When I was a little girl, I often times played house with old mason jars and their lids in the back yard. In my role play, I would pretend to can vegetables as I saw my mother doing it. In my mason jar lids I would place leaves on top of the mud and after they dried would leave a beautiful impression of the leaf. I would also place dirt in a jar of water. I would stir them hard and at first they gave an appearance of change from the clear water with mud at the bottom of the jar to an almost chocolate milk consistency. When I was through playing, I would walk away and return the next day to pick up where I had left off in my pretend play the day before. The mixture while they may have appeared the day before to have changed from where I had stirred them, would then look exactly like they did before I mixed the water and dirt to get my chocolate milk appearance. The mud was once again at the bottom and the water at the top, separating the sediment from the water to once again be clear. As a young girl, it alway amazed me how no matter how hard I stirred that mixture up….it always settled back to the way it was before I stirred it. Upon reminiscing of those days, I was reminded about the Apostle Paul when he had stirred the heart of King Agrippa, yet the king was never changed. There have been books written, sermons preached, songs sung and warnings given throughout time about how the power of persuasion, when it reaches its fullness can overwhelm and even bring about brokenness into an individual’s life; especially if it is God who is doing the persuading. But sometimes, no matter how much we are persuaded in a thing, it may never move us to change.
Almost persuaded, King Agrippa II said to Paul in Acts 26 upon hearing his testimony as he defended himself for being accused of apostasy, “Almost you persuade me to be a Christian.”
Paul had turned his defense into an opportunity to preach the gospel to a group of elite political rulers who were very skeptical in what Paul had to say. In Acts 25, King Agrippa II had heard about Paul and wanted to hear his defense. Upon hearing Paul, the King uttered some of the most sorrowful words in scripture as he responded to Paul’s discourse. He told Paul that in hearing his testimony, he was almost persuaded to believe him to the point of becoming a Christian himself. Yet we know that according to scripture, he did not.
King Agrippa II came from a very sinful family. He was the seventh and last King of the Herod Family. He was a descendant of Herod the Great. His family tree was infested with an evil satanic influence. His great grandfather Herod the Great who in searching to find the Christ child, ordered a great number of babies killed in his failed attempt to kill the baby Jesus. King Agrippa II’s father was Agrippa I, also known as Herod Agrippa or simply Herod. In Acts 12 Herod Agrippa stirred the wrath of God because he allowed himself to be exalted as an equal with God. An angel struck him down and he was eaten by worms. He also had the apostle James beheaded and had tried to kill Peter. Adultery and incest rotted away at his family tree. Agrippa II’s uncle, Herod Antipas, divorced his wife to marry the former wife of his brother. It was this Herod who was responsible for the beheading of John the Baptist.
Being accused of apostasy, the Jewish leaders accused Paul of opposing their law, as well as the great Caesar himself. He was guilty of none of those charges and demanded that he be tried in Rome Caesarea to visit Festus, the new governor. King Agrippa had no children of his own and was in an incestuous relationship with his sister Bernice at this time. Festus asked King Agrippa II what charges he should send on to Rome
It is believed that Paul was small in stature, bald with thick eye brows and possibly knobby knees. Yet he stood humble and full of grace before kings and governors as he began boldly to declare Christ to them. Paul told Agrippa that he was a proud follower of this same Jesus who had been tortured, died and rose again. He pointed to his resurrection as proof that he was the Messiah. Paul was saying, that he was not an apostate Jew, but a Christian. He was not against the law. The law was fulfilled in the Christ that he preached. He revealed his experience along the road to Damascus
Paul then looked directly into the eyes of the king and told him, “King Agrippa, you are an expert on Jewish affairs, you know the law. You know the story of Jesus and you are aware of his death and resurrection. Will you agree with me and testify to Festus that the things I say are true?” and Agrippa’s sad and disturbing reply still echoes through the hearts of men and women throughout the ages. He responded to Paul by saying, “Almost you persuade me to be a Christian.”
Almost, but not quite. Agrippa’s heart was so stirred by the truths that Paul was laying before him yet, while Agrippa was convinced of those truths, his flesh chose to deny what he knew to be truth out of the fear of what it may cost him, should he accept it and pronounces it as truth.
That my friend is why men, women boys and girls today reject the truth when they are confronted with it. There is always a cost and for many, they are simply unwilling to pay it. While Christ paid the penalty for our sins we must pay the cost of accepting or rejecting the work that He did for us when we are confronted with it. Some may say, it does not cost us anything….but my friend it cost us to deny ourselves and take up our cross and follow Him in whatever it may be. That is why so many are unwilling…because they understand that it will cost them something if they accept the free gift that God offers through His Son. Many are stirred, but only few will dare to be changed! Many are like the dirt in the glass, when they are confronted with truth, it moves them or stirs them for a better word, but in the end, they settle back into what they are comfortable with and say, “Whew, I was almost persuaded!”
May we always be persuaded...
Loving you today,
Bren
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