Chapter XXV
fatl'.er's awful deatli (ch. 12. 2.'!), being thought too young
^ Ver. 1-2. Festus, coming to .Iehitsai^em, dect.ixks to HAVE Paul, bkouoht tiiitiieu foii judument, nuv GIVES TUB PARTIES A l}EAKINO ON HIS KETUltN TO CiESA-
(17) to succeed, Judea was attached to the province of 8yrla. Four yi'ars alter, on the death of his uncle Herod, he was made king of the northern principalities of Chal-
Paul's Defence before King Agrippa, ACTS XXYI. Declaring his Life from Ids CJiildhood.
he received his education, even from early youth, at Jerusaleni. See on ch. 22. 3. if tliey would (' were willing to') testify—but this, of course, they were not, it being a strong point in his favour, after the most straitest ('the strictest') sect—as the Pharisees confessedly were. This was said to meet the charge, that as a Hellenistic Jew he had contracted among the heathen lax ideas of Jewish peculiarities. 6, 7. I . . . am judged for the hope of the promise made ... to our fathers—
cIs, and after-wards got Batanea, Iturea, Trachonitis, Abi-
lene, Galilee, and Perea, with the title of king. He died
A. D. 100, after reigning flfty-one years, and Bernlce—his
sister. She was married to her uncle Herod, king of Chalcis, on whose death she lived with her brother Agrippa—not without suspicion of incestuous intercourse, which her subsequent licentious life tended to confirm, came to salute Festns—to pay his respects to him on his accession to the procuratorship. 14, 15. when there many ('several ) days, Festus declared Paul's cause taking advantage of the pi-esence of one who might be presumed to know such matters better than himself; though the lapse of "several days" ere the subject was touched on shows that it gave Festus little trouble. 1631. to deliver any man to die—See on the word "deliver up" V. 11. as I supposed {'suspected')—crimes punishable by civil law. questions of their own superstition rather 'religion' (see on ch. 17. 22). It cannot be supposed that Festus would use the word in any discourteous sense In addressing his Jewish guest, one Jesus—' Thus speaks this miserable Festus of Him to whom every knee shall bow.' [Bengel.] whom Paul affirmed (' kept afilrming') was alive—showing that the resurrection of the Crucified One had been the burden, as usual, of Paul's pleading. The insignificance of the whole affair in the eyes of Festus is manifest, because X doubted of such manner of questions—The " I" is emphatic—I, as a Roman judge, being at a loss how to deal with such matters, the hearing of Augustus—the imperial title first conferred by the Roman Senate on Octavius. I would also hear ('should like to hear') the man myself—No doubt Paul was right when he said, "The king knoweth of these things . . . for I am persuaded that none of these things are hidden from him; for this thing was not done in a corner" (ch. 26. 26). Hence his curiosity to see and hear the man who had raised such commotion and was remodelling to such an extent the whole Jewish life, when Agrippa was come, and Bernice, with great pomp—in the same city in which their father, on account of his pride, had perished, eaten up by worms. [Wetst.] with the chief captains—See on ch. 21. 32. Josephus {Jewish War, lii. 4. 2) says that five cohorts, whose full complement was 1000 men, were stationed at Csesarea. principal men of the city—both Jews and Romans. 'This was the most dignified and influential audience Paul had j-et addressed, and the prediction, ch. 9. 15, was fulfilled, though afterwards still more remarkably at Rome, ch. 27. 24 ; 2 Timothy 4. 16, 17.' [Webster and Wilkinson.] .1 have uo certain (' definite') thing to write to my lord—Nero. 'The writer's accuracy should be remarked here. It would have been a mistake to apply this term (" lord") to the emperor a few years earlier. Neither Augustus nor Tiberius would let himself be so called, as implj'ing the relation of master and slave. But it had now come (rather, was coming) into use as one of the imperial
' for believing that the promise of Messiah, the Hope of the Church (ch. 13. 32 ; 28. 20) has been fulfilled in Jesus of Nazareth risen from the dead.' unto which promise (the fulfilment of it) our twelve tribes—James 1.1; and see on Luke 2. 36. In'Stantly — 'intently;' see ou ch. 12. 5. serving God—in the sense of religious worship ; see on "ministered," ch. 13.2. day and night hope to come The apostle rises into language as catholic as the thought —representing his despised nation, all scattered though
it now was, as twelve great branches of one ancient stem, in all places of their dispersion ofTering to the God of their fathers one unbroken worship, reposing on one great " promise" made of old unto their fathers, and sustained by one " hope" of "coming" to its fulfilment ; the single point of diflerence between him and his countrymen, and the one cause of all their virulence against hini, being, that his hope had found rest in One already come, while theirs still pointed to the future, for which hope's sake, King Agrippa, I am accuseft of the .Tewa —
' I am accused of Jews, O king' (so the triie reading appears to be); of all quarters the most surprising for such a eharixe to come from. The charge of sedition is not samuch as alluded to throughout this speech. It was indeed a mere pretext. 8. Why should it be thought a thing incredible . . . that God should r.iise the dead? —rather, 'Why is it judged a thing incredible if God raises the dead? the case being viewed as an accomplished
fact. No one dared to call in question the overwhelming evidence of the resurrection of Jesus, which proclaimed Him to be the Christ, the Son of God ; the only way of getting rid of it, therefore, was to pronounce it incredible. But wTij/, asks the apostle, is il so judged f Leaving this pregnant question to find its answer in the breasts of his audience, he now passes to his personal history. 9-15. See on ch. 9. 1, *c., and cf. ch. 22. 4, &c. 16-18. But rise, &c. Here the ap</stle appears to condense into one statement various sayings of his Lord to him in visions at different times, in order to present at one view tlie giandeur of the commission with which his Master had clothed him. [Alford.] a minister . . . botli of these things which thou hast seen (putting him on a footing with those "eye-witnesses and ministers of the word" mentioned Luke 1. 2), and of those in which I will appear to thee—referring to visions he was thereafter to be favoured with ; such as ch. 18.9, 10; 22. 17-21; 23. 11 ; 2 Corinthians 12, &c. (Galatians 1. 12). delivering thee from the people—(the Jews) and from the Gentiles. He was all along the object of Jewish malignity, and was at that moment in the hands of the Gentiles; yet he calmly reposes on his Master's assurances of deliverance from both, at the same time taking all precautious for safety and vindicating all his legal rights, unto whom now I send thee—The emphatic "I" here denotes the authority of the Sender. [Bengel.] To open their eyes, [and] to turn them from darkness to light—rather, 'that they may turn' (as in v. 20), i.e., as the effect of their eyes being opened. The whole passage leans upon Isaiah 61.
titles.' [Hacket.]
. CHAPTER XXVI.
Ver. 1-32. Paul's defence of himself before Kino Agrippa, who pronounces him innocent, but concludes THAT THE APPEAL TO C^SAR MUST BE CARRIED OUT. This speeeh, though in substance the same as that from the fortress-stairs of Jerusalem (ch. 22.), differs from
It In being less directed to meet the charge of apostasy from the Jewish faith, and giving more enlarged views of his remarkable change and apostolic commission, and the Divine support under whicli he was enabled to brave the hostility of his countrymen. 1-3. Agrippa said Being a king he appears to have presided. Paul stretch-
1 (Luke 4. 18). and from the power of .Sataii—Note the connection here between being " turned from darkness" and "from the power of Satan," whose whole power over men lies in keeping them in the dark: hence he is called "the ruler of the darkness of this world." See on 2 0<>- rlnthlans 4. 4. that they may receive forgiveness . . . and inheritance among the sanctifled by faltit that
ing forth the Iiand—chained to a soldier (f. 29, and see on ch. 12. 6). I know thee to be expert, &c.—His father was zealous for the law, and himself had the ofllce of president of the temple and Its treasures, and theappointment of the high priest. [Josephus, Antiquilies, 20. 1. 3.] bear me patiently—The idea of 'indulgently' Is also conveyed. 4. 5. from my youth, which was at the Arat ... at Jerusalem, know all the Jews; which knew inc from the l>«ginnlng—plainly showing that
is in me— Note: Faith is here made the instrument of salvation at once in its first stage, forgiveness, and its
last, admission to the home of the sanctified ; and the faith which Introduces the soUl to all this is emphatically declared by the glorified Redeemer to rest upon Hin-
Festus Cliargeth Paul uUh being Mad. ACTS XXVII. Paul sets forward toward Home.
