Speak for Yourself

Acts 26:1 Then Agrippa said to Paul, "You are permitted to speak for yourself." So Paul stretched out his hand and answered for himself: 2 "I think myself happy, King Agrippa, because today I shall answer for myself before you concerning all the things of which I am accused by the Jews, 3 especially because you are expert in all customs and questions which have to do with the Jews. Therefore I beg you to hear me patiently.

If you were asked to speak for yourself, what might you say?

Now, imagine being asked to speak for yourself before the king – at risk of your life – and…

Trying to put ourselves in Paul’s place has only been made easy by the passage of time. We sometimes read the Bible dispassionately, dully, without the proper flame of emotion. After all, when we’ve read the Bible through once, we know the end of the story – and knowing the end of the story removes the tension of the story. When we’ve read the Bible through many times, it sometimes gets even worse, especially when it comes to feeling the moment – or making ourselves part of the action.

Here we have Paul in the grand hall, standing in his rags or prison uniform before King Herod Agrippa II, a wicked despot currently ruling the land while married to his sister Bernice. (Her brother is her third husband, and she married Agrippa II prior to divorcing her previous husband.)

The governor, (Festus,) who is your judge, is over here, staring at you with mild contempt – at least of class, or perhaps of religion - listening to hear what you might say, and watching your every move. You’ve appealed to Caesar, but does that remove his ability to have you beheaded upon his spontaneous command? Do you really believe your speech is protected, should it be deemed offensive?

And then, there is Bernice, who may well be in contempt of your “self-righteous religious loathing” as she may understand of all the “Jews” who have knowledge of her incestuous relationship with her brother. How would she react? Is she sitting perched on the throne next to her husband with a sneer – looking for the opportunity to have you hang yourself by your words? Will she hold sway over Agrippa?

And Agrippa wants to hear what you have to say for yourself - as a curiosity - not as a legal defense. He simply wants to know: Who is this man? Again, what would you say? How would you edit yourself? All of this grandeur, all of these assembled people, all of this power – and every bit of it is focused on the response you are about to make…

Welcome to the world of Christian testimony. You may now speak for yourself. What will you say?

- Pastor Bill