ACTS 28: PAUL IN ROME

Visiting Rome was the Fulfillment of God’s Plan for him. After God had appeared to Saul on the Damascus Road and he was blinded by the light from heaven, Jesus appeared also to Ananias in Damascus and commanded him to visit Saul in Damascus and be his agent to restore Saul’s sight. When Ananias showed reluctance to go, because of Saul’s reputation, Jesus assured him with these words:

Acts 9:15-16 But the Lord said to Ananias, “Go! This man is my chosen instrument to carry my name before the Gentiles and [before] kings and before the people of Israel. 16 I will show him how much he must suffer for my name.”

These words of prediction take on meaning after you have read the rest of Luke’s narrative in Acts. We have seen repeatedly how much suffering Paul underwent. And of the threefold target audience before whom he must bear witness, the first and third (Gentiles and people of Israel) are seen in all his ministry from chapter 9 to the end of the book, and the second (kings) is fulfilled in Paul’s witness to Herod Agrippa (ch 25-26) and anticipated in his upcoming trial in Rome before Caesar, which Luke sees no need to include in Acts.

So Paul’s visit to Rome is already entailed in the prediction to Ananias of his witness to “kings”. If Ananias told Paul of the words of his vision of Jesus, which we do not know, Paul might himself have had this visit to Rome as part of his life-program.

But the earliest we have some inkling of Paul’s plan to visit is while he was in Ephesus contemplating a third missionary trip through Macedonia and Greece. About this Luke wrote:

Acts 19:21 After all this had happened, Paul decided to go to Jerusalem, passing through Macedonia and Achaia. “After I have been there,” he said, “I must visit Rome also.”

In the midst of his Greek travels, while he was in Corinth before setting out for Jerusalem, Paul wrote a letter to the churches in Rome. At the end of that letter he wrote these words:

Rom. 15:20-28 It has always been my ambition to preach the gospel where Christ was not known, so that I would not be building on someone else’s foundation. … 22 This is why I have often been hindered from coming to you. 23 But now that there is no more place for me to work in these regions [Greece, Asia Minor, Syria and Israel], and since I have been longing for many years to see you, 24 I plan to do so when I go to Spain. I hope to visit you while passing through and to have you assist me on my journey there, after I have enjoyed your company for a while. 25 Now, however, I am on my way to Jerusalem in the service of the saints there. …… 28 So after I have completed this task and have made sure that they have received this fruit, I will go to Spain and visit you on the way.

That this visit was indeed God’s plan, and not just Paul’s ambition is shown by the words of Jesus to Paul in Jerusalem:

Acts 23:11 The following night the Lord stood near Paul and said, “Take courage! As you have testified about me in Jerusalem, so you must also testify in Rome.”

And again when he was aboard the ship sailing for Rome and in danger of sinking:

Acts 27:24 [Jesus] said, ‘Do not be afraid, Paul. You must stand trial before Caesar; and God has graciously given you the lives of all who sail with you.’

While Luke thus makes it clear in several predictions he records that Paul must stand before Caesar, it was not part of his plan to describe that trial. Instead, his plan throughout not only Acts, but also his Gospel, of which Acts is merely the second part, was to show God’s faithfulness to his promises to send his salvation to his people and to the ends of the earth. This plan Luke summarized in Acts 1:7-8. Right before he ascended to heaven (ch. 1) he commissioned his believers and gave us our task while we wait for the full manifestation of the kingdom at his Second Coming. It is to be witnesses to him in Jerusalem, in Judea, Samaria and to the farthest parts of the Earth. Thinking in Roman terms, Paul probably thought of Spain as one of the farthest parts of the Roman World. But in Luke’s telling, the climax is the arrival of Paul in the center of the Roman World, the Eternal City, where people going to the farthest parts of the then known world would be available to witness to.

11-16 Arrival at Rome

Acts 28:11-16 After three months we put out to sea in a ship that had wintered in the island. It was an Alexandrian ship with the figurehead of the twin gods Castor and Pollux. 12 We put in at Syracuse and stayed there three days. 13 From there we set sail and arrived at Rhegium. The next day the south wind came up, and on the following day we reached Puteoli. 14 There we found some brothers who invited us to spend a week with them. And so we came to Rome. 15 The brothers there had heard that we were coming, and they traveled as far as the Forum of Appius and the Three Taverns to meet us. At the sight of these men Paul thanked God and was encouraged. 16 When we got to Rome, Paul was allowed to live by himself, with a soldier to guard him.

