Paul's defense before Agrippa becomes an invitation. He explains the hope that changed him and desires that even the powerful people hearing his case would come to share it.
Read Acts 26 in the ESV, alongside Understanding Acts.
The disputed hope belongs within Israel's story
Read Acts 26:1–11.
Paul asks Agrippa to listen patiently because he knows the customs and controversies involved. He then describes his former life as a Pharisee and frames the case around God's promise to Israel.
Why is it thought incredible that God raises the dead? Paul begins with what the power and faithfulness of God make possible. Resurrection is not an incidental detail added to an otherwise unchanged life; it explains why he now identifies Jesus as Lord.
He admits that he once considered opposition to Jesus his duty. He imprisoned believers, approved their deaths, and tried to force them to blaspheme. His certainty about being right produced grave wrong.
That admission challenges the assumption that strong conviction validates itself. Paul needed more than increased enthusiasm. He needed to encounter the truth that judged and redirected his enthusiasm.
The risen Jesus appoints a witness
Read Acts 26:12–18.
Paul recounts the Damascus encounter, including Jesus's words about resisting the goads. The image describes painful resistance to a force directing one's way. Within the account, Saul's campaign has set him against the Lord he imagines himself to be serving.
Jesus appoints him as a servant and witness. The commission includes turning people from darkness to light and from Satan's power to God, so that they receive forgiveness and a place among those sanctified by faith in Jesus.
The description is far richer than self-improvement. It concerns a changed allegiance, reconciliation with God, and belonging among His people. Grace gives the former persecutor both forgiveness and a task.
Paul does not possess the power to open spiritual eyes independently of God. His work as a witness serves the Lord who sends him. The imagery must never become a reason to coerce people as though force could create faith.
Repentance produces a fitting way of life
Read Acts 26:19–23.
Paul says he responded obediently to the vision and called people to repent, turn to God, and act in ways consistent with repentance. The deeds are the fitting expression of a changed direction, not a payment by which grace is purchased.
The mission includes people near and far, Jewish and Gentile, socially small and great. Standing before rulers has not changed the core of the message he gives ordinary people.
The help that comes from God. Paul attributes his continued witness to divine help, even while he is still imprisoned. Help has sustained the testimony rather than immediately ending every hardship.
He again connects the message to Moses and the prophets: the Messiah would suffer, rise, and announce light to Israel and the nations. Calling Christ the first to rise points to the decisive resurrection life inaugurated in Him. It is not a denial that Scripture narrates earlier restorations to mortal life.
The foundation on Resurrection explains why the risen Jesus is the source of the church's hope rather than simply one more unusual event in its history.
A courteous answer keeps the invitation open
Read Acts 26:24–29.
Festus interrupts, accusing Paul of madness. Paul answers respectfully and insists that his words are true and reasonable. He does not respond to the insult by abandoning either his dignity or his claim.
He appeals to Agrippa's knowledge of the events and belief in the prophets. The message concerns a public story, not merely a private feeling beyond discussion.
Agrippa asks whether Paul expects to persuade him to become a Christian in so short a time. The tone of the question has been interpreted differently, and Luke does not disclose his heart. It would be too confident to claim that he is certainly on the verge of conversion or certainly incapable of considering it.
Paul's reply is clear: he desires that everyone hearing him might share his faith, except for his chains. He does not wish his suffering on them. His desire for their good remains larger than his resentment over their power.
Recognition of innocence does not end the journey
Read Acts 26:30–32.
The rulers conclude that Paul has done nothing deserving death or imprisonment. Agrippa observes that he could have been released had he not appealed to Caesar.
This statement records their assessment at this point; it does not require us to conclude that Paul's earlier appeal was a faithless mistake. He made it amid an unresolved threat, and the narrative has already placed Rome within the Lord's purpose for his witness.
Acts leaves the hearing with both truths in view: Paul should not be treated as a criminal, and his journey under guard will continue. A faithful testimony can matter even when it does not immediately change the speaker's circumstances.
Words of Wisdom: Speak with a desire for your hearer's good, even when that person holds power over you.
A Prayer: Risen Lord, make my convictions truthful and my speech generous. Help me admit where I have been wrong, live in keeping with repentance, and desire Your grace for people who misunderstand me. Amen.
A shorter reflection: Desire the Good of Your Hearer.
What is one thing you want to remember?
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