Acts 28:17-31
Key Verse - Acts 28:30-31
1.
Paul
was in chains because of Israel’s hope (17-20).
At the end of his third mission journey, Paul was arrested
in Jerusalem. Since then, he had had four trials and eventually had to appeal
to Caesar because of death threats from his own people. So Paul was on board a
prison ship headed to Rome; however, the ship was wrecked in a severe storm at
sea and all two hundred and seventy-six people on board, including Paul, lost any
hope of survival. At this time, an angel of God appeared to Paul and said to
him,
“Do not be afraid, Paul. You must
stand trial before Caesar; and God has graciously given you the lives of all
who sail with you.” (Acts 27:24 NIV).
Paul and all of the other people on the ship survived, and he
was finally transported to Rome. There, he was allowed to live by himself with
a soldier to guard him (28:16). Though he was a prisoner, had very limited mobility
and things he still wanted to accomplish, Paul had achieved his goal of being
in Rome. What was God’s will in sending him to Rome, even as a prisoner?
Paul might have made his decision to visit Jerusalem/Rome when
he made his vow at the end of his
second mission journey, soon after or while he traveled to Syria [Acts 18:18],
accompanied by Pricilla and Aquila, a couple from Rome [They had left Rome
because of Emperor Claudius’ edict, but later they returned to Roman (Romans
16:3)]. This resolution was further expressed as he came to the end of his third
mission journey in Ephesus (19:21). God encouraged Paul and confirmed His will
for him to testify in Rome (Acts 23:11). However, this mission did not begin
with Paul.
Long before him, Jesus envisioned this, i.e. bringing
the good news of the gospel to Rome, the ultimate city of power, authority, and
culture of the time. This was first noted when Jesus spoke of his
decision to die as the Greek-speaking Jews came and asked to see him (John
12:20-24). Jesus knew that the Greek-speaking Jews must also partake in his
trials, suffering, and death. Later on, the Holy Spirit came upon
the disciples at the Pentecost, enabling them to speak many languages so that the
people gathered could hear the message in their own language (Acts 2:9-10). Among
these nations or countries, Rome was
mentioned in the last group of the countries, indicating that it was part of the
ultimate frontier for the gospel message. Some time after this, Jesus
appeared to Paul, saying that he appeared to him with the clear purpose of sending
him to the Gentiles far away (Acts 9:15; 22:21). In this
way, Paul’s arrival in Rome was not just his personal efforts to meet the
purpose of this call, but it was also tightly woven with God’s purpose for the whole
world. How was this purpose planned out?
Read v17-20.
Paul wasted no time in doing what he longed to do. As soon
as his situation was set, he called the local Jewish leaders and assured them
that, though he was in chains, he had not committed any crime worthy of death
and had not been found guilty by the Roman officials. Nevertheless, the Jewish
leaders insistently sentenced him to death; in order to save his own life, Paul
appealed to Caesar. Simply, he was innocent; however, his appeal to Caesar was
not intended to bring charges against his fellow Israelites. Instead, the
primary reason for him to be in chains was because of Israel’s hope, nothing
else, - not the vindication of his life, not holding the wrongs of the Jews or
the nation Israel against them.
This is important in two ways; first, having a single-minded
purpose, Paul could set aside all else that might rise up along the way. His goal
was set and did not deviate from that purpose; he would not be entangled, or swayed
by other means or ways. As we studied previously over the past several lessons
on Paul’s mission journey, we can see that Paul’s life was driven by a single
purpose - to preach and defend the Gospel of Jesus Christ. Second, Israel’s
hope was the first and only purpose for his life. As we come to know later, this
hope was, and still is, the kingdom of God, found through King Jesus. For this
simple purpose, he would and could endure all else. This ‘all else’ is well captured by his chains.
In exchange for Israel’s hope or in order to hold on to this hope, he would
incur any hardship, including these chains! He was willing to give away
anything at his disposal, including his life.