Luke is brief in his covering of the last part of Paul’s route from Caesarea to Rome. The main point in this section is the hospitality of Christians in southern Italy and in Rome. He receives a warm welcome from the believers.

And once in Rome, Paul is not incarcerated in a prison cell, not even kept together with other prisoners, but is allowed to live in his own private, rented quarters under guard by a single Roman soldier who was chained to him. This accommodation was spacious and offered the chance to entertain large gatherings of Christian friends and persons interested in hearing Paul speak about Jesus and the Kingdom of God.

16 In the circumstances of Paul’s detention in Rome under “lightened custody”, probably because of the extreme weakness of the case against him in the official Roman transcripts (litterae dimissoriae) of the trials before Felix and Festus, he had unrestricted access to visitors. We also learn from Luke that he was in a large rental house or apartment with room to entertain large numbers of visitors. (For this all see Rapske, Paul in Roman Custody, 177-189).

17-22 First Meeting with Jewish Leaders

Acts 28:17-22 Three days later he called together the leaders of the Jews. When they had assembled, Paul said to them: “My brothers, although I have done nothing against our people or against the customs of our ancestors, I was arrested in Jerusalem and handed over to the Romans. 18 They examined me and wanted to release me, because I was not guilty of any crime deserving death. 19 But when the Jews objected, I was compelled to appeal to Caesar—not that I had any charge to bring against my own people. 20 For this reason I have asked to see you and talk with you. It is because of the hope of Israel that I am bound with this chain.” 21 They replied, “We have not received any letters from Judea concerning you, and none of the brothers who have come from there has reported or said anything bad about you. 22 But we want to hear what your views are, for we know that people everywhere are talking against this sect.

Why does Paul seek as his first act upon arriving to speak specifically with Jewish leaders? In part it conforms to his regular pattern upon arriving in a new city: to visit the synagogue on the first Sabbath and to witness to “the Jew first”. Possibly this reflects what he means in Romans 1:16; 2:9-10.

But there may also be a practical reason that has to do with his upcoming trial before Nero. Had letters from the chief priests in Jerusalem reached these influential Roman Jews, giving their false accusations against him, the latter might use their wealth and influence in high places in Rome to turn the trial against Paul. It was vital that Paul make his defense first before them.

Although all English translations begin Paul’s words with the address “my brothers”, the Greek text begins with the word “I” (ego), signaling that Paul’s intention is a personal defense to these influential Jews, who “through their contacts in the imperial court and … their money, … could, if they desired, support the charges against him” (NIV Comm).

“The fact that Luke does not find it necessary to tell us [about Paul’s trial before Caesar] is a most important clue as to how we should read the conclusion of his work: the point is not the fate of Paul, but the fidelity of God. So when Paul arrives in Rome his first step is to invite the Jewish leaders to his presence. In his initial meeting with them, Paul makes clear not only his innocence of any charges worthy of death, but more importantly, his complete lack of animus against Judaism. He has not come as one bearing "a charge against my nation" (28:19). Indeed, his desire to speak at length with them has nothing to do with his own fate but with his message, which concerns "the hope of Israel" (28:20). Even after his repeated rejections by his fellow Jews which caused him to turn to the Gentiles (Acts 13:46-47;18:6), even after their seeking to kill him in Jerusalem by treachery (Acts 23:12-15), and cooptation of the Roman system (25:1-5), Paul still seeks out his own people. The reason is not his personal heroism but God 's fidelity to the promises. They have still another chance to respond.

17-20 Paul’s opening words to his Jewish visitors confidently report that the attempts by hostile Jews in Jerusalem to convict him of a crime under Roman law were completely unsuccessful because there was no substance to their charges. In saying this, he refers to the Jews with the Greek term laos which in contradistinction to the noun ethnos emphasized the holy character of Israel as the chosen people. The “customs of our ancestors” included not only OT law but also the traditions agreed upon by all branches of Judaism (remember my comments on Paul’s use of the terms “customs” and “controversies” in my posting "Ch. 25:23 - 26:32 Paul before Agrippa" comment on Acts 26:3). His preaching about the resurrection offended Sadducees, but violated no true Jewish custom. Sadducees did not exist outside of Palestine; so all of Paul’s Roman audience would be Pharisaic in nature.

