Rome

Acts 28:11-31

¹¹After three months we set sail in a ship that had wintered in the island, a ship of Alexandria, with the twin gods as a figurehead.

¹²Putting in at Syracuse, we stayed there for three days.

¹³And from there we made a circuit and arrived at Rhegium. And after one day a south wind sprang up, and on the second day we came to Puteoli.

¹⁴There we found brothers and were invited to stay with them for seven days. And so we came to Rome.

¹⁵And the brothers there, when they heard about us, came as far as the Forum of Appius and Three Taverns to meet us. On seeing them, Paul thanked God and took courage.

¹⁶And when we came into Rome, Paul was allowed to stay by himself, with the soldier who guarded him.

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.”

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.”

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.

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.”

[²⁹Afte he said this, the Jews left, arguing vigorously among themselves.] This verse does not appear in the original text.

³⁰He lived there two whole years at his own expense, and welcomed all who came to him,

³¹proclaiming the kingdom of God and teaching about the Lord Jesus Christ with all boldness and without hindrance.

The book of Acts draws to a conclusion with Paul achieving the goal set for him by Jesus Himself; preach the Gospel in Rome. Having appealed his legal case brought against him by the Jews to Caesar, which was his right as a Roman citizen, he finally gets his hearing before the Roman court and is acquitted. His time awaiting trial was two years. Because the Roman authorities did not think him much of a threat and probably knew he was guilty of nothing anyway, his incarceration was not strenuous. He was allowed to live in his own rented home and have people come and go at will. This was a rich time of ministry for Paul.

During the two years in Rome, Paul wrote several of his epistles: Philippians, Colossians, Philemon, and possibly Ephesians. Paul was free to continue his work, and it is clear that he revisited many of the places where his earlier journeys had taken him. It had been Paul’s intention, before his arrest in Jerusalem and the subsequent voyage to Rome as a prisoner, to go to Spain (Romans 15:24, 28). He had expressed the hope that after a visit with the saints in Rome they would help him make that trip (Romans 15:28). Perhaps he was able to do so, but there is no biblical evidence that he did. Somewhere, for some reason, Paul was arrested a second time. From prison in Rome he wrote his second epistle to Timothy. He expected to be executed this time. Ancient tradition says that he was beheaded at Rome, probably in 66ad.

Balge, R. D. ©1988. Acts (pp. 291–292). Milwaukee, WI: Northwestern Pub. House.

The most pointed verses for me in this passage comes from the Isaiah 6:9-10 quote.

“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.”

What was true in the days of Isaiah was also true in the days of Paul. And it is true for our day as well. We too can choose to deny God, stopping up our ears and blinding our eyes to His redemption story. Once we head down that path it is difficult to recover. The choice to deny God is dangerous for when we demand He be silent in our world He will eventually do just that. This is indeed a frightening prospect.

Dear Lord Jesus, please teach me how to guard my heart and mind so that You are the loudest voice I hear. May the shouting of the world have no impact on my spirit. Please help me to remain steadfast in Your Word and faithful to Your calling in my life. In Your name I pray. Amen.