Acts 26

Paul meets King Agrippa, a better judge for Paul than Festus. He was a Jew, and he was the legal guardian of the Temple. Paul reminds the king of scripture foretelling of the Messiah.

If you'd like to read some of the prophesy about Christ, check out Genesis 22:18, 49:10, Deut 18:15-19, Isaiah 9:6-7.

He lays out his personal history, growing up in the faith, becoming a Pharisee. Paul was a man with all the advantages of knowledge...but he didn't let it get to his heart.

Sometimes Christians can get over-zealous. They know their Bible so well, they think that preaching to someone louder or longer will get them to hear. But like Paul, they only succeed in persecuting someone for NOT believing in Jesus. The Word has not made it to the heart.

Paul goes on to tell of his born again experience. How he was traveling to Damascus to round up more Christians. And he is stopped in the road by Christ himself, blinded but not before he actually sees Jesus and realizes something. As he persecuted someone for being a Christian, he also persecuted Christ.

You see, when you become a Christian...Christ stands in your shoes. And whatever someone does to you, they do to Christ.

So Paul was not alone in this room being judged...so was Christ.

Note that when Paul recalls His voice, he remembers Jesus spoke in Aramaic. This is a point sometimes missed by readers. The People's New Testament Commentary reads,

"...It was in the Aramaic, a Hebrew dialect, that the Savior taught when on earth, and it is a significant circumstance that Paul heard his voice in the same tongue to which Peter, James and John had listened. Not only is this true, but critics hold that the Hebraisms are so prominent in the Book of Revelation as to indicate that the revelations there recorded were made in Hebrew, and afterward translated by John into Greek."

If you are a language scholar, that's pretty significant!

Paul then talks of his obedience to this vision. He repents of his life's work and becomes a Christian himself. He was tired of "kicking at the goads".

We should learn this lesson, but too often we don't. We are disobedient little children at times, and will continue to bang our head against the wall and ask God why our head hurts...and then blame Him for it!

Paul talks of his ministry in Damascus, Jerusalem and Judea...to Jews and Gentiles. No wonder they were so angry--much like the Prodigal's brother who stayed behind. The father loved both boys...it was their own hearts that separated them from him. It is the same with us. Where is your heart for God...is it far tonight in a distant country? Or is it in the next room, watching something on tv that might not be too good for your mind?

King Agrippa had heart problems. He knew scripture, prophesy, rituals--but to grasp it with his heart would be to accept the One who accepts anyone that asks. Sometimes it's those who seem to "get it" that are the hardest to lead to Christ.

I love the eloquence of Mathew Henry's words, "Let us beware of fatal hesitation in our own conduct; and recollect how far the being almost persuaded to be a Christian, is from being altogether such a one as every true believer is."

Paul had an amazing life, he realized he had a purpose in God's plan. How about you? Will you kick at the goads until you cannot walk another step?