Continued Advance of the Kingdom of God

Announcements

We’re going to release the pre-schoolers. Ms. Margie will be up here at the door to receive the kids and walk them to their classroom for the remainder of the service. Parents, especially our visiting parents, you’re welcome to walk with them to class to make sure they are settled in.

This is also a good time to get some of the wiggles out for the rest of us too. While I wouldn’t call this an intermission, I will say that if your kids need a potty break, now is a great time to take them so that we can limit the going in and out between now and the end of the service. While that’s going on, I’m going to talk through some announcements before we get into the passage for today.

Guests, we’re grateful that you have joined us today and we want to welcome you especially. Please fill out the contact card on the bottom of the bulletin that you were handed and give that to me, Garry, or Chris. We want to be get in touch with you to let you know a little about our church and help you find a local church for you to be part of.

And if you have prayer requests, guest or member, please feel free to put those on the connection card as well and we’ll be sure to be in prayer with you about that.

The week of events will follow our normal rhythms

Some things to keep in prayer as we go through the week: Pastoral search, wisdom as we work through the administrative restructuring of the building and the processes that are required for having a building of our size.

Because we are a congregational church and the elders do not make unilateral decisions, be on the lookout for a Member’s meeting in early May, we have a number of things to vote on in preparation for the summer PCS season. We’ll hope to nail down a date for that in the next week or so.

Intro

Today we’re finishing up Acts. Over the last 7 or 8 months, we’ve been working our way through the book of Acts and today we get to the end. Over the last several weeks we have been with Paul in Jerusalem as he awaited trial and then appealed to Caesar for his release since the Roman governors would not release him. While on the way to Rome the ship they were sailing on was shipwrecked off the coast of Malta and they had to winter there. God miraculously provided for Paul and the crew, not a single life was lost.

Acts 28:11–31 ESV

After three months we set sail in a ship that had wintered in the island, a ship of Alexandria, with the twin gods as a figurehead. Putting in at Syracuse, we stayed there for three days. And from there we made a circuit and arrived at Rhegium. And after one day a south wind sprang up, and on the second day we came to Puteoli. There we found brothers and were invited to stay with them for seven days. And so we came to Rome. And the brothers there, when they heard about us, came as far as the Forum of Appius and Three Taverns to meet us. On seeing them, Paul thanked God and took courage. And when we came into Rome, Paul was allowed to stay by himself, with the soldier who guarded him. After three days he called together the local leaders of the Jews, and when they had gathered, he said to them, “Brothers, though I had done nothing against our people or the customs of our fathers, yet I was delivered as a prisoner from Jerusalem into the hands of the Romans. When they had examined me, they wished to set me at liberty, because there was no reason for the death penalty in my case. But because the Jews objected, I was compelled to appeal to Caesar—though I had no charge to bring against my nation. For this reason, therefore, I have asked to see you and speak with you, since it is because of the hope of Israel that I am wearing this chain.” And they said to him, “We have received no letters from Judea about you, and none of the brothers coming here has reported or spoken any evil about you. But we desire to hear from you what your views are, for with regard to this sect we know that everywhere it is spoken against.” When they had appointed a day for him, they came to him at his lodging in greater numbers. From morning till evening he expounded to them, testifying to the kingdom of God and trying to convince them about Jesus both from the Law of Moses and from the Prophets. And some were convinced by what he said, but others disbelieved. And disagreeing among themselves, they departed after Paul had made one statement: “The Holy Spirit was right in saying to your fathers through Isaiah the prophet: “ ‘Go to this people, and say, “You will indeed hear but never understand, and you will indeed see but never perceive.” For this people’s heart has grown dull, and with their ears they can barely hear, and their eyes they have closed; lest they should see with their eyes and hear with their ears and understand with their heart and turn, and I would heal them.’ Therefore let it be known to you that this salvation of God has been sent to the Gentiles; they will listen.” He lived there two whole years at his own expense, and welcomed all who came to him, proclaiming the kingdom of God and teaching about the Lord Jesus Christ with all boldness and without hindrance.

This passage provides a neat completion of the book of Acts by showing that the gospel and it's apostles had made it to the seat of the empire in Rome. Just as Luke had set out in Acts 1:8 “But you will receive power when the Holy Spirit has come upon you, and you will be my witnesses in Jerusalem and in all Judea and Samaria, and to the end of the earth.” They had come to the end of the earth. And in the last few verses, Luke highlights the conflict between the Roman empire and God's kingdom.

