Acts 26, 1-11 I am standing trial because of my hope

Acts 26

(Acts 26, 1-11) I am standing trial because of my hope

[1] Then Agrippa said to Paul, "You may now speak on your own behalf." So Paul stretched out his hand and began his defense. [2] "I count myself fortunate, King Agrippa, that I am to defend myself before you today against all the charges made against me by the Jews, [3] especially since you are an expert in all the Jewish customs and controversies. And therefore I beg you to listen patiently. [4] My manner of living from my youth, a life spent from the beginning among my people and in Jerusalem, all (the) Jews know. [5] They have known about me from the start, if they are willing to testify, that I have lived my life as a Pharisee, the strictest party of our religion. [6] But now I am standing trial because of my hope in the promise made by God to our ancestors. [7] Our twelve tribes hope to attain to that promise as they fervently worship God day and night; and on account of this hope I am accused by Jews, O king. [8] Why is it thought unbelievable among you that God raises the dead? [9] I myself once thought that I had to do many things against the name of Jesus the Nazorean, [10] and I did so in Jerusalem. I imprisoned many of the holy ones with the authorization I received from the chief priests, and when they were to be put to death I cast my vote against them. [11] Many times, in synagogue after synagogue, I punished them in an attempt to force them to blaspheme; I was so enraged against them that I pursued them even to foreign cities.

(CCC 839) "Those who have not yet received the Gospel are related to the People of God in various ways" (LG 16). The relationship of the Church with the Jewish People. When she delves into her own mystery, the Church, the People of God in the New Covenant, discovers her link with the Jewish People (Cf. NA 4), "the first to hear the Word of God" (Roman Missal, Good Friday 13: General Intercessions, VI). The Jewish faith, unlike other non-Christian religions, is already a response to God's revelation in the Old Covenant. To the Jews "belong the sonship, the glory, the covenants, the giving of the law, the worship, and the promises; to them belong the patriarchs, and of their race, according to the flesh, is the Christ" (Rom 9:4-5), "for the gifts and the call of God are irrevocable" (Rom 11:29). (CCC 840) And when one considers the future, God's People of the Old Covenant and the new People of God tend towards similar goals: expectation of the coming (or the return) of the Messiah. But one awaits the return of the Messiah who died and rose from the dead and is recognized as Lord and Son of God; the other awaits the coming of a Messiah, whose features remain hidden till the end of time; and the latter waiting is accompanied by the drama of not knowing or of misunderstanding Christ Jesus.