Practically every Jew in town who watched me grow up--and if they were willing to stick their necks out they'd tell you in person--knows that I lived as a strict Pharisee, the most demanding branch of our religion.
committed myself heart and soul to what God promised my ancestors--the identical hope, mind you, that the twelve tribes have lived for night and day all these centuries--it's because I have held on to this tested and tried hope that I'm being called on the carpet by the Jews. They should be the ones standing trial here, not me!
Backed with the full authority of the high priests, I threw these believers--I had no idea they were God's people!--into the Jerusalem jail right and left, and whenever it came to a vote, I voted for their execution.
I stormed through their meeting places, bullying them into cursing Jesus, a one-man terror obsessed with obliterating these people. And then I started on the towns outside Jerusalem.
But now, up on your feet--I have a job for you. I've handpicked you to be a servant and witness to what's happened today, and to what I am going to show you.
to open the eyes of the outsiders so they can see the difference between dark and light, and choose light, see the difference between Satan and God, and choose God. I'm sending you off to present my offer of sins forgiven, and a place in the family, inviting them into the company of those who begin real living by believing in me.'
I started preaching this life-change--this radical turn to God and everything it meant in everyday life--right there in Damascus, went on to Jerusalem and the surrounding countryside, and from there to the whole world.
"It's because of this 'whole world' dimension that the Jews grabbed me in the Temple that day and tried to kill me. They want to keep God for themselves.
But God has stood by me, just as he promised, and I'm standing here saying what I've been saying to anyone, whether king or child, who will listen. And everything I'm saying is completely in line with what the prophets and Moses said would happen:
One, the Messiah must die; two, raised from the dead, he would be the first rays of God's daylight shining on people far and near, people both godless and God-fearing."
That was too much for Festus. He interrupted with a shout: "Paul, you're crazy! You've read too many books, spent too much time staring off into space! Get a grip on yourself, get back in the real world!"
The King knows what I'm talking about. I'm sure that nothing of what I've said sounds crazy to him. He's known all about it for a long time. You must realize that this wasn't done behind the scenes.
Paul, still in chains, said, "That's what I'm praying for, whether now or later, and not only you but everyone listening today, to become like me--except, of course, for this prison jewelry!"
and went into the next room to talk over what they had heard. They quickly agreed on Paul's innocence, saying, "There's nothing in this man deserving prison, let alone death."