Acts 26:1–32

26:1–8 Paul Introduces Himself. Agrippa knows more about Jewish issues than have Paul’s previous interlocutors, so the apostle provides a more detailed account of his conversion—which explains why this version of Paul’s testimony differs at some points from his former accounts in Acts. This text is also a fulfillment of Jesus’ words to Ananias at the time of Paul’s conversion: “He is a chosen instrument of mine to carry my name before the Gentiles and kings and the children of Israel” (9:15). Paul has been witnessing to everyone in every place since that time, but each of the three groups singled out by Christ are present in the context beginning in chapter 22. Paul spoke before Israelites in Jerusalem (chs. 22–23), the Gentiles Felix and Festus (chs. 24–25), and now King Agrippa.

As he does in Galatians 1:13–14 and Philippians 3:4–6, Paul recounts his Pharisaic history. He does so here in order to set up an ironic point: his accusers know full well who he is, where he came from, and what his religious background includes. He was a Pharisee and now is on trial for what all Pharisees believe: resurrection (Acts 26:4–7). Why should his accusers be so shocked that God raises the dead, since they all believe in resurrection (v. 8)?

Paul is aware, of course—as are readers of Acts—that the real point (except for the Sadducees) is not whether there is a resurrection but that Paul preaches the resurrection of Jesus from Nazareth, which establishes him as the Messiah. It is not, furthermore, simply that God raised Jesus but that Jesus is the fulfillment of all the hopes and promises of Israel. It is this resurrection that is at issue. For Paul there is no distinction between believing in a resurrection and proclaiming Jesus; he is the resurrection, the hope of the twelve tribes of Israel (v. 7). Essentially, Paul is on trial for believing in and being faithful to God.

26:9–23 Paul Testifies. Paul’s next testimony could be broken down into three parts:

1. 1. What I was (vv. 9–11)
2. 2. What changed (vv. 12–18)
3. 3. What I now am (vv. 19–23)

The differences between this description of Paul’s conversion and his testimony before the Jews in chapter 22 or the original account in chapter 9 are neither troublesome nor surprising. Everyone tells a story differently depending on the audience, circumstances, and context: certain details are left out or added; others are expanded or shortened; timespans expand or contract. Further, a literary setting such as Acts offers a narrated account, not an audio recording.

Besides adding the minor detail that everyone fell to the ground when the light from heaven appeared, Paul also mentions that the voice was in “Hebrew”—probably the Aramaic dialect (cf. ESV mg.; 22:2)—and included a proverb (26:14). Paul does not mention the language to find corroboration from other witnesses, who did not “understand the voice” (22:9). Perhaps he mentions it to explain his other name, Saul,¹ or to underscore that his encounter was with the Lord of Israel.

The maxim Jesus cites refers to the sharp stick (goad) that ox drivers use to keep oxen under control. By application, Paul can no longer fight against or resist God. Why the phrase is left out of the other accounts is unknown, but there is no reason to doubt its authenticity. Paul was not a faithful Pharisee doing his lawful duty until he came to find Jesus to be the answer and the fulfillment of every OT promise. Paul did not shift allegiance to a new or better or clearer revelation of God; he was converted from a life of revolt against God to membership in the people of God by faith in Jesus Christ. No one who rejects the Messiah is a faithful member of the covenant, old or new.

Paul is on trial for his belief in resurrection, and he provides an extended account of his encounter with the risen Jesus. Luke picks up an undercurrent that goes back explicitly at least to chapter 22 and implicitly throughout Acts. Paul may be on trial over the resurrection, but close to the heart of the matter is his relationship to the Gentiles (26:17, 20–21). In 21:28–29 the Jews from Asia accused Paul of defiling the temple by bringing Greeks inside, having seen Trophimus with him in Jerusalem. Paul’s dealings with the Gentiles were hardly secret. Not only does he teach that Jesus rose from the dead and is the Jewish Messiah; he is the Messiah for the Gentiles as well. It is not surprising that the Jews never mention their agitation over Paul’s association with Gentiles when they bring charges against Paul before Gentile authorities.

Paul was appointed to witness to the revelation he received, and would receive, in Jesus (26:16), specifically as a witness to the Gentiles (v. 17). Paul chooses to mention that in his commissioning Jesus promised to deliver him from the Jews and send him to the Gentiles—the very thing now happening in the narrative. Paul’s account is reminiscent of his epistles as well as themes from the Gospels. “Turn from darkness to light” (v. 18) is similar to his reminding the Ephesians, “You were darkness, but now you are light in the Lord” (Eph. 5:8). He tells the Thessalonians, “You are all children of light, children of the day. We are not of the night or of the darkness” (1 Thess. 5:5).

This also connects to a theme found in Luke’s Gospel, in which Elizabeth is told that her son (John the Baptist) will be a prophet of God, who will soon “give light to those who sit in darkness and in the shadow of death” (Luke 1:79). A year or so later, Simeon will pick up the baby Jesus and declare him to be a “light for revelation to the Gentiles” (Luke 2:32). This light for the Gentiles is also “for glory to your people Israel” (Luke 2:32), the very point Paul will make in Acts 26:23: Jesus is for both Jews and Gentiles.

