Worldly “Great” People Reject the Cross

The whole assembly listened spellbound. But Festus interrupted the apostle by calling out, “Paul, you are beside yourself! Much learning is driving you mad!”ULe 159.6

The apostle replied, “I am not mad, most noble Festus, but speak the words of truth and reason. For the king, before whom I also speak freely, knows these things.” Then, turning to Agrippa, he spoke to him directly: “King Agrippa, do you believe the prophets? I know that you do believe.”ULe 159.7

For the moment Agrippa forgot his surroundings and dignity. Seeing only the humble prisoner standing before him as God’s ambassador, he answered involuntarily, “You almost persuade me to become a Christian.”ULe 159.8

The apostle answered, “I would to God that not only you, but also all who hear me today, might become ... such as I am,” adding, as he raised his bound hands, “except for these chains.”ULe 159.9

Festus, Agrippa, and Bernice, all guilty of terrible crimes, heard that day the offer of salvation through the name of Christ. One of them, at least, had almost been persuaded to accept. But Agrippa refused the cross of a crucified Redeemer.ULe 159.10

The king’s curiosity was satisfied, and he indicated that the interview was over. Though Agrippa was a Jew, he did not share the blind prejudice of the Pharisees. “This man,” he said to Festus, “might have been set free if he had not appealed to Caesar.”ULe 160.1

But the case was now beyond the jurisdiction of either Festus or Agrippa.ULe 160.2