Paul Before King Agrippa (Part 2)

      Paul now begins his defense, or in this case, because it is an unofficial hearing, his testimony. Remember earlier what two things we said could be used to convict someone of a crime; evidence and testimony. Although it is just a hearing and not a court case, anything Paul says could be used in a court of law. This could cause Paul to speak very carefully, or maybe even lie about certain things that might make him seem guilty, but Paul tells his testimony truthfully. I’m sure you all know Paul’s story by now, since he has recalled it multiple times in the book of Acts, so we’ll go through it quickly. Let’s read verse 5 together. “They have known me for a long time and can testify, if they are willing, that I conformed to the strictest sect of our religion, living as a Pharisee.” Before Paul was converted, he was a very religious Pharisee. He obeyed all of the laws, and acted just the way a Pharisee was expected to live. After he was converted, he stopped depending on his self-righteousness and started depending on God. Let’s read verse 6-8. “6 And now it is because of my hope in what God has promised our ancestors that I am on trial today. 7 This is the promise our twelve tribes are hoping to see fulfilled as they earnestly serve God day and night. King Agrippa, it is because of this hope that these Jews are accusing me. 8 Why should any of you consider it incredible that God raises the dead?” After Paul’s conversion, he understood that Jesus was the fulfilment of the law. Paul no longer had to be a Pharisee in order to fulfil the law. He also understood that because Jesus died and rose again, he has hope in his savior. Turn to Philippians chapter 3, and can I have someone read verses 10 and 11? “10 I want to know Christ—yes, to know the power of his resurrection and participation in his sufferings, becoming like him in his death, 11 and so, somehow, attaining to the resurrection from the dead.” So what was Paul’s hope? His hope was in the resurrection. Since Christ has risen, there’s hope for all believers to be risen with Christ. Paul truly believed in the hope of the resurrection, but the people listening did not. Paul says to them “why should any of you consider it incredible that God raises the dead?” In fact, Paul’s hope in the resurrection is one reason why the Jews wanted to pursue Paul’s death. They couldn’t accept that Jesus was the promised Messiah and that all believers have a resurrection hope. Even though Paul knew that his believe in Jesus as the Messiah and his hope in the resurrection was why the Jews hated him, he had to testify about these things. Paul had to be faithful to his beliefs, even if it meant he would be charged with death. It’s important for us to learn that we have to be faithful to our hope in Jesus. There are many people today who will criticize us for our beliefs, which may cause us to shy away from talking about Jesus. If Paul realized that he could die because of his beliefs, yet still testify about Christ, how important is it that we also testify?
      Moving on to verse 9, we see that Paul begins to talk about his conversion. Paul speaks about his persecution of the Christians, and how he even pursued them into foreign cities just to punish them. Paul was obsessed with persecuting the Christians, and he wanted them to be put to death. Paul then speaks about how Jesus spoke to him on the road to Damascus. Let’s read verse 14. “We all fell to the ground, and I heard a voice saying to me in Aramaic, ‘Saul, Saul, why do you persecute me? It is hard for you to kick against the goads.’” Paul was not only persecuting the church, but he was also persecuting Christ. If you turn to Matthew 25, you find the parable of the sheep and the goats. The sheep are the ones who cared for Jesus’ needs, and the goats are the ones who did not. When they ask Jesus when they cared for Him, He answers “’truly I tell you, whatever you did for one of the least of these brothers and sisters of mine, you did for me.’” How we treat others is important to our relationship with Christ. Anyway, that’s just a quick side note. I know that what you really want to know is what “kick against the goads” means. “Kick against the goads is an expression that means that someone is trying to do something but is only hurting themselves. The expression comes from an ox kicking the goads, which is a stick used to move cattle, but only hurting itself. Paul was pursuing something that only ended up hurting himself. He was denying the truth of God and even actively opposing Jesus. This only succeeded to keep Paul from the truth. Jesus then claims that Paul is going to be His servant and a witness of Christ. Paul will be sent to save people from the power of Satan, and to help people receive forgiveness and sanctification.