We may not live in the Roman Empire, but we are all in need of freedom from empire. What is empire? Rule through violence and oppression, empire is the manipulation of others to achieve a particular end. Empire is the domination of others. Empire is a result of our sin and a twisting of God’s command to multiply and fill the earth and have dominion over it. Empire is domination, not dominion. And so we can think about the different spheres of our lives and see how domination through manipulation is prevalent. We are manipulated by our phones, into taking certain jobs, into falling in line with certain political statements, and in other ways. The good news of Jesus is that we do not have to live in slavery to the empire around us, but we can come under the rule fo the heavenly King, giving our allegiance to him, not the empire. This is the message that Paul brought to Rome, and its the message we get to hear today in DC.

The hope of Israel is the Kingdom of God as it is expressed by Jesus in his life, death, burial, resurrection, and ascension and we have the opportunity to take part in it or reject it. Let’s look at what happens to Paul in this passage.

Travels to Rome (v.11-16)

Explanation

The first thing we come to in the passage is the description of the ship whose figurehead was the twin gods. The twin gods were Castor and Pollux. They were the sons Leda of Sparta, but had different fathers: Pollux was fathered by Zeus (Jupiter) and Castor was fathered by Leda’s mortal husband Tyndareus. The twins are also known as the constellation Gemini and sailors often looked to Gemini to determine whether it was safe to be on the sea or not. So it is ironic that the ship with the twin gods was wintering at Malta too, they had missed their typical window and the gods did not provide them safe travel to their destination.

Luke is reminding us of God’s sovereignty over the weather. It was the Lord God that would bring the ship to its final destination, not the false gods of Rome or Greece. God protected the ship’s company and crew not the twin gods. The Lord had promised that Paul would make it to Rome and it is the Lord who made it happen.

Luke traces the route from Malta all the way to Rome. The started in Malta and sailed to Syracuse which is on the east coast of Sicily, the big island next to the tip of the boot. From Syracuse they sailed to Rhegium, which is the southwestern tip of the boot. Puteoli is some 200 miles north-nortwest along west coast of Italy and Luke tells us they sailed there from Rhegium in one day. At Puteoli, there was a pause for 7 days where Paul was allowed the freedom to stay with fellow believers. From there the last 170 miles of the journey to Rome was completed by land on the Appian Way.

Along the way, we’re told that believers met Paul at the Forum of Appius and at Three Taverns. The Forum of Appius was about 40 miles outside of Rome and the Three Taverns was about 11 miles outside of Rome.

Verse 15 in the NLT says it this way:

New Living Translation Acts 28:15

The brothers and sisters in Rome had heard we were coming, and they came to meet us at the Forum on the Appian Way. Others joined us at The Three Taverns. When Paul saw them, he was encouraged and thanked God.

Believers from Rome met them at the Forum of Appius and traveled with them back to Rome while still others joined them at Three Taverns. Paul’s reputation among believers preceded him all the way into Rome and they had come to support him in his trip to Rome. The word that Luke uses to describe them coming to meet them is one that described a delegation from a city welcoming a visiting political leader. They would meet the leader outside of the city and escort them into the city. These believers were doing this of Paul, except they traveled many miles in order to bring Paul into Rome.

It would be easy to see how Paul could have been discouraged throughout the journey. Paul had been imprisoned for over two years already, survived shipwreck in order to get to Rome to defend himself from false accusations. Yet when he was 40 miles south of Rome he was greeted by believers who had heard he was coming. Luke tells us that Paul thanked God and took courage. What a thrill it would have been for him. Believers he had most likely never met had come to welcome him and escort him to their city. They had gone out of their way, some a couple days’ journey out of their way to come meet him. What hospitality, what love.

Application

It’s easy to take this apply little section and talk about hospitality and going out of your way to do so, but I think more fundamentally, this is about encouragement. As member of the body of Christ, members of the same family, there is an opportunity that we have to encourage one another that I think is often left untapped. The hospitality that Paul experienced was not something that we can necessarily do regularly. But what if we focused on encouraging one another?

Paul had written to the Romans a few years before and said (Romans 1:11-12) “For I long to see you, that I may impart to you some spiritual gift to strengthen you— that is, that we may be mutually encouraged by each other’s faith, both yours and mine.” The author of Hebrews says (Hebrews 10:24-25) “And let us consider how to stir up one another to love and good works, not neglecting to meet together, as is the habit of some, but encouraging one another, and all the more as you see the Day drawing near.”