Having done so, he was put in chains, with many charges
brought against him, and with many physical constraints, yet his hope for Israel was high
and free in his inner being. This hope was even more powerful than as
he finally arrived in Rome in chains. Therefore, what could it mean for Paul to
be in chains? If we look back to what he went through, we can realize the
enormity of what was entailed in ‘the chains’ with which he was bound; he had
almost died when the Jewish mob attacked him in the temple. Twice, zealous
people had come together to murder him. On both of these occasions, he barely
escaped death. In the four trials he faced, the sentence against him was death.
In all of these instances, his life hung by a thread, yet he did not lose hope;
he continued to persevere and testify his hope of resurrection to everyone who
came to hear him. Also, when the hope for survival was totally gone in the
shipwreck, Paul was literally tested concerning the genuine quality of this greater hope. With that single-minded
hope and faith, he ran the rest of his life’s race and was able to say this:
“I have fought the good fight, I
have finished the race, I have kept the faith.” (2 Timothy 4:7).
What was Israel’s hope, and what was its importance for both
Paul’s life, as well as ours today?
2.
Israel
began to stray from their only hope (Acts 28:21-29).
When the day came, Jews came in ‘even larger numbers’ to
listen to Paul. They had heard about him from many who had talked against his
teaching, but they did not know who Paul was or what he had been through. We
can say that they had no particular bias against Paul, so an even larger number
of people gathered in Paul’s house. He began to teach them; he talked from
morning to evening. This means that, for at least seven-twelve hours, he
witnessed to them, explaining the kingdom of God from the Law of Moses and from
the Prophets.
“When they had set a day for Paul,
they came to him at his lodging in large numbers; and he was explaining to them
by solemnly testifying about the kingdom of God and trying to persuade them concerning Jesus, from
both the Law of Moses and from the Prophets, from morning until evening.” (Acts
28:23 NASB).
I like the NASB version, because it is a more accurate
transliteration of the original Greek text. Here, the first point of explanation
was the phrase ‘solemnly testifying’ (NIV ‘witness’). This means to bear witness
to something. What did Paul witness that he could testify about? It was the
kingdom of God. The word ‘witness’ always must include something one has seen
with their own eyes. Had Paul physically seen the kingdom of God so that he
could bear witness of it? If not, then was he using this word figuratively?
Very unlikely! Then how could he have seen God’s kingdom? The clue to this
can be found in Luke 9.
"Truly I tell you, some who
are standing here will not taste death before they see the kingdom of
God." (Luke 9:27 NIV).
Jesus told this to his disciples, immediately after telling
his disciples about his upcoming suffering, death, and resurrection. A week
later, he took three of his disciples to the Mount of Transfiguration; there,
Peter, John and James saw Jesus in his glory, along with Moses and Elijah.
Jesus described this experience as ‘seeing the kingdom of God’. In a
similar fashion, Paul witnessed the risen Jesus and called that experience ‘seeing
the kingdom of God’. What did he see when he was stopped in the road by
the risen Jesus through the heavenly light? In Jesus’ appearance in his full
glory, Paul saw whatever was entailed in the kingdom of God! As Jesus showed
these three disciples his Father’s kingdom in all its glory, so he also showed
Paul the full scope of the same kingdom by appearing to him in his full glory!
In this way, that experience unveiled everything about the truth of the kingdom
of God, including the king of that Kingdom, Jesus! Because of this, Paul ‘witnessed’
the kingdom of God. When we hear a witness, their words are considered to be
facts of life, and we accept it by ’faith’.
This fact must be understood. How? Paul shored up his entire explanation of the
kingdom of God from what he knew from the Old Testament. For ten hours, he
expounded on the meaning or significance of Jesus’ death and resurrection, using
Old Testament teachings. He could do this firmly and convincingly, because he
himself had experienced it. Therefore, he made all efforts to persuade his
listeners to the faith. What happened as a result?
“Some were convinced by what he
said, but others would not believe. They disagreed” (Acts 28:24-25a).
