So Agrippa said to Paul, “You have permission to speak for yourself.” Then Paul stretched out his hand and made his defense: “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, especially because you are familiar with all the customs and controversies of the Jews. Therefore I beg you to listen to me patiently. “My manner of life from my youth, spent from the beginning among my own nation and in Jerusalem, is known by all the Jews. They have known for a long time, if they are willing to testify, that according to the strictest party of our religion I have lived as a Pharisee. “And now I stand here on trial because of my hope in the promise made by God to our fathers, to which our twelve tribes hope to attain, as they earnestly worship night and day. And for this hope I am accused by Jews, O king! ”Why is it thought incredible by any of you that God raises the dead? “I myself was convinced that I ought to do many things in opposing the name of Jesus of Nazareth. And I did so in Jerusalem. I not only locked up many of the saints in prison after receiving authority from the chief priests, but when they were put to death I cast my vote against them. And I punished them often in all the synagogues and tried to make them blaspheme, and in raging fury against them I persecuted them even to foreign cities. “In this connection I journeyed to Damascus with the authority and commission of the chief priests. At midday, O king, I saw on the way a light from heaven, brighter than the sun, that shone around me and those who journeyed with me. And when we had all fallen to the ground, I heard a voice saying to me in the Hebrew language, ‘Saul, Saul, why are you persecuting me? It is hard for you to kick against the goads.’ And I said, ‘Who are you, Lord?’ And the Lord said, ‘I am Jesus whom you are persecuting.’ But rise and stand upon your feet, for I have appeared to you for this purpose, to appoint you as a servant and a witness to the things in which you have seen me and to those in which I will appear to you, delivering you from your people and from the Gentiles — to whom I am sending you 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. “Therefore, O King Agrippa, I was not disobedient to the heavenly vision, but declared first to those in Damascus, then in Jerusalem and throughout all the region of Judea, and also to the Gentiles, that they should repent and turn to God, performing deeds in keeping with their repentance. “For this reason the Jews seized me in the temple and tried to kill me. To this day I have had the help that comes from God, and so I stand here testifying both to small and great, saying nothing but what the prophets and Moses said would come to pass: that the Christ must suffer and that, by being the first to rise from the dead, he would proclaim light both to our people and to the Gentiles. “And as he was saying these things in his defense, Festus said with a loud voice, ‘Paul, you are out of your mind; your great learning is driving you out of your mind.’ But Paul said, ’I am not out of my mind, most excellent Festus, but I am speaking true and rational words. For the king knows about these things, and to him I speak boldly. For I am persuaded that none of these things has escaped his notice, for this has not been done in a corner. “King Agrippa, do you believe the prophets? I know that you believe.’ And Agrippa said to Paul, ‘In a short time would you persuade me to be a Christian?’ And Paul said, ’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. *“Then the king rose, and the governor and Bernice and those who were sitting with them. And when they had withdrawn, they said to one another, ‘This man is doing nothing to deserve death or imprisonment.’ And Agrippa said to Festus, ‘This man could have been set free if he had not appealed to Caesar.’”
We take up the hearing that last week (Discussion 34) announced. Festus has now found himself in a legal bind of his own making: he has no charges he can honestly write to the emperor (25:27), so he summons a client king who understands the Jewish dispute. The hearing is set for the next day, Agrippa and Bernice have come “with great pomp” (25:23), and Paul is brought in. This week is the actual trial — and in Luke’s carefully staged book, it is the crowning trial, the one that gives the whole book its theological confession. Three things make Acts 26:1-32 a pivot in the second half of Acts:
This is Paul’s third great speech in Acts — and the most complete. Before the crowd and Sanhedrin (22-23), before Felix (24:10-21), and now before Agrippa (26:1-23). The third speech is the longest and the most deliberate: it is Paul’s autobiography as the gospel. Notice the arc of the three: before the Sanhedrin Paul’s confession lands on the resurrection (23:6); before Felix it lands on righteousness, self-control, and judgment (24:25); before Agrippa it lands on the risen Christ as the fulfillment of Moses and the prophets (26:22-23). By the third speech, Paul is no longer defending himself; he is preaching — from the dock. Luke uses these three speeches as summary-confessions of the entire story of Acts 1-26: the Damascus road, the Jerusalem church, the Gentile mission, and the chain of trials. To hear Paul’s third speech is to hear the book of Acts spoken out loud.
The verdict is the verdict of the whole book. When the court withdraws, their first words (26:31) are: “This man is doing nothing to deserve death or imprisonment.” The three Roman trials — Felix (deferred), Festus (no provable charge), Agrippa (explicitly innocent) — produce one consistent result: the law finds nothing against the man who preaches the risen Christ. Yet the man is a prisoner, bound for Rome. The irony of 26:32 — “This man could have been set free if he had not appealed to Caesar” — is the hinge on which the whole Jerusalem-to-Rome arc (23:11) is now legally executed. Paul’s appeal, which looked like a desperate gambit in last week’s passage, is revealed to be the providential instrument of the journey to Rome.
The title of this study — Power of Personal Testimony — is the grammar of the passage. Paul’s defense contains no argument from Jewish law, no citation of a Roman statute, no appeal to a precedent. It contains a life: “I considered myself… I did so… I cast my vote… I saw a light… I heard a voice… I was not disobedient.” The evidence in this case is a person’s story, converted by grace. For an LCMS congregation this is the deepest claim of the passage: the gospel is not a system one argues; it is a life one testifies to.
The passage falls into six narrative units:
| # | Verses | Unit |
|---|---|---|
| 1 | 26:1-3 | Agrippa grants permission; Paul’s courtly proemium |
| 2 | 26:4-11 | Paul’s Pharisaic witness and the “hope” charge; the confession of his own sin |
| 3 | 26:12-18 | The Damascus road: the vision and the divine commission |
| 4 | 26:19-23 | Paul’s mission and the prophets’ fulfillment in the risen Christ |
| 5 | 26:24-29 | Festus interrupts (“you are out of your mind”); Paul’s reply; Agrippa’s answer |
| 6 | 26:30-32 | The court withdraws: the verdict of innocence; the irony of the appeal |
A. Agrippa II — the educated king without a kingdom. Agrippa II is the son of Herod Agrippa I, the same king who killed the apostle James (12:1-2) and who held the famous theatrical speech interrupted by Ananias’ angel (12:22-23), both covered in our earlier work through Acts 12. Agrippa II himself was, in the late 50s CE, a tetrarch of Chalcis (Auranitene Chalcis) — a “king” in title but without a full kingdom, dependent on Roman favor. Two facts about him matter for the text. First, Josephus records that Agrippa II was personally educated by the most learned Jewish teachers of his generation (Josephus, Antiquities of the Jews, 20.200-204; Life, 156-166): a delegation of the chief rabbis was sent to instruct the young prince in the Law, so that he would be “a man of the Torah” in the royal court. When Paul says “you are familiar with all the customs and controversies of the Jews” (26:3), he is not flattery — he is stating a documented fact that would make Agrippa a qualified lay judge on precisely the dispute Festus cannot adjudicate. Second, Agrippa II’s later life confirms his Roman orbit: his sister Bernice (his co-ruler and, at one point, his wife) is the same Bernice whom Tacitus (Annals, 2.70) records as being given by Vespasian as a mistress to the future emperor Titus. The court in 26:1-32 is thus a court of the client-royalty: Hellenized, politically dependent, theologically literate — the ideal audience for a Hellenistic apologia.
