Friday, May 29th

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Friday, May 29

Acts 26:1-32
So Agrippa said to Paul, "You have permission to speak for yourself." Then Paul stretched out his hand and made his defense: "I consider myself fortunate that it is before you, King Agrippa, I am going to make my defense today against all the accusations of the Jews, especially because you are familiar with all the customs and controversies of the Jews. Therefore I beg you to listen to me patiently.

"My manner of life from my youth, spent from the beginning among my own nation and in Jerusalem, is known by all the Jews. They have known for a long time, if they are willing to testify, that according to the strictest party of our religion I have lived as a Pharisee. And now I stand here on trial because of my hope in the promise made by God to our fathers, to which our twelve tribes hope to attain, as they earnestly worship night and day. And for this hope I am accused by Jews, O king! Why is it thought incredible by any of you that God raises the dead?

"I myself was convinced that I ought to do many things in opposing the name of Jesus of Nazareth. And I did so in Jerusalem. I not only locked up many of the saints in prison after receiving authority from the chief priests, but when they were put to death I cast my vote against them. And I punished them often in all the synagogues and tried to make them blaspheme, and in raging fury against them I persecuted them even to foreign cities.

"In this connection I journeyed to Damascus with the authority and commission of the chief priests. At midday, O king, I saw on the way a light from heaven, brighter than the sun, that shone around me and those who journeyed with me. And when we had all fallen to the ground, I heard a voice saying to me in the Hebrew language, 'Saul, Saul, why are you persecuting me? It is hard for you to kick against the goads.' And I said, 'Who are you, Lord?' And the Lord said, 'I am Jesus whom you are persecuting. But rise and stand upon your feet, for I have appeared to you for this purpose, to appoint you as a servant and witness to the things in which you have seen me and to those in which I will appear to you, delivering you from your people and from the Gentiles--to whom I am sending you to open their eyes, so that they may turn from darkness to light and from the power of Satan to God, that they may receive forgiveness of sins and a place among those who are sanctified by faith in me.'

"Therefore, O King Agrippa, I was not disobedient to the heavenly vision, but declared first to those in Damascus, then in Jerusalem and throughout all the region of Judea, and also to the Gentiles, that they should repent and turn to God, performing deeds in keeping with their repentance. For this reason the Jews seized me in the temple and tried to kill me. To this day I have had the help that comes from God, and so I stand here testifying both to small and great, saying nothing but what the prophets and Moses said would come to pass: that the Christ must suffer and that, by being the first to rise from the dead, he would proclaim light both to our people and to the Gentiles." And as he was saying these things in his defense, Festus said with a loud voice, "Paul, you are out of your mind; your great learning is driving you out of your mind." But Paul said, "I am not out of my mind, most excellent Festus, but I am speaking true and rational words. For the king knows about these things, and to him I speak boldly. For I am persuaded that none of these things has escaped his notice, for this has not been done in a corner. King Agrippa, do you believe the prophets? I know that you believe." 

And Agrippa said to Paul, "In a short time would you persuade me to be a Christian?" And Paul said, "Whether short or long, I would to God that not only you but also all who hear me this day might become such as I am--except for these chains." Then the king rose, and the governor and Bernice and those who were sitting with them. And when they had withdrawn, they said to one another, "This man is doing nothing to deserve death or imprisonment." And Agrippa said to Festus, "This man could have been set free if he had not appealed to Caesar."

Several years ago I heard a pastor tell a story about a business executive in his church. The executive had recently made a very generous financial gift to some aspect of the church’s ministry and then had called the pastor for a lunch appointment.

When they sat down for lunch the pastor wanted to find out the purpose of the lunch invitation so he said, “Well, what’s up? Why the appointment for lunch?”

His friend said, “I think I just need you to tell me I’m not crazy!”

What he meant, of course, is that to many in our world today the gospel sounds crazy and it seems even crazier to invest one’s life and resources in gospel oriented endeavors.

Luke tells us that as Paul is explaining the death and resurrection of Jesus, Festus accuses Paul of being crazy.

And as he was saying these things in his defense, Festus said with a loud voice, "Paul, you are out of your mind; your great learning is driving you out of your mind.”

In other words, Festus is saying, “You’re crazy to believe a man rose from the dead; you’re crazy to believe that faith in that man can provide eternal life; you’re crazy to think there is one spiritual truth for both Jews and Romans!”

Have you ever felt like your faith in Jesus makes you look crazy to your friends or family? They might not say it out loud, but you can see it in their eyes and you can hear it in their tone. They think you’re taking this whole “Jesus thing” a little too seriously. They think you’ve been brainwashed by smooth talking preacher. They think it’s a little weird that you give so much time and money to the ministries of your church.

Here’s how Paul responded to being called crazy:

But Paul said, "I am not out of my mind, most excellent Festus, but I am speaking true and rational words. For the king knows about these things, and to him I speak boldly. For I am persuaded that none of these things has escaped his notice, for this has not been done in a corner. King Agrippa, do you believe the prophets? I know that you believe." And Agrippa said to Paul, "In a short time would you persuade me to be a Christian?" And Paul said, "Whether short or long, I would to God that not only you but also all who hear me this day might become such as I am--except for these chains."

In other words Paul says,

“What I’m saying and what I believe is not crazy but makes perfect sense. Who Jesus is and what Jesus did is anchored in history and is there for anyone who cares to check it out. In fact, the gospel is so real, so true and so powerful that I believe you are crazy not to believe as I do!”

Paul is both gracious and bold. He doesn’t accuse, he doesn’t belittle, he cares about the eternal destiny of those who have imprisoned him. But neither does he apologize for what he believes to be true.

The gospel will always sound crazy to some; but Paul reminds us that to believe the gospel, to live in the resurrection power of Christ, is the most sane thing anyone could ever do.


Pastor Brian Coffey