Paul stood before King Agrippa and those in authority, not simply defending himself but proclaiming what God had done through Jesus Christ. His testimony showed how a life once controlled by sin and opposition could be transformed by grace. Paul had been given a mission, and he remained obedient even when obedience brought suffering, imprisonment, and chains.
Obedience, God’s Covenant, Faith, Pride, Envy, Sin, Establishment, Ego, Grace, Belief, Redemption Plan, Jesus Christ
📖 Acts 26:1 (NIV)
“26 Then Agrippa said to Paul, “You have permission to speak for yourself.”
Paul’s defense before King Agrippa was more than a response to accusations.
it was a testimony of God’s Covenant, the resurrection, and the power of Jesus Christ to change a life.
Paul openly described his past.
He had once believed he should oppose the name of Jesus and had persecuted believers with the authority of the religious establishment.
He was convinced he was doing what was right. But on the road to Damascus, Jesus confronted him.
That encounter changed everything.
Jesus did not simply tell Paul what he had done wrong.
He gave Paul a new purpose.
Paul was appointed as a servant and witness, sent to open people’s eyes, turn them from darkness to light, and from the power of Satan to God.
Through faith in Jesus, people could receive forgiveness of sins.
Paul said he was not disobedient to the heavenly vision.
He preached repentance and called people to turn to God and demonstrate their repentance through their lives.
Even when Festus accused Paul of being out of his mind, Paul remained calm.
He knew the message was true and reasonable.
He then placed the question before Agrippa: Do you believe the prophets?
The room eventually concluded that Paul had done nothing deserving death or imprisonment.
Agrippa even said Paul could have been set free if he had not appealed to Caesar.
Paul’s circumstances were not the end of God’s plan.
His chains became another opportunity to testify about Jesus Christ.
📖 Acts 26:1-4 (NIV)
“26 Then 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, 3 and 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 Jewish people 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.”
Paul had been convinced that he should oppose Jesus of Nazareth.
This reminds us that confidence does not automatically make a person correct.
Paul’s transformation began when Jesus confronted what he believed and showed him the truth.
God’s Covenant gives us something greater than our own opinions.
His truth gives us a foundation when our understanding needs to change.
📖 Acts 26:5-8 (NIV)
“5 They have known me for a long time and can testify, if they are willing, that I conformed to the strictest sect of our religion, living as a Pharisee. 6 And now it is because of my hope in what God has promised our ancestors that I am on trial today. 7 This is the promise our twelve tribes are hoping to see fulfilled as they earnestly serve God day and night. King Agrippa, it is because of this hope that these Jews are accusing me. 8 Why should any of you consider it incredible that God raises the dead?”
Paul explained that he was on trial because of his hope in what God had promised their ancestors.
Paul was not presenting a new religion disconnected from Scripture.
He was proclaiming the fulfillment of what God had promised.
God’s Covenant does not disappear because circumstances become difficult.
What God promised remains important even when people misunderstand, reject, or oppose it.
The resurrection of Jesus Christ stands at the center of that promise.
📖 Acts 26:9-12 (NIV)
“9 “I too was convinced that I ought to do all that was possible to oppose the name of Jesus of Nazareth. 10 And that is just what I did in Jerusalem. On the authority of the chief priests I put many of the Lord’s people in prison, and when they were put to death, I cast my vote against them. 11 Many a time I went from one synagogue to another to have them punished, and I tried to force them to blaspheme. I was so obsessed with persecuting them that I even hunted them down in foreign cities.”
“12 “On one of these journeys I was going to Damascus with the authority and commission of the chief priests.”
Paul had been traveling with authority to persecute believers. Then Jesus appeared to him.
The question was direct: “Why do you persecute me?”
Jesus then gave Paul a new assignment.
He would take the message of light to people living in darkness and proclaim forgiveness through faith in Jesus.
This is one of the powerful messages of Acts: a person’s past does not have to become their future when they turn to God.
Grace can change direction.
📖 Acts 26:13-16 (NIV)
“13 About noon, King Agrippa, as I was on the road, I saw a light from heaven, brighter than the sun, blazing around me and my companions. 14 We all fell to the ground, and I heard a voice saying to me in Aramaic,[a] ‘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 and will see of me.”
Paul said, “I was not disobedient to the vision from heaven.”
He did not merely hear Jesus and continue living the same way.
He acted.
And he preached in Damascus, Jerusalem, Judea, and eventually to the Gentiles.