The problem is that I’m not sure that we know what that even looks like, probably because we’ve not been taught how to do it. What if instead of jumping into small talk when we saw one another, we expressed joy in seeing our family members, expressed our love for one another and then asked how the Lord was working in our lives? How would it change our interactions? If we were regularly delighting in the presence of one another, expressing our love for one another, and hearing each other’s testimonies of what God is doing, I imagine our experience of church life would be a lot different. I imagine our experience of community would deepen. I could see that having those types of conversations would lead to real attachment with one another and love for one another that felt like family, real family. Then when we see each other we could truly thank God and take courage!

Encounter with the Jewish Leaders (v.17-22)

Explanation

Paul’s time in Rome is described in three short descriptions. The first is here in verses 17-22.

Because of his imprisonment he was apparently not allowed to leave his home. He was under house arrest. While under house arrest he was not able to go to the local synagogues and interact with the Jews that met there as was his typical method of engagement in a new city: first to the Jews and when they had rejected the message he would move to the Gentiles in the same city.

When the leaders arrived, Paul set forth to provide an account of why he was not only in Rome, but what his purposes were. He says (Acts 28:17-19) Brothers, though I had done nothing against our people or the customs of our fathers, yet I was delivered as a prisoner from Jerusalem into the hands of the Romans. When they had examined me, they wished to set me at liberty, because there was no reason for the death penalty in my case. But because the Jews objected, I was compelled to appeal to Caesar—though I had no charge to bring against my nation.”

Paul’s accusers have indicted him unlawfully and though the Romans desired to set him free, that would lead to arrest again by the Jewish authorities. Paul appealed to Caesar to protect himself, not in order to indict the Jewish leaders. Paul is living the Kingdom principle that Jesus gives in Matthew 5:43-45: “You have heard that it was said, ‘You shall love your neighbor and hate your enemy.’ But I say to you, Love your enemies and pray for those who persecute you, so that you may be sons of your Father who is in heaven. For he makes his sun rise on the evil and on the good, and sends rain on the just and on the unjust.” While Paul would have been justified in bringing charges against the Jews in Rome for his maltreatment, he only wanted to clear his name of the charge so that he could continue preaching the hope of Israel as he says in verse 20 (Acts 28:20) “For this reason, therefore, I have asked to see you and speak with you, since it is because of the hope of Israel that I am wearing this chain.””

The hope of Israel as a description of Paul’s ministry is not something we hear about much, in fact this is the only place in the New Testament that this particular phrase is used. In the Old Testament, this phrase is used in Jeremiah twice and that’s it. Really quick, we’re going to look at those passages and see if that’s what Paul is alluding to.

The first reference is going to take us to Jeremiah 14:7-9 the reference is in verse eight. But starting in verse 7 we read ““Though our iniquities testify against us, act, O Lord, for your name’s sake; for our backslidings are many; we have sinned against you. O you hope of Israel, its savior in time of trouble, why should you be like a stranger in the land, like a traveler who turns aside to tarry for a night? Why should you be like a man confused, like a mighty warrior who cannot save? Yet you, O Lord, are in the midst of us, and we are called by your name; do not leave us.”” This passage comes in the midst of a description of the judgment that Judah was about to experience. It seems to indicate that only the Lord can save from catastrophe that had been brought on by their sin and iniquity and it’s because the people are called by his name that he might do it in the first place. There’s covenantal language in this passage .

The second reference is from Jeremiah 17:13 with the reference coming at the end in verse 13, but starting in verse 12 we read.

A glorious throne set on high from the beginning

is the place of our sanctuary.

O Lord, the hope of Israel,

all who forsake you shall be put to shame;

those who turn away from you shall be written in the earth,

for they have forsaken the Lord, the fountain of living water.

God’s throne, our sanctuary, forsaking him. Again, we find covenantal language.

So a correlating theme between these two passages has to do with the covenant of God as the Hope of Israel.

Now if you’ve read through Genesis at any point, you’ll know that before Israel is the name of a nation, it’s the name of a man, but Israel was not the name his parents gave him. First, his name was Jacob. Now, one of the first stories that we have of Jacob where he is alone is in Genesis 28. Jacob had a dream in which he saw a ladder going up to heaven with angels ascending and descending. And the Lord appeared to him in the dream and said this in verse 13 (Genesis 28:13-15) “I am the Lord, the God of Abraham your father and the God of Isaac. The land on which you lie I will give to you and to your offspring. Your offspring shall be like the dust of the earth, and you shall spread abroad to the west and to the east and to the north and to the south, and in you and your offspring shall all the families of the earth be blessed. Behold, I am with you and will keep you wherever you go, and will bring you back to this land. For I will not leave you until I have done what I have promised you.”

