Paul’s+Preaching+at+Rome+under+Guard

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=Paul's Preaching at Rome Under Guard=

At the final conclusion of Acts, Paul is under house arrest but still accomplishing the mission that Christ had given him during the vision he encountered on the road to Damascus. It is not a conclusion of his ministry, but rather just the conclusion of the book; his travels are still documented in other books later in the New Testament. Despite the many hardships and trials encountered, he held steadfastly in Christ’s strength.

Since he was under house arrest in the passage, Paul was not able to freely move about, but he managed to impact many people and bring those who needed to hear the message to him instead. Acts 28:17 informs us that within three days of his arrival in Rome, he had already invited the leaders of the Jews to his house with the purpose of sharing his story and setting up the sharing of the Gospel in a future meeting. Since the synagogue was off limits, he had the synagogue leaders come to him-which would have included elders, scribes, and other leaders. Although it is not known exactly when the Jews came to Rome, Judas Maccabee was said to have sent envoys to Rome around 160 B.C. to “establish an alliance and peace” with the people. Overall, at this time period, there were about 50,000 Jews attending a few synagogues.1 Paul’s greeting to the Jews was a typical address, showing his familiarity and custom. He promises that he had done nothing wrong or against anyone, just as he did in Acts 25:8: “I have done nothing wrong against the law of the Jews or against the temple or against Caesar.” He was handed over to the Romans from the Jews, but did not speak in a derogatory way in an effort to keep their minds from being shut down before the Gospel message could be delivered. Paul points out his Jewishness and puts themselves on a level pedestal as a fellow Jew. His innocence by the Roman authorities was pointed out in Acts 26:32, in an effort to further build up his ethos. Instead of accusing the Jews of putting him through so many trials, he just assumes it as necessary and said that he appealed to Caesar, careful not to lord his Roman citizenship and privileges over them too much. This would also cause further distances to develop in between them. Paul then implicitly goes on to say that he would not cause any trouble for the leaders of the Jews by accusing his people.2 They are put at ease when he says that he would not betray his heritage even though he had diverged from what they believed to be true.

The Jewish leaders in their fairness, then agree to come back and listen to what Paul has to say to them. Other than “enjoying universal ill-repute”, they did not know much about Christianity and tried to isolate themselves from it.3 They were still remembering an event that had occurred earlier with the Emperor Claudius 10 years previous who had sent them away from Rome due to riots. These riots were caused by the division between Jews and Jewish Christians, yet they were still curious to hear what Paul had to say. They admit his innocence in their knowledge, since they had had no previous knowledge of him before. This is interesting because Paul had sent a letter to the Christians in Rome three years earlier, but the Christians might not have informed them about Paul because of their uncomfortableness with the Jewish leaders and their beliefs. The Jewish leaders’ use of “sect” was not meant to be an insult. “Sect” can mean “party” or “school of thought.”3

On their next meeting, there was a large group of Jews who were willing to listen to Paul, and stayed all day long getting lectured on the Word of God. As in Acts 20:7-11, Paul has a gift for speaking for long periods of time, maintaining the same passion and zeal necessary to convince people the Gospel throughout the entire time period. This is a parallel to Jesus when he was so caught up with teaching that he and his disciples were not even able to eat (Mark 3:20). Since Paul was a Pharisee before his conversion, he knew all the Laws of Moses and the prophesies, and it is from this knowledge that he tried convincing the Jewish people of the Gospel of Jesus Christ.4 This was a difficult message for the Jews to grasp since they believed that Jesus was just a proto-rabbi like the other people in his time, with eschatology as an element in his teaching. The only difference between him and others was that he emphasized relationships instead of political matters and that he was not opposed to the Jewish teachings; rather, he had a different interpretation of them.5 Paul’s message showed this same idea to them, and they thought of him as a follower of Jesus, who was therefore already biased in his understanding of what He stood for. This is one of the reasons why the Bible says that they were divided on this issue and a few believed,others did not. As the Jewish leaders were leaving, Paul concluded his message with one last punch. He referred back to the book of Isaiah, showing the Bible’s condemnation upon their unbelief and not only his own as a man. This is introduced with a chiastic antithetical structure, talking about the heart, ears, and capitalizing on how if one sees with the eyes and hears with the ears, he can understand it with his heart.6 The Jewish people were just refusing to look at the prophesy being fulfilled before their eyes and act upon it. “In every instance in Acts where a scriptural quote is introduced by a reference to the Spirit, the Spirit is described as having spoken. In this manner the written word is shown to by a dynamic, ‘living’ Word.”7 This passage from Isaiah then applied just as much to the ancient Israelites as they did to the Jews in this instance. Paul then separates himself with fellowship in his word usage right before quoting from the Old Testament. He said in the beginning “our Fathers”, showing a oneness, but now he diverged and spoke of “your fathers”, indicating their own God-given genealogical history throughout the ages.4 God’s great mercy and faithfulness is demonstrated through this prophesy being fulfilled. “Isaiah had announced the hardening judgment and God waited seven hundred years before it was finally carried out.”8 The Jewish leaders were well aware that this passage in Isaiah was quoted for Israel earlier, and they had failed to heed the words of the prophet, continuing farther and farther into their sin. Now Paul is applying it to their own lives and showing the comparison of their hardened hearts and stubborn refusal to believe.9

