Call Me Crazy
Acts 26:1-32
You know throughout the centuries of human existence there have been those who dared to dream and imagine things that were, to their contemporaries, the epitome of crazy. History has since vindicated them, but at the time they made their bold proclamations, they were considered out of their mind.
In 1870 the United Methodist Church was holding their annual conference in Indiana. The presiding Methodist Officer was one Bishop Milton Wright. At one point in the proceedings, he asked the audience for some thoughts about the future. The president of a Methodist college said, “We are living in a very exciting time when I think we will see many new inventions. I believe it won’t be long until we will fly through the sky like birds.” Bishop Wright was so disturbed by this statement, he publicly reprimanded the college president by saying, “This is heresy. This is blasphemy; I read in my Bible that flight is reserved only for birds and the angels. We will not have such talk in this meeting.” Feeling good about his pronouncement, Bishop Wright then returned home to his two young sons, Wilbur and Orville Wright! Call Me Crazy.
It was the same for Christopher Columbus. People were so sure this insane explorer would sail off the end of the earth that many of their coins carried the Latin inscription, “Ne Plus Ultra” – meaning, “No More Beyond.” But after 1492, when Columbus sailed the ocean blue, the new coins read, “Plus Ultra” – which means More Beyond. Call Me Crazy
The timeline of human history is dotted with examples of people like this. So significant was their contribution to modern discoveries, we know them by a single name - Pasteur, Galileo, Doppler, Einstein, Tesla – just to name a few; all of whom were mavericks and considered out of their minds because of the far-fetched propositions, but later – sometimes much later after they had died – they were vindicated as science finally caught up with their impossible ideas.
In a similar way, many of the Apostle Paul’s contemporaries considered him out of touch with reality. Even today some maintain that Paul had a hallucination on the Damascus Road and that his subsequent teachings perverted Judaism. But the fact of the matter is this: Paul was the sanest of theologians.
In our text before us today, Paul’s sanity is in fact questioned.
If you’ve been with us, you’ll remember some of what Paul has gone through that has brought him to this point. Paul had completed his third missionary journey, and at the conclusion of that journey he desired greatly to go to Jerusalem. His intent, no doubt, was to proclaim the wonders of him who called him out of darkness into light – the Lord Jesus Christ.
Well, things didn’t go as Paul might have hoped. He’s in the temple, trying to endear himself to the Jewish people by performing a rite of purification, when some troublemakers from Ephesus recognize him and incite a riot. He's attacked by a mob in the Temple who then take him outside and begin to beat the life out of him. The beating stops when several hundred Roman soldiers are dispatched from Fort Antonia to break up the riot.
After being beaten by the mob, he asks the Roman commander for permission to speak to them. There's a hush across the crowd as Paul begins to speak, until he says the "G" word - Gentiles. Then their seething prejudice boils over and they start to cry out, "Away with such a man from the earth." He’s then brought before the Jewish high council, the Sanhedrin, and is whisked away by soldiers again for fear they would tear him apart because of the violence that ensued in that place over what he said.
The commander - seemingly exacerbated with the problem of Paul - takes him to Caesarea and hands him off to the Roman Governor Felix. That's what you do in an organization, you take unsolvable problems up the chain of command, right? Felix doesn't really decide anything about Paul's case and leaves him in custody for 2 years.
Felix is then succeeded in office by one Porcius Festus. That brings us to chapter 25, which we won't read today - but here's a summary. Three days after Festus becomes the Roman governor of the region, he travels to Jerusalem. When he arrives, the high-ranking Jewish officials immediately start to lay out their case against Paul so that Festus might do something with him - preferably kill him.
That got me to thinking - 2 years had elapsed, and Felix had not made any decision about Paul. A new governor, Festus, is on the scene and the first thing the Jewish officials want him to do is make a decision about Paul? And I got to thinking, why? Why are they so intent on taking him out? He's in prison, how could he affect them from prison? Two words - prison epistles. Paul is still the bane of their existence because of his prolific and powerful writing from prison.
