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Scripture • World English Bible
Acts 26:12–23
12“Whereupon as I traveled to Damascus with the authority and commission from the chief priests,
13at noon, O king, I saw on the way a light from the sky, brighter than the sun, shining around me and those who traveled with me.
14When we had all fallen to the earth, I heard a voice saying to me in the Hebrew language, ‘Saul, Saul, why are you persecuting me? It is hard for you to kick against the goads.’
15“I said, ‘Who are you, Lord?’
16But arise, and stand on your feet, for I have appeared to you for this purpose: to appoint you a servant and a witness both of the things which you have seen and of the things which I will reveal to you;
17delivering you from the people and from the Gentiles, to whom I send you,
18to open their eyes, that they may turn from darkness to light and from the power of Satan to God, that they may receive remission of sins and an inheritance among those who are sanctified by faith in me.’
19“Therefore, King Agrippa, I was not disobedient to the heavenly vision,
20but declared first to them of Damascus, at Jerusalem, and throughout all the country of Judea, and also to the Gentiles, that they should repent and turn to God, doing works worthy of repentance.
21For this reason the Jews seized me in the temple and tried to kill me.
22Having therefore obtained the help that is from God, I stand to this day testifying both to small and great, saying nothing but what the prophets and Moses said would happen,
23how the Christ must suffer, and how, by the resurrection of the dead, he would be first to proclaim light both to these people and to the Gentiles.”
World English Bible (WEB) • Public Domain
Reflection
Paul stands before Agrippa and tells a story that changed the course of the church. What began as a bright, blinding interruption on the road to Damascus became a clear commission: God had appeared to him to appoint him as a servant and witness, sent to open people’s eyes so they would turn from darkness to light. That turning is the heart of the gospel—God brings sight where there was blindness, and the response is repentance and faith.
There are two truths to hold together in this passage. First, opening eyes is God’s work. The vision came to Saul from heaven. The change of heart and the power to turn from darkness are gifts of God’s mercy. Second, God’s work issues in human responsibility. Paul didn’t simply receive revelation and retreat; he obeyed. He immediately began to declare what he had seen and been shown. He told people to repent and to live in ways that matched their repentance. In other words, God opens eyes so that people will see Jesus, repent, and begin a new life that gives evidence of that change.
Paul’s commission also makes clear the scope of the gospel. He was sent to both Jews and Gentiles. The opening of eyes is not limited by ethnicity, background, or past sin. God’s rescue reaches across the barriers we erect. And Paul anchors his witness in the mind-bending center of Christian hope: the suffering and the resurrection of the Christ. The resurrection is the proof and the power that turns grief and defeat into light and life.
This passage also challenges how we respond to opposition. Paul’s testimony led to being seized in the temple and plots against his life. Yet he stood testifying, relying on the help from God. That gives us courage: our calling to witness doesn’t depend on smooth reception. We keep speaking because the mission belongs to God, not to our eloquence or safety.
Finally, notice the pastoral balance here. While God opens eyes, people are called to repentance and works worthy of repentance. That’s not legalism; it’s the fruit of new sight. When someone truly turns to Jesus, their life begins to reflect that change—through love, obedience, and holiness rooted in faith. Our job as witnesses is not to force sight but to point others to the One who opens eyes, to proclaim the call to repentance, and to model the transformed life that follows.
Putting Faith Into Action
- Pray regularly for specific people by name, asking God to open their eyes to Jesus and to give them opportunity to hear the gospel.
- Prepare a brief, personal testimony you can share (one minute) about how Christ opened your eyes, then look for everyday, natural moments to tell it.
- Live visibly repentant: identify one habit or relationship that needs change, take a concrete step this week toward repentance, and tell a trusted Christian friend to hold you accountable.
Prayer
Lord Jesus, you opened Saul’s eyes and sent him out as your witness. Open the eyes of those I love who do not yet know you. Give me courage to speak, wisdom to live in ways that match my faith, and perseverance when I face opposition. Use me to point others to your suffering and resurrection, that they might turn from darkness to light. Amen.
