Acts 26

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Introduction

This morning, I want to focus on an aspect of Paul’s conversion testimony before King Agrippa.
He had already stood before Felix and Festus, the governors of Judea
Who was King Agrippa
HEROD THE GREAT (Mt 2; Lk 1:5+),2.
HEROD THE TETRARCH (Mt 14:1, etc.; Mk 7:17, etc.; Lk 3:1; 3:19; 9:7; Acts 13:1).
HEROD PHILIP I.
HEROD PHILIP II.
HEROD AGRIPPA I.
HEROD AGRIPPA II.
Agrippa, understood the Jewish faith.

The Fight Against Hope

Usually, the slogan is “fight for hope.” However, lost, unconverted, and depraved people fight against hope.
Even though all lost people fight against hope. Many lost people fight against hope in the cloak of religion (Christian, Catholic, Mormon, Hindu, Buddha, Muslim, Judaism, etc.).
Before Paul’s conversion, he was a religionist. A religionist that accepted the Old Testament as God’s word.
Acts 26:5 “Which knew me from the beginning, if they would testify, that after the most straitest sect of our religion I lived a Pharisee.”
In other words, he was not like the Sadducee that reject most of the Old Testament. Paul accepted all the Old Testament. IN addition to the hundreds of rules attached to Pharisee-ism.
Even though he was a person who believed in all the Old Testament - That contain hundreds of prophecies related to Jesus first coming from Genesis 3:15 - Malachi 4:5. He rejected the theme of the Old Testament, Jesus Christ. The very hope the Jewish people were looking for, he persecuted.
Acts 26:14 “And when we were all fallen to the earth, I heard a voice speaking unto me, and saying in the Hebrew tongue, Saul, Saul, why persecutest thou me? it is hard for thee to kick against the pricks.”
How did he persecute hope? by viciously attacking the followers of Jesus
Acts 26:9-11 “I verily thought with myself, that I ought to do many things contrary to the name of Jesus of Nazareth. Which thing I also did in Jerusalem: and many of the saints did I shut up in prison, having received authority from the chief priests; and when they were put to death, I gave my voice against them. And I punished them oft in every synagogue, and compelled them to blaspheme; and being exceedingly mad against them, I persecuted them even unto strange cities.”
It is not just the Jews that hate, reject and persecute Jesus.
John 15:18–27 KJV 1900
If the world hate you, ye know that it hated me before it hated you. If ye were of the world, the world would love his own: but because ye are not of the world, but I have chosen you out of the world, therefore the world hateth you. Remember the word that I said unto you, The servant is not greater than his lord. If they have persecuted me, they will also persecute you; if they have kept my saying, they will keep yours also. But all these things will they do unto you for my name’s sake, because they know not him that sent me. If I had not come and spoken unto them, they had not had sin: but now they have no cloke for their sin. He that hateth me hateth my Father also. If I had not done among them the works which none other man did, they had not had sin: but now have they both seen and hated both me and my Father. But this cometh to pass, that the word might be fulfilled that is written in their law, They hated me without a cause. But when the Comforter is come, whom I will send unto you from the Father, even the Spirit of truth, which proceedeth from the Father, he shall testify of me: And ye also shall bear witness, because ye have been with me from the beginning.
Why does the world hate, reject, and persecute hope?
Jesus is not of this world - John 15:19 “If ye were of the world, the world would love his own: but because ye are not of the world, but I have chosen you out of the world, therefore the world hateth you.”
He is from Heaven
His origination did not start with this world - He has no origination
John 8:58 “Jesus said unto them, Verily, verily, I say unto you, Before Abraham was, I am.”
We fear and consequently, hate people we cannot explain.
He does not think they way we do:
Earthly, devilish and sensual
Pure.
The way He thinks exposes our weakness and sinfulness.
Salvation is not universal - John 15:19 “If ye were of the world, the world would love his own: but because ye are not of the world, but I have chosen you out of the world, therefore the world hateth you.”
Simply becasue a person believes in a higher power, or a religion that produces good and moral people does not mean salvation.
The world wants hope that allows them to continue on their path.
Yet, Jesus chooses us out of the world to be different than the world.
Matthew 7:13 “Enter ye in at the strait gate: for wide is the gate, and broad is the way, that leadeth to destruction, and many there be which go in thereat:”
They do not know the Father - John 15:21 “But all these things will they do unto you for my name’s sake, because they know not him that sent me.”
Know - “Eido” - Observation or academic knowledge.
The world does not have the right information about God.