Between the Jeremiah passages and this passage, the picture that I’m starting to see, and I hope you are too is that the hope of Israel has something to do with the covenant based on God’s promise to Jacob that God would bless his descendants and that all families of the earth will be blessed through them. Put a pin in this idea, we’ll come back to this in a bit.

In response the Jewish elders there in Rome don’t have much to say because no one from Jerusalem had contacted them about Paul. There’s no indication from Luke about why, but it seems that for whatever reason the Jewish leaders in Jerusalem were happy to have him out of their city. Out of sight, out of mind. If he wasn’t in Jerusalem, he wasn’t a threat to them and no trouble would come.

For the leaders in Rome though, they were curious about the things that Paul had to say. It’s possible that Paul’s reputation as a student of Gamaliel gained him audience in the first place and as his student brought the authority of the teacher himself. They were interested specifically in what Paul thought about the sect, namely Christianity.

The background on this is that over a decade before Paul’s arrival in Rome, there had been an edict by the Emperor Claudius that had expelled all the Jews from Rome. There is debate as to why the Jews would have been expelled, but the edict itself tells us that “Since the Jews constantly made disturbances at the instigation of Chrestus, he [the Emperor Claudius] expelled them from Rome.”

Many scholars hear the instigation of Chrestus and conclude that this was a disturbance between Jews and Jewish Jesus’ followers. If there were disturbances anything like what Paul was experiencing between the same groups, it would make sense that it would cause problems in Rome and the emperor sought a simple solution. It seems like a plausible explanation and would indicate why the Jewish synagogue leaders, upon their return would have that attitude regarding Christianity.

The Jews Gather with Paul (v.23-28 note about v.29)

Explanation

In verses 23-28 we see Paul’s interaction with a larger Jewish audience that gathered on an appointed day. This large audience was gathered from morning until evening and heard him proclaim the Kingdom of God and try to convince them about Jesus from the Hebrew Bible.

What does that mean? Why was there a connection between the Kingdom of God and Jesus?

From Paul’s perspective, the hope of Israel or the realization of God’s promise to Jacob took place in the Kingdom of God. Within the current view of the 2nd temple time period, the kingdom was generally described with three dimensions: it was everlasting, it was present and tangible in the lives of the ancient Israelites, and there would be a future appearance of a more comprehensive kingdom of God.

Paul’s view of the Kingdom of God was wrapped in the reality of Jesus as king. Jesus identified himself as the agent of God’s kingly rule by identifying himself with as the Son of Man figure of Daniel 7:13-14 ““I saw in the night visions, and behold, with the clouds of heaven there came one like a son of man, and he came to the Ancient of Days and was presented before him. And to him was given dominion and glory and a kingdom, that all peoples, nations, and languages should serve him; his dominion is an everlasting dominion, which shall not pass away, and his kingdom one that shall not be destroyed.” Paul’s view of the Kingdom included Jesus as king. According to the early church writing of 1 Clement, which was written between 70-96AD, Christ’s resurrection was a sign marking the arrival of the kingdom of God. If that was indeed the view that Paul held and was the universal Christian view, the hope of Israel and the reality of the kingdom of God is made manifest in Jesus’ resurrection. That’s why Jesus could proclaim in his ministry that the Kingdom of God was at hand or near.

That’s what we celebrate today, Easter, the resurrection of Jesus. His coronation as king of God’s kingdom. The day he defeated death and hell and the devil and brought hope that a new era of God’s rule had begun. No longer do we have to be enslaved to the empirical systems of the world, but we can find true freedom in turning our allegiance to the King of Kings.

So Paul spent all day trying to convince the Jews in Rome that Jesus was the messiah, the anointed one, who had inaugurated the kingdom of God and Paul did it through the Old Testament Scriptures. And just as he experienced throughout his entire ministry, some Jews believed and some did not.

In response Paul quotes Isaiah 6:9-10 in verses 26-27. In doing so, he used the passage the same way Jesus does in Matthew 13 foreshadowing the coming judgment in Jerusalem due to the hardness of heart that the Jews had developed in themselves toward hearing truth from the Lord. Because of their hard hearts, Paul would again turn to the Gentiles, who had also been sent salvation.

Paul recognized throughout his ministry that the Jewish rejection of Jesus led to Gentiles turning to the Gospel too. It was a fulfillment of Psalm 67:1-3 “May God be gracious to us and bless us and make his face to shine upon us, Selah that your way may be known on earth, your saving power among all nations. Let the peoples praise you, O God; let all the peoples praise you!” God is calling all people to himself from the four winds to experience his salvation.

