May 2, 2026 | Rabbi Ari Waldman
Message Notes
This message walks through Paul’s defense before Agrippa in Acts 26 and shows that Paul was not a man who abandoned Israel’s hope. He was a man whose life was interrupted, corrected, and redirected by Yeshua. Paul had been zealous, convinced, and moving with authority toward Damascus, but the risen Messiah stopped him with a light brighter than the sun and revealed that Paul’s fight against Yeshua was actually a fight against God’s own purpose.
At the center of the passage is Paul’s question: “Who are You, Lord?” The answer changes everything. Yeshua appoints Paul as a servant and witness, sending him to open eyes, turn people from darkness to light, and proclaim forgiveness and holiness through trust in Him.
Paul’s obedience brought suffering, but it also placed him inside the storyline of Moses and the Prophets: Messiah would suffer, rise from the dead, and proclaim light to Israel and the nations. The question now comes to us: where are we resisting the Lord’s direction, and what would obedience look like if Yeshua truly stood at the center?