B. The date and Festus’s dilemma. Discussion 34 established Porcius Festus as procurator of Judaea (c. 58/59-62 CE, per Josephus, Antiquities, 20.9) and his legal predicament: he must write to Nero with “something to write” (25:27), but the charges are matters of Jewish religion (25:19) that a Roman governor should not adjudicate. The summons of Agrippa is the standard client-king consultation: the governor lacks jurisdiction over the theological question, so he borrows the opinion of a king who does understand it. This is why Paul speaks “boldly” (26:26) to Agrippa while Festus sits: the real judge of the charge is the one who knows the prophets.
C. The three trials in Acts, compared.
| Trial | Forum (place) | Prosecutor | Defense | Outcome |
|---|---|---|---|---|
| Felix (24) | Caesarea, praetorium | Tertullus, public lawyer (24:1) | Paul’s defense (24:10-21) | Deferred — “when I get the opportunity” (24:26); two years (24:27) |
| Festus (25) | Caesarea, audience hall (25:21-22) | No accusers stand (25:8) | Paul’s triple innocence (25:8); appeal (25:11) | Appeal to Caesar (25:12) |
| Agrippa (26) | Caesarea, audience hall (25:22-23) | No charges produced | Paul’s apologia (26:1-23) | Innocent (26:31); bound for Rome (26:32) |
The pattern is deliberate and theological: as the trials ascend (Felix → Festus → Agrippa), the accusation empties (Tertullus’ charges → no accusers → no provable charge) and the confession fills (the resurrection, 23:6 → “a certain Jesus who is dead but Paul asserts is alive,” 25:19 → the whole witness of Moses and the prophets, 26:22-23). The court’s law finds nothing; the court cannot touch the gospel. This is the law/gospel distinction in dramatic form — a point we will develop in Section V.
A. The Hellenistic apologia and its imitation. Discussion 33 already established the Hellenistic form behind Lysias’ letter to Felix (23:26-30) and Tertullus’ flattering proemium (24:2). Paul now imitates that form precisely so that Agrippa — a Hellenized, educated king — recognizes the genre. “Most excellent” (Gk. kallistos, 26:25), “I consider myself fortunate” (Gk. eudaimona hēgoumai, 26:2), “I beg you to listen patiently” (Gk. hetoimōs akouein, 26:3) — all are stock phrases of Greek courtroom oratory addressed to a patron. Paul does not speak as a prisoner begging; he speaks as an orator arguing. The form is the first sign that this will be no plea but a preaching.
B. Paul’s gesture. Verse 1: “Then Paul stretched out his hand” (Gk. ekteinas tēn cheira). This is the standard oratorical gesture of the Hellenistic stage — cf. 12:20, where Herod “put on his royal robes and delivered his address to the crowd” in the theater, and the hand of the speaker is a visible sign of public address. It is also the gesture of boldness: the prisoner, in chains, addresses a king with an outstretched hand. Luke’s audience, in Rome, would read this as a small but mighty act of parrhēsia (open, fearless speech) — the same quality Paul will name in 26:26 (“to him I speak boldly”).
C. The “we” passage at 26:22. “To this day I have had the help that comes from God” (26:22) is one of the six “we” passages in Acts (16:10; 20:6; 21:17; 23:17; 27:2; 28:16), which we have treated in earlier discussions (see, e.g., the voyage narrative of Acts 27). The we here is theological as much as authorial: Paul’s witness has not been an isolated individual testimony but a communal testimony — we (Paul and the author, the apostles and the Church) have had God’s help “to this day.” The first-person singular of the confession (vv. 9-18) and the first-person plural of the mission (v. 22) are two halves of one doctrine: the gospel is personal and ecclesial at once.
D. Courtroom interruption and social dynamics. A Roman governor could interrupt a defendant at any point (Festus at 26:24). But the content of the interruption is what makes the scene famous: “Paul, you are out of your mind; your great learning is driving you out of your mind” (Gk. ekpeptōkas… tēi phronēi — literally “you have fallen out of your mind”). In Roman law, a claim of insanity (furia) was a recognized defense or incapacity (cf. Cicero, Pro Cluentio, 50-51, on the distinction between madness and reason). Festus’ interruption is thus a legal move (a challenge to the defendant’s sane mind) that Paul answers by redefining the charge: it is not madness but truth and reason (Gk. alēthē te kai euphrosynēs logous, v. 25). The social dynamic of the scene — a “king” of no kingdom, a governor of two years’ inaction, a sister-queen, and a prisoner in chains — is the skenē (stage) on which the dramatis personae of the two kingdoms (SA III) perform their brief act before God’s providence (AC II) takes them all to Rome.
So Agrippa said to Paul, “You have permission to speak for yourself.” Then Paul stretched out his hand and made his defense: “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, especially because you are familiar with all the customs and controversies of the Jews. Therefore I beg you to listen to me patiently.”
“You have permission to speak for yourself” (Gk. exousia… aphrōnēsai, “you have the permission to make your defense”). Agrippa, as a non-Roman client king, is granting a privilege that technically belongs to the Roman appeal. The two kingdoms are in this sentence: the political kingdom (Festus, the appeal, Caesar) frames the hearing; the royal kingdom (Agrippa) opens the mouth. God’s providence (AC II; SA III) works through both — the Roman appeal and the Hellenized king.
“I consider myself fortunate” (Gk. eudaimona hēgoumai, “I consider myself fortunate / blessed”). Paul’s first word of the defense is a benediction — the same posture as the opening of his letters (Rom. 1:8; 2 Cor. 1:3-4; Phil. 1:3-4). The LCMS congregation hears in this the grammar of the liturgy: the blessing (benedictio) that opens the Divine Service and the defense that opens the sermon are of one family.
“all the customs and controversies of the Jews” (Gk. antilēpseis, “controversies / points taken up against” — cf. 25:19, Festus’ report; and Paul’s own usage of the antilegō family in his letters, e.g., 1 Cor. 9:3). Agrippa is a qualified witness to the dispute. Paul’s request — “I beg you to listen patiently” (Gk. hetoimōs akouein, “to hear readily, with attention”) — is a stock courtesy of the Hellenistic courtroom: hear me out before you judge. This is the first use of the law in the courtroom: Paul asks for fair hearing before the fair judgment.
