The Gospel Climax of Acts

My other job is to be an English teacher. One of the things we talk about in English class is the plot climax, where everything comes to a head; after that point, we have the falling action, the wrap-up of all the loose ends from the plot. What, I ask you, is the climax of the book of Acts? The answer, as you have already surmised, is that it's right here in front of you. If you were to pick a moment in which the issues crystallize, in which our hero confronts and vanquishes the biggest challenge in front of him, the moment after which all the rest is just tying up loose ends, I'd say that it's this moment. Paul's biggest challenge is to faithfully proclaim Jesus in the face of strong opposition. That is exactly what he does here in Acts 23 — indeed, he does it very well, such that I'd say this verse stands as the moment where we can see the clearest possible gospel proclamation in front of a governor and a king. So let's dive into this verse and see what Paul says about the gospel to Festus and Agrippa.