Acts X

ACTS 23

PARAGRAPH DIVISIONS OF MODERN TRANSLATIONS

UBS⁴	NKJV	NRSV	TEV	NJB
Paul Before the Council	The Sanhedrin Divided	Paul Before the Sanhedrin	Paul Before the Council	His Appearance Before the Sanhedrin
22:30-23:5	22:30-23:10	(22:30-23:10) 22:30-23:5	(22:30-23:11)	(22:30-23:11)
			23:1-3	23:1-5
			23:4
			23:5
23:6-10		23:6-10	23:6	23:6-10
			23:7-9
	The Plot Against Paul	Paul is Sent to Caesarea	23:10
23:11	23:11-22	23:11	23:11	23:11
The Plot Against Paul’s Life			The Plot Against Paul’s Life	The Conspiracy of the Jews Against Paul
23:12-22		23:12-15	23:12-15	23:12-15
		23:16-22	23:16-18	23:16-22
			23:19
			23:20-21
			23:22
Paul Sent to Felix the Governor	Sent to Felix		Paul is Sent to Governor Felix	Paul Transferred to Caesarea
23:23-30	23:23-35	23:23-25	23:23-25	23:23-25
		23:26-30	23:26-30	23:26-30
23:31-35		23:31-35	23:31-35	23:31-35

READING CYCLE THREE (from “A Guide
to Good Bible Reading“)

FOLLOWING THE ORIGINAL AUTHOR’S INTENT AT THE PARAGRAPH LEVEL

This is a study
guide commentary, which means that you are responsible for your own
interpretation of the Bible. Each of us must walk in the light we have. You, the
Bible, and the Holy Spirit are priority in interpretation. You must not
relinquish this to a commentator.

Read the chapter in one sitting. Identify the subjects.
Compare your subject divisions with the five modern translations. Paragraphing
is not inspired, but it is the key to following the original author’s intent,
which is the heart of interpretation. Every paragraph has one and only one main
subject.

1. First paragraph

2. Second paragraph

3. Third paragraph

4. Etc.

WORD AND PHRASE STUDY

NASB (UPDATED) TEXT: 23:1-5
¹Paul, looking intently at the
Council, said, “Brethren, I have lived my life with a perfectly good conscience
before God up to this day.” ²The high priest Ananias commanded those
standing beside him to strike him on the mouth. ³Then Paul said to
him, “God is going to strike you, you whitewashed wall! Do you sit to try me
according to the Law, and in violation of the Law order me to be struck?”
⁴But the bystanders said, “Do you revile God’s high priest?” ⁵And
Paul said, “I was not aware, brethren, that he was high priest; for it is
written, ‘You shall not speak evil of a
ruler of your people.'”

23:1

NASB, NRSV “looking intently at”
NKJV“looking earnestly at”
TEV“looked straight at”
NJB“looked steadily at”

See full note at 1:10. Luke uses this term often. Here he uses it of Paul.
Paul uses it only in II Cor. 3:7,13.

▣ “the
Council” See Special Topic: Sanhedrin at 4:5.

▣
“Brethren” Paul calls Jews “brothers” several times (13:26,38; 22:1,5;
23:1,5,6). The Jews call Paul brother in 13:15. Ananias called him brother in
9:17, as does the church in Jerusalem in 21:20.

However, Jewish believers are also called by this title (e.g., 9:30; 10:23;
11:1,12; 12:17; 15:3,7,13,22). The word is linked with “disciple” in 11:29;
18:27. It is also used of Greek believers in 16:2,40. Thus the term is ambiguous
and must be linked to a specific text and group.

▣ “I have lived my life. . .before God”
This is a perfect middle (deponent)
indicative of
politeuō from which we get the English word political or policy. This
term is used with the connotation of a citizen (cf. Phil. 1:27). Paul is
asserting that he has faithfully discharged the responsibilities of being a
member of Judaism before God.

NASB“a perfectly good conscience”
NKJV“in all good conscience”
NRSV“a clear conscience”
TEV“my conscience is perfectly clear”
NJB“a perfectly clear conscience”

Paul uses the term “conscience” often
in the Corinthian letters (cf. 4:4; 8:7,10,12; 10:25,27,28,29; II Cor. 1:12;
4:2; 5:11). It refers to that moral inner sense of what is appropriate or
inappropriate (cf. Acts 23:1). The conscience can be affected by our past lives,
our poor choices, or by the Spirit of God. It is not a flawless guide, but it
does determine the boundaries of individual faith. Therefore, to violate our
conscience, even if it is in error or weak, is a major faith problem.

The believer’s conscience needs to be more and more formed by the Word of God
and the Spirit of God (cf. I Tim. 3:9). God will judge believers (i.e., weak or
strong, cf. Rom. 14:1-15:13) by the light they have, but all of us need to be
open to the Bible and the Spirit for more light and to be growing in the
knowledge of the Lord Jesus Christ.

▣ “before God up to this day” Paul
makes this same assertion in II Cor. 1:12; II Tim. 1:3. He does admit that he
did covet (cf. Rom. 7:23, esp. v. 7). His theological argument in Romans 1-8 is
based on every person’s violation of law and conscience (cf. 3:9-23; 4:15;
5:20).

23:2 “The high priest Ananias” In
Hebrew his name would be Hananiah. This is not the same as the Ananias of Luke
3:2, John 18:13, or Acts 4:6, but a later one (Ananias, son of Nebedaeus or
Nedebacus) who was appointed by Herod Chalcis, who reigned from
a.d.
48-59 (Josephus, Antiq. 20.9.2).

The writings of Josephus tell us much about this High Priest.

1. when he became High Priest, Antiq. 20.5.2; Wars, 2.12.6.

2. when he and his son (Ananus) were sent in bonds to Rome, Antiq.
20.6.2

3. when he was killed by insurrectionists along with his brother, Wars
2.17.9

Josephus is often our only ancient contemporary source for Jewish events and
persons in Palestine.

▣ “to strike him on the mouth” This
was a sign of blasphemy (cf. John 18:22).

23:3 “God is going to strike you” This
is recorded in great detail in Josephus, Wars 2.17.9.

▣ “you whitewashed wall” It is
uncertain exactly what Paul was saying.

1. the Jews used this metaphor for hypocrisy (cf. Matt. 23:27)

2. it could be an allusion to Ezek. 13:10-15

▣ “in violation to the Law” This may
be an allusion to Lev. 19:15. Also see John 7:51.

23:5 “I was not aware brethren, that he was
high priest” The theories for Paul’s not knowing are his

1. poor eyesight

2. not being familiar with him because Paul had been gone from Jerusalem for
several years

3. not recognizing the High Priest because he was not wearing his official
robes

4. he did not know who spoke

5. the inappropriateness of his actions (i.e., sarcasm)

▣ “for it is written” Paul shows he
knows and respects the Law by quoting Exod. 22:28.

NASB (UPDATED) TEXT: 23:6-10
⁶But perceiving that one group
were Sadducees and the other Pharisees, Paul began crying out in the
Council, “Brethren, I am a Pharisee, a son of Pharisees; I am on trial for the
hope and resurrection of the dead!” ⁷As he said this, there occurred
a dissension between the Pharisees and Sadducees, and the assembly was divided. ⁸For the Sadducees say that there is no resurrection, nor an angel, nor a
spirit, but the Pharisees acknowledge them all. ⁹And there occurred a
great uproar; and some of the scribes of the Pharisaic party stood up and
began to argue heatedly, saying, “We find nothing wrong with this man;
suppose a spirit or an angel has spoken to him?” ¹⁰And as a great
dissension was developing, the commander was afraid Paul would be torn to pieces
by them and ordered the troops to go down and take him away from them by force,
and bring him into the barracks.

23:6 “perceiving” Paul may have
realized that he could not get a fair hearing from this Sadducean high priest.

▣
“Sadducees” See Special Topic at 4:1.

▣
“Pharisees” Paul had been a Pharisee (cf. 26:5; Phil. 3:5-6) from a
family of Pharisees. See Special Topic at 5:34.

▣ “I am on trial for the hope and
resurrection of the dead” Paul threw out a theological issue that the
Sadducees and Pharisees disagreed about. The Sadducees denied the afterlife,
while the Pharisees affirmed it (cf. Job 14:14; 19:23-27; Isa. 25:8; 26:19; Dan.
12:2). This set the two factions of the council against each other (cf. vv.
7-10).

23:7 “the assembly was divided” This
term’s basic meaning is “to tear” (cf. Luke 5:36; 23:45). It came to be used
metaphorically of division within groups (cf. Acts 14:4; 23:7). The division
between these two Jewish sects was always just under the surface. Paul fanned
the flames.

23:8 “nor an angel, nor a spirit”
Verse 8 is a comment by Luke on his source. Does this phrase imply there are two
categories of spiritual beings or one? The origin of both is biblically
ambiguous, but Heb. 1:5,13, and 14 imply they are the same.

What the Sadducees denied was the dualism of good and evil spiritual beings
(Zoroastrian dualism). The Pharisees had elaborated the OT concept into rigid
Persian dualism and even developed a hierarchy of angelic and demonic (seven
leaders of each). The best source I have found for first century Jewish
angelology is Alfred Edersheim, The Life and Times of Jesus the Messiah,
Appendix XIII.

23:9

NASB“there arose a great uproar”
NKJV“there arose a loud outcry”
NRSV“then a great clamor arose”
NJB“the shouting grew louder”

This same phrase is found in the Septuagint of Exod. 12:30 (also note Exod.
3:7; 11:6; Esth. 4:3; Isa. 58:4; 65:19). The word “cry” (kraugē) is also
in Matt. 25:6; Luke 1:42; Eph. 4:31; Heb. 5:7; Rev. 21:4. Only context can
determine the kind of loud “cry” (i.e., positive or negative).

Another emotional word “to argue heatedly” (diamachomai) is also used
in the LXX in Dan. 10:20. Paul’s comment caused a loud, emotional confrontation,
which is exactly what he wanted!

▣ “the scribes” These were the legal
experts in both the oral (Talmud) and written law (OT). Most of them were
Pharisees.

SPECIAL TOPIC: SCRIBES

▣ “this man” The use of this noun phrase in this context shows it is not
automatically a negative phrase.

▣ “suppose” This is a partial or
incomplete first class conditional sentence. These
scribes were asserting that Paul had seen something from the spiritual realm,
but exactly what they were not sure. Their immediate and forceful defense of
Paul shows how biased they were for their own group. Apparently they disliked
Sadducees more than a supposedly renegade Pharisee.

Because this is an incomplete grammatical structure, the Textus Receptus,
following the uncial Greek manuscripts H, L, and P, adds, “Let us not fight
against God,” which is taken from Acts 5:39.

23:10
“ordered the troops to go down and take him away from them by force”
Twice now the Roman government had saved Paul’s life in Jerusalem. No wonder
Paul saw the government as a minister of God (cf. Romans 13). This may relate to
“the one who restrains” in II Thess. 2:6-7.

NASB (UPDATED) TEXT: 23:11
¹¹But on the night
immediately following, the Lord stood at his side and said, “Take courage;
for as you have solemnly witnessed to My cause at Jerusalem, so you must witness
at Rome also.”

23:11 “the Lord stood at his side”
Here is another personal vision to encourage Paul (cf. 18:9-10; 22:17-19;
27:23-24). Paul was not a man without discouragement and doubt.

▣ “Take courage” This is a present active imperative. This is the only
use of this term in Luke’s writings. Paul must have shared this with Luke. Jesus
uses the term several times (cf. Matt. 9:2,22; 14:27; John 16:33).

▣ “you must witness at Rome also” It
was God’s will for Paul to be imprisoned so that he might appear before Caesar.
The gospel will be preached in Rome (cf. 19:21; 22:21)!

For “must” see full note at 1:16.

NASB (UPDATED) TEXT: 23:12-15
¹²When it was day, the Jews
formed a conspiracy and bound themselves under an oath, saying that they would
neither eat nor drink until they had killed Paul. ¹³There were more
than forty who formed this plot. ¹⁴They came to the chief priests and
the elders and said, “We have bound ourselves under a solemn oath to taste
nothing until we have killed Paul. ¹⁵“Now therefore, you and the
Council notify the commander to bring him down to you, as though you were going
to determine his case by a more thorough investigation; and we for our part are
ready to slay him before he comes near the place.”

23:12-15 This paragraph informs us of
the assassination pact of some of the Jews. This is another premeditated murder
(cf. v. 21) like the one the Jews planned for Jesus.

23:13 “more than forty” Forty is a
Jewish idiom for a long, indefinite period of time, but here it is used of
persons, so it is probably literal. See Special Topic: Numbers in Scripture at
1:3.

23:14 “the chief priests and the elders”
This was an abbreviated way of referring to the Sanhedrin. See Special Topic at
4:5.

NASB“we have bound ourselves under
a solemn oath”
NKJV“we have bound ourselves under a great oath”
NRSV“we have strictly bound ourselves by an oath”
TEV“we have taken a solemn vow”
NJB“we have made a solemn vow”

These English translations are an
attempt to translate a cognate idiomatic phrase, “with a curse we curse
ourselves.” These oath-takers did not kill Paul. I wonder if they starved to
death? Apparently the oral tradition allowed a way out of these blood oaths. See
Special Topic following.

SPECIAL TOPIC: CURSE (ANATHEMA)
(ANATHEMA)

NASB (UPDATED) TEXT: 23:16-25
¹⁶But the son of Paul’s sister
heard of their ambush, and he came and entered the barracks and told Paul. ¹⁷Paul called one of the centurions to him and said, “Lead this young man
to the commander, for he has something to report to him.” ¹⁸So he
took him and led him to the commander and said, “Paul the prisoner called me to
him and asked me to lead this young man to you since he has something to tell
you.” ¹⁹The commander took him by the hand and stepping aside,
began to inquire of him privately, “What is it that you have to report to
me?” ²⁰And he said, “The Jews have agreed to ask you to bring Paul
down tomorrow to the Council, as though they were going to inquire somewhat more
thoroughly about him. ²¹“So do not listen to them, for more than
forty of them are lying in wait for him who have bound themselves under a curse
not to eat or drink until they slay him; and now they are ready and waiting for
the promise from you.” ²²So the commander let the young man go,
instructing him, “Tell no one that you have notified me of these things.”
²³And he called to him two of the centurions and said, “Get two
hundred soldiers ready by the third hour of the night to proceed to Caesarea,
with seventy horsemen and two hundred spearmen.” ²⁴They
were
also to provide mounts to put Paul on and bring him safely to Felix the
governor. ²⁵And he wrote a letter having this form:

23:16 “the son of Paul’s sister” We
have many questions about Paul’s family, but it is shrouded in silence. How he
knew of the plan is also unknown. He was possibly a Pharisee also.

23:21 This attack would have also
involved the killing of the Roman guards!

23:23 The contingent of troops to
accompany Paul was apparently either (1) 200 infantry, 70 cavalry, and 200
lancers or (2) 200 lancers and 70 cavalry. The western family of Greek
manuscripts has a long descriptive addition (cf. NKJV).

▣ “the third hour” This is obviously
Roman time. They started counting the night at 6 p.m. This would be 9 p.m.

▣ “Caesarea” This was the headquarters
for the Roman occupational forces in Palestine.

NASB, NKJV,

NRSV, TEV “spearmen”
NJB“auxiliaries”

REB “light-armed troops”

NASB (footnote) “additional mounts” or “pack
animals”

NEB “bowman”

The meaning of the term dexiolabos is uncertain. It is literally “one
posted or armed on the right side” (dexios). It refers to

1. some type of light armed soldier (bow or spear)

2. one who is bound to prisoners on the right side

3. one who holds a second horse

4. one who is on the flank

So many options show that moderns do not exactly know the meaning.

