The Acts of the Apostles 89

Subtitle:  The Things We Think We Need to Do

Acts 26:1-18.  This sermon was preached by Pastor Marty Bonner on January 26, 2025.

We are returning to our series in the book of The Acts of the Apostles.

Paul has been held at Caesarea, the Roman headquarters for Judea, for two years without any movement on his case.  Governor Felix had hoped to be bribed, but that did not happen.  Our story picks up at a point where Caesar has recalled Felix to Rome and appointed a new governor, Porcius Festus.  Gov. Festus was asked by the religious leaders of Jerusalem to bring Paul to Jerusalem for a trial.  Understanding that they intended to assassinate him, Paul appeals his case to Caesar.

This leads to our hearing today.  This is not a trial.  However, King Herod Agrippa II and his sister Bernice are visiting Gov. Felix to welcome him and try to create a good working relationship between their two areas of authority.  Note:  Herod Agrippa II is in charge of the Galilee and areas north of it at this time.  Though he has the title of king at this point, he is not the king of all Israel like his great-grandfather Herod the Great was.

There are at least two purposes to this hearing.  Herod Agrippa II is interested in this curious case of Paul, so Felix favors him with a hearing.  However, Felix is not sure what to put in his letter to Caesar when he sends Paul to Rome.  Felix is hoping that Agrippa will help him to write something that will not make him look incompetent.

At the same time, this event turned into quite the spectacle.  Not only are Gov. Felix, King Agrippa and his sister Bernice there, but the Roman commanders and prominent men of the city have also been invited into this auditorium to observe the questioning led by Agrippa.

Paul makes his case for innocence and for his faith

Throughout the last two years, Paul has always demonstrated and argued that he is innocent of the charges laid against him.  They are baseless.  However, it is clear that this is not Paul’s main focus.  He is also making the case for why he believes in Jesus of Nazareth.  He really is presenting the Gospel of just who Jesus is and what he has done.

Of course, a Roman governor, who is not a Jew, would be unlikely to care about such matters (although not impossible).  However, Agrippa is different.  He is from the Herodian family.  Though they may not be considered exclusively Jewish, they have been in Jewish leadership in one way or another for the last 80 years, and their family converted to the Jewish faith during the Hasmonean rule another 100 years before that.  Agrippa knows the Scriptures and understands Jewish thought regarding the Messiah.  He may not be a strong observant Jew, but he is not a pagan or atheist either.  It will be much easier to make the case without being stuck on foundational issues such as: there is one God, the God of Israel, etc.

Regardless of this dynamic, Paul always defends his faith with the goal that all people everywhere deserve a hearing of the Gospel.  You can never know how God can touch the heart of people.  Thus, the best you can do is faithfully share the Gospel and leave the rest up to Him.

In verse three, Paul recognizes that Agrippa is “an expert in all customs and questions” regarding Jewish things.  He would not see this as “those Jews are fighting again over nonsense.”

Paul also describes himself as “fortunate” to be able to make a defense to Agrippa.  This is the same word that Jesus used in the beatitudes of Matthew 5 (“Blessed are those…).  How many of us would call ourselves “blessed” after we had been: held in prison for two years, trotted out often for questioning in the hopes of a bribe, and brought out again by the new governor for much the same?  Regardless, this hearing won’t change his situation.  It is one authority doing a favor for another authority for personal gain.  Yet, Paul considers himself blessed to have this opportunity.

Now, Paul is just like us.  In his flesh, he could easily be discouraged by these things and give up his faith in God’s loving purpose.  But, he learned to trust God when his life was powerfully changed by Jesus.  Jesus intersected his life, and now, Jesus is intersecting the lives of these men through Paul.  He is the grace of God to this king who is the third generation from the wicked Herod the Great.  If Paul was only following his flesh, he would not have done what he does here.    Yet, he chooses to speak by faith in work and purpose of Jesus.

