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May 3, 2024
Leading verse 29: "But Paul said: I wish before God that sooner or later not you alone, but all who hear me today, would become what I am, except for these bonds."
Apostle Paul said in 1 Corinthians 13:13 that faith, hope and love are three pillars of the Christian faith. This text reproduces Paul's speech to King Agrippa. In his speech, Paul talks about his Christian hope. We want to perceive our Christian hope through his speech.
Paul will defend himself before King Agrippa. Agrippa's full name here is Herod Agrippa II. He is the grandson of Herod the Great and the son of Herod Agrippa I. He was born in 27 AD and probably died in 92/93 AD. From 50 AD until his death, he ruled as king appointed by Rome over territories in modern-day Lebanon, Syria and Israel.
King Agrippa and his sister Bernice, who had assumed the role of queen, entered Caesarea with the leading citizens. Then Paul is summoned.
Festus explains to Agrippa the reason for the meeting: he wants to find something he can write to the emperor about Paul through Agrippa's interrogation of Paul. Paul then tells his testimony of faith.
Paul's testimony of faith (1-23)
Paul begins his speech respectfully to the king and makes his concerns clear. As a Jewish king, King Agrippa knows the customs of the Jews well.
Verses 4-11 give us the beginning of Paul's testimony.
He stretches out his hand and begins to talk about his life of faith. He recounts his past history to refute the accusations made against him and to recount what Christ has done for him. He begins with his early training as a Pharisee and his earlier walk as a Pharisee. He belonged to Pharisaism, a main branch of Judaism. Pharisaism adheres most strictly to the Mosaic Law. Agrippa also knows the Pharisaism and their teachings well.
Paul says that as a Pharisee he believes in the resurrection of the dead and also the resurrection of Jesus. He emphasizes this point because this point is the essence of the accusations against him. He points out that the hope of resurrection is a central belief of the Jews, as God gave them this hope through the prophets.
For example, Isaiah 26:19 says: "But your dead will live, your dead bodies will rise. Awake and rejoice, you who lie under the earth! For your dew is the dew of light, and the earth will give up the dead."
Paul explains to him the Jewish belief in the resurrection of the dead so that Agrippa and all those present should believe in the resurrection of Jesus Christ.
Then Paul asks King Agrippa: "Why should any of you consider it incredible that God raises the dead?" (8).
The Jews believe in the biblical stories about the resurrection of the dead, such as Elijah and Elisha. The only question is whether the resurrection of Jesus is also true.
Many people say that they believe in the resurrection of Elijah and Elisha. Unfortunately, they do not draw any conclusions from this and do not clearly believe in the resurrection of Christ and in their own resurrection. There is a huge gap between their knowledge of the Bible and their personal faith.
Paul challenges such people to personal faith in the resurrection of Christ and in their own resurrection.
Paul goes on to say, as verses 9-11 state:
"I myself was convinced that I ought to do many things in opposing the name of Jesus of Nazareth. 10And I did so in Jerusalem. I not only locked up many of the saints in prison after receiving authority from the chief priests, but when they were put to death I cast my vote against them. 11And I punished them often in all the synagogues and tried to make them blaspheme, and in raging fury against them I persecuted them even to foreign cities."
Paul took action against the Christians, whom he refers to here as "saints", because Christians called other Christians "saints" at the time.
Acts 8 tells of the martyrdom of Stephen. Paul was also there. He became a violent attacker against Christians and went from synagogue to synagogue to arrest and punish them. He even persecuted them in foreign cities. But he encountered the risen Jesus and was changed from a persecutor to a preacher of Christ.
Through his defense speech, Paul tells of his faith and his hope in the resurrection. He tries to awaken faith in the gospel and hope in the resurrection in the hearts of his listeners. If they would accept the gospel, they will be changed, as Paul experienced.
Let's tell other people what our former lives were like before we received Jesus personally. This does not necessarily mean that our former life was bad in moral terms. Then we should tell about our change through Jesus Christ so that they can also believe in Jesus Christ and experience salvation.
Telling our personal story makes the gospel credible so that the listeners can better open their hearts and accept the gospel.