Paul has kept well with his calling to present the Gospel “first to the Jew, and then to the Greek” (Romans 1:16). “He had always observed that rule during his ministry in Cyprus (13:5,7), Pisidian Antioch (13:14, 46), Corinth (18:6), and Ephesus (20:21), as well as now in Rome. Since they had refused the message, he now was going to preach it to the Greeks, and he knew that many would gladly accept it.2 The book ends on a positive, victorious note as Paul’s house is the place of much traffic, and the Gospel is preached for the remaining two years he is there. It is thought that he was released by Nero at the end of this time period, and then continued his journey preaching the Good News to those that would listen.4 The bringing up of the trial in verse 30 demonstrates Paul’s acquittal. “The judgment which set Paul free was a Magna Carta of religious freedom.” Claudius had made a rule that if the accusers did not come to Rome within two years, the accused was automatically set free.10 Paul’s witnessing was especially needed at the time because Rome was going through a seriously trying time. With the time of “unrest, tension, and violence”, it was a time where people were looking to satisfy the peace in their hearts.11 Some commentators have thought that in Acts, two years “refers to special blessings” by means of evaluating Acts 18:11, 19:10, and 24:27.12 God had provided the perfect time to allow Paul with the ripe hearts ready to hear and accept the Gospel.

Acts 28 and 1 both have much in common and accentuate the fulfillment of God’s plan. Out of the eight occurrences of “kingdom” throughout the book, four occur evenly in the exposition (1:3,6) and conclusion (28:23,31).13 God’s word is balanced and maintains the same main purpose throughout the whole book. Universality is also key as in Acts 1:8, where Jesus tells the disciples to be His witnesses “to the end of the earth”. Rome at this time was viewed as the ‘center of the world’, so this is an ironic fulfillment and ending place. The very first and last sentences also depict a significant relation. They both focus on the activity of teaching. In the last sentence, however, “Jesus is no longer the teacher, but the subject matter; no longer the proclaimer, but the proclaimed.”13  Paul was a faithful servant that administered the Gospel to as many people as he could reach. His mission to tell the Jews, and then the Greeks was held constant where ever he went, bearing fruit to a hurting people. It is a central theme that the Jews hardened their hearts and would not accept the message, but that the Greeks were hungry to fill their souls and gladly accepted, making the church grow massively in size. God’s Acts 1:8 command to tell his word was being fulfilled, and the church was growing to have a massive impact for generations to come.

Bibliography
 * 1) Joseph Fitzmeyr, //The Acts of the Apostles// (New York: Doubleday, 1997), 792.
 * 2) Simon Kistemaker, //Acts: New Testament Commentary// (Grand Rapids: Baker Book House, 1990), 958-959.
 * 3) Bruce, //The New International Commentary on the New Testament: The Book of Acts// (Grand Rapids: Eerdmans Publishing Co, 1954), 531.
 * 4) Simon Kistemaker, //Acts: New Testament Commentary// (Grand Rapids: Baker Book House, 1990), 960.
 * 5) Phillip Sigal, //Judaism: the Evolution of a Faith// (Grand Rapids: William B. Eerdmans Publishing Company, 1988), 68-69.
 * 6) Parsons, Mikeal, //Acts// (Grand Rapids: Baker Academic, 2008), 365.
 * 7) <span style="font-family: 'Times New Roman',serif; font-size: 12pt;">Polhill, John, //The New American Commentary// (Nashville: Broadman Press, 1992), 543.
 * 8) <span style="font-family: 'Times New Roman',serif; font-size: 12pt;">John Mac Arthur, //The Acts of the Apostles// (Glendale: Voice of Calvary), 466.
 * 9) <span style="font-family: 'Times New Roman',serif; font-size: 12pt;">Joseph Fitzmeyr, //The Acts of the Apostles// (New York: Doubleday, 1997), 796.
 * 10) <span style="font-family: 'Times New Roman',serif; font-size: 12pt;">Haenchen, Ernst, //The Acts of the Apostles: A commentary// (Oxford: Basil Blackwell, 1971), 724-725.
 * 11) <span style="font-family: 'Times New Roman',serif; font-size: 12pt;">James VanderKam, //An Introduction to Early Judaism// (Cambridge: William B. Eerdman’s Publishing Company, 2001), 41.
 * 12) <span style="font-family: 'Times New Roman',serif; font-size: 12pt;">Parsons, Mikeal, //Acts// (Grand Rapids: Baker Academic, 2008), 365.
 * 13) <span style="font-family: 'Times New Roman',serif; font-size: 12pt;">Parsons, Mikeal, //Acts// (Grand Rapids: Baker Academic, 2008), 366.

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