So confident is he, that he claims (v. 19) he could have successfully brought counter-suit against the Jerusalem leaders on grounds of malicious prosecution.

What he may have had in mind was what Ferguson speaks of:
“As a safeguard against abuse of the system of delatio [‘denunciation, accusation’], the law provided for calumnia [‘false accusation, malicious charge’], by which a person bringing a false charge was subject to the same punishment he sought against the accused” (Ferguson, Backgrounds 65).

This principle of law is as old as the Code of Hammurabi, laws 1 and 2. Law 1 reads: “If a man accuses another man and charges him with homicide but cannot bring proof against him, his accuser shall be killed.”

This confident assertion of Paul’s was not mere unsupported bravado, but could be supported by the written evidence of the Roman trial transcripts and the litterae dimissoriae sent by Festus to Nero, copies of which may well have been in Paul’s possession as he spoke (so correctly Rapske, 184-185).

The “they” (v. 18) who had “examined” Paul were, of course, Felix and Festus. Agrippa was merely consulted by Festus in order to see if one so familiar with Jewish law could discern anything in the evidence against Paul that could be formulated into a believable charge of breach of Roman law. Here for the first time we hear that “the death penalty” was even an option. One cannot see under Roman law an offense worthy of the death penalty attributable to Paul. But under Jewish law, if he indeed had brought Gentiles into the Jerusalem temple, the Roman court would have recognized the legitimacy of the Jewish sentence of death.

V. 19 anticipates their question “Why then are you here awaiting trial?” The “objection” of the Jews took the form of requesting that Festus — as a “favor” — change the venue of trial from Caesarea to Jerusalem, where the Jews hoped to ambush and kill Paul. Because a change of venue of his trial from Caesarea to Jerusalem would have unjustly hindered his chance of a fair trial, even by Festus, Paul was “compelled” to appeal for trial in Rome. But, he reassures them, he is not here to lodge a countersuit against the Jerusalem leaders, although he could if he wished.

In verse 20 he completes the answer to “Why then are you here?” The answer “because of the hope of Israel” alludes to the Messianic Hope. There was no other “hope” known to Israel. It is significant that at this time, although Zealots and sicarii might trust in military conflict against the Roman occupying army, most of them tried to find a leader who had some claim to be the Messiah. This shows that beneath the this-wordly trust in arms, there was a tacit acknowledgment that only the Messiah sent from God could give them hope.

Behind all the camouflage of false charges against Paul he knows is only one real objection: that he fearlessly proclaims among Jews and Gentiles alike that Jesus of Nazareth, whom the leader rejected and condemned to death at Roman hands, was the risen and exalted Messiah and Son of God. But by merely alluding to this as “the hope of Israel” he hopes to arouse their curiosity and lead into a fruitful and lengthy discourse on the gospel.

In this opening address Paul also shows that his predominantly Gentile mission has not in any way blunted his passionate zeal to share the gospel with his own people, whom he still loves and has hopes for (see also Romans 9-11). He calls them “brothers” (17), refers to “(our) people” and the customs of “our fathers”.

23-28 Second Meeting with Jewish Leaders and Others

In the first meeting, with the smaller group of the most influential Jewish leaders, Paul had been assured that no letters concerning his case had been sent by the chief priests, and that the influential Jews of Rome would not intervene to jeopardize his case there. but they had told him that they had heard many bad things about "this sect", meaning the followers of Jesus. In the second much longer meeting, therefore, Paul sought to present the argument for the Messiahship of Jesus in the strongest terms possible, arguing from Old Testament prophecies fulfilled in Jesus.

Acts 28:23 They arranged to meet Paul on a certain day, and came in even larger numbers to the place where he was staying. From morning till evening he explained and declared to them the kingdom of God and tried to convince them about Jesus from the Law of Moses and from the Prophets. 24 Some were convinced by what he said, but others would not believe. 25 They disagreed among themselves and began to leave after Paul had made this final statement:

“The Holy Spirit spoke the truth to your forefathers when he said through Isaiah the prophet: 26 “‘Go to this people and say, “You will be ever hearing but never understanding; you will be ever seeing but never perceiving.” For this people’s heart has become calloused; they hardly hear with their ears, and they have closed their eyes. Otherwise they might see with their eyes, hear with their ears, understand with their hearts and turn, and I would heal them.’ 28 “Therefore I want you to know that God’s salvation has been sent to the Gentiles, and they will listen!”