Paul tells Agrippa (vs. 4-5) that he had come to Jerusalem as a young boy to study Torah under the Pharisees (Rabbi Gamaliel).  He had become an adult there and was quickly rising through the ranks of that group, distinguishing himself as a good Pharisee.  He was, therefore, no ignorant common man who had fallen under the teaching of Jesus of Nazareth.  Everyone in Jerusalem was a witness that he was the quintessential Pharisee and not a follower of Jesus.

Yet, in verse 6, he emphasizes that he is on trial for his faith in God’s promise.  He believes that God has kept the promise to Israel that all Jews say they are waiting for.  What is this promise and the hope put in it?  It is the promise that God would send an Anointed man to fix Israel and send the truth of God to the ends of the earth, a man who would bring all the dispersed of Israel back to the land.  He would also be the one to crush the serpent’s (devil’s) head, giving humanity victory over our ancient enemy.  Paul says in verse 7 that this is why they “serve” God night and day.  This word for serving here is often used of the temple sacrifices and duties of the priests.  It refers to the duties and prescriptions laid out in the Law of Moses.

It was common in those days for some people of Israel to give up on the temple service because they had lost hope in the things promised by God through the prophets.  How many Christians are giving up on serving Jesus because they have lost hope in the things promised by him?  When we assemble ourselves in groups, when we water baptize those who believe and teach them the teachings of Jesus, we are serving the purposes and commands of Jesus in the hope of the things promised by him.

Paul boils it down in verse 8 with the a question.  If God can raise the dead, then why do you think the message of Jesus is incredible?  Why don’t you want to believe that God has done what He said in His Word that He would do?  This is the same question the prophet Isaiah asked over 700 years before in Isaiah 53:1.  “Who has believed our report (i.e., our good news, our gospel)?”

It is interesting to note that the Old Testament records at least three instances where someone was brought back from death.  In 1 Kings 17, Elijah brings back to life the son of the widow of Zarephath that had been helping him.  We are told that “his sickness was so severe that there was no breath left in him.” (1 Kings 17:17),  In 2 Kings 4, Elisha brings back to life the son of the woman of Shunem who had help him whenever he was in the area.  Later, in 2 Kings 13, we have a story of a band of Moabites invading Israel while a man is being buried.  Out of haste, they toss the man’s body into the tomb of Elisha.  The man’s body came back to life once it touched the bones of Elisha.

However, we also have prophecies that speak of the dead coming back to life throughout the prophets.  A case in point would be Daniel 12:2.  “Many of those who sleep in the dust of the ground will awake, these to everlasting life, but the others to disgrace and everlasting contempt.”  This was not something made up by Jesus or his disciples.

Paul hadn’t been a follower of Jesus.  In verse 9, he emphasizes that he thought he had to do many things “hostile to the name of Jesus,” following the claims of resurrection by the disciples.  There is an interesting tension here between Paul’s life of doing what he thought he needed to do, and his later response to the heavenly vision he received on the road to Damascus.  We may not have such a powerful vision ourselves, but salvation at its root is a spiritual encounter with God.  We must never forget that it is the Holy Spirit that convicts people and brings them to a place where they can choose to believe in Christ or not.

He describes all of these hostile things he thought he needed to do: locking the saints in prison, voting for their deaths, trying to force them to blaspheme Jesus, and pursuing them to foreign cities.  We should notice the descriptors that Paul uses of himself: “punished them,” “tried to force them,” “furiously enraged at them,” and “pursuing them.”  This is a man trying to do religion according to the desires of his flesh instead of following the Spirit of God.  There are people today who do the same thing, whether as “Christians” or any other religion and ideology.  They think they need to dismantle what Christ taught and the remnants of that truth throughout our society.  It is easy to treat them as the enemy, but the real enemy is our own heart’s desire to please the flesh and a spiritual enemy who works overtime to draw us away from Jesus, who is the Truth.

At verse 12, Paul turns to the event that changed him.  As he approached Damascus in order to arrest Christians there, he was struck by a light “brighter than the sun” (verse 13).  His whole group was knocked to the ground, and a voice spoke to him in Hebrew.  “Saul, Saul, why are you persecuting me?  It is hard for you to kick against the goads.”

