Acts 26:26 Cross References - AUV

²⁶ I can speak boldly of these things because the King knows [they are true]. And I am convinced that none of these things are hidden from you, for none of them have been done in a corner [i.e., secretly].

⁵ But they reasoned, “We will not do it during the Festival because it might start a riot among the people.”

²⁹ Then they made a wreath out of thorns and placed it on His head and put a stick in His right hand. They knelt down in front of Him and mocked Him, saying, “Hey, king of the Jews!” ³⁰ And they spat on Him and took the stick and beat Him on the head with it. ³¹ And after mocking Him [some more], they removed the [scarlet] robe and put His own clothes back on Him. Then they led Him away to crucify Him. ³² As they were leaving [i.e., probably the city of Jerusalem], they met a man from Cyrene [Note: This was a city in the northern African country of Libya]. His name was Simon and they forced him to go with them so he could carry Jesus’ cross [i.e., probably only the cross-beam portion]. ³³ And when they had come to the place called Golgotha, which means “the place of a skull” [i.e., probably because it was a skull-shaped knoll in appearance], ³⁴ they offered Jesus wine mixed with a bitter drug [i.e., for the purpose of dulling the pain of crucifixion. Mark 15:23 calls it “myrrh”], but when He tasted it He refused to drink it. ³⁵ And after they had crucified Him, the soldiers divided His clothing among themselves by gambling for them. ³⁶ Then they just sat there and watched Him [die]. ³⁷ They attached over His head [i.e., to the upright portion of the cross] the charge made against Him, which read, “This is Jesus, the king of the Jews.” ³⁸ They [also] crucified two thieves with Him, one at His right side and one at His left. ³⁹ And those who passed by [the cross] shouted abuse at Him and shook their heads [in derision], ⁴⁰ saying, “You who [said you] would destroy the Temple and rebuild it in three days, save yourself [from dying]; if you [really] are the Son of God, come down from the cross.” ⁴¹ In the same way the leading priests, experts in the law of Moses and [Jewish] elders also mocked Him, saying, ⁴² “He saved other people, [but] he cannot [even] save himself [i.e., from dying]. He is ‘the king of Israel;’ let him now come down from the cross and then we will believe in him. ⁴³ He trusted in God; now let God deliver him, if He wants [to save him from dying], for he said, ‘I am the Son of God.’” ⁴⁴ And the thieves who were crucified with Him also heaped the same abuse on Him. ⁴⁵ Now from noon until three o’clock in the afternoon there was darkness over all the land. ⁴⁶ Then about three in the afternoon Jesus called out in a loud voice, saying, Eli, Eli, lama, sabachthani? [Note: These words were spoken in the commonly used Aramaic language], which mean, My God, my God, why have you forsaken me? ⁴⁷ And when some of those standing there heard this, they said, “This man is calling for Elijah.” ⁴⁸ And immediately one of them ran and got a sponge, soaked it in sour wine and, attaching it to a stick, [lifted it up] and offered Jesus a drink. ⁴⁹ But the rest of them said, “Let him alone; let us see if Elijah [really] comes to save him.” ⁵⁰ Then Jesus called out again with a loud voice and [finally] gave up His spirit [to God. See Luke 23:46]. ⁵¹ Just then the Temple curtain was torn in two from top to bottom, the ground shook, and rocks were split open. ⁵² Graves opened up and the bodies of many dead saints [i.e., God’s holy people] were raised up [from the dead]. ⁵³ They came out of their graves after Jesus’ resurrection and entered the holy city [i.e., Jerusalem] where they appeared to many people. ⁵⁴ Now when the military man in charge, and those with him who were watching Jesus, saw [and felt] the earthquake and the [other] things that happened, they became extremely fearful, saying, “Truly this was the Son of God.”

¹ And when the day of Pentecost came [Note: This was a Jewish festival held fifty days following the Passover Festival. Lev. 23:15-21], they [i.e., the twelve apostles] were all gathered together in one place [i.e., their second story living quarters, 1:13 ?]. ² Suddenly a rushing sound, like a fierce wind blowing, came from the sky above them, and [its noise] filled the entire house where they were sitting. ³ Then they saw what appeared to be flames of fire shooting down and landing on each one of them. ⁴ And they [i.e., the apostles] were all filled with [the power of] the Holy Spirit and began to speak ["the mighty accomplishments of God," See verse 11] in different languages, as the Holy Spirit gave them the ability. ⁵ Now some devoted Jews from every nation of the world were visiting Jerusalem [for the Pentecost festival]. ⁶ And when they heard the noise [of the blowing wind] a large number of them assembled [around the apostles] and were puzzled over how they could hear them speaking in their native languages. ⁷ Being so amazed and astounded [at something so unusual happening], they exclaimed, "Look! are not all these men who are speaking from [the country of] Galilee? ⁸ How is it then, that we are hearing them speak in our own native languages: ⁹ Parthians, Medes, Elamites, people from Mesopotamia, Judea, Cappodocia, Pontus, Asia, ¹⁰ Phrygia, Pamphylia, Egypt and areas of Libya around Cyrene, Jewish and proselyte travelers from Rome, ¹¹ Cretans and Arabians. How can it be that we hear [these apostles] speaking about the mighty accomplishments of God in the language of our national origin? ¹² And they were amazed and perplexed [over this] and began saying to one another, "What does all this mean?"

