Paul appears before King of Agrippa - Acts 25:13-27 - N. T. -

Some days later king Agrippa and Bernice arrived in Caesarea and paid their respects to Festus. Their visit lasted several days, and Festus put Paul's case before the king. 'There is a man here' he said 'whom Felix left behind in custody and while I was in Jerusalem the chief priests and elders of the Jews laid information against him, demanding his condemnation. But I told them that Romans are not in the habit of surrendering any man, until the accused confronts his accusers and is given an opportunity to defend himself against the charge. So they came here with me, and I wasted no time but took my seat on the tribunal the very next day and had the man brought in. When confronted with him, his accusers did not charge him with any of the crimes I had expected; but they had some argument or other with him about their own religion and about a dead man called Jesus whom Paul alleged to be alive. Not feeling qualified to deal with questions of this sort, I asked him if he would be willing to go to Jerusalem to be tried there on this issue. But Paul put in an appeal for his case to be reserved for the judgement of the august emperor, so I ordered him to be remanded until I could send him to Caesar.' Agrippa said to Festus, 'I should like to hear the man myself'. Tomorrow' he answered 'you shall hear him.'

So the next day Agrippa and Bernice arrived in great state and entered the audience chamber attended by the tribunes and the city notables; and Festus ordered Paul to be brought in. Then Festus said, 'King Agrippa, and all here present with us, you see before you the man about whom the whole Jewish community has petitioned me, both in Jerusalem and here, loudly protesting that he ought not to be remain alive. For my own part I am satisfied that he has committed no capital crime, but he himself appealed to the august emperor I decided to send him. But I have nothing definite that I can write to his Imperial Majesty about him; that is why I have produced him before you all, and before you in particular, King Agrippa, so that after the examination I may have something to write. It seems to me pointless to send a prisoner without indicating the charges against him.'

Cf. - Acts 18:15; 23:29; 23:6; 26:6f -

Cf. - 1 Corinthians 15:1-8 - N. T. - Brothers/Sisters, I want to remind you of the gospel I preached to you, the gospel that you received and in which you are firmly established; because the gospel will save you only if you keep believing exactly what I preached to you - believing anything else will not lead to anything.

Well then, in the first place, I taught you what I had been taught myself, namely that Christ died for our sins, in accordance with the scriptures; that Jesus was buried; and that he was raised to life on the third day, in accordance with the scripture; that he appeared first to Cephas and secondly to the Twelve. Next Jesus appeared to more than five hundred of the brothers at the same time, most of whom are still alive, though some have died; then he appeared to James, and then to all the apostles; and last of all Jesus appeared to me too; it was as though I was born when no one expected it.

Cf. - Acts 22:22 - 

- Acts 26:1-23 - N. T. - Then Agrippa said to Paul, 'You have leave to speak on your own behalf'. And Paul held up his hand and began his defence: Paul's speech before King Agrippa - 'I consider myself fortunate, King Agrippa, in that it is before you I am to answer today all the charges made against me by the Jews, the more so because you are an expert in matters of custom and controversy among the Jews. So I beg you to listen to me patiently. 

'My manner of life from my youth, a life spent from the beginning among my own people and in Jerusalem, is common knowledge among the Jews. They have known me for a long time and could testify, if they would, that I followed the strictest party in our religion and lived as a Pharisee. And now it is for my hope in the promise made by God to our ancestors that I am on trail, the promise that our twelve tribes, constant in worship night and day, hope to attain. For that hope, Sire, I am actually put on trial by Jews! Why does it seem incredible to you that God should raise the dead?

As for me, I once thought it was my duty to use every means to oppose the name of Jesus the Nazarene. This I did in Jerusalem; I myself threw many of the saints into prison, acting on authority from the chief priests, and when they were sentenced to death I cast my vote against them. I often went round the synagogues inflicting penalties, trying in this way to force them to renounce their faith; my fury against them was so extreme that I even pursued them into foreign cities.

On one such expedition I was going to Damascus, armed with full powers and a commission from the chief priests, and at midday as I was on my way, your Majesty, I saw a light brighter that the sun come down from heaven. It shone brilliantly round me and my fellow travellers. We all fell down to the ground, and I heard a voice saying to me in Hebrew, "Saul, Saul, why are you persecuting me? It is hard for you, kicking like this against the goad." Then I said: Who are you, Lord? And the Lord answered, "I am Jesus, and you are persecuting me. But get up and stand on your feet, for I have appeared to you for this reason: to appoint you as my servant and as witness of this vision in which you have seen me, and of others in which I shall appear to you. I shall deliver you from the people and from the pagans, to whom I am sending you to open their eyes, so that they may turn from darkness to light, from the dominion of Satan to God, and receive, through faith in me, forgiveness of their sins and a share in the inheritance of the sanctified."