This double address is typically a way of getting someone’s attention, but it is also used to draw emphasis to what is next.  This is similar to the way Jesus says, “truly, truly, I say to you.”  Of course, a person is not being addressed here, but it is clearly underlining the fact that he is giving them absolute truth.  Saul needed to understand (we need to understand) that God had been trying to get his attention along the way, but Saul had been ignoring it.  In fact, it is quite possible that the extremity of his hostile acts has been driven by a fear that he is not sure that these Christians are all that bad.  He has been so used to being seen as the quintessential Pharisee that the idea of waffling on these Christians scares him.  Perhaps, the death of Stephen rattled his faith in the execution of Jesus?  We don’t know the answers to those speculations, but one thing is not speculation.  God had been trying to goad Saul towards faith in Jesus, and Saul had been kicking against it, resisting it.  A goad is a pointed object that sticks out in such a way that an animal pulling a cart or carriage is encouraged to stay in the right position.  If it tries to wrest free of the leather straps it will be poked.  If it kicks against those goads, it will only serve to bring more pain to itself.  This is the picture that Jesus gives to Saul.  He had been spiritually injuring himself due to the ways in which he was kicking against God’s conviction.

When Saul asks the voice, “Who are you, Lord?”  The answer is, “I am Jesus whom you are persecuting.”  Notice that God, Jesus, takes personal affront to the things that are done against His people.  To persecute the saints is to persecute the Lord Jesus.  Yet, Jesus does not want Saul to die and go into eternity lost.  He has been working to get Saul’s attention so that he would repent and believe.

Saul did not only receive grace on that day and in that blinding moment.  No, God had been giving Saul grace all along the way, but Saul had been kicking against it.  Saul became a believer that day.

Yet, Jesus had a job for Saul to do.  Jesus tells Saul to get up and prepare to do this job.  In verses 16-18 18, Jesus tells Saul that he is sending him to be a minister to Jews and Gentiles.  He will witness to them of things past (the life, death and resurrection of Jesus), but also things present. God would deliver him from the persecution of other Jews like himself and from the Gentiles.  Why?  Paul tells of the reasons in verse 18.

Paul’s job would be to open their eyes to the truth.  Another way of saying this is shared next, to “turn [them] from darkness to light.”  He would help them to get out from under the “dominion of Satan” and “to God.”  They would receive “forgiveness of sins” and an “inheritance among those who have been sanctified by faith in Me.”  This is the grace of Jesus to Saul, but also the grace of Jesus through him to all those who would cross his path, like Agrippa.

Do you see that God wants to set you free from the dominion of Satan?  Do you see that you have an inheritance among the people of God that is both in this life and in the life of eternity to come?  In fact, Jesus wants to use you as a channel of His grace to others.  You may not go on to do all the same things that Saul of Tarsus, i.e., Paul, went on to do.  However, God will help you and use you as you put your faith in Him, say what he gives you to say and do what he give you to do.  May God help us to stop doing what we think we need to do, and start listening to Jesus about what we need to do.  This will make all the difference in your life!

Need to Do audio

The Acts of the Apostles 42

Subtitle: A Tale of Two Visions

Acts 10:1-16.  This sermon was preached by Pastor Marty Bonner on Pentecost Sunday, May 28, 2023.

Jesus in John 16:12-15 told his disciples that he had much more to say to them, but they would not be able to bear it, or handle it at that time.  However, he promised that the Spirit of Truth, the Holy Spirit, would come and teach them everything that they needed to know.  He would guide them into all truth- at least, all the truth that they would need.

These apostles are often referred to as the early leaders of the Church, but let us recognize up front that Jesus is the true leader of the Church.  The Apostles and any subsequent leaders are simply helpers, servants of the Lord, in his leadership.