Mark 12:30-31 “And thou shalt love the Lord thy God with all thy heart, and with all thy soul, and with all thy mind, and with all thy strength: this is the first commandment. And the second is like, namely this, Thou shalt love thy neighbour as thyself. There is none other commandment greater than these.”
Hillary Clinton: ““I am a person of faith. I am a Christian. I am Methodist,” Clinton said at a local school gymnasium in Knoxville. “My study of the Bible and my many conversations with people of faith has led me to believe that the most important commandment is to love the lord with all your might, and to love your neighbor as yourself. That is what I think we are commanded by Christ to do.”
“I have been very disappointed and sorry that Christianity, which has such great love at its core is sometimes used to condemn so quickly and judge so harshly,” she said.
Context: what does she mean by loving her neighbor? Accepting her neighbor’s lifestyle.
Jesus removes the cloak covering their sin - John 15:21 “But all these things will they do unto you for my name’s sake, because they know not him that sent me.”
They have no covering
They have no excuse
Jesus’ miracles surpassed every other persons miracles - John 15:24 “If I had not done among them the works which none other man did, they had not had sin: but now have they both seen and hated both me and my Father.”
His miracles surpassed the miracles of Moses and the Prophets.
In the first year of Jesus ministry, Nicodemus confessed: John 3:2 “The same came to Jesus by night, and said unto him, Rabbi, we know that thou art a teacher come from God: for no man can do these miracles that thou doest, except God be with him.”
However, miracle after miracle, Jesus demonstrated that He could do miracles greater than anyone else. Therefore, Jesus is set apart from everyone else. And, should be listened to more than anyone else.
In their number. He healed great multitudes, and no small part of his life was occupied in doing good by miraculous power.
In their nature. They involved a greater exertion of power. He healed all forms of disease. He showed that his power was superior to all kinds of pain. He raised Lazarus after he had been four days dead. He probably refers also to the fact that he had performed miracles of a different kind from all the prophets.
He did all this by his own power; Moses and the prophets by the invoked power of God. Jesus spake and it was done, showing that he had power of himself to do more than all the ancient prophets had done. It may be added that his miracles were done in a short time. They were constant, rapid, continued, in all places. Wherever he was, he showed that he had this power, and in the short space of three years and a half it is probable that he performed more miracles than are recorded of Moses and Elijah, and all the prophets put together.
The Lordship of Jesus
All of these reasons funnel into the receptacle of the source of their hatred, rejection and persecution - Jesus is Lord.
The Jews did not reject the humanity of Jesus
Acts 26:9 “I verily thought with myself, that I ought to do many things contrary to the name of Jesus of Nazareth.”
They hated His claim of being the Son of God. John 19:7 “The Jews answered him, We have a law, and by our law he ought to die, because he made himself the Son of God.”
If He is the Son of God then He is God!
Jesus was hated for many reasons - Mark 15:3 “And the chief priests accused him of many things: but he answered nothing.”
But the primary reason is His claim to be God and His authority
Jesus is opposed once for eating with sinners (2:16), once for upsetting stereotypes about him in his hometown (6:3), a few times for violating Jewish scruples about the law (2:24; 3:6; 7:5); and several times for “blaspheming” or for claiming too much authority for himself (2:7; 3:22; 11:27-28; 14:53-64; 15:29-32, 39).
That’s why in all four gospels, when the opposition against him reaches its climax, Jesus is not charged with being too welcoming to outsiders, but with being a false king, a false prophet, and a false Messiah (Matt. 26:57-68; Mark 14:53-65; Luke 22:66-71; and less clearly in John 18:9-24). They killed Jesus because they thought he was a blasphemer.
And, if He is God then He is the Lord
Acts 26:15 “And I said, Who art thou, Lord? And he said, I am Jesus whom thou persecutest.”
The concept that Paul and the Jews and the world hates - Jesus is Lord - was true. He is not a blasphemer but the Son of God.
People hate the Lordship of Jesus becasue we have disdain for others telling us what to do. At the very core of who we are as people, we are rebels.
Acts 26:14 “And when we were all fallen to the earth, I heard a voice speaking unto me, and saying in the Hebrew tongue, Saul, Saul, why persecutest thou me? it is hard for thee to kick against the pricks.”
Acts 26:16 “But rise, and stand upon thy feet: for I have appeared unto thee for this purpose, to make thee a minister and a witness both of these things which thou hast seen, and of those things in the which I will appear unto thee;”
To close this though on fighting against Hope!
John 15:25 “But this cometh to pass, that the word might be fulfilled that is written in their law, They hated me without a cause.”