FAITH, even that -which is ix Mk." An<l who that believes this can refrain frrtiu casting his crown before him or resist offering Him supreme worship ? 19-31. Whereupon, O K^iiig Agri]>]>a, I was not <lU«l>edient unto the ineaveiUy vision—This musical and elevated strain, which carries the reader along wilh it, and doubt-
The"w)e'' here reintroduces the historian as oiie of the company. Not that he had left the apostle from tlie time when he last included himself—ch. 21. 18—but the apo.^tle was parted from him by his arrest and imprisonment, until now, wlien they met in the ship, delivered Paul and certain otiier prisoners—Slate prisoners going to lie tried at Home; of which several instances are on record. Julius—who treats the apostle throughout with such marked courtesy (u, 3, 43; ch. 28. IG), that it has been thought [Bengel] he was present when Paul made his defence before Agrippa (see ch. 25. 23), and was impressed with his lofty bearing, a centurion of Augustus' band —the Augustan cohort, an honoi-ary title given to more than one legion of the Roman army, implying, perhaps, that they acted as a body-guard to the emperor or procu-
less did the hearers, bespeaks the lofty region of thought and feeling to which the apostle had risen while rehearsing his Master's communications to him from heaven, showed to them of Damascus and at Jei-usalem—omitting Arabia; because, beginning with the Jews, his object was to mention first the places where his former hatred of the name of Christ was best known : the mention of the Gentiles, so unpalatable to his audience, is reserved to the last, repent and return to God, and do works meet for repentance—a brief description of conversion and its proper fruits, suggested, probably, by the Baptist's leaching, Luke 3. 7, 8. tiH, !i3. having obtniued Itelp
rator, as occasion required, a. a ship of (belonging to) Adramyttlum—a port on the north-east coast of the JE'^enn .Sea. Doubtless the centurion expected to find another ship, bound for Italy, at some of the ports of Asia Minor, without having to go with this ship all the way to Adramyttlum; and in this he was not disappointed. See on v. 6. meaning to sail hy the coasts ('places') of Asia—a coasting vessel, which was to touch at the ports of proconsular Asia, [one] Aristarchus, a Macedonian of Tliessalonica, being with ns—ratlier, 'Aristarchus the Macedonian,' &c. The word "one" should not liave been introduced here by our translators, as if this name had not occurred before; for we find liim seized by tlie Ephesian mob as a "man of Macedonia and Paul's companion in travel," ch. 19. 29, and as a "Thessalonian" accompanying the apostle from Ephesus on his voyage back to Palestine, ch. '20. 4. Here both these places are mentioned in connection with his name. After this we find him at Rome With the apostle, Colossians 4.10; Philemon 24. 3. nexf day touched at Sldon—To reach this ancient and celebrated Mediterranean port, about seventy miles north from Coesarea, in one day, they must have had a fair wind. Julius courteously (see on ti. 1) gave him liberty to go to his friends—no doubt disci-
(' succour') from God (' that [which comethj from God'), I continue ('stand,' 'hold my ground") unto this day, witnessing, &c.—q.d., This life of mine, so marvellously preserved, in spite of all the plots against it, is upheld
lor tlie Gospel's sake ; therefore I " witnessed," &c. that Christ should sutfer, &c. The construction of this sentence implies that in regard to the question ' wlietlier the Messiah is a suffering one, and whether, rising first from the dead, he should show light to the (Jewish) people and
to the Gentiles,' he had only said what the propliets and Moses said should come. ai. Pestus said witli a loud voice—surprised and bewildered. Paul, thou art beside thyself, much learning doth make thee mad q. d., is turning thy head. The union of flowing Greek, deep acquaintance with the sacred writings of his nation, reference to a resurrection and other doctrines to a Roman utterly unintelligible, and, above all, lofty religious earnestness, so strange to the cultivated, cold-hearted skeptics of liiat day—may account for this sudden exclamation.
