Bible Study series: Acts 28:11-31. He proclaimed the kingdom of God at every opportunity, in the capital of the huge Roman empire. This is the final post on the book of Acts.
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I also translate to learn. The translations are mine, unless otherwise noted. If you would like to see many other translations, please click on this link:
At the link to the original post, next, I write more commentary and dig a little deeper into the Greek. I also offer a section titled Observations for Discipleship at the end. Check it out!
In this post, links are provided in the commentary section for further study.
Let’s begin.
Scripture: Acts 28:11-31
11 Ad so after three months, we set sail on an Alexandrian ship that had wintered on the island, with the figurehead of the twin gods Castor and Pollux. 12 And we sailed into Syracuse and stayed three days. 13 From there we circled around and landed at Rhegium. And after one day a south wind came up, and on the second day we came to Puteoli. 14 There we found brothers and sisters and we were encouraged to stay with them seven days. And in this way we came to Rome. 15 From there the brothers heard the news about us and came to meet us as far as the Forum of Appius and the Three Taverns. When Paul saw them, he thanked God and took courage.
16 When we came into Rome, Paul was allowed to stay by himself with a soldier guarding him.
17 After three days he called for the leading Jews. When they assembled, he began saying to them, “Men, brothers! Although I have done nothing against the Jewish people or the customs of our ancestors, I was a prisoner in Jerusalem and have been handed over to the hands of the Romans. 18 After they examined me, they were willing to release me because there was not one cause for the death penalty for me. 19 But when the Jews objected, I was compelled to appeal to Caesar, though I did not have a cause to accuse my fellow Jews. 20 Therefore this is why I have called for you—to see and to speak with you: that for the sake of the hope of Israel I wear this chain.” 21 But they said to him, “We have received neither letters about you from Judea, nor has anyone from the brothers arriving here reported or spoken anything bad about you. 22 We desire to hear from you what you think, for about this sect it is known to us that everywhere it is spoken against.”
23 When they arranged a day to meet with him, a larger number came to his lodging. He explained to them and testified powerfully about the kingdom of God, trying to persuade them about Jesus, both from Moses and the prophets, from daybreak to evening. 24 And some were persuaded by what he had been saying, while others did not believe. 25 Since they were unharmonious with each other, they departed. Paul spoke one last word:
“Well has the Holy Spirit spoken through Isaiah the prophet to your ancestors,
26 saying:
Go to this people and say:
You ever hear and do not understand;
You ever see and do not perceive;
27 For the heart of this people has become dull,
And they hear with ears hard of hearing,
And they close their eyes,
Otherwise, they might see with their eyes,
hear with their ears,
understand with their heart
And turn, and I would heal them. [Is. 6:9-10]
28 Therefore let it be known to you that this salvation of God has been sent to the Gentiles, and they will listen.”
30 He stayed for two whole years at his own expense and welcomed everyone visiting him. 31 He proclaimed the kingdom of God and taught about the Lord Jesus Christ, with all boldness and without hindrance. (Acts 28:11-31)
Comments:
This long section can be divided into smaller sections, as follows:
1.. Rome at last! (vv. 11-16)
2.. Paul’s first meeting with Roman Jews (vv. 17-22)
3.. Paul’s second meeting with Roman Jews (vv. 23-28)
4. Paul proclaims the gospel of the kingdom without hindrance (vv. 29-31)
11-13:
They are reaching their goal, step by step, stage by stage. This is how God usually works. He gives you a vision for your life, and then it is fulfilled in stages, not all at once. Be patient! God is not finished with you yet. He’ll get you there. It is amazing that Luke acknowledges these popular gods, but he did not honor them. He simply says their names. For him, Christ was Lord.
You can look up those towns on an online Bible map.
14:
“brothers and sisters”: The Greek just says “brothers,” but the noun can contain sisters too, just as our word mankind includes women.
“And so we came to Rome”: that is a masterful understatement. The last half of Acts (and more), particularly after the Jerusalem Council, has been about Paul. In Acts 27, they just survived a huge storm, and they now have accomplished their goal. It must have been a relief for Paul, Luke and Aristarchus, his two traveling companions. It was in the large vicinity of Rome, as we learn in the next verse.