So Festus hears all their charges and after 8-10 days of hearing their complaints he travels back to Caesarea and there he listens to Paul's defense. After hearing Paul, Festus finds nothing in him that's worthy of imprisonment or death, but Paul appealed to Caesar - he wants to go to Rome. So Festus replies in verse 12, "To Caesar you have appealed, to Caesar you shall go."
After some time, an even higher ranking Roman official arrives in Caesarea, King Agrippa II with his wife Bernice. Festus tells Agrippa, "I've got a curious case from a prisoner that Felix left for me. He's appealed his case to Rome, but I've got nothing to write in a letter to send to Rome because he's not really done anything deserving of death. Maybe you can hear his story and help me craft my correspondence to Caesar, because I've got nothin'!"
So King Agrippa and his wife Bernice enter the auditorium with great pomp and regalia. The hall is filled with army commanders, politicians, and many high-ranking officials. Paul enters the auditorium to speak before the distinguished and illustrious gathering. That brings us to Chapter 26:
1So Agrippa said to Paul, “You have permission to speak for yourself.” Then Paul stretched out his hand and made his defense: 2“I consider myself fortunate that it is before you, King Agrippa, I am going to make my defense today against all the accusations of the Jews, 3especially because you are familiar with all the customs and controversies of the Jews. Therefore I beg you to listen to me patiently.
Paul wisely begins his speech with a very respectful tone, commending the King for his keen insight and familiarity with the customs of the Jewish people. And by asking the king to patiently listen, he's indicating that his explanation of the relevant issues is going to take some time. No doubt, we have only a summary of what was said by Paul here.
4“My manner of life from my youth, spent from the beginning among my own nation and in Jerusalem, is known by all the Jews. 5They have known for a long time, if they are willing to testify, that according to the strictest party of our religion I have lived as a Pharisee. 6And now I stand here on trial because of my hope in the promise made by God to our fathers, 7to which our twelve tribes hope to attain, as they earnestly worship night and day. And for this hope I am accused by Jews, O king! 8Why is it thought incredible by any of you that God raises the dead? I mean, call me crazy, King Agrippa, but for centuries our fathers have been worshipping a God they believed would raise the dead. And now that he's done it with his Son Jesus, I'm on trial here for actually believing it!
Now Paul will give his personal testimony. His testimony contains 3 elements that every personal testimony should contain: a before, a during, and an after. What was your life like before you were saved by Christ; how did Christ save you; and what is your life like now. Before, during, after.
9“I myself was convinced that I ought to do many things in opposing the name of Jesus of Nazareth. 10And I did so in Jerusalem. I not only locked up many of the saints in prison after receiving authority from the chief priests, but when they were put to death I cast my vote against them. 11And I punished them often in all the synagogues and tried to make them blaspheme, and in raging fury against them I persecuted them even to foreign cities. That's the before, now comes the "during" - how he was saved.
12“In this connection I journeyed to Damascus with the authority and commission of the chief priests. 13At midday, O king, I saw on the way a light from heaven, brighter than the sun, that shone around me and those who journeyed with me. 14And when we had all fallen to the ground, I heard a voice saying to me in the Hebrew language, ‘Saul, Saul, why are you persecuting me? It is hard for you to kick against the goads.’ 15And I said, ‘Who are you, Lord?’ And the Lord said, ‘I am Jesus whom you are persecuting. 16But rise and stand upon your feet, for I have appeared to you for this purpose, to appoint you as a servant and witness to the things in which you have seen me and to those in which I will appear to you, 17delivering you from your people and from the Gentiles—to whom I am sending you 18to open their eyes, so that they may turn from darkness to light and from the power of Satan to God, that they may receive forgiveness of sins and a place among those who are sanctified by faith in me.’ now the after:
19“Therefore, O King Agrippa, I was not disobedient to the heavenly vision, 20but declared first to those in Damascus, then in Jerusalem and throughout all the region of Judea, and also to the Gentiles, that they should repent and turn to God, performing deeds in keeping with their repentance. 21For this reason the Jews seized me in the temple and tried to kill me. 22To this day I have had the help that comes from God, and so I stand here testifying both to small and great, saying nothing but what the prophets and Moses said would come to pass: 23that the Christ must suffer and that, by being the first to rise from the dead, he would proclaim light both to our people and to the Gentiles.”