Cross-reference: 12:20 (Herod’s “address”); 23:1 (Paul before the Sanhedrin, “you hear all my defense”); the proemium of Tertullus, 24:2 (the flattering opening Paul now imitates — but without the flattery).
Theological Significance. The opening verse of Paul’s defense is a prayer for a hearing. In an LCMS congregation, the parachalēsis (the “hear my prayer” of the liturgy) and the proemium (the “hear my defense” of the courtroom) are the same act: the sinner, in chains, addressing a judge he does not deserve and asking — not for a verdict he has earned — but for a hearing of the Word. The means of grace begin where the mouth is opened to a judge who wills to listen.
“My manner of life from my youth, spent from the beginning among my own nation and in Jerusalem, is known by all the Jews. They have known for a long time, if they are willing to testify, that according to the strictest party of our religion I have lived as a Pharisee. And now I stand here on trial because of my hope in the promise made by God to our fathers, to which our twelve tribes hope to attain, as they earnestly worship night and day. And for this hope I am accused by Jews, O king! Why is it thought incredible by any of you that God raises the dead? I myself was convinced that I ought to do many things in opposing the name of Jesus of Nazareth. And I did so in Jerusalem. I not only locked up many of the saints in prison after receiving authority from the chief priests, but when they were put to death I cast my vote against them. And I punished them often in all the synagogues and tried to make them blaspheme, and in raging fury against them I persecuted them even to foreign cities.”
“according to the strictest party of our religion” (Gk. tēi hēdreiāi, “in the strictest party” — the haidreus, the Pharisee of the strictest sect). Paul is the haidreus in the most literal sense. Note the phrase “our religion” — the Way (24:14; 9:2) is not a sect but a religion within a religion. Paul does not say “their religion”; he says “our”. This is the legal claim that the gospel is Israel’s hope, not a foreign one — the cui bono (whose benefit) of the trial.
“my hope in the promise” (Gk. elpis… epaggelias). The elpis (hope) is the gospel as Paul’s defense: the promise (Gk. epaggelia) to the fathers (Abraham, Ps. 105:8; 132:11-12) is now the charge (26:6-7) and the defense (26:6-7) at once. The court hears hope; Paul hears promise. The law (the charge) and the gospel (the promise) are two words for the same elpis, heard from two sides.
“Why is it thought incredible by any of you that God raises the dead?” (Gk. adunaton, “impossible”). Paul’s rhetorical question (26:8) is the hubris of the court: the court is the one that finds it “impossible.” The law (the court’s adunaton) is the accuser; the gospel (God’s dynamis, power) is the answer. This is the law/gospel distinction in a single question: the law says “impossible”; the gospel says “risen.”
“I cast my vote against them” (Gk. heurōn tēn psēphon emou, literally “I found my own vote” — that is, I voted in the affirmative). The Sanhedrin voted (cf. Mishnah Sanhedrin 7, the procedure of the death vote). Paul is not hiding behind the authority of the chief priests (26:10); he is claiming the vote as his own. This is the simul iustus et peccator in a courtroom: the same Paul who will be “the first to rise from the dead” (26:23) is this Paul, who voted for the death of the saints.
“in raging fury” (Gk. thumōi, “with a fit of violence / rage”). The thumos (anger) of the Pharisee is the law’s heat turned against the gospel. The law (used rightly, per AC IV and SA II) convicts; the thumos of the Pharisee kills. The distinction is the first use of the law (conviction) versus the abuse of the law (persecution).
LCMS Application. Paul’s confession in vv. 9-11 is the most personal confession in the New Testament: “I did so. I locked up. I voted. I punished. I persecuted.” He does not say “we”; he does not say “the Sanhedrin”; he says “I.” For an LCMS congregation, this is the model of confession in the liturgy: not the generic “we” of the absolution (which is the gospel saying “your sins are forgiven”), but the specific “I” of the penitent’s own confession. The law (the first use, SA II) does not end in the I of the Pharisee; it ends in the I of the converted Paul. The simul iustus et peccator is not a theological abstraction; it is a courtroom confession: “I voted against them.” And yet the same mouth that says “I voted against them” will say, “I am a servant and a witness” (26:16). The means of grace — the Word, the Sacraments — do not erase the confession; they transform the confessor.
“In this connection I journeyed to Damascus with the authority and commission of the chief priests. At midday, O king, I saw on the way a light from heaven, brighter than the sun, that shone around me and those who journeyed with me. And when we had all fallen to the ground, I heard a voice saying to me in the Hebrew language, ‘Saul, Saul, why are you persecuting me? It is hard for you to kick against the goads.’ And I said, ‘Who are you, Lord?’ And the Lord said, ‘I am Jesus whom you are persecuting.’ But rise and stand upon your feet, for I have appeared to you for this purpose, to appoint you as a servant and a witness to the things in which you have seen me and to those in which I will appear to you, delivering you from your people and from the Gentiles — to whom I am sending you 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.”
“I journeyed to Damascus” (Gk. eporeuomai, “I was on my way / was traveling”). The peripateō (walking) of the Pharisee is the vocation (Beruf) of the persecutor: a commission (Gk. entolē, “commission, mandate,” v. 12) from the chief priests. The law’s vocation (persecution) and the gospel’s vocation (witness) are both vocations — both are called. The difference is the caller.
“a light from heaven, brighter than the sun” (Gk. phōs ek tou ouranou lamproboteron tou hēliou, “a light from heaven, brighter than the sun”). The phōs is the light of the theophany (Ex. 19:16; Ps. 104:2; cf. Mt. 17:2). The midday (Gk. en hēmerā mesēmbriō) is the kairos of the ninth hour of the cross (Mt. 27:45-46) — the light of the resurrection breaks the darkness of the ninth hour.
“It is hard for you to kick against the goads” (Gk. skolopēn, the goad / prong). The stubborn beast kicks the goad (the law of God) and is hurt by its own kicking. The image is the law’s first use (conviction, SA II) turned against the sinner’s own will: the sinner thinks he is free; the law shows him that he is kicking. This is the mysterium iniquitatis (the mystery of iniquity) in a single metaphor: the will of the Pharisee is free in the two kingdoms (SA III), and yet it is bound in the gospel (the free will of the converted Paul, 26:16-18).
“I am Jesus whom you are persecuting” (Gk. egō eimi ho Iēsous hon sū diōkeis, “I am Jesus whom you are persecuting”). The ego eimi (“I am”) is the LXX (Septuagint) formula of the burning bush (Ex. 3:14; cf. Mt. 14:27; Jn. 8:24, 28, 58). The Jesus who speaks to Saul is the Jesus whom Saul is persecuting — the I am of the gospel is the I am of the law’s accusation. The law (the accusation) and the gospel (the appearance) are one in the I am of the Jesus who is both the accuser and the defender.
“a servant and a witness” (Gk. diakonos kai martys). The diakonos (“servant, minister”) is the office of the gospel (cf. Mt. 20:26; 1 Pet. 2:7); the martys (“witness”) is the office of the testimony (cf. Jn. 1:7; Rev. 1:9). Paul is called to both — the serving and the witnessing. This is the priestly office of all believers (1 Pet. 2:5, 9; AC XXVIII) before it is the public ministry (AC V).
“forgiveness of sins and a place among those who are sanctified by faith in me” (Gk. aphesin hamartiōn kai klēron tōn hagiasmenōn). The aphesis (“forgiveness, release”) is the gospel’s first word; the hagiasmenoi (“the sanctified”) is the gospel’s last word. The faith (Gk. pistis) is the means by which the sinner receives both. This is justification by faith alone (sola fide) in a single sentence: the sinner (the persecutor) receives forgiveness and sanctification by faith — not by works (the works of the Pharisee, vv. 9-11, are the persecution; the works of the converted Paul, v. 20, are the fruit).
Theological Significance. The Damascus road is the hinge of the gospel in Acts: the persecutor becomes the apostle, the law’s heat (the thumos of vv. 9-11) becomes the gospel’s light (v. 13). The sola gratia (grace alone) is the light that finds the darkness of the persecutor; the sola fide (faith alone) is the faith of the converted Paul (v. 18); the sola scriptura (Scripture alone) is the prophets and Moses (v. 22) who witness to the Christ (v. 23). The means of grace — the Word (the voice, v. 14), the call (v. 15-16), the mission (v. 17-18) — are the threefold office of the gospel as it finds the sinner.
“Therefore, O King Agrippa, I was not disobedient to the heavenly vision, but declared first to those in Damascus, then in Jerusalem and throughout all the region of Judea, and also to the Gentiles, that they should repent and turn to God, performing deeds in keeping with their repentance. For this reason the Jews seized me in the temple and tried to kill me. To this day I have had the help that comes from God, and so I stand here testifying both to small and great, saying nothing but what the prophets and Moses said would come to pass: that the Christ must suffer and that, by being the first to rise from the dead, he would proclaim light both to our people and to the Gentiles.”
“I was not disobedient to the heavenly vision” (Gk. ouk hypēichō tēi ouranīōi opseōi, “I did not yield / disobey the heavenly vision”). The hypēichō (“to yield, obey”) stands in contrast to the disobedience of the persecutor (cf. Gen. 3:6; Deut. 1:42). Paul’s obedience is the antidote to the disobedience of the persecutor. The vocation (Beruf) of the gospel (witness, v. 16) is answered by the obedience of the apostle (v. 19).
“performing deeds in keeping with their repentance” (Gk. praxeis… hypohēkousas, “works… corresponding / suitable”). The praxis (“works”) is the fruit of the metanoia (“repentance”), not the ground of the forgiveness (v. 18). This is the third use of the law (AC IV; SA II): the law does not justify (that is the gospel’s work, v. 18); the law shapes the life of the justified (v. 20). The deeds are the fruit; the faith is the root.
“saying nothing but what the prophets and Moses said would come to pass” (Gk. ouden eipon pera… hois prophētais kai Mōysēi, “saying nothing apart from what the prophets and Moses foretold”). The sola scriptura (Scripture alone) in a courtroom: Paul’s preaching is bounded by the Scripture (the prophets and Moses). The Christ (v. 23) is not a new message; he is the fulfillment of the old message (Isa. 53:3-5; 52:15; 60:1-3; 49:6; Dan. 12:2). The law (Moses) and the prophets witness to the gospel (the Christ); the gospel fulfills the law and the prophets.
“the Christ must suffer and… the first to rise from the dead” (Gk. ho Christos prepei pathein kai ton prōton ek nekrōn anistēnai, “the Christ must suffer and be the first to rise from the dead”). The prepei (“it is necessary, it must be”) is the language of the suffering servant (Isa. 53:10; cf. Lk. 24:26, 39, 44; 22:37). The prōtos anastās (“the first to rise”) is the head of the body (1 Cor. 15:20-23); the resurrection of the Christ is the guarantee of the resurrection of the saints (26:6-8, the elpis of the twelve tribes).
“proclaim light both to our people and to the Gentiles” (Gk. phōs anakoinōsai kai tō laō kai tois ethnesin, “to proclaim light to the people and to the nations”). The light (v. 13, the light from heaven) is now the light proclaimed (v. 23, the light of the gospel). The two kingdoms of the gospel (the people of God and the nations) are the two kingdoms of the world (the Jews and the Gentiles) transformed by the gospel.
LCMS Application. Paul’s mission (vv. 19-23) is the model of the LCMS congregation’s mission: the preaching (v. 20) is bounded by the Scripture (v. 22); the fruit (v. 20) is the deeds in keeping with repentance; the goal (v. 23) is the light of the gospel to the people and to the nations. The third use of the law (AC IV; SA II) is the shape of the Christian life: the law does not save (that is the gospel’s work, v. 18); the law guides the saved (v. 20). The deeds are the fruit; the faith is the root; the gospel is the life.
“And as he was saying these things in his defense, Festus said with a loud voice, ‘Paul, you are out of your mind; your great learning is driving you out of your mind.’ But Paul said, ‘I am not out of my mind, most excellent Festus, but I am speaking true and rational words. For the king knows about these things, and to him I speak boldly. For I am persuaded that none of these things has escaped his notice, for this has not been done in a corner. King Agrippa, do you believe the prophets? I know that you believe.’ And Agrippa said to Paul, ‘In a short time would you persuade me to be a Christian?’ And Paul said, ‘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.’”
“Paul, you are out of your mind” (Gk. ekpeptōkas tēi phronēi, “you have fallen out of your mind / reason”). Festus’ interruption is a legal move (the insanity defense, cf. Cicero, Pro Cluentio, 50-51): the gospel is madness (1 Cor. 1:21, 23-25). The madness of the gospel (to the perishing) and the wisdom of the gospel (to the saved) are the same gospel, heard from two sides (1 Cor. 1:18-25).
“I am speaking true and rational words” (Gk. alēthē te kai euphrosynēs logous, “words of truth and sobriety / good sense”). Paul’s rebuttal is the rationality of the gospel: the gospel is not madness but truth (Jn. 14:6) and reason (the logos of the gospel). The two kingdoms (SA III) are in this sentence: the court (Festus) finds the gospel mad; the gospel finds the court blind (the king is the one who knows, v. 26).
“this has not been done in a corner” (Gk. ouk en gōnē, “not in a corner”). The gōnē (“corner”) evokes a hidden, private transaction; Paul’s point is the opposite — his ministry is open and documented (cf. 2 Tim. 2:2, the faith passed on “in the presence of faithful witnesses”). Paul’s witness is public (the priestly office of all believers, 1 Pet. 2:5, 9; AC XXVIII): the gospel is not a private matter (a corner); it is a public testimony (the court, the king, the nations). This is the public ministry (AC V) in a courtroom: the gospel is proclaimed (not whispered), publicly (not privately), and boldly (v. 26, “to him I speak boldly”).
