Acts 26-2.7.2022
When They Call You Crazy
Scripture:
Acts 26:24-26
Suddenly, Festus shouted, “Paul, you are insane. Too much study has made you crazy!” But Paul replied, “I am not insane, Most Excellent Festus. What I am saying is the sober truth. And King Agrippa knows about these things. I speak boldly, for I am sure these events are all familiar to him, for they were not done in a corner!”
Observation:
Paul had been driving the chief priests and elders of the Jews into a frenzied furor over his preaching about Jesus as Messiah and by demonstrations of the power of God. They angrily labored to find cause to charge Paul with a crime. When they did so Paul immediately exercised his right to request that he be tried before Caesar himself. The charges filed against Paul were flimsy, so short on criminal status that Festus, like a prosecution attorney who understood how weak the case was, consulted with King Agrippa about what to do. Agrippa was intrigued and told Festus he wanted to hear Paul for himself, like a pretrial hearing. While Agrippa listened intently as Paul shared the story of his miraculous conversion and calling, when on the road to Damascus, Festus became so frustrated that he interrupted Paul and mocked him, deriding him as out of his mind and insane. It was a moment of tense confrontation and accusation. Paul was presented with an opportunity to respond. Would he retaliate with like anger and hostility? Would he wilt under the accusatory pressure? Or, would he calmly refute the accusation and point out truth? How does a follower of Jesus respond when unbelievers insinuate or ridicule him or her as crazy?
Understanding:
It is a common human trait; mock or deny the authenticity of a thought, concept, or truth by belittling the person who proclaims truth. Truth can threaten or undermine a sense of control. A need to control is often hidden behind a mask of superiority. Some things never change: If you can’t deny or argue against truth then mock the testifier of it. Defensive and personal accusations expose insecurity. Suddenly, the accuser is revealed as having nothing more with which to refute truth than denigrating the carrier of truth. Spiritual and intellectual nakedness are then on full display. The accuser hides behind a wall of belligerence rather than seeking to understand and consider truth.
Life Application:
How should you respond if confronted by a “crazy” accusation when you sincerely share truth about Jesus and serving Him?
Fighting fire with fire only works against forest fires. In most other situations, if you try to fight fire with fire – you just get a bigger fire. Instead of firing off a counter charge like, “And you are a nitwit yourself, Festus,” Paul refuted the accusation with a calmly and humbly confident, non-escalating response: “I am not insane.”
Honor your accuser with kindness. Paul referred to him as, “Most Excellent Festus.” Instead of countering hostility with more of the same, Paul disarmingly short-circuited it.
Humbly and confidently declare the nature of the truth. Paul described it as “the sober truth.” He did not become defensive or threatened. He calmly held course and (by contrast with Festus) explained that he was not embellishing or reacting out of anger or the influence of anything else. “Just the facts, Jack.”
Appeal to a common foundation as a bridge for understanding. Paul invited Agrippa (looking past Festus) to recognize what Paul had shared because Paul knew Agrippa was aware of the public nature of what had transpired. Everything was out in the open and, because of that, Paul said he could speak about it boldly. Look for a bridge of connection with truth.
“Thank you for helping me, Lord, to keep my heart and wits calm when accusations are made against me for standing up for you. Guard my heart and tongue that I may be an even more effective witness of your love when faced with confrontation. Thank you, Holy Spirit, for guiding and directing me.”
-Randall A. Bach serves as president of Open Bible Churches. He and his wife, Barbara, refer to their life-long journey of service to the Lord as, “Our adventure together.”