TEXT: Acts 28:11-31

SUBJECT: Acts 31

Today, God willing, we’ll complete our study of Acts. The Book tells the story of Jesus Christ from about 30-64 A.D. And what a story it is! It begins with the Lord soaring to heaven on a cloud of glory. The man they crucified as a criminal has been made Master of the Universe.

Ten days later, He poured out His Spirit in the world, filling His people with joy and enabling them to further His Kingdom in the world. They did this first in Jerusalem, then in Judea, in Samaria, and, now, to the uttermost parts of the earth.

That brings us to today’s story.

It begins on the Island of Malta, about fifty miles south of Italy. Paul is a prisoner there. A few months earlier, he, Luke, and others set sail from Caesarea, hoping to reach Rome by winter. But they didn’t quite make it. In the late fall, they were slammed by a hurricane and shipwrecked on the island. There they stayed until the weather broke in early spring.

When they found a ship heading their way, they sailed north for Sicily. After a quick stop there, they moved on to Rhegium and Puteoli, ports in southern Italy. There they were entertained by the Christians of that place. And not only that place. For word got around quickly, and soon believers from all over the map were showing their love to Paul and his friends.

This moved the man deeply. He thanked God for the saints in Italy—and found strength in their fellowship. All the while being handcuffed to a Roman soldier.

FIRST MEETING WITH THE JEWS, VV.17-22

When Paul got to Rome, the first thing he did was to rent a house. He and his guard would live there for the next two years. As soon as that was squared away, he invited the leading Jews of Rome to pay him a visit.

Which they did. Oddly enough, they didn’t know Paul (though he had been a leader both in Judaism and Christianity). But they did know one thing: His people were "Spoken against everywhere". That is, Jews worldwide were warned about Christianity.

What’s it all about?

Paul sums it up in a few words. His faith is about one thing: "The Hope of Israel". And that means the resurrection of Christ.

This is something we’re apt to forget. Christianity is not about "being nice". There are nice Christians, nice Muslims, nice Atheists, nice everythings and nice nothings. It’s not about "One God"; it’s not about "God being a Spirit"; it’s not about "doing good works, helping the poor or trusting a Higher Power". These are good things, of course, but Christianity is really about one thing: A Dead Man rose from the grave, ascended to heaven, and is now sitting at God’s Right Hand in Glory.

That means the Man is Whom He said He is. It means He is the Son of God and the Only Savior!

This is precisely what Paul meant by these words; it’s how the Jews understood them; it’s what the Church has confessed from the Day of Pentecost right up to the present.

The Jews want to know more. They make an appointment to meet Paul in a few days to talk about it at greater length.

And do they ever! The house is packed with visitors and the discussion goes on for a twelve solid hours.

It’s about two things: The Kingdom of God and it’s King. Both the Jews and Paul believed in both. But they differed on each too. The Jews thought the Kingdom was Israel; Paul said it was God’s people from every nation. The Jews thought the King would come in the near future, but Paul said He had come, been crucified on earth and crowned in heaven.

Whether the Jews were serious or not, we don’t know, but we do know this: Paul was dead in earnest.

This was not about winning a debate! The glory of God and the salvation of men were at stake. So, Paul meant business.

But he wasn’t a fanatic, just yelling out Bible verses. No, he "explained" God’s Word carefully and gave reasons for what he believed and why it must be true. Not may be true or is true for him, but objectively true for everyone. Francis Schaeffer called it "True Truth".

The source of Paul’s message was the Bible. He persuaded them "concerning Jesus from both the Law of Moses and the Prophets". Where did he start? We don’t know, but I suspect he began with Genesis 3:15,

The word was spoken to Satan right after the Fall of Man. God promises that the devil (and his people) would have a fight with Eve and her Seed. Now, this is very peculiar. Nowhere else in the Bible is a woman said to have a "Seed". The word is "Sperma". It’s used very often of men like Abraham or Jacob or David, but here the promise goes to a woman. As though God’s Champion wouldn’t have a human father.

What’s more, God’s Hero would suffer (maybe even lose the fight in a way). But, wounds and all, He would go on to deal Satan a deadly blow—crushing his head.

Having expounded the text, Paul goes on to apply it. The prophecy fits one Man only. He was,

Paul isn’t reading all this into the text. That’s precisely what it says—and what it means!

From there, he may have gone on to Psalm 16:11,

The Psalm was written by David who affirmed his belief in the resurrection. But that’s not all he did. He went on to say that his body would not rot in the grave. But if you went to David’s tomb, you’d see that it did. The Psalm, therefore, is not about David, but about His Son, the Messiah (or, Savior).

Who does the verse fit? What man ever died, was buried, but never became a rotting corpse? Only one, Jesus Christ.

Paul spent hours going over the Old Testament material and proving that it spoke of the Lord Jesus Christ—and no one else!

What did the Jews think of his argument?

To the latter Paul issued a warning. It’s a quote from Isaiah 6,

The meaning is clear: The people in Isaiah’s day had a prophet, but because they wouldn’t listen to him, they became harder and harder in their unbelief, till God swept them away in their sin.

Paul is afraid the same thing will happen to his visitors. They have heard the Word of God. But they’re not listening to it. Unless they repent—soon—they must suffer the same fate as their grandparents did. They must be damned for their willful unbelief.

This is very bad news for Israel. But God’s Kingdom goes on without them. The Gentiles will listen with faith and find peace with God through the Lord Jesus Christ.

The last two verses complete the story. Paul lives in Rome for two years and keeps on preaching the Word without harassment.

What is the Lord Jesus doing in this chapter? That seems pretty clear: He is Warning His People One Last Time.

Under the Old Covenant, Israel was the People of God. God chose them for it; He redeemed them from Egypt; He kept them in the wilderness; He gave them a land; He forgave their sins; He sent them His Son.

For centuries, He "Stretched out His hand to a disobedient people". Over and over, He sent "[His] servants the prophets, rising early and sending them".

But they would not listen.

Nor would they listen to His Providence. When He chastened them in His anger, they resented Him. When He blessed them in His grace, they forgot Him.

Worst of all, when He sent His Son, they crucified Him. "He came to His own and His own received Him not".

But now, despite the countless rejections He suffered from them, God reaches for His People one last time.

What does this tell us about God?

It tells us that He is very patient. No verse is truer than this one, "The Lord is slow to wrath".

But that’s not all it tells us. It also says that the patience of God is not to be mocked. That God is good, slow to anger, abounding in mercy, yet we must respond to His mercy with gratitude and repentance.

That’s what Israel didn’t do. A few years later, they paid dearly for their unbelief.

Now, what about us? What about you? We receive more favors than we can count every minute of every day. Now, what are we doing with them? Ignoring them? Taking them for granted? Complaining when they’re not good enough for us?

Or, is the "Goodness of God leading us to repentance"?

I hope it is. If it isn’t the words of Isaiah speak not only to the Jews of his day or the First Century—but to us too. Let us, therefore, recognize the daily goodness of the Lord and repay it with lives of faith, hope, and love.

God make it so. For Christ’s sake. Amen.