Acts 26: 1 – 32
Close but no cigar
26 Then Agrippa said to Paul, “You are permitted to speak for yourself.” So Paul stretched out his hand and answered for himself: 2 “I think myself happy, King Agrippa, because today I shall answer for myself before you concerning all the things of which I am accused by the Jews, 3 especially because you are expert in all customs and questions which have to do with the Jews. Therefore I beg you to hear me patiently. 4 “My manner of life from my youth, which was spent from the beginning among my own nation at Jerusalem, all the Jews know. 5 They knew me from the first, if they were willing to testify, that according to the strictest sect of our religion I lived a Pharisee. 6 And now I stand and am judged for the hope of the promise made by God to our fathers. 7 To this promise our twelve tribes, earnestly serving God night and day, hope to attain. For this hope’s sake, King Agrippa, I am accused by the Jews. 8 Why should it be thought incredible by you that God raises the dead? 9 “Indeed, I myself thought I must do many things contrary to the name of Jesus of Nazareth. 10 This I also did in Jerusalem, and many of the saints I shut up in prison, having received authority from the chief priests; and when they were put to death, I cast my vote against them. 11 And I punished them often in every synagogue and compelled them to blaspheme; and being exceedingly enraged against them, I persecuted them even to foreign cities. 12 “While thus occupied, as I journeyed to Damascus with authority and commission from the chief priests, 13 at midday, O king, along the road I saw a light from heaven, brighter than the sun, shining around me and those who journeyed with me. 14 And when we all had fallen to the ground, I heard a voice speaking to me and saying in the Hebrew language, ‘Saul, Saul, why are you persecuting Me? It is hard for you to kick against the goads.’ 15 So I said, ‘Who are You, Lord?’ And He said, ‘I am Jesus, whom you are persecuting. 16 But rise and stand on your feet; for I have appeared to you for this purpose, to make you a minister and a witness both of the things which you have seen and of the things which I will yet reveal to you. 17 I will deliver you from the Jewish people, as well as from the Gentiles, to whom I now send you, 18 to open their eyes, in order to turn them from darkness to light, and from the power of Satan to God, that they may receive forgiveness of sins and an inheritance among those who are sanctified by faith in Me.’ 19 “Therefore, King Agrippa, I was not disobedient to the heavenly vision, 20 but declared first to those in Damascus and in Jerusalem, and throughout all the region of Judea, and then to the Gentiles, that they should repent, turn to God, and do works befitting repentance. 21 For these reasons the Jews seized me in the temple and tried to kill me. 22 Therefore, having obtained help from God, to this day I stand, witnessing both to small and great, saying no other things than those which the prophets and Moses said would come— 23 that the Christ would suffer, that He would be the first to rise from the dead, and would proclaim light to the Jewish people and to the Gentiles.” 24 Now as he thus made his defense, Festus said with a loud voice, “Paul, you are beside yourself! Much learning is driving you mad!” 25 But he said, “I am not mad, most noble Festus, but speak the words of truth and reason. 26 For the king, before whom I also speak freely, knows these things; for I am convinced that none of these things escapes his attention, since this thing was not done in a corner. 27 King Agrippa, do you believe the prophets? I know that you do believe.” 28 Then Agrippa said to Paul, “You almost persuade me to become a Christian.” 29 And Paul said, “I would to God that not only you, but also all who hear me today, might become both almost and altogether such as I am, except for these chains.” 30 When he had said these things, the king stood up, as well as the governor and Bernice and those who sat with them; 31 and when they had gone aside, they talked among themselves, saying, “This man is doing nothing deserving of death or chains.” 32 Then Agrippa said to Festus, “This man might have been set free if he had not appealed to Caesar.”
Have you ever heard the term –‘Close but no cigar’? Where did this term come from?
This popular phrase means ‘to fall short of a successful outcome’ or ‘close call’. It was first used in the United States in the late 1900’s.
While it cannot be proven fact it is likely that this phrase originated at the fairgrounds. Much like fairs today booths were set up and workers would promote overpriced, nearly impossible to win games for the enthusiastic fair goers to try their luck. These were games of strength, accuracy, and skill and were designed to keep people interest where by only allowing a few people to win. If you were trying to impress your date you would spend 10 times what a normal teddy bear would cost. But when you are in love reason seems to slip away.
