Acts 26:8 - Printer Friendly

ESV: Why is it thought incredible by any of you that God raises the dead?

NIV: Why should any of you consider it incredible that God raises the dead?

NASB: Why is it considered incredible among you people if God raises the dead?

CSB: Why do any of you consider it incredible that God raises the dead?

NLT: Why does it seem incredible to any of you that God can raise the dead?

KJV: Why should it be thought a thing incredible with you, that God should raise the dead?

NKJV: Why should it be thought incredible by you that God raises the dead?

Paul is addressing a large audience in Caesarea Maritima (Acts 25:23). King Agrippa II, great-grandson of Herod the Great, understands the culture, religion, and law of the Jews (Acts 26:2–3). Governor Festus has only been in the territory a few weeks and only knows that his predecessor, Felix, was corrupt and cruel. Festus is a fair ruler and wishes a better relationship with the Jewish leadership. The military tribunes are likely Romans. The civil leaders are probably a mix of Roman, Jewish, and Samaritan.

Of these, those Jews who follow the teachings of the Pharisees believe in the resurrection of the dead; those who are more Greek in their worldview are probably annihilationists: they believe the soul and spirit cease to exist at death.

Paul is explaining that the reason the Sanhedrin hates him has nothing to do with the charges they've brought against him. He did not stir up riots, defile the temple, or teach the Jews to abandon the Mosaic law (Acts 24:5–6). His issue with the Sadducees, who make up the bulk of the Sanhedrin, is that he believes in the resurrection of the dead (Acts 23:6–8). His issue with the Pharisees is that he believes Jesus of Nazareth has already been raised. This proves that Jesus is the Messiah, the Son of God, come to take the sin of the world and reconcile His followers to God.

Jesus as savior is inconvenient to the Sanhedrin's plans. They wish to be rid of the Romans, but they do not want to lose power. Even losing Jews to Christianity has weakened their hold. Paul, once the persecutor of the church (Acts 8:1–3; 9:1–2), now dedicates his life to drawing others to faith in Jesus. That is a betrayal the Sanhedrin cannot bear.

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.