Luke the beloved physician wrote as Paul was making his defense before King Agrippa, he told him, “I went to Damascus with authority and commission from the chief priests, At midday, O king, I saw in the way a light from heaven, above the brightness of the sun, shining round about me and them which journeyed with me. And when we were all fallen to the earth, I heard a voice speaking unto me, and saying in the Hebrew tongue, Saul, Saul, why persecute you me? it is hard for you to kick against the pricks. And I said, Who are you, Lord? And he said, I am Jesus whom you persecute. But rise, and stand upon your feet: for I have appeared unto you for this purpose, to make you a minister and a witness both of these things which you have seen, and of those things in the which I will appear unto you”, and in chapter twenty-six and verse seventeen of the book of Acts Luke shared how Paul told King Agrippa that Jesus told him He would be, “delivering you from the people, and from the Gentiles, unto whom now I send you” where we read:
Delivering you from the people, and from the Gentiles, unto whom now I send you,
The verse begins, “Delivering you from the people, and from the Gentiles, ...” Luke began with the words, “delivering you” which means “plucking out, drawing and rescuing you, Paul” “from the people” or “apart and separate from the Jewish people both male and female”, “and from the Gentiles” which means “and apart and separate from the heathen, tribes, people groups or multitudes of pagan individuals of the same nature or genus”. Luke shared how “Paul” told “king Agrippa” that Jesus told him he would “rescue” him from the Jewish and Gentile people to do the following.
The verse continues, “... unto whom now I send you, ...” Luke added the words, “unto whom” which means “to whom, the Gentiles” “now I send you” or “at this time I, Jesus, dispatch and assign you, Paul”. Luke shared how “Paul” told “king Agrippa” that Jesus said he would dispatch him to the “Gentile” people in the world.
When we consider Luke's words in this verse, we learn how “Paul” continued his testimony to “king Agrippa” by telling him that Jesus assigned him to reach people with His gospel, and in particular he was to share the message of salvation through Jesus Christ to the “pagan and foreign” “Gentile” people. “King Agrippa” was a “Gentile”, and many of the people listening to “Paul” were also “Gentiles”, so “Paul” was fulfilling his commission. God loves all the people in the world, and he desires to have a personal relationship with them through His Son Jesus. Anyone who yields to Jesus as their “Savior and Lord” will be forgiven of their sins and granted everlasting life with God. Those who are wise carefully examine “Paul's” witness to “king Agrippa” and surrender themselves to Jesus to be saved for all eternity.
Next time Luke shares how Paul tells King Agrippa the voice said he would, “open their eyes, and to turn them from darkness to light, and from the power of Satan unto God”, so read ahead, and we shall join together then.
Until tomorrow…there is more…
See more devotionals on the website "thewordfortodaywithray.com" or look for the daily devotional book “Equipped for Battle – From Generation to Generation”, the marriage book “So, You Want to Be Married”, “One Year in the Sermon on the Mount” and the new poetry book "Random Mushrooms Volumes I and II" and the new novel "Elizabeth County" in all major bookstore sites, http://www.amazon.com ; http://www.barnesandnobles.com ; download to e-books, and find it locally at www.mrzlc.com/bookstore. All references are from "Strongs Concordance".
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