23:24 “Felix” The Roman historian
Tacitus (Histories 5:9,
Annals 12:54) called Antonius Felix cruel and lustful. He gained his
position through his brother, Pallas (both of whom were freed slaves), who was a
close friend to Emperor Claudius. He served as the eleventh procurator of
Palestine from a.d. 52-59.

23:25 “form” See Special Topic: Form (tupos)
at 7:43.

NASB (UPDATED) TEXT: 23:26-30
²⁶“Claudius Lysias, to the
most excellent governor Felix, greetings. ²⁷When this man was
arrested by the Jews and was about to be slain by them, I came up to them with
the troops and rescued him, having learned that he was a Roman. ²⁸“And
wanting to ascertain the charge for which they were accusing him, I brought him
down to their Council; ²⁹and I found him to be accused over questions
about their Law, but under no accusation deserving death or imprisonment. ³⁰When I was informed that there would be a plot against the man, I sent
him to you at once, also instructing his accusers to bring charges against him
before you.”

23:26-30 This is the required letter
of explanation of Paul’s case by the officer in charge (cf. 25:12ff). It states
the flow of the events, but does so in such a way as to make Lysias look good.

23:26 This is the verse in which we
are told the Chiliarch’s name.

23:29 This verse fits Luke’s pattern
of showing that Christianity and its leaders, when accused before governmental
officials, were always acquitted and deemed innocent. Rome had nothing to fear
from “the Way”!

NASB (UPDATED) TEXT: 23:31-35
³¹So the soldiers, in
accordance with their orders, took Paul and brought him by night to Antipatris. ³²But the next day, leaving the horsemen to go on with him, they returned
to the barracks. ³³When these had come to Caesarea and delivered the
letter to the governor, they also presented Paul to him. ³⁴When he
had read it, he asked from what province he was, and when he learned that he was
from Cilicia, ³⁵he said, “I will give you a hearing after your
accusers arrive also,” giving orders for him to be kept in Herod’s Praetorium.

23:31 “brought him by night to Antipatris”
This city was built by Herod the Great and named after his father, Antipater II.
This was a very long march of possibly 30-40 miles. The exact site of the city
is uncertain. The reason the foot soldiers returned (cf. v. 32) at this point is
because

1. this was primarily a Gentile area

2. the topography was open and flat, so there was little danger of surprise
attack

23:33 “the governor” This is literally
“procurator.” Luke is very precise in his titles for local and Roman officials.

23:34 “asked from what province he was”
This was to ascertain jurisdiction. Since Paul was also from an Imperial
Province Felix could try the case. There were three divisions of jurisdiction in
the Roman Empire:

1. Imperial (Caesar)

2. Senatorial

3. local (like the Herods)

23:35 “after your accusers arrive”
This should have been the Jews from Asia who accused Paul in the Temple of
bringing a Gentile into the restricted Jewish area. The fact that they did not
appear should have resulted in a dismissal of the charges. But, as often
happens, local politics affects justice!

▣ “kept in Herod’s Praetorium” The
Romans were kind to Paul while he was in their custody (cf. 24:23). Paul stayed
in a palace built by Herod the Great, which had previously been used for his
personal residence, but now had become Roman Headquarters.

DISCUSSION QUESTIONS

These discussion questions are provided to help you
think through the major issues of this section of the book. They are meant to be
thought-provoking, not definitive.

1. Compare Paul’s defenses and list the common elements.

2. Did Paul see himself as a faithful Jew?

3. Do we know anything about Paul’s extended family from Acts?

ACTS 24

PARAGRAPH DIVISIONS OF MODERN TRANSLATIONS

UBS⁴	NKJV	NRSV	TEV	NJB
The Case Against Paul	Accused of Sedition	Paul Before Felix	The Case Against Paul	The Case Before Felix
24:1-9	24:1-9	24:1-2a	24:1-2a	24:1-9
		24:2b-8	24:2b-9
		24:9
Paul Defends Himself Before Felix	The Defense Before Felix		Paul’s Defense Before Felix
24:10-21	24:10-21	24:10a	24:10a	24:10a
				Paul’s Speech Before the Roman Governor
		24:10b-21	24:10b-16	24:10b-13
				24:14-16
			24:17-21	24:17-21
	Felix Procrastinates			Paul’s Captivity at Caesarea
24:22-23	24:22-27	24:22-23	24:22-23	24:22-23
Paul Held in Custody			Paul Before Felix and Dursilla
24:24-26		24:24-26	24:24-26	24:24-26
24:27		24:27	24:27	24:27

READING CYCLE THREE (from “A Guide
to Good Bible Reading“)

FOLLOWING THE ORIGINAL AUTHOR’S INTENT AT THE PARAGRAPH LEVEL

1. First paragraph

2. Second paragraph

3. Third paragraph

4. Etc.

WORD AND PHRASE STUDY

NASB (UPDATED) TEXT: 24:1-2a
¹After five days the high
priest Ananias came down with some elders, with an attorney named
Tertullus, and they brought charges to the governor against Paul. ²After
Paul had been summoned, Tertullus began to accuse him, saying to the
governor,

24:1 “the high priest Ananias” See
full note at 23:2. Wow! The high priest himself came from Jerusalem to Caesarea.
Paul was really a thorn in their flesh!

▣
“came down” For Jews, Jerusalem is always “up” and all other geographical
locations are “down.”

▣
“elders” In the OT this term referred to older tribal leaders. By the
post-exilic time it began to be used of wealthy, influential people of
Jerusalem. Often in the NT the Sanhedrin is described as “the High Priests,
scribes, and elders.” These were probably members of the Sanhedrin who were
supporters of the Sadducees. The temple leadership had seen the potential
problem when Pharisees were present (cf. 23:6-10).

▣ “Tertullus” This was a hired lawyer
(advocate) or orator (cf. NKJV). It is a form of the Greek word rēma or
“spoken word.” Apparently he presented the Sanhedrin’s case in an acceptable
Roman legal form, possibly in Latin.

NASB (UPDATED) TEXT: 24:2b-9

^2b“Since
we have through you attained much peace, and since by your providence reforms
are being carried out for this nation, ³we acknowledge this in
every way and everywhere, most excellent Felix, with all thankfulness. ⁴But,
that I may not weary you any further, I beg you to grant us, by your kindness, a
brief hearing. ⁵For we have found this man a real pest and a fellow
who stirs up dissension among all the Jews throughout the world, and a
ringleader of the sect of the Nazarenes. ⁶And he even tried to
desecrate the temple; and then we arrested him. [We wanted to judge him
according to our own Law. ⁷But Lysias the commander came along, and
with much violence took him out of our hands, ⁸ordering his accusers
to come before you.]By examining him yourself concerning all these matters you
will be able to ascertain the things of which we accuse him.” ⁹The
Jews also joined in the attack, asserting that these things were so.

24:2b-4 This introduction was not only
an attempt at flattery (probably expected), but baseless in fact. Felix was a
cruel man (cf. Tacitus, Histories 5.9 and Annals 12.2). Felix was
only in his position because of his brother, Pallas, who, along with Felix, was
a freedman of Antonia (Marc Antony’s daughter), Claudius, the Emperor’s mother.
He was later removed by Nero at the request of the people (cf. Josephus, Wars
2.12.8-13.7 and Antiq. 20.7.7-8.9.

24:2b “attained much peace” Some think
this refers to his attempt to stop the activity of the Jewish extremists called
sicarii (dagger men). See Josephus’ Wars 2.13.2.

24:5 “we have found this man” It is
Luke’s purpose throughout Acts to show the Roman world that the charges against
Christianity are false. This is why Luke records so many appearances before
Roman courts and officials. Paul was accused of three things:

1. being a troublemaker

2. being a leader of a new sect

3. temple desecration

NASB“a real pest”
NKJV“a plague”
NRSV“a pestilent fellow”
TEV“a dangerous nuisance”
NJB“a perfect pest”

This comes from a word meaning plague (cf. Luke 21:11). In the OT (LXX) it
also had the meaning of plague, but could be used metaphorically of a person
(cf. Pro. 19:25).

▣
“throughout the world” This is surely a purposeful overstatement and yet
what a compliment to the effectiveness of Paul’s ministry in the diaspora.

▣ “ringleader” This is a compound
Greek term from “first” and “to stand.” It was used in the Septuagint of Job
15:24, “a captain of the first rank.” It is found only here in the NT and not at
all in the Koine papyri found in Egypt.

▣ “the sect” The term hairesis
originally meant “division” or “faction” (literally, “to make a choice’). It
came to have a negative connotation, as can be seen in our English term
“heresy,” which comes from this Greek term. The Sadducees are addressed by this
term in 5:17 and the Pharisees in 15:5. In this context in Acts, Paul considers
Christianity an integral part of the historical Jewish faith and hope (cf. v.
14).

▣ “the Nazarenes” This term refers to
the followers of Jesus of Nazareth. Some assert that the term comes from the
city of Nazareth but others relate it to nezer (BDB 666) or “branch,” a
title for the Messiah (cf. Isa. 11:1; 53:2). See Special Topic at 2:22.

24:6 Notice the charge made against
Paul in 21:28 that he desecrated the temple, has now been changed to “he tried
to desecrate the temple.” They really had a weak case. Paul’s effective
preaching was really the problem.

24:7 The parenthesis in the NASB shows
a textual addition found in the uncial MS E (8^th century) and several
minuscules starting the 9^th century. The longer reading is found in
NKJV. It seems to change the one/ones wanting to hurt Paul from the Jewish
leadership to Lysias.

The UBS⁴ excludes the addition and rates the shorter version (MSS
P⁷⁴, א, A, D, some Old Latin, Vulgate, Coptic, and Georgian versions)
as a “B” (almost certain). The UBS3 included the longer reading but gave it a
“D” rating (high degree of doubt).

NASB (UPDATED) TEXT: 24:10-21

¹⁰When the governor had nodded for
him to speak, Paul responded:
“Knowing that for many years you have been a judge to this nation, I cheerfully
make my defense, ¹¹since you can take note of the fact that no more
than twelve days ago I went up to Jerusalem to worship. ¹²Neither in
the temple, nor in the synagogues, nor in the city itself did they find
me carrying on a discussion with anyone or causing a riot. ¹³Nor can
they prove to you the charges of which they now accuse me.
¹⁴But this I admit to you, that according to the Way which they call
a sect I do serve the God of our fathers, believing everything that is in
accordance with the Law and that is written in the Prophets;
¹⁵having a hope in God, which these men cherish themselves, that
there shall certainly be a resurrection of both the righteous and the wicked. ¹⁶In view of this, I also do my best to maintain always a blameless
conscience both before God and before men. ¹⁷Now after several
years I came to bring alms to my nation and to present offerings; ¹⁸in
which they found me occupied in the temple, having been purified, without
any crowd or uproar. But there were some Jews from Asia—¹⁹who
ought to have been present before you and to make accusation, if they should
have anything against me. ²⁰Or else let these men themselves tell
what misdeed they found when I stood before the Council, ²¹other than
for this one statement which I shouted out while standing among them, ‘For the
resurrection of the dead I am on trial before you today.'”

24:10 As the attorney for the
Sanhedrin used a formal introduction (probably culturally expected), so too,
does Paul.

▣ “defense” We get the English term
“apology” or “apologetics” from this Greek term. It originally meant a legal
oral defense in court.

24:11-12 Paul asserts that his public
activities in Jerusalem were anything but abnormal and contentious. He was
accused of desecrating the temple, but in reality, he was performing an
acceptable ritual.

24:14 “The Way” This was the early
title for Christians which emphasized that Jesus is the way to God (John 14:6)
and a lifestyle fellowship (cf. 9:2; 19:9,23; 22:4; 24:22 and possibly
18:25-26).

▣ “I do serve the God of our fathers”
Paul clearly asserts in this verse that what he preaches about Jesus in no way
violates the OT. Jesus is the fulfillment of Israel’s hopes and promises. He
does not see Christianity as something new and different but a fulfillment (cf.
Jesus in Matt. 5:17-19).

▣ “the Law. . .the Prophets” These are
two of the threefold divisions of the OT canon:

1. The Torah (Law) — Genesis – Deuteronomy

2. The Prophets

a. former prophets — Joshua – Kings (except Ruth)

b. latter prophets — Isaiah – Malachi (except Lamentations and Daniel)

3. The Writings

a. megiloth — Ruth, Esther, Ecclesiastes, Song of Songs, and Lamentations

b. wisdom literature — Job, Psalms, Proverbs

c. post-exilic history — I & II Chronicles, Ezra, and Nehemiah

24:15 “having a hope in God which these men
cherish themselves” Paul is asserting that his religious orientation is
the same as these accusers (cf. v. 16), except in his view of the resurrection.
Paul is trying to defend himself by showing that the conflict is over
theological issues within Judaism, which Rome did not want to become involved
with.

For “hope” see
SPECIAL TOPIC: HOPE at 2:25.

▣ “there shall certainly be a resurrection of
both the righteous and the wicked” This refers to the theology of the
Pharisees, not the Sadducean leadership of the temple. Josephus,
Antiq. 18.1.3, even asserts that some Pharisees denied the resurrection
of the wicked (for a modern view of annihilation see Edward Fudge, The Fire
That Consumes). The Bible is replete with this concept of a general
resurrection (cf. Isa. 25:8; Dan. 12:2; Matt. 25:46; John 5:29; Rom. 2:6-11;
Rev. 20:11-15). Paul saw Christianity as the natural fulfillment of the OT (cf.
Matt. 5:17-19). It was not something new!

24:16 “I also do my best to maintain always a
blameless conscience” This same phrase is what angered the High Priest so
much in 23:1-2. Paul repeats it again in his presence. It is similar to his
discussion of personal effort in I Cor. 9:24-27. The self-control he preached to
Felix (cf. v. 25) was not an easy thing to accomplish and maintain. Self-control
is one of the fruits of the Spirit in Gal. 5:22 and possibly the capstone of the
list of fruits!

24:17 “I came to bring alms to my nation”
For “alms” see Special Topic at 3:2. This probably refers to the contribution
from the Gentile churches to the church in Jerusalem (cf. Rom. 15:25-27; I Cor.
16:1-4; II Corinthians 8-9). It is surprising it is not mentioned in 21:15ff.
This may show that it was not received well by all of the church in Jerusalem
(see James D. G. Dunn, Unity and Diversity in the New Testament).
Intrenched racism is hard to deal with even for believers.

▣ “and to present offerings” This
refers to

1. the conclusion of Paul’s limited Nazarite vow (cf. 21:24)

2. his paying for others’ limited Nazarite vows (cf. 21:24)

Because this phrase seems to be linked grammatically to “bring alms,” it is
possible that they both refer to Jewish rituals, not the offerings from the
churches.

24:18 “they found me occupied in the
temple, having been purified”
This Jewish ritual procedure was at the instigation of James and the elders of
the church (cf. 21:17-26). It was meant to placate the legalistic Jewish
believers in the church, but in reality, it inflamed the Greek-speaking Jews
from Asia.

24:18-19 “Jews from Asia who ought to have
been” This was an important legal point in Paul’s defense (cf. v. 19).
The eyewitnesses’ accusers were not present! Those who were accusing Paul of
world-wide mischief had no experiential evidence (cf. v. 20)!

Asia is a geographical reference to Jewish people from southern and western
Turkey, then called Asia Minor.

