Acts 26:3 - Printer Friendly

ESV: especially because you are familiar with all the customs and controversies of the Jews. Therefore I beg you to listen to me patiently.

NIV: and especially so because you are well acquainted with all the Jewish customs and controversies. Therefore, I beg you to listen to me patiently.

NASB: especially because you are an expert in all customs and questions among the Jews; therefore I beg you to listen to me patiently.

CSB: especially since you are very knowledgeable about all the Jewish customs and controversies. Therefore I beg you to listen to me patiently.

NLT: for I know you are an expert on all Jewish customs and controversies. Now please listen to me patiently!

KJV: Especially because I know thee to be expert in all customs and questions which are among the Jews: wherefore I beseech thee to hear me patiently.

NKJV: especially because you are expert in all customs and questions which have to do with the Jews. Therefore I beg you to hear me patiently.

When Festus took the position of governor after Felix, he inherited a problem: Paul. Two years prior, the Sanhedrin had first tried to assassinate Paul (Acts 23:12–15) and then charge him with capital crimes against the Roman law (Acts 24:5–6). Felix knew something of Christianity and realized the charges were unproven and unwitnessed by Paul's accusers. But he didn't want to provoke the Sanhedrin, so he left Paul under house arrest in Caesarea Maritima (Acts 24:22–27).

When Festus, likewise, tried to accommodate both the Sanhedrin and Paul's Roman citizenship, he found Paul's patience had run out. Paul appealed to Caesar, and Festus must send him (Acts 25:6–12), but Festus has no charges to send with him. He's asked King Agrippa II and an assortment of Caesarean leaders to help him determine what he should tell Caesar (Acts 25:23–27).

To that end, Paul is giving his testimony—both legally and religiously—primarily to Agrippa, whose great-grandfather was Herod the Great and who has a thorough understanding of Jewish religion and culture. As is customary, Paul begins with a polite greeting, but Paul does not edge into undeserved flattery.

"Customs" is from the Greek root word ethos. It can mean an informal custom, but it also means laws and rites, of which the Jews had many. "Controversies," elsewhere translated "questions," is from the Greek root word zētēma. It refers to debates about the law.

Festus, a Roman, does not perceive a difference between Christianity and Judaism. In fact, Rome will only begin to see a distinction in AD 150 after the Khobar Rebellion. Agrippa understands. He knows that although the Pharisees believe in the resurrection of the dead, the resurrection of a particular man—Jesus of Nazareth—has caused a fierce conflict (Acts 4:18). Prior to his conversion, Paul was more than willing to resolve that argument by exterminating Jesus' followers (Acts 8:1–3; 9:1–2). Now, however, Paul fully accepts Jesus, and the Sanhedrin identifies him as an enemy.

Acts 26:1–11 contains Paul's account of his life before encountering Jesus Christ. He speaks to Governor Festus, King Agrippa II, and the military and civil leadership of Caesarea Maritima. Before conversion, Paul absorbed training as a devout Pharisee, including passionate devotion to the Mosaic law. His beliefs led him to zealously hunt Jesus-followers, even voting that they be executed if they did not deny Christ. Everything changed when he tracked Christians to Damascus.

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.