John Calvin Commentary Acts 26:7

"unto which [promise] our twelve tribes, earnestly serving [God] night and day, hope to attain. And concerning this hope I am accused by the Jews, O king!" — Acts 26:7 (ASV)

Whereunto our twelve tribes. Paul complains before Agrippa that the state of the Church has come to such a point that the priests oppose the common hope of all the faithful. It is as if he were saying, For what purpose do those of our nation, who worship God carefully and spend both days and nights in the duties of godliness, sigh in their prayers, if not that they may at last come to eternal life?

But this is the very goal at which I aim in all my doctrine; because, when the grace of redemption is set before people, the gate of the kingdom of heaven is opened with it. And when I preach the author of salvation raised from the dead, I offer the first-fruits of immortality in his person; and so, the earlier confirmation of his doctrine was taken from the Word of God, when he cited the promise made to the fathers.

Now, in the second place, he adds the consent of the Church. And this is the best way to maintain and uphold the articles of faith: that the authority of God comes first, and then the consent of the Church comes next. However, we ought, at the same time, wisely to choose the true Church, as Paul teaches us in this place by his own example. For though he knew that the priests used the guise of the Church against him, yet he boldly affirms that the sincere worshippers of God are on his side, and he is content with their defense.

For when he refers to the twelve tribes, he does not speak generally of all those who descended from Jacob according to the flesh, but he means only those who retained the true pursuit of godliness. For it would have been an unfitting thing to commend the entire nation for the fear of God, which was found only in a few.

The Papists act very disorderly in both respects: they oppress the Word of God by the voices and approval of men, and also give the name and title of the Catholic Church to a vile mob of unlearned and impure men, without any pretext or shame. But if we wish to prove that we think as the true Church thinks, we must begin with the prophets and apostles; then those whose godliness is known and evident must be gathered to them. If the Pope and his clergy are not on our side, we need not care greatly. And the true devotion of genuine religion is proved by perseverance and intensity, which was of particular significance at that time, especially when the Jews were in greatest misery.