The Jews were disagreeing among themselves; though some were
favorably inclined to accept Paul’s teaching, none of them had clearly expressed
faith. Toward this end, Paul made one final remark:
"The Holy Spirit spoke the
truth to your ancestors when he said through Isaiah the prophet: "'Go to
this people and say, "You will be ever hearing but never understanding;
you will be ever seeing but never perceiving." For this people's heart has
become calloused; they hardly hear with their ears, and they have closed their
eyes. Otherwise they might see with their eyes, hear with their ears,
understand with their hearts and turn, and I would heal them.' "Therefore
I want you to know that God's salvation has been sent to the Gentiles, and they
will listen!"” (Acts 28:25-28).
God gave Isaiah this message to deliver to His people Israel
(Isaiah 6:9-10). He would deafen them so that they might not hear Isaiah’s
prophetic messages in their entirety. These prophecies can be summed up into three
main messages: the coming judgment, the coming Messiah, and the coming
restoration of God’s kingdom. Though Israel heard Isaiah’s messages, they did
not understand or capture their full significance. Certainly, this was because
God had deafened their hearts and minds to His message. What was the reason for
this?
God indicted the nation Israel, according to the Law of
Moses. This is well described in Isaiah 1-5. Here, God indicated what He would
do if Israel committed such a violation of the Law of Moses (Deuteronomy 28:15,
47).
“However, if you do not obey the
LORD your God and do not carefully follow all his commands and decrees I am
giving you today, all these curses will come on you and overtake you…Because
you did not serve the LORD your God joyfully and gladly in the time of
prosperity” (Deuteronomy 28:15, 47).
Isaiah reiterated the law’s message of judgment, the Messiah’s
advent, and the coming glory of God’s kingdom; however, the Israelites did not
understand these things and did not believe them because their hearts were hardened.
Jesus quoted from Isaiah 6:9-10 in his parables about the kingdom
of God (Matthew 13:14-15, Luke 8:4-10, and Mark 4:1-13).
If anyone truly understood this parable, they would know and accept the kingdom
of God.
Here, Paul recognized the same truth, as he repeated it to these
Jewish leaders in Rome. They were not biased to Paul and heard his message with
the desire to understand, but their response was the same as the people of Isaiah’s
and Jesus’ time. The gospel message had supposedly reached the Roman Jews sometime
earlier, but the majority of them had opposed it. Now, they themselves heard this
message through Paul. Nevertheless, no one came forward to express their faith
in the new King Jesus and the offer of the new kingdom. When Paul quoted Isaiah’s
prophecy, they began to leave! What did this mean for these Israelite leaders in
Rome? Unless they believed in Jesus’ resurrection, as Paul witnessed and
vividly explained to them through the Old Testament, they would never gain the
true understanding of the kingdom of God. It was like this for the people during
Isaiah’s time, Jesus’ time, and even Paul’s time in Rome! Their minds were the
same. It is appalling to see such an accurate fulfillment of God’s word! According
to Paul’s personal experiences, the responses were the same from Jerusalem to
Rome; the Jews’ minds were so alike. How long would they be blind like this?
God gave the answer to this question to Isaiah:
“Then I said, "For how long,
Lord?" And he answered: "Until the cities lie ruined and without
inhabitant, until the houses are left deserted and the fields ruined and
ravaged, until the LORD has sent everyone far away and the land is utterly
forsaken. (Isaiah 6:11-12 NIV).
At this time, Israel had a country, a temple, and worship
services. They could maintain their pride in what God had given them, the Law
of Moses and the temple; however, it was not yet time for them to overcome
their stupor! It would continue until the land lay ravaged.
Since Israel had violated the Law of Moses, God would
prescribe His judgement upon them, according to the covenant of the Law, as was
described here:
“They will lay siege to all the
cities throughout your land until the high fortified walls in which you trust
fall down. They will besiege all the cities throughout the land the LORD your
God is giving you.” (Deuteronomy 28:52 NIV).
