Acts 26:2 - Printer Friendly

ESV: “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,

NIV: King Agrippa, I consider myself fortunate to stand before you today as I make my defense against all the accusations of the Jews,

NASB: Regarding all the things of which I am accused by the Jews, King Agrippa, I consider myself fortunate that I am about to make my defense before you today,

CSB: "I consider myself fortunate that it is before you, King Agrippa, I am to make my defense today against all the accusations of the Jews,

NLT: I am fortunate, King Agrippa, that you are the one hearing my defense today against all these accusations made by the Jewish leaders,

KJV: I think myself happy, king Agrippa, because I shall answer for myself this day before thee touching all the things whereof I am accused of the Jews:

NKJV: “I think myself happy, King Agrippa, because today I shall answer for myself before you concerning all the things of which I am accused by the Jews,

King Agrippa II, Governor Festus, and the local leaders of Caesarea Maritima are listening to Paul. The Sanhedrin accused him of serious crimes, which they can't prove. Because the Roman governors, first Felix and then Festus, refused to dismiss the charges, Paul appealed his case to Caesar (Acts 25:10–12). Very quickly, Festus realized he's about to send a prisoner to Rome who probably committed no crime. He hopes the audience can help him determine what to tell Caesar's court (Acts 25:23–27).

Agrippa will be particularly useful. His great-grandfather was Herod the Great. Although his grandfather, Aristobulus, spent little time in Judea, his father, Agrippa I, was king from AD 41 to 44. Agrippa knows the people, the culture, and the religion in a way Festus, who arrived only a few weeks before, never will.

The presentation follows the pattern of a Roman legal defense: the exordium, or introductory address (Acts 26:2–3); the narratio, or explanation and context of the events (Acts 26:4–18); and the argumentio, or formal defense (Acts 26:19–23). As is custom, he starts with a polite greeting. As is Paul's custom, the politeness does not drift into unearned flattery.

The defense does address the legal charges, but the narratio allows Paul to spend significant time on his testimony. His early life as a devout, zealous Pharisee and his conversion to Christ-follower explains the Sanhedrin's animosity almost as much as his ministry teaching that their enemy—Jesus—rose from the dead.

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.