The Promise
Acts 26:1 - 32
Intro: Early in life we find out what a promise is. It is not uncommon for kids to make promises to their parents. “I promise I’ll be good. But please don’t spank me!” Or kids make promises to each other and also find out what it means when someone crosses their fingers while making a promise. Some kids learn that promises are made to be broken, and they live their lives that way. Promises can become tools of manipulation to get people to do something for you. Some become victims of broken promises, while others leave a string of broken promises in their relationships.
-If you read your Bible, you will find that God has given many promises to those who trust in Him. Some of those promises include things like this: “I will never leave you nor forsake you. Whoever trusts in me will not be put to shame. I will be your God and you will be My people. Whoever is faithful to the end will be greatly rewarded.”
-God gave a promise to Israel in the OT. He promised that through Abraham all nations would be blessed. He promised that He would raise up another prophet like Moses who the people would listen to. He promised that the Messiah to come would be a light to the Gentiles – the non-Jewish people of the world. All of God’s promises are as good as gold. He has never broken His word, and He never will. Some of His promises are conditional and require something from us, but He has never crossed His fingers while making a promise. Paul talked to Agrippa and other leaders about God’s promises, showing that they are ultimately fulfilled in Jesus Christ. And here is our main thought for this message.
Prop: God’s promise is ours for the taking if we will surrender our lives to Him.
Interrogative: What more can we learn about the promise of God?
TS: Let’s look at several facets of God’s promise to us through Jesus.
I. The Hope of the Promise (Acts 26:1-8)
1 Then Agrippa said to Paul, "You have permission to speak for yourself." So Paul motioned with his hand and began his defense: 2 "King Agrippa, I consider myself fortunate to stand before you today as I make my defense against all the accusations of the Jews, 3 and especially so because you are well acquainted with all the Jewish customs and controversies. Therefore, I beg you to listen to me patiently. 4 "The Jews all know the way I have lived ever since I was a child, from the beginning of my life in my own country, and also in Jerusalem. 5 They have known me for a long time and can testify, if they are willing, that according to the strictest sect of our religion, I lived as a Pharisee. 6 And now it is because of my hope in what God has promised our fathers 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. O king, it is because of this hope that the Jews are accusing me. 8 Why should any of you consider it incredible that God raises the dead?
-Paul clearly shows that God’s promise is the issue at hand here. Perhaps Paul’s accusers would say that they believe God’s promise, but they certainly would not link it to the man named Jesus whom Paul claims is God’s promised Messiah.
-Paul has two closely linked thoughts in mind when he refers in v.6 to what God promised their fathers. He is referring to the Messianic hope, that God would one day send a Messiah who would restore His kingdom. He is also referring to the resurrection, both of Jesus and of all who follow His life and teachings.
-See, it was Israel’s hope that the ruler God had promised would come and lead them victoriously as a nation, much as King David led Israel about 1000 years earlier. Paul was saying that this promise had been fulfilled in Jesus Christ, and that it was verified by His resurrection from the dead.
-The physical resurrection of Jesus was of the highest importance to Paul’s message. Read 1 Cor. 15 to see how essential the resurrection of Jesus is to the gospel. The Sanhedrin was the religious ruling body of the Jewish nation under the Roman govt. It consisted of Sadducees, who rejected the idea of a resurrection of the dead, and Pharisees, who believed in the resurrection. However, both subgroups rejected the claim that Jesus was resurrected. As Paul makes his case for the resurrection, all of his Jewish listeners are aware that there were a few people raised from the dead in the OT. Both Elijah and Elisha were used by God to raise someone from the dead. Paul’s Jewish listeners know that Jesus raised people from the dead. They may also have heard that Peter raised Tabitha from the dead, and Paul had raised Eutychus from the dead.
-So, in v.8 Paul addresses this question to the Jews: “Why should any of you consider it incredible that God raises the dead?” They had plenty of evidence, and they had Jewish history to establish precedent. God is still a life-giving God and showed that Jesus was the Messiah by raising Him from the dead.