Oh yeah, what does all this have to do with cigars? These days’ people still want to win the biggest stuffed animal hanging from the back of the stall of the game booth. Back in the day though the prizes were not typically of what we see in our modern ages. Yes, you guessed it. Cigars were the common prize.
Because of this way in the fairgrounds most scholars describe the phrase came from when someone came close to winning one of the nearly impossible games but ultimately lost, earning the statement, ‘Oh to bad. You were close but no cigar.’ I guess today we would say, ‘Oh to bad. You were close but you didn’t win the Teddy Bear.’
Today we are going to see how someone was close to eternal Salvation but would not concede his loyalty to a greater king – Jesus Christ.
26 Then Agrippa said to Paul, “You are permitted to speak for yourself.” So Paul stretched out his hand and answered for himself:
Now in a way we have here a kangaroo court. We see at this point Agrippa turned to Paul and gave him permission to put forward his defense against charges that had not been made against him but to have him give testimony regarding the accusations of the religious Jews.
We should pause and consider here the position in which Paul now found himself. Every notable person in Caesarea, both Jew and Gentile, was gathered there, together with King Agrippa II and the Roman procurator. God was not finished with Paul’s ministry. Even though he was incarcerated God was able to get around this obstacle and bring the audience to Paul.
2 “I think myself happy, King Agrippa, because today I shall answer for myself before you concerning all the things of which I am accused by the Jews, 3 especially because you are expert in all customs and questions which have to do with the Jews. Therefore I beg you to hear me patiently.
Paul begins tactfully and carefully. Yet he states nothing that was not the opinion of all present, for Agrippa had the reputation of being such an expert. He therefore simply acknowledged what all present recognized. Then, in true oratorical style, he asked for a patient hearing. Paul was not inexperienced in such matters. The hope that he might be overawed by those gathered did not happen. He was far too experienced in awkward situations for that.
4 “My manner of life from my youth, which was spent from the beginning among my own nation at Jerusalem, all the Jews know. 5 They knew me from the first, if they were willing to testify, that according to the strictest sect of our religion I lived a Pharisee.
He first declares that all who knew him could testify of the fact that he had lived strictly and honestly as a Pharisee, that is as one of the strictest adherents of Judaism. This would impress any Caesarean Jews present, for all would know of the dedication of the Pharisees, and it would assure the Gentiles present that he had lived in a godly fashion. He was making all know the piety of his life up to that point. And the point was that his views may have changed but not his approach to life.
6 And now I stand and am judged for the hope of the promise made by God to our fathers. 7 To this promise our twelve tribes, earnestly serving God night and day, hope to attain. For this hope’s sake, King Agrippa, I am accused by the Jews. 8 Why should it be thought incredible by you that God raises the dead?
He then declared the hope which was his, and in which he believed. It was a very Jewish hope. He was being judged ‘for the hope of the promise made of God to our fathers’, that is, the hope of the coming Messiah Who would be raised from the dead as the prophet Isaiah said in his book in chapter 53.10-12 and Who would raise others from the dead at the last day chapter 26.19. This was what all Israel (the twelve tribes) also hoped for, the coming of the Messiah and the resurrection from the dead, ‘Jesus and the resurrection’. Let them therefore be aware that he stands to be judged before them this day, because is a Jew and as a Jew he has a Jewish hope.
Once again it is clear that Paul sees one of the main reasons why he is being as hounded as arising from the fact of his belief in the resurrection as especially revealed in the resurrection of Christ. It is this is that the chief priests are so bigoted against. And yet the promises of God concerning the Messiah and the coming resurrection are what all the people of Israel (the whole twelve tribes - apart from these few) hope to attain to by serving God faithfully. That indeed is why he himself is serving God faithfully! And this is the hope concerning which he is being accused. And then he challenges them as to why it should be thought so incredible that God can raise the dead. After all, if He is the living God, can He not do anything?
By facing them up with Christ and the resurrection he was bringing what was possibly a new message to the Gentiles among the audience, as he had in Athens but at the same time he was wooing the supporters of the Pharisees who taught the resurrection from the dead, and linking it with the Messianic hope. Let all recognize that the living God will do this. He will raise men from the dead, and He has demonstrated this by raising Jesus Christ from the dead. For in the end Paul’s purpose for both Jew and Gentile is eventually to introduce them to the fact that Jesus Christ, Whom all the trouble is about, did rise from the dead, and is now enthroned as Lord and Savior.
