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Of Agrippa's father, Josephus writes:
`He also came to Jerusalem and offered all the sacrifices that belonged to him, and omitted nothing which the
law required; on which account he ordered that many of the Nazarites should have their heads shorn. And for
the golden chain which had been given him by Caius, of equal weight with that iron chain wherewith his royal
hands had been bound, he hung it up within the limits of the temple, over the treasury, that it might be a
memorial' (Ant. xix. 6,1).
The fact that Paul had been apprehended in the Temple, while associating himself with those who had taken the
Nazarite vow, and the fact that he now wore the Roman chain, would no doubt make some appeal to Herod's son.
The apostle begins by going over the ground already covered by Acts 9 and 22 - his early life, his persecuting
zeal and the vision on the road to Damascus. At verse 16, however, he breaks new ground. Truth hitherto
unrecorded is now revealed, and as this new revelation is of vital importance to all who rejoice in the dispensation of
the Mystery, verses 16-18 must be given our closest attention. Let us note first that it is here for the first time that
we are told what the Lord Himself said to the apostle on the road to Damascus. It may, perhaps, be objected that
this statement is not true, and that in Acts 9 we can read for ourselves what the Lord said. To make sure about this
point, let us turn to Acts 9:
Verses 1 and 2 record the journey to Damascus.
Verses 3 and 4 record the vision and the voice.
Verse 5 reveals that it is the Lord Who speaks.
Verse 6 tells Paul to go into the city and wait for instructions.
Verses 15 and 16 record what the Lord said to Ananias about Paul, but that is all.
It is clear, therefore, that all the Lord actually said to Paul is not recorded in Acts 9, and it will be found that this
is also true of Acts 22. Chapter 22 records the words of Ananias (verses 13-15), and we also learn that Paul was to
be a witness of all that he had seen and heard, but it is to Acts 26 that we must turn to learn for the first time what the
Lord actually said to Paul at his conversion and commission.
Two of the new features contained in this record are found in the words `Both', `I will appear unto thee', and
`Now I send thee' in verses 16 and 17, and in the summary of doctrine contained in verse 18:
`To open their eyes, and to turn them from darkness to light, and from the power of Satan unto God, that they
may receive forgiveness of sins, and inheritance among them which are sanctified by faith that is in Me' (Acts
26:18).
The close association between these words and the doctrine of the epistles to the Ephesians and Colossians will
be obvious.
In contrast with this new commission, recorded here for the first time, is the old commission to which the apostle
returns in verses 20-23. In these verses he preaches `repentance', and proclaims `none other things than those which
the prophets and Moses did say should come', - which obviously could not refer to the mystery hid in God.
We have already seen from Acts 20:24 that Paul had received some commission from the Lord that was
intimately associated with `bonds', and now, having appealed to Cæsar, the apostle is at liberty to reveal the fact that
from the beginning he had known that his commission was two-fold:
(1) Witnessing to Israel and the Gentiles the things which he had, seen and heard, while
(2) Awaiting a future appearing of the Lord, when the terms of the new ministry associated with prison would be
made known to him.
At last the fresh appearing had taken place, and the terms of the new commission given. Verse 18 anticipates, in
a condensed form, the doctrine that is more fully expressed in Ephesians and Colossians (see Eph. 1:7,13,14,18, and
Col. 1:12,13).