Acts 26:24-32 meaning

The hearing ends. Agrippa II privately remarks to Festus and the other officials that Paul should be a free man; he is clearly innocent of any real crime. But Paul has appealed to Caesar, and nothing can reverse that.

In Acts 26:24-32, Paul’s audience of Roman and Jewish nobility will react to his testimony and the gospel message he just presented.

In the previous section, Paul arrived at a significant point in his testifying, in which he summarized the gospel message for which he is being persecuted. Governor Festus speaks up, and it seems that he interrupts Paul. Knowing Paul, he would likely have talked for as long as they allowed him to, pulling deeper from the Old Testament to prove that Jesus was the Messiah, as he had done in synagogues across the world (Acts 13:16-41, 17:2-3, 11, 18:4-5, 19:8).

But it is here that the Roman governor Festus halts his preaching, just at the point where Paul proclaims that Jesus was raised from the dead. This is a common point in Paul’s preaching where men silence him or no longer wish to hear. During his sermon at the Areopagus in Athens, Greece, many of the curious philosophers lost interest when Paul claimed that God raised someone from the dead (Acts 17:31-32). Similarly, here, Paul is cut off by Festus once he evoked Jesus the Christ’s “resurrection from the dead” in Acts 26:23:

While Paul was saying this in his defense, Festus said in a loud voice, “Paul, you are out of your mind! Your great learning is driving you mad” (v. 24).

We see that it was While Paul was saying this in his defense that Festus speaks. Paul is still speaking when Festus speaks over him, using a loud voice to catch Paul’s attention and the attention of the crowd. Paul was probably speaking in a loud voice this entire time, since there were many people attending his testimony (Acts 25:23). But Festus may have spoken up in a loud voice to disrupt Paul’s presentation because he was shocked by or impatient with Paul’s bold claims of a resurrected dead man.

Festus interrupts Paul to express his own disbelief, “Paul, you are out of your mind! Your great learning is driving you mad.” It is an honest response to something Festus cannot come to grips with, though perhaps it is rudely said. He calls Paul insane, that he is out of his mind. Festus attributes his accusation of Paul’s insanity to Paul’s deep well of study. Festus does not think Paul is any old lunatic off the street, but one driven to believe irrational things because he has read too many books and has overthought spiritual matters.

The literal Greek translation for Your great learning is driving you mad is “The many letters is turning you to madness.” “The many letters” refers to Paul’s citation of the Hebrew scriptures and prophecies. From this, it could be understood that Festus found Paul to be an interesting, thoughtful person, but the longer Paul spoke and the more unbelievable his claims, Festus concluded that Paul had gone off the deep end by studying too much and coming to too many preposterous conclusions.

Paul respectfully disagrees:

But Paul said, “I am not out of my mind, most excellent Festus, but I utter words of sober truth (v. 25).

Paul dismisses the idea that he is out of his mind. “I am not,” Paul says. “I am sane.” He addresses Festus as most excellent Festus, softening his disagreement by giving honor to the Roman governor (Proverbs 15:1). He is seasoning his speech with good manners (Colossians 4:6, Titus 3:2), because Paul does not want to simply be right, but to persuade.

He tells Festus that rather than being out of his mind, “I utter words of sober truth.” The phrase sober truth can be literally rendered “truth and rationality.” Paul is not simply saying that what he claims is true, but that it is rational. Belief in Jesus is not crazy or based on fantasy, but is reasonable, logical, and demonstrably true through rational thinking. A serious mind can believe in Jesus. It takes faith, but it is not an irrational faith.

Paul, of all people, had seen Jesus, spoken with Jesus, performed miracles through Jesus’s power, and had survived a stoning through Jesus’s power (2 Corinthians 12:2-4, Acts 9:3-6, 22:17-18, 23:11, 18:9-10, 14:8-10, 19:11-12, 20:9-10, 14:19-20). It would have been irrational for Paul not to believe in Jesus after such experiences. But all the things Jesus claimed and did were foretold in the scriptures, also confirming the rational, sober truth that Jesus was the Messiah and that His resurrection was to be expected.

It is estimated that Jesus fulfilled somewhere between 200 and 400 Old Testament prophecies, with the variance coming from disagreement in interpretation. There are around 70 specifically messianic prophecies that He fulfilled. For someone to actually do the things predicted by various writers across many hundreds of years is mathematically improbable. The odds of someone accomplishing this number of prophecies are incredible, yet Jesus fulfilled them all.

How else could it be explained that He was not the predicted Messiah when He fulfilled all the scriptural foretellings? Hundreds of people had seen Jesus walking and talking, alive, after He had been killed and buried (1 Corinthians 15:3-8). These witnesses were willing to die for the testimony of what they had seen, and many did. Because it was the sober truth.