9 “Indeed, I myself thought I must do many things contrary to the name of Jesus of Nazareth. 10 This I also did in Jerusalem, and many of the saints I shut up in prison, having received authority from the chief priests; and when they were put to death, I cast my vote against them. 11 And I punished them often in every synagogue and compelled them to blaspheme; and being exceedingly enraged against them, I persecuted them even to foreign cities.
Like the men religious Jews in the audience Paul then described how he himself had been a persecutor of Christians in the earliest days, having seen himself as an enemy of Jesus Christ. And in the course of this he had imprisoned men (like he was now imprisoned) and had received authority from the very chief priests (who are now trying to put him to death), to put others to death. Indeed he had been so incensed against Christians that he had beaten them in the synagogues and had tried to force them, by torture and threats of death for them and their families, to blaspheme the name of Christ, and had even followed them to foreign cities for that purpose. He wanted his listeners to know that, although he had been full of religious zeal, he now recognized that he had been totally in the wrong, as his change of life revealed (just as it would now be wrong for them to punish him in the same way, without any real justification). He also wanted them to recognize what a genuine person he was in whatever he did. Let them also consider what amazing thing would be required to alter the course of his life.
12 “While thus occupied, as I journeyed to Damascus with authority and commission from the chief priests, 13 at midday, O king, along the road I saw a light from heaven, brighter than the sun, shining around me and those who journeyed with me. 14 And when we all had fallen to the ground, I heard a voice speaking to me and saying in the Hebrew language, ‘Saul, Saul, why are you persecuting Me? It is hard for you to kick against the goads.’
He now proceeds to describe how as he was travelling, with authority and commission from the highest in the land, an even higher Authority had intervened. He had seen a light from heaven at midday, a light brighter than the burning sun, and it had shone round him, and a voice had spoken to him, and all of those present had been humbled before this light, and they had fallen to the ground. All had had to fall before that glorious light. (This was not mentioned in the previous testimony, but there Paul was emphasizing the personal nature of his experience as a Jew of the whole experience. He had not wanted to over-emphasize the actual experience as a spectacle. But here before this great crowd of notables he wants to bring out the glory and the worship and submission to the Lord of all, for he wants these people also to fall before Him.
Then the voice had asked why he was persecuting the One Who spoke, and declared that it was a hard thing that he was doing, kicking against the nails in the ox-yoke which were designed to prevent such kicking for he was a man on whom the Lord had put His yoke, and to struggle in the light of this was foolish. Many of his listeners here had their slaves and their cattle. They would understand exactly what kicking against the goads meant.
Thus a Heavenly Authority had spoken to him, and had informed him that he was taking him for His servant, for His ox, so to speak that he might serve Him. But the leading question then was, ‘Who was this One Who made this demand?’
15 So I said, ‘Who are You, Lord?’ And He said, ‘I am Jesus, whom you are persecuting.
So he had asked for identification, for he could not conceive who this Lord was Who was speaking to him. Was he not himself obeying God in persecuting the Christians? And the voice had then told him that he was Jesus Whom he was persecuting. It had been the last thing that he had expected to hear. As far as he was concerned Jesus was dead.
This was then a clear testimony to the resurrection, for Jesus had been dead and buried, and yet here He was speaking from heaven and identifying Himself with Christians on earth. Indeed He was declaring that they were so precious to Him, that those who touched them touched Him. This was the amazing thing that had changed the course of his life. He had been brought face to face with the risen Jesus Christ, and had had to face up to the fact that He was alive, and had recognized His love for, and unity with, His church, His own people.
16 But rise and stand on your feet; for I have appeared to you for this purpose, to make you a minister and a witness both of the things which you have seen and of the things which I will yet reveal to you.
It was then that he had been given his commission. Like Ezekiel of old he was told to stand on his feet (Ezekiel 22.3). For Jesus was in a position of total authority. And Jesus had told him that the reason why He had appeared to him was in order to appoint him as a minister/servant, and as a witness, both of what he had now seen of the Lord in His supernatural glory, and of the things concerning which He would appear to him in the future. He had been chosen by God to be a chosen messenger of Christ.