Living for Hope

Acts 26:6 “And now I stand and am judged for the hope of the promise made of God unto our fathers:”
What is the Hope?
Promised
Acts 26:6 “And now I stand and am judged for the hope of the promise made of God unto our fathers:”
Acts 13:30-35 to prove the resurrection of Jesus, Paul quoted three Old Testament Texts:
Psalms 2:7 “I will declare the decree: The Lord hath said unto me, Thou art my Son; This day have I begotten thee.”
Isaiah 55:3 “Incline your ear, and come unto me: Hear, and your soul shall live; And I will make an everlasting covenant with you, Even the sure mercies of David.”
Psalms 16:10 “For thou wilt not leave my soul in hell; Neither wilt thou suffer thine Holy One to see corruption.”
What is sad is - Acts 26:7 “Unto which promise our twelve tribes, instantly serving God day and night, hope to come. For which hope’s sake, king Agrippa, I am accused of the Jews.”
The Jews hoped for the Messiah -
Isaiah 11:1 “And there shall come forth a rod out of the stem of Jesse, And a Branch shall grow out of his roots:”
Zechariah 3:8 “Hear now, O Joshua the high priest, thou, And thy fellows that sit before thee: For they are men wondered at: For, behold, I will bring forth my servant the BRANCH.”
They hoped for the resurrection
Daniel 12:2 “And many of them that sleep in the dust of the earth shall awake, some to everlasting life, and some to shame and everlasting contempt.”
Isaiah 26:19 “Thy dead men shall live, Together with my dead body shall they arise. Awake and sing, ye that dwell in dust: For thy dew is as the dew of herbs, And the earth shall cast out the dead.”
However, they did not see that the only way there can be a resurrection of life is if someone came and defeated death through the resurrection
Acts 26:23 “That Christ should suffer, and that he should be the first that should rise from the dead, and should shew light unto the people, and to the Gentiles.”
The hope is the Resurrection
Acts 26:8 “Why should it be thought a thing incredible with you, that God should raise the dead?”
Paul saw the resurrected Savior
“Incredible” - disbelieving
Why is it crazy that the impossible God did the impossible.
Why should it be regarded as absurd that God - who has all power, who is the creator of all, who is the author of the human frame should again restore man to life and continue his future existence? The resurrection is no more incredible than the original creation of the body, and it is attended with no greater difficulties.
Why is the resurrection of Jesus our hope?
Acts 26:18 “To open their eyes, and to turn them from darkness to light, and from the power of Satan unto God, that they may receive forgiveness of sins, and inheritance among them which are sanctified by faith that is in me.”
Turn from darkness to light
Genesis 1 - God created light to separate light from darkness. The first thing God said “it is good” is light. The precedent in the Bible is darkness is not good but light is good!
2 Corinthians 4:3-6 “But if our gospel be hid, it is hid to them that are lost: In whom the god of this world hath blinded the minds of them which believe not, lest the light of the glorious gospel of Christ, who is the image of God, should shine unto them. For we preach not ourselves, but Christ Jesus the Lord; and ourselves your servants for Jesus’ sake. For God, who commanded the light to shine out of darkness, hath shined in our hearts, to give the light of the knowledge of the glory of God in the face of Jesus Christ.”
Turn from the power of Satan unto the power of God
Turn - to revert, a change in direction - This explains Paul’s message - Acts 26:20 “But shewed first unto them of Damascus, and at Jerusalem, and throughout all the coasts of Judaea, and then to the Gentiles, that they should repent and turn to God, and do works meet for repentance.”
Power - dominion
Colossians 1:12-14 “Giving thanks unto the Father, which hath made us meet to be partakers of the inheritance of the saints in light: Who hath delivered us from the power of darkness, and hath translated us into the kingdom of his dear Son: In whom we have redemption through his blood, even the forgiveness of sins:”
We are in a new kingdom
A king that selflessly loves His subjects.
Contrast - The kingdom of being accused to the Kingdom of no accusation.
