Act 26:1-2 | KingComments | STEP | After the introduction by Festus, Agrippa takes charge of the gathering. He gives the floor to Paul. As a greeting Paul stretches out his shackled hand. On other occasions where he was going to speak, he also stretched out his hand, but there it was to obtain silence ( ; cf. ). Then he starts his defense. In this defense he tells what happened to him. Here he will speak extensively about his meeting with the Lord Jesus. To Festus, and also Felix, he has done this more succinctly, but here he stands before someone who knows all the customs and contentious questions of the Jews. For that fact he expresses his gratitude. This is not flattery, but a justified observation. Agrippa will understand what he is saying, it will even appeal somewhat to his conscience. Moreover, Agrippa is favorable to him. It is pleasant for anyone who has something to say that his hearer will at least understand him. Paul speaks in the Name of God. While he respects the position of the great ones of the earth, we see that he is morally far above them. The more than two years he has been imprisoned have not been able to depress his heart or faith. He vigorously testifies to what the Lord has done to him, even if it does not have the fervently desired effect on Agrippa and Festus. And there are others present. Maybe it has impressed one of them. Eternity will reveal it. Paul does not repeat his conversion history just like that. Each of the two times he tells this history, it is in view of the audience he has in front of him. In Acts 22 he stands before the Jews ( ). Here he stands before one who knows Judaism, of whom he even says further on, that he believes the prophets ( ). From everything we read of Agrippa, it is clear that to him, faith is only an outward matter.

‏ Acts 26:1-2

Beginning of Paul’s Defense

After the introduction by Festus, Agrippa takes charge of the gathering. He gives the floor to Paul. As a greeting Paul stretches out his shackled hand. On other occasions where he was going to speak, he also stretched out his hand, but there it was to obtain silence (Acts 13:16 ; Acts 21:40; cf. Acts 19:33). Then he starts his defense.

In this defense he tells what happened to him. Here he will speak extensively about his meeting with the Lord Jesus. To Festus, and also Felix, he has done this more succinctly, but here he stands before someone who knows all the customs and contentious questions of the Jews. For that fact he expresses his gratitude.

This is not flattery, but a justified observation. Agrippa will understand what he is saying, it will even appeal somewhat to his conscience. Moreover, Agrippa is favorable to him. It is pleasant for anyone who has something to say that his hearer will at least understand him.

Paul speaks in the Name of God. While he respects the position of the great ones of the earth, we see that he is morally far above them. The more than two years he has been imprisoned have not been able to depress his heart or faith. He vigorously testifies to what the Lord has done to him, even if it does not have the fervently desired effect on Agrippa and Festus. And there are others present. Maybe it has impressed one of them. Eternity will reveal it.

Paul does not repeat his conversion history just like that. Each of the two times he tells this history, it is in view of the audience he has in front of him. In Acts 22 he stands before the Jews (Acts 21:40 ; Acts 22:1-2). Here he stands before one who knows Judaism, of whom he even says further on, that he believes the prophets (Acts 26:27). From everything we read of Agrippa, it is clear that to him, faith is only an outward matter.