Acts 26:15-27
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 and will see of me. 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.’
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 then to the Gentiles, I preached that they should repent and turn to God and demonstrate their repentance by their deeds. 21 That is why some Jews seized me in the temple courts and tried to kill me. 22 But God has helped me to this very day; 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 Messiah would suffer and, as the first to rise from the dead, would bring the message of light to his own people and to the Gentiles.”
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. 27 King Agrippa, do you believe the prophets? I know you do.” [1]
____________________
What is striking to me in this passage is Festus’ questioning of Paul’s sanity. What probably pushed Festus in this direction was Paul speaking about the resurrection, and the promise that all who are in Christ would likewise rise from the dead. To the Roman mind, the idea of resurrection was rather absurd. Neither Greek nor Roman thought had any room for reanimating the corpses of the dead, even if it meant they were would be immortal. Simply mad.
But Paul had given a very reasoned, even-handed description of his call by Jesus, and his experience among the Gentiles. Keep in mind that what Luke has written is no doubt a summary of what was mostly likely a much lengthier defense. Paul would not have missed this opportunity to teach about the meaning of the cross and the hope which is engendered by the resurrection.
But Festus thought it was sheer lunacy. And some people today come to the same conclusion. Festus was raised with a world view in which the dead exist as impersonal shades. Many people today are raised with a worldview which is atheistic or agnostic. To them the message of the cross and the empty tomb seems every bit as absurd as it did to Festus. Then throw into the mix Paul’s claim of a vision, and certainly many would today would consider him quite delusional.
The point is that the message of the cross is considered foolish by some. It was true at the time of Paul. It is true today. How do we respond? The way Paul did. We talk about the cross anyhow. We testify about the resurrection regardless of how silly it seems to some. We share our testimonies of how God has been at work in our lives, even though some may consider us crazy.
Paul wrote about this in 1 Corinthians 1:20-25: “20 Where is the wise person? Where is the teacher of the law? Where is the philosopher of this age? Has not God made foolish the wisdom of the world? 21 For since in the wisdom of God the world through its wisdom did not know him, God was pleased through the foolishness of what was preached to save those who believe. 22 Jews demand signs and Greeks look for wisdom, 23 but we preach Christ crucified: a stumbling block to Jews and foolishness to Gentiles, 24 but to those whom God has called, both Jews and Greeks, Christ the power of God and the wisdom of God. 25 For the foolishness of God is wiser than human wisdom, and the weakness of God is stronger than human strength.”
Wise words to keep in mind as we talk about the good news, as we rely on the promises of God, as we tell others about the peace that we have knowing that the resurrected Jesus is our Lord. Some will consider it foolish. Talk about it anyhow.
And so my prayer is for faithfulness in testifying to the cross and resurrection, in a world considers it foolish. And I also pray for those who consider the cross silly, and who consider those who confess Christ marginally insane. I pray for the Holy Spirit to work in their lives, as He has worked in mine.
[NOTE: I will be at the “Best Practices for Ministry Conference” in Phoenix for the next couple of days. Although I will continue to have my personal time in the Word, and will be using the Moravian Texts to do so (www.moravian.org), I may not be able to post my reflections for the next couple of days. I encourage you to continue in Acts, meditate on the text, and listen to the Lord’s leading.]
What is the Word leading you to pray about today?
To subscribe to Abide Daily Devotion e-mail please click here.
[1] The New International Version. (2011). (Ac 26:15–27). Grand Rapids, MI: Zondervan.
Leave a Reply