Acts 26:18 - Printer Friendly

ESV: 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.’

NIV: 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.’

NASB: 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 an inheritance among those who have been sanctified by faith in Me.’

CSB: 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 share among those who are sanctified by faith in me.’

NLT: to open their eyes, so they may turn from darkness to light and from the power of Satan to God. Then they will receive forgiveness for their sins and be given a place among God’s people, who are set apart by faith in me.’

KJV: To open their eyes, and to turn them from darkness to light, and from the power of Satan unto God, that they may receive forgiveness of sins, and inheritance among them which are sanctified by faith that is in me.

NKJV: to open their eyes, in order to turn them from darkness to light, and from the power of Satan to God, that they may receive forgiveness of sins and an inheritance among those who are sanctified by faith in Me.’

Governor Festus, King Agrippa II, Agrippa's sister/lover Bernice, and the military and civil leadership of Caesarea Maritima are listening to Paul. He is defending himself against charges by the Sanhedrin that he started riots, desecrated the temple, and leads a cult not authorized by the Roman government (Acts 24:5–6). But because the background of his defense requires an account of his conversion from church persecutor to Jesus-follower, he easily slips in a gospel message.

Here, Paul may be paraphrasing Jesus' overall message to him, given in the first years after he became a Christian. Or he may be recounting something Jesus told him directly which isn't recorded in the original story in Acts 9:3–19; it's probably the former. Jesus chose Paul to tell Gentiles about Him (Acts 26:16); this is His message.

Isaiah prophesied Paul's message. He said of the Messiah, "I will give you as a covenant for the people, a light for the nations, to open the eyes that are blind, to bring out the prisoners from the dungeon, from the prison those who sit in darkness" (Isaiah 42:6–7). And, later, "It is too light a thing that you should be my servant to raise up the tribes of Jacob and to bring back the preserved of Israel; I will make you as a light for the nations, that my salvation may reach to the end of the earth" (Isaiah 49:6). During His earthly ministry, Jesus explained that He is the light (John 8:12; 12:46).

Although Festus called this meeting, Paul is directing his words to Agrippa (Acts 26:2–3). Agrippa is the great-grandson of Herod the Great (Matthew 2:1–4) and the son of Agrippa I. Ethnically, he is a combination of Jewish, Idumean, and Nabatean Arab, among others. Paul will go on to ask him, "King Agrippa, do you believe the prophets? I know that you believe" (Acts 26:27). "Idumean" is the New Testament-era term for "Edomite." Agrippa is, in part, descended from the nation that Jacob's brother Esau ruled (Genesis 36:1). The thought that an Edomite king could regain part of the spiritual inheritance which Esau sold (Genesis 25:29–34) startles Agrippa. "In a short time would you persuade me to be a Christian?" he asks Paul. Paul affirms, "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" (Acts 26:28–29).

Paul offers Agrippa everything: the lost inheritance, freedom from the power of Satan, even forgiveness from the incest Agrippa commits with his sister (1 Corinthians 6:9–11). There's no historical evidence Agrippa takes the offer.

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.

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.