Acts 28
Paul finally arrived in Rome after a
long, arduous, and dangerous journey. He
rented a house and was allowed to live on his own with a Roman soldier guarding
him. The first thing he did was contact
the leaders of the Jewish community and asked to speak with them (28:17).
He explained to them why he had been brought to Rome as a prisoner. The Jews were not put off by Paul and
reported they had heard nothing from Jerusalem about him. They had heard many negative things about
“the Jesus sect” but they wanted to hear more from Paul.
So Paul set a date with them and the
Jews showed up in huge numbers at his house.
Then we read, “From morning till
evening he explained and declared to them the kingdom of God and tried to
convince them about Jesus from the Law of Moses and from the Prophets” (28:23). Two things jump out at me from this
verse. First, can you imagine spending
an entire day pointing out the Old
Testament evidences that Jesus was truly the Messiah? I can’t begin to wrap my head around that. I might, maybe, be able to fill up a couple
of hours referring to the Law and Prophets and showing how Jesus fulfilled the
prophesies. What an amazing grasp of
scriptures Paul had!
The second thing that strikes me
from verse 23 is that Paul tried to
convince them. He was not merely
giving out information. He was in debate
mode and was working hard to present the information in such a way that they
would be persuaded of the truth and begin to follow Jesus. The great apostle Paul gave them everything
he had and took the whole day doing it!
What was the result? “Some
were convinced by what he said, but others would not believe. They disagreed among themselves and began to
leave…” (28:24, 25). The crowd ended
up divided. Some were persuaded while
others would not believe. Notice, their unbelief came from their own
unwillingness to believe the truth. How
do we account for these results? Even
the brilliant Paul was unable to convince people who would not believe. He knew
the results lay in the hands of the Holy Spirit. That’s why he quotes Isaiah in 28:25-27:
“The
Holy Spirit spoke the truth to your forefathers when he said through Isaiah the
prophet:
‘You will be
ever hearing but never understanding;
you will be ever
seeing but never perceiving.’
For this
people’s heart has become calloused;
they hardly hear
with their ears
and they have
closed their eyes.
Otherwise they
might see with their eyes,
hear with their
ears,
understand with
their hearts
and turn, and I
would heal them.”
Nobody will believe apart from the
work of the Holy Spirit. Paul understood
that. He also understood the hardness of
Jewish hearts, the deafness of their ears, and the blindness of their eyes. Nevertheless, those who saw, heard, and
understood, were saved. Paul did not
fail to try to persuade them even though he knew it might be fruitless.
Our society and our culture seem
very similar to the Roman Jews whom Paul tried to convince that day. As I look around me I see hardened hearts,
clogged ears, and blinded eyes. Does it
seem like sharing the gospel is hopeless sometimes? Does the lack of response discourage us? Do we often feel like throwing up our hands
in frustration while shaking the dust off our feet? Yes.
But we never, never, never give up!
The results lie in the hands of God!
Some will be convinced! Some will
believe! Let us not grow weary of doing
good but let’s keep sharing the good news.
Remember the last two verses of the Book of Acts, “For two whole years Paul stayed there in his own rented house and
welcomed all who came to see him. Boldly
and without hindrance he preached the kingdom of God and taught about the Lord
Jesus Christ” (Acts 28:30, 31). He
didn’t give up!
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