Coming to a Close — The Final Chapter

Introduction

Good morning Church!

It’s good to see each and every one who could make it out today and all those who may be joining us online as well.

Today is a very special day! For one, it is the final message of 2024 and for two, we will also be looking at our final message here in the Book of Acts.

We started this journey 52 weeks ago and it’s taken us that long to get through 28 Chapters but today will mark the final stop on our journey through this amazing Book!

We began with the commission of Christ to the disciples in

Acts 1:8 KJV 1900

8 But ye shall receive power, after that the Holy Ghost is come upon you: and ye shall be witnesses unto me both in Jerusalem, and in all Judaea, and in Samaria, and unto the uttermost part of the earth.

And it wouldn’t take long for that promise to ring true. In the beginning we took off at a breakneck speed seeing in Acts 2 the Church being born on The Day of Pentecost when Peter preached and 3,000 souls were saved.

Then, just a couple chapters later Peter preaches again and a few more thousand believe and before you know it, the Church that once was not, now is and is growing by leaps and bounds!

People are coming to Christ by the droves and Jews don’t like it and it wouldn’t take long for those pious Jews to allow their anger to over come them and the persecution of the Church would begin!

This onslaught of persecution would be led by a man named Saul, who would persecute the Church to such a great degree that he would have Christians martyred and imprisoned.

Things weren’t looking so well for the Church but as it always has, in it’s darkest hours, the Church shined the brightest and with a little visit to Saul from the Lord above, it wouldn’t be long before the persecutor would himself become the persecuted and one of, if not the, greatest missionary the world has ever seen would be born!

This Saul is converted on the road to Damascus and his name changed to Paul and this man among men would begin a journey that would lead him to preach Christ and Him crucified before the most elite men of that day and time!

He would plant handfuls of Churches; turn synagogues of Jews inside out; turn witches into worshipers; sorcerers into Saints; and turn complete cities upside down!

His journey was not without it’s own trip ups and turns of turmoil but Paul would not allow his suffering for his Lord to stop him. He pressed on for the prize of the high calling of God and his name and ministry would be written upon the pages of history and remembered forever as one of the greatest Christians and by far one of the greatest missionary’s to ever live!

He would leave behind for us over half of the New Testament we read today. Never once intending on being remembered forever, Paul lived the remainder of his life in complete and total submission to the Lord Jesus Christ, never shying away from God’s call upon his life.

Sharing the good news of Jesus Christ was his highest and greatest honor and he lived that out on the pages before our very eyes.

Now, although today we will come to a close here in the Book of Acts and look at the final chapter today, Paul’s journey is far from being over!

What you may not know is that some of his greatest work still lie ahead!

From his time of house arrest in Rome Paul would write some of his greatest work yet! The Books of Ephesians, Philippians, Colossians, and Philemon are believed to have been written by Paul during his first imprisonment while in Rome.

If you know anything about those little Books, you know that they are some of the richest content that Paul ever penned!

And I am not 100% sure yet where God’s going to lead us from here but I’ve been praying about it and I really keep feeling in my heart of hearts, why not just keep the story going by looking at Paul’s writings from his time of imprisonment in Rome.

I also have this feeling though that we can’t go wrong by just rolling over into the Book of Romans either so I would ask you to pray for me, for our Church, for all those in attendance and that God would make it clear where we need to go from here.

Because at the end of the day being obedient is the key to being in God’s will, amen!

You can’t find yourself in middle of God’s will if you aren’t being obedient to God’s plan.

So, we’ll keep praying and I’ll keep studying and hopefully the Lord will make it known which way we need to go in 2025.

For today though, we’re going to pick up here in Acts 28 and finish out this final chapter of the Book…Acts of the Apostles!

If you have your Bible’s turned with me to Acts Chapter 28, would you say, amen!

The Hospitality of the Locals — (Vs. 1-2)

Melita — now referred to as Malta — John Phillips said The name comes from a Canaanite word meaning refuge.

The Astonishment of the Locals — (Vs. 3-6)

John Phillips — The islanders had a ready explanation, one that could only have occurred to those who did not know Paul—he was a murderer. He had escaped the sea but not the gods. Neptune had failed to take him, so Nemesis had taken him. It was a case of poetic justice.

Perhaps Paul smiled to himself when he heard what they were saying. He knew that neither one god nor the other had power over him, nor Satan, the dark lord who stood behind all pagan gods and who doubtless would have been delighted to destroy him. Paul knew himself to be in God’s hands, for God had already given him safe conduct to Rome. No power on earth nor in hell could reverse that decree. That venomous serpent could not harm him. He was immortal until his work was done. And that work would not be done at least until he had preached the gospel to Caesar.

The Healing of the Locals — (Vs. 7-9)

Vs. 7.