After that, King Agrippa, I could not disobey the heavenly vision. On the contrary I started preaching, first to the people of Damascus, then to those of Jerusalem and all the countryside of Judaea, and also to the pagans, urging them to repent and turn to God, proving their change of heart by their deeds. This was why the Jews laid hands on me in the Temple and tried to do away with me. But I was blessed with God's help, and so I have stood firm to this day, testifying to great and small alike, saying nothing more than what the prophets and Moses himself said would happen: that the Christ was to suffer and that, as the first to rise from the dead, he was to proclaim that light now shone for our people and for the pagans too.' 

Cf. - Galatians 1:11-24 - N. T. - The fact is, brothers/sisters, and I want you to realise this, the Good News I preached is not a human message that I was given by men, it is something I learnt only through a revelation of Jesus Christ. You must have heard of my career as a practising Jew, how merciless I was in persecuting the Church of God, how much damage I did to it, how I stood out among other Jews of my generation, and how enthusiastic I was for the traditions of my ancestors.

Then God, who had specially chosen me while I was still in my mother's womb, called through his grace and chose to reveal his Son in me, so that I might preach the Good News about him to the pagans. I did not stop to discuss this with any human being, nor did I go up to Jerusalem to see those who were already apostles before me, but I went off to Arabia at once and later went straight back from there to Damascus. Even when after three years I went up to Jerusalem to visit Cephas and stayed with him for fifteen days, I did not see any of the other apostles; I only saw James, the brother of the Lord, and I swear before God that what I have just written is the literal truth. After that I went to Syria and Cilicia, and was still not known by sight to the churches of Christ in Judaea, who had heard nothing except that their one-time persecutor was now preaching the faith he had previously tried to destroy; and they gave glory to God for me.

Cf. - Acts 22:3+; 23:6+ -

Cf. - 2 Maccabees chapter 7:1-42 - O. T. - There were also seven brothers who were arrested with their mother. The king tried to force them to taste pig's flesh, which the Law forbids, by torturing them with whips and scourges. One of them, acting as spokesman for the others, said, 'What are you trying to find out from us? We are prepared to die rather than....... The king fell into a rage and treated this one more cruelly than the others, for he was himself smarting from the young man's scorn. And so the last brother met his end undefiled and with perfect trust in the Lord. The mother was the last to die, after her sons. But let this be sufficient account of the ritual meals and excessive torments.

Cf. - Daniel 12:1-3 - O. T. - At that time Michael will stand up, the great prince who mourns guard over your people. There is going to be a time of great distress, unparalleled since nations first came into existence. When that time comes, your own people will be spared, all those whose names are found written in the Book. Of those who lie sleeping in the dust of the earth many will awake, some to everlasting life, some to shame and everlasting disgrace. The learned will shine as brightly as the vault of heaven, and those who have instructed many in virtue, as bright as stars for all eternity.

=Acts 9:1-18; =22:3-16 -

Cf. - Matthew 2:23; 3:1-3 - N. T. - There Joseph settled in a town called Nazareth. In this way the words spoken through the prophets were to be fulfilled: He will be called a Nazarene. In due course John the Baptist appeared; he preached in the wilderness of Judaea and this was his message: 'Repent, for the kingdom of heaven is close at hand'. This was the man the prophet Isaiah spoke of when he said: A voice cries in the wilderness: Prepare a way for the Lord, make his paths straight.

Cf. - Acts 9:13+; 8:1; 22:20; 1:8+ -

Cf. - Ezekiel 2:1-2 - O. T. - It said, 'Son of man, stand up; I am going to speak to you'. As he said these words the spirit came into me and made me stand up, and I heard him speaking to me.

Cf. - Jeremiah 1:5-8 - O. T. - 'Before I formed you in the womb I knew you; before you come to birth I consecrated you; I have appointed you as prophet to the nations.' I said, 'Ah, Lord Yahweh; look, I do not know how to speak: I am a child!' But Yahweh replied, 'Do not say, "I am a child". Go now to those to whom I send you and say whatever I command you. Do not be afraid of them, for I am with you to protect you - it is Yahweh who speaks!'

Cf. - Isaiah 42:7,16 - O. T. - To open the eyes of the blind, to free captives from prison, and those who live in darkness from the dungeon. 'But I will make the blind walk along the road and lead them along paths. I will turn darkness into light before them and rocky places into level tracks. 'These things I will do, and not leave them undone.'

Cf. - John 8:12-18 - N. T. - When Jesus spoke to the people again, he said: 'I am the light of the world; anyone who follows me will not be walking in the dark; he will have the light of life'. At this the Pharisees said to him, 'You are testifying on your own behalf; your testimony is not valid'. Jesus replied: 'It is true that I am testifying on my own behalf, but my testimony is still valid, because I know where I came from and where I am going; but you do not know where I come from or where I am going. You judge by human standards; I judge no one, but if I judge, my judgement will be sound, because I am not alone: the one who sent me is with me; and in your Law it is written that the testimony of two witnesses is valid. I may be testifying on my behalf, but the Father who sent me is my witness too.' 