15:
These locations are a long way out of Rome: Forum of Appius (43 miles, 70 km) and Three Taverns (35 miles 57 km). Apparently some believers walked the longer distance, while others left at a later time. Those brothers and sisters took a risk to go out and meet him. Some of them may have met Paul on their travels around the provinces (e.g. Corinth) (Rom. 16), but others were meeting him for the first time.
“brothers and sisters”: the Greek has only brothers, but the term is big enough to include women, much like our word mankind does. However, I took a risk including women here, because it is easy to imagine that they would wait for Paul to show up in Rome proper. In other words the women would not travel to meet him.
“Three Taverns”: the NASB has Three Inns.
Paul thanking God and taking courage means that he was thrilled to see the Christians of the leading city in their known world. He had already written an epistle to them (Romans) and commended believers to them, like Phoebe, and greeted others (Rom. 16).
I like Bruce’s writing, and here is his description of Paul meeting the Roman Christians:
Paul might well thank God and take fresh courage at the sight of these friends. He had long had a desire to visit Rome; it was three years since he had sent his letter to the Christians there to prepare them for his projected visit. Now his prayer was granted, and in circumstances which he had not foreseen when he dictated his letter, he saw Roman Christians face to face. He probably wondered from time to time what kind of reception he would have from them. Now any misgivings he might have had were removed by the heart-warming action of those members of the Roman church who tramped out so far to bid him welcome to their midst. (comment on v. 15)
16:
The transfer was complete. God’s favor was on him, for Paul did not have to languish in a prison. Bruce says that he would have been chained lightly to a soldier who was stationed nearby at the barracks. One soldier would guard him for four hours and change off with another one. He became a “talking point” among the praetorian guard (Phil. 1:13).
Remember what Jesus himself told him: “Take courage, for as you testified to the things about me in Jerusalem, in the same way you must testify also in Rome” (Acts 23:11).
And here:
23 For last night an angel of God, whose I am and whom I worship, stood before me 24 and said, ‘Do not fear, Paul! You must stand before Caesar. And see! God has graciously granted you everyone sailing with you.’ 25 Therefore, be courageous, men! For I believe God—that it shall happen in the way that was spoken to me! (Acts 24:23-24)
The book of Acts does not end with Paul standing before Caesar, but the apostle is in Rome. We may assume that he stood before the man himself. About two hundred years later, church historian Eusebius reports that Paul defended himself successfully before Nero, who was not insane at that time (Ecclesiastical History 2.22).
Also, Nero’s wife Empress Poppaea was favorably disposed towards Jews since she was reported to worship the true God of the Jews, and she may have believed that Paul was part of Judaism, as he certainly testified in Acts 26 in his speech. She may have helped in his release, since we learned in Acts 26:31-32 that there was no case against him according to Roman law. He then went to Spain (see Rom. 15:24, 28) and returned to Rome, where he was executed by the same Nero, whose moral and mental state had degraded.
Or some scholars say that he was detained (or willingly remained) in Rome without going to Spain and was executed a few years later.
I like how Bock summarizes this section of Scripture:
The most important theme of the passage is that God can be taken at his word. God told Paul that he, the messenger, would reach Rome, and Paul did. God told Paul that no lives would be lost, and none were. And God told Paul that the ship would run aground, and it did. God’s word can be trusted because God can be trusted. The only thing one does not know is when God will accomplish his will. (comment on vv. 1-16, p. 747).
17-22:
Paul reaches out to his fellow Jews first. Though he was called mainly to Gentiles (Gal. 2:7; Acts 9:15), he never neglected his fellow Jews (Rom. 1:16; Acts 9:15). “They are Israelites, who have adoption, glory, the covenants, the established law, worship, and the promises; who have the fathers from whom is the Messiah according to human ancestry, who is God over all, blessed forever, amen” (Rom. 9:4-5).
