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.
Lesson
Acts 28:17-31 teaches us that, though the messenger of the gospel may be bound, the word of God is never bound and advances sovereignly to harden the rebellious and save the elect until the kingdom of God is consummated.
Let’s use the following outline:
1. There Is a Sovereign Call to Repentance (28:17-22)
2. There Is a Sovereign Hardening of Unbelief (28:23-27)
3. There Is a Sovereign Advance to Gentiles (28:28)
4. There Is a Sovereign Triumph of the Word (28:30-31)
I. There Is a Sovereign Call to Repentance (28:17-22)
First, there is a sovereign call to repentance.
Paul was under house arrest in Rome.
Paul wasted no time after he arrived in Rome.
He was allowed a limited amount of freedom to meet visitors.
It is estimated that between 40,000 and 50,000 Jews were living in Rome at the time of Paul’s first imprisonment.
Paul wanted to speak with the Jewish leaders in Rome.
Luke said in verse 17a, “After three days he [that is, Paul] called together the local leaders of the Jews.”
A few years earlier, Paul had written a letter to the Christians in Rome in which he had said, “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” (Romans 1:16).
Now that he was in Rome, Paul wanted to share the gospel with the Jews.
So, when they had gathered at Paul’s abode, he told them what had happened to him.
He told them how he had done nothing against the Jews or the customs of the Jews in Jerusalem, yet the Romans imprisoned him.
When the Romans examined Paul, they did not find him to have broken any Jewish laws that deserved punishment.
The Jews were vehemently opposed to Paul because he believed that Jesus was alive and that he was the Christ.
The Jews insisted that Paul was guilty—even though they could not state a clear charge against him.
Paul was compelled to appeal to Caesar, which is why he was in Rome.
Paul concluded his message to the Jewish leaders with these words in verse 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.”
Paul was imprisoned because of “the hope of Israel.”
That is, Paul believed that Jesus was “the hope of Israel.”
The Jewish leaders claimed they had received no communication from Jerusalem about Paul.
It seemed then that they were open to what Paul had to say to them.
However, they had heard about the sect of “Christians” that all the Jews spoke against.
Paul was proclaiming the good news of the gospel.
He knew that the gospel is the power of God for salvation to everyone who believes, whether Jew or Greek.
God commands all people everywhere to repent (Acts 17:30).
It is through the external call that the elect are reached with an effectual call.
Picture a lighthouse on a stormy coast.
Its beam sweeps indiscriminately over every ship on the sea in that area.
Yet, only the vessels whose helmsmen turn to avoid shipwreck will steer safely into harbor.
The light is universal, but the turning is particular.
There must be a response to the light before it is effectual.
II. There Is a Sovereign Hardening of Unbelief (28:23-27)
Second, there is a sovereign hardening of unbelief.
Luke said that they appointed a day for Paul to address them.
Remarkably, they came to Paul at his lodging in greater numbers.
Luke did not tell us how many were there, but I am guessing several dozen were in attendance.
Then Luke said in verse 23b, “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.”
There are several points I want you to see.
First, notice how long they spent with Paul. They were not with Paul for a thirty-minute sermon.
No. They were with Paul for hours—“from morning till evening.”
Second, notice that Paul used a variety of approaches. Paul “expounded,” “testif[ied],” and tried to “convince” his Jewish audience.
There were almost certainly questions to which he gave answers.
Third, notice that Paul used only the Scriptures. He spoke to them “both from the Law of Moses and from the Prophets.”
Paul did not try to assert his apostleship.
He did not use miracles.
He used the word of God to persuade the Jews about the truth of the gospel.
And finally, the focal point was “Jesus.”
Yes, he spoke about the “kingdom of God,” but Jesus was its king.
Luke tells us in verse 24, “And some were convinced by what he said, but others disbelieved.”
Paul then quotes from Isaiah 6:9-10 to explain the failure of some Jews to accept Jesus as the Christ.
Unbelief is not merely a human failure, but a divine judgment.
Paul wrote to the Thessalonians in 2 Thessalonians 2:11, “Therefore God sends them a strong delusion, so that they may believe what is false.”
The same sun that melts wax also hardens clay.
Do you remember the story of Moses and Pharaoh?
Moses encountered God at the burning bush.
We read in Exodus 4:21, “And the Lord said to Moses, ‘When you go back to Egypt, see that you do before Pharaoh all the miracles that I have put in your power. But I will harden his heart, so that he will not let the people go.’ ”
Over the next few months, God sent ten plagues to Egypt.
Each time, Pharaoh would not let the people of God go.
Sometimes, God hardened Pharaoh’s heart (see Exodus 7:22; 8:19; 9:7; 9:12; 9:35; 10:20; 10:27).
At other times, Pharaoh hardened his own heart (see Exodus 8:15; 8:32).
This is an example of divine sovereignty and human responsibility.
Divine sovereignty and human responsibility are friends, not enemies.