What would happen to God’s hope to establish His kingdom through
Israel?
"Therefore I want you to know that God's
salvation has been sent to the Gentiles, and they will listen!" (Acts
28:28).
In this way, Paul’s message to the Israelite leaders in Rome
marked the end of God’s persuasion to the Jews. Though it is possible that, in later
periods, Jews were taught with the amount of force as Paul had in this setting,
this message, as a whole, would be the last one given to the Jews and the only thing
left for them was the final judgment "until the cities lie ruined and
without inhabitant, until the houses are left deserted and the fields ruined
and ravaged” (Isaiah 6:11). This was about AD 62. As we know, in AD 70, Israel
suffered the total decimation of their country, including Jerusalem. This was God’s
final judgment for their disobedience and unwillingness to serve the Lord with
joy.
What does this tell us? God implemented His covenant curse
on Israel, which was first announced through Isaiah and repeated through the
Messiah, Jesus. Finally, the curse was fulfilled in AD 70, when they rejected and
crucified him. God’s judgment on Israel can also be applied, by and large, to
all of the nations of the world. Again, it is noteworthy to look at what God
said to Israel.
“However, if you do not obey the LORD your God and do not
carefully follow all his commands and decrees I am giving you today, all these
curses will come on you and overtake you” (Acts 28:15).
“Because you did not serve the
LORD your God joyfully and gladly in the time of prosperity” (Deuteronomy
28:47).
The Gospel came to Europe and God sustained His blessing to its
people for a long time as the leading nations of the world; however, they are slowly
but surely fading away, for they did not serve the Lord joyfully and gladly. Instead,
they were busy enriching themselves with God’s blessings. How about the United
States? God has blessed America richly, because she has cherished Him in fear
and humility; however, she will surely succumb to God’s judgment if she does
not serve Him joyfully and gladly. There are many nations that are humble and
ready to receive the message of the kingdom of God, through belief in Jesus
Christ. Is it possible for the American people become calloused and unable to
hear God’s word? Surely! This is more than possible; if God did not exempt His
firstborn from His judgment, He would not exempt any of the nations of the
world. He would blind Israwl, until her cities lay in ruins. I am glad you are
here with listening hearts, faith, and fear of the Lord. One day, you will lead
this nation to sustain God’s blessing, even though as the nation is going, the
outlook is not as bright as we all might wish her to be. From a biblical point
of view, the whole world is in the same predicament.
3.
Paul’s
unhindered ministry of preaching the Gospel in Rome (30-31)
What did Paul do after the Jewish leaders left? As we noted,
Paul’s teaching to the Jewish leaders in Rome marked the last message he gave
solely for the sake of the Jews. From now on, his message of the Gospel would
be open to all, equally.
“For two whole years Paul stayed
there in his own rented house and welcomed all who came to see him.” (Acts
28:30).
As a prisoner, he could not move about; however, in his confinement,
he was free to do one thing: he could welcome everyone who came to visit him. It
did not matter who came through his door; it could be a murderer, adulterer,
thief, Roman soldiers, high officials, black people, yellow people, white
people, Hindus, Muslims, or Buddhists. Regardless of who or what they were, as
long as they came through the door of Paul’s rented house, he welcomed and
served them; how did he serve them?
“He proclaimed the kingdom of God
and taught about the Lord Jesus Christ-- with all boldness and without
hindrance!” (Acts 28:31).
This was the same message as was given to the Jewish leaders
in Rome. Paul proclaimed the kingdom of God. As we noted earlier, since Paul’s
knowledge of God’s kingdom was anchored in his eyewitness experience of the
risen Jesus, he proclaimed the kingdom of God as a matter of truth or fact. We
can rephrase this simply in this way; Jesus died on the cross for sins of men, but
God raised him from the dead and appeared to Paul to give him ‘this message deliver to you, so that you may open your eyes
and turn from darkness to light, and from Satan’s power to God’s, so that you
may receive forgiveness of sins and a place among those who are sanctified by
faith in Christ’ (paraphrased from Acts 26:18).