The effort Paul expends in that second conference is extraordinary: from morning to evening he argues the case for Jesus. As we would expect, he bases his appeal on "the Law and the Prophets" (28:23). The response is mixed. Some of the Jewish leaders are positively inclined, some are disbelieving (28:24).

If you think that in verses 25-28 Paul is here finally turning from the Jews and declaring them hopeless, think again! If you think he is here rejecting his own Jewish identity, you are also wrong. The harsh warning he delivers here is a quote from Isaiah 6. It was God’s words to a Jewish prophet Isaiah at his commissioning to minister to a hard-hearted people, not to give up on them, but to warn them. Paul speaks here as a Jewish prophet would, with a compassionate heart. His warning is not intended to banish them from God’s mercy in Jesus, but to sternly warn them that they can do that for themselves. There is every reason to believe that Paul continued to witness to his fellow Jews for the rest of his life, as in fact Isaiah, to whom God had originally addressed these words, did. Isaiah had responded to this discouraging view of his hard-hearted Israelite audience by asking "How long [will this attitude persist]?" To which god had answered: until their cities are laid waste and they are carried away to distant lands. It is striking that pretty much the same fate awaited the Jewish leaders in Jerusalem. Not many years later the Romans would destroy Jerusalem and its temple and carry many Jews prisoner to other lands in dispersion.

Paul's firm expectation was that God would eventually lift the blindness from their eyes as a nation, even as Jesus had indicated in his tearful warnings to Jerusalem.

And so, in Luke’s vision, as in Paul’s also, as reflected in Romans 9-11, there is no final rejection of Israel, only a severe warning to her not to continue to harden her heart to the gospel of the Messiah. As Paul writes in Romans,

Rom. 11:25-25 I do not want you to be ignorant of this mystery, brothers, so that you may not be conceited: Israel has experienced a hardening in part until the full number of the Gentiles has come in. 26 And so all Israel will be saved, as it is written: “The deliverer will come from Zion; he will turn godlessness away from Jacob”.

Israel’s “hardening” or blindness is not total ("in part"), for there will always be some who believe throughout history. And this blindness is temporary, for once “the full number of the Gentiles has come in”, God will turn again to his ancient people and open their eyes as a nation, resulting in a blessing on the world that will be unprecedented. Luke does not need to refer to God's intention to some day lift the blindness of Israel here, since he has already done so by recording his his Gospel the words of Jesus to that effect:

Luke 13:34-35 [Jesus said:] “O Jerusalem, Jerusalem, you who kill the prophets and stone those sent to you, how often I have longed to gather your children together, as a hen gathers her chicks under her wings, but you were not willing! 35 Look, your house is left to you desolate. I tell you, you will not see me again until you say, ‘Blessed is he who comes in the name of the Lord.’’”

Luke 19:41-44 As he approached Jerusalem and saw the city, he wept over it 42 and said, “If you, even you, had only known on this day what would bring you peace—but now it is hidden from your eyes. 43 The days will come upon you when your enemies will build an embankment against you and encircle you and hem you in on every side. 44 They will dash you to the ground, you and the children within your walls. They will not leave one stone on another, because you did not recognize the time of God’s coming to you.”

Luke 21:24 They will fall by the sword and will be taken as prisoners to all the nations. Jerusalem will be trampled on by the Gentiles until the times of the Gentiles are fulfilled.

Luke ends his account of God’s dealings with Israel through Jesus and the Apostles on this note of severe and stern warning, but also on a note of ultimate hope.

30-31 Final view of Paul

Acts 28:30 For two whole years Paul stayed there in his own rented house and welcomed all who came to see him. 31 Boldly and without hindrance he preached the kingdom of God and taught about the Lord Jesus Christ.

“The final sight Luke gives us of Paul is, in this reading, entirely satisfactory. Absolutely nothing hinges on the success or failure of Paul's defense before Caesar, for Luke 's apologetic has not been concerned primarily with Paul's safety or even the legitimacy of the Christian religion within the empire. What Luke was defending he has successfully concluded: God 's fidelity to his people and to his own word. And that point concluded, the ending of Acts is truly an opening to the continuing life of the messianic people, as it continues to preach the kingdom and teach the things concerning Jesus both boldly and with out hindrance, knowing now that although increasingly Gentile in its growth, its roots are deep within the story of people to whom God 's prophets have unfailingly been sent” (Johnson, 476).

