Acts
The Book of Acts: Chapter 28 (pt 15 of 16)
In the following verses (Philippians 1:19-26), Paul wrote about his uncertain future. He might go free, or he might be executed. I realize that is a pretty stark statement but that was the reality Paul faced. So how did Paul feel about it? Read the rest of this entry »
The Book of Acts: Chapter 28 (pt 14 of 16)
When Paul wrote to the Philippian saints (who were the only ones who sent a contribution to him while he was a prisoner in Rome), he knew he would probably never see them again. Was he concerned because he would not be there for them? Not at all! Paul knew that it was not about him, but about God: Read the rest of this entry »
The Book of Acts: Chapter 28 (pt 13 of 15)
I probably should point out that those in Caesar’s household had the honor of hearing the gospel, although many of these folks could have been servants in his household. Ooh, I see it in your eyes; you don’t believe me and are wondering where in the world I found that out. That’s simple, look in the 4th chapter of Philippians: Read the rest of this entry »
The Book of Acts: Chapter 28 (pt 12 of 15)
Okay, so we have reached the end of this chapter, and the end of the Book of Acts. So let’s look at what Luke did and didn’t emphasize in his conclusion. Maybe we can see what Luke (and the Holy Spirit, who inspired the writing) intended for us learn in the Book of Acts.
You see, in my mind, Luke was never interested in simply reporting the disasters. For example, God did not choose to include an account of the fall of Jerusalem in 70 A.D. here, or in any other New Testament Book. If there were ever a New Testament Book where you would expect to hear at least the mention of the fall of Jerusalem, it would have been here.
Now granted, if Acts was written around or before 62 A.D., Luke could not write about the destruction of Jerusalem because it had not even happened yet. However, if God believed that we needed to know about the fall of Jerusalem, He could have delayed the writing of Acts until after this monumental event. Or at least, God could have provided some other work in the canon of the New Testament which described this tragic event.
We might be a little disappointed that an account of the fall of Jerusalem is not found in Acts or anywhere else in the New Testament. You see, for me, the conclusion of Acts is rather anti-climactic because there seems to be so much missing.
We still have memorials for the anniversary of 9/11 and the death of nearly 2,800 people. I mean it was a terrible tragedy, but did you know that more Jews died in the fall of Jerusalem in 70 A.D. than that? As a good friend reminded me, many more Christians and Jews have been (and currently are being) tortured and murdered around the world, yet we don’t hear about it in the news, nor do many believers even think about it. I think it had more to do with Luke having something more important to describe than the fall of Jerusalem.
Let me say this a little differently, Luke is not nearly as interested in reporting the disasters and dark side of life, as he is in proclaiming the good news of the gospel. The fall of Jerusalem was a terrible tragedy, but it does not affect us directly today, not nearly as much as the judicial hardening of the Jews and the beginning of the times of the Gentiles.
Luke is also not interested in reporting about the “rich and famous.” Luke has more to say about Publius, his family, and his neighbors than he does about Caesar, who is mentioned only once in Acts 28. No wonder Paul writes,
Think about the circumstances of your call, brothers and sisters. Not many were wise by human standards, not many were powerful, not many were born to a privileged position. But God chose what the world thinks foolish to shame the wise, and God chose what the world thinks weak to shame the strong. God chose what is low and despised in the world, what is regarded as nothing, to set aside what is regarded as something, so that no one can boast in his presence. He is the reason you have a relationship with Christ Jesus, who became for us wisdom from God, and righteousness and sanctification and redemption, so that, as it is written, “Let the one who boasts, boast in the Lord” —I Corinthians 1:26-31
The Book of Acts: Chapter 28 (pt 12 of 15)
Paul lived there two whole years in his own rented quarters and welcomed all who came to him, proclaiming the kingdom of God and teaching about the Lord Jesus Christ with complete boldness and without restriction —Acts 28:30-31
I don’t know about you, but I read this realize how gracious and longsuffering our Lord is. Paul announced the sentence of judicial blindness on the people of Israel, and yet for two years he continued to preach the gospel to anyone who came to him—and he did it boldly, which is something he asked the Ephesian believers to pray for him to receive:
With every prayer and petition, pray at all times in the Spirit, and to this end be alert, with all perseverance and requests for all the saints. Pray for me also, that I may be given the message when I begin to speak – that I may confidently make known the mystery of the gospel, for which I am an ambassador in chains. Pray that I may be able to speak boldly as I ought to speak —Ephesians 6:18-20
His Lord provided him with a rented quaters that was large for everyone who came to hear the gospel. God provided Paul with the message and with the boldness to proclaim it. It didn’t stop there. God even provided Paul with the protection of Rome to do it all!
