Charles Ellicott Commentary Acts 26:16

"But arise, and stand upon thy feet: for to this end have I appeared unto thee, to appoint thee a minister and a witness both of the things wherein thou hast seen me, and of the things wherein I will appear unto thee;" — Acts 26:16 (ASV)

But rise, and stand upon your feet.—The report of the words heard by the Apostle is much fuller than in either Acts 9:11 or Acts 22:10. It may fairly be thought of as embodying what followed on the actual words so recorded: the substance of the visions and revelations of the Lord (2 Corinthians 12:1). Through these, in those days of blindness and ecstasy, the future of his life was marked out for him, and the gospel which he was to preach revealed in its fullness. In such states of consciousness, the man who is in contact with the supernatural life does not take note of the sequence of thoughts with the precision of a short-hand reporter.

A minister and a witness.—The first word is the same as that which the Apostle uses of himself in 1 Corinthians 4:1.