I mean, call me crazy, King Agrippa, but I'm just acting in obedience to what the Law and the prophets predicted would come to pass. Festus says, “Okay, Paul, you want to be called crazy? I'll oblige.”
24And as he was saying these things in his defense, Festus said with a loud voice, “Paul, you are out of your mind; your great learning is driving you out of your mind.” [GREEK – mania] 25But Paul said, "Hey, don't call me crazy “I am not out of my mind, most excellent Festus, but I am speaking true and rational words. 26For the king knows about these things, and to him I speak boldly. For I am persuaded that none of these things has escaped his notice, for this has not been done in a corner.
At this point Paul utilizes his legal training and masterfully employs a technique which puts Festus at odds with Agrippa. "You may think these ideas are crazy, but the King is well acquainted with them." Do you see what he's doing there? Now notice how Paul shifts the focus of the questioning from himself to King Agrippa...
27King Agrippa, do you believe the prophets? I know that you believe.” 28And Agrippa said to Paul, “In a short time would you persuade me to be a Christian?” 29And Paul said, “Whether short or long, I would to God that not only you but also all who hear me this day might become such as I am—except for these chains.”
Even in the course of offering his defense for the charges leveled against him, Paul's mission never waivered. His desire was for people to 1) hear the gospel, and so he wove the gospel all through his testimony. 2) respond. And the message was not just for the king alone. He was keenly aware that all who were gathered in that grand hall had heard the life transforming truth; and it was his desire that they would be converted.
But notice how the episode ends...
30Then the king rose, and the governor and Bernice and those who were sitting with them. 31And when they had withdrawn, they said to one another, “This man is doing nothing to deserve death or imprisonment.” 32And Agrippa said to Festus, “This man could have been set free if he had not appealed to Caesar.”
As I studied this text this week, I came around one word that drove Paul's life purpose - a life purpose that Festus looked at and said, "You're out of your mind; you're crazy!" That one word is... hope. Paul had hope. He could face anything that the Jews, Felix, Festus, Agrippa and even the emperor himself could throw at him because of his hope. A hope that was so real, so palpable, so undeniable that people looked at him and said, "You're crazy, Paul. You're out of your mind!"
The way Paul understood it, the whole reason he was standing on trial that day was because of hope. Look again at verses 6-7: 6And now I stand here on trial because of my hope in the promise made by God to our fathers, 7to which our twelve tribes hope to attain, as they earnestly worship night and day. And for this hope I am accused by Jews, O king!
What was his hope in? His hope was in the resurrection of Jesus Christ from the dead. And it was this hope in Jesus being alive that Paul's whole life was fueled with purpose - a life most would look at and call "crazy." Paul recognized this. He said as much in 1 Corinthians 15, that to the outsider looking in he has a crazy, pitiful life without the hope of the resurrection:
If in Christ we have hope in this life only, we are of all people most to be pitied.
1 Corinthians 15:19
In other words, I'm living my life in such a way that others see it as being on the edge of insanity; all that I endure - voluntarily - people look at it with pity. And I admit, it would be a pitiful, maniacal, crazy life - were it not for the hope of the resurrection.
How can we have that kind of hope? How can we have the kind of hope that when the world looks at us, they call us crazy. I want that, how about you? Four principles from this passage I want us to see about Paul's hope in the resurrection - a hope that drives him to the limits.
First of all, Resurrection Hope Is...
I. ROOTED In Scripture
22To this day I have had the help that comes from God, and so I stand here testifying both to small and great, saying nothing but what the prophets and Moses said would come to pass: Paul appeals to an authority outside himself. He appeals to Scripture. He appeals to Moses and the prophets. There's so much in life that is subjective. Our experience, our feelings, our senses, our impressions - those are all subjective. And unfortunately many base their view of God, or their view of spiritual matters, or their view of eternity on what they feel. "I just feel this is right; I just have this strong impression."