Ch. 27 - 28:16 (WH)

11 “In making this request, Paul affirms his Roman citizenship and Roman identity, for it is his status as a citizen that affords him the right to have his case heard in Rome. Thus, when his request is granted, Paul embarks for Rome not as a lowly marturos but as a Romaios. In doing so, he wins a change of venue not only for himself, but for the Church as well. Jesus did not step beyond the sacred circle of Israel, but Paul travels in other circles” (Earl Schwartz, 'The Trials of Jesus and Paul', Journal of Law and Religion, 9/2 (1992), 501-13).

Ch. 25:23 - 26:32 Paul before Agrippa

25:23-27 Festus’ invitation to Agrippa to question Paul.

22-23 The Scene

In this chapter Luke introduces us to another prominent figure in the history of the Jews in the First Century: Herod Agrippa II. About him F. F. Bruce gives the following helpful summary:

“After the death of his father, Herod Agrippa I, in A.D. 44 the younger Agrippa, then seventeen years old, was judged by Claudius and his advisers too immature to be appointed king of the Jews in his place, but he was given a less unmanageable district farther north to rule with the title of king, and at the present time his kingdom comprised the former tetrarchies of Philip and Lysanias, east and north of the Lake of Galilee, together with the cities of Tiberius and Tarichaeae west of the Lake, and Julias in Peraea, with their surrounding villages. His capital was Caesarea Philippi (now Banyas), which he renamed Neronias as a compliment to the Emperor Nero. In addition to his royal dignity, he enjoyed from AD 48 to 66 the privilege of appointing (and deposing) high priests of Israel” (Bruce, Paul: Apostle of the Heart Set Free 364-65).

This hearing was held in the ἀκροατήριον audience hall (Lat. auditorium) of the procurator, of the palace in Caesarea with much pageantry (μετὰ πολλῆς φαντασίας) and ceremony.

“Luke describes Agrippa and Bernice as entering the audience chamber of Herod the great’s palace in Caesarea 'with great pomp,' accompanied by a procession of 'high ranking officers and the leading men of the city.' The Romans always knew how to process well. The sight of Agrippa’s royal robes, Bernice’s finery, and the military and civil dignitaries decked out in their official attire doubtless overwhelmed those unaccustomed to such displays” (NIV Comm.).

"With all the high–ranking officers and the leading men of the city present as well as the king and queen, this provided the new governor with what today would be considered a ‘photo opportunity’" (IVP-NBC).

Paul, then, has been brought to speak before King Agrippa and others so they might help Festus know what to write in his letter of report. Paul has especially been brought before Agrippa, so that after Paul has been examined by the entire body, Festus will be better prepared to make his report, called litterae dimissoriae sive apostoli (in Digest 49.6.1).

The contrast between the spectacular display of royal attire and Roman military on the one hand and Paul’s appearing in ordinary clothes and bound with a chain must have been striking. Luke undoubtedly wishes us to see the irony. Paul serves a much more glorious king, the risen Jesus.

“The pretense that Festus needs still an other hearing so that he could have something definite to write in a letter accompanying Paul to Rome is transparent (Acts 25:26). He surely had enough of the ‘facts’ (such as they were) by this time. But we are to understand in his deference and referral to Agrippa a very clever political maneuver. Agrippa II and his sister Bernice were, after all, the perfect powers to consult and co-opt. On one side they represented the Jews. On the other side, they were ardent clients of the Roman state, and familiar with Caesar's family” (Johnson, Acts 427f).

“Paul is therefore placed before a first century ‘show trial’ that is part entertainment for the guests, part a subtle political maneuver. Indeed, Agrippa and Bernice are made to play for Festus exactly the role taken by Herod in the trial of Jesus (Luke 23:6-12). For the Jewish king, there is the reward of political flattery and deference: the Romans recognize his importance! For the procurator, there is a sharing of responsibility: that's what friends are for (see Luke 23:12)!” (Johnson 428).

The scene and the portrayal of the key characters is thoroughly authentic. Festus acts precisely as a moderately educated upwardly mobile Roman provincial governor would. Unlike both Paul and Agrippa, he is thoroughly pagan, but diplomatic, polite, sensitive to the beliefs of those he attempts to govern, and politically savvy. His language is politically correct: referring to the emperor Nero in v. 25 as “the revered (or august) one” (Greek τὸν Σεβαστὸν, = Roman Augustus), and in v. 26 as “the lord” (τῷ κυρίῳ), implying the emperor’s divine status claimed by Nero and his successors (not “my lord” as in ESV; NIV’s “His Majesty” comes a little closer to the idea). There is a good deal of posturing and play-acting going on, but Luke does not overdraw it so as to make fun of these prominent people.

