What does Acts 26:29 mean?
When Jesus first told Ananias that Saul, the Pharisee and attack dog of the Sanhedrin, was in Damascus and Ananias needed to see him, Ananias understandably balked. But Jesus went on to share His plan: "Go, for he is a chosen instrument of mine to carry my name before the Gentiles and kings and the children of Israel. For I will show him how much he must suffer for the sake of my name" (Acts 9:15–16). During the ensuing years, Paul did share Jesus and His offer of salvation to many Jews and Gentiles in Syria, modern-day Turkey, Macedonia, and Greece. As for suffering, he told the church in Corinth:"[I have suffered] countless beatings, and often near death. Five times I received at the hands of the Jews the forty lashes less one. Three times I was beaten with rods. Once I was stoned. Three times I was shipwrecked; a night and a day I was adrift at sea; on frequent journeys, in danger from rivers, danger from robbers, danger from my own people, danger from Gentiles, danger in the city, danger in the wilderness, danger at sea, danger from false brothers; in toil and hardship, through many a sleepless night, in hunger and thirst, often without food, in cold and exposure. And, apart from other things, there is the daily pressure on me of my anxiety for all the churches" (2 Corinthians 11:23–28).Now, Paul has shared Jesus' message with a king: King Agrippa II. He has explained how the worship of Jesus is a natural extension of the Jewish faith and how Jesus fulfilled the prophecies of the Jewish Scriptures, in which Agrippa believes (Acts 26:26–27).
But Paul and Agrippa are not alone. They are in a room filled with a Roman governor, Roman military tribunes, and a mixed group of Jewish, Samaritan, and Roman city magistrates. Also there is Agrippa's sister, Bernice, with whom he has an incestuous relationship (Acts 25:23). Agrippa may intellectually understand Paul, but he can't go so far as to commit to Jesus. He deflects, saying "In a short time would you persuade me to be a Christian?" (Acts 26:28).
Agrippa rejects Jesus, but Paul is hopeful that others may follow. He was arrested two years prior in part for being a "ringleader of the sect of the Nazarenes" (Acts 24:5). But he will not be ashamed of his chains (Ephesians 6:20; 2 Timothy 1:12). He will share Jesus wherever, whenever, and however he gets the chance.
