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Acts 26:1–8. Agrippa said to Paul: You are allowed to speak for yourself. Then Paul, stretching out his hand, began to speak in his defense: King Agrippa! I consider myself happy that today I can defend myself before you in everything that the Jews accuse me of, especially since you know all the customs and controversial opinions of the Jews. Therefore, I ask you to listen to me generously. My life from my youth, which I first spent among my people in Jerusalem, is known to all Jews; They have known about me for a long time, if they want to testify, that I lived as a Pharisee according to the strictest teaching in our religion. And now I stand on trial for the hope of the promise given from God to our fathers, which our twelve tribes hope to see fulfilled by diligently serving God day and night. For this hope, King Agrippa, the Jews accuse me. So what? Do you really think it incredible that God raises the dead?” Paul said: “I consider myself fortunate that today I can defend myself before you for everything that the Jews accuse me of.” He spoke not with flattery (let it not be!), but wanting to benefit the king. And the one who had just been interpreted as being on trial, partly influenced the judge and captured him, because Agrippa, in the presence of everyone, said: “You are not convincing me to become a Christian” (v. 28). “Especially since you know all the customs and controversial opinions of the Jews.” Realizing this, Paul should have feared that he was being judged by a man who knew everything; but not rejecting a judge who knows everything that happened in detail means having a clear conscience. “All the Jews know; they have known about me for a long time." This means: the Jews know the truth, but do not want to testify to it, but willfully lie and sin against him. “I lived as a Pharisee according to the strictest teaching in our religion.” It is remarkable that the Pharisees were heretics, although they studied and understood the Scriptures better than all other Jewish sects. They understood better, but not truly, because they did not have a true understanding of the Scriptures. So, diligence can examine and discuss a matter with subtlety, but cannot fully understand its essence; on the contrary, it happens that a person is deceived by his own mind. Acts 26:9–11. It is true that I thought that I should do a lot against the name of Jesus of Nazareth. This is what I did in Jerusalem: having received power from the high priests, I imprisoned many saints, and when they killed them, I gave my voice to it; and in all the synagogues I repeatedly tormented them and forced them to blaspheme Jesus and, in excessive rage against them, persecuted them even in foreign cities. Paul says “it is true, and I thought,” because it seemed to him that this was how it should have been. “Tormented them many times.” Incited by the devil and demons, he says, many, like madmen, did many absurdities; and I, perhaps, was more enraged than them when I caused evil of my own free will. Acts 26:12–18. For this reason, going to Damascus with authority and commission from the high priests, in the middle of the day on the road, I saw, sir, a light from heaven, surpassing the radiance of the sun, shining around me and those walking with me. We all fell to the ground, and I heard a voice speaking to me in Hebrew: “Saul, Saul! Why are you persecuting Me? It’s hard for you to go against the grain.” I said: “Who are you, Lord?” He said, “I am Jesus, whom you persecute. But rise and stand on your feet; For this is why I appeared to you, to make you a minister and a witness of what you have seen and what I will reveal to you, delivering you from the people of Judah and from the pagans, to whom I am now sending you to open their eyes, so that they may turn from darkness to light and from the power of Satan to God, and by faith in Me they may receive forgiveness of sins and a lot with the sanctified.” Reporting the radiance of the brightest sensual light and considering it impossible to compare the light of Jesus to the light of the sun, Paul, in order to convey the phenomenon in a way that human hearing can perceive, says: this light far surpasses the light of the sun. Acts 26:19–20. Therefore, King Agrippa, I did not resist the heavenly vision, but first I preached to the inhabitants of Damascus and Jerusalem, then to the whole land of Judea and the pagans, so that they would repent and turn to God, doing deeds worthy of repentance. I was convinced through this phenomenon, says Paul. With this vision, the Lord converted me and thus convinced me not to delay the matter. This vision is pure contemplation, exceeding human strength; it cannot be seen by a carnal person unless his eyes are opened by superhuman strength. Acts 26:21–23. For this the Jews seized me in the church and tried to tear me to pieces. But, having received help from God, I stand to this day, testifying to small and great things, saying nothing except what the prophets and Moses said would happen, that is, that Christ had to suffer and, being the first to rise from the dead, proclaim light to the people (Jewish) and the pagans. What the prophets said about the suffering of Christ is known, and it is unnecessary to talk about it; and what Moses predicted is clear from what he said, as if on behalf of Jacob, to Judah: “He bowed down... lay down like a lion... who will lift him up?” (Gen. 49:9). This refers to the death and resurrection of Christ. But Moses also predicted about suffering: “Your life will hang before you” (Deut. 28:66). "Rising first from the dead". Jesus was the first to rise and no longer die, and those resurrected by Him or His disciples died again in anticipation of the future general resurrection. Acts 26:24–26. When he defended himself in this way, Festus said in a loud voice: You are crazy, Pavel! great learning drives you to madness. No, venerable Festus, he said, I am not mad, but I speak words of truth and common sense. For the king knows about this, before whom I speak boldly. I don’t believe at all that any of this was hidden from him...” Since Paul constantly addressed his speech to the king, Festus, somewhat offended and seeing Paul’s boldness, said out of frustration and anger: “You are crazy, Paul!” Paul explains to him the reason why he addressed his word to the king. Acts 26:26–32. ...because it didn’t happen in a corner. Do you believe, King Agrippa, the prophets? I know that you believe. Agrippa said to Paul: You are not convincing me to become a Christian. Paul said: I would pray to God that, little or no, not only you, but also everyone who listens to me today, would become like me, except for these bonds. When he said this, the king and ruler, Bernice and those sitting with them stood up; and, stepping aside, they said to each other that this man was not doing anything worthy of death or chains. And Agrippa said to Festus: this man could have been released if he had not demanded trial from Caesar. Therefore, the ruler decided to send him to Caesar. By saying that “this did not happen in a corner,” Paul means the cross and the resurrection, since the teaching about this spread throughout the entire universe. He says this to prove that Agrippa knew everything; and almost says to the others present: “And you should have known this,” because this is the meaning of the following words: “I would pray to God that whoever knows how much, not only you, but everyone who listens to me today, would become like me, except for these bonds.” Although the bonds for the name of Christ are worthy of glory, Paul “added beyond these bonds,” adapting himself to the understanding of those present. - What do you say, blessed Paul, “besides these bonds?” What kind of boldness do you have if you are ashamed and avoid chains? Do you not everywhere in your epistles boast of bonds and call yourself a prisoner? And don’t you show us shackles everywhere instead of a diadem? So, what happened that you are removing the bonds from yourself? I myself, he says, do not distance them from myself, I am not ashamed of them, but I say this out of condescension for the weakness of the listeners, because they cannot yet accommodate my praise. I learned from the Lord that “no one puts patches of unbleached cloth on old clothes” (Mark 2:21). That's why I said that. You might be interested in: