The end of Acts

The travelers complete their journey.

After 3 months on the island of Melita, spring has finally come, and it is time to complete their trip.

They make their way up the Italian coast until they make it finally to Rome.

On this leg of the trip, Paul met many of the brethren at their different stops.

Verse 15 says that these other Christians caused Paul to thank God and take courage.

Is this reaction the normal response of being with Christians or is there something more to this meeting?

I believe there is something more to this meeting.

Paul had never been to Rome at this point in his life.

But, he had heard great things about the group of believers that lived there.

Romans 16:19 KJV 1900

19 For your obedience is come abroad unto all men. I am glad therefore on your behalf: but yet I would have you wise unto that which is good, and simple concerning evil.

Their testimony led Paul to send them a letter man years earlier.

We have the letter to the Romans as a witness to the fact that, although they had never met face to face, they had been in communication with each other.

Paul had desired to see them for a long time.

Listen to what he looked forward to upon meeting them.

Romans 15:32 KJV 1900

32 That I may come unto you with joy by the will of God, and may with you be refreshed.

HA! There is that word again.

Paul hoped that he could meet the Roman believers so that he could be restored and revived by their fellowship.

In verse 15, we see that that is exactly what happened.

Once in Rome, Paul is given liberty to live in his own house.

This is a unique privilege.

We can see that the other prisoners did not receive the same treatment.

They are all delivered to the captain of the guard.

While Paul is allowed to rent his own house and live with a soldier.

This special treatment was most likely precipitated by factors.

The insignificant reasons for Paul’s imprisonment.

Remember, the Judean governors were ready to release him, had he not appealed to Caesar.

Also, Paul’s behavior and the testimony of Julius from the trip.

Verse 30 tells us that Paul will spend 2 whole years in this condition.

During these years Paul is free to receive any visitors that came to see him.

He is free to preach and teach during this time without any interference.

The one event that we learn of occurring during this time is a meeting with the chief Jews of the city.

Paul always made a beeline to the synagogue of any new city that he entered.

As a prisoner, Paul, obviously, doesn’t have the freedom to go out.

So, instead, he calls the Jewish leaders to him.

Paul intends to defend his reputation to the Jews of Rome.

This is exactly what he does in vss 17-20.

He basically asserts that he has done nothing against Israel.

In reality he is being held because of his support for the hope of Israel.

The Jews respond in a very surprising manner.

They tell Paul that they have heard nothing regarding his situation from Jerusalem.

There have been no letters.

None of the travelers from Jerusalem have mentioned him or his arrest in the Temple.

Sometimes the things we think everyone already knows about; aren’t quite as public as we thought.

Paul is all geared up for a personal defense of why he was a prisoner.

However the Jews of Rome had no idea he was even coming.

They have no accusations against him.

They have no questions about what happened in the temple.

But, they do have questions.

The Jews of Rome ask Paul to share his thoughts regarding the sect of Judaism called Christianity.

They had heard of Christianity.

They had Christians in Rome.

From their perspective there was a lot of confusion about it.

All they knew was that there were many (among the Jewish community) that spoke against it.

I wonder if Paul received a different reception from the Jews in Rome because they had no past experience with Paul as a man?

These Jews seem much more reasonable than the out-of-their-mind mobs he faced in Jerusalem.

Paul must have been really taken aback by the way in which this conversation developed.

He agrees to talk to them about Christianity and together they set a date for them to come back and hear more about it.

On the appointed day, Paul hosts a gathering at his house.

I wonder if he was surprised when many people came to hear him speak.

Surely this must have been an outdoor gathering.

There is no way Paul had rented a house that could hold a large crowd.

I imagine the people filling the courtyard and the yard and spilling out into the street.

From morning to evening, Paul preached to them out of the law and the prophets.

At every step he pointed them to Jesus and His kingdom.

As he spake there were those who believed his words, and there were some that did not.

The reaction is wholly different from the Jews in Jerusalem.

Rather than rioting and trying to kill Paul, the Jews of Rome were much more polite.

It doesn’t matter if your rejection of Jesus is riotous or polite, it’s still a rejection of Jesus.

You get no points for quiet rebellion.

Paul sees their rejection and quotes Isaiah 6:9-10

Isaiah 6:9–10 KJV 1900

9 And he said, Go, and tell this people, Hear ye indeed, but understand not; And see ye indeed, but perceive not. 10 Make the heart of this people fat, And make their ears heavy, and shut their eyes; Lest they see with their eyes, and hear with their ears, And understand with their heart, and convert, and be healed.

He contrasts their rejection with the reception of the gospel by the gentiles.

They will/are being given an opportunity to receive the gospel.

And they will hear/accept it.

With this, the people leave Paul and return to their homes.

The Bible does say that they had great reasoning among themselves.

It’s amazing to me that verse 28 seems to cap off the book of Acts.

Vss 30-31 are like the epilogue.

Paul stayed in Rome for another 2 years teaching and preaching.

After 2 years he is released and he continues his missionary travels.

Many believe he continued heading further west into Spain and maybe even Britain.

But, in verse 28, we see the pattern for what will happen in the future.

By and large, the Jews, who seemed most likely to receive the gospel of Jesus, would reject it.

Whereas the gentiles, who seemed to be the least likely, they would receive it.

Over the course of about 3 decades, the gospel had grown from a uniquely Jewish message to a global one.

Nearly two years ago, we started with Jesus and 11 Jewish men.

Today, we end with Paul who would stand before the Emperor of Rome, and I don’t think there is any doubt, he would proclaim the gospel to him.

The good news of Jesus had spread throughout the known world.

Not just by Paul’s hand but by thousands of unnamed followers of Jesus.

And yet, despite it’s spread there remained doubters and nay-sayers, as we’ve seen in Rome.

Luke closes his two-volume work by leaving us with a reminder that the gospel has been offered to everyone.

Sometimes, the people you think will accept it; wont.

Other times, the people you don’t think will accept it; will!

Application/Conclusion

I want to challenge us this morning in two ways from this passage.

Be free with your distribution of the gospel.

Tell anyone and tell everyone.

You don’t think they will listen or respond; tell them anyway.

Be careful that you don’t become a rejector of God’s message to you.