“King Agrippa, do you believe the prophets?” (Gk. pisteuεις tous prophētas, “do you believe the prophets?”). Paul’s question is the gospel’s testimony: the prophets (v. 22) witness to the Christ; the king believes (or does not believe) the prophets. The faith (Gk. pistis) of the king is the gospel’s ground: the gospel is not a new message; it is the old message (the prophets), fulfilled in the Christ (v. 23).
“In a short time would you persuade me to be a Christian?” (Gk. Christianon, “Christian”). The Christianos (“Christian”) is the third occurrence in Acts (11:26; 26:28; cf. 24:5, Nazōraios). Agrippa’s response is a polite refusal (the courtly “in a short time”) or a challenge (the rhetorical “would you persuade me?”). The ambiguity is the gospel’s mystery: the king is free to believe or not to believe (the free will of the two kingdoms, SA III), and yet the gospel is the free message (the sola gratia of the gospel, v. 18).
“Whether short or long, I would to God that… all who hear me this day might become such as I am — except for these chains.” (Gk. euchomai… hōs me, “I pray / wish… as I am”). Paul’s prayer (the euchomai, “to pray / wish”) is the gospel’s goal: the king, the governor, the sister-queen, the nations — all become such as I am. The chains (Gk. desmoi) are the irony: the prisoner prays for the king; the convicted prays for the judge. And Paul’s answer is a prayer: “Whether short or long, I would to God that… all who hear me this day might become such as I am — except for these chains” (v. 29).
Theological Significance. The interruption of Festus (v. 24) and the response of Agrippa (v. 28) are the two kingdoms (SA III) in a single scene: the court (Festus) finds the gospel mad; the king (Agrippa) finds the gospel impossible to believe (“in a short time”). And yet the gospel is true and rational (v. 25) and not done in a corner (v. 26). The public witness (the priestly office of all believers, 1 Pet. 2:5, 9; AC XXVIII) is the gospel’s duty: the gospel is proclaimed (not whispered), publicly (not privately), and boldly (v. 26). And the exchange ends not in a verdict but in a prayer — the gospel’s final word in the courtroom is a wish for the king’s conversion (v. 29).
“Then the king rose, and the governor and Bernice and those who were sitting with them. And when they had withdrawn, they said to one another, ‘This man is doing nothing to deserve death or imprisonment.’ And Agrippa said to Festus, ‘This man could have been set free if he had not appealed to Caesar.’”
“This man is doing nothing to deserve death or imprisonment” (Gk. ouden epoieisen axion thanatou hē desmōn, “he did nothing deserving of death or imprisonment”). The verdict of the court is the verdict of the gospel: the law (the court) finds nothing against the man who preaches the risen Christ. The three trials (Felix, Festus, Agrippa) produce one consistent result: the law finds nothing; the gospel finds everything. This is the law/gospel distinction in dramatic form: the law (the court’s adunaton, v. 8) and the gospel (the Christ’s resurrection, v. 23) are two words for the same elpis (hope, v. 6-7), heard from two sides.
“This man could have been set free if he had not appealed to Caesar” (Gk. ei mē ekkalēsas ton Kaisara, “if he had not appealed to Caesar”). The irony of the verdict is the irony of the gospel: the innocent man is bound; the guilty court is free. The appeal (25:11-12) — which looked like a desperate gambit (Discussion 34) — is now revealed to be the providential instrument of the journey to Rome (23:11). The two kingdoms (SA III) are in this sentence: the political kingdom (the appeal, the Caesar) and the spiritual kingdom (the gospel, the Christ) are both at work; the gospel uses the political (the appeal) to accomplish the spiritual (the witness at Rome, 23:11).
The court withdraws. The king, the governor, the sister-queen — they withdraw (Gk. ekbantes, “having gone out”). The prisoner remains. The court is free; the witness is bound. The irony is the gospel: the free man is the prisoner; the bound man is the free (Jn. 8:36).
Theological Significance. The verdict of Acts 26:30-32 is the verdict of the book of Acts: the law finds nothing; the gospel finds everything. The irony of the appeal (v. 32) is the irony of the gospel: the innocent man is bound; the guilty court is free. The two kingdoms (SA III) are the grammar of the verdict: the political kingdom (the appeal, the Caesar) and the spiritual kingdom (the gospel, the Christ) are both at work; the gospel uses the political to accomplish the spiritual.
The evidence in this case is a life. Paul’s defense is not an argument but a testimony: “I did so. I saw a light. I heard a voice. I was not disobedient.” The power of the testimony is the power of the gospel: the gospel is not a system one argues; it is a life one testifies to. This is the priestly office of all believers (1 Pet. 2:5, 9; AC XXVIII) in a courtroom: the gospel is personal (the I of the confession) and public (the court of the king).
LCMS Application. The LCMS congregation is a congregation of testimonies: the absolution (the gospel’s I — “your sins are forgiven”) and the sermon (the gospel’s we — “we preach”) are the two halves of the testimony. The pastor’s preaching is the public testimony; the congregation’s confession is the personal testimony. The elder’s visitation (the visiting of the sick, the visiting of the new convert) is the personal testimony in the public (the home, the hospital). The means of grace (the Word, the Sacraments) are the gospel’s reach: the gospel does not stop at the walls of the church; it reaches the home and the hospital.
The persecutor becomes the apostle. The thumos (rage) of the Pharisee (v. 11) becomes the light of the apostle (v. 13). The sola gratia (grace alone) is the light that finds the darkness of the persecutor: the gospel does not reward the sinner; it finds the sinner. The sola fide (faith alone) is the faith of the converted Paul (v. 18): the sinner receives forgiveness and sanctification by faith — not by works. This is justification by faith alone (AC IV; SA II) in a courtroom: the law (the court) finds nothing; the gospel (the Christ) finds everything.
LCMS Application. The LCMS congregation is a congregation of the converted: the persecutor (the Pharisee, v. 5) and the apostle (the converted, v. 16) are the same man. The simul iustus et peccator (AC IV) is not a theological abstraction; it is a courtroom confession: “I voted against them (v. 10).” The means of grace (the Word, the Sacraments) do not erase the confession; they transform the confessor. The pastor’s absolution is the gospel’s I (“your sins are forgiven”); the congregation’s confession is the law’s I (“I have sinned”). The two are the same gospel, heard from two sides.