24:19b “if” This is a
fourth class conditional, a way to express a contingency which is the
farthest removed from possibility. A. T. Robertson,
Word Pictures in the New Testament, p. 420, calls it a mixed condition
with a second class conclusion (i.e., but they are
not present, v. 19a). His Grammar
(p. 1022) lists other mixed conditional
sentences in Luke’s writings (cf. Luke 17:6 and Acts 8:31).

NASB (UPDATED) TEXT: 24:22-23
²²But Felix, having a more
exact knowledge about the Way, put them off, saying, “When Lysias the commander
comes down, I will decide your case.” ²³Then he gave orders to the
centurion for him to be kept in custody and yet have some freedom, and
not to prevent any of his friends from ministering to him.

24:22 Apparently Felix had heard about
Jesus and Christianity. Probably as a Roman official he had been briefed about
the local situation to which he would be assigned.

Felix’s wife was Jewish (cf. v. 24), which meant he had an experiential
opportunity to know about the teaching of Judaism. The Way was considered a sect
within Judaism and was, therefore, a “legal” religion in the Roman Empire.

24:23 This shows that Felix did not
see Paul as a threat and allowed some freedom and access. Here again is a Roman
official who does not sense Christianity as a political problem. This was surely
one of Luke’s purposes in writing his Gospel!

NASB (UPDATED) TEXT: 24:24-27
²⁴But some days later Felix
arrived with Drusilla, his wife who was a Jewess, and sent for Paul and heard
him speak about faith in Christ Jesus. ²⁵But as he was
discussing righteousness, self-control and the judgment to come, Felix became
frightened and said, “Go away for the present, and when I find time I will
summon you.” ²⁶At the same time too, he was hoping that money would
be given him by Paul; therefore he also used to send for him quite often and
converse with him. ²⁷But after two years had passed, Felix was
succeeded by Porcius Festus, and wishing to do the Jews a favor, Felix left Paul
imprisoned.

24:24 “Drusilla” She was the youngest,
and apparently beautiful, daughter of Herod Agrippa I and the sister of Bernice
and Agrippa II. She was Felix’s third wife, whom he took from the Azizus, the
King of Emesa (cf. Josephus, Antiq. 20.7.2).

NASB, NRSV,

TEV, NJB “Christ Jesus”
NKJV“Christ”

Option #1 is found in MSS P⁷⁴, א^*, B, E, and the Old
Latin, Vulgate versions. The shorter reading is found in MSS א^c, A,
C, and the Peshitta and Coptic versions. The UBS⁴
gives the longer version a “B” rating (almost certain).

One wonders if in this context “Christ” should be translated “Messiah” (MS
044 has “the Messiah”).

▣ “faith” This is a crucial
theological word. See Special Topics at 2:40; 3:16; and 6:5. Remember these
theological terms in Koine Greek are based not on Greek usage, but the
Septuagint. Luke knows the Septuagint well. It was the OT for the church.

24:24-25 Paul preached the gospel
often (cf. v. 26b) to Felix and Drusilla. This was exactly what Jesus wanted him
to do (cf. 9:15). He was convicted, but also greedy (i.e., he wanted Paul to
bribe him) and put off his decision (cf. v. 26).

24:26 Apparently Paul had some funds
during this prison period. Possibly from (1) a personal inheritance or (2) help
from the churches (i.e., Philippi or Thessalonica). Felix called for Paul often,
not to hear him speak, but in hopes of receiving a bribe.

24:27 “after two years had passed”
Many believe that it was during this period that Luke gathered eyewitness
information from those in Palestine for his Gospel (cf. Luke 1:1-4). This must
have been a discouraging time to an aggressive man like Paul! However, he did
not seek freedom by means of bribery. He knew he was in God’s will.

▣ “Porcius Festus” There is some
disagreement between the Roman historians, Suetonius and Tacitus, over the
beginning date of his office. Felix was put on trial in a.d. 55, but it is uncertain whether he was
convicted and removed then or in
a.d. 59. Festus died in a.d. 62, while still in office (cf. Josephus,
Antiq. 20.9.1). There is little known about him (cf. Josephus, Antiq.
20.8.9-10; Wars 2.14.1).

▣ “Felix left Paul imprisoned” It was
customary to release all the prisoners at the time of the change of
administrations. This verse shows the political situation in Palestine and the
weakness of the Roman leaders, as well as the power of the Sanhedrin.

DISCUSSION QUESTIONS

These discussion questions are provided to help you
think through the major issues of this section of the book. They are meant to be
thought-provoking, not definitive.

1. What does the term “Nazarene” mean?

2. What are the implications of the first title for the church in Acts being
“the Way”?

3. Explain the significance of v. 15.

ACTS 25

PARAGRAPH DIVISIONS OF MODERN TRANSLATIONS

UBS⁴	NKJV	NRSV	TEV	NJB
Paul Appeals to Caesar	Paul Appeals to Caesar	Appeal to the Emperor	Paul Appeals to the Emperor	Paul Appeals to Caesar
25:1-5	25:1-12	25:1-5	25:1-5	25:1-5
25:6-12		25:6-12	25:6-8	25:6-12
			25:9
			25:10-11
			25:12
Paul Brought Before Agrippa and Bernice	Paul Before Agrippa	Paul’s Defense Before Agrippa (25:13-26:32)	Paul Before Agrippa and Bernice	Paul Appears Before King Agrippa
25:13-22	25:13-27	25:13-22	25:13-21	25:13-22
			25:22a
			25:22b
25:23-27		25:23-27	25:23-27	25:23-26:1

READING CYCLE THREE (from “A Guide
to Good Bible Reading“)

FOLLOWING THE ORIGINAL AUTHOR’S INTENT AT THE PARAGRAPH LEVEL

1. First paragraph

2. Second paragraph

3. Third paragraph

4. Etc.

WORD AND PHRASE STUDY

NASB (UPDATED) TEXT: 25:1-5
¹Festus then, having arrived
in the province, three days later went up to Jerusalem from Caesarea. ²And
the chief priests and the leading men of the Jews brought charges against Paul,
and they were urging him, ³requesting a concession against Paul, that
he might have him brought to Jerusalem (at the same time, setting an
ambush to kill him on the way). ⁴Festus then answered that Paul was
being kept in custody at Caesarea and that he himself was about to leave
shortly.
⁵“Therefore,” he said, “let the influential men among you go there
with me, and if there is anything wrong about the man, let them prosecute him.”

25:1 “Festus” This was Felix’s
successor. He was a nobler personality, but obviously under the same political
pressure and mind set. He was in office for two years and died in a.d. 62 while still in office (cf. Josephus,
Antiq. 20.8.9).

▣ “three days later” This shows how
upset and persistent the Jewish leadership was concerning Paul. Festus also
wanted to make a good first impression.

25:2 “the chief priest and the leading men of
the Jews” This may refer to the Sanhedrin, which was made up of 70 Jewish
leaders from Jerusalem. They formed the highest judicial body of the Jews in
both politics and religion. See Special Topic at 4:5. However, it could also
refer to the other wealthy and elite citizens of Jerusalem who would be very
anxious to meet the new Roman procurator and begin to establish a good
relationship with him.

It is surely possible that it refers to both groups. After two years there
was a new high priest, Ishmael ben Fabus (a.d.
56-62). He, too, wanted to establish himself and a good way to do this was to
attack the renegade Pharisee, Paul.

▣ “they were urging him” This is an imperfect active indicative. They asked again
and again.

25:3 This shows animosity against Paul
on the part of these religious leaders. They saw Paul as an enemy from within!

▣ “(at the same time, setting an
ambush to kill him on the way)”
The tactics of the Jewish leadership had not changed (cf. 23:12-15).

25:5 “if” This is a
first class conditional sentence which is assumed to be true from the
author’s perspective or for his purposes (cf. A. T. Robertson, Word Pictures
in the New Testament, vol. 3, p. 429). Dr. Bruce Tankersley, the Koine Greek
specialist at East Texas Baptist University, says it might be
third class because there is no
verb in the protasis. Festus assumed Paul was guilty. Why else would the
Jerusalem leaders be so persistent, and so tenacious?

NASB (UPDATED) TEXT: 25:6-12
⁶After he had spent not more
than eight or ten days among them, he went down to Caesarea, and on the next day
he took his seat on the tribunal and ordered Paul to be brought.
⁷After Paul arrived, the Jews who had come down from Jerusalem stood
around him, bringing many and serious charges against him which they could not
prove, ⁸while Paul said in his own defense, “I have committed no
offense either against the Law of the Jews or against the temple or against
Caesar.” ⁹But Festus, wishing to do the Jews a favor, answered Paul
and said, “Are you willing to go up to Jerusalem and stand trial before me on
these
charges?” ¹⁰But Paul said, “I am standing before Caesar’s
tribunal, where I ought to be tried. I have done no wrong to the Jews, as
you also very well know. ¹¹If, then, I am a wrongdoer and have
committed anything worthy of death, I do not refuse to die; but if none of those
things is true of which these men accuse me, no one can hand me over to
them. I appeal to Caesar.” ¹²Then when Festus had conferred with his
council, he answered, “You have appealed to Caesar, to Caesar you shall go.”

25:6-9 These events showed Paul that
he had no real hope for justice with Festus. He knew what awaited him in
Jerusalem (cf. v. 3). He also knew Jesus wanted him to go to Rome (cf. 9:15).

25:6 “After he had spent not more than eight
or ten days among them” I would imagine the Jewish leaders wined and
dined Festus. They manipulated all the Roman officials.

25:8 Paul asserts that he is innocent
of all charges against

1. the Law of Moses (cf. 21:21,28)

2. the temple (cf. 21:28; 24:6)

3. Caesar (cf. 16:21; 17:7)

Numbers 1 and 2 are exactly what Stephen was charged with in 6:13-14.

25:10-11 Paul asserts that he was
already before the proper authority and in the proper place. Luke records in v.
11 Paul’s official appeal to Caesar.

The right of appeal to Caesar initially started with Octavian in 30 b.c. (cf. Dio Cassius, History, 51.19).
This initial dictate was expanded to forbid blinding, scourging, and torture to
any Roman citizen who appealed to Caesar (cf. Paulus, Sententiae
5.26.1).

There is a good discussion of Roman Law of the first century in A. N.
Sherwin-White’s Roman Society and Roman Law in the New Testament,
“lecture four: Paul before Felix and Festus,” pp. 48-70.

25:11 “If. . .if” These are two
first class conditional sentences which are assumed to be true from the
author’s perspective or for his purpose. These two usages in context show how
this grammatical construction was used to make a point. The first is false to
reality (but exactly the same condition used by Felix in v. 5); the second is
true to reality.

▣ “I do not refuse to die” Paul
recognized the power of the state (cf. Rom. 13:4). The OT perspective on capital
punishment can be found in Gen. 9:6. See an interesting discussion of capital
punishment in Hard Sayings of the Bible, pp. 114-116.

NASB, TEV “no one can hand me over to
them”
NKJV“no on can deliver me over to them”
NRSV“no one can turn me over to them”
NJB“no one has the right to surrender me to them”

The term charizomai basically
means “to gratify” or “grant as a favor.” Paul realized that Festus was trying
to impress the Jewish leadership by giving them himself!

However, it is possible that Festus is trying to abide by a decree from
Julius Caesar (cf. Josephus, Antiq.
14.10.2), which encouraged Roman officials in Palestine to allow the wishes of
the high priest.

▣ “I
appeal to Caesar” This was the legal right of every Roman citizen in
capital punishment cases (Pliny the Younger, Letters 10.96). At this point in
history, Nero was the Caesar (a.d.
54-68).

25:12 “his council” This refers to
Festus’ Roman legal experts, not the Jewish leaders.

CONTEXTUAL INSIGHTS TO ACTS 25:13-26:32

BACKGROUND

A. Herod Agrippa II (Marcus Julius Agrippa)

1. He is the son of Herod Agrippa I (cf. Acts 12), who was the political
ruler of Judea and who had control of the Temple and Priesthood (a.d.
41-44) and grandson of Herod the Great.

2. He was educated in Rome and was pro-Roman. He returned to Rome after the
Jewish war of a.d. 70 and died there in
a.d. 100.

3. At the age of 17 his father died, but he was too young to assume his
kingdom.

4. In a.d. 50 Herod Chalcis,
Agrippa II’s uncle, the King of Chalcis (a small kingdom in Northern Palestine),
died and Agrippa II was given his kingdom by Emperor Claudius. Also, he was
given control over the Temple and the High Priesthood.

5. In a.d. 53 he exchanged this
small kingdom for the tetrarches of Herod Philip (Ituraea and Trachonitis) and
Lysanius (Abilene).

6. Later, Emperor Nero added certain cities and villages around the Sea of
Galilee to his control. His capital was Caesarea Philippi, which he renamed
Neronias.

7. For historical reference cf:

a. Josephus Jewish Wars 2.12.1,7-8; 15.1; 16.4; 7.5.1

b. Josephus’ Antiquities of the Jews 19.9.2; 20.5.2; 6.5; 7.1; 8.4;
9.6.

B. Bernice

1. She was the oldest daughter of Herod Agrippa I.

2. She was the sister of Agrippa II, and for a period of time may have been
his incestuous lover (there is no evidence of this, only rumor). Later she was a
mistress to Emperor Titus while he was a general. He was the Roman general who
destroyed Jerusalem and the Temple in
a.d. 70.

3. She was Drusilla’s sister (cf. 24:24).

4. She was married to Herod Chalcis (Herod Agrippa I’s brother, her uncle),
but when he died she moved in with her brother.

5. She later married Polemon, King of Cilicia, but left him to return to her
brother who had just been given the title of “King.”

6. She was the mistress of Emperor Vespasian.

7. Historical references

a. Josephus Jewish Wars 2.1.6; 15.1; 17.1.

b.Josephus’ Antiquities of the Jew 19.9.1; 15.1; 20.1.3

c. Tacitus’ History 2.2

d. Seutonius’ Life of Titus 7

e. Dio Cassius’ Histories 65.15; 66.18

f. Juvenal’s Satire 61.156-157

WORD AND PHRASE STUDY

NASB (UPDATED) TEXT: 25:13-22

¹³Now when several days
had elapsed, King Agrippa and Bernice arrived at Caesarea and paid their
respects to Festus. ¹⁴While they were spending many days there,
Festus laid Paul’s case before the king, saying, “There is a man who was left as
a prisoner by Felix; ¹⁵and when I was at Jerusalem, the chief priests
and the elders of the Jews brought charges against him, asking for a sentence of
condemnation against him. ¹⁶I answered them that it is not the custom
of the Romans to hand over any man before the accused meets his accusers face to
face and has an opportunity to make his defense against the charges.
¹⁷So after they had assembled here, I did not delay, but on the next
day took my seat on the tribunal and ordered the man to be brought before me. ¹⁸When the accusers stood up, they began bringing charges against
him not of such crimes as I was expecting, ¹⁹but they simply
had some points of disagreement with him about their own religion and about a
dead man, Jesus, whom Paul asserted to be alive. ²⁰Being at a loss
how to investigate such matters, I asked whether he was willing to go to
Jerusalem and there stand trial on these matters. ²¹But when Paul
appealed to be held in custody for the Emperor’s decision, I ordered him to be
kept in custody until I send him to Caesar.” ²²Then Agrippa said
to Festus, “I also would like to hear the man myself.” “Tomorrow,” he said, “you
shall hear him.”

25:13 “King Agrippa” This refers to
Agrippa II. He was the brother of Drusilla and Bernice. He was educated in Rome
and was very loyal to Rome’s policies and programs.