Deliverance from Satan (v. 18) is not a common theme in Acts, but in the context of the book, Jesus’ commission describes bringing the Gentiles from the kingdom of Satan to the kingdom of God. Coming to Jesus means leaving one realm for another. Satan and his activity are common Pauline themes.² Colossians 1:13–20 ties the themes of this passage together. There Paul speaks of God’s rescuing us “from the domain of darkness” and moving us “to the kingdom of his beloved Son” (Col. 1:13). This exchange of kingdoms is linked to forgiveness (v. 14) and reconciliation of all people to God through the blood of Christ (v. 20).

Jesus’ commission next mentions forgiveness and inheritance for the Gentiles (Acts 26:18), which go hand in hand. Paul ties these themes together in his own ministry in multiple places, nowhere more thoroughly than in Ephesians 1:7–14. There he makes clear that forgiveness in the sight of God is through Christ’s work, and through that work both Jews and Gentiles have an equal share in the blessings of God in Christ.

Finally, Jesus mentions “those who are sanctified by faith in me” (Acts 26:18). Here “sanctified” is used as a summary of salvation, not in a systematic sense but in the sense specifically of being forgiven (which is itself frequently used in the Bible as a summary for the whole work of salvation; cf. Acts 20:32; Rom. 15:16; 1 Cor. 1:2; 6:11; Eph. 5:26; Heb. 2:11). Although believers tend to emphasize progressive sanctification, that is, the ongoing work of God to conform believers to Jesus through various means, here the word refers clearly to a status already given: those who “are sanctified.” Today we are also accustomed, moreover, to the doctrine of justification by faith but rarely speak of sanctification by faith. Faith is no less the instrument in sanctification than it is in justification. “Sanctified” here refers to the people of God who by faith are forgiven, delivered from Satan’s kingdom, and brought into God’s kingdom. The phrase is not an abstracted theological point, and to treat it as such misses the author’s intention. The dramatic point is that the Gentiles are included; they have full inheritance among God’s people (cf. Acts 10:44–48; 11:17; 15:7–11; Rom. 4:9–12; 11:11–12, 25; Gal. 3:7–9; Eph. 3:6). And they have all of this through believing in Jesus: the people of God are defined by allegiance to him.

Paul’s recounting of his encounter with the resurrected Jesus sends a clear message. All along he has asserted that he does in fact follow Moses, he does believe the promises, and he is faithful to God and the covenant. As was Saul of Tarsus, Paul’s accusers are the ones resisting and rejecting God by refusing to believe in Jesus. They are the ones who ultimately reject the resurrection because the promise of resurrection is fulfilled in Jesus. They are the ones who kick against the goads. Their outrage over Paul’s dealings with the Gentiles is further proof of their disbelief in the God they claim to know. Paul describes the Jews in Judea who cause trouble for the Jerusalem church and the apostles in particular in 1 Thessalonians 2:15–16: “[They] killed both the Lord Jesus and the prophets, and drove us out, and displease God and oppose all mankind by hindering us from speaking to the Gentiles that they might be saved—so as always to fill up the measure of their sins. But wrath has come upon them at last!”

This theme of true faithfulness to God continues in Acts 26:19. Because of the encounter on the Damascus road, Paul obeyed; the “heavenly vision” of the Lord convinced Paul that the revelation was a direct word from God. Once again, it is clear that Paul was not simply becoming a better Jew or finally getting on board with God’s plan. Rather, he experienced a true conversion from unbelief and disobedience to faith and obedience—he was saved. The rest of the account underscores this truth by showing Paul’s bearing the fruit of true repentance. What Paul says about the Gentiles in the following verses proves the point.

Paul personally participated in the fulfillment of Jesus’ commission to the disciples in 1:8. From Damascus, he headed to Jerusalem, through Judea, and to the Gentiles. His description is brief and to the point: he pressed people to repent, turn to God, and perform “deeds in keeping with their repentance” (26:20). The allusion to John the Baptist’s message to the Jews is unmistakable (Luke 3:8). The same word John preached to the Jews in preparation for the Messiah is preached to the Gentiles after the resurrection of the Messiah. Everyone, including Jews, Paul, and the Gentiles, must repent and believe in Jesus and show their new (covenant) relationship through obedience to him. Repentance and obedience to Jesus demonstrate who is loyal to God. Although resurrection has been at the center of the discussion since Paul stood before the Jews (Acts 23:6), the underlying issue is that faithfulness to God means accepting Jesus as Lord. That was why the Jews took Paul and attempted to kill him (26:20–21).

