LET US PRAY:
May the words of my mouth and the meditation of my heart be pleasing in your sight, Lord, my Rock and my Redeemer. (Ps 19:14)
Bless everyone that has come today, this we pray in Jesus’ Name, AMEN.
We have finally come to the end of the book of Acts.
• We started this series on 29 March 2020, so this is the 58th sermon in the series. It took us slightly more than a year to cover the book.
Paul has finally arrived in Rome. This was a significant step for Luke, the author.
• He started the book by telling us of Christ’s commission. 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.”
• Rome would represent the “the end of the earth” then, the place with a population of Jews furthest from Jerusalem.
• Luke showed that the Gospel has travelled from Jerusalem to Rome, and from the Jews to the Gentiles.
This is God’s plan. In Acts 28 we read the fulfilment of the BEGINNING, the first lap of the movement of the Gospel, from Jerusalem to Rome.
• It will continue beyond Rome and to the rest of the world. Luke penned down the significant first lap.
• “And so we came to Rome,” Luke said in 28:14b. And again verse 16 “And when we came into Rome…”
• “…Paul was allowed to stay by himself, with the soldier who guarded him.”
Acts 28:17-20
17After 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. 18When they had examined me, they wished to set me at liberty, because there was no reason for the death penalty in my case. 19But because the Jews objected, I was compelled to appeal to Caesar—though I had no charge to bring against my nation. 20For 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.”
Paul’s ministry continues even though he was under house arrest. As was his practice, he always starts with the synagogue, meeting with the Jewish leaders.
• But now he does not have the freedom to go to them; they have to come to him.
• Paul invited them and explained what has happened in Jerusalem and the reason for his arrest. He was innocent of any crime against the Law or the Jewish people.
• This was necessary to put aside any misunderstanding and wrong assumptions of any wrongdoing on his part.
• The Romans had found him to be innocent and were willing to release him. Paul has appealed to Caesar because of the antagonistic Jews.
The true reason for his being chained was for the “hope of Israel”; that is, for the preaching of the Messiah, the hope that Israel has been longing for.
• Paul was attacked for his faith in Israel’s Messiah, Jesus Christ, who has been prophesied in the Scripture and has come, died and rose again for their salvation.
Acts 28:21-22
21And 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. 22But we desire to hear from you what your views are, for with regard to this sect we know that everywhere it is spoken against.”
They have not heard anything from the Jews in Jerusalem or Caesarea.
• We do not know why the Jews in Judea did not pursue the matter. We do know, however, that there wasn’t a strong case against Paul in the first place.
• The only thing these Jewish leaders heard about was that Christianity has been unpopular in many places, and they wanted to hear from Paul.
Acts 28:23
23When 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.
This is so typical of Paul when he visits a new place. He meets with the local Jews in the synagogue and explains the Scriptures.
• He could not go to the synagogue; he brings the “synagogues” to his house.
• And spent the whole day, expounding, testifying and convincing them, through the Scripture (Law of Moses and the Prophets), that Jesus Christ is the foretold Messiah.
• Jesus is the hope of Israel. He ushers in the Kingdom of God, not a physical one nor a political one, but a spiritual one that would take root in the hearts of man.
Acts 28:24-28
24And some were convinced by what he said, but others disbelieved.
25And 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.”
27For 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.’
28Therefore let it be known to you that this salvation of God has been sent to the Gentiles; they will listen.”
Some were convinced and believed, others refused to believe.
• Paul quoted from Isaiah, stating the FACT that their rejection has been prophesied.
• He was not “condemning” them; they were already condemned for rejecting Christ.
• John 3:18 “Whoever believes in Him is not condemned, but whoever does not believe has already been condemned, because he has not believed in the name of God’s one and only Son.”
• Paul simply quoted the truth of what was taking place as prophesied by Isaiah.
• God pronounces judgement on unrepentant Israel, then and now.
If anybody should have some spiritual understanding, it was these Jewish leaders – they have the OT Scripture (the Law and Prophets) – but their hearts were dull and hard.
• They hear but not understand; they see and not perceive.
• They refused to believe; they chose NOT to turn to the Messiah, their hope, and be healed of their sin.
With their rejection, the Gospel will move on to the Gentiles and they will listen. And the move has already begun.
• To be sure, there are also many Jews who believe and are saved. But the Gentile believers will come into the Kingdom of God in greater numbers.
• This is the heart of God, for all people – from every nation, all tribes, peoples and languages - to come to the saving knowledge of Jesus Christ.
• The Gospel will not be restricted or hindered by the rejection of the Jews or Israel.
Acts 28:30-31
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.
So was this house arrest good or bad? It turned out to be significant. Paul was bound but not the Gospel. Look at what God has done through this restriction.
• Paul was able to share the Gospel with the guards who were chained to him. They were on shifts so Paul was able to speak to many of them.
• We know that for sure because Paul wrote about it. Phil 1:12-13 “12I want you to know, brothers, that what has happened to me has really served to advance the gospel, 13so that it has become known throughout the whole imperial guard and to all the rest that my imprisonment is for Christ.”
• The only chance they would have of hearing the Gospel would be through believing prisoners, which was what happened here.
• R C Sproul commented that there are no more blessed prison guards in the history of the world than these who had the unspeakable privilege of being cuffed to the world’s greatest preacher of all times. [St Andrews Expository Commentary]
• While Paul was bound with chains of iron, he sets people free from the chains of sin.
And because he wasn’t free to move around, the Christians in Rome were encouraged to preach the Gospel more boldly.
