Acts 26 8

Acts 26:8 kjv

Why should it be thought a thing incredible with you, that God should raise the dead?

Acts 26:8 nkjv

Why should it be thought incredible by you that God raises the dead?

Acts 26:8 niv

Why should any of you consider it incredible that God raises the dead?

Acts 26:8 esv

Why is it thought incredible by any of you that God raises the dead?

Acts 26:8 nlt

Why does it seem incredible to any of you that God can raise the dead?

Acts 26 verses

Acts 26 8 Meaning

Acts 26:8 captures Paul's rhetorical question posed to King Agrippa, Bernice, and Festus during his defense. It challenges the fundamental disbelief in the resurrection of the dead, positing that such an act, if performed by God, should not be considered incredible or impossible. This question cuts to the core of both Jewish and Gentile skepticism, directly confronting the notion that death is a final, unalterable state, and asserting God's supreme power over life and death as the ultimate grounds for the credibility of the resurrection.

Acts 26 8 Context

Paul is making his defense before King Agrippa II and the Roman governor Festus, accompanied by Bernice and other dignitaries, in Caesarea. He is recounting his life's journey, focusing on his dramatic conversion on the road to Damascus and his subsequent mission to preach the Gospel. Having presented his past life as a zealous Pharisee, he now transitions to the core message that led to his persecution by Jewish leaders: the resurrection of Jesus Christ. Acts 26:8 directly challenges the disbelief of his audience—comprising Roman pragmatism (Festus), Sadducean skepticism (perhaps influencing Agrippa, though Agrippa was technically Idumean/Herodian), and general human difficulty in comprehending a physical resurrection. This verse highlights the fundamental divide between Paul's Gospel and the prevailing secular and religious views of the time.

Acts 26 8 Word analysis

• Why: Greek τί (ti) – an interrogative pronoun asking "what for?" or "for what reason?" It functions as a strong rhetorical question, implying there is no logical or reasonable justification for their disbelief.
• is it thought incredible: Greek ἀπιστεῖται (apisteitai) – a verb in the present passive indicative, meaning "it is disbelieved," "it is not believed," or "it is regarded as incredible/impossible." From the root ἀπιστέω (apisteō), to be faithless or incredulous. This word suggests not just a lack of understanding, but an active rejection or inability to credit something. It's a direct challenge to their perception and assumption about what is possible. It implies a moral and spiritual failure to acknowledge divine power.
• by any of you: Greek ἐφ’ ὑμῖν (eph’ humin) – literally "upon you," emphasizing the target of the question. "You" here refers to the distinguished audience—King Agrippa, Festus, Bernice, and others present. This personalization elevates the challenge, making it clear that their specific intellectual or spiritual predispositions are being questioned.
• that God: Greek ὁ Θεός (ho Theos) – refers to the one true God, the creator of the universe, omnipotent and sovereign. This stresses that the action in question is not a human or natural event, but an act of divine power. This specifically counters philosophical perspectives of the time, such as Epicureanism, which denied divine involvement in human affairs, and even Stoicism, which might acknowledge divine presence but limit intervention into physical reanimation.
• raises the dead: Greek ἐγείρει νεκρούς (egeirei nekrous) – "raises" (ἐγείρει - egeirei) is from a verb meaning to awaken, arouse, or cause to stand up, consistently used for physical resurrection in the New Testament. "The dead" (νεκρούς - nekrous) refers to physically deceased persons. This is the central concept being debated: the bodily resurrection of individuals from literal death. It confronts both the Jewish Sadducees' denial of physical resurrection and the Greco-Roman world's belief in the soul's immortality but generally not a body's reanimation from decay.

Words-group analysis

• Why is it thought incredible by any of you: This opening phrase is a masterstroke of rhetorical argumentation. It shifts the burden of proof, subtly implying that the incredulity lies not in the resurrection itself, but in the lack of perception or faith of the listener. Paul doesn't defend the possibility of resurrection but challenges the reasons for doubting it.
• that God raises the dead: This entire phrase grounds the entire concept of resurrection not in human ability or philosophical speculation, but firmly in the character and omnipotence of God. It highlights a core theological tenet: if God is indeed God, capable of creation ex nihilo and maintaining the universe, then bringing someone back to physical life from death should not be beyond His capacity. The question forces a confrontation with one's understanding of who God is.

Acts 26 8 Bonus section

The core issue highlighted in Acts 26:8 is less about proving the act of resurrection and more about exposing the limited view of God held by Paul's audience. Many scholars note that the Greek term apisteitai for "thought incredible" conveys not just intellectual skepticism, but a deeper lack of faith or an inability to believe, indicating a spiritual block rather than purely a logical one. This polemic directly challenged not only the Sadducean denial but also common pagan beliefs about the afterlife, where once in the underworld (Hades or Tartarus), return was considered impossible for mortals. Paul's challenge forces his listeners to reconsider God not just as a powerful deity, but as an omnipotent one who exercises control over death itself, which was traditionally seen as a final, unconquerable frontier.

Acts 26 8 Commentary

Acts 26:8 is a pivotal rhetorical question in Paul's defense before Agrippa. It encapsulates the very heart of the Christian message and the stumbling block it posed to both Jewish and Gentile audiences: the physical resurrection of the dead. Paul is essentially asking, "Given God's nature and power, why would anyone find it unbelievable that He could raise the dead?" This isn't just about abstract theological debate; for Paul, the resurrection of Jesus Christ was a historical, undeniable fact and the cornerstone of the Gospel he proclaimed.

The question exposes the intellectual and spiritual resistance to God's ultimate power. For the Sadducees, who rejected the resurrection based on their interpretation of the Torah, it challenged their limited view of God's capacity. For the Romans, steeped in Greco-Roman philosophy which viewed bodily resurrection as absurd or impossible, it confronted their secular rationality. Paul points out that their skepticism stems not from an inherent impossibility of the act, but from a misapprehension of God's limitless power. If God created life and brought forth all things from nothing, then restoring life to a corpse is merely an exercise of His existing attributes. The verse sets the stage for Paul to testify to the resurrection of Christ as a personal, life-changing encounter, providing empirical evidence that what seemed incredible was, in fact, God's very act. It calls the audience to re-evaluate their worldview in light of divine omnipotence, emphasizing that the God of Abraham, Isaac, and Jacob is the God of the living, capable of bringing life out of death.