Now, don't get me wrong, God works through our feelings; God works through our conscience; God works through our experiences. We'll see that in a moment - but those things can never be the final foundation upon which we base our lives. We need something that is certain; something that is absolute; something that is immovable and unshakable. Yes, we have the subjective witness of our conscience and our experience, but we need the objective standard of the Scripture.
The hymn-writer who said, "You ask me how I know he lives, he lives within my heart" - that's encouraging, that's inspirational, but it's incomplete, it's insufficient. You ask me how I know he lives? My answer is not primarily based on experience, but its rooted in the truth of the Bible.
Paul says, "Everything I'm telling you, these are not just my experiences; not just my ideas or theories. These things are rooted in the objective standard of Scripture." He said specifically "what the prophets and Moses said would come to pass."
And did you notice that when Paul appeals to Agrippa to believe that Jesus is the Messiah, he makes that appeal from the foundation of the Scriptures:
27King Agrippa, do you believe the prophets? I know that you believe.” 28And Agrippa said to Paul, “In a short time would you persuade me to be a Christian?” Acts 26:27-28
What Paul does here is masterful. Festus, the Roman Pagan, says that Paul is crazy for believing in a resurrection from the dead. But rather than answer the skepticism of Festus, he appeals to the confidence that Agrippa has in the Scriptures. You see while Festus was a Pagan Roman, Agrippa was Jewish and therefore had a foundation in the OT Scripture.
However, with this question Paul put Agrippa in a quandary: "Do you believe the prophets?" If Agrippa said, "No, I do not believe the prophets" he would have denied his own faith and severely distanced himself from his Jewish constituency.
However, if Agrippa said, "Of course I believe the prophets," he knew of Jesus' indisputable fulfillment of those prophecies, and he knew Paul's acumen at delineating those fulfilled prophecies. So Paul's question put him in between a rock and a hard place. Therefore, like a typical politician, Agrippa chose not to answer the question and responds to Paul's question with a question. "In a short time would you persuade me to be a Christian?"
But the point is this - Paul's resurrection hope that to an on looking world looked crazy was rooted in the Scriptures. Scriptures like Is 26:19: Your dead shall live; their bodies shall rise. You who dwell in the dust, awake and sing for joy! For your dew is a dew of light, and the earth will give birth to the dead. Isaiah 26:12
And Christian, that's the foundation from which we can have hope - a hope that the world looks at and calls it crazy. And we can say, "Call me crazy - I have a resurrection hope, a resurrection hope rooted in the Scripture." Secondly, it's a resurrection hope that...
II. REVOLVES Around Christ
In verse 23, Paul says, "This is what the Scriptures are all pointing to: 23that the Christ must suffer and that, by being the first to rise from the dead, he would proclaim light both to our people and to the Gentiles.”
Circle that phrase "first to rise." If Paul says Jesus was the first to rise from the dead, what does that indicate? There will be future resurrections. Jesus was the first, the first to rise from the dead.
Now you may say, "Well wait a second, there were other resurrections in the Bible. What about Lazarus - Jesus resurrected him from the dead. What about Jairus' daughter - Jesus resurrected her from the dead." In fact, there are several accounts both in the OT and NT of people coming back to life after being confirmed dead. However, they all eventually died again. Jesus is the first person who has ever risen from the dead, received a glorified body, and never died again.
Listen, the whole of the Christian faith revolves around the resurrection of Jesus from the dead. You deny that, you're not a Christian. The whole of Christian hope revolves around the resurrection of Jesus from the dead.
We didn't read it, but in chapter 25 as Festus is introducing King Agrippa to what he understands about Paul's curious case, he identifies the root issue is the resurrection of Jesus from the dead: 18When the accusers stood up, they brought no charge in his case of such evils as I supposed. 19Rather they had certain points of dispute with him about their own religion and about a certain Jesus, who was dead, but whom Paul asserted to be alive. Acts 25:18-19
Everything revolves around the literal, physical, bodily resurrection of Jesus from the dead. That's why Paul is here, that's why he's in prison, that's why he's being called crazy - because he asserted that Jesus was in fact alive. And there's no hint here that Paul meant Jesus was alive just in some spiritual way, or some ethereal existence, or that Jesus was alive in his heart. That would not have caused a controversy; that wouldn't have gotten everyone mad at him, "There was a man Jesus, and now he lives in my heart." There's no great scandal there.
