Why should it be thought a thing incredible with you, that God should raise the dead?
Acts 4:2 Being grieved that they taught the people, and preached through Jesus the resurrection from the dead.
Acts 10:40-42 Him God raised up the third day, and shewed him openly; …
Acts 13:30,31 But God raised him from the dead: …
that God raises the dead?
The resurrection is central to Christian doctrine, affirming Jesus Christ's victory over death and the promise of eternal life for believers. This belief is rooted in Old Testament prophecies, such as Isaiah 26:19 and Daniel 12:2, which speak of the dead rising. The resurrection of Jesus is a fulfillment of these prophecies and is foundational to the apostolic preaching (1 Corinthians 15:12-22). The phrase also connects to Jesus' own words in John 11:25, where He declares Himself the resurrection and the life. The resurrection is not just a future hope but a present reality for those in Christ, symbolizing spiritual rebirth and the ultimate restoration of creation.
- Paul is speaking in a packed courtroom—Agrippa, Bernice, Roman officials, Jewish leaders, and onlookers (Acts 26:1–3). By saying “any of you,” he welcomes every listener into the conversation.
- His question assumes common ground: all present know Israel’s Scriptures and God’s historic acts (Acts 26:6–7).
- Old Testament saints already trusted God for resurrection: “I know that my Redeemer lives… after my skin has been destroyed, yet in my flesh I will see God” (Job 19:25–27). Paul simply asks why these very listeners, heirs of the same promises, would recoil from the idea.
- The implicit challenge is personal. Like Joshua’s “choose this day” (Joshua 24:15), Paul presses each hearer: will you accept or reject the obvious conclusion of God’s power?
- “Incredible” means “unbelievable,” not “wonderful.” Paul exposes an unspoken doubt: that resurrection is too far-fetched even for God.
- He counters doubt with reason:
• God already formed life from dust (Genesis 2:7).
• He parted the Red Sea (Exodus 14:21–31) and stilled Jordan’s flood (Joshua 3:13–17).
• He raised the widow’s son through Elijah (1 Kings 17:17–24) and another through Elisha (2 Kings 4:32–37).
• Jesus validated every messianic claim with miracles, climaxing in His own empty tomb (Acts 2:24, 32).
- “We are witnesses of all He did” (Acts 10:39–41). Eyewitness testimony turns “incredible” into credible, even compelling (1 Corinthians 15:5–8).
- Festus will soon blurt, “You are insane, Paul!” (Acts 26:24), proving how stubborn unbelief can label truth as madness. Paul’s calm logic leaves hearers without excuse.
- The question centers on God, not on human ability. If God is truly God—omnipotent, faithful, sovereign—raising the dead is consistent with His nature (Romans 4:17).
- Resurrection is the hinge of the gospel: “If Christ has not been raised, your faith is futile” (1 Corinthians 15:17).
- Jesus declared, “I am the resurrection and the life” (John 11:25–26). His raising of Lazarus previewed His own triumph and ours.
- Daniel foresaw “many who sleep in the dust of the earth will awake” (Daniel 12:2). Isaiah sang, “Your dead will live; their bodies will rise” (Isaiah 26:19). Paul simply affirms what God already promised.
- The resurrection affirms justice: the righteous rewarded, the wicked judged (Acts 24:15; John 5:28–29). Without it, evil would often win unchecked.
- It guarantees hope beyond persecution. Paul stands in chains yet overflows with confidence (2 Timothy 1:12), because death is not the terminus.
Acts 26:8 is Paul’s gentle but pointed reminder that the resurrection is neither illogical nor optional. If God truly is who Scripture reveals Him to be, raising the dead is the natural outworking of His power and promises. Rejecting resurrection means rejecting the very character of God; embracing it unlocks the full assurance of salvation, justice, and eternal life secured by the risen Christ.
(8) Why should it be thought a thing incredible . . .?--Some MSS. give a punctuation which alters the structure of the sentence: What! is it thought a thing incredible . . . ? The appeal is made to Agrippa as accepting the sacred books of Israel, in which instances of a resurrection were recorded (1Kings 17:17-23; 2Kings 4:18-37), and which ought to have hindered him from postulating the incredibility of the truth which St. Paul preached, and which included (1) the doctrine of a general resurrection, and (2) the fact that Christ had risen. The Greek use of the present tense, that God raiseth the dead, gives prominence to the first thought rather than the second. Agrippa, as probably allied, as the rest of his kindred had been, with the Sadducean high priests, not a few of whom he had himself nominated, was likely to reject both.Verse 8. - Why is it judged incredible with you, if for why should it be thought a thing incredible with you, that, A.V.; doth for should, A.V. Why is it judged, etc. The use of d is somewhat peculiar. It cannot stand for ὅτι, but it is nearly equivalent to "whether," as in ver. 23. The question proposed to the mind is here whether God has raised the dead; and in ver. 23 whether Christ has suffered, whether he is the first to rise. In the latter case St. Paul gives the answer by his witness to the truth, affirming that it is so. In the former case he chides his hearers for giving the answer of unbelief, and saying that it is not so.