24-25 Festus explains his previous actions regarding Paul

26-27 Festus explains “why we are here today”.

He needs something to write to Nero, in particular he needs specific charges against Paul. In a Jewish trial the defendant was not obligated to say anything in his own defense, lest he inadvertently incriminate himself: the burden of proof was always on the accusers, who had to produce two or more witnesses whose testimony agreed fully. But in a Roman trial the accused could be required to speak. Paul understood that, as did Agrippa.

26:1-23 Paul’s speech before Agrippa

1-3 Then Agrippa said to Paul, “You have permission to speak for yourself.” So Paul motioned with his hand and began his defense: 2 “King Agrippa, I consider myself fortunate to stand before you today as I make my defense against all the accusations of the Jews, 3 and especially so because you are well acquainted with all the Jewish customs and controversies. Therefore, I beg you to listen to me patiently.

1-3 Opening words of Paul to Agrippa. Polite and confident. Paul had every reason to expect a fair hearing from Agrippa, who even better than Felix had knowledge of the Jewish religious reasons for the charges against him. With all the hypersensitivity today toward ethnic slurs, a reader today would wonder why Paul (who is himself a Jew), speaking to Agrippa (likewise a Jew) calls his accusers “the Jews” (v. 2-3). But there is no denigration implied by this usage. And in the first instance (v. 2) the Greek lacks the definite article, so that it should be translated not “accusations of the Jews (as a group)”, but “accusations lodged by Jews”, meaning accusations of actions violating specifically Jewish religious laws, not Roman civil ones. Paul wants a fair and informed decision, not a rash and emotional one.

In v. 3 Paul acknowledges Agrippa’s familiarity with Jewish customs (ἐθοι) and controversies (ζητήματα). Both are important: the customs (matters all Jews agreed upon), since Paul was accused of violating Jewish purity laws, and the controversies (matters which distinguished the various sects within Judaism: Pharisees, Sadducees, etc), since Paul has claimed — and will do so again — that it is the Sadducean denial of the doctrine of resurrection that lies at the base of the charges against him and the rejection of the fundamental fact of Paul’s gospel: the bodily resurrection of Jesus.

Though he stands in the presence of a whole hall-full of dignitaries, Jewish and Roman, it is to the Jewish King Agrippa, that Paul specifically directs his remarks and his arguments. Several times he addresses Agrippa directly with rhetorical questions (vv. 7-8, 13, 19, 26-27).

4 “The Jews all know the way I have lived ever since I was a child, from the beginning of my life in my own country, and also in Jerusalem. 5 They have known me for a long time and can testify, if they are willing, that according to the strictest sect of our religion, I lived as a Pharisee. 6 And now it is because of my hope in what God has promised our fathers that I am on trial today. 7 This is the promise our twelve tribes are hoping to see fulfilled as they earnestly serve God day and night. O king, it is because of this hope that the Jews are accusing me. 8 Why should any of you consider it incredible that God raises the dead? 9 “I too was convinced that I ought to do all that was possible to oppose the name of Jesus of Nazareth. 10 And that is just what I did in Jerusalem. On the authority of the chief priests I put many of the saints in prison, and when they were put to death, I cast my vote against them. 11 Many a time I went from one synagogue to another to have them punished, and I tried to force them to blaspheme. In my obsession against them, I even went to foreign cities to persecute them.

As he explained previously in his defense against the Jewish prosecutor Tertullus, Paul’s argues the improbability of the charges against him in the light of his well-known previous behavior, not just in the past two years of his life but from childhood. Though born in Tarsus, Paul had spent his childhood and young adulthood in Jerusalem, where he had studied under Gamaliel, one of the most highly-regarded rabbis of his day. Paul's life from his youth up was well known to the Jewish populace, and in fact that in defense of orthodox Judaism he had led the persecution of the believers in Jesus (verses 9 and following).