Memory Verse
Acts 26:18 — to open their eyes, that they may turn from darkness to light and from the power of Satan to God, that they may receive remission of sins and an inheritance among those who are sanctified by faith in me.’ (WEB)
“to open their eyes, that they may turn from darkness to light and from the power of Satan to God, that they may receive remission of sins and an inheritance among those who are sanctified by faith in me.’”
Bible Context
Read all of Acts 26
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Bible Context
Read all of Acts 26
Acts 26
World English Bible • WEB
1Agrippa said to Paul, “You may speak for yourself.”
2“I think myself happy, King Agrippa, that I am to make my defense before you today concerning all the things that I am accused by the Jews,
3especially because you are expert in all customs and questions which are among the Jews. Therefore I beg you to hear me patiently.
4“Indeed, all the Jews know my way of life from my youth up, which was from the beginning among my own nation and at Jerusalem;
5having known me from the first, if they are willing to testify, that after the strictest sect of our religion I lived a Pharisee.
6Now I stand here to be judged for the hope of the promise made by God to our fathers,
7which our twelve tribes, earnestly serving night and day, hope to attain. Concerning this hope I am accused by the Jews, King Agrippa!
8Why is it judged incredible with you if God does raise the dead?
9“I myself most certainly thought that I ought to do many things contrary to the name of Jesus of Nazareth.
10I also did this in Jerusalem. I both shut up many of the saints in prisons, having received authority from the chief priests; and when they were put to death I gave my vote against them.
11Punishing them often in all the synagogues, I tried to make them blaspheme. Being exceedingly enraged against them, I persecuted them even to foreign cities.
12“Whereupon as I traveled to Damascus with the authority and commission from the chief priests,
13at noon, O king, I saw on the way a light from the sky, brighter than the sun, shining around me and those who traveled with me.
14When we had all fallen to the earth, I heard a voice saying to me in the Hebrew language, ‘Saul, Saul, why are you persecuting me? It is hard for you to kick against the goads.’
15“I said, ‘Who are you, Lord?’
16But arise, and stand on your feet, for I have appeared to you for this purpose: to appoint you a servant and a witness both of the things which you have seen and of the things which I will reveal to you;
17delivering you from the people and from the Gentiles, to whom I send you,
18to open their eyes, that they may turn from darkness to light and from the power of Satan to God, that they may receive remission of sins and an inheritance among those who are sanctified by faith in me.’
19“Therefore, King Agrippa, I was not disobedient to the heavenly vision,
20but declared first to them of Damascus, at Jerusalem, and throughout all the country of Judea, and also to the Gentiles, that they should repent and turn to God, doing works worthy of repentance.
21For this reason the Jews seized me in the temple and tried to kill me.
22Having therefore obtained the help that is from God, I stand to this day testifying both to small and great, saying nothing but what the prophets and Moses said would happen,
23how the Christ must suffer, and how, by the resurrection of the dead, he would be first to proclaim light both to these people and to the Gentiles.”
24As he thus made his defense, Festus said with a loud voice, “Paul, you are crazy! Your great learning is driving you insane!”
25But he said, “I am not crazy, most excellent Festus, but boldly declare words of truth and reasonableness.
26For the king knows of these things, to whom also I speak freely. For I am persuaded that none of these things is hidden from him, for this has not been done in a corner.
27King Agrippa, do you believe the prophets? I know that you believe.”
28Agrippa said to Paul, “With a little persuasion are you trying to make me a Christian?”
29Paul said, “I pray to God, that whether with little or with much, not only you, but also all that hear me today, might become such as I am, except for these bonds.”
30The king rose up with the governor and Bernice, and those who sat with them.
31When they had withdrawn, they spoke to one another, saying, “This man does nothing worthy of death or of bonds.”
32Agrippa said to Festus, “This man might have been set free if he had not appealed to Caesar.”
World English Bible (WEB) • Public Domain
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