Acts 26:1-23
When Paul is given an opportunity to speak before King Agrippa concerning the charges for which he was being held he offered what one commentator claims was a “model defense of Christianity” (New Oxford Annotated Bible NRSV, p. 198 NT n.). “…And so I stand here,” Paul said, “testifying to both small and great, saying nothing but what the prophets and Moses said would take place…” (Acts 26:22). In other words, why wouldn’t the Jews accept his preaching about Jesus and the resurrection since they themselves have been waiting for generations to see these very events?
Why indeed? Yet the Jewish leaders resist Paul’s message about the Messiah in part because Jesus did not act the way they thought the Messiah would. They were looking for glory, a restoration of Israel, a dominant national presence. Jesus offered none of that, instead telling his followers to take up their crosses and follow him in faithful obedience. To some this was not a word about the Messiah, this was a story about a wimp. In no way would the leaders of Israel accept this message as long as it included the death of God. But Paul was right. This was nothing new, and if the leaders of the people had simply listened with their hearts they, too, would have understood.
But they didn’t. And what about us? How carefully are we listening to Paul? How much do we even want to understand about this man Jesus? Wouldn’t we rather trust our own opinions, our own assumptions about what God is doing than to follow after Jesus, a convicted blasphemer who died on a cross? Maybe, but Paul is persistent and the truth continues to dawn in our world and in our lives. The one we follow died, yes, and was raised again. We’ve heard it a million times. Maybe it’s time we actually began to believe it, fully, and to trust what God is doing in our world.
Prayer: Lord, help us to believe the good news of the gospel, the stories we’ve heard over and over again, with all our hearts and minds. Amen.
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