Today's Scripture Reading (April 3, 2021): Acts 26
Marcus Julius Agrippa or Agrippa
II was only seventeen when his father died. Agrippa was in Rome at the time,
and Claudius decided to keep the boy with him for a little while longer to further
his education. When Herod V, brother of Agrippa I and uncle to Agrippa II, died,
Claudius sent the young Agrippa home to rule over the Jewish Kingdom. Agrippa
II was the eighth Herodian ruler, and the fifth Herod permitted to use the
title King.
Agrippa II walked a thin line
between Israel and Rome. During his time in Rome, Agrippa had voiced his
support to Roman authorities for the Jews in their conflict with the
Samaritans. The Herods had tried throughout the generations to live as the Jews
and had a good understanding of Jewish law, even though they didn't have a Jewish
heritage. His father, Agrippa I, had governed over Israel in a way that
satisfied the Jews and even risked his own life when he interceded on behalf of
the Jews when Caligula tried to set up his statue in Jerusalem's Temple. While
still educated as a Jew, Agrippa II had also been subjected to a rigorous Roman
education and was thoroughly Hellenized. He understood what the Jews believed,
but he had become an outsider to the people over which he ruled.
As Paul continues his defense, he
asks Agrippa a question, and the question was a double-edged sword for the King
of the Jews. "Agrippa, do you believe in the prophets?" The answer
from a family point of view had to be yes. The Herodians had struggled hard to
be seen as Jewish converts by the people over whom they ruled. And Agrippa II
was no different. But the reality was that Agrippa II had received his
education in Rome. Yes, he understood the Jewish faith, but that knowledge had
been contaminated by Greek culture and religion. He believed in the prophets
and defended the Jews, but how deep that belief might be was an open question. Yet,
Agrippa could not admit any of that and still rule over the Jews. With his
subjects listening, Agrippa could only answer that "yes, I believe."
And Paul understood that. If asked,
Agrippa had to say he believed in the prophets, whether he did or not.
Agrippa's story brings to a close the
saga of the Herodian dynasty begun by his infamous great-grandfather Herod
the Great. He is seen in Jewish history as one of the worst of the Herods, the
ruler whose Hellenistic ways and policies of pleasing the Romans were so
intolerable as to precipitate the disastrous Jewish Revolt of 66 C.E.,
which resulted in the destruction of the Temple of Jerusalem and the
temporary end of Jewish hopes for the restoration of national sovereignty. In
Christian tradition, Agrippa appears as a somewhat sympathetic hearer of the
Christian message who may have acquitted the Apostle Paul if the
matter had been left up to him (New World Encyclopedia).
Tomorrow's Scripture Reading: Acts 27
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