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Outline: Acts 26:14-18
- Jesus saved Paul (vv.14-15, cf. 26:4-11 & 9:1-22)
- Jesus sent Paul (vv.16-18)
Summary: Paul is standing before King Agrippa and is
expected to give a defense, a defense against the Jews who want to see him put
to death. Paul responds by sharing
his testimony, that is, by bearing witness to who he was (26:4-12) and then what
Christ did (vv.13-18). In
essence, Paul is saying: “Jesus saved
me and Jesus has sent me.” For Paul, to be saved was to be
sent. To have his eyes opened was
to be part of opening the eyes of others.
Paul was on trial because he proclaimed the name of the One who opened his
eyes—Jesus Christ.
Discussion
Questions:
- What was Paul like before he came to know Christ? (26:4-12; cf. 9:1-2)
- For the back-story, READ 9: 1-18 (cf. 26:13-15). How was Paul converted?
- What role did Ananias play? Does this teach us anything about how Jesus saves people?
- What did Paul do almost immediately after he was saved?
- Why do you think Paul grew strong in the wake of his conversionActs 9:22?
- What was Paul being sent to do?
- What is the relationship between being saved and being sent?
- How would you respond to someone who says, “Oh, but that is the great and godly apostle Paul…surely this kind of witness is not expected of me”? (cf. 1 Cor. 11:1; Isa. 42:1-7; Matt. 11:4-6)
Application
Questions:
- What is your testimony? Who were you and what did Jesus do to bring you to himself?
- Are you actively sharing your faith with others? If not, what may be holding you back?
- “To be saved is to be sent.” Do you believe this? On a scale of 1-10—1 being barely applied and 10 being greatly applied—at what level do you live like this is true?
- When we fall short of sharing our faith at the level that we should, how would Jesus have us apply the gospel to our hearts?
- Confess to God any failures to live like one who has been sent to open they eyes of unbelievers. Receive forgiveness from Jesus, the only perfect Witness (1 John 1:9).
- Ask God to provide clear opportunities for you to share about Jesus and to give the courage needed to stand strong and bold and loving in those moments.
- Pray that God would fuse the idea of being saved together with the idea of being sent so that witnesses would become a more natural part of your life.
- Pray that God will help you to teach others that being saved and being sent always belong together, for to be a disciple is to be a disciple maker.
- Thank God for the gospel and how he opened our eyes in salvation, bringing us from darkness to light, from the power of Satan to God.
