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Acts Chapter
Twenty-six
I.
Content of the Chapter
Paul’s Witness before King Agrippa
II.
Paul’s answer:
A. The polite introduction (v.2-3).
B. He confessed himself that he was of
the strictest sect of the Pharisees (v.4-5).
C. Today he was judged for the hope of
resurrection (v.6-8).
D. He tried his best to persecute the
disciples of Jesus previously (v.9-11).
E. He was enlightened by the Lord on the
journey to
F. He was entrusted by the Lord
(v.16-18).
G. He fulfilled his ministry according
to the heavenly vision and was persecuted by the Jews (v.19-23).
III. The result of the witness:
A. Festus held that Paul was beside
himself (v.24).
B. Paul held that he spoke the words of
truth and reason freely (v.25-27).
C. King Agrippa held that Paul wanted to
persuade him to become a Christian (v.28).
D. Paul answered that he would to God
that all who hear him might become both almost and altogether such as he was
(v.29).
E. The King and the governor had gone
aside and talked among themselves
saying
that he was innocent (v.30-32).
II.
Verse by Verse commentary
Acts. 26:1 “Then Agrippa said to
Paul
‘You are permitted to speak
for yourself.’ So Paul stretched out his
hand and answered for himself:”
YLT: “And Agrippa said
unto Paul
`It is permitted to thee to speak for thyself;' then Paul having
stretched forth the hand
was making a defence:”
Literal Meaning: “You are permitted to speak
for yourself” It is a formal
hearing and probably Festus the governor let King Agrippa take charge of it and
therefore he could make such instruction.
“So Paul stretched out his hand and
answered for himself” “Stretching out
his hand” is the gesture of rendering a salute. The following words from v.2 to
v.23 were Paul’s third answer (See Acts. 22:3-21; 24:10-21).
Acts. 26:2 “‘I
think myself happy
King Agrippa
because today I shall answer for myself
before you concerning all the things of which I am accused by the Jews
”
YLT: “`Concerning all
things of which I am accused by Jews
king Agrippa
I have thought myself
happy
being about to make a defence before thee to-day
”
Literal Meaning: “I shall answer for myself
before you” In the original
“before you” is with the tone of emphasis.
“I think myself happy” Though it was the politeness
it was of
the sincere exclamation without any adulation. The reason why Paul made such
exclamation may be that Festus the Roman governor was ignorant about the faith
of the Jews and Christians and he could not know it thoroughly so that Paul
answered for himself just like playing the lute to a cow (See v.24; Acts.
25:19). Please note that the emphasis of Paul’s answer before Festus the
governor was his uprightness and innocence in the law (See Acts. 25:8
10-11).
However
before King Agrippa who was familiar with the Jewish customs and
questions (See v.3)
he stressed on testifying the experience of his being
saved and the orthodoxy of the faith (See v.4-23).
Acts. 26:3 “especially because you
are expert in all customs and questions which have to do with the Jews.
Therefore I beg you to hear me patiently.”
YLT: “especially knowing
thee to be acquainted with all things -- both customs and questions -- among
Jews; wherefore
I beseech thee
patiently to hear me.”
Meaning of Words: “especially”:
chiefly
most of all; “expert”: knower; “customs”: manner
tradition.
The
Background: “you are expert in all
customs and questions which have to do with the Jews” King Agrippa was the famous specialist in the
Jewish religious problems. Besides other powers
King Agrippa had the right to
appoint the Jewish high priests and was responsible for taking care of the
ceremonial dress that the high priest wore in the annual Day of Atonement. And
therefore sometimes he was called “the senior officer in the Jewish church”.
Enlightenment in the Word:
1) Though Christians do not flatter others
we
should not neglect the politeness.
2) We should walk in wisdom toward those who are
outside and let our speech always be with grace (Col. 4:5-6).
Acts. 26:4 “‘My
manner of life from my youth
which was spent from the beginning among my own
nation at
YLT: “`The manner of my
life then
indeed
from youth -- which from the beginning was among my nation
in
“My manner of life from my youth…all
the Jews know” Paul had performed
excellently from his youth (Gal. 1:14) and therefore many fellow citizens all
knew him.
Acts. 26:5 “They knew me from the
first
if they were willing to testify
that according to the strictest sect of
our religion I lived a Pharisee.”
YLT: “knowing me before
from the first
(if they may be willing to testify
) that after the most exact
sect of our worship
I lived a Pharisee;”
Meaning of Words: “religion”:
ceremonial observance
piety
worshipping; “sect”: party
disunion
heresy.