For example, before I met Jesus, my life was morally exemplary for other people. But I was a bad sinner spiritually because I didn't believe in my Creator and didn't thank Him. I once said to a Christian friend that instead of believing in God, he should believe in the strength of my hands. Unbelief in God and ungratefulness to God are a great sin in spiritual terms.
Because my family in South Korea was poor and could not finance my studies, I wanted to get the scholarship to study by doing well in the university entrance exam. That's why I studied day and night for the entrance exam. During this time, I once fell into nihilistic thoughts. I thought that if I died, all my efforts would be pointless. Then I lost the motivation to prepare with all my strength for the entrance exam. But I suppressed these thoughts, continued to study and passed the entrance exam of a university with the highest scores among the applicants and was able to start my university studies with the scholarship.
God then had mercy on me and led me to a student church and to faith in Jesus Christ. That's how I was saved from damnation. And I was very happy with God's love, so I became a missionary and came to Germany.
Paul uses his defense before King Agrippa as an opportunity to proclaim the gospel by recounting how he met Jesus and how this transformed him from a persecutor of Christians to a proclaimer of Christ.
Verses 12-16 give us the first part of Paul's testimony.
Paul tells Agrippa about his experience when he was on his way to Damascus to persecute the Christians. He and others fell to the ground because of the sudden, bright light. Then he heard a voice of Jesus:
“Saul, Saul, why do you persecute me? It is hard for you to kick against the goads.”
This is an expression of a futile attempt. For Saul thought he was serving God by acting against Christians. But in reality, he was fighting against God. Nevertheless, God wanted to forgive him and use him for his cause by using Paul as his witness to save Jews and Gentiles from sin.
Verses 17-18 give us the second part of Paul's testimony.
"17I will rescue you from your own people and from the Gentiles. I am sending you to them 18to 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. "
Paul specifically addresses several aspects of the ministry that Jesus has entrusted to him, including the fact that he was sent to the Gentiles,
Jesus wants to use Paul as a witness of Jesus and messenger of the gospel to lead Jews and all Gentiles from the darkness of death to the light of life and the kingdom of God.
Jesus' message means that God wants to save people from the power of sin and the devil through the gospel and lead them into the kingdom of God.
This message applies not only to King Agrippa, but also to all people. Through the gospel, God wants to save all people who believe in it from sin and give them eternal life and the kingdom of heaven. This is the best message for mankind. We should accept this message with great gratitude and praise God.
The challenge to make a decision of faith (24-32)
Paul obeys the will of Christ and proclaims the gospel in Damascus, Jerusalem, throughout the Jewish land and then also to the Gentiles.
He now preaches repentance, faith in the gospel and righteous works of repentance to Festus and all those present.
When Festus has heard his sermon, he is completely confused and says to Paul in a loud voice: "Paul, you are mad! [Your] great knowledge is driving you insane." (24).
Festus considers the gospel of Jesus' resurrection from the dead to be a fairy tale because it goes against his rational thinking. He thinks that Paul is crazy because of his many educations. But Paul is not crazy, he is telling the truth.
Many people today respond to the gospel of Jesus Christ in the same way. If they do not want to believe in the gospel of Jesus Christ, they say that the preacher of the gospel is crazy.
We Christians should not be afraid to tell the truth about Jesus Christ, even though worldly people sometimes regard us as crazy.
Paul challenges Agrippa to make a decision of faith. He says: "Noble Festus, I am not mad, but I speak true and reasonable words."
And Paul reminds Festus of the prophecy about the resurrection of the dead in the Old Testament.
Then Agrippa says: "It won't take much for you to persuade me and make a Christian out of me."
Paul replied: "I desire before God that not only you, but all who hear me today, become Christians."
Agrippa stands up and says to Festus: "This man has not done anything that deserves death or imprisonment. He could be released if he had not appealed to the emperor."
Conclusions.
Paul's testimony to Agrippa provides us with a good model and example that we can follow ourselves. It consists of three parts:
First, how we were before we were saved -hopeless sinners.
Secondly, how we were saved. We were able to receive forgiveness of sins and eternal life through faith in Jesus Christ.
Third, what our life looks like after salvation. We live for joy and tell others about Jesus Christ and our hope.
May God allow us all to take these three steps and bless us and many others through us. Amen!
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