His message was that people should repent, turn to God, and demonstrate their repentance by their deeds.
Rather, changed actions can demonstrate that belief has become real in someone’s life.
Paul’s faith became visible through what he did.
📖 Acts 26:17-20 (NIV)
“17 I will rescue you from your own people and from the Gentiles. I am sending you to them 18 to 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. 20 First to those in Damascus, then to those in Jerusalem and in all Judea, and then to the Gentiles, I preached that they should repent and turn to God and demonstrate their repentance by their deeds. “
He had once used his position to persecute followers of Jesus.
Later, other people used accusations and authority against him.
The problem was not authority itself.
Paul’s testimony reminds us to examine what we believe rather than allowing pride, envy, ego, or the desire to protect an establishment to become more important than truth.
📖 Acts 26:21-24 (NIV)
“21 That is why some Jews seized me in the temple courts and tried to kill me. 22 But God has helped me to this very day; so I stand here and testify to small and great alike. I am saying nothing beyond what the prophets and Moses said would happen— 23 that the Messiah would suffer and, as the first to rise from the dead, would bring the message of light to his own people and to the Gentiles.”
“24 At this point Festus interrupted Paul’s defense. “You are out of your mind, Paul!” he shouted. “Your great learning is driving you insane.”
Paul did not hide his past.
Yet Jesus did not leave Paul trapped in that past.
Paul received mercy and a mission.
That does not erase the seriousness of his earlier actions.
It demonstrates the power of God’s grace.
The Gospel does not say that imperfect people have no hope.
It points them toward Jesus Christ, forgiveness, repentance, and a new direction.
Paul became living evidence that God’s grace can work through an imperfect person.
📖 Acts 26:25-28 (NIV)
“25 “I am not insane, most excellent Festus,” Paul replied. “What I am saying is true and reasonable. 26 The 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. 27 King Agrippa, do you believe the prophets? I know you do.”
“28 Then Agrippa said to Paul, “Do you think that in such a short time you can persuade me to be a Christian?”
Paul eventually asked Agrippa whether he believed the prophets.
Paul’s response showed the heart of his mission.
He wanted everyone listening to become what he was, except for the chains he carried.
The Gospel presents a choice to every person who hears it.
Hearing is not the same as believing.
Believing is not merely agreeing with information.
Paul’s testimony called people to respond to Jesus Christ through faith, repentance, and a changed life.
📖 Acts 26:29-32 (NIV)
“29 Paul replied, “Short time or long—I pray to God that not only you but all who are listening to me today may become what I am, except for these chains.”
“30 The king rose, and with him the governor and Bernice and those sitting with them. 31 After they left the room, they began saying to one another, “This man is not doing anything that deserves death or imprisonment.”
“32 Agrippa said to Festus, “This man could have been set free if he had not appealed to Caesar.”
At the end of the hearing, the leaders agreed that Paul had done nothing deserving death or imprisonment.
Agrippa said Paul could have been set free if he had not appealed to Caesar.
Yet Paul was still not free.
His appeal had placed the next part of his journey toward Rome before him.
What looked like another limitation became another step in the mission God had given him.
Paul’s chains did not cancel God’s purpose.
The Redemption Plan continued moving forward through circumstances Paul could not control.
God’s Covenant stands even when human circumstances change.
Paul had moved from persecutor to prisoner, but God’s promises remained unchanged.
The resurrection of Jesus Christ was still true, forgiveness was still being proclaimed, and the Gospel was still reaching people.
Paul’s life shows that God’s Covenant does not depend upon perfect people.
God can work through people who have made serious mistakes, provided they turn toward Him in faith and obedience.
Acts 26 teaches us to examine what controls our hearts.
Pride, envy, ego, sin, and the desire to protect what we already believe can keep us from seeing truth clearly.
Paul discovered that his own certainty had been wrong, but he did not allow his past to prevent him from following Jesus.
Grace gave him a new direction, and obedience carried him forward.
Paul’s testimony ultimately points to Jesus Christ—the One who confronted him, called him, and sent him to proclaim forgiveness and salvation. Jesus suffered, died, and rose from the dead, fulfilling what the prophets had written.
Paul carried that message from Jerusalem to the Gentiles and eventually toward Rome.
His chains could not stop the Gospel because God’s Redemption Plan was greater than Paul’s circumstances.
Every story continues to point toward Jesus Christ, where faith, forgiveness, grace, and eternal life are found.
