Acts 26 reports the defense of Paul before King Agrippa. It is the longest defense recorded in Acts. However, this is not to be considered a legal defense since it has been acknowledged that Paul is innocent and the meeting is neither legal nor official. It is more like an informal fact finding meeting. This does not lessen the idea of a defense for two reasons: (1) Paul is defending his actions before the king. He later calls it bearing witness (26:22). (2) Paul may have considered it a trial, or even better he sees it as a continuation of the legal process that started with Felix and will climax in Rome (Acts 26:6). Since he appealed to Caesar there could be no official legal or judicial proceeding until he stood in front of the Emperor. The defense in not the usual judicial defense, but a personal witness; communicating and defending his mission and ministry. The witness is an autobiographical apologetic, but evangelistic as well (Acts 26:27-29).
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