Think about it. How would Paul ever have been able to gain an audience with Caesar in Rome? How “free” would Paul have been to preach to the Jews if he had simply been declared innocent and then was released? My sense is that the Jewish opposition would have at least harassed Paul, and most likely would have killed him if they could and the soldier Paul was chained to did not restrict him in any way from preaching the gospel. The really cool thing is that those soldiers Paul was chained to were able to hear the gospel over and over and over and over . . . They even stood close to Paul as he dictated his “Prison Epistles” (Galatians, Ephesians, Philippians—letters I absolutely love to read). Far from hindering Paul, they helped by serving as his personal bodyguards. It is absolutely amazing how our Lord works to accomplish His purposes and promises?
If interested, you can download the entire study of The Story of Acts
The Book of Acts: Chapter 28 (pt 11 of 15)
In my last post is was explaining how Paul quoted Isaiah warning them that because the nation had not turned, and accepted Yeshua as their Messiah, a judicial blindness had been imposed on them. Paul wrote about this blindness in II Corinthians, chapters 3 and 4: Read the rest of this entry »
The Book of Acts: Chapter 28 (pt 10 of 15)
In the last post, I mentioned the time that Jesus was explaining why He taught in parables and he said, “I am speaking to them in parables so that they won’t understand Me, won’t repent, and thus won’t be saved.”
Which seemed kind of rough, until you realize that the “religious” folk were ridiculing all the miracles he performed as being something less than miraculous. But then they took a different approach and claimed that our Lord’s miraculous power was actually from the devil. In other words, in their minds, Jesus was demon possessed. Read the rest of this entry »
The Book of Acts: Chapter 28 (pt 9 of 15)
So they began to leave, unable to agree among themselves, after Paul made one last statement: “The Holy Spirit spoke rightly to your ancestors through the prophet Isaiah when he said, ‘Go to this people and say, “You will keep on hearing, but will never understand, and you will keep on looking, but will never perceive. For the heart of this people has become dull, and their ears are hard of hearing, and they have closed their eyes, so that they would not see with their eyes and hear with their ears and understand with their heart and turn, and I would heal them.”‘ “Therefore be advised that this salvation from God has been sent to the Gentiles; they will listen!” [When he had said these things, the Jews departed, having a great dispute among themselves.] —Acts 28:25-29
The Book of Acts: Chapter 28 (pt 8 of 15)
Now Paul is in Rome. After three days, Paul contacts the Jewish leaders and invites them to visit him in his rented quarters. When they had gathered, Paul explained his presence in Rome. He assured them that he had never done anything against the Jews or against Jewish customs. He became a prisoner of the Romans, and recognized he was innocent. They wanted to release him but received very strong opposition from the Jews, forcing Paul to appeal to Caesar. He made it clear that he never intended to press charges against the Jews, but only to face the charges they had raised. Paul declared that his chains were due to his faith in what (more accurately, in Who) was the hope of Israel. Read the rest of this entry »
Flotsam and Jetsam 
The Book of Acts: Chapter 28 (pt 16 of 16)
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Look at I Peter 2:4-10:
This entry was posted in Acts, Bible Commentaries, Bible Study.