19 Though I am free and belong to no one, I have made myself a slave to everyone, to win as many as possible. 20 To the Jews I became like a Jew, to win the Jews. To those under the law I became like one under the law (though I myself am not under the law), so as to win those under the law. 21 To those not having the law I became like one not having the law (though I am not free from God’s law but am under Christ’s law), so as to win those not having the law. 22 To the weak I became weak, to win the weak. I have become all things to all people so that by all possible means I might save some. 23 I do all this for the sake of the gospel, that I may share in its blessings. (I Cor. 9:19-23, NIV)
Paul was flexible. He did not break the customs of his ancestors when he was with Jews, but when he as with Gentiles he id not impose these customs on himself or the Gentiles. The goal was unity between the two peoples. “On his own testimony, he did live as a law-abiding Jew when he was among Jews, but did not adhere to the ‘ancestral customs’ when he found himself in Gentile company” (Bruce, comment on v. 23). Bruce goes on to say that his opponents (or Jewish listeners) could argue that a truly loyal Jew would not have compromised Jewish customs among Gentiles, but Paul was not like that. He had a double calling to Jews and Gentiles.
We should never forget that they got the whole plan of redemption going (on a human level), and now God has inaugurated a new plan that was predicted in the old Scriptures that spelled out the old plan. In other words, God has moved forward, and certain Jews accepted the new direction founded on Yeshua ha Meshiach, Jesus the Messiah, or Jesus Christ (the Anointed One).
As for the immediate content of these verses, Luke is keen to tell the truth and convey the message that Paul did nothing wrong, deserving this chain.
In v. 21, the verb is katēgoreō (pronounced kah-tay-gor-eh-oh), and it combines the prefix kata– (down) and the verb agoreuō (pronounced ah-gor-ew-oh), so the context is in public, specifically in the synagogue here. The verb agoreuō means “to speak in the assembly, harangue, speak ill of someone” (Liddell and Scott). Combine it with the prefix and you get “speak down to” or just “accuse.” In this verse, however, Paul did not have any cause to accuse his fellow Jews.
As for the last clause in v. 22, it is a literal translation, but if it is difficult, it could read: “We know that people everywhere speak against this sect.” Of course the sect in this context is Christianity or the Way. It had been cut away—or is in the process of being cut away—from Judaism, its root.
In v. 22, the word “think” appears. It comes from one Greek verb phroneō (pronounced froh-neh-oh). It means, depending on the context: (1) “think, hold or form an opinion, judge”; (2) “set one’s mind on, be intent on”; (3) “have thoughts or attitudes, be minded or disposed” (the Shorter Lexicon).
23:
Paul is still reaching out to them. In the first meeting he explained that he was falsely accused. His credibility is intact. Now he will expand his outreach with a clearer message about God’s new plan, which fulfills the old one.
“testified powerfully”: the verb is diamarturomai (pronounced dee-ah-mahr-too-roh-my), and it can also mean “bear witness to” or “witness.” In these contexts this verb always means witnessing or testifying through the power of the Spirit. And witness always means reporting what you have seen and heard. We can surely do that about what Jesus did in our hearts and minds.
“kingdom”: Jesus spoke often about the kingdom of God, and so did Paul here. Jesus ushered it in, and at the birth of the church in Acts 2 it is now about to expand beyond Israel. It is for everyone who receives him into their hearts and becomes his followers. When that happens, they enter into his light; receive clarity; enjoy an intimate relationship with the Father through Christ and the Spirit; live a consecrated life through his resurrection power and in the Spirit and by his power. And so the kingdom makes all the difference in the world—by creating a new world, a new kingdom, he creates a new you, a new life.
Bible Basics about the Kingdom of God
Questions and Answers about Kingdom of God
Basic Definition of Kingdom of God
1 Introducing the Kingdom of God (begin a ten-part series)
24:
It is good to know that Paul had some success among his fellow Jews. They believed that Jesus was the Messiah, the Anointed One, the fulfillment of the old plan and who inaugurated the new one.
But others did not believe. It was their choice to resist. I don’t believe God selected some Jews and rejected the other ones. They simply exercised their God-given free will—a very powerful gift—and said no. People need the message of God, the gospel, in some form (even a dream) and the Spirit drawing them. They cannot just strut unassisted into God’s kingdom, without grace or the Spirit or the gospel. However, they can resist God’s call for all of their lives.
It is good to know this table of Bible prophecies:
But Jesus fulfills more than just those quoted verses from the OT and NT. He also fulfills the patterns and themes of Scripture, like the temple itself and the sacrificial system and all the covenants.
25:
“unharmonious”: it comes from the interesting adjective asumsphōnos (pronounced ah-soom-foh-noss), and the a– in front is the negation (dis- or un- or not); sum– (or sym– or sun, which means with or together); and phōn– (sound or voice), so all together they mean unharmonious. Yes, we get our word symphony from it (without the a– prefix). However, if you prefer a more traditional translation, then go with “in disagreement” or “disagreed.”