^r>, 'iO. I am not mad, most noble Festus, but, &c. Can any tiling surpass this reply, for readiness, self-possession, calm dignity 7 Every word of it refuted the rude charge, though Festus, probably, did not intend to hurt the prisoner's feelings, the king knoweth, &c.—See on v. 1-3.
ples, gained, it would seem, by degrees, all along the Phoeuiciau coast since the first preaching there (see on ch.
11. 19; and 21.4). to refresh himself—which after his long confinement would not be unnecessary. Such small personal details are in this case extremely interesting. 4. when we had launched ('set sail') from thence, we sailed under Cyprus, because the winds were contrary—The wind blowing from, the westward, probably with a toufh of the north, which was adverse, they sailed under the lee of Cj'prus, keeping it on their left^ and steering between it and the mainland of Phoenicia. 5. whcjt we had sailed over the Sea of Cillcia and Pampliylia coasts with which Paul had been long familiar, tlie one, perhaps, from boyhood, the other from the time of his
ii7-Z'J. believest tliou tlie prophets ! 1 know thnt thou belie vest—The courage and confidence here shown proceeded from a vivid persuasion of Agrippa's knowledge of the facts and faith in the predictions which they veri-
fied; and the king's reply is the highest testimony to the correctness of these presumptions and the immense power of sucli bold yet courteous appeals to conscience. Almost (or 'in a little time') thou persuadest me to be a Christian—Most modern interpreters tliink tlie ordinary translation inadmissible, and take the meaning to be, 'Thou thinkest to make me with little persuasion (or small trouble) a Christian—but I am not to l)e so easily turned.' But the apostle's reply can scarcely suit any but the sense given in our authorized version, which is tliat adopted by Chkysostom and some of the best scholars
first missionary tour—we came to Myra, a city of Lycia —a port a little east of Patara (see on ch. 21. 1). 6. there
, . . found a ship of Alexandria, sailing Into Italy, and he put us therein—(See on v. 2.) As Egypt was the granary of Italy, and this vessel was laden with wheal (v,
since. The olijection on which so much stress is laid, tliat the word "Christian" was at that time only a term of contempt, has no force except on the other side; for taking it in that view, the sense is, 'Thou wilt soon have me one of that despised sect.' I would to God, &c.—What unequalled magnanimity does this speecli breathe ! Only his Master ever towered above tliis. not only . . . almost . . . but altogether—or, 'whether soon or late,' or 'with little or much difficulty.' except these bonds—
3)), we need not wonder it was large enougli to carry 276 souls, passengers and crew together (v. 37). Besides, the Egyptian merchantmen, among the largesl In llie ilcdlterranean, were equal to the largest merchantmen in our day. It may seem strange that on their passage from Alexandria to Italy they should be found at a Lycian port. But even still it is not unusual tostand to the ni>rtli towards Asia Minor, for the siake of the current. 7. sailed slowly many days (owing to contrary winds), and scarce ('with dilUculty') were come over a-^alnst Cnidus— a town on the promontory of the peninsula of that name, having the island of Coos (see on ch. 21. 1) to the west of it. But for the contrary wind they might have made the distance from Myra (l.iO miles) in one (iay. They would naturally have iiut In at Cnidus, who.se larger harbour was admirable, but the strong westerly current ln<luceil them to run south, under (the leo of) Crete—(See on Titus 1. 5.) over against Salmone— the cape at the eastern extremity of the Island. «. and hardly passing It— ' with dllllculty cousting along U;'
doulitless holding up his two chained hands (see on cli. 12.
S) : wliich in closing such anoble utterance must liave liad an electrical etrect. 30-33. when he had tlius spoken, the king rose—notover-easy, we may b(! sure. This man might have been set at liberty If he had not nppenlefl to C«'snr— It would seem from tliis thatsnch appeals, once made, bthooved to be carried out.