17 I will deliver you from the Jewish people, as well as from the Gentiles, to whom I now send you, 18 to open their eyes, in order to turn them from darkness to light, and from the power of Satan to God, that they may receive forgiveness of sins and an inheritance among those who are sanctified by faith in Me.’
He had then learned that his commission was clearly to be one which would involve great dangers. For he would need to be ‘delivered’ from both Jews and Gentiles, (Hint – Hint - Agrippa and Festus please note), as he fulfilled his task of opening their eyes so that they would see the truth, of turning them from darkness to light, from the darkness of ignorance and unawareness, of sin and of idolatry, to the glorious light of Christ now revealed to him, so that they might receive the light of life, the light of the knowledge of the glory of God in the face of Jesus Christ, and so that they might be delivered from the power and tyranny of Satan to God.
In speaking to adults you sometimes have to be a salesman. You need to point out the features and benefits of coming to Christ Jesus. Look at what Paul describes to these people if they turn to the Lord Jesus;
• ‘To open their eyes.’ Remember that Paul’s eyes were open to not only see but it also speaks of eyes being opened to a realization of sin where a man’s eyes were opened to see spiritual realities. To have the eyes closed is to be in a state of spiritual darkness (28.27 (Isaiah 6.10). To have them opened is to be brought into the light.
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• ‘To turn them from darkness to light.’ That is to bring them out of the darkness of sin and ignorance to the true God as He Is before His true people that they might walk in the right ways. In each case the Lord comes as a light to His people, turning them from darkness.
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• ‘From the power of Satan to God.’ The main Old Testament reference here is Zechariah 3 where Joshua the High Priest was turned from the power of Satan to God by having his filthy garments removed, revealing that his iniquity has been removed, so that he might be clothed by the Lord. Thus being turned from the power of Satan to God indicates having the filth of sin removed and being clothed with righteousness and purity, and as Messiah’s people finding a new oneness in Him.
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• ‘That they may receive remission (forgiveness) of sins.’ This forgiveness is the most remarkable thing in the world, for it is not a bare ‘letting off because you could not help it’, but the thorough and complete removal of sin through the cleansing of the blood of Christ (1 John 1.7), a ‘blotting out’ (Isaiah 43.25), so that man is longer seen as sinful.
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• ‘And a inheritance among those who are sanctified by faith in me.’ It is because sin has been removed that they will be able to enjoy their inheritance among God’s people, enjoying His blessing of eternal life, both now (John 5.24) and as they live as citizens of heaven (Philippians 3.20)
19 “Therefore, King Agrippa, I was not disobedient to the heavenly vision, 20 but declared first to those in Damascus and in Jerusalem, and throughout all the region of Judea, and then to the Gentiles, that they should repent, turn to God, and do works befitting repentance. 21 For these reasons the Jews seized me in the temple and tried to kill me.
It was because of this commission and the heavenly vision that accompanied it, that he had gone everywhere proclaiming the Good News of Jesus Christ, and calling on men to have a complete change of mind and turn to God, and do the kind of works that will reveal it. And it was for this reason that the Jews had seized him in the Temple and had tried to kill him. Let those then who heard consider whether what he had done was worthy of death. He had called them to God and to works worthy of repentance. The words here echo those spoken about John the Baptist.
22 Therefore, having obtained help from God, to this day I stand, witnessing both to small and great, saying no other things than those which the prophets and Moses said would come— 23 that the Christ would suffer, that He would be the first to rise from the dead, and would proclaim light to the Jewish people and to the Gentiles.”
In summing up his presentation Paul states that central to all he has said is Jesus the Christ and the resurrection. That is why he has received help from God. It was in order that he might proclaim to both small and great the hope of Israel as revealed by Moses and the prophets, namely that the Messiah must come, and that He must suffer, and that through His resurrection He would proclaim light to both Jews and Gentiles. For it is finally His resurrection that is the proof of what God has done and which therefore brings light to all.
In his closing remarks he wants them to recognize that in teaching these things he is saying nothing other than the prophets have already said.
24 Now as he thus made his defense, Festus said with a loud voice, “Paul, you are beside yourself! Much learning is driving you mad!”