Literal Meaning: “that according to the
strictest sect of our religion I lived a Pharisee” “Our religion” refers to Judaism; “the Pharisees”
was a party with the pure faith in the Judaic sects and they strictly obeyed
the Law of Moses.
Acts. 26:6 “And now I stand and am
judged for the hope of the promise made by God to our fathers.”
YLT: “and now for the
hope of the promise made to the fathers by God
I have stood judged
”
Literal Meaning: “the promise made by God to
our fathers” refers to what God
had promised to Abraham
Isaac and Jacob that in his seed shall all families of
the earth be blessed. This promise was fulfilled upon our Lord Jesus
Christ.
To the Jews
what God had
promised is that the Messiah would come to save them. To Paul
the resurrection
of the Lord Jesus shows that He is the Messiah whom he hoped and he declared
that he had resurrected. The zealous ones in Judaism could not bear these two
things and therefore Paul was accused by his fellow citizens.
Acts. 26:7 “To this promise our
twelve tribes
earnestly serving God night and day
hope to attain. For this
hope's sake
King Agrippa
I am accused by the Jews.”
YLT: “to which our twelve
tribes
intently night and day serving
do hope to come
concerning which hope
I am accused
king Agrippa
by the Jews;”
Literal Meaning: “our twelve tribes” refers to all the Jews.
“Earnestly serving God night and day
hope to attain” Anna the prophetess was a good example (Luke.
2:37).
Enlightenment in the Word:
1) The leaders in Judaism and Paul all hoped in
what God had promised to their fathers
however
they understood the promise
differently and therefore they accused Paul. Today in Christianity
many
so-called Bible scholars knew the Bible according to letters and were
sufficient in the spirit of the Bible
however
they were stubborn and
criticized and attacked others’ opinions wantonly.
2) The Lord’s servants should not only be
“faithful” in “earnestly serving God night and day” but also “be wise” (Matt.
24:45) so that they would not misunderstand the Lord and “begin to smite his
fellow servants” (Matt. 24:49).
3) The world has no hope
and without God in the
world (Eph. 2:12)
however
we trust in the living God
who is the
Savior of those that believe (1Tim. 4:10). Since we have such hope
we should
be diligent and earnestly serve God night and day.
Acts. 26:8 “Why should it be thought
incredible by you that God raises the dead?”
YLT: “why is it judged
incredible with you
if God doth raise the dead?”
Literal Meaning: “God raises the dead” It indicates that God raises Jesus from
the dead (Rom. 4:24).
“Why should it be thought incredible by
you” The word “you” should refer to all the
people who heard it
including King Agrippa
Festus the governor
Bernice
the
chief captains
and principal men of the city (Acts.25:23).
Enlightenment in the Word:
1) But if there is no resurrection of the dead
then Christ is not risen. And if Christ is not risen
then our preaching is
empty and your faith is also empty (1Cor. 15:13-14
16-17).
2) Believing that Jesus Christ resurrected from the
dead is the foundation stone of the faith of Christianity and the word of the
beginning of Christ (See v.23; Heb. 6:1-2).
3) Christians are the witnesses of the Lord’s
resurrection (Acts. 3:15) and therefore we should have the assured vision and
faith towards the Lord’s resurrection and then we are able to bear witness
well.
4) Since we have the same spirit of faith
we know
that He who raised up the Lord Jesus will also raise us up with Jesus
and will
present us with all the Saints (1Cor. 4:13-14).
Acts. 26:9 “‘Indeed
I myself thought I must do many things contrary to the name of Jesus of
Nazareth.”
YLT: “`I
indeed
therefore
thought with myself
that against the name of Jesus of Nazareth it
behoved [me] many things to do
”
Literal Meaning: “I myself thought I must” It refers to the time before Paul was
saved. “I myself thought” shows that he did not believe that God raised the
Lord Jesus (See v.8) and therefore he had such attitude.
“Do many things contrary to the name of
Jesus of Nazareth” It means that: 1)
blaspheming and defiling the Lord Jesus and saying that He was the cheater who
pretended to be the Son of God; 2) rejecting and opposing Christians’ opinions
concerning the Lord Jesus; 3) compelling Christians to blaspheme (See v.11).
Enlightenment in the Word:
1) All those who serve the Lord according to the
way that “I myself thought I must” contrarily make the name of the Lord suffer
loss.
2) Those who walk only according to the letters of
the Bible instead of the spirit of the Bible always become the Lord’s enemies
(“do many
things contrary to the name of Jesus of Nazareth”) because “the letter kills
but the spirit gives
life” (2Cor. 3:6).
