Acts
Chapter 26: 1-32
1Then 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, 3and especially so because you are well acquainted
with all the Jewish customs and controversies. Therefore, I beg you to listen to me
patiently.
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. 5They 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. 6And now it is
because of my hope in what God has promised our fathers that I am on trial today. 7This 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. 8Why 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. 10And 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. 11Many 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.
12"On
one of these journeys I was going to Damascus with the authority and commission of the
chief priests. 13About 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. 14We 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. 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.'
19"So
then, King Agrippa, I was not disobedient to the vision from heaven. 20First 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. 21That is why the
Jews seized me in the temple courts and tried to kill me. 22But
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— 23that the Christ would suffer and, as the first to rise from the
dead, would proclaim light to his own people and to the Gentiles."
24At 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. 26The 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. 27King Agrippa, do you
believe the prophets? I know you do."
28Then
Agrippa said to Paul, "Do you think that in such a short time you can persuade me to
be a Christian?"
29Paul
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."
30The king
rose, and with him the governor and Bernice and those sitting with them. 31They left the room, and while talking with one another, they
said, "This man is not doing anything that deserves death or imprisonment."
32Agrippa
said to Festus, "This man could have been set free if he had not appealed to
Caesar."
