Acts 25-26 jokes and patterns

Audio of sermon here but here are some jottings:

Perhaps Paul tells a kind of joke in Acts 26v19. He says to King Agrippa: “I pray God that not only you but all who are listening to me today may become what I am, except for these chains.” “So, your majesty, we could all agree to get rid of these chains, couldn’t we? But apart from that one little detail, your majesty, be like me!”

 Paul sometimes calls himself a prisoner of the Lord and a slave of Jesus Christ. That’s the hidden reality behind what’s really going on here.

Role reversals and hidden meanings can be the stuff of comedy. And maybe there’s something of that here as Paul begins to cross examine the judge, King Agrippa. V27: “King Agrippa, do you believe the prophets? I know you do.” Paul is on trial, but in a way Agrippa is on trial here too, isn’t he? His thoughts and motives begin to be exposed and it all becomes too much for him and he walks out. Maybe God’s word will ask us some searching questions too. Perhaps it will convict us.

 The King perhaps thinks its laughable that in so short a time Paul should persuade him to become a Christian, but Paul defends faith in Jesus as perfectly reasonable. He says, for example, in v8, “Why should any of you consider it incredible that God raises the dead?”

There’s also some word play in our chapter. In v24, Festus says to Paul, “you’ve gone crazy, you’re out of you mind to believe in Jesus and the resurrection.” “Your great learning has driven you insane.” It’s a kind of mania. And Paul defends himself: he’s not insane: what he’s saying is true and reasonable and a matter of common knowledge and public record and capable of investigation. Jesus’ ministry is well known and wasn’t done in a corner.

Paul has actually already used that mania, insane word earlier in his defence. In v11, he talked about his obsession, his rage, his mania, in going to foreign cities to persecute the Christians. Before Paul ever became a Missionary seeking to make Christians, he was an anti-Christian counter-Missionary travelling around to destroy believers. Paul would say, “I was out of my mind, but Jesus has brought he to my sense.” “My craziness was trying to fight against Jesus, not my believing in him”.

Perhaps Luke wants us to raise a smile at the whole scene in these chapters. It’s described in chapter 25v23 as King Agrippa and his sister Bernice come in with great pomp and enter the audience room with the high ranking officers and leading men of the city.

But its all a bit silly, really, isn’t it? The Governor has already shown himself too weak to do the right thing and release Paul, although he knows there’s no case to answer. Paul’s innocence is stressed at the beginning and end of our reading And Paul has already appealed to Caesar.

Some commentators call this chapter a show trial. It’s a bit of an entertainment and a spectacle. But its not a real proper full trial at all. This is all a bit of a farce.

The point of this is that the Governor Festus wants to have something to write to the Emperor about Paul. He doesn’t want to look silly by sending Paul off to the Emperor saying, “Your Majesty, I’m sending you this innocent man because I’m incompetent and wanted to keep the locals happy and it all got a bit out of hand!”.

And for all his pomp, we have to remember that King Agrippa is very much in the grip of Rome. He gets to be called King because its convenient for the Emperor. Agrippa is King only as long as he’s useful to Nero. He doesn’t have the real power here.

If we’ve been reading Acts, we might remember another King Herod Agrippa, the father of the one we read about today. At the end of Acts chapter 12, we read about him in Caesarea wearing his royal robes and sat on his throne, but struck down, eaten by worms and killed because he failed to give praise to God, while the word of God continued to grow and spread. The latest King Herod Agrippa hasn’t obviously learnt the lessons of his father’s gruesome death.

And it might just be worth mentioning that there were rumours about Agrippa and the nature of his relationship with his sister, Bernice.

Paul seems pleased to be able to make his case to someone who knows about Jewish affairs, but Agrippa isn’t everything one might hope for in a judge, either in terms of power or, probably, in terms of personal morality. Paul, of course, looks to Jesus as the true Judge and King. It’s the high court of heaven that really matters to him. Despite his serious predicament, I expect Paul managed a smile at Festus and Agrippa.

So, Festus and Agrippa are trying to come up with something to write to the Emperor about Paul. But Paul certainly knows what to say about the charges against him and about his mission.

This hearing allows Paul to gain a hearing for the gospel. He makes the most of this opportunity not only to defend himself but to proclaim Jesus.

There’s a repeated word in chapter 26, which we could use to structure our consideration of what Paul says. In v6 he says, I stand before you on trial, or being judged, and in v22 he says I stand before you bearing witness, or testifying about Christ.

Paul’s trial is an opportunity for testimony.

 We could sum up his defence and message then in two points:

 (1)   V6: I stand before you on trial because of the hope of Israel and the promises of God which are fulfilled in the resurrection of Jesus.

 And (2) v22: I stand before you to testify to the fulfilment of the Scriptures in Christ’s suffering, death, resurrection and proclaiming light to the nations.

Paul saw the light on the road to Damascus (v13) and Jesus has sent him to proclaim light to those in darkness (v18). He’s seen the Light and he shares the light.  V23: Jesus is proclaiming light to his own people and to the Gentiles.

Jesus is the Servant of the Lord from the book of Isaiah who would bring light to the nations, and Paul is joining in this ministry.

Paul is like one of the prophets of old, like Isaiah, or Jeremiah, or Ezekiel, authorised and commissioned by God. This is really God’s message and mission, not Paul’s.

The theme of reversal is here again: Paul was blinded on the road to Damascus and then God opened his eyes. Paul was blind but now he sees. And now, v18, Jesus sends Paul to open the eyes of others.