Title Acts 26:24-29 Normal and Abnormal
Contents The weather is hot and there is no rain. It seems that not only the paddy fields are cracked, but our mental state is also divided because it is dry. Many people lose normalcy and show signs of mental illness. Loss of self-confidence, nightly nightmares, and increased forgetfulness. Everyone criticizes someone to hide their sense of harm, such as pointing a finger at them. So it seems that more and more people are raising their voices more than necessary.
The biblical commentator Lensky explains this passage as follows: Festus shouted out aloud, ‘You are crazy’, not wrath or resentment, but self-defense and a sign of tension and anxiety. Although he was sitting on the throne, his conscience always made him uneasy inside. Hearing the word of God, I felt like I was going crazy. So, instead, he shouted at Paul, who was a prisoner, that he was crazy.
Then why did you come to hear the sermon? Humans are strange creatures. They do not want to cast off their sins and pleasures, but they have a curiosity and a longing for faith and truth. They have everything, but they are not satisfied, so they want to hang their faith or truth around their neck as an accessory. When the word of God was proclaimed through the mouth of the prisoner Paul, the powerful sat high on the throne, but they trembled with anxiety.
Paul looks big and they are withdrawn. So, in a neurotic seizure, he shouted at Paul. Their consciences were troubled, but because of the bluff of their power, they could not accept the Word and justified themselves by saying something else. King Agrippa said, “Are you trying to make me a Christian right away with your few words?” It is pitiful that he tries to hold on with his pride.
But Paul spoke confidently and leisurely.
“You, like me, should be sober. I want you all to be like me, except for me to be chained.” Compare Paul the prisoner and the powerful. Who is normal and who is crazy? We can tell who is the humble prisoner and who is the dignified one. What kind of person do you want to be?
The whole world is going crazy right now. The time has come when everyone's true worth is rather pointed out. But, like Paul, we must say with strength: “If we are crazy, it is for God; and if we are sober, it is for you. He compels them” (2 Corinthians 5:13-14).