Acts 26:15 - Printer Friendly

ESV: And I said, ‘Who are you, Lord?’ And the Lord said, ‘I am Jesus whom you are persecuting.

NIV: "Then I asked, ‘Who are you, Lord?’ " ‘I am Jesus, whom you are persecuting,’ the Lord replied.

NASB: And I said, ‘Who are You, Lord?’ And the Lord said, ‘I am Jesus whom you are persecuting.

CSB: "I asked, ‘Who are you, Lord?’ "And the Lord replied: ‘I am Jesus, the one you are persecuting.

NLT: ‘Who are you, lord?’ I asked. 'And the Lord replied, ‘I am Jesus, the one you are persecuting.

KJV: And I said, Who art thou, Lord And he said, I am Jesus whom thou persecutest.

NKJV: So I said, ‘Who are You, Lord?’ And He said, ‘I am Jesus, whom you are persecuting.

Paul is describing to Governor Festus and King Agrippa II why he has been under house arrest for the last two years. The Sanhedrin claims he defiled the temple, caused riots, and leads a cult (Acts 24:5–6). Paul explains it's because he believes in the resurrection of the dead. Specifically, because he preaches that Jesus of Nazareth rose from the dead (Acts 26:19–21).

During his defense, Paul gives a lengthy explanation of the context of his relationship with the Sanhedrin. He starts by describing his initial devotion to the legalistic Judaism of the Pharisees. Then he shows how devotion led him to violently persecute Jesus-followers in Jerusalem and Judea. Now, he recounts how, while traveling to Damascus to arrest Jewish Christians, Jesus intervened (Acts 26:4–14).

Paul had arrested numerous followers of Christ. He tried to force them to deny their faith. If they didn't, he voted that they should be executed. He says he was "enraged" with them (Acts 26:10–11). But Jesus claims Paul persecuted Him. This is consistent with Jesus' teaching during His earthly ministry. When describing the actions of those who follow Him, He said, "Truly, I say to you, as you did it to one of the least of these my brothers, you did it to me" (Matthew 25:40). At the Last Supper, He said:

"If the world hates you, know that it has hated me before it hated you. If you were of the world, the world would love you as its own; but because you are not of the world, but I chose you out of the world, therefore the world hates you. Remember the word that I said to you: 'A servant is not greater than his master.' If they persecuted me, they will also persecute you. If they kept my word, they will also keep yours" (John 15:18–20).

Jesus doesn't say this to minimize the individual experiences of persecution His followers face. He says it to contextualize that persecution and to show that the violence is in response to Him. It's a rebellion against His authority, identity, and message. He is so involved in His followers' lives that when we act on His behalf, He feels on our behalf.

Paul experienced much persecution of his own, including being stoned and left for dead (Acts 14:19). He knew Jesus was with him, even then.

Acts 26:12–23 is Paul's testimony to King Agrippa II, Governor Festus, and the leaders of Caesarea Maritima, of how he started following Jesus. The audience wants to determine if Paul broke a law. Paul wants to offer reconciliation with God. Paul describes how he met Jesus on his way to persecute Christians in Damascus and accepted Jesus' commission to spread His offer of forgiveness to Jews and Gentiles. It is for this reason that the Sanhedrin wants him dead, not because he committed a crime. Paul's conversion is recorded in Acts 9:1–19.

Acts 26 records Paul's testimony before the noblemen of Caesarea Maritima, as well as their reactions. He explains that Jewish leaders want him dead because he once persecuted the church, but now believes Jesus rose from the dead and has been spreading that message. Governor Festus thinks Paul has gone mad. King Agrippa II, however, finds his story compelling. They realize that had Paul not appealed to a higher Roman court, they could have let him go.

After being held in custody for two years and, again, hassled by the Sanhedrin who want to kill him, Paul appeals his case to Caesar (Acts 25:7–12). Before he travels to Rome, however, Governor Festus has Paul give his testimony before King Agrippa II and the noblemen of Caesarea Maritima (Act 25:23–27). When Paul is finished, they realize they should have set him free before he appealed to Caesar (Acts 26:30–32). But he must go to Rome, surviving a violent storm and a shipwreck along the way (Acts 27—28).

The summary of the book of Acts is provided in Jesus' words in Acts 1:8: ''But you will receive power when the Holy Spirit has come upon you, and you will be my witnesses in Jerusalem and in all Judea and Samaria, and to the ends of the earth.'' In Acts 2:1–13, the Christ-followers receive the Holy Spirit. Acts 2:14—7:60 describes the rapid growth of the church in Jerusalem. Chapters 8—12 find Jewish persecution inadvertently spreading the gospel throughout Judea and Samaria. And in chapters 13—28, Paul and his companions spread the good news throughout the Roman Empire.