3) The one who truly repents will never cover up
the wrongness that he had done and he will confess that he was a sinner and had
received the grace of the Lord.
Acts. 26:10 “This I also did in
YLT: “which also I did in
Jerusalem
and many of the saints I in prison did shut up
from the chief
priests having received the authority; they also being put to death
I gave my
vote against them
”
Literal Meaning: “I cast my vote against them” “Casting my vote against them” in the
original means “throwing the stone”. The ancient Greek used it to vote and they
threw the black stone to the guilty and the white stone to the guiltless (See
Rev. 2:17). Some Bible exegetes held that he was a member of the Jewish council
according to Paul’s words. However
some people held that Paul may not be the
member of the council and probably he was specially assigned to persecute
Christians (See v.12) and therefore he cast his vote against them.
Enlightenment in the Word:
1) Christians should never be afraid to confess who
we were in the past. Confessing our past evil would contrarily let others see
the great power of Christ’s life upon us.
2) Men’s “votes” are always wrong and therefore we
believers should never care about how others judge us and should beware of how
to give an account for ourselves before God in future because His judge is just
and upright (Ps. 51:4).
Acts. 26:11 “And I punished them often
in every synagogue and compelled them to blaspheme; and being exceedingly
enraged against them
I persecuted them even to foreign cities.”
YLT: “and in every
synagogue
often punishing them
I was constraining [them] to speak evil
being
also exceedingly mad against them
I was also persecuting [them] even unto
strange cities.”
Meaning of Words: “foreign”: outside.
Literal Meaning: “and compelled them to
blaspheme” There were two
possibilities: 1) compelling them to curse Jesus; 2) compelling them to confess
that Jesus was the Son of God and condemning them that they committed the sin
of blaspheming God and convicting them of the capital crime.
The original shows that he
only tried to compel the Jewish Christians to give up their faith and the
results were not mentioned.
Acts. 26:12 “‘While
thus occupied
as I journeyed to
YLT: “`In which things
also
going on to
Literal Meaning: “with authority and
commission from the chief priests”
“authority and
commission from the chief priests”
is actually the “letters” (Acts. 9:2; 22:5). The holder of the letters got the
authorization from the high priest to arrest prisoners and ask the councils in
various places for help. However
the letters did not have the legal sanction
without the borders of
“I
journeyed to
Acts. 26:13 “at midday
O king
along
the road I saw a light from heaven
brighter than the sun
shining around me
and those who journeyed with me.”
YLT: “at mid-day
I saw
in the way
O king
out of heaven
above the brightness of the sun
shining
round about me a light -- and those going on with me;”
Literal Meaning: “at midday”: it is
the moment that the light was the strongest.
“I saw a light from heaven
brighter
than the sun” It shows that the
heavenly “light” was stronger than the direct light.
“Shining around me” The light shone “around” men and therefore
it should not be the light of the sun but the heavenly and spiritual light.
Enlightenment in the Word:
1) The way of the world is to run after error.
However
thank the Lord
we are enlightened by the Lord and our way is
corrected before we reach the destination.
2) When reading the Bible or praying
sometimes
there is a light that shines in our heart (2Pet. 1:19) and gives us spiritual
understanding and guidance and this is “the reception of enlightenment”.
3) Many people only have the one-sided
understanding concerning the will of God so that there are always in extreme
conditions. We should pray the Lord that He might shine “around” us so that we
will have the comprehensive and balanced understanding.
Acts. 26:14 “And when we all had
fallen to the ground
I heard a voice speaking to me and saying in the Hebrew
language
‘Saul
Saul
why are you
persecuting Me? It is hard for you to kick against the goads.’”
YLT: “and we all having
fallen to the earth
I heard a voice speaking unto me
and saying in the Hebrew
dialect
Saul
Saul
why me dost thou persecute? hard for thee against pricks
to kick!”
Literal Meaning: “and saying in the Hebrew
language” “The Hebrew
language” is the Aramaic that was in common use in the
“Why are you persecuting Me?” “Persecute” originally means to search out
with enmity. The Lord here did not say that
“why are you persecuting those who
believe in Me?” but “why are you persecuting Me?” Here the Lord shows Saul that
He identifies Himself with those who believe in Him and He and those who
believe in Him are one. This is the oneness of the head and the body. Who Saul
persecuted is the church
however
the word of the Lord shows us that
persecuting the church is persecuting Christ because the church is the body of
Christ (1Cor. 12:27; Eph. 1:22-23).
