Acts 26:28Meaning & Commentary from the Church Fathers

Turning to Agrippa, he called upon him himself as a witness, since he too had to know what had not taken place in secret, but publicly, in Jerusalem.

Firmly convinced that in all this only the predictions of the prophets were being fulfilled, he said to the king: "Surely you believe the prophets. Yes, I know that you believe."

Agrippa, taking these words unfavorably, answered him: "Indeed, in a few minutes you have made me a Christian!"

Then the Apostle, with chains on his hands and conscious within himself of something far greater than all the glory of the world is worth, pronounced these great words: "Would to God that, whether soon or not soon, not only you, O king, but all who hear me today might become what I am, except for these chains."

Therefore, having appealed to the king's knowledge of these events, he also appeals to the king's faith in the prophecies. In the strong emotion of his speech, he expresses this through an unexpected question addressed directly to the king: does he believe the prophets?

And at once he answers himself with confidence: "I know that you believe." Thus the matter is carried into the realm of the king's faith and conscience. As appears from what follows, this deeply troubled him.

A Jew is everywhere a Jew. Agrippa, though raised at the court of the Roman emperor, surely remained a Jew in his soul and, in the depth of his conscience, believed his prophets.

Perhaps he did so without clear awareness and while behaving frivolously before an educated Roman official and his subordinates. Does not the completion under him of the Jerusalem temple, begun by his great-grandfather, testify to this?

It shows that in his soul there was a feeling of Jewish religiosity, though perhaps buried far away. The Apostle's penetrating gaze perceived it and awakened it so powerfully that the king was troubled, especially in these circumstances.

In other circumstances, this appeal to the king's conscience might have had a different outcome. But now he was before the Roman governor of the province.

This governor regarded him, in his convictions, not as a Jew, but as a good pagan, alien to "Jewish superstitions" (see note on Acts 25:19). He also stood before other educated Romans.

How, then, could he admit that he believed the prophecies? And so the awakened feeling of the Jew is forcibly suppressed by a false fear and shame of appearing such before educated Romans.

It passes into hypocrisy and bursts out in a worldly, frivolous witticism: "You almost, just barely, persuade me to become a Christian."

Then he adds: 'except for these chains.' He said this not because he was burdened by the chains or ashamed of them. On the contrary, he counted them as glory for himself.

Everywhere in his epistles he sets them above all else. Thus he says: 'I suffer trouble, even to the point of chains, as an evildoer; but the word of God is not bound' (2 Tim 2:9).

Such is a soul winged by heavenly love. See: he who boasted in chains and displayed them as a golden chain now prays that they may not be.

But do not marvel at this. The hearers were still weak, and his speech was adapted to them by condescension to the weakness of the hearers."

The chains were Paul's praise (see Eph 3:1; Eph 4:1; Phil 2:17). Yet, of course, he did not wish all Christians to be always in chains.

By the grace of God we bear the priceless name of Christians. Yet, unfortunately, this same "little" that prevented Agrippa from being a Christian also prevents us from walking the path of saving faith.