SPECIAL TOPIC: BERNICE

25:13-19 This again reveals one of
Luke’s literary and theological purposes, which was to show that Christianity
was not a political threat to Rome (cf. v. 25). In the early decades of the
first century Christianity was considered a sect of Judaism, which was
acknowledged by Rome as a legal religion. Rome wanted no part of disputes
between Jewish religious sects!

25:18 “they began charges against him
not of such crimes as I was expecting” This shows the intensity and
nature of the Jewish opposition. It was not political, but religious.

NASB, NRSV,

NJB, NIV “crimes”
NKJV“such things”
TEV“evil crimes”

REB “charges”

NET Bible “evil deeds”

ASV “evil things”

There are several variants.

1. ponērōn – genitive plural
in MSS א², B, E, meaning “things of evil” (cf. 28:21)

2. ponērau – accusative neuter
singular in MSS P⁷⁴, A, C^*

3. ponēra – accusative neuter
plural in MSS א^*, C²

4. omit – MSS L, P, and some Lectionaries (cf. NKJV)

UBS⁴ puts option #1 in the text with a “C” rating (difficulty in
deciding).

Felix was surprised that the charges were not serious and had to do with
Jewish religious matters, not legal matters.

25:19 “religion” This is literally a
compound term from “fear” and “gods.” This term can mean “superstition,” which
was exactly what these Roman leaders thought about the Jewish religion. However,
Festus would have not wanted to insult his Jewish dignitaries, so he used an
ambiguous term (so too, Paul, 17:22).

Verses 18-19 show again that Roman justice found no fault with Paul or
Christianity.

▣ “about a dead man, Jesus, whom Paul
asserted to be alive” The resurrection was one the central pillars of the
sermons (kerygma, see Special Topic at 2:14) in Acts (cf. 26:8).
Christianity stands or falls on this theological assertion (cf. I Corinthians
15).

NASB (UPDATED) TEXT: 25:23-27
²³So, on the next day when
Agrippa came together with Bernice amid great pomp, and entered the auditorium
accompanied by the commanders and the prominent men of the city, at the command
of Festus, Paul was brought in. ²⁴Festus said, “King Agrippa, and all
you gentlemen here present with us, you see this man about whom all the people
of the Jews appealed to me, both at Jerusalem and here, loudly declaring that he
ought not to live any longer. ²⁵But I found that he had committed
nothing worthy of death; and since he himself appealed to the Emperor, I decided
to send him. ²⁶Yet I have nothing definite about him to write to my
lord. Therefore I have brought him before you all and especially before
you, King Agrippa, so that after the investigation has taken place, I may have
something to write. ²⁷For it seems absurd to me in sending a
prisoner, not to indicate also the charges against him.”

25:23 What a wonderful opportunity to
preach the gospel!

▣ “the commanders” This is the term
chiliarch, which means leaders of a thousand, as centurion means leader of a
hundred. We learn from Josephus’ Antiq. 19.19.2, that there were five
auxiliary cohorts in Caesarea at this period. Therefore, possibly five military
men are referred to here.

▣ “the prominent men of the city” This
would refer to the civic leaders of Caesarea.

Notice the groups in the assembly.

1. a Roman procurator

2. an Idumean regional king

3. Roman military leaders

4. prominent civic leaders of Caesarea

▣ 25:26 “the Emperor” This term is
sebastos, which was the Greek equivalent of the Latin term augustus.
Its basic etymology is “revere, “adore,” “venerate,” or “worship.” It was first
used of Octavian in 27 b.c. by the
Senate. Here, it is used of Nero (a.d.
54-68). Nero seems to have expanded the worship of the Emperor cult.

25:26 “I have nothing definite about him to
write” Festus had the same problem as Lysias, the commander from
Jerusalem. He was bound by Roman law to write an indictment against Paul along
with any evidence or judicial opinion. Paul was a mystery to these Roman
leaders.

▣ “lord” The is the Greek word
kurios, which means owner, master, ruler. This is the first documented use
of kurios as a stand-alone title for Nero. This title was rejected by the
Emperors Octavian/Augustus and Tiberias because they felt it was too close to
the Latin rex
(king), which caused the Roman populace and Senate discomfort. However,
it appears often during and after Nero’s day. Vespasian and Titus used the term
“savior” and Domitian used “god” to describe themselves (cf. James S. Jeffers,
The Greco-Roman World p. 101). The term kurios became the focus of
the persecution against Christians, who could use
only this term for Jesus Christ. They refused to use it in the incense
offering and pledge of allegiance to Rome.

DISCUSSION QUESTIONS

These discussion questions are provided to help you
think through the major issues of this section of the book. They are meant to be
thought-provoking, not definitive.

1. Why did the Jewish leaders fear and hate Paul?

2. How does this chapter reflect one of Luke’s purposes in writing Acts?

3. What was Paul’s purpose in defending himself before Agrippa and Bernice?

ACTS 26

PARAGRAPH DIVISIONS OF MODERN TRANSLATIONS

UBS⁴	NKJV	NRSV	TEV	NJB
Paul Defends Himself Before Agrippa	Paul’s Early Life	Paul’s Defense Before Agrippa (25:13-26:32)	Paul Defends Himself Before Agrippa	Paul Appears Before King Agrippa 25:13-26:1
26:1-11	26:1-11	26:1	26:1	Paul’s Speech Before King Agrippa
		26:2-3	26:2-3	26:2-3
		26:4-8	26:4-8	26:4-8
		26:9-11	26:9-11	26:9-11
Paul Tells of His Conversion	Paul Recounts His Conversion		Paul Tells of His Conversion
26:12-18	26:12-18	26:12-18	26:12-18	26:12-18
Paul’s Testimony to Jews and Gentiles	Paul’s Post-conversion Life		Paul Tells of His Work
26:19-23	26:19-23	26:19-23	26:19-23	26:19-23
Paul Appeals to Agrippa to Believe				His Hearers’ Reactions
26:24-29	26:24-32	26:24-29	26:24	26:24-29
			26:25-27
			26:28
			26:29
26:30-32		26:30-32	26:30-32	26:30-32

READING CYCLE THREE (from “A Guide
to Good Bible Reading“)

FOLLOWING THE ORIGINAL AUTHOR’S INTENT AT THE PARAGRAPH LEVEL

1. First paragraph

2. Second paragraph

3. Third paragraph

4. Etc.

WORD AND PHRASE STUDY

NASB (UPDATED) TEXT: 26:1
¹Agrippa said to Paul, “You
are permitted to speak for yourself.” Then Paul stretched out his hand and
proceeded to make his defense:

26:1 “stretched out his hand” This was
a gesture of greeting and oratorical introduction (cf. Acts 12:17; 13:16 and
21:40, in which gestures of the hand are used for attention and silence).

NASB (UPDATED) TEXT: 26:2-3
²“In regard to all the things
of which I am accused by the Jews, I consider myself fortunate, King Agrippa,
that I am about to make my defense before you today; ³especially
because you are an expert in all customs and questions among the Jews;
therefore I beg you to listen to me patiently.

26:2-3 Paul introduces his defense in
a typical formal and flattering way, as he did in his trial before Felix (cf.
24:10), which was probably a culturally expected necessity.

26:2 “In regard to all the things of which I
am accused by the Jews” Agrippa II had been put in charge of the Temple
and Priesthood by Rome. Although pro-Roman and educated in Rome, he understood
the intricacies of the Jewish faith (cf. v. 3).

▣ “fortunate” This is the same term
which introduces each of the Beatitudes of Matt. 5:3-12; Luke 6:20-22; and Ps.
1:1 in the Septuagint.

26:3

NASB, NKJV “all customs and questions”
NRSV“all customs and controversies”
TEV“all of the Jewish customs and disputes”
NJB“customs and controversy”

The first term is ethōn, from
which we get the English word “ethnic,” or the cultural aspect of a particular
people group.

The second term dzētēmatōn is used often in Acts to denote debates and
arguments over aspects of rabbinical Judaism (cf. 15:2; 18:15; 23:19; 25:19;
26:3). These were not uncommon because of the existence of several factions
within first century Judaism : Sadducees, Pharisees (also the theological
factions of Shammai and Hillel), and the zealots.

NASB (UPDATED) TEXT: 26:4-8
⁴“So then, all Jews know my
manner of life from my youth up, which from the beginning was spent among my
own nation and at Jerusalem; ⁵since they have known about me for
a long time, if they are willing to testify, that I lived as a Pharisee
according to the strictest sect of our religion. ⁶“And now I am
standing trial for the hope of the promise made by God to our fathers;
⁷the promise to which our twelve tribes hope to attain,
as they earnestly serve God
night and day. And for this hope, O King, I am being accused by Jews. ⁸“Why
is it considered incredible among you people if God does raise the dead?

26:4 “all Jews know my manner of life”
Paul has repeated this several times (cf. Acts 22:3-5; 23:1; 24:16; 25:8). Paul
had lived an exemplary life among the Jews in Jerusalem (cf. v. 5).

▣ “my own nation” It is
uncertain where Paul grew up. This could refer to (1) Tarsus in Cilicia or (2)
Jerusalem.

26:5 “if” This is a
third class conditional sentence which means potential action. In this
context Paul knows they could testify about his past, but they would not.

▣ “Pharisee according to the strictest sect
of our religion” This was a theological sect of Judaism which emerged
during the Maccabean Period. It was committed to the oral and written tradition.
See Special Topic at 5:34.

26:6 “the hope of the promise made by God to
our fathers” This refers to the OT prophecy of (1) the coming of the
Messiah or (2) the resurrection of the dead (cf. 23:6; 24:15; Job 14:14-15;
19:25-27; Dan. 12:2). Paul saw “the Way” as the fulfillment of the OT (cf. Matt.
5:17-19; Galatians 3).

For “hope” see Special Topic at 2:25 and the Special Topic: The Kerygma
at 2:14.

26:7 “our twelve tribes” The tribal
lineage (children of Jacob) was still very important to the Jews. Many of the
ten northern tribes never came back from Assyrian exile (722 b.c.). We know some tribal information from
the NT.

1. Mary, Joseph, and Jesus were from the tribe of Judah (cf. Matt. 1:2-16;
Luke 3:23-33; Rev. 5:5)

2. Anna’s tribe is identified as Asher (cf. Luke 2:36)

3. Paul’s tribe is identified as Benjamin (cf. Rom. 11:1; Phil. 3:5)

Herod the Great was jealous of this and had the Temple records, which showed
genealogies, burned.

For “twelve” see Special Topic at 1:22.

▣ “hope” One wonders exactly which
hope Paul is referring to. From the larger context one would assume the
resurrection (cf. v. 8). See SPECIAL TOPIC:
HOPE at 2:25.

▣ “as
they earnestly serve God
night and day” Paul loved his racial group (cf. Rom. 9:1-3). He knew how
hard they tried to serve YHWH. He also uniquely knew the danger of legalism,
dogmatism, and elitism.

“Night and day” was an idiom of intensity and regularity (cf. 20:31; Luke
2:37).

26:8 “Why is it considered incredible among
you people” Paul is speaking to two groups:

1. Agrippa and other Jews present

2. the Gentiles present, such as Festus

▣ “if” This is a
first class conditional sentence which is assumed to be true from the
author’s perspective or for his literary purposes.

▣ “God does raise the dead” This
phrase speaks of the Jewish hope of a general resurrection (see Job 14:14-15;
19:25-27; Isa. 25:8; 26:19; Dan. 12:2-3), but Paul had Christ’s resurrection
specifically in mind (cf. I Cor. 15:1-28). These Sadducean accusers would be
getting very nervous at this point (cf. 23:1-10).

NASB (UPDATED) TEXT: 26:9-11
⁹“So then, I thought to myself
that I had to do many things hostile to the name of Jesus of Nazareth. ¹⁰And
this is just what I did in Jerusalem; not only did I lock up many of the saints
in prisons, having received authority from the chief priests, but also when they
were being put to death I cast my vote against them. ¹¹And as I
punished them often in all the synagogues, I tried to force them to blaspheme;
and being furiously enraged at them, I kept pursuing them even to foreign
cities.”

26:9 Paul (egō,
“I” and
emautō, “myself”) confesses his misdirected religious enthusiasm, which
he now realizes was not the will of God (cf. I Tim. 1:13). He thought that by
persecuting the followers of Jesus he was serving God and pleasing God. Paul’s
world and worldview totally changed on the Damascus road (cf. Acts 9).

▣ “the name” This Semitic idiom means
“ther person of” (cf. 3:6,16). This is no magic formula, but a personal
relationship!

▣ “Jesus of Nazareth” See Special
Topics at 2:22.

26:10 “the saints” Literally this is
“the holy ones.” Paul knew now exactly whom he had persecuted and killed, God’s
people! What a shock, sorrow, and enlightenment Paul’s Damascus vision must have
been, a total reorientation of thought and life!

For “saints” see Special Topic at 9:13.

▣ “having received authority” Paul was
the “official” persecutor for the Sanhedrin.

▣
“when they were being put to death” This shows the intensity of the
persecution. The “Way” was not a minor issue; it was a life-and-death issue and
it still is!

▣ “cast my vote against them” This is
the technical word in Greek for an official vote either in the Sanhedrin or a
local synagogue. But because no local synagogue could/would vote on death
issues, it was probably the Sanhedrin. If it was in the Sanhedrin, then

Paul had to have been married. The term originally meant “a pebble,” which
was used to cast a vote—either a black one or a white one (cf. Rev. 2:17)

26:11 “tried to force” This is an imperfect tense of a Greek term that means to
force or compel (cf. 28:19), but here it is used in the sense of tried. It
refers to a repeated action in past time.

▣ “to blaspheme” Saul attempted to
force them to publicly affirm their faith in Jesus as the Messiah and then
condemn them. In later persecutions, believers were forced to reject faith in
Christ, but this context is a different cultural situation.

NASB“being furiously enraged”
NKJV“being exceedingly enraged”
NRSV“I was so furiously enraged”
TEV“I was so furious”
NJB“my fury against them was so extreme”

This is a very intense
adverb
(“much more”) and participle (present
middle [deponent]). Festus uses the same root for Paul (i.e., rave in
26:24)

NASB (UPDATED) TEXT: 26:12-18
¹²“While so engaged as I was
journeying 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, shining all around me and those who were journeying with me. ¹⁴And
when we had all fallen to the ground, I heard a voice saying to me in the Hebrew
dialect, ‘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. ¹⁶‘But get up and stand
on your feet; for this purpose I have appeared to you, to appoint you a minister
and a witness not only to the things which you have seen, but also to the things
in which I will appear to you; ¹⁷rescuing you from the Jewish
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 dominion of
Satan to God, that they may receive forgiveness of sins and an inheritance among
those who have been sanctified by faith in Me.'”

26:12 Luke records Paul’s personal
testimony three times in Acts, 9:1-31; 22:3-21, and here. God’s mercy and
election towards Saul are so obvious. If God in Christ can forgive and use this
man, He can forgive and use anyone!

26:13 See full note in 9:3.

The fact that there is variation in details in all three places where Paul
shares his conversion speaks to the accuracy of Luke’s recording of Paul’s legal
defenses (and, thereby, also the sermons) in Acts!

26:14 See full note at 9:4.

Frank Stagg, New Testament Theology, has a great paragraph on the
vital connection between Jesus and His church.

