ALONE WITH GOD------

Heralds of the Messiah Part 2

CHAPTER SIXTEEN

Paul's Arrest and Trial before Agrippa. We now turn to the 26th chapter of the Acts. The scene presented to us is in a Roman court. The prisoner in chains, accused by his countrymen, is none other than the beloved and battle scarred veteran of the cross, the apostle Paul. He is charged with sedition, that is, "of exciting tumult and working against the government." (Webster). Thus we read in Ch. 24:5, "We found this fellow a mover of sedition among the Jews throughout the world, and a ringleader of the sect of the Nazarenes." This is almost identical with the charge the Jews brought against Christ. It was based, no doubt, on Paul's teaching and preaching the kingdom of God and that Jesus Christ is King, to which we referred in Acts 17:7. Of course, if Paul meant that Christ was going to establish an earthly kingdom eventually, the charge would have been valid and he would have been liable to a sentence of imprisonment or even death.

In Ch. 26:6, 7 we read, "And now I stand and am judged for the hope of the promise made of God unto our fathers; unto which promise our twelve tribes instantly serving God day and night, hope to come. For which hope's sake King Agrippa, I am accused of the Jews." Paul declared his faith in the promises God made to the fathers. He asserted that he was accused of the Jews because he believed the promises were fulfilled in the death and resurrection of Christ, whereas the Jews looked for a fulfillment of a different character. It is unthinkable that Paul could have been preaching about a kingdom offering a future restoration of the Jewish nation and of the supremacy over the nations of the world as God's chosen people, for that is the very thing they themselves hoped for. They would not have persecuted him for that. In fact the Romans would have had grounds to convict him of sedition had he been teaching that doctrine.

How Paul Interpreted the Promises. In his own matchless defense Paul testified how Christ came into his life and transformed him from a murderous exterminator of the Christian faith to its foremost champion. He admitted that at one time he shared the view of his accusers, but that when he was enlightened, he could no longer accept their carnal interpretation of the promises. He repeated his heavenly call to preach the gospel to the Gentiles, his God-given message, "To open their eyes and to turn them from darkness to light, and from the power of Satan to God, that they might receive forgiveness of sins, and inheritance among them which are sanctified by faith." Ch. 26:18. This gospel, Paul affirmed, translates from the kingdom of Satan into the kingdom of God, a kingdom we enter by faith when we receive the forgiveness of sins. Col. 1:13, 14. Preaching this message Paul claimed was "Saying none other than those which the prophets and Moses did say should come, that Christ should suffer and that he should be the first to rise from the dead and shew light unto the people, (Jews) and to the Gentiles," (i.e. all others) in other words, to all the families of the earth. Had Paul believed any other fulfillment of the promises possible, he certainly would have declared it when he was thus on trial for his life.

Paul conducted his defense in such a manner that the Roman judge would have exonerated him of the charge of sedition were it not for the Jews clamoring for his death. In his own words he said (in Acts 28:17, 18) "I was delivered prisoner from Jerusalem into the hands of the Romans, who, when they had examined me would have let me go because there was no cause of death in me." This amounted to saying that the kingdom of God did not conflict with the Roman rule.

Despite the Roman verdict, the Jews insisted so vehemently upon Paul's death that he was forced to appeal to Caesar, (Acts 25:11), a privilege granted to any Roman citizen. He was accordingly shipped to Rome in chains, bound as he said, for the hope of Israel, Ch. 28:20. His first act was, to call the Jews of Rome together and for days he "Expounded and testified the kingdom of God, persuading them concerning Jesus both out of the law of Moses and out of the prophets." V.23. Note again, that the kingdom of God and Jesus as the Messiah, is the "hope of Israel." And that proclamation is the fulfillment of the promises as prophesied by Moses and the prophets.

Some of the Jews believed Paul but the majority rejected his testimony, thus fulfilling the prophecy of Isa. 6:9, 10. "Hearing ye shall hear and shall not understand; and seeing ye shall see and not perceive. For the heart of this people is waxed gross…their eyes have they closed…Lest they should be converted, and I should heal them." Acts 28:25-27. The blessing of Christ as taught by Isaiah, referred to conversion, and Israel's failure to embrace the promises, was an act of the heart and mind for which they were accountable. They rejected their Hope. Verse 28 says, "Be it know unto you, therefore, that the salvation of God is sent unto the Gentiles and that they will hear it."

Summary of Paul's Message. Paul leaves the earthly scene, "Preaching the kingdom of God and teaching those things which concern the Lord Jesus." Ch. 28:31. His journeys have meant more to the world than the tramp of Caesar's legions. We learn that the kingdom of God offered to the Jews is the same as the one offered to the Gentiles, and the Hope of Israel is the Hope of the entire world.

The Acts of the Apostles begins with the resurrected Saviour teaching His disciples concerning the Kingdom of God and promising them the Holy Spirit to guide them into all the truth. No book in the Bible testifies so eloquently to the prominence of the Holy Spirit. Nowhere is the preaching of the kingdom of God more evident, nor the appeal to the Old Testament fulfillment more insistent. Here we are confronted with the Holy Sprit's own interpretation of the Old Testament prophecies. Finally, the last act of Christianity's greatest advocate, shows Paul still "Preaching the kingdom of God in all confidence, no man forbidding him." Acts 28: 31. Inasmuch as this preaching was done at the very seat of Caesar's government, under the careful scrutiny of Caesar's guard, it is imperative to conclude that the kingdom of God as taught by Paul is the reign of Christ in the hearts of men as opposed to the reign of Satan. It is worthy of note also, to compare Acts 28: 20, 28, 31 where the terms, "Hope of Israel," "Kingdom of God," and "Salvation of God," are used interchangeably. It has the familiar ring of harmony with the message, which Christ Himself proclaimed when He said, "The kingdom of heaven is at hand, repent and believe the Gospel." Mark 1:15.