Preaching With All Boldness And Without Hindrance Series

Introduction

A “cliffhanger” is “a dramatic ending to an episode of a serial, leaving an audience in suspense” (Catherine Soanes and Angus Stevenson, eds., Concise Oxford English Dictionary [Oxford: Oxford University Press, 2004] n.p.).

Cliffhangers have been a staple of television since the early days of serialized storytelling, turning watercooler chatter into global phenomena.

From the groundbreaking "Who Shot J.R.?" mystery that gripped 1980s audiences to modern binge-worthy shocks, these endings left viewers (and sometimes networks) hanging—sometimes for months, sometimes forever.

A classic example is the 1980 TV miniseries The Blue and the Gray (CBS), a sprawling Civil War epic starring Stacy Keach, Gregory Peck, and John Hammond.

The final moments of Part 3 (aired November 18, 1980) show John Geyser (Hammond) racing on horseback to stop a catastrophic assassination plot of President Abraham Lincoln at Ford’s Theatre in Washington, D.C., on the night of April 14, 1865.

He bursts into the presidential box just as the shot rings out—but the screen freezes on his horrified face, and a single title card slams up in black-on-white:

“TO BE CONTINUED…”

…followed by end credits.

Viewers had to wait four months for the network to announce there would be no continuation.

The cliffhanger was never resolved; the assassination succeeds off-screen, and the story simply ends.

To this day, it remains one of the most infamous “permanent cliffhangers” in American television history.

Today, we are going to conclude our study of Luke’s Book of Acts in a sermon series I have called “Turning the World Upside Down.”

For 28 chapters, Luke has been telling how Jesus is alive, changing lives, and turning the world upside down.

However, the Book of Acts does not end with the usual phrase: “THE END.”

There is no statement that they all lived happily ever after.

Instead, the Book of Acts ends with a cliffhanger, and Luke wants his readers to know that it is “TO BE CONTINUED….”

We will see later in this message how it is to be continued.

Paul arrives in Rome as a prisoner (vv. 16–17), yet Luke ends Acts not with Paul’s death but with Paul’s preaching—“proclaiming the kingdom of God and teaching about the Lord Jesus Christ with all boldness and without hindrance” (v. 31).

The chains on Paul’s wrists cannot chain the gospel.

This finale displays God’s absolute sovereignty over salvation: He hardens whom he wills (Romans 9:18) and opens the hearts of whom he wills (Acts 16:14), and nothing—not Jewish unbelief, not Roman iron—can thwart his sovereign purpose.

This is where we pick up the story.

Scripture

Let’s read Acts 28:17-31:

17 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. 18 When they had examined me, they wished to set me at liberty, because there was no reason for the death penalty in my case. 19 But because the Jews objected, I was compelled to appeal to Caesar—though I had no charge to bring against my nation. 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.” 21 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. 22 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.”

23 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. 24 And some were convinced by what he said, but others disbelieved. 25 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:

26 “ ‘Go to this people, and say,

“You will indeed hear but never understand,

and you will indeed see but never perceive.”

27 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.’

28 Therefore let it be known to you that this salvation of God has been sent to the Gentiles; they will listen.”

30 He lived there two whole years at his own expense, and welcomed all who came to him, 31 proclaiming the kingdom of God and teaching about the Lord Jesus Christ with all boldness and without hindrance.