Matins Devotion: August 1, 2024

Acts 26:1-23

When St. Paul gives an account of his conversion to King Agrippa, he frames it in a rather interesting way. Paul is speaking before the king, the one who has authority over him. He’s essentially being grilled to see whether he is a threat to the stability of Agrippa’s Jewish region and thus a threat to order in the Roman empire. Is he a rabble rouser or a lunatic who is going to defy his authorities? 

So Paul responds from that perspective. Paul says that he was more than a faithful Jew, at least in the eyes of his fellow Pharisees. He wasn’t some fool desperate for something to make his life matter who then stumbled upon the idea of Jesus. Paul was doing exactly what his opponents are doing to him now. He was persecuting those who followed Christ, ensuring that they were put to death. But then Jesus Himself revealed that He was Paul’s true authority, Paul’s true King. So yes, Paul acknowledges Agrippa and Caesar’s authority over him. But Jesus has greater authority and Jesus has called Paul to preach the Gospel to the world.

This is a great example of how we, as Christians, should view our lives in this world. We are citizens of our country. We are underneath the authority of the temporal rulers God has given us, and we acknowledge that. We pay our taxes. We obey the laws our leaders have given us. We honor the emperor, in whatever form that may take. But our ultimate allegiance is to our ultimate authority, Jesus Christ, the King of Kings and Lord of Lords. And if the state seeks to hinder our confession of the Gospel or if the state commands us to sin, we obey the King who shed His blood for us, not the king who has no authority to compel us to silence or to unrighteousness.

Christ is your Lord. Christ is above all presidents and prime ministers, supreme courts and powers. So if ever the day comes when your earthly authorities rebel against His authority and threaten you for your faithfulness, don’t be afraid. Appeal to the faithfulness of your Savior, the one who will melt every kingdom at the day of His return and welcome you into His eternal embrace.