But Festus is a Roman and a man equipped with great earthly power. To his ears, Paul is talking about things of which he has no understanding. He is also new to Judea, and is likely unfamiliar with what has been going on in the twenty—seven years since Jesus’s crucifixion. The struggle between the Jewish leadership and the growing church of Jesus has been a significant issue in Judea for some time.

Many believed Jesus was the Messiah when He was alive, and even the Jewish leadership observed that He performed supernatural miracles (John 3:2, 9:16, 11:47); many (even some Pharisees and priests) continued to or began to believe He was the Messiah after His death, for His followers and apostles proclaimed His resurrection and performed many public miracles in His name (Acts 6:7, 15:5, 21:20). This was not something Paul was inventing on his own. This was a meaningful controversy across Judea, Samaria, and as far as Syria, the province of Asia, Macedonia, and Greece.

So, Paul turns away from the Roman governor Festus to the Judean king Agrippa II, to help display that what he is saying is based in Jewish belief and in the public sphere:

“For the king knows about these matters, and I speak to him also with confidence, since I am persuaded that none of these things escape his notice; for this has not been done in a corner (v. 26).

Paul names the king as being capable of backing him up, at least as far as it goes in showing that Paul is speaking of something real, not something he perceives with a lunatic mind, as Festus claims. The king Agrippa II knows about these matters which Paul has described. Paul is specifically homing in on Agrippa II in this moment, and largely throughout his testimony; Agrippa II is being confronted with the truth.

Paul addresses Agrippa II with words that are friendly and meant to persuade: I speak to him also with confidence. Surely Agrippa II, being the King of the Jews, both knows about these matters as they were prophesied in Jewish scripture, as well as the claims that these matters have been happening in real life for the past near—thirty years. Paul speaks to Agrippa II also with confidence, trusting that Agrippa II is aware of all that he has said, since I am persuaded that none of these things escape his notice.

The phrase none of these things escape his notice refers to all these things which Paul has preached: the prophecies of God and their present fulfillment in the person of Jesus Christ. Agrippa II knows his Bible lessons; he knows his people’s faith and customs.

The growing faith in the Jewish Messiah cannot escape Agrippa II’s notice, for this has not been done in a corner. Jesus was not secretive nor are His followers. These are not claims of miracles that happened in a far, remote place. They happened in Galilee and Judea. They were not done in a corner, a place of secrecy. Agrippa II knows all of this.

Though as a child he was raised in the court of Claudius in Rome, Agrippa II would have been well acquainted with his family’s relationship with Jesus and Jesus’s followers. It was his great uncle Herod Antipas who had executed Jesus’s cousin and proclaimer, John the Baptizer (Mark 6:17-28); Uncle Herod had also interviewed Jesus during His trial and was in Jerusalem when Jesus was crucified (Luke 23:6-12).

It was Agrippa II’s father, Agrippa I, who had executed the Apostle James, who knew Jesus and preached His resurrection (Acts 12:1-2). Agrippa I had died at a relatively young age, struck with disease, which both the book of Acts and the secular writings of Josephus attest was ordained by God’s hand (Acts 12:23; Josephus, Antiquities of the Jews, Book 19, Chapter 8).

Agrippa II was a student of history and a minor scholar himself; he wrote 62 letters to Josephus which Josephus would use as sources for his extensive works of Jewish history.

Paul was not out of his mind. Agrippa II was well acquainted with what Paul spoke of, even if the king did not believe all of Paul’s claims.

Paul then asks Agrippa II directly about his own faith, and if he is prepared to believe that Jesus was indeed God’s Messiah:

“King Agrippa, do you believe the Prophets? I know that you do” (v. 27).

This is no longer theoretical; Paul is not preaching of his own beliefs or experiences. He questions King Agrippa pointedly, “do you believe the Prophets?” Paul is referencing the Messianic prophecies found in the books of the Prophets. And he answers his own question, “I know that you do.” This puts it to Agrippa II—if he believes in the Prophets, as Paul confidently claims, then why would he not believe Jesus was the fulfillment of the Prophets? Jesus was God’s promises come true.

Agrippa II responds to Paul’s question:

Agrippa replied to Paul, “In a short time you will persuade me to become a Christian” (v. 28).

This translation as it is rendered can be read in a positive light, as though Agrippa II is near to becoming a Christian. As if Paul, in so short a time, or with a little more time, will be able to persuade the Herodian king to believe in Jesus Christ. But it seems perhaps more probable that Agrippa II’s answer is deflective. He is surprised that Paul is, after one sermon, trying to bring him to faith in the Messiah.

Agrippa II’s reply might also be rendered, “With a little time you are trying to convince me to become a Christian.” Other translations put a question mark at the end, as though Agrippa II is amused that Paul is trying to convert him. It could be that Agrippa II is saying, “We just met. We gave you a little time on the stage to explain yourself. You’re already trying to convince me to join your church?”

But it is possible that Agrippa II, though taken aback, finds Paul’s testimony and questions compelling.

