Acts 26:9-11

Acts 26:9-11

[9] I  verily  thought  with myself,  that I ought  to do  many things  contrary  to  the name  of Jesus  of Nazareth.  [10] Which thing  also  did  in  Jerusalem:  and  many  of the saints  I  shut up  in prison,  having received  authority  from  the chief priests;  and  when they  were put to death,  I gave  my voice  [11] And  I punished  them  oft  in  every  synagogue,  and compelled  them to blaspheme;  and  exceedingly  mad against  them,  I persecuted  them even  unto  strange  cities. 

What does Acts 26:9-11 Mean?

Contextual Meaning

As a Pharisaic Jew, Paul had opposed the conclusion that Jesus of Nazareth was the Messiah. He had disbelieved in the resurrection of Jesus who did not seem to fit the scriptural image of that Savior. "Cast my vote" ( Acts 26:10) may be metaphorical (cf. Acts 8:1; Acts 22:20) or, less likely, literal. There is no evidence that Paul was ever a member of the Sanhedrin, but he could have voted to punish Christians in lower courts such as the ones that existed in local synagogues. Paul tried to force Christians to blaspheme by getting them to say that Jesus was not the Christ or by getting them to curse Him (cf. 1 Corinthians 12:3). He was so zealous for his errant belief that he even pursued Christians to foreign cities to persecute them.
"The great Christians have never been afraid to point to themselves as living and walking examples of the power of Christ. The gospel to them was not a form of words; it was not a form of intellectual belief; it was a power unto salvation. It is true that a man can never change himself; but it is also gloriously true that what he cannot do, Jesus Christ can do for him." [1]