many principles we can draw, so many examples that we can apply into our life’s situations. Help us that we be diligent students of Thy precious Word. As we study, may Thou open up our minds and help us to understand Thy truth. We give Thee thanks, and we pray all this in Jesus’ name. Amen.
SERMON OUTLINE
ACTS SERIESServing the Lord Thy GodServing the Lord Thy God1 Chronicles 28:9
Called to Be SaintsCalled to Be Saints1 Corinthians 1:1-3
The Blessings of Being a SaintThe Blessings of Being a Saint1 Corinthians 1:4-9
Divisiveness Calls for Strong ActionDivisiveness Calls for Strong Action1 Corinthians 1:10-17
The Foolishness of God is Wiser Than MenThe Foolishness of God is Wiser Than Men1 Corinthians 1:18-25
Let Us Glory in the LordLet Us Glory in the Lord1 Corinthians 1:26-31
The Wisdom of GodThe Wisdom of God1 Corinthians 2:6-16
The Natural Man and The Spiritual ManThe Natural Man and The Spiritual Man1 Corinthians 2:10-16
Are Ye Not Carnal?Are Ye Not Carnal?1 Corinthians 3:1-3
Glorify God, Not MenGlorify God, Not Men1 Corinthians 3:4-9
A Biblical View of the MinistryA Biblical View of the Ministry1 Corinthians 3:10-17
A Biblical View of the MinistryA Biblical View of the Ministry1 Corinthians 4:1-2
Message 4: Managing ResourcesMessage 4: Managing Resources1 Corinthians 4:2
Whose Evaluation Really Matters?Whose Evaluation Really Matters?1 Corinthians 4:3-5
Beware of PrideBeware of Pride1 Corinthians 4:6-8
Beware of Spiritual ImmaturityBeware of Spiritual Immaturity1 Corinthians 4:9-13
Marks of a Spiritual FatherMarks of a Spiritual Father1 Corinthians 4:14-15
Be Ye Followers of MeBe Ye Followers of Me1 Corinthians 4:16-21
Dealing with Sin in the ChurchDealing with Sin in the Church1 Corinthians 5:1-6
A Little Leaven Leaveneth the Whole LumpA Little Leaven Leaveneth the Whole Lump1 Corinthians 5:6-13
Can Believers Sue One Another?Can Believers Sue One Another?1 Corinthians 6:1-8
Such Were Some of YouSuch Were Some of You1 Corinthians 6:9-11
Not All Things Are ProfitableNot All Things Are Profitable1 Corinthians 6:12-14
The Temple of the Holy SpiritThe Temple of the Holy Spirit1 Corinthians 6:15-20
Singleness or MarriageSingleness or Marriage1 Corinthians 7:1-7
Divorce and RemarriageDivorce and Remarriage1 Corinthians 7:10-16
Be Faithful to Your CallingBe Faithful to Your Calling1 Corinthians 7:17-24
Should I Remain Single?Should I Remain Single?1 Corinthians 7:25-31
An Undivided Devotion to the LordAn Undivided Devotion to the Lord1 Corinthians 7:32-40
Knowledge is Not EnoughKnowledge is Not Enough1 Corinthians 8:1-3
Love and Christian LibertyLove and Christian Liberty1 Corinthians 8:7-13
Are You Willing to Give Up Your Rights?Are You Willing to Give Up Your Rights?1 Corinthians 9:1-14
All Things to All MenAll Things to All Men1 Corinthians 9:15-23
How to Run the Race FaithfullyHow to Run the Race Faithfully1 Corinthians 9:24-27
The Danger Of OverconfidenceThe Danger Of Overconfidence1 Corinthians 10:1-12
Encouragement in Times of TemptationEncouragement in Times of Temptation1 Corinthians 10:13
Flee From IdolatryFlee From Idolatry1 Corinthians 10:14-22
All Things are Lawful, but All Things are Not ExpedientAll Things are Lawful, but All Things are Not Expedient1 Corinthians 10:23-11:1
Submitting to God's Order and Plan (Part 1)Submitting to God's Order and Plan (Part 1)1 Corinthians 11:2-16
Submitting to God's Order and Plan (Part 2)Submitting to God's Order and Plan (Part 2)1 Corinthians 11:2-16
The Significance of the Lord's SupperThe Significance of the Lord's Supper1 Corinthians 11:17-34
A Right Understanding of Spiritual GiftsA Right Understanding of Spiritual Gifts1 Corinthians 12:1-3
Diversities of Gifts, Same SpiritDiversities of Gifts, Same Spirit1 Corinthians 12:4-11
Cessation or ContinuationCessation or Continuation1 Corinthians 12:8-12
Unity In DiversityUnity In Diversity1 Corinthians 12:12-26
Desiring the Best GiftsDesiring the Best Gifts1 Corinthians 12:27-31
Message 2: The Pre-eminence Of CharityMessage 2: The Pre-eminence Of Charity1 Corinthians 13:1-3
The Supremacy of LoveThe Supremacy of Love1 Corinthians 13:1-3
What Has Love Got to Do?What Has Love Got to Do?1 Corinthians 13:1-3
Message 1: The Preface - A Scriptural Perspective On CharityMessage 1: The Preface - A Scriptural Perspective On Charity1 Corinthians 13:1-13
