Acts 26 Footnotes

26:24 Paul’s interruption can be interpreted variously: (1) Festus may have thought that Paul had lost his mind because of what he was saying. (2) With reference to Paul’s knowledge, it may mean that Paul’s learning or writings had driven him to speculation beyond what Festus as a judge of the facts could accept. (3) Jewish sacred writings—the OT—had driven Paul to conclusions that went beyond a naturalistic worldview. In any case, Festus was not willing to follow Paul to his logical conclusion. Perhaps Paul had moved outside Festus’s area of competence. He was a judge and not a theologian. Or Festus may have seen where Paul was going but was not prepared to adjust his life to the truth that Paul presented so compellingly. The emotion behind Festus’s interruption may be a clue that he was understanding more than he wanted to.

26:26 Paul’s declaration that what he was talking about did not take place “in a corner” indicates Paul’s public and open preaching of the gospel in synagogues and elsewhere—unlike some other religious mystery groups of the time. Only two decades had passed since Jesus’s arrest, conviction, crucifixion, and resurrection. A number of eyewitnesses of these events were available to testify to what they had experienced.

26:27 Paul asked Agrippa whether he believed the prophets, implying they had foretold Jesus’s coming. Were he a good Jew, Agrippa would have accepted the prophets and the implications regarding Jesus.

26:28 Before Paul could go further, Agrippa interrupted—perhaps in a sarcastic or jesting manner, out of anger, or seriously (in light of Paul’s logic). Given the brief amount of time or perhaps the modest amount of evidence presented, Agrippa claimed he was not ready to become a Christian.

26:32 Like Festus, Agrippa concluded there was no sustainable charge against Paul; he went further, suggesting Paul should be released. Both Roman and Jewish authorities found the charges groundless. Nevertheless, Paul’s appeal to Caesar put his case in a special category that must be discharged by Caesar himself.