The clay does not dictate terms to the potter.
III. There Is a Sovereign Advance to the Gentiles (28:28)
Third, there is a sovereign advance to the Gentiles.
Though some of the Jews were convinced about the truth of the gospel, others continued in their disbelief.
So Paul said to them in verse 28, “Therefore let it be known to you that this salvation of God has been sent to the Gentiles; they will listen.”
Your Bible most likely does not have verse 29.
If not, your Bible has a note at the bottom of the page that reads something like this: “Some manuscripts add verse 29: And when he had said these words, the Jews departed, having much dispute among themselves” (The Holy Bible: English Standard Version [Wheaton, IL: Crossway Bibles, 2016], n.p.).
Those words are not in the best attested manuscripts, and that is why your Bible does not include them in the text.
Nevertheless, the Jews who did not believe in the gospel almost certainly left Paul “having much dispute among themselves.”
The inclusion of the Gentiles into God’s family was not Plan B.
It was not as if God wanted the gospel only for the Jews, and when they rejected it, he thought of including the Gentiles, that is, the non-Jews.
No. God has always intended that the gospel be for all nations.
When God called Abram to follow him, he said to Abram in Genesis 12:3, “I will bless those who bless you, and him who dishonors you I will curse, and in you all the families of the earth shall be blessed.”
That is why Paul wrote to the Ephesians in Ephesians 3:6, “This mystery is that the Gentiles are fellow heirs, members of the same body, and partakers of the promise in Christ Jesus through the gospel.”
Most of us in this room today are not Jews.
We are Gentiles.
God knew before the foundation of the world that you and I—Gentiles—would become part of the family of God.
I am so thankful that Paul had a passion to proclaim the gospel.
Yes, he did go first to the Jews because they were first in priority.
Yet, he also knew that the gospel was for all the families of the earth.
He wanted to see men and women, boys and girls, from every people group, nation, tribe, and family believe that Jesus is the Christ, the Son of God, and the Savior of sinners.
IV. There Is a Sovereign Triumph of the Word (28:30-31)
And fourth, there is a sovereign triumph of the word.
Luke said of Paul in verses 30-31, “He lived there two whole years at his own expense, and welcomed all who came to him, proclaiming the kingdom of God and teaching about the Lord Jesus Christ with all boldness and without hindrance.”
Paul’s dream of preaching the gospel in Rome came true.
It is important to remember that the gospel’s advance is not measured by Paul’s freedom, but by the word’s freedom.
Paul might have been in custody, but the word was not.
Paul might have been chained to a Roman soldier, but the word was not.
A young Christian woman named Perpetua (age 22) was arrested in Carthage, North Africa, in about 180 AD.
She was arrested with her pregnant slave, Felicitas.
While awaiting her execution in the amphitheatre, Perpetua kept a diary.
In it, she recorded the following words:
“While we were still with the guards, my father… tried to turn me from the faith… But I said, ‘Father, do you see this vessel lying here? … It cannot be called by any other name than what it is. So I cannot call myself anything other than what I am—a Christian.’”
The prison warden, Pudens, was so moved by their courage that he allowed Perpetua and Felicitas to keep a copy of the word of God.
Perpetua read aloud from the Gospel of John to the other prisoners.
Pudens himself converted and smuggled the diary out after her execution.
The diary was eventually printed as The Passion of Perpetua and Felicitas, and it became one of the earliest Christian texts in Latin—copied and read across the empire.
The Bible in prison gave birth to a bestseller.
One can go on with story after story about how the word of God triumphs wherever it goes.
Conclusion
Luke ended the Book of Acts.
But he did not really conclude the story.
It is as if there is a single title card that slams up in black-on-white:
“TO BE CONTINUED…”
Ever since Luke concluded the Book of Acts in about 62 A.D., Jesus has continued to turn the world upside down.
Jesus is still alive.
Jesus is still changing lives.
By the time Luke wrote the Book of Acts, there were as many as 10,000 Christians worldwide.
That is about 1 Christian for 25,000 people living in the world at that time.
Today, approximately 2.6 billion people worldwide profess to be Christians.
That is about 1 Christian for every 3 people living in the world today.
So, let me encourage you with the following applications.
First, proclaim the word of God boldly.
Nothing can stop the progress of the gospel.
Second, trust in the sovereignty of God when you encounter unbelief.
Hardening hearts is his prerogative; our duty is to proclaim the word of God.
Third, rejoice as Gentiles from all over the world come to faith in Jesus.
The kingdom of God encompasses people from all the families of the earth.
And finally, live as citizens of the unhindered kingdom of God.
Welcome all, warn all, and rest in the God who alone can open ears and hearts.
The Book of Acts closes, but Jesus is still alive and changing lives.
The Book of Acts is to be continued.
Now it is up to you and me to share the good news about Jesus until the earth is filled with the knowledge of the Lord as the waters cover the sea. Amen.