• Phil 1:14 “And most of the brothers, having become confident in the Lord by my imprisonment, are much more bold to speak the word without fear.”
We saw in this passage how the Jewish leaders were free to come to Paul and hear from him in his own rented house. They have theological study without charge!
During these two years of house arrest, Paul wrote letters to the Ephesians, Philippians and Colossians.
• He also wrote a letter to Philemon about his runaway slave Onesimus who met Paul in Rome and was converted through his ministry.
Whether bound or free, Paul’s ministry continues, unhindered by the circumstances.
• As we look back over the works of God in the book of Acts, we can see how setbacks and sufferings have been used by God to accomplish His eternal purpose.
• The persecutions and the problems did not hinder His cause; in fact, they pushed towards the fulfilment of His agenda.
• The Gospel message was not bound. And Paul could continue to do His work despite the restrictions and accomplish God’s purposes, just in different ways.
Luke concluded his book here. He did not update us on Paul’s trial, likely because it was still pending when he concluded his writing. We have no further news about Paul.
• Luke’s focus wasn’t the biography of Paul but the proclamation of the Gospel.
• He penned down the move from Jerusalem to Rome, from the Jews to the Gentiles, and the story continues.
• His last line tells us Paul continues to proclaim the Kingdom of God and teach about the Lord Jesus Christ with all boldness and without hindrance.
Traditions from the early church indicate that Paul was subsequently released (Philemon 22, Phil 1:19-26) and continued his travelling ministry.
• He could have gone to Spain (he said he wanted to in Rom 15:24)
• He ministered with Titus on the island of Crete (Titus 1:5)
• 1 Timothy reveals that he went to Ephesus, Miletus and Macedonia.
• Paul was later arrested again and this time imprisoned and subsequently condemned and executed in Rome at the command of Emperor Nero, sometime in AD 67-68.
• He wrote 2 Timothy, his last letter before he died.
The final scene of this book shows Paul doing exactly what he has been doing since meeting Jesus on the road to Damascus – preaching the risen Christ!
• Luke left his book open-ended and rather abruptly without the usual closing remarks because the story of the Gospel continues.
• Witnessing ends only when the world ends. The Gospel will continue to move from place to place, people to people.
The story continues with you and me, now that we know Christ.
• The impact of the Gospel will still be seen and felt today, despite the oppositions.
• It cannot be hindered. It will continue to change lives for the glory of God.
Let me close with this testimony of Ranjit Kaur featured in the Sunday Times last weekend, 9 May in the Life Section - “They lived on $800 a month while dad recovered.”
Ms Ranjit Kaur was so bent on getting married that she ran away from home at age 21. But during her wedding reception in a community centre, with more than 200 guests in attendance, her groom was nowhere to be found. That night in 1987, her husband-to-be Ranjit Singh was caught by the police for taking heroin. Up till then, she had no idea he was a drug addict.
Growing up, she has a hard time with her strict parents and ran away from home a couple of times. Singh has been good to her but her parents disapproved of their relationship and wanted to send her away to India to get married.
One night, she walked out of her home with only 10 cents on her, which she used to call her future mother-in-law, asking to be taken in. She was thinking of taking her life if no one takes her in. Singh was still in prison then. Her parents made a police report to get her back. She made a police report too against them. It was a mess.
When Singh was released from prison, the two registered their marriage. But married life did not bring the peace she had hoped for. Singh was still struggling with drugs and spent all he earned on his drug habit. It wasn’t enough. He stole all her jewellery.
Kaur has to take care of the family and kids, as Singh was not home most of the time. She took up a second job, had to borrow money from her boss, and her colleagues would buy food for her. Finally, she issued an ultimatum to Singh: Get clean or get out.
Then the unexpected happened. Singh was smoking heroin in a public toilet when he saw a flyer about a cocaine addict sharing how God had transformed his life. Desperate, he attended the talk at a church and heard the Gospel. A brother introduced him to The Helping Hand (THH) a drug rehabilation centre, and the rest is history.
Kaur was surprised that he went to a church and then entered The Helping Hand, but soon saw a change in his life.
She said, “It took me three to four years to believe that he had really changed because how could this God actually change someone’s life?”
Singh eventually recovered and stayed on in THH as a helper and worked his way up to becoming its operations manager. Kaur would bring the kids there every weekend, and in time, she too started working at THH as a receptionist and now its business manager.
When I got to know them, I didn’t know that they were husband and wife.
Where is Singh now? He is now a counsellor at IMH (Institute of Mental Health), helping those struggling with addiction.
That’s the power of the Gospel. Only the Gospel has the power to change lives. Only Jesus can make a difference.
• Paul: “For I am not ashamed of the gospel, for it is the power of God for salvation to everyone who believes, to the Jew first and also to the Greek.” (Rom 1:16)
• Let that story of God’s grace continues today, through you and me.
PRAYER:
Thank you, dear God, for your Word through which we’ve come to know you and the salvation you have prepared for us in Christ. Jesus is our Lord and Saviour.
Thank you for this book, the Acts of the Apostles. We see the work of Holy Spirit in bringing life-change to those who respond to the work of Christ by faith. Thank you for the move of the Gospel throughout the world today and in our own lives.
We remember all those who are in the front lines of the Gospel mission, may they continue to experience your power and providence.
We pray for ourselves too, that we may continue to be Enable us to be good witnesses of Jesus Christ today. Help us preach and live the Gospel faithfully. In Jesus’ Name, AMEN.
