Acts Chapter 26 in Simple English

Read Acts Chapter 26

1Then Agrippa said to Paul, "You are allowed to speak for yourself." So Paul stretched out his hand and began his defence:

2"King Agrippa, I count myself fortunate that today I am to defend myself before you against all the things the Jews accuse me of."

3"This is above all because I know that you are an expert in all the customs and questions that are found among the Jews. So I beg you to listen to me patiently."

4"All the Jews know how I have lived from my youth. They know how I lived from the first among my own nation at Jerusalem."

5"They have known me from the beginning, and they could testify, if they would, that I lived as a Pharisee, in the strictest group of our religion."

6"And now I stand here on trial because of the hope of the promise God made to our fathers."

7"Our twelve tribes serve God earnestly, day and night, hoping to reach that promise. It is for this hope, King Agrippa, that I am accused by the Jews."

8"Why should you think it impossible to believe that God raises the dead?"

9"I myself once thought that I ought to do many things against the name of Jesus of Nazareth."

10"And that is what I did in Jerusalem. I received authority from the chief priests, and I shut many of the saints up in prison. When they were put to death, I gave my vote against them."

11"Again and again I punished them in every synagogue, and I forced them to blaspheme. I was so furious against them that I hunted them down even in foreign cities."

12"On such a journey I was going to Damascus with authority and orders from the chief priests."

13"At midday, O king, I saw on the road a light from heaven, brighter than the sun. It shone all around me and those travelling with me."

14"We all fell to the ground, and I heard a voice speaking to me in the Hebrew language. It said, 'Saul, Saul, why do you persecute me? It is hard for you to kick against the goads.'"

15"And I said, 'Who are you, Lord?' And he said, 'I am Jesus, whom you are persecuting."

16"'But get up and stand on your feet. I have appeared to you for this purpose: to make you a servant and a witness of the things you have seen, and of the things in which I will appear to you."

17"'I will rescue you from the people, and from the Gentiles, to whom I am now sending you."

18"'You will 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 share among those who are made holy by faith in me.'"

19"And so, King Agrippa, I did not disobey the vision from heaven."

20"I preached first to those in Damascus, and in Jerusalem, and through all the country of Judaea, and then to the Gentiles. I told them they should repent and turn to God, and do works that fit repentance."

21"For these reasons the Jews seized me in the temple and tried to kill me."

22"But God has helped me, and so I stand here to this day, witnessing to small and great alike. I say nothing except what the prophets and Moses said would come:"

23"that Christ would suffer, and that he would be the first to rise from the dead, and would bring light to the people and to the Gentiles."

24As Paul was speaking in his defence, Festus said in a loud voice, "Paul, you are out of your mind. All your learning has driven you mad."

25But Paul said, "I am not mad, most noble Festus. I am speaking words of truth and good sense."

26"The king knows about these things, and I speak freely before him. I am sure that none of these things are hidden from him, for this was not done in a corner."

27"King Agrippa, do you believe the prophets? I know that you believe."

28Then Agrippa said to Paul, "You almost persuade me to become a Christian."

29And Paul said, "I pray to God that not only you, but also all who hear me today, might become what I am, whether almost or completely - except for these chains."

30When he had said this, the king stood up, and the governor, and Bernice, and those who sat with them.

31When they had gone aside, they talked with one another and said, "This man has done nothing that deserves death or chains."

32Then Agrippa said to Festus, "This man could have been set free, if he had not appealed to Caesar."

Explanation

Acts 26

In short

Paul stands trial before King Agrippa and tells his life story: how he was once a strict Pharisee who persecuted Christians, how Jesus stopped him on the road to Damascus and called him to be a witness, and how he has been faithfully preaching ever since. He is defending himself against accusations by the Jewish leaders.

Context

Paul is a prisoner in Caesarea, awaiting trial before the Roman governor Festus. King Agrippa, a Jewish ruler, has come with his sister Bernice and other officials to hear Paul's case. Festus gives Paul permission to speak in his own defense. Paul addresses the king directly, knowing that Agrippa, as a Jew, would understand the Jewish religious hopes and practices that matter to his accusers.

What the text says

Paul says his life is known to the Jews (verses 4-5): he grew up in Jerusalem and lived as a strict Pharisee. He explains that he is on trial because of his hope in God's promise to raise the dead, the promise the twelve tribes of Israel wait for (verses 6-7). He then asks King Agrippa why it seems unbelievable that God raises the dead (verse 8).

Paul describes his former role (verses 9-11): he thought he should fight against Jesus and his followers, imprisoned them in Jerusalem with the chief priests' authority, and punished them in synagogues, pursuing them to other cities.

He recounts his conversion on the Damascus road (verses 12-15): at midday, a light from heaven brighter than the sun shone around him and his companions. He heard a voice saying "Saul, Saul, why persecutest thou me?" Jesus identified himself and told Paul he appeared to make him a minister and witness (verses 15-16).

Jesus commanded Paul to open people's eyes, turn them from darkness to light and from Satan's power to God, so they receive forgiveness and inheritance among the sanctified (verses 17-18). Paul says he obeyed this vision, preaching repentance first in Damascus, Jerusalem, and Judea, then to Gentiles (verses 19-20). He states that what he teaches agrees with the prophets and Moses (verses 22-23).

Festus interrupts, calling Paul mad (verse 24). Paul denies this, speaking truth and soberness (verse 25). He appeals to Agrippa's knowledge of these things, saying the events were not hidden (verse 26). Paul asks if Agrippa believes the prophets (verse 27).

Agrippa says Paul almost persuades him to become a Christian (verse 28). Paul replies that he wishes all who hear him, including Agrippa, would become Christians like him, except for his bonds (verse 29).

Takeaways

Paul's defense shows how his present message comes from his past: he moved from fighting Jesus to witnessing for him because Jesus appeared to him and commanded it.
The resurrection hope that got Paul in trouble is the same hope of the Jewish fathers, not something foreign to Jewish religion.
Paul's audience finds his account compelling but the legal situation remains unchanged.

Acts 26 - Simple English