In our passage today, we will be given a glimpse at what it looked like for the Spirit of Truth to lead the early Church.  The issue at hand was the status of Gentiles who would be coming to faith in Jesus.  What exactly did they need to do in order to become Christians?  Did they need to first adopt Judaism and its requirements and then believe on Jesus?

The book of Acts from chapter 10 to 15 gives a resounding, "No," to this question.  All of this features the Holy Spirit teaching the apostles.

Let's look at our passage.

The vision of a Gentile named Cornelius (v. 1-8)

As Peter continued to minister in Joppa, Luke brings our attention to a Gentile in Caesarea named Cornelius.  This city was 40 miles north on the coast of the Mediterranean Sea, and it was the headquarters for Rome's operations in the area, hence the name, Caesarea.

Cornelius is an officer in one of the Roman Legions, particularly the Italian Regiment, or Cohort.  He is a centurion, which generally means a command of 100 men or less (depending on losses in battle).  Of course, such a profession would not put Cornelius on the "nice list" with most Judeans.

Yet, verse 2 tells us that this Cornelius was a devout believer in the God of Israel.  It was not uncommon for there to be Gentiles who were sympathetic towards, and even convinced of the God of Israel as the One True God.  Most of them, however, did not want to be circumcised and officially become attached to Israel.  This created a group of people that were referred to as "God-fearers."  They were uncircumcised, but followed many of the customs and worship of Israel.

We are also told that Cornelius was very generous in alms, or charitable giving.  He had donated to particular issues that would help the people of Israel.

On this particular day, we are told that it was the ninth hour, or 3:00 pm.  Verse 30 will tell us later that he was praying and fasting.  This would be at the time of the evening sacrifice in Jerusalem.  All of this pictures a man who is worshiping God in Spirit and in truth.

Of course, prayer is a relationship with God, which begs the question.  What is his status with God?  We will talk more on this later.

As Cornelius is praying, he has a vision of an angel coming into the room.  A vision is commonly distinguished from a dream.  It is used of a person who is not asleep, and yet, sees something that may be as real as a dream, i.e., a day-dream.  It is a real spiritual interaction.  However, a vision is generally distinguished from an actual physical manifestation.  He mentally sees and hears the message of the angel.  If someone else had been there, they would not have seen or heard the angel.

Though Cornelius is startled, he addresses the angel with, "What is it, lord?"  Again in verse 30, he tells us that "a man stood before me in bright clothing."  This is common in biblical text.  Heavenly angels generally look like men when they appear to people.  However, something makes it clear that it is not an earthly messenger.  Here, the clothing of the man is glowing, he has a message that is from God, and it would not be easy for a mortal to slip into Cornelius' room.  There was no doubt it was an angel.

The angel tells Cornelius that his prayers and alms have come before God as a memorial.  That is important to note.  Whatever his status, God was taking notice of his prayers and charitable works.  The term "memorial" is a reference to a kind of sacrifice.   This can be seen in Revelation 8:4 where we see the heavenly temple.  Incense is burned before God along with "the prayers of the saints" by angels.  It is not clear exactly how this is done.  However, the truth is shown that the prayers of the saints are before God continually.

Of course, God doesn't need incense offered  with their prayers.  He sees it all.  Thus, the importance is a demonstration to the heavenly beings that humans are praying unto God, and that God is receiving their prayers.

I believe that his status was much like Abram's.  Yes, he is a gentile and is not in complete conformity to the Law of Moses.  Yet, he is approaching God in faith, and God is responding with grace.

We should note that Cornelius is not praying to see an angel.  He already has a lot of God's grace as he has heard the truth of God, and is serving near Israel.  Rather, it was in the midst of his being faithful to God in prayer that God said, "that's my man." 

The angel is not so much a response to good worship and prayer, but as a fulfillment of the purposes of God.  This was just the sort of man that the Lord would use to help the Church to understand that Gentiles were to be saved just like Judeans.  God's grace comes to us in many different ways.  It is not ours to worry about the way, but rather, it is ours to be thankful for whatever ways the grace of God materializes.