Paul’s answer to Agrippa II is a loving, hopeful invitation to the king and to all of humanity:

And Paul said, “I would wish to God, that whether in a short or long time, not only you, but also all who hear me this day, might become such as I am, except for these chains” (v. 29)

The central purpose in Paul’s life is to win hearts to Jesus. In his first letter to the Corinthians, Paul explains what he lives to do, that he has “become all things to all men, so that I may by all means save some” (1 Corinthians 9:19-23).

He affirms his sincerity to the king: I would wish to God, which is the strongest affirmational statement he can make about his intentions, appealing to the greatest authority in the universe, that whether in a short or long time, whether he has five minutes or five years to speak to someone, that not only you, the Judean king, but also all who hear me this day, Princess Bernice, the Roman officers, the elite of the city, and the Roman governor Festus, might become such as I am. Paul’s wish is that all who hear his testimony would become such as he, a believer and servant of the Son of God, Jesus Christ.

His wish is that they would open their eyes, leave darkness for light, defect from Satan’s kingdom to become citizens of the kingdom of Heaven, to repent and turn to God and begin living that repentance, that they might be forgiven of their sins and share the inheritance of Jesus’s healed people (Acts 26:18, Philippians 3:20-21).

Paul adds a perhaps humorous caveat to his wish for his audience, that they might become such as he is, except for these chains. Paul is a prisoner for his beliefs. He clarifies that his desire is not for anyone to suffer as he has, nor to be imprisoned. But in all other respects, yes indeed, Paul hopes to convince all who hear his voice to believe in the Messiah.

Paul’s hearing concludes:

The king stood up and the governor and Bernice, and those who were sitting with them, and when they had gone aside, they began talking to one another, saying, “This man is not doing anything worthy of death or imprisonment.” (vs. 30-31).

Whether Agrippa II was beginning to warm up to Paul’s claims or if he was scoffing at Paul’s efforts to persuade him, he has a just assessment of Paul. His sister Bernice and the governor Festus agree. As do those who were sitting with them, possibly high—ranking Jews and some of the Roman commanders, or courtiers (Acts 25:23).

This party of the most powerful men and women in Judea depart from the auditorium and go somewhere more private to discuss their thoughts about what they just heard, when they had gone aside, they began talking to one another. The consensus is that Paul is no criminal: This man is not doing anything worthy of death or imprisonment. His persecution from the Jewish leadership is baseless. He does not deserve to be a prisoner and he certainly does not deserve death. He is innocent.

Agrippa has a final thought:

And Agrippa said to Festus, “This man might have been set free if he had not appealed to Caesar” (v. 32).

Agrippa II adds to Festus that he thinks Paul should be a free man. But Paul is bound for Rome. Agrippa II concludes that This man might have been set free if he had not appealed to Caesar. This is true only in ideal circumstances, that Paul might have been set free. Agrippa II seems to be saying that the only thing preventing Paul from being set free is Paul’s appeal to Caesar. As though, now that Agrippa II had heard Paul’s testimony, he would have recommended Paul’s freedom, but unfortunately Paul sabotaged himself by having appealed to Caesar.

Legally speaking, Agrippa II is correct. But no one in authority over Paul’s circumstances has been dealing with him fairly (Acts 23:2). Even the Romans, who have kept Paul alive, have been the reason he has remained prisoner. Commander Lysias rescued Paul from death by the mob, but then almost tortured him through scourging to get a confession (Acts 22:24).

Governor Felix held Paul hostage for two years, hoping for a bribe, and left him imprisoned when he lost his position as governor (Acts 24:26-27). Governor Festus was willing to needlessly transport Paul back to Jerusalem to appease his accusers, where Paul was likely to be assassinated (Acts 25:9, 3). These Roman leaders are following in the footsteps of Pilate; they had the authority to do what was right but instead caved to pressure. They professed what was true but were unwilling to act upon it.

Paul was never going to be set free under the care of the Romans. They were not motivated to enact justice, but sought bribery or political points. And it was God’s hand, turning evil to good. All that was happening—though men meant it for evil and self—serving gain—was working toward God’s purpose for Paul (Genesis 50:20). Jesus had appeared to Paul while in prison, standing by his side, and promised him that he would go to Rome,

“Take courage, for as you have testified to the facts about me in Jerusalem, so you must testify also in Rome.”
(Acts 23:11)

God is using Roman injustice to accomplish His will. In the following chapter, Paul will at last set sail for Rome, the center of the political and commercial world at that time. Though the road there will not be easy, through the coming trials, Paul will continue to serve as a minister and witness for Jesus Christ. It will be in Rome where he will one day eventually meet his death, as he expresses in the last letter he wrote:

“I have fought the good fight, I have finished the course, I have kept the faith; in the future there is laid up for me the crown of righteousness, which the Lord, the righteous Judge, will award to me on that day; and not only to me, but also to all who have loved His appearing.”
(2 Timothy 4:7-9a)