“The most important fact about judgment is that we are judged in relation to
Christ. In turn, this is a judgment in relation to his people. Our true
relationship to him is reflected in our relationship to his people. To serve
them is to serve him and to neglect them is to neglect him (Matt. 25:31-46).
Never does the New Testament allow one to divorce his relationship to Christ
from that to other people. To persecute them is to persecute him (Acts
9:1-2,4-5; 22:4,7-8; 26:10-11,14-15). To sin against the brethren is to sin
against Christ (1 Cor. 8:12). Though we are not saved by our works, we are
judged by them; for they reflect our true relationship to Christ and his grace.
Judgment is merciful toward them that accept judgment, and judgment is merciful
toward them who are merciful (Matt. 5:7)” (p. 333).

▣ “Hebrew dialect” In Paul’s three
personal testimonies in Acts, this is the only one in which the detail of Jesus
speaking Aramaic is mentioned. See full note at 22:2.

▣ “Saul, Saul” This last half of v. 14
and the last part of v. 15, as well as vv. 16-18, are a quote from Jesus to Paul
on the Damascus road.

▣ “It is hard for you to kick against the
goads” This phrase is unique to this context, possibly because it was a
Greek/Latin proverb, not Jewish. Paul always knew to what audience he was
speaking and how to communicate to them! This is referring to

1. a pointed stick used by those who directed oxen to pull carts and plows

2. projections on the front of the cart or wagon to keep the animals from
kicking backward

This proverb was used to denote the human futility of resisting divine
initiatives.

26:15 See complete note at 9:5.

▣ “Jesus whom you are persecuting”
This shows the close connection between Jesus and His church, (cf. Matt. 10:40;
25:40,45). To hurt them is to hurt Him!

26:16 “‘But get up and stand on your feet'”
These are both aorist active imperatives. This sounds very
familiar to the prophetic call of Jeremiah 1:7-8 and Ezekiel 2:1,3.

▣ “‘for this purpose I have appeared to you'”
God had a specific assignment for Paul. Paul’s conversion and call are
not typical, but extraordinary! God’s mercy is powerfully demonstrated as
well as God’s election for Kingdom service and kingdom growth.

▣ “I have appeared to you. . .I will appear
to you” These are both forms of horaō. The first is
aorist passive indicative and the second is
future passive indicative. In a sense Jesus is promising Paul future
personal encounters. Paul had several divine visions during his ministry (cf.
18:9-10; 22:17-21; 23:11; 27:23-24). Paul also mentions a training period in
Arabia in which he was taught by Jesus (cf. Gal. 1:12,17,18).

▣ “to appoint” This is literally “to
take into the hand.” It was an idiom of destiny (cf. 22:14; 26:16).

▣ “a minister and a witness” The first
term literally referred to an “under-rower” on a ship. It came to be used
idiomatically for a servant.

From the second term, martus, we get the English term “martyr.” It had
a double meaning:

1. a witness (cf. Luke 11:48; 24:48; Acts 1:8,22; 5:32; 10:39,41; 22:15)

2. a martyr (cf. Acts 22:20)

Both connotations were the personal experience of most of the Apostles and
many, many believers throughout the ages!

26:17 “rescuing you” This is a
present middle participle. In the
middle voice this word usually means to select or choose. Normally it is
translated “rescue or deliver” (cf. 7:10,34; 12:11; 23:27). God’s providential
care is evident here. Paul received several of these visions during his ministry
in order to encourage him. This possibly alludes to the Septuagint’s reading of
Isa. 48:10 or possibly Jer. 1:7-8,19.

▣ “from the Jewish people and from the
Gentiles” Paul will suffer opposition from both groups (cf. II Cor.
11:23-27).

▣ “to whom I am sending you” The “I”
is emphatic (egō) here as in v. 15. The
verb is apostellō (present active indicative), from which we get
the term “Apostle.” As the Father sent Jesus, so Jesus sends His witnesses,
apostles (cf. John 20:21).

26:18 “to open. . .turn” These are
both aorist infinitives. This may be an allusion to
Isa. 42:7. The Messiah will open blind eyes as a metaphor for opening spiritual
eyes (cf. John 9). Gospel knowledge and understanding must precede the call to a
volitional response (repentance and faith). Satan tries to close our minds and
hearts (cf. II Cor. 4:4) and the Spirit tries to open them (cf. John 6:44,65;
16:8-11).

▣ “from darkness. . .from the dominion of
Satan” Notice the parallelism. “Dominion” is the Greek term exousia,
usually translated authority or power (cf. NKJV, NRSV, TEV). The world is under
the influence of personal evil (cf. Eph. 2:2; 4:14; 6:10-18; II Cor. 4:4; Col.
1:12-13, see Special Topic at 5:3).

In the OT, particularly the prophecies of Isaiah, the Messiah (see Special
Topic at 2:31) was to bring sight to the blind. It was both a physical
prediction and also metaphorical for truth (cf. Isa. 29:18; 32:3; 35:5;
42:7,16).

SPECIAL TOPIC: AUTHORITY
(EXOUSIA)

▣ “to
light. . .to God” Notice the parallelism. Ancient humans feared darkness.
It became a metaphor for evil. Light, on the other hand, became a metaphor for
truth, healing, and purity. A good parallel passage on the light of the gospel
is John 3:17-21.

▣
“that they may receive” The
verbal in this phrase is another aorist infinitive. There is no “may” in the
Greek text (cf. TEV, NJB). The only condition in this context is “by faith in
Me” clause, which is put last in the Greek sentence for emphasis. All of God’s
blessings are contingent on a faith response (i.e., receive, cf. John 1:12) to
His grace (cf. Eph. 2:8-9). This is the NT counterpoint of conditional covenants
in the OT.

▣ “forgiveness of sins” Luke uses this
term (aphesis) often.

1. In Luke 4:18 it is used in an OT quote from Isa. 61:1, where it means
release, which reflects the LXX usage of Exod. 18:2 and Lev. 16:26.

2. In Luke 1:77; 3:3; 24:47; Acts 2:38; 5:31; 10:43; 13:38; 26:18, it means
“the removal of the guilt of sin,” which reflects the LXX usage of Deut. 15:3,
where it is used of the cancellation of a debt.

Luke’s usage may reflect the New Covenant promise of Jer. 31:34.

▣ “and
an inheritance” This is the Greek term klēros, which denotes the
casting of lots (cf. Lev. 16:8; Jonah 1:7; Acts 1:26) to determine an
inheritance, as in Gen. 48:6; Exod. 6:8; and Josh. 13:7-8. In the OT the Levites
did not have a land inheritance, only the 48 Levitical cities (cf. Deut. 10:9;
12:12), but the Lord Himself was their inheritance (cf. Num. 18:20). Now in the
NT all believers are priests (cf. I Pet. 2:5,9; Rev. 1:6). The Lord (YHWH) is
our inheritance; we are His children (cf. Rom. 8:15-17).

▣ “those who have been sanctified”
This is a perfect passive participle. Believers
(faithers) have been and continue to be sanctified by faith in Christ (cf.
20:21). See Special Topic at 9:32. Neither Satan nor the demonic can take this
away (cf. Rom. 8:31-39).

NASB (UPDATED) TEXT: 26:19-23
¹⁹“So, King Agrippa, I did not
prove disobedient to the heavenly vision, ²⁰but kept declaring
both to those of Damascus first, and also at Jerusalem and
then throughout all the region of Judea, and even to the Gentiles,
that they should repent and turn to God, performing deeds appropriate to
repentance. ²¹“For this reason some Jews seized me in the
temple and tried to put me to death. ²²“So, having obtained help from
God, I stand to this day testifying both to small and great, stating nothing but
what the Prophets and Moses said was going to take place; ²³that the
Christ was to suffer, and that by reason of His resurrection from
the dead He would be the first to proclaim light both to the Jewish
people and to the Gentiles.”

26:19 “So, King Agrippa” See note at
25:13, Intro. Paul was trying to reach this man for the gospel (cf. vv. 26-29).

▣ “I did not prove disobedient” The
Greek term peithō is from the name of the goddess of persuasion. In this
context it has the alpha privative,
which negates it, thereby denoting “disobedience” (cf. Luke 1:17; Rom. 1:30; II
Tim. 3:2; Titus 1:16; 3:3). So, in a sense, this was a forceful way in Koine
Greek to negate something, but in this context, it is a literary way of
affirming Paul’s obedience!

▣
“heavenly vision” This refers to Paul’s Damascus road encounter with the
resurrected, glorified Christ.

26:20 “Damascus. . .Jerusalem” See
Acts 9:19-25,27 for Paul’s ministry in Damascus; 9:26-30 for Paul’s ministry in
Jerusalem and possibly 9:31 for Paul’s ministry in Judea.

▣ “repent and turn to God” Paul’s
message (cf. Acts 20:21) was the same as

1. John the Baptist’s (cf. Matt. 3:1-12; Mark 1:4-8)

2. Jesus’ early message (cf. Mark. 1:15)

3. Peter (cf. Acts 3:16,19)

The Greek term repent means a change of mind. The Hebrew word means a change
of action. Both are involved in true repentance. See Special Topic at 2:38. The
two New Covenant requirements (which are also old Covenant requirements) for
salvation are repentance (turning from self and sin) and faith (turning to God
in Christ).

▣ “performing deeds appropriate to
repentance” The believer’s lifestyle (present
active participle) confirms his/her initial faith commitment (cf. Matt.
3:8; Luke 3:8; Eph. 2:8-10, James and I John). God wants a people who reflect
His character. Believers are called to Christlikeness (cf. Rom. 8:28-29; Gal.
4:19; Eph. 1:4; 2:10). The gospel is

1. a person to welcome

2. truth about that person to believe

3. a life like that person’s to live

26:21 It was not Paul’s theological
views, but his preaching to and inclusion of “the Gentiles” (cf. v. 20) that
caused the riot in the Temple.

▣ “tried to put me to death” This is
an imperfect middle (deponent)
indicative
(tried again and again) with an aorist
middle infinitive (to kill). The Jews (cf. Acts 9:24) from Asia (cf.
20:3,19; 21:27,30) tried to kill Paul several times.

26:22 “testifying both to small and great”
This is an inclusive Semitic idiom. It is Paul’s affirmation (like Peter’s, cf.
10:38) that he, like God, is not respecter of persons (cf. Deut. 10:17; II Chr.
19:7, see fuller note at 10:34). He preaches to all humans.

▣ “stating nothing but what the Prophets and
Moses said” Paul is asserting that his message and audience (i.e.,
Gentiles) are not an innovation, but OT prophecy. He is simply following OT
guidelines (see Special Topic at 1:8), promises and truths.

26:23 Notice that Paul’s message
consisted of three parts:

1. the Messiah suffered for human forgiveness

2. the Messiah’s resurrection was first fruits of all believers’ resurrection

3. this Good News was for Jews and Gentiles

These three theological aspects must be combined with verse 20 which shows
how we personally receive Christ (repentance, turning from self and sin; faith,
turning to God in Christ).

▣ “that the Christ was to suffer” For
the basic theological points of the Apostolic sermons in Acts see Special Topic
at 2:14. It was the stumbling block for the Jews (cf. I Cor. 1:23), but it was
an OT prediction (cf. Gen. 3:15; Psalm 22; Isaiah 53). This same truth is found
in Luke 24:7,26,44-47.

The Greek “the Christ” reflects the Hebrew title “the Messiah.” Paul asserts
that Jesus, who was crucified, was truly the Christ, the Promised One, the
Anointed One (cf. 2:36; 3:6,18,20; 4:10,26; 13:33; 17:3; 26:23, see special
Topic: Messiah at 2:31).

▣
“that by reason of His
resurrection from the dead” Because of this text, and Rom. 1:4, there
developed an early heresy called “adoptionism” (see glossary), which asserted
that the human Jesus was rewarded for a good life by being raised from the dead.
However, this aberrant Christology ignored all the texts about His
pre-existence, such as John 1:1; Phi. 2:6-11; Col. 1:15-17; and Heb. 1:2-3.
Jesus has always existed; He has always been divine; He was incarnated in time.

▣ “the light” Light is an ancient
metaphor of truth and purity (cf. v. 18; Isa. 9:2; 42:6-7).

▣ “to the Jewish people and to the
Gentiles” There is only one gospel for both groups (cf. Eph. 2:11-3:13).
This was the mystery that had been hidden from the ages, but is now fully
revealed in Christ. All humans are made in the image of the one creator God (cf.
Gen. 1:26-27). Genesis 3:15 promises that God will provide salvation for fallen
humanity. Isaiah affirms the universality of the Messiah (e.g., Isa. 2:2-4;
42:4,6,10-12; 45:20-25; 49:6; 51:4; 52:10; 60:1-3; and also Mic. 5:4-5).

NASB (UPDATED) TEXT: 26:24-29
²⁴While Paul was saying
this in his defense, Festus said in a loud voice, “Paul, you are out of your
mind! Your great learning is driving you mad.” ²⁵But Paul
said, “I am not out of my mind, most excellent Festus, but I utter words of
sober truth. ²⁶For the king knows about these matters, and I speak to
him also with confidence, since I am persuaded that none of these things escape
his notice; for this has not been done in a corner. ²⁷King Agrippa,
do you believe the Prophets? I know that you do.” ²⁸Agrippa
replied to Paul, “In a short time you will persuade me to become a
Christian.” ²⁹And Paul said, “I would wish to God, that
whether in a short or long time, not only you, but also all who hear me this
day, might become such as I am, except for these chains.”

26:24 “Festus said in a loud voice”
Paul’s message was unbelievable to him. His world-view and culture, education,
and position biased his ability to understand.

▣ “Your great learning is driving you
mad” In a roundabout way this shows the depth, clarity, and
persuasiveness of Paul’s defense.

26:25 “of sober truth” The Greek term
sōphrosunē comes from two Greek words, “sound” and “mind.” They mean a
balanced approach to life and thinking. It is the antonym of “out of your mind”
and “mad” (cf. v. 24).

▣ “the truth” See Special Topic below.

SPECIAL TOPIC: “TRUTH” IN PAUL’S WRITINGS

26:26-28 “the king knows about these matters”
There has been much discussion about these verses. Apparently Paul wanted to use
Agrippa II to confirm his testimony and if possible bring him to acceptance of
its truth. Verse 28 could be translated, “Do you want me to be a Christian
witness?”

26:26 “I speak to him also with confidence”
Luke often uses this term in Acts, it is always connected with Paul (cf.
9:27,28; 13:46; 14:3; 18:26; 19:8). It is usually translated “speaking with
boldness” (cf. I Thess. 2:2). This is one of the manifestations of being
Spirit-filled. It was the object of Paul’s prayer request in Eph. 6:20. Gospel
proclamation with boldness is the Spirit’s goal for every believer.

▣ “for
this has not been done in a corner” Peter made this same assertion again
and again to his first hearers in Jerusalem (cf. 2:22,33). The facts of the
gospel were verifiable and historical.

26:27 Paul knew that Agrippa was
knowledgeable of the OT. Paul is claiming that his gospel message was clearly
discernable from OT Scriptures. It was not a “new” or “innovative” message! It
was fulfilled prophecy.

26:28

NASB“In a short time you will
persuade me to become a Christian”
NKJV“You almost persuade me to become a Christian”
NRSV“Are you so quickly persuading me to become a
Christian”
TEV“In this short time do you think you will make me
a Christian”
NJB“A little more, and your arguments would make a
Christian of me”

There is a lexical option about how
to understand oligō (meaning small or little), “in a short time” (NASB,
NRSV, TEV), or “with little effort” (NKJV, NJB). This same confusion is also
present in v. 29.

There is also a textual variant related to this phrase: “to do” or “to make”
(poieō) in the manuscripts P⁷⁴, א, A (UBS⁴ gives it
an “A” rating), or “to become” in MS E and the Vulgate and Peshitta
translations.