When you pray, you may feel like nothing big is happening.  However, at the least, your prayers are coming before God.  If you are discouraged in prayer because you want something specific to happen, be careful that you are not complaining about the grace of God you already have.  God has a timing for everything, and we can be guilty of overlooking the grace that He is already giving us each and every day.

Cornelius is then told to send to Joppa for a Simon Peter who was staying with Simon the Tanner.  Peter would then tell him what he "must do."

Couldn't the angel have told him what to do?  Yes, of course, the angel could have.  God Himself could do everything in the universe while we all stand on the sidelines cheering, "Go, God!"  But, God isn't looking for a cheerleader to cheer Him on.  That may stroke your ego, but God is looking for a bride who will join Him in the field of work.

It was important that an apostle of Jesus be involved in this critical juncture of Gentiles coming into the Church.  Though Paul would become the main apostle to the Gentiles, Peter would be an important link in convincing the Jerusalem Church that God was saving Gentiles too.  He would be critical in establishing what the status of Gentiles coming to Christ would be.

Though it was afternoon, Cornelius immediately calls two of his household along with a soldier who is also a devout believer from his personal detail.  He tells them the task and sends them to Joppa in order to fetch Simon Peter.

Let us note how important it is to respond to the promptings of the Lord as quickly as we can.  All of us can think of times where we were dilatory with the leading of God's Spirit.  God doesn't generally send angels to speak to us, though He can do so at any time.  Typically the Holy Spirit prompts us in our heart and mind as we pray.  The person who is devoutly praying to God will receive instruction from Him from time to time.  We need to be in a relationship with Jesus where we are seeking his leading, and responding quickly to the leading that He gives.  Don't be lazy, and don't be resistant, or rebellious.

Peter has a vision (v. 9-16)

As the men from Cornelius approach Simon the Tanner's house, Peter also has a vision around noon.  These two visions are basically the same, but they would hit those who first heard about it as a contrast.  Peter is a Jew, devout, and an apostle of Jesus.  Of course, we can picture him having a vision.  However, Cornelius is not a Jew nor a follower of Jesus.  Yet, the same God is working in them both for His singular purpose.

Peter is praying and becomes extremely hungry.  It appears that this has been made known to the house and they are fixing some food.  Meanwhile, he continues to pray on the roof of the house.  I don't know if God caused him to be hungrier than usual, but regardless, He uses Peter's hunger to emphasize a command that will be important in regards to Cornelius.

Verse 10 tells us that Peter "fell into a trance."  The difference between a trance and a vision is nothing.  They are the same thing described from two different angles.  The word "vision" focuses on the fact that he sees something.  It is the experience from the view of the person who sees it.  The word "trance" focuses on the fact that his mind is elsewhere at the time.  It is the experience from the view of a person watching the one having the vision.  In fact, in Acts 11:5, Peter will describe this event with both words.  He will say, "in a trance, I saw a vision."

The vision was of a sheet that is bound up on all the four corners creating a sling.  It is let down from heaven before him and is filled with unclean, or non-kosher, animals.  Unclean animals are such that the Law of Moses proscribed from being eaten by the people of Israel, and from being offered up as a sacrifice to Yahweh.

Of course, it is not the contents of the sheet that are the problem, but the content of the command that is given to him next.  Peter is told to rise up, kill and eat.  This picture is going to occur three times.  Peter protests that he had never eaten such animals before.  It appears that he also has no desire to do so even though he is quite hungry. 

God knew that he would respond this way, and He intends to use this to hammer home a point Peter needs to understand.  Before we get into the point, we should touch base on this whole issue of unclean and common as opposed to that which was clean and holy.