“It is hard for you to kick against the
goads” It is a common
saying. “The goad” is a way for the farmers to train the cattle to plow at that
time. When the farmer asked it to drag
sometimes the cattle would kick the
plough or the car because it was unwilling to drag and it kicked it by its
feet. And the farmer set the border or the stick with goads in the places where
it would kick so that the cattle would feel pain and stop kicking when it
kicked and consequently it would obey its host. And therefore it meant that you
persecuted this way and it would only bring you more trouble.
Spiritual Meaning: “And when we all had fallen
to the ground” It symbolizes that
all his past religious concepts
understanding and views
including the
explanation of the Old Testament and the Law were poured out to the ground and
emptied.
“It is hard for you to kick against the
goads” Concerning the
meaning of “kicking against the goads”
the Bible exegetes all through the ages
had the following three statements: 1) the goad refers to “the will of God” and
it shows that men could not resist the arrangement of God (e.g. R.B. Rackham);
2) the goad refers to “conscience” and it shows that men cannot disobey their
conscience to resist God (e.g. Philo
F. F. Bruce); 3) the goad refers to
“fate” and it shows that men cannot overcome fate (e.g. I.H. Marshall).
Enlightenment in the Word:
1) Only those who have met the strong and full
heavenly light (See v.13) shall fall to the ground and cannot stand in the
light. Those who consider themselves in the right prove that they have never
met such light.
2) He whoever meets the Lord must fell to the
ground. Only those who have been shocked down by the light from heaven could be
considered that they begin to have a little knowledge of the Lord.
3) “Why are you persecuting Me?” We should never think that sinning against
brother is not sinning against Christ. Please remember that touching a little
member of the body is indeed touching the head. When a member is hurt
the head
feels it.
4) Inasmuch as one does it to one of the least of
brothers
he does it to the Lord; inasmuch as one doesn’t do it to one of the
least of brothers
he does not do it to the Lord (Matt. 25:40
45).
5) Persecuting believers is “persecuting Me”. What
great comfort it is to believers who are persecuted and are suffering
tribulation------the Lord “identifies” with us.
6) “It is hard for you to kick against the goads.” Mantis cannot scotch and men cannot
resist the will of God.
7) No matter how obstinate
rebellious and
disobedient we are
we cannot get away from the hands of God. And therefore we
had better obey Him as early as possible and then we will avoid much suffering
of goads.
Acts. 26:15 “So I said
‘Who are You
Lord?' And He said
‘I
am Jesus
whom you are persecuting.”
YLT: “`And I said
Who
art thou
Lord? and he said
I am Jesus whom thou dost persecute;”
Literal Meaning: “Who are You
Lord?”
The appellation “Lord” shows that he knows that the one who spoke to him is not
an ordinary figure but “the Lord” with higher power.
“I am Jesus
whom you are persecuting” “Jesus” is Jesus of Nazareth who was
crucified
died and was risen and taken up into heaven. When the Lord Jesus was
on the earth
Saul had never persecuted Him directly. Here the Lord showed Saul
that when he persecuted the disciples of Jesus
he indeed persecuted Jesus.
Enlightenment in the Word:
1) Men persecute the Lord because they do not know
Him. If we Christians do not know the Lord deeply
we may also do something
that offends Him unconsciously.
2) All those who believe in the Lord are united to
the Lord
i.e. the oneness of the head and the body. Any sin that sins against
the body is the sin that sins against the head.
Acts. 26:16 “But rise and stand on
your feet; for I have appeared to you for this purpose
to make you a minister
and a witness both of the things which you have seen and of the things which I
will yet reveal to you.”
YLT: “but rise
and stand
upon thy feet
for for this I appeared to thee
to appoint thee an officer and
a witness both of the things thou didst see
and of the things [in which] I
will appear to thee
”
Meaning of Words: “appear” (is the
same word with “reveal” in the original); “see”: watch
be aware
know;
“reveal”: appear
look.
Literal Meaning: “to make you a minister and
a witness” “A minister” is to
carry out the ministry that the Lord had instructed which is especially related
to the service; “A witness” is to manifest the Lord’s life of resurrection
which is mainly related to behavior.
“Both of the things which you have seen
and of the things which I will yet reveal to you” This sentence is connected with “a minister and a
witness” and it means that “through the work and witness” the following two
things shall be conveyed and bore witness to men: 1) the things which he has
seen at present; 2) the things which the Lord shall reveal to him.
Enlightenment in the Word:
1) There is no witness without vision; Christians’
witnesses are from their personal vision and experience.
2) The Lord’s vision is not once for all but
continual. And therefore we should not be satisfied when we have received the
Lord’s revelation for one time.
3) Christians’ service should be according to the
“revelation” from the Lord instead of “men’s favor” or “pleasure”.