¹⁶ saying, "What should we do to these men? For we cannot deny that a significant miracle was performed by them, and everybody living in Jerusalem knows it. ¹⁷ But we do not want this [teaching] to spread any further so let us threaten them [and demand] that they do not speak to anyone about Jesus anymore." ¹⁸ And so they called Peter and John in and warned them not to speak or teach at all in the name of Jesus [anymore]. ¹⁹ But Peter and John replied, "You decide whether it is right before God to listen to you men or to Him; ²⁰ we cannot help but speak about the things we have seen and heard." ²¹ And when the Council had threatened them some more, they [finally] released them because they could not find any reason to punish them. [Actually] they were worried about how the people felt [about the matter], since everybody was giving honor to God for the miracle that had been performed.

¹⁸ and arrested the apostles and put them in jail. ¹⁹ But an angel from the Lord one night [miraculously] opened the jail doors and released them, saying, ²⁰ "You men, go and stand in the Temple and speak to all the people words about this Life [i.e., about Jesus]." [See John 14:6]. ²¹ And when the apostles heard this, they entered the Temple about dawn and began teaching [about Jesus]. [A little later] the head priest and the Sadducees [see verse 17] called the Council [i.e., the Sanhedrin] and all of the ruling body of Jewish leaders together and sent to the jail to have the apostles brought in to them [for further questioning]. ²² But when the officers arrived at the jail the apostles were gone, so they returned to the Council and reported, ²³ "We found the jail securely locked, with guards on duty at the doors, but when we went inside there was no one there!" ²⁴ Now when the captain of the Temple [guard] and the leading priests heard about this, they became frustrated over how far this [teaching] would [eventually] spread. ²⁵ [Just then] someone came in and said, "Look, the men you put in jail are [now] standing in the Temple teaching people." ²⁶ [Immediately] the captain, with his officers, went [to the Temple] and brought the apostles back again, but did not use any violence because they feared that the people might stone them. ²⁷ And so they brought them in [to their headquarters] to appear before the Council [for questioning]. The head priest spoke to them, [saying], ²⁸ "We strictly commanded you not to teach in this name [i.e., the name of Jesus] and look [what you have done]; you have filled Jerusalem with your teaching and you intend to hold us responsible for this man's [i.e., Jesus'] death." ²⁹ But Peter and the apostles answered them, "We must obey God instead of [you] men [in this situation]. ³⁰ The God of our forefathers raised up Jesus [from the dead], whom you put to death by hanging Him on a tree [i.e., the cross]. ³¹ But God exalted Him at His right side to be a Prince and Savior and to give the people of Israel [an opportunity] to repent [i.e., change their hearts and lives] and [receive] forgiveness of [their] sins [through Him]. ³² We apostles are witnesses of these things and so is the Holy Spirit whom God has given to every person who obeys Him." ³³ But when the Jewish officials heard this, they were deeply convicted in their hearts and determined to kill the apostles. ³⁴ But [then] Gamaliel, a Council member, who was a Pharisee [i.e., a strict sect of the Jewish religion], and an expert in the law of Moses and highly regarded by all the people, stood up and ordered the apostles to step outside [of the Council meeting] briefly. ³⁵ And he said [to the Council members], "Men of Israel, be careful how you deal with these men. ³⁶ For [remember that] some time ago Theudas appeared, claiming to be someone [important], and that about four hundred people rallied [to his cause], but he was killed and all his men left him and nothing ever came of it. ³⁷ Later on another man, named Judas of Galilee, appeared during the census [Note: The time and circumstances of this census were probably known to the original readers], and led [a group of] people away after him, but he also was killed and all of his followers were scattered. ³⁸ And so now I say, hold off your accusations and let these men alone, for if their planning and effort is [merely] of human origin, it will be defeated, ³⁹ but if [it happens to be] of God, you will not be able to defeat them. And [if you try to], you may [actually] be fighting against [the work of] God." ⁴⁰ And so the Council agreed [with Gamaliel's advice] and when they called the apostles back in, they had them beaten and ordered them never to speak in the name of Jesus [again]; then they released them. ⁴¹ When the apostles left the Council meeting, they were rejoicing over being considered worthy to suffer [such] shame for the name [of Jesus]. ⁴² So, every day, they never stopped teaching and preaching that Jesus was the Christ [i.e., God's specially chosen one], in the Temple and in private homes.

²² Agrippa said to Festus, "I had been wanting to hear this man's testimony myself." [Festus replied], "Tomorrow you will [have the opportunity to] hear him."

² "King Agrippa, I consider myself fortunate that I am able to defend myself before you concerning all the charges being brought against me by the Jews, ³ especially since you are an expert on all the customs and issues discussed among the Jews. So, for this reason I request that you hear [my response to them] patiently.