And against the charge that he has made a complete turnabout he insists that it is the very doctrine which forms the center of Pharisaism, as opposed to Sadducee beliefs—namely the resurrection of the dead—that led him to faith in the resurrected Jesus! It is Paul, not his opponents, who is the true Pharisee! His challenging question in v. 8 “Why should any of you consider it incredible that God raises the dead?” was directed to a mixed audience of Jewish Sadducees, Pharisees and pagan Romans. All but the Pharisees would definitely reject the idea. Pagan Greeks and Romans acknowledged that the soul survived after death, but thought ridiculous the idea that a dead and decayed body could be restored to life.

It should be observed that the Sadducees rejected resurrection not because they believed God was powerless to raise dead people, but because they believed that there was no evidence in the Pentateuch that he ever did so or intended to do so in the future. To the Sadducees, the rest of our Old Testament was not inspired Scripture on the same level as the books of Moses.

9-11 Paul describes his earlier opposition to the Christians, which he even characterizes as an “obsession” (v. 11 NIV, περισσῶς ἐμμαινόμενος, cf. μαίνομαι “be driven to insanity by a god”). As this former obsession drove Paul to go to foreign cities to suppress Christianity, so his new obsession (cf. what Festus says in v. 24 εἰς μανίαν περιτρέπει) drives him all over the Greco-Roman world to spread the Christian gospel. Paul is arguing that, despite the apparent complete reversal of his life course, there is in fact a deep, underlying continuity. The continuity is the desire to follow the God of Israel, who has now shown himself fully in the Messiah Jesus of Nazareth, whom he raised from the dead. Paul in not insane: he is wholly committed to the faith of his fathers.

“On one of these journeys I was going to Damascus with the authority and commission of the chief priests. 13 About noon, O king, as I was on the road, I saw a light from heaven, brighter than the sun, blazing around me and my companions. 14 We all fell to the ground, and I heard a voice saying to me in Aramaic,‘Saul, Saul, why do you persecute me? It is hard for you to kick against the goads.’ 15 “Then I asked, ‘Who are you, Lord?’ “‘I am Jesus, whom you are persecuting,’ the Lord replied. 16 ‘Now get up and stand on your feet. I have appeared to you to appoint you as a servant and as a witness of what you have seen of me and what I will show you. 17 I will rescue you from your own people and from the Gentiles. I am sending you to them 18 to open their eyes and turn them from darkness to light, and from the power of Satan to God, so that they may receive forgiveness of sins and a place among those who are sanctified by faith in me.’ 19 “So then, King Agrippa, I was not disobedient to the vision from heaven. 20 First to those in Damascus, then to those in Jerusalem and in all Judea, and to the Gentiles also, I preached that they should repent and turn to God and prove their repentance by their deeds. 21 That is why the Jews seized me in the temple courts and tried to kill me. 22 But I have had God’s help to this very day, and so I stand here and testify to small and great alike. I am saying nothing beyond what the prophets and Moses said would happen— 23 that the Christ would suffer and, as the first to rise from the dead, would proclaim light to his own people and to the Gentiles.”

In vv. 12-18 Paul reaches the climax of his story: the light from heaven and the voice of the resurrected and ascended Jesus appointing him as a “servant and witness” to “what you have seen of me and what I will show you”. Paul went to Damascus “with the authority and commission of the chief priests” (some of whom were sitting there hearing Paul now), but now he has gone throughout Syria, Asia Minor and Greece, and hopes to go to Rome with the authority and commission of the ascended Jesus. To those sitting in that hall to examine him—Jewish accusers and Roman custodians—he reports Jesus’ promise: “I will rescue you from your own people and from the Gentiles” (v. 17). Of course, that had been being fulfilled ever since the Damascus Road appearance, but it was also ironically being fulfilled at the very moment Paul was speaking (see v. 22).

The “them” to whom Jesus said he was sending Paul included both his own people (the Jews) and the Gentiles (v. 23), and it included everyone sitting in that hall. The words are very strong: to “open their (blind) eyes and turn them from darkness to light, and from the power of Satan to God”. Paul’s “defense” has turned into an extremely powerful presentation of the gospel, entailing an indictment of his entire audience.

26:24-29 Paul’s interchange with Festus and Agrippa

At this point Festus interrupted Paul’s defense. “You are out of your mind, Paul!” he shouted. “Your great learning is driving you insane.” 25 “I am not insane, most excellent Festus,” Paul replied. “What I am saying is true and reasonable. 26 The king is familiar with these things, and I can speak freely to him. I am convinced that none of this has escaped his notice, because it was not done in a corner. 27 King Agrippa, do you believe the prophets? I know you do.” 28 Then Agrippa said to Paul, “Do you think that in such a short time you can persuade me to be a Christian?” 29 Paul replied, “Short time or long—I pray God that not only you but all who are listening to me today may become what I am, except for these chains.”