The author, Luke, ended the book of The Acts of the Apostles,
or The Acts of the Holy Spirit, in this way, without any conclusion or
prospect, making it open-ended. Paul’s life, as far as we understand, ended in
martyrdom a few years after his imprisonment in Rome. However, what Paul had
begun during this time would be continued by those who were called by Christ.
The continuum of Paul’s work was of God’s will and of those whom He called as He
did for Paul. This work was to proclaim the kingdom of God and to teach the
world about Jesus Christ, the king. From this, we can easily understand what it
means to teach about Jesus, our Lord; we must be diligently engaged in teaching
about Jesus through Bible study. But as far as God’s kingdom is concerned, we
do not have a clear idea of what to do. In order to understand or clarify how
we can better understand the concept of the kingdom of God, I would like to
focus on two verbs, ‘witness’ and ‘proclaim’ (28:23, 31). As we have noted
above, Paul witnessed to many people about the kingdom of God, specifically of him
seeing the risen Jesus in glory and power. When one proclaims something, he
asserts the message as a fact or truth. So in both of these verbs, the kingdom
of God was presented as a fact and the truth. In addition, ‘proclaiming the
kingdom of God’ was not informing someone of something to come in the future; it
was a declaration of the presence of God’s kingdom and the availability of that
kingdom right now to all who would believe. This was possible for Paul since he had
seen the risen Jesus. How could this be continued through those who had
never had such a visual experience?
Some believe that the book of Acts was so named for the acts
of the Holy Spirit described therein. When the Holy Spirit came upon Jesus’ one
hundred and twenty disciples, they changed drastically in their understanding
of the truth, particularly concerning Jesus, in their power, boldness, and
courage, and in their lives. In other words, Jesus became their Lord, his life
became their truth, and their lives were inseparable from his, who had ascended
and was believed to be sitting at God’s right hand. This oneness with Christ
was not just for the Apostles who witnessed his resurrection, but also for
those who joined this community of believers through their message. In this way,
the presence of the kingdom of God would become a true reality for them as well,
being able to feel and realize its many aspects. In this way, they would be one
with the king, Jesus, as their Lord, and become his people. In this unity, the
kingdom of God developed into something real and was no longer an abstract future
concept.
I remember the day when Jesus forgave my sins and confirmed
his grace in my life with the Holy Spirit’s power. My heart was filled with joy
and hope; the darkness that had overshadowed my heart was gone and a new beginning
was dawning on me. This was not a change of my ideas or a new intellectual understanding,
but a real thing happening in me. I found this reality again when I attended a
meeting with many brothers and sisters at UBF, where the Holy Spirit’s power
was at work. So God’s kingdom is the present reality in and among us through
the Holy Spirit’s work. It is the substance that we can use to convince,
witness, and proclaim the good news of the gospel.
A week ago, I went to X nation and attended a conference.
There were fourteen students there, studying the Bible. I was told to be careful
about my language, because everything was heavily censored. I felt so uneasy, uncertain,
and afraid. As I made the decision to attend this conference, I prayed and decided
to lay myself bear to God’s hand. The moment I made this decision, I felt freed
from my fear and uncertainty. At the conference, I felt the same, as God’s power
came upon the many brothers and sisters that were present. Though they were few
in number (just about twenty students), this was part of God’s kingdom.
Actually, he Holy Spirit’s power comes upon many people in various places around
the world. I receive weekly reports on what’s going on in various parts of the
world; these are a present reality of the reality of God’s kingdom. Though His
chosen nation Israel failed to meet His hope for them, God, in His power, will
increase His kingdom through those who believe in His risen Son, Jesus.
We are witnesses of God’s kingdom and are
to teach the world about Jesus. Then we will continue to enjoy all of the
blessings of the kingdom.
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