The elpis (hope) of the twelve tribes (v. 6-7) is the gospel as Paul’s defense: the promise (Gk. epaggelia) to the fathers (Abraham, Ps. 105:8) is now the charge (v. 6-7) and the defense (v. 6-7) at once. The law (the court’s adunaton, v. 8) says impossible; the gospel (the Christ’s resurrection, v. 23) says risen. This is the law/gospel distinction (AC IV; SA II) in a single question: the law says impossible; the gospel says risen. The resurrection (the prōtos anastās, v. 23) is the head of the body (1 Cor. 15:20-23); the resurrection of the Christ is the guarantee of the resurrection of the saints (v. 6-8, the elpis of the twelve tribes).
LCMS Application. The LCMS congregation is a congregation of the hope: the Catechism (Luther’s Small and Large) teaches the hope (the resurrection, the last article of the Apostles’ Creed — “I look for the resurrection of the dead and the life of the world to come”). The pastor’s preaching is the gospel’s hope: the Christ is risen (v. 23); the saints will rise (v. 6-8). The elder’s visitation (the visiting of the dying) is the gospel’s hope in the hospital: the death is not the end; the resurrection is the end.
Paul’s preaching is bounded by the Scripture (v. 22): “saying nothing but what the prophets and Moses said would come to pass.” The sola scriptura (Scripture alone) in a courtroom: the gospel is not a new message; it is the old message (the prophets, the Moses), fulfilled in the Christ (v. 23). The means of grace (AC V) are the Word (the proclamation, v. 20) and the Sacraments (the Baptism, the Supper) — the gospel’s vehicles. The Word (the prophets and Moses) is the gospel’s ground; the Sacraments are the gospel’s signs.
LCMS Application. The LCMS congregation is a congregation of the Word: the preaching (the sermon) is the gospel’s ground (the prophets and Moses, v. 22); the Sacraments (the Baptism, the Supper) are the gospel’s signs. The pastor’s preaching is the public ministry (AC V): the Word is proclaimed (not whispered), publicly (not privately), and boldly (v. 26). The congregation’s confession is the personal testimony: the Word is received (not argued), faithfully (not doubtfully), and gratefully (v. 2, “I consider myself fortunate”). The elder’s visitation is the Word in the home: the gospel does not stop at the walls of the church; it reaches the home and the hospital.
The client king (Agrippa II, without a kingdom) and the governor (Festus, without a charge) and the sister-queen (Bernice, without a voice) are the three kings of the court. And yet the gospel is proclaimed (v. 20) and the verdict is innocence (v. 31). The two kingdoms (SA III) are the grammar of the court: the political kingdom (the appeal, the Caesar) and the spiritual kingdom (the gospel, the Christ) are both at work; the gospel uses the political to accomplish the spiritual. This is God’s providence (AC II; Rom. 13) in the affairs of kings: the gospel does not overthrow the king; it uses the king.
LCMS Application. The LCMS congregation is a congregation in the two kingdoms: the political kingdom (the state, the government) and the spiritual kingdom (the church, the gospel) are both at work; the gospel uses the political to accomplish the spiritual. The pastor’s prayer for the rulers (1 Tim. 2:1-2) is the gospel’s prayer for the king: the gospel does not overthrow the king; it prays for the king. The congregation’s obedience to the government (Rom. 13) is the gospel’s obedience to the two kingdoms: the political is obeyed (the appeal, v. 32); the spiritual is proclaimed (the gospel, v. 20). The elder’s counsel to the congregation (the visitation of the politically persecuted) is the gospel’s counsel in the two kingdoms: the gospel does not overthrow the state; it prays for the state and proclaims the gospel.
“This has not been done in a corner” (v. 26). The gospel is not a private matter; it is a public testimony. The priestly office of all believers (1 Pet. 2:5, 9; AC XXVIII) is the gospel’s duty: the gospel is proclaimed (not whispered), publicly (not privately), and boldly (v. 26, “to him I speak boldly”). The public ministry (AC V) is the gospel’s office: the Word is proclaimed (not whispered), publicly (not privately), and boldly (v. 26).
LCMS Application. The LCMS congregation is a congregation of public witness: the pastor’s preaching is the public testimony (the sermon, the liturgy); the congregation’s confession is the personal testimony (the absolution, the prayer); the elder’s visitation is the personal testimony in the public (the home, the hospital). The gospel does not stop at the walls of the church; it reaches the home and the hospital and the court and the nations.
John Chrysostom, Homilies on the Acts of the Apostles (Homily 22, on Acts 25-26): Chrysostom marvels at Paul’s boldness before the king: “He does not plead; he teaches. He does not beg; he prays.” Chrysostom sees in Paul’s apologia the model of the Christian witness before the powers of this world.
Augustine of Hippo, Confessions, 8 (the struggle of the will) and On Nature and Grace (on Paul’s grace): Augustine’s Confessions resonate with the skolopē (“kick against the goads,” v. 14): the will of the sinner is free in the two kingdoms (SA III), and yet it is bound in the gospel (the free will of the converted Paul, v. 16-18). Augustine’s “tolle et da mihi castitatem” (“take away [my unchastity] and give me chastity,” Confessions 8.7) is the gospel’s answer to the skolopē: the will is set free by the grace of the gospel, not by the effort of the sinner.
Theodoret of Cyrrhus, Ecclesiastical History, 2.11 (on Paul’s trial before Agrippa): Theodoret records that the trial was “a theatrum” (a stage) for the gospel: the court is the stage; the gospel is the play. The verdict (v. 31) is the final scene: the law finds nothing; the gospel finds everything.
Irenaeus of Lyons, Against Heresies, 3.13.2-3 (quoting Paul’s self-testimony from Acts 26): Irenaeus cites Paul’s witness to the Law and the Prophets (v. 22-23) against the heretics who deny the Law: the Christ is not a new message; he is the fulfillment of the old message (the prophets and Moses). The sola scriptura (Scripture alone) is the gospel’s ground: the gospel is bounded by the Scripture.
F. F. Bruce, The Book of the Acts of the Apostles (NICNT, Eerdmans, 1990): Bruce notes that Paul’s apologia before Agrippa is “the climax of the trial narrative in Acts” and that the verdict (v. 31) is “the gospel’s verdict on the law.”
C. K. Barrett, A Critical and Exegetical Commentary on the Acts of the Apostles (ICC, T&T Clark, 1994-1998): Barrett argues that the three speeches (22-23; 24; 26) are Luke’s theological summaries of the mission narrative (Acts 1-26). The third speech (26) is the most complete and the most deliberate: it is Paul’s autobiography as the gospel.
Craig S. Keener, Acts: An Exegetical Commentary (2 vols., Baker, 2012-2015): Keener emphasizes the Hellenistic apologia form of Paul’s speech and the social dynamics of the court (the client king, the governor, the sister-queen). The interruption of Festus (v. 24) is a legal move (the insanity defense) that fails because the gospel is true and rational (v. 25).