It may have been the bold assertion that God raised Jesus from the dead or the obvious inclusion of the Romans in the audience among those to be turned from blindness and darkness to the light (whether or not these pagans understood who Satan was!) that caused Festus to interrupt Paul in mid-speech and to exclaim that he must be insane.

Paul’s reply (v. 25) is courteous—addressing the Roman as “most excellent Festus”—but firm: “I am not insane … what I am saying is both true and reasonable”. It is true because there are hundreds of eyewitnesses to substantiate the occurrence, and it is reasonable because it conforms to Old Testament and Pharisaic expectation that God would raise the righteous dead in the End Times, and with Jesus as the beginning the End Times are prefigured, if not inaugurated.

Paul then turns to Agrippa to offer to Festus substantiation: “the king is familiar with these things [both the testimony of Judean eyewitnesses to the empty tomb, and the OT predictions of resurrection and the Pharisaic doctrines]”, and none of this [reports of Jesus’ resurrection] has escaped his notice, because it was not done in a corner”.

Agrippa’s hasty reply (v. 28) to Paul’s question if he “believed the prophets”, that is, that they predicted Jesus as the Messiah (v. 27), needs to be reflected upon: “Do you think that in such a short time you can persuade me to be a Christian?” First of all, Paul had not used the term “Christian” in his appeal, nor did most Jewish believers at this time. The term was used by outsiders of believers in Jesus, and mainly in Antioch and other gentile centers. Agrippa can only be using the term here as mild disdain. Secondly, he may have known of Paul’s many “serious talks” with Felix in the vain attempt to bring him to faith. He may also allude to the lengthy training that young Jews underwent in order to become well-informed Pharisees or Sadducees. Thirdly, his answer reflects ignorance of how people become believers in Jesus: they are not “persuaded” by human logic, but convicted of the truth by the Holy Spirit, who may or may not use a Christian’s words of testimony.

26:29 Paul ignores the third point about “persuading”, but picks up on the first two when he says “Short time or long—I pray God that not only you [Agrippa] but all who are listening to me today [Festus, Jewish leaders, Roman military] may become what I am, except for these chains”, i.e., Paul would love for them to become believers and forthright witnesses.

26:30-32 Festus & Agrippa discuss their conclusions regarding Paul

The king rose, and with him the governor and Bernice and those sitting with them. 31 They left the room, and while talking with one another, they said, “This man is not doing anything that deserves death or imprisonment.” 32 Agrippa said to Festus, “This man could have been set free if he had not appealed to Caesar.

Agrippa is the center of attention, and protocol dictated that he should rise first to signal to all others in the room that they should rise and leave. Agrippa then discussed with Festus, and perhaps with others as well (“while talking with one another”), his impressions of Paul’s testimony. He could only conclude that there was no basis for any charge deserving of either imprisonment or death. He felt it unfortunate that Paul’s appeal to Caesar now prevented him from immediate release. But to Paul that circumstance was part of God’s plan, which would have desirable consequences.

Theologically, one has to ask what Luke is trying to say regarding Israel's condition at this point in his narrative? Has the end been reached? Johnson (Acts 407) says “no”:

“The string has not run out entirely. There will be more debate and defense in the presence of the Jewish leaders. In Rome Paul will even find some partial acceptance by the local leaders (Acts 28:24). But the official Jewish leadership represented by the chief priest and council shows itself to be what it had been from the beginning: closed to the message of the prophet whom God had raised up, envious of the success found by this message among those outside, and moved to murderous rage against its most prominent preachers.”

Johnson furthermore adds:

“The message is clear. If the Christians are to argue what they regard as their legitimate claims to represent the authentic Israel, it will not be possible within the context of direct confrontation with the Jewish leadership. which has shown itself not only unwilling to hear those claims but unwilling to let those making them continue to live. Any debate or defense can take place only within the protection offered by the Roman order . The tragic dimensions of this are clear, if we observe that the identity Paul claims only as an expedient (his Roman citizenship) secures him safety and a hearing based on a recognition of that right, whereas the identity Paul claims to be his own with all sincerity for his entire life (his Jewish heritage) is utterly rejected, and he is given no fair hearing by the leaders of his own people.”