Ill - Our family is going to Florida the week of Christmas, and imagine if I came back to Chattanooga and said, "My mom, who died back in 2010, she's alive." You may say, "Well yes, she's alive in heaven." And I said, no, no, she lives - she's with me." "Well certainly, your mom lives in your heart. I feel the same way about my grandma."
"No, listen you don't understand. I went to the cemetery where my mom is buried, and the granite headstone was knocked over, and there was a hole in the ground, and I could see the casket, and it was opened, and it was empty! I was so frightened, I went back to the house and locked all the doors. And as I'm inside the house all of a sudden, my mom passed through the walls and came and sat down beside me. And we talked, and she said she was going to cook some supper. Of course she made pork roast, yellow rice and gravy, and collard greens - her favorite and mine too!
"And then, I was so excited to see her, we through a huge party and invited 500 people over, and she cooked for all of them, and we hung out and celebrated the fact that she was alive and with us!"
How would you respond. Would you call me crazy? Certifiable. You'd probably look to have me committed somewhere. People don't say you're crazy for saying your loved one who's passed lives in your heart; people don't say you're crazy because you believe their spirit is with you. But to say they actually rose from the dead bodily, they came out of the grave - that's reason to call me crazy. And that's exactly what Paul believed.
But knowing Jesus was raised from the dead changes everything. Paul put it this way in 1 Corinthians 15: 20But in fact Christ has been raised from the dead, the firstfruits of those who have fallen asleep. 21For as by a man came death, by a man has come also the resurrection of the dead. 22For as in Adam all die, so also in Christ shall all be made alive. 23But each in his own order: Christ the firstfruits, then at his coming those who belong to Christ. 1 Corinthians 15:20-23
Knowing Jesus was raised from the dead changes everything - that knowledge and truth empowers and enables you to live a life for God that the world looks at and calls crazy. The protestant reformer Martin Luther understood this. In his famous hymn, "A Mighty Fortress is Our God" he wrote these words in the final verse:
Let goods and kindred go,
this mortal life also;
the body they may kill;
God's truth abideth still;
his kingdom is forever.
We have a resurrection hope that is rooted in the Scripture, that revolves around Christ. Thirdly, this resurrection hope...
III. RESULTS From God’s Work
16But rise and stand upon your feet, for I have appeared to you for this purpose, to appoint you as a servant and witness
Resurrection hope invaded Paul's life when he wasn't looking for it. In fact, just the opposite. He was seeking to obliterate Christians from the face of the earth. He hated the idea they clung to that Jesus had been resurrected from the dead. But God had other plans for Paul.
We've noted before how Paul's personal testimony of God's unilateral invasion of his life was central to his message. While our hope is rooted in the Scriptures & revolves around Christ, we tell our own story of salvation.
We tell how God invaded our life; we tell how he reached down and saved us; we tell how the gospel - Jesus' life, death and resurrection from the dead was personally applied to our own lives by the powerful work of God.
Let me ask you a question: if you're a Christian, when was the last time you took some time and contemplated how God's invaded your life? When was the last time you reminisced about his saving work in your life, the circumstances surrounding it? Better yet, when was the last time you told someone else about that invasion? What you'll discover is as you re-tell your story, God cements that truth in your own heart and mind. And do you know what it will give you? Hope - a resurrection hope. But here's the fourth and final thing I want us to notice from Paul's resurrection hope. Resurrection hope:
IV. REQUIRES A Response
Paul asked the question, "Do you believe the prophets?" Agrippa's response to that question was an attempt to volley it back to Paul's side of the court.
The KJV translates Agrippa's response like so: "Almost thou persuadest me to be a Christian." Acts 26:28 (KJV) A translation that produced the famous invitation hymn "almost persuaded." But there's no indication from the context, or in the original language of the Bible that Agrippa was almost persuaded to believe. The ESV & Holman both have the better translation as a somewhat incredulous question, “In a short time would you persuade me to be a Christian?”