This reaction of Festus was probably a reaction to the suggestion that Jesus had been raised from the dead in order to proclaim light to both Jews and Gentiles. Resurrection from the dead in the body was very much a Jewish idea which their Holy Scriptures listed examples of this happening. He could probably have accepted as reasonable the idea that the soul should live on. What he found difficult to stomach was a man coming back from the grave. Thus the idea was madness. It just did not happen. He accepted that Paul was a man knowledgeable in the Scriptures, but argued that that learning was making him mad. The reaction is not so unusual. It has been known for modern Christians to be accused of being ‘touched in the head’, in other words of not thinking as the world thinks.
25 But he said, “I am not mad, most noble Festus, but speak the words of truth and reason. 26 For the king, before whom I also speak freely, knows these things; for I am convinced that none of these things escapes his attention, since this thing was not done in a corner.
Paul then replies politely that he is not mad and that his words are both true and within reason. He asserts to King Agrippa that he knows of these things. He knows that the Scriptures clearly teach the resurrection of the body. And he knows of the claims that Jesus has risen from the dead, and of the evidences that have been put forth for none of these things were done in secret. They were well known by the Jews.
27 King Agrippa, do you believe the prophets? I know that you do believe.”
In sharing the gospel you have to go for the close of your sharing the Good News. You need to ask the person or people you are talking to if they want to commit their lives to Jesus. We see this point in action as Paul challenges King Agrippa himself, and asks him as to whether he believes the prophets. He will not take no for an answer. He knows that the King believes the prophets. What then is going to be his response?
28 Then Agrippa said to Paul, “You almost persuade me to become a Christian.”
Agrippa was probably both taken aback (he was not expecting to be directly challenged) and amused. He could not believe that Paul really expected to win his response so quickly. And indeed the truth is that he was probably not as aware of the prophetic Scriptures Paul was referring to as Paul thought. He may have been an ‘expert’ compared with a Roman, and even compared with many Jews, but he did not even begin to come up to the level of an educated Pharisee. Further he would be conscious of those who were listening. Yet he does not deny it. Thus he replies (no doubt in embarrassment in the presence of the audience), ‘Do you really expect to persuade me to be a Christian in such a short time and with such little persuasion?’
29 And Paul said, “I would to God that not only you, but also all who hear me today, might become both almost and altogether such as I am, except for these chains.”
Paul’s reply was from the heart. Apart from the chains in which he was standing, he wished that both the King and all who had listened to him, whether with little persuasion or with much, were in the same position as he was, not as prisoners, but as prisoners of Christ.
30 When he had said these things, the king stood up, as well as the governor and Bernice and those who sat with them; 31 and when they had gone aside, they talked among themselves, saying, “This man is doing nothing deserving of death or chains.”
Then the king stood up, the indication that the event was now at an end. And following his act the governor and Bernice stood along with him, followed by all the guests, and having left the main room all were agreeing that Paul had done nothing worthy of either death or bonds. All had been gripped by his words, and all were satisfied as to his genuineness.
32 Then Agrippa said to Festus, “This man might have been set free if he had not appealed to Caesar.”
Agrippa was not the decision maker. Remember that Festus had asked the king if he could come up with a charge. It appears Agrippa is moved by Paul’s discourse. So, instead of giving what he thinks Festus could record as potential charges he states to Festus that Paul should be released but since he petitioned to Caesar that is what must happen.
This comment by the man who could appoint and remove the High Priests of Jerusalem was clearly seen by Luke as more than counteracting the verdicts of the High Priests themselves. The chief man in Judaism had declared Paul to be innocent.
So now Paul must go under escort to Rome. They could have released him. His appeal was only binding if there were grounds for it, and there were no grounds for an appeal from one who was innocent. You have to ask this question, then why wouldn’t Paul just ask to withdraw his appeal to Caesar since the conclusion was that there was no evidence of any crime having been committed?
You see the same thing going on here in our country. There are unsubstantiated proofs of wrongdoing but to protect their lies the evil parties will not relent in their phony accusations. In Paul’s case Festus recognized that political expediency prevented his release. He would not unjustly condemn him, but he dared not release him because of the impact on the Jews and his career in the eyes of Caesar. Indeed had he not been a Roman citizen he would probably reluctantly have been handed over to the Jewish court with a helpless shrug of the shoulders, for them to determine ‘justice’, with a view to keeping the peace ‘for the good of the empire’. So the alternative of releasing him was not an option. It would have brought turmoil. He had become too much of a religious issue in a country gripped by religious ferment for that to be possible.