The meaning in the larger context is obvious. Paul wanted to present the
gospel in such a way that those who knew and affirmed the OT (Agrippa) would be
brought under conviction or at the least, affirm the relevance of these OT
prophecies.

▣
“Christian” The people of “the Way” (followers of Christ) were first
called Christians at Antioch of Syria (cf. 11:26). The only other place this
name appears in Acts is on the lips of Agrippa II, which means the name had
become widely known.

26:29 “I would wish to God” Verse 29
is a partial Fourth class conditional sentence (an
with the optative mood), which expresses a desire that
might remotely come to reality. It is usually a prayer or wish. Paul wished all
of his hearers, Roman and Jewish, would come to faith in Christ like himself.

NASB (UPDATED) TEXT: 26:30-32
³⁰The king stood up and the
governor and Bernice, and those who were sitting with them, ³¹and
when they had gone aside, they began talking to one another, saying,
“This man is not doing anything worthy of death or imprisonment.” ³²And
Agrippa said to Festus, “This man might have been set free if he had not
appealed to Caesar.”

26:30 How did Luke get this
information? It was a private conversation between governmental leaders (and
their families).

1. a servant have heard this and passed it on to Luke?

2. Luke assumes what they said by subsequent statements

3. Luke uses this opportunity to reinforce his literary purpose of showing
that neither Paul or Christianity is a threat to Rome

26:31-32 “This man might have been set free
if he had not appealed to Caesar”
This shows one of Luke’s major purposes in writing Acts, which was to show that
Christianity was not treasonous to Rome. This is a
second class conditional sentence which makes a false assertion to
accentuate a truth. This man might have been set free (which he was not) if he
had not appealed to Caesar (which he did).

DISCUSSION QUESTIONS

These discussion questions are provided to help you
think through the major issues of this section of the book. They are meant to be
thought-provoking, not definitive.

1. How is this defense different from the defense before Festus and Felix?

2. How does Paul’s personal testimony fit into his overall defense?

3. Why was a suffering Messiah so alien to the Jews?

4. Why is verse 28 so difficult to interpret?

5. How does the discussion of Festus, Agrippa and Bernice (vv. 30-31) fit
into Luke’s overarching literary purpose in Acts?

ACTS 27

PARAGRAPH DIVISIONS OF MODERN TRANSLATIONS

UBS⁴	NKJV	NRSV	TEV	NJB
Paul Sails for Rome	The Voyage to Rome	The Voyage to Malta	Paul Sails for Rome	The Departure for Rome
27:1-8	27:1-8	27:1-8	27:1-6	27:1-3
				27:4-6
	Paul’s Warning Ignored		27:7-8	27:7-8
27:9-12	27:9-12	27:9-12	27:9-12	27:9-12
The Storm at Sea	In the Tempest		Storm at Sea	Storm and Shipwreck
27:13-20	27:13-38	27:13-20	27:13-20	27:13-20
27:21-26		27:21-26	27:21-26	27:21-26
27:27-32		27:27-32	27:27-32	27:27-32
27:33-38		27:33-38	27:33-38	27:33-38
The Shipwreck	Shipwrecked on Malta		The Shipwreck
27:39-44	27:39-44	27:39-44	27:39-41	27:39-41
			27:42-44	27:42-44

READING CYCLE THREE (from “A Guide
to Good Bible Reading“)

FOLLOWING THE ORIGINAL AUTHOR’S INTENT AT THE PARAGRAPH LEVEL

1. First paragraph

2. Second paragraph

3. Third paragraph

4. Etc.

CONTEXTUAL INSIGHTS

A. Luke had a vast knowledge, covering sailing (A. T. Robertson, Word
Pictures in the New Testament, vol. 3, p. 456, says Luke used nine compounds
with pleō, to sail) as well as literature, medicine, history and
theology. Here is a list of technical, nautical terms and phrases

1. sailed (cf. 13:4; 14:26; 20:15;27:1)

2. under the shelter of (cf. 27:4,7)

3. weighed anchor (cf. 27:13)

4. euraquilo (cf. 27:14)

5. face the wind (cf. 27:15)

6. running under the shelter of (cf. 27:16)

7. undergirding (cf. 27:17)

8. sea anchor (skeuos) (cf. 27: 17

9. ship’s tackle (skeuēn) (cf. 27:19)

10. soundings (cf. 27:28[twice])

11. athoms (cf. 27:28[twice])

12. four anchors from the stern (cf. 27:29,40)

13. the ropes of the rudders (cf. 27:40)

14. hoisting the foresail to the wind (cf. 27:40)

15. tacking (MSS P⁷⁴, א, A, cf. 28:13)

B. One older book that has been such a help to commentators is James Smith’s
The Voyage and Shipwreck of St. Paul, 1848.

C. This trip to Rome was attempted at a dangerous time of the year for
sailing (cf. 27:1,4,7,9,10,14). Usually November-February was the most dangerous
time to travel, with a two to three week marginal period before and after. The
regular grain shipments to Rome took ten to fourteen days, but because of the
wind direction the return could take sixty days.

D. There are three different, possibly four, ships mentioned in this passage

1. a coastal ship which stopped at every port and hugged the coastline.

2. two Egyptian grain ships that ferried grain from Egypt to Italy

3. possibly a barge trip between Naples to a landing 43 miles south of Rome

It is interesting to follow Luke’s account of this voyage on a map of the
Mediterranean.

WORD AND PHRASE STUDY

NASB (UPDATED) TEXT: 27:1-8
¹When it was decided that we
would sail for Italy, they proceeded to deliver Paul and some other prisoners to
a centurion of the Augustan cohort named Julius. ²And embarking in an
Adramyttian ship, which was about to sail to the regions along the coast of
Asia, we put out to sea accompanied by Aristarchus, a Macedonian of
Thessalonica. ³The next day we put in at Sidon; and Julius treated
Paul with consideration and allowed him to go to his friends and receive care. ⁴From there we put out to sea and sailed under the shelter of Cyprus
because the winds were contrary. ⁵When we had sailed through the sea
along the coast of Cilicia and Pamphylia, we landed at Myra in Lycia. ⁶There
the centurion found an Alexandrian ship sailing for Italy, and he put us aboard
it. ⁷When we had sailed slowly for a good many days, and with
difficulty had arrived off Cnidus, since the wind did not permit us to go
farther, we sailed under the shelter of Crete, off Salmone; ⁸and with
difficulty sailing past it we came to a place called Fair Havens, near which was
the city of Lasea.

27:1
“When it was decided that we would sail for Italy” Festus sent them at a
dangerous time of the year for sailing. The “we” refers to Paul and Luke
(possibly others). Most of the “we” sections of Acts have a sailing component
(cf. 16:10-17; 20:5-15; 21:1-18; 27:1-28:16).

▣ “some other prisoners” We do not
know anything about them except they were imperial prisoners heading for Rome.

▣ “centurion” These men are always
presented in positive terms in the NT (cf. Matt. 8; Luke 7; 23:47; Acts 10; and
Paul’s trials, 21-28).

▣ “of the Augustan cohort” They were
thought to be official couriers between Rome and the provinces (cf. W. M Ramsay,
St. Paul the Traveler and Roman Citizen, pp. 315, 348), but this is only
undocumented supposition before Emperor Hadrian (a.d.
117-138).

27:2
“an Adramyttian ship” This was a small coastal ship which stopped at
every port. The home port of this ship was the seaport of Mysia in Asia Minor.
This is the first stage of the long and dangerous trip to Rome.

▣ “Aristarchus” His home was in
Thessalonica; possibly he was returning home (cf. Acts 19:29; 20:4; Col. 4:10;
Philemon 24). He may have been accompanied by Secundas (cf. 20:4 and some
western Greek manuscripts of this verse).

27:3
“Sidon” This is a Phoenician city about sixty-seven miles north of
Caesarea. It was the ancient capital of Phoenicia, but had long since been
eclipsed by Tyre.

NASB“with consideration”

NKJV, NRSV “kindly”
TEV“was kind”
NJB“was considerate”

This is a compound term from “love” (philos)
and “humanity” (anthrōpos). The term is used twice in Acts, the
noun in 28:2 (cf. Titus 3:4) and the
adverb here in 27:3. Julius was a compassionate person (somewhat
surprising for a Roman occupational soldier). He probably had heard about Paul’s
case.

▣ “his friends” This probably refers
to the Christians there. Julius trusted Paul, but possibly a Roman guard went
with him.

▣
“receive care” The text does not specify what kind of attention
(emotional, physical, financial).

27:4 “under the shelter of Cyprus”
This is a confusing phrase because it makes English readers think “south of
Cyprus,” but in reality, it meant north. The other names mentioned are on the
southern and western coast of modern Turkey.

27:6 “Alexandrian ship sailing for Italy”
This was a larger ship (276 people on board plus huge amounts of grain) from
Egypt on her way to Rome. Moderns know of these large ships from pictures on the
walls of Pompeii and from Lucian’s writings, around
a.d 150. Myra was the major port for these large grain ships.

27:7 “Cnidus” This was a free maritime
city on the southwest coast of the Roman province of Asia. Most Rome-bound ships
used this port (cf. Thucydides, Hist. 8.35). It had two harbors because
it was located on a peninsula.

▣
“Salmone” This was a city on the eastern tip of the island of Crete.
Because of the time of the year they tried to work their way west by sailing
close to the island.

27:8 “Fair Havens” This is a bay near
the southern city of Lasea on Crete. It is not a harbor, but a bay. It would
have been difficult to stay here all winter.

NASB (UPDATED) TEXT: 27:9-12
⁹When considerable time had
passed and the voyage was now dangerous, since even the fast was already over,
Paul began to admonish them, ¹⁰and said to them, “Men, I
perceive that the voyage will certainly be with damage and great loss, not only
of the cargo and the ship, but also of our lives.” ¹¹But the
centurion was more persuaded by the pilot and the captain of the ship than by
what was being said by Paul. ¹²Because the harbor was not suitable
for wintering, the majority reached a decision to put out to sea from there, if
somehow they could reach Phoenix, a harbor of Crete, facing southwest and
northwest, and spend the winter there.

27:9 There were certain times of the
year (winter months) when the rapid movement of storm fronts and wind directions
made sailing dangerous in the Mediterranean.

▣ “the fast” This refers to the Day of
Atonement (cf. Leviticus 16). It is the only fast day mentioned in the writings
of Moses. This would make the voyage sometime between September and October.
October was the marginal period for sea travel.

▣ “Paul began“ This is an Imperfect tense which can refer to (1)
continuous action in past time or (2) the beginning of an action. In context
option #2 is best.

27:10 Paul issues a strong and
specific warning. However, in reality, this did not occur. Was Paul giving his
personal opinion (“I perceive”), or did God change His mind and decide to spare
the people on board (cf. v. 24)?

27:11

NASB“the pilot and the captain”
NKJV“the helmsman and the owner”
NRSV“the pilot and the owner”

TEV, NJB “the captain and the owner”

This phrase denotes two separate people.

1. the pilot (kubernētēs), which refers to the helmsman, the one who
steers the ship (cf. Rev. 18:17)

2. the captain (nauklēros, compound of “ship” [naus] and “to
inherit” or “a lot” [klēros]), although the word could mean “ship owners”
(cf. F. F. Bruce, The Book of Acts, p. 507, quotes Ramsay, St. Paul
the Traveler, p. 324, who quotes Inscriptiones Graecae, 14.918). Its
use in the Koine Papyri is “captain.” The exact difference between these two
terms is uncertain (cf. Louw and Nida,
Greek-English Lexicon, vol. 1, p. 548 vs. Harold Moulton, The
Analytical Greek Lexicon Revised, p. 275), but probably on a ship of this
size (Alexandrian grain ship) there were several levels of leaders, as well as
regular sailors.

27:12 “if” This is a
fourth class conditional sentence. Those who made the decision to sail
knew it would be dangerous but thought they could make it.

▣
“Phoenix” This is a harbor on the southern shore of Crete, westward of
Fair Havens. There is some doubt from ancient sources about its exact location
(Strabo, Geography, 10.4.3 vs. Ptolemy, An Egyptian Geography
3.17.3). They were still sailing close to the shore along the southern coast of
Crete.

▣
“facing southwest and northwest” Apparently at Phoenix there were two
towns separated by a piece of land jutting into the sea. One harbor would be
favorably related to winds from one direction and the other favorably related to
winds from the other direction. The time of year determined which harbor was
best.

NASB (UPDATED) TEXT: 27:13-20
¹³When a moderate south wind
came up, supposing that they had attained their purpose, they weighed anchor and
began sailing along Crete, close inshore.
¹⁴But before very long there rushed down from the land a violent
wind, called Euraquilo; ¹⁵and when the ship was caught in it
and could not face the wind, we gave way to it and let ourselves be
driven along. ¹⁶Running under the shelter of a small island called
Clauda, we were scarcely able to get the
ship’s boat under control. ¹⁷After they had hoisted it up,
they used supporting cables in undergirding the ship; and fearing that they
might run aground on the shallows of Syrtis, they let down the sea anchor
and in this way let themselves be driven along. ¹⁸The next day as we
were being violently storm-tossed, they began to jettison the cargo; ¹⁹and
on the third day they threw the ship’s tackle overboard with their own hands. ²⁰Since neither sun nor stars appeared for many days, and no small storm
was assailing us, from then on all hope of our being saved was gradually
abandoned.

27:14

NASB, NRSV “a violent wind”
NKJV“a tempestuous wind”
TEV“a very strong wind”
NJB“a hurricane”

This Greek word is tuphōn (typhoon) + ikos (like). This was a
sudden, very violent wind. It was probably intensified by the 7,000 foot
mountains on Crete.

NASB“Euraquico”
NKJV“Euroclydon”

NRSV, TEV “the northeaster”
NJB“the north-easter”

This was a special name the sailors
had given for this type of wind during this season. It is made up of (1) a Greek
term, “east wind” (euros) and (2) a Latin term “north wind” (aquilo).
It was a strong, sudden northeast wind.

Because this became a technical nautical term (eukakulōn), it was
misunderstood by later scribes who altered it in several ways to try to make the
context make sense.

27:15 “could not face the wind”
Ancient ships had eyes painted on each side of the bow. Later human or animal
figures were placed on the bow (cf. 28:11). Even today we personify ships as
females. This phrase is literally “against” (anti) plus “eye” (ophthalmos).
They could not head the ship into the wind.

27:16
“Clauda” This small island is about fifty miles off the southern coast of
Crete. They were now helpless in the face of a strong northeastern wind. They
took advantage of the brief shelter from the wind to do what they could to
prepare the ship for rough seas.

There are several Greek manuscript variants as to the name of this island.

1. Kauda, MSS P⁷⁴, א², B

2. Klauda, MSS א^*, A

3. Klaudēn, MSS H, L, P, and many later minuscule manuscripts

4. Gaudēn, the Greek text used by Jerome

5. Klaudion, some minuscule manuscripts

UBS³ and UBS⁴ give #1 a “B” rating (almost certain).
The first two options may be the Greek form and the Latin form of the name.

▣ “to get the ship’s boat under
control” This refers to a smaller boat in tow (cf. vv. 30, 32). This
trailing boat formed a drag which made it difficult to steer the larger ship.

27:17 “used
supporting cables in undergirding the ship” This refers to wrapping
special ropes around the hull to help hold it together in storms (cf. Aristotle,
Rhetoric 2.5.18).

▣ “the shallows of Syrtis”
These are moving sand bars off the coast of northern Africa. They were called
Syrtis Major and Syrtis Minor (cf. Pliny, Nat. Hist. 5.4,27). They were
the graveyard of many a sailing ship. To avoid the Syrtis Major the sailors
steered the ship sideways, so as to drift slowly southward.