We often use unholy to mean something morally bad, but the foods themselves were not morally bad.  To be holy simply means that something, or someone, is set apart for a particular purpose of God.  To be unholy simply meant to be a thing, or one, that is not set apart for a particular purpose of God.  Israel was a holy nation.  They had been called to do a particular, special duty for God among the nations.  The other nations were unholy, or common.  Yet, within the nation of Israel, there were particular people who were called to serve as priests in the temple.  In this area, the priest would be holy, but the other Israelites would be common.  The same could be said of a temple bowl.  A common bowl could be used for any purpose you like.  It wasn't holy.  However, a bowl that had been consecrated to God's work in the temple could not be used for a common purpose.  Even among the priests, only one man could go into the Holy of Holies once a year.  None of the common priests could perform the work of the high priest.

At this point, it is important to note that the clean and unclean animals served an important purpose in Israel.  Yet, now God was directly connecting the concept of unclean animals versus clean animals with the concept of unclean peoples (i.e., Gentiles) and clean people (i.e., Israel).

Let me interject at this point that I run into people who make a big deal out of Christians changing the laws of the Old Testament.  Or, they will say something like God said it was bad and then He changed His mind and said it was good.  They underlying accusation is that God is whimsical or Christians are hypocritically changing the bible.  Neither are true.

Note what God says to Peter's protest.  "What God has cleansed you must not call common."  Do you see that.  Something has changed from the days of Moses to the vision of Peter.  God has actively "cleansed" these foods.  How did He do that?  The death and resurrection of Jesus fulfilled all the requirements of the Old Covenant.  God would now establish a New Covenant with the remnant of Israel and whosoever will of the Gentile nations.  It was no longer necessary under the New Covenant to continue a restriction on foods because the truth that they pictured was now changed.  Gentiles were no longer considered common because of the work of Jesus.

Let's be clear here.  Common and holy here have to do with the ability to approach God and have our sins dealt with.  Yes, we can speak of the holiness of one who has had their sins removed.  But, the Old Testament had an additional concept of being able to approach the altar of the Lord and offer sacrifices for your sins.  Gentiles could not do this under the Old Covenant because they were unclean.  Now, through the work of Jesus, they have been made acceptable to enter God's presence and be cleansed.  This is not a whimsical or hypocritical change.  It is a very real sacrifice done once and for all by God's Anointed One, Jesus.

Under the New Covenant, Christians can eat any food without fear of defilement.  All foods are cleansed by the work of Jesus.  However, this is also a picture of the reality that any person from any tribe, tongue, or nation, can come to God in faith and be accepted at His altar.  There is no longer any distinction between a Jewish Christian or a Gentile Christian, other than heritage.

There is a sense of warning in this command, "you must not call common."  If God makes something holy, then no one should treat it as unholy, common.  This would apply to Jewish Christians like Peter who would tend to shrink away from treating Gentiles as completely clean in Christ.  However, it would also apply to the Corinthian Christians who were taking the Gospel of Jesus and the Gifts of the Spirit, and using them in a defiled way, unholy way.  Such people often have an attitude that says, "Jesus has paid the price so all things (i.e., even sin) are clean to us now."  Such a thing must not be done.  It is important for the Church to uphold this truth in a day and age that is transgressing this on both sides.

Do you believe that God is working in your life as He was in Peter's life, or Cornelius' life?  Yes, the scope of what God is doing is greater in them.  You may not see an angel, or even have a vision.

However, we need to recognize that as we are praying and serving Jesus, there comes times when He speaks to our heart and mind.  It might be something that you are intimidated by, or afraid to do.  It might be something that you are even unsure about.

This is why God has given us His Word, His Spirit, and a body of believers with the Gifts of the Spirit distributed as He wills.  Peter had great spiritual gifts placed in his life in order to help the early Church and even us today through the word.  We may not all experience everything that Peter did, but we are all the beneficiaries of what God did through him and the other apostles.

It is not the vision, or angelic visitation, that we should be seeking.  Rather, it is the purpose and presence of the Lord Jesus Himself that is our desire.  The help of the Holy Spirit is always happening and available for those who are seeking Him.  However, it is up to God the particular ways that His grace is given to us.  Let us be a people who are used of God to further His work of saving Gentiles and Jews in these last days!

Two Visions audio