Verses 1-8: The Hope of the Promise and the Resurrection

¹ Agrippa said to Paul, “You may speak for yourself.” Then Paul stretched out his hand, and made his defense. ² “I think myself happy, King Agrippa, that I am to make my defense before you today concerning all the things that I am accused by the Jews, ³ especially because you are expert in all customs and questions which are among the Jews. Therefore I beg you to hear me patiently. ⁴ “Indeed, all the Jews know my way of life from my youth up, which was from the beginning among my own nation and at Jerusalem; ⁵ having known me from the first, if they are willing to testify, that after the strictest sect of our religion I lived a Pharisee. ⁶ Now I stand here to be judged for the hope of the promise made by God to our fathers, ⁷ which our twelve tribes, earnestly serving night and day, hope to attain. Concerning this hope I am accused by the Jews, King Agrippa! ⁸ Why is it judged incredible with you, if God does raise the dead?

• The gospel stands in continuity with God’s ancient promise:

  Paul presents his message not as a break from Israel’s story but as “the hope of the promise made by God to our fathers.” Theologically, this grounds Christian faith in God’s prior revelation and covenantal faithfulness: God promised, God preserved hope among his people, and the apostolic witness claims fulfillment rather than novelty.

• Resurrection is the hinge of biblical hope and divine power:

  Paul presses the question, “if God does raise the dead,” exposing that the real issue is not whether resurrection is conceivable, but whether God is able and free to act. This frames the resurrection as an act of God that validates hope, anchors future expectation, and interprets the present suffering of God’s servants.

• True worship and longing can coexist with misunderstanding:

  Paul depicts “our twelve tribes, earnestly serving night and day,” yet he is accused “concerning this hope.” Theologically, this acknowledges that sincere religiosity and devotion can exist alongside a failure to recognize God’s fulfillment; therefore, God’s saving truth must be received through his revealing action and not assumed by heritage or intensity.

Verses 9-11: Zeal Without Light and the Reality of Human Sin

⁹ “I myself most certainly thought that I ought to do many things contrary to the name of Jesus of Nazareth. ¹⁰ I also did this in Jerusalem. I both shut up many of the saints in prisons, having received authority from the chief priests, and when they were put to death I gave my vote against them. ¹¹ Punishing them often in all the synagogues, I tried to make them blaspheme. Being exceedingly enraged against them, I persecuted them even to foreign cities.

• Conscience and religious certainty can be misdirected by darkness:

  Paul “most certainly thought” he was right, yet he opposed Jesus and harmed “the saints.” This teaches that moral confidence is not the same as moral truth; human beings can be sincerely wrong, and sin can capture both mind and will, requiring more than information—requiring God’s illuminating intervention.

• Sin is personal, social, and violent—and it targets Christ’s people:

  Paul describes imprisonment, coerced blasphemy, and votes leading to death. Theologically, Acts 26 treats persecution not merely as bad policy but as real participation in evil. Yet the naming of these acts also prepares for grace: God’s mercy does not minimize guilt, but overcomes it through conversion and calling.

Verses 12-18: The Risen Jesus Appears and Commissions a Witness

¹² “Whereupon as I traveled to Damascus with the authority and commission from the chief priests, ¹³ at noon, O king, I saw on the way a light from the sky, brighter than the sun, shining around me and those who traveled with me. ¹⁴ When we had all fallen to the earth, 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.’ ¹⁵ “I said, ‘Who are you, Lord?’ “He said, ‘I am Jesus, whom you are persecuting. ¹⁶ But arise, and stand on your feet, for I have appeared to you for this purpose: to appoint you a servant and a witness both of the things which you have seen, and of the things which I will reveal to you; ¹⁷ delivering you from the people, and from the Gentiles, to whom I send you, ¹⁸ to open their eyes, that they may turn from darkness to light and from the power of Satan to God, that they may receive remission of sins and an inheritance among those who are sanctified by faith in me.’

• Jesus is risen, personal, and identifies with his people:

  The voice says, “I am Jesus, whom you are persecuting,” showing that the crucified Jesus lives and that harm done to believers is reckoned as harm against him. This grounds the church’s identity in union with Christ and strengthens suffering believers: their afflictions are not unnoticed, and Christ speaks as Lord over events.

• God initiates conversion and appoints servants for a purpose:

  Jesus says, “I have appeared to you for this purpose: to appoint you a servant and a witness.” Paul’s calling arises from divine initiative rather than self-selection, yet the appointment is not abstract: it is oriented toward testimony, obedience, and mission. This holds together God’s sovereignty in calling and the real vocation of the called to serve.

• The mission is deliverance and illumination, not mere moral reform:

  The commission aims “to open their eyes” so that people may “turn from darkness to light and from the power of Satan to God.” In the wider witness of Acts, such opening of eyes and turning is inseparable from God’s own saving action in and through the Holy Spirit, who illumines, convicts, and strengthens. Yet the verse also preserves real human response: those whose eyes are opened truly “turn” to God. Salvation is portrayed as liberation and enlightenment—not merely self-improvement.

• Forgiveness and inheritance come through sanctifying faith in Christ:

  Jesus declares that those who turn “may receive remission of sins and an inheritance among those who are sanctified by faith in me.” Theologically, salvation includes both pardon (“remission of sins”) and participation (“inheritance”), and the means named is “faith in me,” emphasizing trust in Christ as the instrument through which God grants sanctifying membership among his people.