▣ “sea
anchor” The key to properly interpreting this context is the term
“lowered.” What did they lower: (1) a sea anchor or (2) part of the sail? The
purpose was to slow the ship down, but at the same time allow some control.

A sea anchor is not an anchor that gripped the bottom, but a parachute-like
sheet which used the weight of the water it contained to slow down the ship from
drifting southward (cf. old Latin text and NASB, NRSV, and NJB).

There are several English translations which translate this as “lower the
sail” (cf. NKJV, TEV, NJB, and Peshitta in English). The Greek term literally
means “a thing” (cf. Louw & Nida, Greek-English Lexicon, vol. 2, p. 223)
and must be interpreted in light of a specific context. There are several
specific papyrii texts which use it for a sail (cf. Moulton & Milligan, The
Vocabulary of the Greek Testament, p. 577). If so, they lower part of the
sails but not all of them. They had to retain some control and attempt to travel
sideways as slowly as possible.

27:18-19 This shows how violent and
dangerous this storm seemed to these seasoned sailors (cf. 20).

27:18 “jettison the cargo” This act
shows that these sailors were truly afraid for their lives.

27:19
“the ship’s tackle” Exactly to what this refers is unknown, possibly the
main sail and its rigging. The term is ambiguous. This very same term refers to
the sea-anchor, or part of the sails, in v. 17.

27:20 “neither sun nor stars appeared for
many days” This phrase apparently reveals that they had no clue as to
where they were. They were afraid of the coast of north Africa, but they could
not tell how close they were (cf. v. 29). Without stars or the sun they could
not navigate or discern their position.

▣
“from then on all hope of our being saved was gradually abandoned” This
sets the stage for Paul’s encouragement based on his previous vision (cf. vv.
21-26). Their resources were gone!

NASB (UPDATED) TEXT: 27:21-26
²¹When they had gone a long
time without food, then Paul stood up in their midst and said, “Men, you ought
to have followed my advice and not to have set sail from Crete and incurred this
damage and loss. ²²Yet now I urge you to keep up your courage,
for there will be no loss of life among you, but only of the ship. ²³For this very night an angel of the God to whom I belong and whom I
serve stood before me, ²⁴ saying, ‘Do not be afraid, Paul; you must
stand before Caesar; and behold, God has granted you all those who are sailing
with you.’ ²⁵Therefore, keep up your courage, men, for I believe God
that it will turn out exactly as I have been told. ²⁶“But we must run
aground on a certain island.”

27:21 “they had gone a long time without
food” There are at least three possible meanings in relation to v. 33:

1. maybe they were seasick from the violent, protracted storm

2. they were praying and fasting for the religious purpose of being spared
(i.e., pagan ritual, cf. v. 29)

3. they were so busy trying to save the ship, eating became a lesser issue

▣ “you
ought to have followed my advice” This is Paul’s “I told you so!” It
provided Paul the opportunity to act as the Spirit’s spokesman.

27:22 “but only of the ship”
Notice the use of dei in v. 26. See full note on dei at 1:16. It
is used three times in this chapter (vv. 21,24,26).

27:23 “an angel of the God” Several
times Jesus or an angel appeared to Paul to encourage him (cf. 18:9-10;
22:17-19; 23:11; 27:23-24). God had an evangelistic plan and purpose for Paul’s
life (cf. v. 26; 9:15) and a storm was not going to stop it.

27:24 “Do not be afraid, Paul” This is
a present middle (deponent)
imperative
with the negative participle which
usually means stop an act already in process (cf. Acts 23:11; Pro. 3:5-6).

▣ “God has granted you all those who are
sailing with you” This first
verb is a
perfect middle
(deponent) indicative. God had a
plan and purpose for Paul’s ministry (cf. 9:15; 19:21; 23:11). He must (dei)
witness in Rome before her governmental and military leaders.

Paul’s life and faith impacted the destiny of his companions. This same
extension of grace can be seen in Deut. 5:10; 7:9; I Cor. 7:14. This does not
remove personal responsibility, but accentuates the potential influence of
believing family, friends, and co-workers.

27:25 Paul’s admonition of v. 22, “to
keep up your courage,” a present infinitive, is repeated, “keep up your
courage,” which is a present active imperative.

▣ “for
I believe God” Paul’s encounter with the living Christ enabled him to
trust God’s word (“it will turn out exactly as I have been told”
perfect passive indicative). Faith
is the hand that receives the gifts of God—not only salvation, but providence.

Robert B. Girdlestone, Synonyms of the Old Testament has a great
statement and quote from Romaine, Life of Faith.

“We now approach the N.T. with a clear distinction between faith on the one
hand, and trust and hope on the other. Faith is the taking God at His word,
while trust and patience and also hope are the proper fruits of faith,
manifesting in various forms the confidence which the believer feels. A message
comes to me from the Author of my existence; it may be a threat, a promise, or a
command. If I take is as ‘yea and amen,’ that is Faith; and the act which
results is an act of amunah or
faithfulness God. Faith, according to Scripture, seems to imply a word, message,
or revelation. So the learned Romaine says in his Life of Faith:—‘Faith
signifies believing the truth of the Word of God; it relates to some word spoken
or to some promise made by Him, and it expresses the belief which a person who
hears it has of its being true; he assents to it, relies upon it, and acts
accordingly: this is faith.’ Its fruit will vary according to the nature of the
message received, and according to the circumstances of the receiver. It led
Noah to build an ark, Abraham to offer up his son, Moses to refuse to be called
the son of Pharaoh’s daughter, the Israelites to march round the walls of
Jericho. I believe God that it shall be even as it has been told me—this is a
picture of the process which the Bible calls faith” (pp. 104-105).

For “believe” see Special Topic at 2:40; 3:16; and 6:5.

NASB (UPDATED) TEXT: 27:27-32
²⁷But when the fourteenth
night came, as we were being driven about in the Adriatic Sea, about midnight
the sailors began to surmise that they were approaching some land.
²⁸They took soundings and found it to be twenty fathoms; and a
little farther on they took another sounding and found it to be fifteen fathoms. ²⁹Fearing that we might run aground somewhere on the rocks, they cast four
anchors from the stern and wished for daybreak. ³⁰But as the sailors
were trying to escape from the ship and had let down the ship’s boat into
the sea, on the pretense of intending to lay out anchors from the bow, ³¹Paul
said to the centurion and to the soldiers, “Unless these men remain in the ship,
you yourselves cannot be saved.” ³²Then the soldiers cut away the
ropes of the ship’s boat and let it fall away.

27:27 “the fourteenth night” This time
fits exactly the distance covered in their drifting configuration (i.e., sea
anchor). They traveled 476 miles at 36 miles per 24-hour period.

▣ “Adriatic Sea” This refers to the
south central Mediterranean (Adria). It does not refer to the Adriatic Sea of
our day.

▣ “began to surmise that they were
approaching some land” They possibly heard the breakers or saw certain
birds or fish.

27:28 “sounding” This is from the verb that means “to heave the lead,” which
refers to dropping a weighted rope, marked to denote the depth of the water.

▣
“fathom” This was the space between the arms outstretched. It denoted the
measurement used by sailors to express the depth of the water.

27:29 It was still dark. They did not
know exactly where they were. They wanted to slow down or stop the ship’s
approach to land until they could see where the ship was heading.

27:30 These sailors were not men of
faith. They would do whatever they could to save themselves.

27:31 There were some conditions (third class conditional sentence) connected to
Paul’s updated vision and God’s promise.

▣
“saved” This is the OT sense of physical deliverance (cf. James 5:15).
Knowing Paul, these sailors, soldiers, and fellow passengers also heard the
gospel, which brings the NT sense of the term spiritual salvation. What a
tragedy to be saved from physical death to die an eternal death!

NASB (UPDATED) TEXT: 27:33-38
³³Until the day was about to
dawn, Paul was encouraging them all to take some food, saying, “Today is the
fourteenth day that you have been constantly watching and going without eating,
having taken nothing. ³⁴Therefore I encourage you to take some food,
for this is for your preservation, for not a hair from the head of any of you
will perish.” ³⁵Having said this, he took bread and gave thanks to
God in the presence of all, and he broke it and began to eat. ³⁶All
of them were encouraged and they themselves also took food. ³⁷All of
us in the ship were two hundred and seventy-six persons.
³⁸When they had eaten enough, they began to lighten the ship
by throwing out the wheat into the sea.

27:34 “not a hair from the head of any of you
will perish” Paul uses words similar to Jesus’ words (cf. Luke 12:7;
21:18). This was a Hebrew idiom of protection (cf. I Sam. 14:45; II Sam. 14:11;
I Kgs. 1:52).

27:35 This does not refer to the
Lord’s Supper, but it does show Paul’s faith, even in the midst of crisis.
Paul’s faith influenced others (cf. v. 36).

27:37
“two hundred and seventy-six”
This includes crew and passengers.

1. Manuscript B (fourth century) has “76”

2. MSS א (fourth century) and C (fifth century) have “276”

3. Manuscript A (fifth century) has “275”

4. All modern English translations have 276

UBS⁴ gives it a “B” rating (almost certain).

27:38 This was a large grain ship from
Egypt. They had already thrown overboard all other cargo and rigging (cf. v.
18).

NASB (UPDATED) TEXT: 27:39-44
³⁹When day came, they could
not recognize the land; but they did observe a bay with a beach, and they
resolved to drive the ship onto it if they could. ⁴⁰And casting off
the anchors, they left them in the sea while at the same time they were
loosening the ropes of the rudders; and hoisting the foresail to the wind, they
were heading for the beach. ⁴¹But striking a reef where two seas met,
they ran the vessel aground; and the prow stuck fast and remained immovable, but
the stern began to be broken up by the force of the waves. ⁴²The
soldiers’ plan was to kill the prisoners, so that none of them
would swim away and escape; ⁴³but the centurion, wanting to bring
Paul safely through, kept them from their intention, and commanded that those
who could swim should jump overboard first and get to land, ⁴⁴and the
rest should follow, some on planks, and others on various things from the
ship. And so it happened that they all were brought safely to land.

27:39 They could still control the
ship to some degree (cf. v. 40).

There is a Greek manuscript variant related to “drive the ship onto it” (cf.
MSS א, A, B²) and “land the ship safely” (cf. MSS B^*
and C). These two words sound very similar (exōsai vs.
eksōsai). Ancient Greek manuscripts were often read by one and copied by
many. Similar sounding terms were often confused.

27:40 These reefs along the shore
caused many a ship wreck. In this case a reef developed where the ocean waves
and the bay waters met.

NASB, NKJV,

NJV “rudders”

NRSV, TEV “steering-oars”

This refers to the dual rudders,
which were typical on larger ships. James 3:4 uses this same word for “rudder.”

▣ “the
foresail” This is a rare term, but it must refer to a small sail on the
bow (cf. Juvenal, Sat. 12.69).

27:42
“The soldiers’ plan was to kill the prisoners” If they escaped the
soldiers would have had to bear their penalty!

27:43 Paul’s words, faith, and actions
had convinced the leader of the Roman contingent to trust him and protect him.

DISCUSSION QUESTIONS

These discussion questions are provided to help you
think through the major issues of this section of the book. They are meant to be
thought-provoking, not definitive.

1. Luke’s account of Paul’s sailing to Rome has many nautical technical
terms. What is the implication of this?

2. Why is v. 20 so theologically significant?

ACTS 28

PARAGRAPH DIVISIONS OF MODERN TRANSLATIONS

UBS⁴	NKJV	NRSV	TEV	NJB
Paul on the Island of Malta	Paul’s Ministry on Malta	Paul in Malta	In Malta	Waiting in Malta
28:1-10	28:1-10	28:1-6	28:1-6	28:1-6
		28:7-10	28:7-10	28:7-10
Paul Arrives at Rome	Arrival at Rome	The Journey to Rome	From Malta to Rome	From Malta to Rome
28:11-15	28:11-16	28:11-15	28:11-15	28:11-14
			In Rome	28:15-16
28:16		28:16	28:16
Paul Preaches in Rome	Paul’s Ministry at Rome	Paul and the Jews of Rome		Paul Makes Contact with the Roman Jews
28:17-22	28:17-31	28:17-22	28:17-20	28:17-20
			28:21-22	28:21-22
				Paul’s Declaration to Roman Jews
28:23-29		28:23-29	28:23-27	28:23-27
				(26-27)
			28:28	28:28
		Conclusion	28:29	Epilogue
28:30-31		28:30-31	28:30-31	28:30-31

READING CYCLE THREE (from “A Guide
to Good Bible Reading“)

FOLLOWING THE ORIGINAL AUTHOR’S INTENT AT THE PARAGRAPH LEVEL

1. First paragraph

2. Second paragraph

3. Third paragraph

4. Etc.

WORD AND PHRASE STUDY

NASB (UPDATED) TEXT: 28:1-6
¹When they had been brought
safely through, then we found out that the island was called Malta. ²The
natives showed us extraordinary kindness; for because of the rain that had set
in and because of the cold, they kindled a fire and received us all. ³But
when Paul had gathered a bundle of sticks and laid them on the fire, a viper
came out because of the heat and fastened itself on his hand.
⁴When the natives saw the creature hanging from his hand, they
began saying to one another, “Undoubtedly this man is a murderer, and though
he has been saved from the sea, justice has not allowed him to live.”
⁵However he shook the creature off into the fire and suffered no
harm. ⁶But they were expecting that he was about to swell up or
suddenly fall down dead. But after they had waited a long time and had seen
nothing unusual happen to him, they changed their minds and began to say
that he was a god.

28:1
“they had been brought safely through” This is the term sōzō (cf.
27:31) with dia prefixed. It was used regularly for someone reaching
safety (cf. 23:24; 27:44; 28:1,4). Luke even uses it for physical healing in
Luke 7:3.

The aorist passive participle
shows that Luke attributed the safety as being provided by God (passive
voice) according to His word (cf. 27:21-26).

▣ “Malta” The Phoenician sailors also
called this island Melita, which was a Canaanite term that meant “refuge.” This
was originally a Phoenician colony. It is located between Sicily and North
Africa. It is only eighteen miles long and eight miles wide, but its location
afforded great maritime commercial value. It has several good harbors.

28:2 “natives” This is literally
“barbarians.” This is not a derogatory title, but simply refers to anyone who
did not speak Greek or Latin.

NASB“extraordinary kindness”

NKJV, NRSV,
NJB“unusual kindness”
TEV“were very friendly”

This intensified phrase has the term
philanthrōpos, which is literally “lover of men” as in 27:3. The specific
care and provision given by the natives was because they saw Paul’s miraculous
encounter with a serpent on the beach. This, and other miraculous acts (cf. vv.
7-10), opened the door for evangelism! Paul always had a mind toward gospel
proclamation (cf. I Cor. 9:19-23).

28:3
“Paul had gathered a bundle of sticks” This really shows Paul’s humility.
He worked along with all the others. No elitism since the road to Damascus!

▣ “a viper. . .fastened itself on his hand”
This term’s basic meaning is “to attach.” It can mean “a bite” or “coiled
around.”

28:4
“the creature” This term for “creature” became the medical term for
poisonous snakes (cf. 10:12).

▣ “justice has not allowed him to live”
“Justice” or “Fate” was the name of one of their gods. They were expressing the
irony of the situation, similar to Amos 5:19. Verse 6 shows that the native
islanders were superstitious polytheists.