Forgiveness of sins
Forgiveness - liberty, freedom.
Sin no longer enslaves us!
We are liberated from the shame of sin.
An inheritance - Gives us hope beyond this life.
1 Corinthians 15:51-57 “Behold, I shew you a mystery; We shall not all sleep, but we shall all be changed, In a moment, in the twinkling of an eye, at the last trump: for the trumpet shall sound, and the dead shall be raised incorruptible, and we shall be changed. For this corruptible must put on incorruption, and this mortal must put on immortality. So when this corruptible shall have put on incorruption, and this mortal shall have put on immortality, then shall be brought to pass the saying that is written, Death is swallowed up in victory. O death, where is thy sting? O grave, where is thy victory? The sting of death is sin; and the strength of sin is the law. But thanks be to God, which giveth us the victory through our Lord Jesus Christ.”
The world rejects the resurrection:
Jesus knew rejection through his life. The people of Nazareth, his own hometown, rejected him (Luke 4:26-30). Still others wondered about him because of that hometown. "Nazareth! Can anything good come from there?" Nathanael asked (John 1:46). People rejected much of his teaching. Many questioned the origin of his teachings and do not accept him as he was born poor, the son of Joseph the carpenter. In Matthew 21:42, Jesus talks about the stone the builders rejected. The story is a revelation about Jesus, himself.
The Gospels say that Jesus travelled a lot and suggest he entered villages where he found no place to rest. Luke's Gospel tells of one time Jesus was not welcomed in a Samaritan village (Luke 9:51-53). Jesus' comment on the experience could imply this happened frequently (Luke 9:58).
Remember the last few hours of Jesus' life before his crucifixion. Many people and groups rejected Jesus, including those closest to him. Judas betrayed Jesus and identified him in the Garden of Gethsemane for those who came to arrest him. The disciples all ran away in fear when Jesus was arrested. Peter, who said that he would never desert Jesus, ended up denying Jesus three times (John 18:15-27). The high priest, the chief priests, the elders and scribes rejected Jesus and wanted him put to death.
The religious leaders took Jesus to Pilate for a trial. Pilate did not want any trouble and since it was the governor's custom to release one prisoner during Passover, he asked the crowd, "Which do you want me to release, Barabbas or Jesus?" (Matthew 27:17). The crowds chose Barabbas and rejected Jesus, leaving him to be crucified.
At the final moment of his life, Jesus felt the ultimate rejection. On the cross at the ninth hour Jesus cries out "My God, My God, why hast Thou forsaken Me?" (Matthew 27:45). Jesus knows and understands rejection. Jesus exemplified rejection.
Tremendous pain comes with rejection. The experience can feel like one has been thrown into a spiraling emotional and spiritual black hole and lead one to wonder if there is hope of return to a normal life.
Rejection fills life. We may experience rejection from a lover or a family member. We may experience rejection from a community or society at large because of our skin color, gender, age, sexual orientation, or other aspect of our personhood. All forms of rejection cause pain and add obstructions on our path of life.
Yet, as we remember Jesus, we know that his experience of rejection and crucifixion on that wooden cross did not end the story. God had the final word: a word of life, and love. The week we now call Holy had a wondrous and miraculous outcome. In the burden and pain, there is hope. In our misery and suffering, there is resurrection and new life.
As the sun seems to set during our moments of rejection, darkness and desolation, we can live with the hope that the sun will rise. Even though people and the world around us may reject us, God greets all of us with open arms, embraces us and welcomes us in love.

Conclusion

Acts 26:14 - “And when we were all fallen to the earth, I heard a voice speaking unto me, and saying in the Hebrew tongue, Saul, Saul, why persecutest thou me? it is hard for thee to kick against the pricks.”
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