June
22nd (Paul
in Rome) Paul arrives in Rome
16:
And when we came to Rome, the centurion delivered the prisoners to
the captain of the guard: but Paul was suffered to dwell by himself
with a soldier that kept him. 17: And it came to pass, that after
three days Paul called the chief of the Jews together: and when they
were come together, he said unto them, Men and brethren, though I
have committed nothing against the people, or customs of our fathers,
yet was I delivered prisoner from Jerusalem into the hands of the
Romans. 18: Who, when they had examined me, would have let me go,
because there was no cause of death in me. 19: But when the Jews
spake against it, I was constrained to appeal unto Caesar; not that I
had ought to accuse my nation of. 20: For this cause therefore have I
called for you, to see you, and to speak with you: because that for
the hope of Israel I am bound with this chain. 21: And they said unto
him, We neither received letters out of Judaea concerning thee,
neither any of the brethren that came shewed or spake any harm of
thee. 22: But we desire to hear of thee what thou thinkest: for as
concerning this sect, we know that every where it is spoken against.
23: And when they had appointed him a day, there came many to him
into his lodging; to whom he expounded and testified the kingdom of
God, persuading them concerning Jesus, both out of the law of Moses,
and out of the prophets, from morning till evening. 24: And some
believed the things which were spoken, and some believed not. 25: And
when they agreed not among themselves, they departed, after that Paul
had spoken one word, Well spake the Holy Ghost by Esaias the prophet
unto our fathers, 26: Saying, Go unto this people, and say, Hearing
ye shall hear, and shall not understand; and seeing ye shall see, and
not perceive: 27: For the heart of this people is waxed gross, and
their ears are dull of hearing, and their eyes have they closed; lest
they should see with their eyes, and hear with their ears, and
understand with their heart, and should be converted, and I should
heal them. 28: Be it known therefore unto you, that the salvation of
God is sent unto the Gentiles, and that they will hear it. 29: And
when he had said these words, the Jews departed, and had great
reasoning among themselves.
Paul
preaching unhindered
30:
And Paul dwelt two whole years in his own hired house, and received
all that came in unto him, 31: Preaching the kingdom of God, and
teaching those things which concern the Lord Jesus Christ, with all
confidence, no man forbidding him.
Luke
brings his record of the Acts of the Apostles to an end by describing
Paul’s adventures in Rome. When they arrived in Rome all the
prisoners were handed over to the Roman guard but Paul was allowed to
live in a house by himself with a soldier to keep watch over him. He
was under house arrest. After three days Paul gathered the chief Jews
together to speak to them. You will notice that Pauls practise from
the beginning had been to the Jews first and then to the Gentiles.
Paul as an apostle to the Jews calls them together to hear the good
news of the Messiah. He explains the reason for his arrest. He says l
have done nothing wrong, nor have l broken any of the customs of the
Fathers yet despite this l was handed over to the Romans to be
executed. But when the Romans looked into my case they wanted to
release me, because l had done nothing worthy of death. When the Jews
spoke against me l was compelled to appeal to Caesar. This is why l
have called for you to speak to you. l am here in chains because of
the hope of Israel. The Jews said that they had not heard anything
about the case and we want to hear from you and what you believe, We
have heard things about this group and we know that it is opposed
everywhere. So they set a day when Paul could be heard and the Jews
came to his lodging to hear him speak. Paul preached concerning the
whole rule of God and persuaded them about Jesus of Nazareth. He
preached Christ from the Law and the prophets from first thing in the
morning to evening time. Some of the Jews believed the Gospel and
some refused to believe it. The Jews were divided as to what Paul
said. Luke comments that Isaiah prophesied well when he said Go unto
this people, and say, Hearing ye shall hear, and shall not
understand; and seeing ye shall see, and not perceive: For the heart
of this people is waxed gross, and their ears are dull of hearing,
and their eyes have they closed; lest they should see with their
eyes, and hear with their ears, and understand with their heart, and
should be converted, and I should heal them. So Paul formally broke
off from the Jews because of their official rejection of his message.
He said, I want you to know that the salvation of God is sent unto
the Gentiles, and that they will hear it. After Paul had spoken these
words the Jews left him and they had a great discussion among
themselves. Paul lived for two years in his own private apartment and
he had freedom to receive all visitors. He continued to preach the
kingdom of God and teaching everything about the Lord Jesus Christ,
with total confidence, and no body was able to stopping him in this
work. And so this ends Luke’s Record. Luke has recorded the
ministry of the Apostles. Firstly Peters ministry mainly in Jerusalem
and Judea and Then Pauls ministry in Northern Palestine, Turkey,
Macedonia, Greece and now Rome. In every place the ministry of the
Apostles has been quite unique in that the Gospel of the Kingdom has
gone out to the Jews of the whole Roman world. Nearly every Synagogue
of the Jews has been touched by their preaching and most of the time
it has been rejected by them. But there is another story the
unfolding of the Gospel to the Gentiles. Starting from chapter 10
with the conversion of Cornelius who was a Jewish Proselyte the
Gospel has gone out first to the Gentiles who are living as
circumcised God fearing Proselytes and then to the Gentiles who have
no link to Judaism the message of Christ has made large inroads into
the masses of the Roman Empire. There have been many crisis’, such
as the Question of whether Gentiles are to be forced to take up
Judaism in order to be saved or whether christians can be
legitimately persecuted and executed as enemies of the Jewish
religion. And the Gospel has triumphed over all. Even at the last
chapter the Word of the Lord is still going out unhindered.
- In what way was Paul held in preparation for a hearing before Ceasar?
- What is the response to Paul when he addresses the Jews of Rome?
- In what way had Paul finally reached his objective to reach Rome with the Gospel of Gods Grace?
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