28:6 These islanders had personal
experience with the snakes on the island. Their radical change of attitude is
similar to the pagan reactions to the miraculous in Acts 14:11-13.

▣ “to
swell up” This is one of many medical terms used by Luke (cf. v. 8). It
is found only here in the NT.

NASB (UPDATED) TEXT: 28:7-10
⁷Now in the neighborhood of
that place were lands belonging to the leading man of the island, named Publius,
who welcomed us and entertained us courteously three days. ⁸And it
happened that the father of Publius was lying in bed afflicted with
recurrent fever and dysentery; and Paul went in to see him and after
he had prayed, he laid his hands on him and healed him. ⁹After this
had happened, the rest of the people on the island who had diseases were coming
to him and getting cured.
¹⁰They also honored us with many marks of respect; and when we were
setting sail, they supplied us
with all we needed.

28:7 “the leading man” This word means
some type of governmental official, literally, “the first” (cf. 13:50; Luke
19:47, “of people”; 16:12, “of a city”). It has been found in two inscriptions
on this island, one Greek and one Latin. Rome had allowed this island self-rule
and at some point, full Roman citizenship.

28:8 “lying in bed afflicted with
recurrent fever and dysentery” Malta was known for its fever which
came from microbes in their goats’ milk.

▣ “laid his hands on him and healed him”
See Special Topis: Laying on of Hands at 6:6.

28:9 Both of these
verbs are
imperfect, which implies repeated
or continuing action in past time (indicative
mood). They kept coming. God kept healing them through Paul.

The Greek verb behind the
English translation “getting cured” is
therapeuō, from which we get the
English “therapy.” The term can be used for “service” as well as “healing.” Only
a specific context can determine which one is appropriate.

NASB (UPDATED) TEXT: 28:11-15
¹¹At the end of three months
we set sail on an Alexandrian ship which had wintered at the island, and which
had the Twin Brothers for its figurehead. ¹²After we put in at
Syracuse, we stayed there for three days. ¹³From there we sailed
around and arrived at Rhegium, and a day later a south wind sprang up, and on
the second day we came to Puteoli. ¹⁴There we found some
brethren, and were invited to stay with them for seven days; and thus we came to
Rome. ¹⁵And the brethren, when they heard about us, came from there
as far as the Market of Appius and Three Inns to meet us; and when Paul saw
them, he thanked God and took courage.

28:11 “an Alexandrian ship” This was
probably another large grain ship going to the Bay of Naples from Egypt (cf.
27:6,38).

▣ “ship which had wintered at the island”
The Mediterranean Sea was too stormy to navigate during the winter months. The
shipping lanes opened back up in late February or March.

▣ “the Twin Brothers for its figurehead”
This refers to Zeus’ twin sons, Caster and Pollox. They were the patrons of
sailors in the Roman pantheon. Poseidon had given them power and control over
wind, waves, and storms. Their special constellation was Gemini. Apparently
there was a carving of them on the bow, two little elf-like men.

28:12 “Syracuse” This was the
principal city of Sicily located on the eastern coast. This port was eighty
miles north of Malta.

28:13 “sailed around” The ancient
uncial manuscripts א (Siniaticus), and B (Vaticanus) have “weighing anchor,”
which was a technical sailing term (so characteristic of Luke), but other
ancient manuscripts P⁷⁴, א^c, and A have “passing by,” like
16:8.

▣ “Rhegium” This is the city at the
southwestern tip of Italy.

▣ “Puteoli” This was the grain
importing center for Rome in the Bay of Naples. They traveled about 180 miles in
two days.

28:14 “There we found some brethren”
There were existing Christian congregations in Italy (cf. v. 15) and Rome who
embraced Paul.

28:15 “Market of Appius” This was the
end of the barge trip from the south of Italy and the beginning of the great
Roman highway called the Appian Way. It was forty-three miles to Rome.

▣ “Three Inns” This was a rest stop
about thirty-three miles from Rome.

▣ “Paul. . .took courage” Paul
apparently had become discouraged again. He seems to have been prone to this.
Jesus appeared to him personally several times to encourage him.

NASB (UPDATED) TEXT: 28:16
¹⁶When we entered Rome, Paul
was allowed to stay by himself, with the soldier who was guarding him.

28:16 “When we entered Rome” This was
not the way Paul expected to come to Rome. But, this was God’s way to arrange
for Paul to speak to the Roman governmental, military, and religious leaders.

▣ “Paul was allowed to stay by himself with
the soldier who was guarding him” Paul was placed under house arrest. The
testimony of the officer who brought him was instrumental in this decision.

NASB (UPDATED) TEXT: 28:17-22
¹⁷After three days Paul called
together those who were the leading men of the Jews, and when they came
together, he began saying to them, “Brethren, though I had done nothing
against our people or the customs of our fathers, yet I was delivered as a
prisoner from Jerusalem into the hands of the Romans. ¹⁸And when they
had examined me, they were willing to release me because there was no ground for
putting me to death. ¹⁹But when the Jews objected, I was forced to
appeal to Caesar, not that I had any accusation against my nation. ²⁰For
this reason, therefore, I requested to see you and to speak with you, for I am
wearing this chain for the sake of the hope of Israel.” ²¹They said
to him, “We have neither received letters from Judea concerning you, nor have
any of the brethren come here and reported or spoken anything bad about you. ²²But we desire to hear from you what your views are; for concerning this
sect, it is known to us that it is spoken against everywhere.”

28:17
“Paul called together those who were the leading men of the Jews” This
was Paul’s standard approach (cf. Rom. 1:16; 2:9). He explains his current
circumstances and opens the door for a gospel presentation.

28:18-19 Here again Luke’s apologetic
purpose can be clearly seen! Christianity was not a threat to the Roman
government.

28:19 “the Jews objected” This
phraseology seems strange spoken to Jewish leaders in Rome. Luke uses
Ioudaios (Jews) in two senses.

1. nationality – 2:5,11; 9:22; 10:22,28; 11:19; 13:56; 14:1; 16:1,3,20; 17:1;
17:10,17; 18:2,4,5,19; 19:10,17,34; 20:21; 21:21,39; 22:3,12; 24:5,9; 24:24,27;
25:8,9,24; 20:7; 28:17

2. those who had eyewitness knowledge of the last week of Jesus’ life – 2:15;
10:39

He also used it in different evaluations.

1. in a negative sense – 9:23; 12:3,11; 13:45,50; 14:2,4,5,19; 17:5,13;
18:12,14,28; 19:13,14,33; 20:3,19; 21:11,27; 22:30; 23:12,20,27; 24:19;
25:2,7,10,15; 26:2,21; 28:19

2. in a positive sense – 13:43; 14:1; 18:2,24; 21:20

Possibly the best text in Acts which shows the different connotations of this
term is 14:1-2.

28:20 “for the sake of the hope of Israel”
Paul is addressing these Jewish leaders in such a way as to establish a
relationship with his audience. He tries to find a common ground with these
Jewish leaders in “the hope of Israel.” For Paul, that referred to Jesus, for
them, the Promised Coming One, the Messiah or possibly to the resurrection!

28:21 This lack of information about
Paul is surprising in light of Paul’s ministry on three mission journeys and the
events and rumors in Jerusalem.

28:22 It is obvious that the news
about Jesus was spreading and that many were responding to the gospel. In Jewish
circles this was not good news! However, these Jewish leaders were willing to
give Paul a hearing.

▣ “This sect” See Special Topic: Jesus
the Nazarene at 2:22.

NASB (UPDATED) TEXT: 28:23-29
²³When they had set a day for
Paul, they came to him at his lodging in large numbers; and he was explaining to
them by solemnly testifying about the kingdom of God and trying to persuade them
concerning Jesus, from both the Law of Moses and from the Prophets, from morning
until evening. ²⁴Some were being persuaded by the things spoken, but
others would not believe. ²⁵And when they did not agree with one
another, they began leaving after Paul had spoken one parting
word, “The Holy Spirit rightly spoke through Isaiah the prophet to your fathers, ²⁶saying, ‘Go to this people and
say, You will keep on hearing, but will not understand; And you will keep on
seeing, but will not perceive; ²⁷For the heart of this people has
become dull, And with their ears they scarcely hear, And they have closed their
eyes; Otherwise they might see with their eyes, And hear with their ears, And
understand with their heart and return, And I would heal them.‘ ²⁸Therefore
let it be known to you that this salvation of God has been sent to the Gentiles;
they will also listen.” ²⁹[When he had spoken these words, the Jews
departed, having a great dispute among themselves.]

28:23 “they
came. . .in large numbers. . .from morning until evening” Paul explained
the Christian faith to these Jews all day! What a marvelous opportunity.

▣ “the kingdom of God” This was the
central theme of Jesus’ preaching and teaching (parables). It is a present
reality in the lives of believers and a future consummation of God’s reign over
all the fallen earth (cf. Matt. 6:10). This phrase is obviously not related to
Israel only, but it was an integral part of Israel’s hope (cf. v. 20). See
Special Topic at 1:3.

▣ “the Law of Moses and from the Prophets”
This is two of the three divisions of the Hebrew canon (see Special Topic at
13:15 and the note at 24:14) which stood for the entire OT (cf. Matt. 5:17;
7:12; 22:40; Luke 16:16; 24:44; Acts 13:15; 28:23). Paul’s methodology
(Christological typology and predictive prophecy) was to set the OT texts
alongside the life of Jesus.

28:24 This reflects the mystery of the
gospel. Why some believe and some do not is the mystery of a sovereign God and
human free will.

In one sense Paul’s ministry to the Jewish leaders in Rome is a microcosm of
Paul’s ministry. He first shared with the Jews. He shared Jesus’ fulfillment of
OT Scriptures. Some believed, but most did not. This too, was predicted in the
OT (cf. Isa. 6:9-10).

28:25-27
“The Holy Spirit rightly spoke through Isaiah” This reveals Paul’s view
of the mystery of Israel’s unbelief! The quote in verses 26-27 is from Isa.
6:9-10. Jesus used this verse often of human unbelief (cf. Matt. 13:14-15; Mark
4:12; Luke 8:10; John 12:39-40). By this time Paul had already penned Romans
9-11 (why has Israel rejected her Messiah?). Israel of the OT would not/did not
fully believe either. There was a remnant of faith, but a majority of unbelief.

SPECIAL TOPIC: THE REMNANT, THREE SENSES

28:28 “this salvation of God has been sent to
the Gentiles” This may be an allusion to Psalm 67, especially v. 2. This
universal aspect of Christianity is what caused the riot in Jerusalem and was an
ongoing problem for many Jews. This is logical from Gen. 1:26,27; 3:15; 12:3. It
was prophesied in Isaiah, Micah, and Jonah. It is clearly stated as God’s
eternal plan by Paul in Eph. 2:11-3:13! See Special Topic at 1:8.

▣
“they will also listen” This is the truth of Romans 9-11. The Jews
rejected the Messiah because He did not fit their expectations and because the
gospel opened the door of faith to all people.

The NT issue really is not Jew vs. Gentile, but believer vs. unbeliever. The
issue is not who is your mother, but is your heart open to God’s Spirit and
God’s Son?!

28:29 This verse is omitted in the
ancient Greek manuscripts P⁷⁴, א, A, B, and E. It does not appear in
any Greek manuscript before P, which dates to the sixth century
a.d. UBS⁴ rates its
exclusion as “A” (certain).

NASB (UPDATED) TEXT: 28:30-31
³⁰And he stayed two full years
in his own rented quarters and was welcoming all who came to him, ³¹preaching
the kingdom of God and teaching concerning the Lord Jesus Christ with all
openness, unhindered.

28:30 “two full years” This was
possibly

1. the normal period of time required to see the Caesar

2. the time needed to get new papers from Festus

3. the mandatory waiting period for witnesses from Asia or Jerusalem

4. close to the legal statute of limitations

It was during this time that Paul wrote his prison letters (Colossians,
Ephesians, Philemon, and Philippians).

▣ “in his own rented quarters” Paul
had some source of income.

1. he worked at tent making or leather working

2. he was helped by churches (Thessalonica and Philippi)

3. he had some inherited funds

▣
“welcoming” Luke uses this term often with the connotation of “heartily
welcome” (cf. 18:27; 28:30 and paradechōmai in 15:4). It is used of the
crowd welcoming Jesus in Luke 8:40 and 9:11. It is used of welcoming the gospel
as preached by Peter in Acts 2:41.

▣ “all
who came” This was the problem. Paul’s gospel had a universal reach. It
was “good news” for all humans, not just Jews!

28:31 “preaching. . .teaching” The
early, post-apostolic church made a distinction between these two ways of
presenting truth. The

body of sermons recorded in Acts (Peter, Stephen, Paul) is called the
Kerygma (proclamation, cf. 20:25; 28:31; Rom. 10:8; Gal. 2:2; I Cor. 9:27;
II Tim. 4:2), while the teaching of Jesus interpreted in the Epistles is called
the Didache (teaching, cf. 2:42; 5:28; 13:12; Rom. 16:17; I Cor. 14:20).

▣ “the
kingdom of God” This was the subject of Jesus’ preaching. It refers to
the reign of God in man’s hearts now that will one day be consummated on earth
as it has been in heaven. This passage also shows that the topic is not only for
Jews. See Special Topic at 1:3.

▣ “the
Lord” “Lord” is the translation of the Hebrew term adon, which
meant “owner, husband, master, or lord” (see SPECIAL
TOPIC: NAMES FOR DEITY at 1:6). The Jews became afraid of pronouncing the
sacred name YHWH lest they take it in vain and break one of the Ten
Commandments. Whenever they read the Scriptures, they substituted Adon
for YHWH. This is why our English translations use all capitals
Lord for YHWH in the OT. By transferring this title (kurios in
Greek) to Jesus, the NT authors assert His deity and equality with the Father.

▣ “Jesus” “Jesus” is the name given to
the baby in Bethlehem by the angel (cf. Matt. 1:21). It is made up of two Hebrew
nouns: “YHWH,” the covenant name for deity, and “salvation” (i.e., Hosea). It is
the same Hebrew name as Joshua. When used alone it often identifies the man,
Jesus of Nazareth, son of Mary (e.g., Matt. 1:16, 25; 2:1; 3:13,15,16).

▣ “Christ” “Christ” is the Greek
translation of the Hebrew
Messiah (i.e., an Anointed One, see Special Topic at 2:31). It asserts
Jesus’ OT title as YHWH’s promised One sent to set up the new age of
righteousness.

NASB“with all openness,
unhindered”
NKJV“with all confidence, no one forbidding him”
NRSV“with all boldness and without hindrance”
TEV“speaking with all boldness and freedom”
NJB“with complete fearlessness and without any
hindrance from anyone”

This verse shows that the Roman authorities did not consider Christianity
subversive or dangerous. The Greek text ends with the
adverb “unfettered” or “unhinderedly.” This seems to emphasize the
ongoing nature of the task of proclamation
and the power of the Spirit.

Many have assumed, based on Acts 1:1 use of “first,” which implies more than
two, that Luke planned to write a third volume. Some even think that this third
volume may be the Pastoral Letters (I Timothy, II Timothy and Titus).

For the Greek term (parrhēsia), translated “openness” by NASB, see
Special Topic at 4:29.

DISCUSSION QUESTIONS

These discussion questions are provided to help you
think through the major issues of this section of the book. They are meant to be
thought-provoking, not definitive.

1. Why does Acts end with Paul still in prison? Why does it end so abruptly?

2. Why does Luke take so much time in describing Paul’s trip and stay in
Rome?

3. Why did Paul always try to witness to the Jews first?

4. Explain the difference between the Kerygma and Didache.