Paul underscored the reality of Jesus as the fulfillment of all that had come before by standing in front of everyone, both “small and great,” proclaiming exactly what “the prophets and Moses said would come to pass” (vv. 22–23). The reference to “small and great” evokes Jeremiah’s new covenant prophecy that when the Spirit came, all would know the Lord: “No longer shall each one teach his neighbor and each his brother, saying, ‘Know the Lord,’ for they shall all know me, from the least of them to the greatest, declares the Lord. For I will forgive their iniquity, and I will remember their sin no more” (Jer. 31:34).

Paul, like the other disciples, knows Jesus, including his suffering and resurrection, as the fulfillment of the Scripture (e.g., Acts 2:25, 34; 3:18, 21–25; 10:43; 15:15; 24:14). These references also provide a summary of the gospel sketch Paul offers in 1 Corinthians 15:1–4, which also features the promise-fulfillment motif. The connection to 1 Corinthians 15, and Paul’s theology generally, is evident from Paul’s conclusion as he connects Christ’s resurrection and the proclamation of the gospel (Acts 26:23) and also alludes again to his birth narrative: “Being the first to rise from the dead, [Jesus] would proclaim light both to our people and to the Gentiles” (v. 23).

26:24–32 True and Rational Words. The gospel is life to those who believe but death to those who reject it (2 Cor. 2:16). Festus clearly wants nothing to do with Paul’s gospel. His reaction is similar to those in Athens who called Paul a “babbler” (Acts 17:18). Festus’s charge that Paul is “out of your mind” is met with a virtual quote of 2 Corinthians (in content, if not in terminology): he is both sane and speaking “true and rational words” (Acts 26:25), which is remarkably similar to Paul’s claim that “if we are beside ourselves, it is for God” (2 Cor. 5:13). Paul is not claiming to present a “rationalistic” argument of proofs or asserting that his message rests on its pure rationality. Rather, Paul’s experience, his gospel ministry, and his defense “agree with the rationality of human reason”³—that is, they are “reasonable.” The gospel Paul preaches is not “rational” in the sense that to believe or accept anything else is, therefore, irrational. This is not a battle of apologetic wits.

While it could be argued that it is God who defines what is “rational,” or that the gospel is the true, rational message, Paul is not making a subtle stab at secular definitions of rationality or logical coherence, though his message does challenge unbelieving worldviews. It does so, however, not simply by proving counter worldviews to be wrong but through conviction, condemnation, and subsequent hope (cf. Peter’s sermon at Pentecost in Acts 2, for instance). The reasonable nature of Paul’s defense is the wisdom of God (1 Cor. 1:18–31), which to Festus seems foolish.

The evangelistic intent of Paul’s speech is explicit when he turns to address Agrippa. Paul knows Agrippa is aware both of the events that have taken place in Israel and also of the teaching of the Bible (Acts 26:26). Is Paul taking a chance on Agrippa’s being, deep down, a believer in God? Agrippa is a Gentile but is closely tied to Judaism.⁴ Regardless of Paul’s estimation of Agrippa’s spiritual state, he equates believing in the prophets with believing in Jesus (v. 27). In other words, if one truly believes the old covenant prophets—the prophets of the messiah—then one should believe Jesus, who fulfills the promise of the prophets. Again, this is not a defense in the sense that Paul is arguing his case in hopes of being found not guilty and then being set free. The die is cast: he is going to Rome, and so he takes this opportunity to carry out the commission Jesus has had in store for Paul from the beginning: “to carry my name before the Gentiles and kings and the children of Israel” (9:15).

Agrippa fully understands that Paul is pressing him to believe. But instead of answering the question, he asks one of his own. There is considerable discussion concerning how the Greek text of 26:28 should be rendered. “In a short time” could be translated as “with so little effort” or “with so few words,” but Paul’s reply in verse 29 (“whether short or long”) seems best understood as a response to “in a short time.” The point is that Agrippa knows Paul is hoping to persuade him to be a Christian. The term “Christian” appears only one other time in Acts (cf. 11:26), where it was presumably coined by unbelievers at Antioch. Its usage by Agrippa perhaps implies that, unlike most in the narrative, he understands there to be a distinction between the followers of Jesus and the Jews, although this cannot be proved.

It is fitting that Paul’s last extended speech in Acts concludes with an appeal to all. He desires all to believe as he does, and also hopes that all will be spared his suffering (“except for these chains”; 26:29). Agrippa confirms the judgment of other officials: Paul has done nothing wrong and deserves to be set free (v. 31). But he has appealed to Caesar, and there is no going back (v. 32).

Many commentators and interpreters highlight the parallels between Jesus’ inevitable trip to Jerusalem and Paul’s inevitable trip to Rome. Luke is clearly depicting Paul as following in Jesus’ footsteps, presenting Paul in his own “passion.” But the primary reason he recounts Paul’s experiences in chapters 21 and following is because this is exactly how it happened. In this account we see God’s hand of providence guiding Paul to fulfill the apostolic commission to take the gospel to the ends of the earth—a trajectory that spans the narrative from beginning to end.