Responsible for Paul

Introduction

Welcome to the beginning of the final act of Acts! Isn’t it impressive how much ground this work from Luke covers? Isn’t it interesting to see world-changing moments occur in this very understated way? I think it’s fair to say that we have borne witness multiple times to pivotal moments in human history that Luke could have no clue about!

As Noble briefly discussed last week, we meet (another) Agrippa in Acts 25 who will eventually oversee the fall of Jerusalem during a war against the Romans. He will be the last ruler of the Herodian dynasty, and he will assist the Romans as they destroy the Temple!

If you’re one of the 90% of the congregation who has to physically struggle not to go to sleep when I get into the World History surrounding these passages of scripture… I am genuinely sorry to have to do this to you...

But we are going to do a fair amount of discussing the players in the game of Roman politics that we have in view in this scene in Acts!

I think that knowing who we are dealing with as we observe Paul’s defense of himself to Agrippa should greatly inform us as to how we should live out the Gospel in our day to day lives.

I think that seeing just how sordid the lives of these figures are should remind us that there is nothing new under the Sun!

We look at our socio-political climate and we tend to think that things have just never been this bad… I can tell you that if you do just a little reading into any period of human history, you’ll find that things have pretty much always been at least this bad!

I’m going to do my very best to make the snippets of history palatable and interesting, but I think that even the least historically-interested among you should be able to appreciate this reality:

We are reading an account from Luke, a gentile physician, the only confirmed Gentile writer in the library of scripture, and he is primarily interested in conveying the story of the beginnings of the Gospel mission to the ends of the Earth as Jesus prophesied in his Great Commission Acts 1:7-8

Acts 1:7–8 ESV

He said to them, “It is not for you to know times or seasons that the Father has fixed by his own authority. But you will receive power when the Holy Spirit has come upon you, and you will be my witnesses in Jerusalem and in all Judea and Samaria, and to the end of the earth.”

Luke’s focus in writing these chapters is most likely on the fulfillment of Jesus’ promises to Paul (Acts 9:15)

Acts 9:15 ESV

But the Lord said to him, “Go, for he is a chosen instrument of mine to carry my name before the Gentiles and kings and the children of Israel.

As well as Jesus’ promises to his disciples (Luke 21:12-15)

Luke 21:12–15 ESV

But before all this they will lay their hands on you and persecute you, delivering you up to the synagogues and prisons, and you will be brought before kings and governors for my name’s sake. This will be your opportunity to bear witness. Settle it therefore in your minds not to meditate beforehand how to answer, for I will give you a mouth and wisdom, which none of your adversaries will be able to withstand or contradict.

Luke, much like most of us, doesn’t seem to be overly interested in the backgrounds, the lifestyles, the personal histories of the various figures that we see as we move through the narrative of Acts. Luke is paying attention to what excites him!

Luke is just a normal guy, with a normal man’s perception, taking notes and compiling testimonies to try and capture the exciting story that has captivated his faith! He seems excited about God and wants to create a trustworthy account for others to refer to when they are defending their faith. Luke is probably writing this to help the young Church, and he is potentially documenting these accounts for other unbelieving Gentiles, so that they too might become excited about God.

But here we all are almost 2000 years later, and we can look back at the moving parts of this narrative and see that God was working in some VERY BIG WAYS!

We have this supernatural nexus between a regular dude whom God chose to be the record-keeper for the foundational events of our belief system and big players in the Roman political elite. We have been blessed with a revelation that big events are occurring around little people all the time!

Luke couldn’t possibly imagine the significance of the events he is recording, and I think this (in conjunction with his primary purpose being the propagation of the Gospel) is why he can seem to be drastically understating.

Does this mess up God’s plans one bit?!?!

Quite to the opposite, I think that Luke’s loyalty to his calling as he understood it is an even greater testimony to the power of God! Luke knew that Luke was responsible for Luke, and that’s what makes the account of Luke even more powerful!

We can see this playing out in the life of Paul as well!

Paul is like a biblical Forrest Gump, going from one great historical scene to the next with this unassuming attitude and a singular focus on the mission given to him by God, and that’s what makes his story so powerful! Paul isn’t trying to meet Felix, Drucilla, Festus, Agrippa, Bernice… He isn’t going out trying to make the Romans squirm and the Jews fume, he is just doing Paul, and God is doing the rest!

Now, Paul is obviously worlds apart from Forrest Gump, but we know that he held his education and his religious acumen in low esteem when compared to the beauty of the Gospel! Philippians 3:4-8

Philippians 3:4–8 ESV

though I myself have reason for confidence in the flesh also. If anyone else thinks he has reason for confidence in the flesh, I have more: circumcised on the eighth day, of the people of Israel, of the tribe of Benjamin, a Hebrew of Hebrews; as to the law, a Pharisee; as to zeal, a persecutor of the church; as to righteousness under the law, blameless. But whatever gain I had, I counted as loss for the sake of Christ. Indeed, I count everything as loss because of the surpassing worth of knowing Christ Jesus my Lord. For his sake I have suffered the loss of all things and count them as rubbish, in order that I may gain Christ

Keep that in mind as we march into the final (abruptly ending) act of Acts.

Who is Paul talking to?