“word”: the Greek here is the noun rhēma. The ma– suffix means “the result of” and rhē means “speaking.” Put the two together and you get “the result of speaking” or “the spoken word.” Paul had to get the last word in. He pronounced a prophecy from Isaiah, as follows.
25b-27:
The passage from Isaiah is about irony, which means people think they know, when they do not. They hear the words, and believe that they know it all already, but actually they do not. So how do you prevent yourself from being a victim of irony? Your ears and eyes are the gateway into your mind and heart, and the heart and mind must hear and see the truth. To break free from irony, you have to get a teachable heart and open mind.
Now some theologians may teach that only God can open your mind and heart, and that’s partly true, because the gospel and the call and grace and the Spirit draws people. But the human—you—have to also have an open mind and tender heart. And as noted, you can resist God’s call to Christ because God took the risk to give humans free will, which is so very powerful that it can resist the call and grace and gospel and Spirit.
If Paul’s stubborn half of his Jewish audience were just surrender, then they could get saved, just as the other half of Jews did, thus becoming Messianic Jews.
28:
“salvation”: it comes from the Greek noun sōtēria (pronounced soh-tay-ree-ah). Being saved is an instantaneous occurrence, when the Spirit descends on the open-hearted seeker. But then the process after salvation is called sanctification (or “the process of making you holy”) (Phil. 2:12). The Spirit does the sanctifying. Don’t confuse conversion or being saved with sanctification. They are linked but distinct.
Salvation goes a lot farther than just preparing the soul to go on to heaven. It has additional benefits. It includes keeping and preserving and rescuing from harm and dangers; saving or freeing from diseases (as seen in this verse) and demonic oppression; and saving or rescuing from eternal death, judgment, sin. When you help or rescue one man from homelessness or an orphan from his oppression, you have moved one giant step towards salvation of his soul. Sometimes feeding a hungry man and giving clothes to the naked or taking him to a medical clinic come before saving his soul. All of it is a package called salvation.
What Is the Work of Salvation?
How Do We Respond to God’s Salvation?
In this verse, Paul is saying that this salvation is now offered through Jesus, not law-keeping ot custom-keeping. God has moved his divine economy or purpose or plan forward. It is no longer stuck in a small part of the world—only to Israel or exclusively to the Jewish communities scattered throughout the Greco-Roman world. The Gentiles are eligible because God made them so.
29:
Evidently, the best manuscripts don’t have this verse. Here is a translation: “After he said these things, the Jews left, having a big discussion among themselves.” It is easy to imagine that “when he had said these things, they departed and argued intensely among themselves” (an alternative translation). Paul was proclaiming something new and wonderful. Some believed; others did not.
30-31:
“Own expense”: it could be translated as “rented house.” Where did Paul get the money? As a tent maker / leather worker, he could do work from his rented quarters. Living in or near Rome, business must have been brisk. It seems Priscilla and Aquila did this kind of work from their own home (Acts 18:2, 26). Paul had a skill that could earn him some money by hard work. He was a successful businessman, which is a good thing. May all Christian businessmen and women so prosper!
One thing for certain, however; he did not get rich from donations and manipulating Scriptures and people to get offerings so he could turn around and live the life of luxury. He did not want to become a burden to people, so he worked hard (1 Cor. 4:12; 9:6; 1 Thess. 2:9; 2 Thess. 3:8).”For even when we were with you, we gave you this rule: ‘The one who is unwilling to work shall not eat’” (2 Thess. 3:9, NIV). The offering he took up for the believers in Jerusalem and Judea did not go to him, not even in part (2 Cor. 8-9). It is possible for a minister to receive material goods (1 Cor. 9:6; Gal. 6:6). The Philippians sent him an offering, which he received with gratitude (Phil. 4:18). But he never took an offering to buy a private ship or a horse, for easy travel, nor did he buy a luxurious house like a Roman senator would. Instead, he walked or boarded commercial or trading ships and lived modestly and prudently. He used the offering for living expenses.
Therefore the rented quarters were appropriate for him and his successful business and Christian generosity.
Now let’s ask some questions about the ending.