-The hope of the promise is that God’s promised Messiah has come, and took care of the sins of the world. He became the first to be raised to life with a new body, which gives hope that we too will one day follow His lead. The hope of the promise is all about life in Jesus and the resurrection.
-TS: Let’s look at what kind of effect God’s promise can have on those who receive it.
II. The Result of the Promise (Acts 26:9-18)
9 "I too was convinced that I ought to do all that was possible to oppose the name of Jesus of Nazareth. 10 And that is just what I did in Jerusalem. On the authority of the chief priests I put many of the saints in prison, and when they were put to death, I cast my vote against them. 11 Many a time I went from one synagogue to another to have them punished, and I tried to force them to blaspheme. In my obsession against them, I even went to foreign cities to persecute them. 12 "On one of these journeys I was going to Damascus with the authority and commission of the chief priests. 13 About noon, O king, as I was on the road, I saw a light from heaven, brighter than the sun, blazing around me and my companions. 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.’ 15 "Then I asked, ’Who are you, Lord?’ "’I am Jesus, whom you are persecuting,’ the Lord replied. 16 ’Now get up and stand on your feet. I have appeared to you to appoint you as a servant and as a witness of what you have seen of me and what I will show you. 17 I will rescue you from your own people and from the Gentiles. I am sending you to them 18 to open their eyes and turn them from darkness to light, and from the power of Satan to God, so that they may receive forgiveness of sins and a place among those who are sanctified by faith in me.’
-Paul received God’s promise after his encounter with Jesus, and his life was never the same. No longer did he fight against God and persecute the followers of Jesus. Rather, Paul became one of the most ardent followers of Jesus. Paul’s desires changed. His direction changed. His directives changed. His life made a complete turn around after he received God’s promise (v.16).
-Vv.17-18 show the desired result of the promise for those who receive it: open eyes to see truth, turning from darkness to light, turning from the power of Satan to the power of God, receiving forgiveness of sins, and receiving a place among those who are set apart or reserved for Christ by faith in Him. Jesus can change your life! However, He can only do what you allow Him to do in your life. We don’t get to pick and choose what we will allow the Lord to do. We need the full package deal! We need to let Him make us new from the inside out. The result of receiving God’s promise – Jesus – will be a transformed life – the difference between night and day!
-TS: Well, who is eligible to receive such a great life-changing promise?
III. The Reach of the Promise (Acts 26:19-23)
19 "So then, King Agrippa, I was not disobedient to the vision from heaven. 20 First to those in Damascus, then to those in Jerusalem and in all Judea, and to the Gentiles also, I preached that they should repent and turn to God and prove their repentance by their deeds. 21 That is why the Jews seized me in the temple courts and tried to kill me. 22 But I have had God’s help to this very day, and so I stand here and testify to small and great alike. I am saying nothing beyond what the prophets and Moses said would happen-- 23 that the Christ would suffer and, as the first to rise from the dead, would proclaim light to his own people and to the Gentiles."
-The promise of God is not for an elite few. In v.20 Paul describes Jewish people in Damascus, Jerusalem, and Judea, but then he says that he preached to the Gentiles also. He preached that they should repent and turn to God, and live in obedience to God.
-Then in v.22 Paul says he is testifying to small and great alike about the promise. The promise is found in the OT and in the NT. Jesus would suffer, and be raised up, and would give light to both the Jews and the Gentiles.
-Here is what the OT says about Jesus and the scope of the Promise: Isaiah 42:1-7 "Here is my servant, whom I uphold, my chosen one in whom I delight; I will put my Spirit on him and he will bring justice to the nations. 6 "I, the LORD, have called you in righteousness; I will take hold of your hand. I will keep you and will make you to be a covenant for the people and a light for the Gentiles, 7 to open eyes that are blind, to free captives from prison and to release from the dungeon those who sit in darkness.”
-God’s promise is to you! You are included! You are within the reach of God’s promise. God promises to take away your blindness, to give you freedom and release you from bondage and darkness. This is all possible through the person of Jesus Christ!