Verses 19-23: Obedience to Revelation, Repentance, and Fulfillment of Moses and the Prophets

¹⁹ “Therefore, King Agrippa, I was not disobedient to the heavenly vision, ²⁰ but declared first to them of Damascus, at Jerusalem, and throughout all the country of Judea, and also to the Gentiles, that they should repent and turn to God, doing works worthy of repentance. ²¹ For this reason the Jews seized me in the temple and tried to kill me. ²² Having therefore obtained the help that is from God, I stand to this day testifying both to small and great, saying nothing but what the prophets and Moses said would happen, ²³ how the Christ must suffer, and how, by the resurrection of the dead, he would be first to proclaim light both to these people and to the Gentiles.”

• Grace produces obedience and witness rather than passivity:

  Paul insists, “I was not disobedient to the heavenly vision,” showing that divine revelation calls forth a real human response. Theologically, God’s initiative does not cancel responsibility; it establishes it. The called messenger must obey, testify, and bear the cost of faithfulness.

• Repentance is commanded, and it bears observable fruit:

  Paul’s message includes “that they should repent and turn to God, doing works worthy of repentance.” This maintains a careful balance: repentance and turning are essential, and works are not presented as the purchase of forgiveness but as the fitting evidence of a changed life. True conversion is inward and outward.

• The gospel is for Jews and Gentiles under one saving light:

  Paul declares the same call “also to the Gentiles,” and describes Christ proclaiming light “both to these people and to the Gentiles.” Theologically, the chapter presents a unified saving purpose that crosses ethnic boundaries while honoring Israel’s Scriptures as the promised foundation for the worldwide mission.

• God sustains his witnesses in suffering and opposition:

  Paul was seized and nearly killed, yet says, “Having therefore obtained the help that is from God, I stand to this day testifying.” This shows providential help without denying real danger: believers may suffer, but God’s help preserves testimony until their vocation is completed according to his wise will.

• Christ’s suffering and resurrection fulfill Scripture and define the message:

  Paul preaches “nothing but what the prophets and Moses said would happen,” especially “how the Christ must suffer,” and that by resurrection he proclaims light. Theologically, this anchors the cross and resurrection not as improvisations but as the heart of God’s foretold redemption and the decisive revelation that brings light to the nations.

Verses 24-29: Truth, Reasonableness, and the Call to Personal Faith

²⁴ As he thus made his defense, Festus said with a loud voice, “Paul, you are crazy! Your great learning is driving you insane!” ²⁵ But he said, “I am not crazy, most excellent Festus, but boldly declare words of truth and reasonableness. ²⁶ For the king knows of these things, to whom also I speak freely. For I am persuaded that none of these things is hidden from him, for this has not been done in a corner. ²⁷ King Agrippa, do you believe the prophets? I know that you believe.” ²⁸ Agrippa said to Paul, “With a little persuasion are you trying to make me a Christian?” ²⁹ Paul said, “I pray to God, that whether with little or with much, not only you, but also all that hear me today, might become such as I am, except for these bonds.”

• Christian proclamation appeals to truth, public witness, and reasoned testimony:

  Paul answers the charge of insanity by claiming “truth and reasonableness,” and he insists the events are public: “this has not been done in a corner.” Theologically, Acts 26 portrays faith as responsive to real acts of God in history, not as a private myth; the gospel can be proclaimed confidently in the open and examined.

• Scripture calls for a personal response, not mere familiarity:

  Paul presses Agrippa: “do you believe the prophets?” This reveals that knowing Scripture’s content is meant to lead toward faith’s assent and trust. The prophets are not only to be studied but believed, and belief in the prophets is shown to converge on the revelation of Christ.

• Evangelistic persuasion and intercessory prayer belong together:

  Agrippa perceives Paul’s intent “to make me a Christian,” and Paul responds, “I pray to God” for everyone hearing him. Theologically, this holds together two truths: human beings are addressed, urged, and persuaded, and yet conversion is also sought from God in prayer—showing reliance on God while seriously engaging the hearer’s responsibility.

Verses 30-32: Legal Vindication and God’s Unfolding Providence

³⁰ The king rose up with the governor, and Bernice, and those who sat with them. ³¹ When they had withdrawn, they spoke to one another, saying, “This man does nothing worthy of death or of bonds.” ³² Agrippa said to Festus, “This man might have been set free if he had not appealed to Caesar.”

• The gospel is not criminal, and faithful witness may still be bound:

  The leaders conclude Paul has done “nothing worthy of death or of bonds,” yet he remains in chains because of the legal path he has taken. Theologically, this shows that innocence before human courts does not guarantee freedom in the present age; God may allow restraint while still vindicating his servants’ integrity and advancing a larger mission.

• Human decisions matter within God’s larger unfolding plan:

  “If he had not appealed to Caesar” acknowledges real human agency and real consequences. At the same time, the chapter has already emphasized God’s help and sending. Together, Acts 26 encourages believers to see their choices as meaningful while trusting that God is able to govern outcomes for testimony “to small and great.”

Conclusion: Acts 26 presents the gospel as the fulfillment of Israel’s hope, centered on God’s power to raise the dead and on the Christ who “must suffer” and proclaim light. It teaches that God initiates salvation by opening eyes and appointing witnesses, while calling all people to “repent and turn to God,” showing repentance through deeds. The chapter models bold, reasonable, public testimony that both persuades hearers and prays to God for their conversion, encouraging the church to trust God’s help amid opposition and to proclaim remission of sins and inheritance “among those who are sanctified by faith in me.”