Day 1 · Paul’s Testimony to Agrippa
Acts 26:1–15
1Agrippa said to Paul, “You have permission to speak for yourself.” Then Paul stretched out his hand and began his defense: 2“King Agrippa, I consider myself fortunate to stand before you today to defend myself against all the accusations of the Jews, 3especially since you are acquainted with all the Jewish customs and controversies. I beg you, therefore, to listen to me patiently. 4Surely all the Jews know how I have lived from the earliest days of my youth, among my own people and in Jerusalem. 5They have known me for a long time and can testify, if they are willing, that I lived as a Pharisee, adhering to the strictest sect of our religion. 6And now I stand on trial because of my hope in the promise that God made to our fathers, 7the promise our twelve tribes are hoping to realize as they earnestly serve God day and night. It is because of this hope, O king, that I am accused by the Jews. 8Why would any of you consider it incredible that God raises the dead? 9So then, I too was convinced that I ought to do all I could to oppose the name of Jesus of Nazareth. 10And that is what I did in Jerusalem. With authority from the chief priests I put many of the saints in prison, and when they were condemned to death, I cast my vote against them. 11I frequently had them punished in the synagogues, and I tried to make them blaspheme. In my raging fury against them, I even went to foreign cities to persecute them. 12In this pursuit I was on my way to Damascus with the authority and commission of the chief priests. 13About noon, O king, as I was on the road, I saw a light from heaven, brighter than the sun, shining around me and my companions. 14We all fell to the ground, and I heard a voice say to me in Hebrew, ‘Saul, Saul, why do you persecute Me? It is hard for you to kick against the goads.’ 15‘Who are You, Lord?’ I asked. ‘I am Jesus, whom you are persecuting,’ the Lord replied.
Berean Standard Bible
Observe
According to verses 9–11 and 14–15, who did Paul believe he was opposing, and who did Jesus say Paul was actually persecuting?
Apply
Paul was honest about his past before meeting Jesus. How can acknowledging God's work in your own past give you confidence to share your faith this week?
In the app, each day also opens the words in the original language, what the passage meant to its first readers, pastors teaching it, a place to write, and a time to pray.