Acts 26:1-7 - You have permission to speak

26:1-3

We now get another example of Paul “giving his testimony” before rulers. This one is the most detailed of Paul’s explanations. Agrippa invites Paul to speak, Festus having given Agrippa charge of the hearing. Unlike Festus, Agrippa was well acquainted with Jewish customs. He had charge of the temple and could appoint the high priest. So Paul wants to explain things to him carefully.

26:4,5

Paul again starts with his beginnings. Right from the beginning he had been brought up and lived as a committed Jew, going on to become a Pharisee. The Pharisees were the strictest  Jewish sect, seeking, in their own terms, to strictly adhere to the Law.  All this was something that the Jews could readily attest to if they were honest.

26:6,7

The Jews regarded Paul, along with other Jewish Christians, as a heretic, an enemy of the Law. However, Paul claims quite the opposite. The gospel is the fulfilment of the Law, it is all entirely consistent with the Law. The gospel is God’s fulfilment of the promises He had made to their ancestors. All the Jews knew that the promises in the Old Testament, especially those given by the prophets, had not been fully fulfilled. So Paul’s argument is that he is being accused because he is acting as a true Jew!