Acts. 26:17 “I will deliver you from
the Jewish people
as well as from the Gentiles
to whom I now send you
”
YLT: “delivering thee
from the people
and the nations
to whom now I send thee
”
Literal Meaning: “the Jewish people”
refer to the Jews; “the
Gentiles” refer to all the
non-Jewish persons.
This verse implies that Paul must suffer
men’s opposition and persecution in his life of service
however
the Lord
shall be his protection.
Acts. 26:18 “to open their eyes
in
order to turn them from darkness to light
and from the power of Satan to God
that they may receive forgiveness of sins and an inheritance among those who
are sanctified by faith in Me.’”
YLT: “to open their eyes
to turn [them] from darkness to light
and [from] the authority of the
Adversary unto God
for their receiving forgiveness of sins
and a lot among
those having been sanctified
by faith that [is] toward me.”
Meaning of Words: “turn to”: covert
turn about.
Literal Meaning: “to open their eyes” “Eyes” refer to men’s minds. The god of
the world has blinded the minds of the world (2Cor. 4:4) so that: 1) they do
not know that they are sinners; 2) they do not know that what they have done
are all sins and evilness; 3) they do not know the meaning of life and the
ending in future; 4) they do not know the vanity of the things in the world; 5)
they do not know the tricks and terror of Satan; 6) they do not know the
gospel
Christ and the true God.
If men are willing to receive the gospel and experience
Christ’s salvation
the first step is that their eyes are opened to see their
poor conditions under the light of Christ’s gospel and therefore they turn to
the Savior.
“Turn them from darkness to light” “Darkness” is the symbol of sin and death;
“light” is the mark of righteousness and life (John. 1:4; 8:12).
“That they may receive forgiveness of
sins” “Sins” refer to the actions of sin;
“Receiving forgiveness of sins” is the foundation to enjoy all the blessings of
the New Testament.
“And an inheritance among those who are
sanctified” “Being sanctified”
includes the status and the nature of sanctification: 1) the status of
sanctification indicates that believers are separated by God from the world
(John. 17:16-17) and from now on they specially belong to God and are for His
use (Rom. 6:13
19); 2) the nature of sanctification indicates that believers
are partakers of God’s life and nature (2Pet. 1:4) and our original nature is
renewed gradually and finally we are fully like the Lord (Tit. 3:5; Rom. 12:2;
2Cor. 3:18; 1John. 3:2).
“Inheritance” refers to the spiritual inheritance.
Today the inheritance that we believers receive in Christ (Col. 1:12) is the
indwelling Spirit that is the foretaste
earnest and evidence of the
inheritance that we will receive in future (Eph. 1:14; 2Cor. 1:22; 5:5) and in
the coming and eternal age
we will fully enjoy the inheritance (1Pet. 1:4).
Enlightenment in the Word:
1) In whom the god of this world has blinded the
minds of them which believe not; the light of Christ’s gospel has shone our
minds (2Cor. 4:4).
2) The opening of minds is the first step of the
spiritual change. A blind one cannot differentiate the darkness and the bright
and what is being under the power of Satan and what is turning to God.
3) We believers’ minds have been opened
however
if we would rather stay in the darkness and are unwilling to walk in the light
(Eph. 5:8)
we cannot enjoy the complete salvation.
4) Giving thanks unto God
which has made us meet
to be partakers of the inheritance of the saints (Col. 1:12). Whatever we do in
the Lord shall make us receive the reward of the inheritance from the Lord
(Col. 3:24).
Acts. 26:19 “‘Therefore
King Agrippa
I was not disobedient to the heavenly vision
”
YLT: “`Whereupon
king Agrippa
I was not disobedient to the heavenly vision
”
Meaning of Words: “disobedient”:
rebellious
contumacious; “vision”: appearance
apparition.
Enlightenment in the Word:
1) Paul’s words in this verse show us that his
service and work throughout his life are from the vision. If we want to serve
God effectively
we have to see the heavenly vision.
2) A good servant must know the will of the Lord
first and works according to the Lord’s commandments. The most terrible thing
in the work of the Lord is that those who serve the Lord do not seek the will
of the Lord and work according to what they thing is good. And consequently
they won’t please the Lord.
3) Seeing the vision and obeying the vision are
different. Many Christians could say that they have seen the vision
however
they are unable to say that they are not disobedient to the vision.
4) Paul firstly knew that “it is hard to kick
against the goads” (v.14) and then he did not dare to “be disobedient to the
heavenly vision”. May we obey the will of God to the end for the vision that we
have seen and disregard all difficulties.