Which fits better with Paul's appeal in the very next verse: “Whether short or long, I would to God that not only you but also all who hear me this day might become such as I am—except for these chains.”
My point being this - when we communicate resurrection hope, we do so not as some open-ended idea, but ultimately that others would respond in exactly the same way as we have responded. We are seeking to persuade others to come to Christ. This is the essence of what it means to be an evangelical Christian. We evangelize others; we call for a response.
When Agrippa asks, "Are you trying to persuade me to be a Christian!" Consider how Paul does NOT respond. He doesn't say, "Oh no, I would never try to do that. I'm just telling you my story; I'm not trying to tell you how to live your life." He does NOT say, "You know, we're all on a spiritual journey, you've got to find what works for you, I've found what works for me." He does NOT say, "Oh, no man, I would never be so arrogant to say what you should or should not believe, that's up to you."
When Agrippa asks, "Are you trying to persuade me to be a Christian?!" Paul's says, "Absolutely. Of course I am. And not only you, but anyone listening!" You better believe it! You O King Agrippa, Bernice, Festus, and anyone else within the sound of my voice - yes I wish you would all become Christians, that you would become just like me, except for these chains!
How arrogant of Paul; how pretentious to think he's got a corner on truth and these learned, influential, powerful people should respond with faith to this prisoner in chains going on about some Nazarene who's risen from the dead. Paul, what are you crazy or something? Call me crazy, but I've got a resurrection hope that compels me to persuade others to believe.
I began this message by mentioning some individuals we've all heard of that were considered crazy by their contemporaries, but were later vindicated at science caught up with their ideas. I'm going to close with one more, but he's probably someone you've never heard of.
Dr. Ignaz Semmelweis. He was a Hungarian physician who specialized in obstetrics. In 1847 he was appointed as the chief obstetrician at the Vienna General Hospital. This was 20 years before Louis Pasteur put forward his germ theory. Before that time it was thought that disease was spread through the air. No one ever considered the thought at all that infections were spread through physical contact. When Semmelweis began his work at the Vienna hospital, the mortality rate of mothers giving birth in that hospital was 18%. Did you get that? 1 out of 6 mothers who went to the hospital to deliver their babies never came home – they died in that hospital.
When Semmelweis took over, he went on a mission to discover why the mortality rate of his patients was so high. So he set about looking for the cause by carefully eliminating possibilities and keeping the best possible records of all cases. He soon found that the cause of the problem was related to cleanliness. So he instructed the doctors and midwives to wash their hands with chlorinated lime solutions. The result was dramatic. The mortality rate among mothers giving birth in that hospital went from 1/6 to 1/100!
News of the breakthrough spread round Europe. Given the clear evidence for the effectiveness of the washing procedure and its easy reproducibility you might expect that it would have been adopted quickly. But sadly there was considerable resistance to the practice. As a result it’s estimated that some tens of thousands of mothers died needlessly from infectious disease following child birth.
His discovery was wholeheartedly rejected by the top physicians in the world. Why? It seems their egos would not allow them to believe that their own uncleanliness could be the cause of the spread of disease.
This wholesale rejection by his colleagues caused Semmelweis to suffer a mental breakdown. He was considered an embarrassment to the medical profession, and he was tricked into entering an insane asylum where he was held in a straightjacket against his will. Because of the mistreatment he received at the asylum, he died later that year from gangrene. What drove him to the point of insanity? Some speculate it was because he lived each day with the full knowledge that mothers were dying needlessly at the very moment which should be for them, the pinnacle of human joy. It wasn't until after his death that Dr. Semmelweis was finally vindicated.
The modern man Festus heard Paul's claims of resurrection hope, and called him crazy. The 21st Century man can hear our claims of resurrection hope, and call us crazy.
But I'm going to stand with the apostle Paul who says, "call me crazy if you will, but I’ve got a hope that’s…"
1) Rooted in the Scriptures; 2) Revolves around Christ
2) Results from God’s Work; 4)Requires a response
Last Thought: Our hope in the resurrection will be VINDICATED on the last day. Press forward in confident ASSURANCE because Jesus came out of the grave!