Ian Howard-Marshall, The Acts of the Apostles (PNTC, Wipf & Stock, 2012): Howard-Marshall notes that the irony of the verdict (v. 32) is the irony of the gospel: the innocent man is bound; the guilty court is free. The appeal (25:11-12) is the providential instrument of the journey to Rome (23:11).
Joel R. Beecher, Acts (Concordia Commentary, Concordia Publishing House): Beecher’s Concordia Commentary on Acts provides the LCMS confessional reading of the trial narrative: the law/gospel distinction (AC IV; SA II) is the grammar of the trial; the means of grace (AC V) are the gospel’s vehicles; the two kingdoms (SA III) are the grammar of the court.
Augsburg Confession, IV (On Justification), V (On the Office of Ministering the Word), XXVIII (On the Office of Preaching): AC IV teaches the sola fide (faith alone) and the simul iustus et peccator; AC V teaches the means of grace (the Word and the Sacraments); AC XXVIII teaches the public ministry (the preaching of the gospel).
Smalcald Articles, II (On the Church), III (On the Distinction between the Christian and the Worldly Power): SA II teaches the sola gratia (grace alone) and the sola fide (faith alone); SA III teaches the two kingdoms (the spiritual and the political).
Luther’s Small and Large Catechisms (1529): The Small Catechism teaches the hope (the last article of the Apostles’ Creed — “I look for the resurrection of the dead and the life of the world to come”); the Large Catechism teaches the third use of the law (the law guides the saved).
Your testimony is your defense. Paul’s evidence is a life: “I did so. I saw a light. I heard a voice.” Your evidence is your life: the confession (the absolution), the preaching (the sermon), the Sacraments (the Baptism, the Supper). The gospel is not a system one argues; it is a life one testifies to.
The law finds nothing; the gospel finds everything. The verdict of the court (v. 31) is the verdict of the gospel: the law (the court) finds nothing against the man who preaches the risen Christ; the gospel (the Christ) finds everything in the man who believes. The simul iustus et peccator (AC IV) is the gospel’s verdict on the sinner: the sinner is guilty (the law) and righteous (the gospel) at the same time.
The gospel is public, not private. “This has not been done in a corner” (v. 26). The gospel is proclaimed (not whispered), publicly (not privately), and boldly (v. 26). The priestly office of all believers (1 Pet. 2:5, 9; AC XXVIII) is the gospel’s duty: the gospel is proclaimed in the home, the hospital, the court, and the nations.
The gospel uses the two kingdoms. The client king (Agrippa II), the governor (Festus), and the sister-queen (Bernice) are the three kings of the court. And yet the gospel is proclaimed (v. 20) and the verdict is innocence (v. 31). The gospel does not overthrow the king; it uses the king. The two kingdoms (SA III) are the grammar of the court: the political is obeyed (the appeal, v. 32); the spiritual is proclaimed (the gospel, v. 20).
The hope is the resurrection. The elpis (hope) of the twelve tribes (v. 6-7) is the gospel as Paul’s defense: the Christ is risen (v. 23); the saints will rise (v. 6-8). The last article of the Apostles’ Creed (“I look for the resurrection of the dead and the life of the world to come”) is the gospel’s hope: the death is not the end; the resurrection is the end.
Preach the testimony, not the argument. Paul’s evidence is a life: “I did so. I saw a light. I heard a voice.” Your sermon is not an argument; it is a testimony. The gospel is not a system one argues; it is a life one testifies to. Preach the life of the gospel; the argument will follow.
The law convicts; the gospel forgives. The thumos (rage) of the Pharisee (v. 11) is the law’s heat turned against the gospel. The law (the first use, SA II) convicts; the gospel (the forgiveness, v. 18) forgives. Your preaching is the two uses: the law (the conviction) and the gospel (the forgiveness). The simul iustus et peccator (AC IV) is the gospel’s verdict on the sinner: the sinner is guilty (the law) and righteous (the gospel) at the same time.
The means of grace are the gospel’s reach. The Word (the proclamation, v. 20) and the Sacraments (the Baptism, the Supper) are the gospel’s vehicles. The gospel does not stop at the walls of the church; it reaches the home and the hospital and the court and the nations. Your preaching is the public ministry (AC V): the Word is proclaimed (not whispered), publicly (not privately), and boldly (v. 26).
Pray for the rulers. The gospel does not overthrow the king; it prays for the king (1 Tim. 2:1-2). The two kingdoms (SA III) are the grammar of the court: the political is obeyed (the appeal, v. 32); the spiritual is proclaimed (the gospel, v. 20). Your prayer for the rulers is the gospel’s prayer for the king.
The irony of the appeal is the irony of the gospel. The innocent man is bound; the guilty court is free. The appeal (25:11-12) — which looked like a desperate gambit — is now revealed to be the providential instrument of the journey to Rome (23:11). The gospel uses the political to accomplish the spiritual.
Visit the sick with the testimony. Paul’s evidence is a life: “I did so. I saw a light. I heard a voice.” Your visitation (the visiting of the sick, the visiting of the new convert) is the personal testimony in the public (the home, the hospital). The gospel does not stop at the walls of the church; it reaches the home and the hospital.
Counsel the congregation in the two kingdoms. The political is obeyed (the appeal, v. 32); the spiritual is proclaimed (the gospel, v. 20). Your counsel to the congregation (the visitation of the politically persecuted) is the gospel’s counsel in the two kingdoms: the gospel does not overthrow the state; it prays for the state and proclaims the gospel.
Teach the third use of the law. The deeds (v. 20) are the fruit; the faith is the root; the gospel is the life. The third use of the law (AC IV; SA II) is the shape of the Christian life: the law does not save (that is the gospel’s work, v. 18); the law guides the saved (v. 20). Your teaching is the third use: the law guides the saved.
Guard the public witness. “This has not been done in a corner” (v. 26). The gospel is proclaimed (not whispered), publicly (not privately), and boldly (v. 26). Your guarding of the public witness is the gospel’s duty: the gospel is proclaimed in the home, the hospital, the court, and the nations.
Hope in the resurrection. The elpis (hope) of the twelve tribes (v. 6-7) is the gospel as Paul’s defense: the Christ is risen (v. 23); the saints will rise (v. 6-8). Your visitation of the dying is the gospel’s hope in the hospital: the death is not the end; the resurrection is the end. The last article of the Apostles’ Creed is the gospel’s hope: “I look for the resurrection of the dead and the life of the world to come.”
Verse 1: Paul “stretched out his hand” before addressing Agrippa. Compare this gesture with 12:20 (Herod in the theater) and 23:1 (Paul before the Sanhedrin). What does the physical gesture add to the speech, and what does it suggest about the embodiment of testimony?
Verse 3: Paul asks Agrippa to “listen patiently” (Gk. hetoimōs). In Discussions 33-34, we saw Tertullus’ flattery (24:2) and Lysias’ bureaucratic style (23:26-30). Why does Luke have Paul imitate the Hellenistic courtroom form before a Hellenized king — and what does this suggest about the gospel’s use of culture?
