Thursday
Thursday
Paul the Witness
I have appeared to you to appoint you as a servant and as a witness.
Acts 26:16
Luke’s purpose in describing the three court scenes was not just apologetic; it was evangelistic as well. During his two years of imprisonment, which had interrupted his missionary career, Paul must have felt very frustrated. But when opportunities for witness were given him, he seized them with confidence and courage. The main examples Luke gives are his private interview with Felix and his public confrontation with Agrippa.
Felix has been described as one of the worst of Roman officials. He was well known for his cruelty, lust, and greed. He seems to have had no moral scruples. But Paul was not afraid of him. Since he spoke to him about righteousness, self-control, and future judgment (24:25), it is reasonable to suppose that he rebuked the procurator for his sins. He also spoke to him of faith in Jesus.
As for the trial before Agrippa, Paul was not overawed by the show of pomp and power that marked that occasion or by the assembly of notable personages in court. “See what an audience is gathered together for Paul!” exclaimed Chrysostom. But Paul made no attempt to ingratiate himself with the authorities. He wanted the king’s conversion, not his favor. Three times Luke has Paul repeating the elements of the gospel in the king’s hearing (26:18, 20, 23). Each time Paul thus repeated the gospel in court, he was in fact deliberately preaching it to the court. Festus might call him mad, but Paul knew that he was “speaking the sober truth” (v. 25 RSV).
Thank God for Paul’s courage! Kings and queens, governors and generals did not daunt him. Jesus had warned his disciples that they would be “brought before kings and governors” on account of his name and had promised that on such occasions he would give them “words and wisdom” (Luke 21:12, 15). Jesus had also told Ananias (who had presumably passed the information on) that Paul was his “chosen instrument” to carry his name “before the Gentiles and their kings and before the people of Israel” (Acts 9:15). These predictions had come true, and Paul had not failed.
For further reading: Acts 26:12–23