In Acts 28, Paul has an audience, and sometimes I think that’s all he wants. That is, if he can tell the good news about Jesus to other people, he’s doing what he was called to do. In this case, it is Jewish leaders from Rome who return to hear from Paul, after he had invited them to do so.
They arranged to meet Paul on a certain day, and came in even larger numbers to the place where he was staying. He witnessed to them from morning till evening, explaining about the kingdom of God, and from the Law of Moses and from the Prophets he tried to persuade them about Jesus.
Acts 28:23 NIV
For this Jewish audience, notice how Paul makes his points about Jesus,. Paul draws from the Law and the Prophets. He doesn’t lead in with seeing an “altar to an unknown god”, as he did in Athens [see Acts 17:22-23ff]. No, he starts with where his audience is at, and shows them how the prophecies of their Scriptures were fulfilled in Jesus, and how what the hearers had already learned fits together with God sending Jesus for their salvation.
That is good news, indeed. However, as we find in verses 24-28, not everyone who hears the good news believes it. This is a tough reality, but one that we must understand. We are called to follow the direction of the Holy Spirit to speak about Jesus (while we demonstrate what it looks like to follow Him), but a person’s ultimate decision about Jesus rests between themselves and God.
Note in Acts 28:24 that some “would not believe”. It sounds like this was a willful choice, rather than any lack of persuasive effort or logic and facts from Paul. Paul probably isn’t surprised that some reject the truth, and he shares a passage from Scripture where God had prophesied (through Isaiah) that this would happen.
Just like Paul preached at the school of Tyrannus in Ephesus after getting pushback from in the synagogue (see Acts 19:8-10), he has given the Jewish people a chance to hear the good news, and when some of them reject it, he continues teaching those who will listen, including Gentiles.
In verses 30-31 we learn that Paul had to wait in Rome for a while. I suspect that there were more Roman citizens appealing to Caesar than Caesar himself had time to hear in a given week.
One commentator [Reese, p.948] suggests that two years was the duration for someone to press charges. By this logic, if no one showed up (presumably those from Jerusalem who had previously accused Paul) in two years, he could be set free. Having said that, not all commentary [ref. Gaertner, p.429] agrees that this was the case in Roman courts at that time.
Regardless of the reason for his wait, though, Paul doesn’t just sit around and “waste time”, like we tend to do (for me, that usually means being on my phone). Instead, he makes use of the two years to preach and teach. I imagine him being really happy that he finally realized his dream of reaching people in the city of Rome. From here, the gospel could be transported throughout the Roman empire (on roads that Paul didn’t have to build).
I imagine that Paul probably even forgot his chain sometimes as he was teaching, because it was so much less important than his real purpose. His situation did not define him. Instead, Paul’s Savior defined him.
In the same way, let’s remember that just because we’re waiting for something doesn’t mean that we must be “wasting time”. A minister at our church told me once about how he struck up a conversation with a colleague of mine in line at the grocery store, while waiting for my colleagues’ food to be rung up. There is no wasted time in following Jesus. I believe that sometimes God’s direction includes times of rest, recreation, and relaxation, but serving Him doesn’t go on pause just because we’re struggling, searching, or standing around.
Let’s remember that we are not defined by our situations, but rather by our Savior. Time spent serving Him is well-spent, and that obligation doesn’t take a day off, no matter the circumstances.
From Sunday School lesson prepared for November 26, 2023
References:
- The Lookout, November 19, 2023, © 2023 Christian Standard Media.
- Scripture taken from the Holy Bible, NEW INTERNATIONAL VERSION®, NIV® Copyright © 1973, 1978, 1984, 2011 by Biblica, Inc.® Used by permission. All rights reserved worldwide.
- New Testament History: A Critical and Exegetical Commentary on the Book of Acts, by Gareth L. Reese. © 1976, College Press Publishing Company.
- The College Press NIV Commentary – Acts, by Dennis Gaertner. © 1993 College Press Publishing Co.
Those Who Sin Differently 