Chuck Swindoll — Luke refers to a “leading man” (prōtos [4413]) named Publius, which was a popular name among the Romans; this suggests that he was a Roman who owned an estate on Malta. He extended hospitality to the group over a three-day period (28:7).

John Phillips — He (Publius) generously extended hospitality to the castaways, no small enterprise considering how many there were. He was soon to discover that in thus ministering to Paul and the Christians he was entertaining angels unaware. God is no man’s debtor. Nobody gives so much as a cup of cold water to one of His own without receiving a reward.

Vs. 8-9

John Phillips — Nothing like this had ever happened on the island before. No doubt Paul’s former shipmates looked with awe on the man who had been such a tower of strength to them in their distress and who now proved himself a healer such as they had never known. No case was too hard. No one was turned away. No one had to come back a few days later complaining that his “cure” was merely imaginary and that the original condition had returned. No one was told that he could have been healed if he had exercised more faith. No mass hysteria was generated. Paul was manifesting the gift of healing as that gift had been given to the early church to validate its message. Paul simply emptied all the hospitals on the island and healed all the sick. He was the last of the healers, and this is the last occasion of the gift’s being used in the New Testament.

The Honoring of the Locals — (Vs. 10)

John Phillips — This whole period on the island must have been one of great joy for Paul. The island had indeed been a “refuge.” Very rarely in his years of gospel pioneering had he been so greatly appreciated and sent on his way with his praise on everyone’s lips.

The Journey to Rome Continues — (Vs. 11-14)

Chuck Swindoll — In this verse, Luke offers a couple of clues which, combined with other historical records, help establish a fairly reliable date for their departure. According to Pliny the Elder, the sailing season opened “on the sixth day before the Ides of February,” which corresponds to February 8 on our calendar. If they were on Malta for three months, they crashed on the shores in early November, which means they had earlier left Crete after the fast of Yom Kippur in late October. Therefore, this would suggest a late date for the fast that year. In AD 59, “the Fast fell on or about 5th October, much later than in any neighboring year.”

They boarded an Alexandrian ship that featured the twin sons of Zeus (Dioskouroi [1359]), Castor and Pollux, the patron gods of sailors.

The Joining of the Believers — (Vs. 15-16)

Chuck Swindoll — News of Paul’s arrival reached the believers in Rome well in advance. He had not been to Rome before, but several Christians knew him from their travels in Greece and Ephesus, including Aquila and Priscilla (Rom. 16:3–15), and they of course revered his teaching in his letter to the Romans. Some came out to meet him (Acts 28:15). The Greek word for “meet” here, apantēsis [529], describes the custom of an entourage coming out of a city to meet a dignitary and then escorting him back, usually in celebration.

John Phillips — This was Paul’s triumphal entry. No Caesar, returning from foreign wars, had a warmer reception on his way to Rome than this unsung Jewish missionary, walking in chains, on his way to the Imperial City to appear before Nero in defense of the gospel of Christ. There was a festive air about it. Truly never had a Roman guard, before or since, marched in such a procession.

The Jews Intrigued — (Vs. 17-30)

Vs. 20

John Phillips — He had their attention now. He immediately moved on to his prime objective, which was to talk to them about Jesus.

He called Him “the hope of Israel.” The messianic hope ever burned brightly in the Hebrew heart. Paul’s great message to the Jews was that the Messiah had come, and that all over the world Jews and Gentiles were passing into the kingdom. The gospel of the Lord Jesus Christ did not undermine the Jewish faith, it enhanced it, glorified it, fulfilled it. He, Paul, was one of the Messiah’s ambassadors.

Vs. 24

John Phillips — Thus the gospel always divides. Its message is one of life unto life, or of death unto death. Whenever it is preached the Holy Spirit drives His plowshare through the audience. Some believe, some do not; and between the two henceforth is a great divide, a great gulf fixed. Every time the gospel is preached, heaven and hell are in the balance, eternal issues are at stake.

Some entered the kingdom, others preferred to die in their sins. Some enthroned Jesus as Lord in their hearts, others hardened their hearts against Him. Some felt their hearts burning within them as Paul preached Jesus Christ and Him crucified, others felt black rage and resentment well up in their souls; still others swung in the balance, irresolute, willing to be persuaded either way. Thus there was division among them.

Acts 28:26–28 KJV 1900

26 Saying, Go unto this people, and say, Hearing ye shall hear, and shall not understand; and seeing ye shall see, and not perceive: 27 For the heart of this people is waxed gross, and their ears are dull of hearing, and their eyes have they closed; lest they should see with their eyes, and hear with their ears, and understand with their heart, and should be converted, and I should heal them. 28 Be it known therefore unto you, that the salvation of God is sent unto the Gentiles, and that they will hear it.