Following the event in chapter 25, Paul started to speak for himself before King Agrippa, Festus, and other people. This defense is no doubt another sermon of Paul. He told the crowd how he was taught to be a Pharisee, how he attacked the name of Jesus and persecuted those who believed in Him, and how he met Jesus and receive a vision on his way to Damascus. Paul recounted all his experiences to the crowd and testified for Jesus’s crucifixion and resurrection for our sins. If we believe in Jesus and confess our sins in front of Him, we will be forgiven.
Paul said to King Agrippa, “I was not disobedient to the vision from heaven.” Actually, Paul was saying this to us as well. Have we received any vision from heaven, and yet failed to obey it? Paul hold on to the vision God had given him; he never gave up or yielded, instead, he was persistent in the mission God had entrusted him. God knew Paul would be afraid, so He reminds us, throughout the entire Bible, “be not afraid.” We need to practice to cast fear out of our hearts through God’s words and the support of our brothers and sisters.
Paul emphasis over and over again that Jesus had resurrected. God removed the fear of death from us by sending His son to this world to be crucified for us. We are no longer bounded by death, and we are released from the fear of death.
In this sermon, Paul also stated that the first part of his life had seemed wonderful to him, and he had always thought that he had been doing the right thing. However, after he met Jesus, he realized he had used his passion for the wrong end. Brothers and sisters, have we also put our lives in the wrong place? Have we wasted our enthusiasm for the unimportant things? As Christians, we are given great responsibilities. These responsibilities may seem difficult and we may not be able to fulfill them, but God says that our yoke is easy and our burden is light, because God, with his power and grace, will help us achieve great things beyond our imaginations.
We can see from King Agrippa’s response to Paul that he is very proud. As for Festus, he said Paul was insane because of his disbelief. They both lost the glory of the Gospel because of their obstinacies.
May we all be crazy about God like Paul. Let us put God in the first place of our lives. May we hold awe toward God at all times. May we become God’s army and fight the good fight for Him.
