Not Mad, but Glad! - Acts 26:24-32

Festus hears enough

Festus thought this talk of a crucified Jesus being resurrected was the ramblings of a man who had lost his mind

1 Corinthians 1:18–24 LSB

For the word of the cross is foolishness to those who are perishing, but to us who are being saved, it is the power of God. For it is written, “I will destroy the wisdom of the wise, And the cleverness of the clever I will set aside.” Where is the wise man? Where is the scribe? Where is the debater of this age? Has not God made foolish the wisdom of the world? For since, in the wisdom of God, the world through its wisdom did not come to know God, God was well-pleased, through the foolishness of the message preached, to save those who believe. For indeed Jews ask for signs and Greeks search for wisdom, but we preach Christ crucified, to Jews a stumbling block and to Gentiles foolishness, but to those who are the called, both Jews and Greeks, Christ the power of God and the wisdom of God.

Remember what the Gospel is?

Galatians 3:8 LSB

And the Scripture, foreseeing that God would justify the Gentiles by faith, proclaimed the gospel beforehand to Abraham, saying, “All the nations will be blessed in you.”

also

Romans 1:16 LSB

For I am not ashamed of the gospel, for it is the power of God for salvation to everyone who believes, to the Jew first and also to the Greek.

Paul’s Mental State

When Festus shouted to Paul “Much learning has made you mad,” the Greek word that was translated as “mad” is the word mania. So to put it another way, he was calling Paul a maniac. The sense here is not that Festus was trying to insult Paul; the evidence through all of this is Festus was tolerant of Paul, if not somewhat intrigued by him. However, in this moment, something in him snapped and he burst out perhaps what he had been holding in for awhile, and that is this belief in the resurrection is utter foolishness. He does not think it blasphemy, nor does he find any hint of sedition in this belief. However, he finds it insane that a man as educated and intelligent as Paul would call “Lord” a man who was crucified. There are dignified ways to be executed, and across many cultures over several thousand years, the method used for nobility was beheading. Some notable examples are royalty such as Anne Boleyn, Marie Antoinette, King Charles I, and many others. Even John the Baptist was beheaded. Fully clothed, often in their finest and brightest garments, those who were condemned received a swift and merciful death.

Not so with the Son of God. The highest ranking Noble in all of the earth, the heir to the throne of Almighty God, was stripped of his clothes, beaten, ridiculed, tortured, and nailed to a cross made of rough-hewn timbers and left there to die a slow, agonizing death. This is not the noble, dignified ending for a revered leader, let alone a king. And as if that was not foolish enough in the eyes of Festus, Paul believed that Jesus rose from the dead and went to heaven to reign as king over all. Festus could not contain himself any more, and bursts out, “Paul, your education and intelligence has somehow made you a maniac!”

Contrast this to how Paul described himself in verse 2 of this chapter. There he declares to King Agrippa, “I think myself happy.” Happy is translated from the Greek makarios, which is indicative of a happy disposition. It can also be translated as “blessed,” as it was in Matthew 5 when Jesus preached the Beatitudes: “makarios are they which are persecuted...makarios are you, when men shall revile you” Paul counted himself as blessed to be persecuted, because it meant he was on the right path, and that Jesus was with him. But there was no sense in arguing his state of mind with Festus, so he simply declares, “I am not mad, most noble Festus,” then turns his focus back to the king. Notice he does not challenge Festus’ own mental state, although he could have said, “You are a fool for not believing!” Such words would have been factually true, but not fruitful or advantageous in the current situation.

Returning to the Greek just one more time, I want to point something out about this reading. In the Greek, there is a word that is oligos. It is used some 67 times in the New Testament. Some examples are in 1 Peter 5:12 where the author writes “I have written briefly, and in James 4:14 where he says life is like a vapor, appearing for a little time before vanishing. Also in Matthew 7:14 “Because strait is the gate, and narrow is the way, which leadeth unto life, and few there be that find it.” This same Greek word is the one that is translated as “almost” here in verse 28 and 29.

So this declaration by Agrippa is less about how close he is to belief, but more being shocked that Paul thinks he can be converted in so little time. I don’t necessarily think the KJV translated this incorrectly, but perhaps our understanding and reading of English has changed since the 17th century.

After all of this truthful preaching by the old saint and apostle, Agrippa still resists the truth. “Too soon,” he says. “Do you think I can be so easily persuaded?”

Conclusion

So Festus thinks Paul is crazy, and Agrippa thinks Paul is too presumptuous. Neither man stopped to think about himself and his own spiritual condition. In the end, they both agree Paul is not worthy of condemnation, but neither of them considered their own condemnation. Paul has poured out his heart to them with the truth, and called them to surrender to Christ, and their own stubborn hearts did not yield.