Acts. 26:20 “but declared first to
those in Damascus and in Jerusalem
and throughout all the region of Judea
and
then to the Gentiles
that they should repent
turn to God
and do works
befitting repentance.”
YLT: “but to those in
Damascus first
and to those in Jerusale m
to all the region also of
Literal Meaning: “and in
“That they should repent
turn to God” “Repent” in the original means “the change
of mind”. Please note that the true repentance is not turning from evilness to
goodness. It means that one turns to God and lets his mind be controlled by God
from being without and disobeying God in his heart.
“And do works befitting repentance” It means to show that their repentance is
sincere through their works (See Matt. 3:8; Luke. 3:8).
Enlightenment in the Word:
1) Repentance does not stress on mending one’s
behavior or departing from something but lies in changing one’s mind to God.
2) If our minds are still towards persons or things
besides God
our works will not befit the name of Christian because our works
are controlled by our minds.
3) Paul turned from persecuting the church to
expanding the church and from arresting Christians to persuading others to be
Christians. His turning point was that he met Christ of resurrection. The
reason why we are able repent (the change of mind) lies in meeting the Lord.
4) The example of Paul shows that the one who has
truly repented does works befitting repentance. Only those who truly repent are
able to persuade others to repent truly.
Acts. 26:21 “For these reasons the
Jews seized me in the temple and tried to kill me.”
YLT: “because of these
things the Jews -- having caught me in the temple -- were endeavouring to kill
[me].”
Literal Meaning: it generally retells
the condition in Acts. 21:27-31.
Acts. 26:22 “Therefore
having
obtained help from God
to this day I stand
witnessing both to small and
great
saying no other things than those which the prophets and Moses said
would come--”
YLT: “`Having obtained
therefore
help from God
till this day
I have stood witnessing both to small
and to great
saying nothing besides the things that both the prophets and
Moses spake of as about to come
”
Literal Meaning: “Therefore
having obtained
help from God” The original root
of “help” means ally and union and therefore the whole sentence implies that
Paul the apostle was united to God and realized that God kept him in the union.
“Saying no other things than those which
the prophets and Moses said would come--” “The prophets and Moses” refers to the Old Testament (See Luke. 24:27
44).
Acts. 26:23 “that the Christ would
suffer
that He would be the first to rise from the dead
and would proclaim
light to the Jewish people and to the Gentiles.’”
YLT: “that the Christ is
to suffer
whether first by a rising from the dead
he is about to proclaim
light to the people and to the nations.'”
Literal Meaning: “that the Christ would
suffer
that He would be the first to rise from the dead” This sentence is the essential content of
the gospel (1Cor. 15:3-4).
“And would proclaim light to the Jewish
people and to the Gentiles” God is light
(1John. 1:5) and He shines upon the world by incarnation (John. 1:5
9). Only
when men believe in and follow Jesus Christ will they have “the light of life”
(John. 8:12).
This verse shows that the resurrection
of Christ fulfills the prophecies in the prophets------the days of the
suffering servant of righteousness have been prolonged (Is. 53:10) and he
became a light of the nations (Is. 42:6; 49:6; 60:3).
Enlightenment in the Word:
1) He is the beginning
the firstborn from the
dead
that in all things He may have the preeminence (Col. 1:19).
2) The gospel is the same to all races and the Jews
and the Gentiles need it in the same way.
Acts. 26:24 “Now as he thus made his
defense
Festus said with a loud voice
‘Paul
you are beside yourself! Much learning is driving you mad!’”
YLT: “And
he thus making
a defence
Festus with a loud voice said
`Thou art mad
Paul; much learning
doth turn thee mad;'”
Meaning of Words: “beside yourself”:
roar
crazy; “mad”: insanity.
Literal Meaning: “Much learning is driving
you mad!” “Learning” here
refers to men’s knowledge to the Old Testament. Festus perceived that Paul had
the brilliant understanding in the Law and the prophets from his words
however
he cannot comprehend the vision
resurrection and etc that he talked
about. And therefore he thought that he was mad.
Acts. 26:25 “But he said
‘I am not mad
most noble Festus
but speak the words of
truth and reason.”
YLT: “and he saith
`I am
not mad
most noble Festus
but of truth and soberness the sayings I speak
forth;”
Enlightenment in the Word:
1) The content and nature of the gospel that we
preach are uneasy to be comprehended by the common world
however
we must try our
best to “speak the words of truth and reason” so that others may understand and
receive it.
2) Whom Christians serve is the true and living
God
what we bear witness to is the true Lord of resurrection and the gospel
that we believe is the true reason.