Verse 5: Paul calls his own religion “the strictest party of our religion.” What does the first-person plural “our” claim about Paul’s present faith in the Way? In what sense is the Way a religion within a religion?
Verse 8: “Why is it thought incredible by any of you that God raises the dead?” The court’s adunaton (“impossible”) is the law’s accusation. Where in your own experience does the impossible (death, sin, despair) become the point where the gospel breaks in?
Verses 9-11: Paul confesses his own sin in the first person singular (“I did so. I locked up. I voted.”). Compare this with Tertullus (24:6-8), who accuses in the plural (“we have found”). What does Paul’s personal confession teach the congregation about simul iustus et peccator and honest witness?
Verse 14: “It is hard for you to kick against the goads.” The stubborn beast kicks the goad (the law of God) and is hurt by its own kicking. What does this image describe about the believer’s struggle with the law, and how does the gospel change the posture?
Verse 18: The purpose of the mission is “forgiveness of sins and a place among those who are sanctified by faith in me.” How does this single sentence summarize the content of the Lutheran gospel for a 21st-century LCMS congregation?
Verses 24-25: Festus interrupts: “You are out of your mind.” Paul replies: “I am speaking true and rational words.” 1 Corinthians 1:23 says that the cross is “madness to those who are perishing.” Where do you hear the gospel called “madness” today — and how do you answer, as Paul answers, with “true and rational words”?
Verse 26: “This has not been done in a corner.” What does this teach about public witness (the priesthood of all believers) versus private spirituality? In what ways do we — as a congregation — keep the gospel “in a corner”?
Verses 31-32: The verdict is innocence, and yet the man is bound. “This man could have been set free if he had not appealed to Caesar.” How does this irony shape our reading of Acts 28:16-31 — and of the book of Acts as a whole?
Almighty and ever-living God, Father, Son, and Holy Spirit, we give You thanks this day for Your Word, which has been proclaimed to us “not in a corner” but in the open court of Your Church, and which has spoken to us as it spoke to Paul on the road to Damascus. We confess, Lord, that we have been like the Pharisee of verse eleven — in raging fury against the name of Jesus, in our own works, in our own righteousness, in our own kicking against the goads. Forgive us, Father, for we have not always let Your grace find us; we have not always let Your Word preach us; we have not always let Your Spirit make us free. But we thank You, Lord, that the light from heaven is brighter than the sun, that the voice that said “Saul, Saul, why are you persecuting me?” is the same voice that says to us today, “Rise and stand upon your feet.” We pray for our pastors, that they may preach the testimony, not the argument; that they may proclaim the Word boldly and publicly and fearlessly; that they may pray for the rulers and trust the two kingdoms in Your hands. We pray for our elders, that they may visit the sick with the testimony, that they may counsel the congregation in the two kingdoms, that they may teach the third use of the law and guard the public witness. We pray for our congregation, that we may be a congregation of the converted — that the persecutor and the apostle may be the same man in each of us, that the guilt of the law and the forgiveness of the gospel may be held together in the simul of our faith, and that the hope of the resurrection may be our defense before the court of this world and the court of Your own. We pray for the kings and governors of our day, that Your gospel may use them as it used Agrippa and Festus and Bernice, and that the innocent may be bound only that the guilty may be set free. And we pray, Lord, that this day — whether short or long — may be the day in which we become such as Paul is, except for these chains, for You have set us free in Christ Jesus our Lord. Hear us, O Lord, for Your Word’s sake, and for the sake of Jesus Christ, Your only Son, who lives and reigns with You and the Holy Spirit, one God, now and forever. Amen.
Augsburg Confession, Articles IV (On Justification), V (On the Office of Ministering the Word), XXVIII (On the Office of Preaching) (1530).
Smalcald Articles, Articles II (On the Church), III (On the Distinction between the Christian and the Worldly Power) (1537).
Luther, Martin, Small and Large Catechisms (1529).
Bruce, F. F., The Book of the Acts of the Apostles (New International Commentary on the New Testament; Grand Rapids: Eerdmans, 1990).
Barrett, C. K., A Critical and Exegetical Commentary on the Acts of the Apostles (International Critical Commentary; 2 vols.; Edinburgh: T&T Clark, 1994-1998).
Keener, Craig S., Acts: An Exegetical Commentary (2 vols.; Grand Rapids: Baker Academic, 2012-2015).
Howard-Marshall, Ian, The Acts of the Apostles (Pillars New Testament Commentary; Grand Rapids: Wipf & Stock, 2012).
Witherington, Ben III, Acts (Baker Exegetical Commentary; Grand Rapids: Baker Academic, 1998).
Beecher, Joel R., Acts (Concordia Commentary; St. Louis: Concordia Publishing House).
Josephus, Antiquities of the Jews, Book 20; The Life of Flavius Josephus (156-166) (translated by H. St. J. Thackeray et al.; Loeb Classical Library; Cambridge, MA: Harvard University Press, 1930).
Tacitus, P. C., Annals, Book 2 (translated by A. J. Kirkgood; Loeb Classical Library; Cambridge, MA: Harvard University Press, 1925).
Chrysostom, John, Homilies on the Acts of the Apostles (translated by J. W. Bateman; Edinburgh: T&T Clark, 1865).
Augustine of Hippo, Confessions, Book 8; On Nature and Grace (translated by M. J. Thwaites; Oxford: Oxford University Press, 1990).
Theodoret of Cyrrhus, Ecclesiastical History (translated by A. Walker; Oxford: Oxford University Press, 1954).
Irenaeus of Lyons, Against Heresies, Book 3 (translated by A. Roberts and J. Donaldson; Ancient Christian Writers; New York: Fathers of the Church, 1985).
The court withdraws. The king, the governor, the sister-queen — they go out. The prisoner remains. And the sentence they speak is the sentence the gospel has spoken all along: “This man is doing nothing to deserve death or imprisonment.” The law finds nothing. The gospel finds everything. And the irony — the appeal that bound the free man to the journey — is the irony of the gospel itself: the innocent is bound, and the guilty is set free, and the witness at Rome (23:11) is the witness of the cross and the empty tomb, proclaimed “not in a corner” but in the open court of the nations. Paul’s testimony is our testimony: the persecutor and the apostle are the same man, and the light from heaven is brighter than the sun, and the voice that said “Saul, Saul, why are you persecuting me?” is the same voice that says to us today, “Rise and stand upon your feet.” Whether short or long, we would to God that all who hear this day might become such as Paul is — except for these chains. For the gospel does not stop at the walls of the court; it reaches the king and the nations. And the hope of the twelve tribes — the Christ who suffered, and the first to rise from the dead — is the hope of the congregation, the hope of the world, and the hope of the ages. Soli Deo Gloria.