Acts 26:1

"And Agrippa said unto Paul, Thou art permitted to speak for thyself. Then Paul stretched forth his hand, and made his defense"Agrippa" Pronounced. grip uh. This man was known as Agrippa II. He was the son of Agrippa I, the same man who had been responsible for the death of James (Acts 12:1), and the persecution of Christians. Agrippa's father had died in A.D. 44 (Acts 12:20). In A.D. 50 the emperor Claudius made Agrippa II king of Chalcis. In 53 A.D. Claudius granted Agrippa the tetrarachy of Philip in exchange for the territory of Chalcis. Shortly after Nero's accession in A.D. 54, he gave Agrippa the Galilean cities of Tiberias and Tarichea and their surrounding land. "Agrippa II's private life was not exemplary. His sister Bernice was. widow after her second husband (and uncle Herod), king of Chalcis, died in A.D. 48. From that date she lived in her brother's house. In an attempt to quiet the rumors of incest she resolved to marry Polemo of Cilicia. But she did not continue long with him and returned to her old relations with Agrippa. The incestuous relationship became the common talk of Rome" (Zond. Ency. p. 144). "Said unto Paul" Indicating that Festus had turned over the investigation to Agrippa. When Agrippa rises (Acts 26:30) that signals the end of the proceedings. "Stretched forth his hand" "Raising his hand in salutation" (Bruce p. 488). Note the detail. "Rendered in this case still more impressive by the chains which hung upon his arms" (P.P. Comm. p. 264). "Made his defense" "As the actual charge of heresy, Paul at once shows that it is absurd. He is held guilty because he believes and teaches the essential doctrine of Judaism (that is the fulfillment of all that the prophets had said Acts 1:22-23), namely, the hope of. Messiah (Acts 26:6). He is thus innocent in the view of Roman law, for Judaism is. religion permitted by Rome. However, there are two points in reference to the Messiah in which Paul does differ from his fellow Jews: one is his belief that Jesus of Nazareth is the promised Messiah, and the other is his message that, through faith in Jesus, Gentiles as well as Jews can be saved" (Erdman p. 183).