Acts 26:9–18 (ESV)
“I myself was convinced that I ought to do many things in opposing the name of Jesus of Nazareth. And I did so in Jerusalem. I not only locked up many of the saints in prison after receiving authority from the chief priests, but when they were put to death I cast my vote against them. And I punished them often in all the synagogues and tried to make them blaspheme, and in raging fury against them I persecuted them even to foreign cities.
“In this connection I journeyed to Damascus with the authority and commission of the chief priests. At midday, O king, I saw on the way a light from heaven, brighter than the sun, that shone around me and those who journeyed with me. And when we had all fallen to the ground, I heard a voice saying to me in the Hebrew language, ‘Saul, Saul, why are you persecuting me? It is hard for you to kick against the goads.’ And I said, ‘Who are you, Lord?’ And the Lord said, ‘I am Jesus whom you are persecuting. But rise and stand upon your feet, for I have appeared to you for this purpose, to appoint you as a servant and witness to the things in which you have seen me and to those in which I will appear to you, delivering you from your people and from the Gentiles—to whom I am sending you to open their eyes, so that they may turn from darkness to light and from the power of Satan to God, that they may receive forgiveness of sins and a place among those who are sanctified by faith in me.’”
Here, Paul uses a clever modern briefing technique—get the audience’s head moving up and down (nodding in agreement) before raising difficult issues. This produces a sort of “vertical momentum” that helps to put the audience on your side. Paul begins by testifying to things Agrippa probably knows about—and if he doesn’t, he can easily check. This lays a credible foundation for the next part.
Then Paul tells the amazing tale of what happened on the road to Damascus. It’s fantastic, but Paul has set it up well. Besides, it doesn’t make sense as a lie; it’s useless as a defense. It almost qualifies as “too much information.” Paul is just recounting something that he thinks is really interesting.
But it is really interesting, if it’s true. That’s the thing about miracles; they’re either the greatest things ever, or they’re evidence that you’re losing it. Here, that leads to a wondrous irony. You might think that the question of Paul’s sanity puts pressure on Paul. Not at all. Paul goes with option A—miracles were the greatest things ever. He’s as relaxed as a puppy sleeping on his master’s lap.
The pressure is on Agrippa and Festus. Either Paul is nuts (and he sure doesn’t act nuts) or he’s telling the truth. They either have to change their minds about Paul, or they have to change their minds about Christ.
What a hoot. This hearing is supposed to put Paul on the spot. After all, he’s the one on trial. Instead, he’s got Agrippa and Festus squirming in their seats. His lack of fear about his situation has turned the tables.
Fear is the enemy of evangelism. Many Christians freeze up when they get a chance to share Christ. Why?
Because we lack experience. We need to learn to be more comfortable, more natural when talking about what we know.
Just get that vertical momentum going and you’re good.