-TS: Well, Paul is getting so excited about Jesus and God’s promise that Festus breaks in and accuses him of being crazy. Let’s look at it.
IV. The Rationality of the Promise (Acts 26:24-26)
24 At this point Festus interrupted Paul’s defense. "You are out of your mind, Paul!" he shouted. "Your great learning is driving you insane." 25 "I am not insane, most excellent Festus," Paul replied. "What I am saying is true and reasonable. 26 The king is familiar with these things, and I can speak freely to him. I am convinced that none of this has escaped his notice, because it was not done in a corner.
-Receiving God’s promise is the most sane thing a person can do. The crazy thing to do would be to reject God’s promise.
-I’m not suggesting that you check your brains at the door. My point is that even though many do not understand how God works, His promise really does make sense!
-Paul calmly and politely answers Festus: "What I am saying is true and reasonable.” The promise of God is out there for the whole world to see. Christianity is not a dead man’s religion, but requires faith in the living Christ! The events of the life, death, and resurrection of Jesus were not hidden. They were quite public. The entire Sanhedrin knew all about them because they were the ones behind the arrest and execution of Jesus. After they heard about the resurrection of Jesus, they even paid the Roman soldiers to lie and say that the disciples had come and had stolen His body.
-So to Paul, there was plenty of evidence showing that Jesus rose from the dead and was the Messiah – the promise of God. It was not insanity to believe so, but was based on eyewitness accounts and objective facts. You don’t have to be a wide-eyed fanatic to believe that Jesus rose from the dead. In fact, if you weigh the historical evidence and analyze the account of the resurrection, the logic weighs heavily in favor of the truth that something very unusual… something very supernatural happened after Jesus was executed on a Roman cross.
-Briefly, here are some of the eyewitnesses for the resurrection: 1 Corinthians 15:5-8 “…He [Jesus] appeared to Peter, and then to the Twelve. 6 After that, he appeared to more than five hundred of the brothers at the same time, most of whom are still living, though some have fallen asleep. 7 Then he appeared to James, then to all the apostles, 8 and last of all he appeared to me also….”
-TS: Finally, let’s look at how Agrippa handled the promise as it came his way.
V. The Reaction to the Promise (Acts 26:27-32)
27 King Agrippa, do you believe the prophets? I know you do." 28 Then Agrippa said to Paul, "Do you think that in such a short time you can persuade me to be a Christian?" 29 Paul replied, "Short time or long-- I pray God that not only you but all who are listening to me today may become what I am, except for these chains." 30 The king rose, and with him the governor and Bernice and those sitting with them. 31 They left the room, and while talking with one another, they said, "This man is not doing anything that deserves death or imprisonment." 32 Agrippa said to Festus, "This man could have been set free if he had not appealed to Caesar."
-There are numerous opinions on Agrippa’s response because some of the earliest manuscripts of Acts have variations in the wording. Was Agrippa really close to becoming a follower of Jesus? Paul sure hoped so. Whatever it took, Paul wanted to see people receive the promise of God for themselves. To reject the Promise is to reject God.
-It appears that Agrippa had no real interest in becoming a Christ follower. The word “Christian” was actually used in a negative way by first century opponents. It was spoken with scorn and derision. Agrippa’s tone does not indicate that he was putting Paul down. However, there is no further mention of him showing any spiritual interest.
-How does God want people to respond to His promise? 2 Peter 3:9 says that He does not want anyone to perish, but everyone to come to repentance. Without God’s promise, we have no reason to hope. Without Jesus, the One who died and rose again, we have nothing to look forward to.
-God wants us to come to Him in faith, believing that what Jesus did by dying on the cross is enough to pay for all of the wrong things we’ve ever said or done. He wants us to turn away from those bad things and start a loving relationship with Him. His promise is everlasting life. His promise is forgiveness. His promise is hope! His promise is acceptance! His promise is love, joy, and peace in our lives as we learn to live for Him.