Acts. 26:26 “For the king
before whom
I also speak freely
knows these things; for I am convinced that none of these
things escapes his attention
since this thing was not done in a corner.”
YLT: “for the king doth
know concerning these things
before whom also I speak boldly
for none of
these things
I am persuaded
are hidden from him; for this thing hath not been
done in a corner;”
Meaning of Words: “in a corner”: the
corner of the building
the hidden nook.
Literal Meaning: “since this thing was not
done in a corner” It is a proverb.
The early Christians teachers always insisted that the historical basis of the
gospel that they preached was according to the well-known facts (See Acts.
2:22).
Enlightenment in the Word: the reason why Paul could “speak freely” is that
“none of these (things) escaped his attention”. And therefore the strong
witness lies in the behavior of light. All the collusion
schemes
tricks in
the secret harm our witness.
Acts. 26:27 “King Agrippa
do you
believe the prophets? I know that you do believe.’”
YLT: “thou dost believe
king Agrippa
the prophets? I have known that thou dost believe!'”
Literal Meaning: “do you believe the
prophets?” means that “do you
receive the writings of the prophets?”
“I know that you do believe” It means that anyone who knows and
receives the writings of the prophets shall agree on Paul’s conclusion.
Enlightenment in the Word:
1) Christians’ faith bases on the promises of the
Old Testament and therefore all those who truly believe and receive the words
of the prophets shall believe and receive the gospel.
2) Christians need to read both the New Testament
and the Old Testament. We should understand both the New Testament and the Old
Testament.
Acts. 26:28 “Then Agrippa said to
Paul
‘You almost persuade me to
become a Christian.’”
YLT: “And Agrippa said
unto Paul
`In a little thou dost persuade me to become a Christian!'”
Literal Meaning: “You almost persuade” “almost” has two meanings that: 1) it refers to the
“shortness” in the effort; 2) in refers to the “shortness” in the time.
“To become a Christian” Concerning the correct meaning of this
sentence
the Bible exegetes had different explanations: 1) it is with the
disdainful attitude and it could be translated into: “What? Do you want me to
become a Christian?” It means that he would not be convinced because of such a
short paragraph of words; 2) it is the sincere words from his heart and it
could be translated into: “you almost make me become a Christian”.
Enlightenment in the Word: today many friends have the same attitude with King
Agrippa and they are afraid of being persuaded to become Christians because of
face. The others are moved in their hearts and feel that it is good to become
Christians
however
they are hesitant.
Acts. 26:29 “And Paul said
‘I would to God that not only you
but also all who hear
me today
might become both almost and altogether such as I am
except for
these chains.’”
YLT: “and Paul said
`I
would have wished to God
both in a little
and in much
not only thee
but
also all those hearing me to-day
to become such as I also am -- except these
bonds.'”
Literal Meaning: It means that he
would persuade men to believe in the Lord no matter how much effort and time he
would spend.
“Except for these chains” Probably Paul was bound by the guards at
that time. Paul hoped that all his listeners could believe in the Lord Jesus
and he was unwilling to let them be bound because of faith.
Enlightenment in the Word:
1) Those who serve God always bear in mind the
interest of others and they would rather suffer pain themselves and let others
enjoy the heavenly blessings.
2) The one who preaches the gospel must have the
will of benefiting others by sacrificing himself: death is working in himself
but others receive life (2Cor. 4:12).
Acts. 26:30 “When he had said these
things
the king stood up
as well as the governor and Bernice and those who
sat with them;”
YLT: “And
he having
spoken these things
the king rose up
and the governor
Bernice also
and
those sitting with them
”
Acts. 26:31 “and when they had gone
aside
they talked among themselves
saying
‘This
man is doing nothing deserving of death or chains.’”
YLT: “and having
withdrawn
they were speaking unto one another
saying -- `This man doth
nothing worthy of death or of bonds;'”
Acts. 26:32 “Then Agrippa said to
Festus
‘This man might have been
set free if he had not appealed to Caesar.’”
YLT: “and Agrippa said to
Festus
`This man might have been released if he had not appealed to Caesar.'”
Literal Meaning: “This man might have been
set free if he had not appealed to Caesar.” It means that since Paul had expressed that he
would appeal to Caesar
they had to obey the procedure of the law and could not
set him free because he was guiltless. Apparently
if Paul the Apostle did not
appeal to Caesar
he should be set free at that moment and therefore his appeal
was unnecessary. However
if he did not appeal to Caesar
he would be delivered
to
III.