Why does Luke close his historical narrative here, before Paul’s acquittal? Was he acquitted and freed and then go on to Spain as he intended (Rom. 15:24, 28)?
Here are options.
(1).. Luke was very keen to show that Paul was innocent and unjustly accused. Then Paul came back to Rome and was executed during the great persecution under Nero. Longenecker points to 2 Tim. 4:6-18 that says that Paul assumes he was about to undergo another trial. So Paul was rearrested in AD 67 and beheaded at Rome by order of Nero (comment on v. 30). Luke did not record this because it was so well known.
Schnabel writes: “All in all, it appears that after a two-year imprisonment in Rome during which he wrote his letters to the Colossians and Ephesians, to Philemon, and to the Philippians, Paul was tried and acquitted (or released by default) in early AD 62” (comment on v. 30). Then he cites early church writings that say Paul went to Spain. Yet Schnabel does not commit himself.
(2).. Luke was waiting to find out what Paul would do after he visited Spain, and then Luke moved on to other things than Acts after Paul’s return to Rome. However, he never completed his book on Paul’s return.
(3).. Peterson, noting other commentators, says that Paul was rearrested and condemned and executed before the great fire of AD 64 (comment on v. 30). He had arrived in Rome in AD 62 (or some say in 60). Luke did not record this because this fact was so well known.
(4).. It may be because Luke’s manuscript ran out of room.
(5).. Peterson, referring to another commentator (Witherington), says the ending is appropriate since the book is a history and not a biography of Paul. If it were a biography about Paul, the ending would be a puzzle.
In support of the fifth option, Keener says that unfinished endings were common in ancient literature, sometimes even rhetorically sophisticated literature ended abruptly because the main point was finished (p. 620). Even Hellenistic historiography ended abruptly, and Luke wrote an historical account (pp. 3-18; 620). Here the main point, as noted, was a history about the worldwide spread of the gospel, and the capital of the huge Roman empire fits the need.
(6).. Polhill says that the gospel and the word of God are the heroes (my word) of the story: “Whatever may have been the outcome of Paul’s Roman imprisonment, Luke seems to have deliberately chosen to end his story where he did. He ended not on Paul but on the gospel, on the message of the kingdom. The word of God in Christ—not Peter, not Paul—is the real hero of Acts” (p. 547).
(7).. The spiritual reason is that Luke wanted the final words in Acts to inspire us to write our own narrative history about the Acts of the Holy Spirit. We should proclaim the kingdom of God with all boldness and without hindrance, either internal or external hindrance.
Now let’s move on and allow Bock to summarize the book of Acts:
The book [of Acts] has an open ending, with the word still being preached. In fact, the Great Commission anticipated in Luke 24 is realized here as the word goes out. The Spirit of God has directed the operation and the Spirit has been a Spirit of enabling boldness. The word spreads even when some try to keep it doing so. Faithful witnesses made sure that this happens. Faithful witnesses understand God’s calling and support, just as Paul did (comment on vv. 30-31, p. 759)
Bock insightfully continues:
All of this is the work of an active God. God has been directing events throughout the book. God set forth the call for mission. God gave the Spirit. God directed the church to the Gentiles. God called out Paul with Barnabas and then sent Paul to Jerusalem ad Rome. God protected Paul as he brought the word there as God’s faithful witness. God can be trusted, and his calling is to be followed. Paul shows us that the combination of divine and human faithfulness to God’s calling is powerful. (ibid.)
GrowApp for Acts 28:11-31
1. Finally, at long last, Paul got to Rome. He achieved God’s goal for his life (up to that point). You may have achieved a goal in your life (graduation, marriage, family or other things). Can you say that God helped you reach it? How has he done this?
2. Paul preached Jesus from the Old Testament. When you read it, do you understand how Jesus fulfills it? Do you have an idea about how to study the Old through the lens of the New?
3. Paul enjoyed the gift of hospitality, even while wearing chains. His goal was to proclaim the kingdom of God and teach about Jesus to everyone who visited him. He was emboldened by the Spirit. Without feeling self-condemned, do you share your faith, when appropriate? How do you expect the Spirit to give you boldness? Do you pray for this?
4. We know what Paul’s basic message was. Do you follow and teach his message?
RELATED
The Historical Reliability of the Book of Acts
Book of Acts and Paul’s Epistles: Match Made in Heaven?
SOURCES
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