Paul’s Jail Ministry (v.30-31)

Explanation

After the Jews leave, Luke adds a little Coda, or epilogue, about Paul’s time in Rome. Acts 28:30-31 “He lived there two whole years at his own expense, and welcomed all who came to him, proclaiming the kingdom of God and teaching about the Lord Jesus Christ with all boldness and without hindrance.”

Paul remained imprisoned, yet the description is one of hope and power. He welcomed with open arms those who came to him and had the freedom to proclaim God’s kingdom and the teaching of Jesus. He did so with nothing holding him back. The Kingdom of God continued to advance even as he was imprisoned, awaiting trial. Philippians 1:12-13 speaks to what was happening while he was imprisoned, it says “I want you to know, brothers, that what has happened to me has really served to advance the gospel, so that it has become known throughout the whole imperial guard and to all the rest that my imprisonment is for Christ.” Paul leveraged the suffering and trials he experienced to advance the good news of Jesus as king of God’s kingdom.

Application

What does the Kingdom of God and Jesus’ Resurrection have to do with us today?

The Kingdom of God is the expression of God’s rule on the earth. When humanity sinned, we found ourselves under the dominion of Satan. He is called the prince of this world, and it is to him that we find ourselves enslaved. “But DJ,” you might say, “I’m not enslaved! I’m free, I’m an American!” And to that I say, where is your allegiance? Jesus in his resurrection offers us the hope of freedom that comes when we live the lives we’ve been designed to live as God’s representatives on earth. Jesus showed us what that life looked like and as king, he is owed all of our allegiance.

But our allegiance is often split. We find our identity in political ideologies, categories of liberal or conservative; we find our identity in gender and sexuality; we find our identity in the country we live in, or the branch we serve in, or the job we have, or the person we’re married to, or the kids we have, or the money in the bank, or the things we have. All these things take our allegiance from the one who created us.

But the good news is that through the cross, Jesus bought us back, ransomed us from the death that our sin requires of us. He bought us and sets life before us. The scary part is that life looks like death because it means putting all of our allegiance, all of how we identify ourself, all of our value into his kingdom. It doesn’t promise wealth and safety, it doesn’t promise health or security, and it doesn’t promise an easy life. What it does promise is that with our allegiance, we have communion with the God who created us, who will never leave us, who will never forsake us, it means that we can experience the love of a father who loves us perfectly. It means that we get to be part of a community that is living the kingdom of God in real time. It means abundant life, a life that is marked by joy in suffering, community, and communion with God. It’s a life that includes living united with Christ. It is a life that is marked by a lasting purpose. This life is not a life of rules and laws, its a life that is marked by freedom to live in the joy of Christ. We are brought into relationship witch God so that we can be directed by the Holy Spirit and experience the love of the Father. It’s not about trying harder and doing better, but seeing Jesus as wonderful and being enthralled in his love and affection. Living in his delight and learning to be like him. It’s a life that’s not about doing, but about being. Being loved, living in the overflow of the love, and inviting others to experience that love.

In his resurrection, this is what Jesus gives us! Freedom from the shackles of the prince of this world, freedom from the shackles of trying to find purpose in things that will only pass away. And so, I offer that to you today. Will you give Jesus your allegiance, turning away from all else and giving him all of you?

I hope you see the wonder of the King and his Kingdom and that you’ll turn to him today.

For those of you who have turned from your sin and the idols we have set up into the kingdom of God, do you find your joy in him or have you turned the Christian life into a to-do list? Jesus doesn’t want your to-do list, he wants you! Is your mind filled with the words of Christ, immersed in the stories about him in the gospels? Are you able to glory in the revelation of God and his plan as explained in the Old Testament? Are you communing with the Lord? Not just communicating, but communing? Communion that is changing you from the inside out? Are you experiencing the abundant life that Jesus promised? Are you experiencing his presence with you throughout the day? Are you part of a community that is devoted to one another and seeking the mutual encouragement that community offers?

I’m not going to give you 3 easy ways to communion with the Lord, or step-by-step guide for your abundant life in 10 days. I want you to wrestle with the Lord. Right now, even as I’m speaking, there may be thought that has popped into your head that probably seemed to come from out of thin air, but is convicting you or convincing you about something. I encourage you, write it down, right now! If that thought brings with it a weight that you can’t explain away, may I suggest that might be the Lord inviting you to a particular response? Let me encourage you, if you’re feeling prompted to do something, follow through. Follow through, and let me know how it turns out. If you’re unsure about what you’ve written down, come see me after and we can talk through how this might be an invitation from the Lord.

Let’s not just be people with ears but don’t understand, but let us hear with our hearts, understand, turn, and be healed by the Lord.