Acts 26:1-32
Yesterday Ben preached from Isaiah 53:4-6, one of the “suffering servant” passages: Surely He has borne our griefs and carried our sorrows; yet we esteemed Him stricken, smitten by God, and afflicted. But He was pierced for our transgressions; He was crushed for our iniquities; upon Him was the chastisement that brought us peace, and with His wounds we are healed. All we like sheep have gone astray; we have turned—every one—to his own way; and the Lord has laid on Him the iniquity of us all.
Today’s reading reminded me of that passage: …and so I stand here testifying both to small and great, saying nothing but what the prophets and Moses said would come to pass: that the Christ must suffer… (vv. 22b-23a). I can imagine Paul quoting these verses or verses from Psalm 22 directly in his speech before Festus and King Agrippa, testifying to all the Jews present that the Jesus whom he has been peaching was that “suffering servant” foretold by Isaiah. Paul’s defense, Ben’s sermon, and our reading today… Another divine echo!
See also: August 6 / Acts 26:1-11; August 7 / Acts 26:12-23; August 8 / Acts 26:24-32