Outlines of the Spiritual Lessons
The Descriptions Concerning Paul’s
“Differences”
I. God’s promise:
A. Previously he had the same hope with the Jews
(v.6-7).
B. Now he was accused by the Jews because
he had the different understanding of the hope (v.6-7).
II. Resurrection:
A. Previously he attacked the name of Jesus because
he thought His resurrection was incredible (v.8-9).
B. Now he preached that Christ would
suffer
that He would be the first to rise from the dead (v.23).
III. The attitude to
the Lord Jesus:
A. Previously he persecuted Jesus (v.9
14-15).
B. Now he testified Jesus (v.16
22).
IV. The relation
with others:
A. Previously he persecuted and harmed
others (v.10-12).
B. Now he was persecuted by others and
they wanted to kill him (v.17
21).
V. The two
conditions of the Lord’s revelation:
A. He was shone by the light and fell to
the ground (v.13-14a).
B. He was convinced by the voice
(v.14b-15).
VI. The moment he
met the Lord and the time after that:
A. He fell to the ground first (v.14a).
B. He stood on his feet later (v.16a).
VII. The Lord’s
instruction (v.16b):
A. Being a minister.
B. Being a witness.
VIII. The Lord’s
appearance (v.16c):
A. Now the Lord specially appeared to
him to let him see something.
B. Later the Lord shall appear to him
continually to reveal something to him.
IX. The two missions
to the world (v.18):
A. Turning------from darkness to light
and from the power of Satan to God.
B. Receiving-----forgiveness of sins and
an inheritance among those who are sanctified.
X. The comprehension
of words:
A. He was misunderstood that he was mad
(v.24).
B. He thought that he spoke the words of
truth and reason (v.25).
XI. The two expectations
to the world (v.29):
A. All those who hear the gospel would
become such as “he was”------become Christians.
B. Except for these chains------have
freedom.
A True Preacher
I. His change:
A. Because the Lord appeared to him by
Himself (v.13).
B. Because the Lord spoke to him by
Himself (v.14-15).
II. His being
instructed:
A. The Lord made him a minister and a
witness (v.16).
B. The Lord instructed him to preach the
gospel (v.17-18).
III. His response:
A. He was not disobedient to the
heavenly vision (v.19).
B. He preached the message of the gospel
everywhere (v.20).
IV. His persistence:
A. He bore men’s persecution (v.21).
B. Because he obtained help from God
(v.22-23).
The Heavenly Vision
I. Light:
A. A
light from heaven
brighter than the sun (v.13a)------the heavenly light.
B.
Shining around (v.13b)------balanced.
C. He
fell to the ground (v.14a)------make men be convinced.
II. Voice:
A. I
heard a voice (v.14b)------the real voice instead of the idea in the heart.
B. In
the Hebrew language (v.14b)------it could be understood clearly.
C.
Speaking to me and saying
“Saul
Saul…” (v.14b)------it is individual.
D. Why
are you persecuting Me? (v.14b)------it is the condemnation to his past
behavior.
E. It
is hard for you to kick against the goads (v.14c)------knowing His sovereignty.
III. Revelation:
A. I
am Jesus
whom you are persecuting (v.15)------He reveals His relation with the
church.
B.
Rise and stand on your feet (v.16a)------He reveals that His words are men’s
strength.
C. For I have appeared to you for this purpose
to
make you (v.16b)------He reveals that He is the Lord.
D. A minister and a witness (v.16b)------He reveals
the equal stress of work and revelation.
E. A
witness both of the things which you have seen and of the things which I will
yet reveal to you (v.16c)------He reveals the origin and content of the work.
F. I
will deliver you from the Jewish people
as well as from the Gentiles
(v.17)------He reveals that he would suffer difficulties and the way to handle
them in work.
IV. The dispatch:
A.
Make you a minister and a witness (v.16b)------He appointed the minister.
B. To
whom I now send you (v.18a)------He appointed the workshop.
V. The mission (v.18 please see “what Christ did
for men”).
What Christ Did for Men (v.18)
I. To open their eyes------see the spiritual
things.
II. To turn them from darkness to light------walk
on the bright way.
III. To turn them from the power of Satan to
God------obey the will of God.
IV. That they may receive forgiveness of sins by
faith in Him------receive the forgiveness of the past sins.
V. Receive an inheritance among those who are
sanctified------have the glorious hope in future.
The Complete Meaning of Repentance (v.20)
I. Repentance------the change of mind.
II. Turning to God------regard God as their center
of life.
III. Doing works befitting repentance------walk
under the restraint of God.
──
Caleb Huang《Christian Digest Bible
Commentary Series》
Translated by Sharon Ren