Cf. - Colossians 1:12-14 - N. T. - Thanking the Father who has made it possible for you to join the saints and with them to inherit the light. Because that is what he has done: he has taken us out of the power of darkness and created a place for us in the kingdom of the Son that he loves, and in him, we gain our freedom, the forgiveness of our sins.

Cf. - Deuteronomy 33:3-4 - O. T. - You who have such love for the forefathers, in your hand are all the holy ones. At your feet they fell, under your guidance went swiftly on. (Moses enjoined a law on us.) The assembly of Jacob comes into its inheritance.

Cf. - Acts 1:8+; 9:17-18; 11:18; 2:38+; 21:30-31; 2:23+; 13:47 -

Cf. - Luke 3:8 - N. T. - But if you are repentant, produce the appropriate fruits, and do not think of telling yourselves, "We have Abraham for our father" because, I tell you, God can raise children for Abraham from these stones.

Cf. - John 1:45 - N. T. - Philip found Nathanael and said to him, 'We have found the one Moses wrote about in the Law, the one about whom the prophets wrote: he is Jesus son of Joseph, from Nazareth'.

Cf. - 1 Corinthians 15:20 - N. T. - But Christ in fact been raised from the dead, the first-fruits of all who have fallen asleep.  

His hearers' reactions - Acts 26:24-32 -

He had reached this point in his defence when Festus shouted out, 'Paul, you are out of your mind; all that learning of yours is driving you mad'. 'Festus, your Excellency,' answered Paul 'I am not mad: I am speaking nothing but the sober truth. The king understands these matters, and to him I now speak with assurance, confident that nothing of all this is lost on him; after all, these things were not in a corner. King Agrippa, do you believe in the prophets? I know you do.' At this Agrippa said to Paul, 'A little more, and your arguments would make a Christian of me'. 'Little or more,' Paul replied 'I wish before God that not only you but all who have heard me today would come to be as I am - except for these chains.'

At this the king rose to his feet, with the governor and Bernice and those who sat there with them. When they had retired they talked together and agreed, 'This man is doing nothing that deserves death or imprisonment'. And Agrippa remarked to Festus, 'This man could have been set free if he had not appealed to Caesar'.

CF. - John 18:37-38 - N. T. - 'So you are a king then?' said Pilate. 'It is you who say it' answered Jesus. 'Yes, I am a king. I was born for this, I came into the world for this: to bear witness to the truth; and all who are on the side of truth listen to my voice.'

Cf. - Isaiah 45:19 - O. T. - 'I am Yahweh, unrivalled, I have not spoken in secret in some corner of a darkened land. I have not said to Jacob's descendants, "Seek me in chaos". I, Yahweh speak with directness. I express myself with clarity.'

Cf. - Acts 13:46+; 28:20; 23:29+; 28:19 - 

                                                              -  PAGE  139  -                                                                                                      The departure for Rome 

When it had been decided that we should sail for Italy, Paul and some other prisoners were handed over to a centurion called Julius, of the Augustus cohort. We boarded a vessel....  

                                                                -  PAGE  140  -                                                                                                                                                                                                                                                                    

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Wishing you, 'Happy Reading', and may God, the Father, the Son of the living God, Jesus Christ, fills your heart, mind, thoughts, and grants you: The Holy Spirit, that is, Wisdom, Knowledge, Understanding, Counsel, Piety, Fortitude, Fear of the Lord, and also His fruits of the Holy Spirit, that is, Love, Joy, Peace, Patience, Kindness, Goodness, Trustfulness, Gentleness and Self-Control. Amen! God blessing be upon you!

Why do you call Me, "Lord, Lord" and not do what I say?' "Everyone who comes to Me and listens to My words and acts on them - I will show you what he/she is like. He/She is like a man/woman who when he/she built his/her house dug, deep, and laid the foundations on rock; when the river was in flood it bore down on that house but could not shake it, it was so well built. But the one who listens and does nothing is like the man/woman who built his/her house on soil, with no foundations: as soon as the river bore down on it, it collapsed; and what a ruin that house became!" - Luke 6:46-49 - 

If we live by the truth and in love, we shall grow in all ways into Christ Jesus, who is the head by whom the whole body is fitted and joined together, every joint adding its own strength, for each separate part to work according to it function. So the body grows until it has built itself up, in love." - Ephesians 4:15-16 - 

I still have many things to say to you but they would be too much for you now. But when the spirit of truth comes, he will lead you to the complete truth, since he will not be speaking as from himself, but will say only what he has learnt; and he will tell you of the things to come. He/She will glorify me, since all he/she tells you will be taken from what is mine. Everything the Father has is mine; that is why I said: all he/she tells you will be taken from what is mine." - John 16:12-15 -

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