After being in Rome for 3 days, Paul requested the Jewish religious leaders to come to his place of personal confinement. They obliged, and he explained to them all that had occurred in leading him to appeal to Caesar, which is what brought him to Rome. But Paul’s primary reason in asking these men to come was to declare to them in detail about the hope of Israel, and how Israel’s messianic and resurrection hopes center in the risen, exalted Jesus the Christ.
The Jewish leaders explained that they had not received any Sanhedrin letters condemning Paul, nor had any Jewish travelers coming to Rome spoken anything evil about him. Thus, they were willing (and desirous) to hear what Paul had to present with regards to Christianity, for they knew that most people spoke openly against it. They set a day for them to come back to Paul, and when the day arrived, a great number of men came to Paul’s rented house to hear him speak of the Way.
Paul spent the entire day laying out for these men from Scripture (the law of Moses and the Prophets) about God’s kingdom and how His kingdom is inextricably connected to the person of Jesus. He was seeking to persuade them of Jesus’ true identity as the Law Giver and also as the prophesied Messiah, that Jesus is the perfect and complete fulfillment of the OT (Law/Prophets), and how the rule of God (kingdom) is the rule of His agent, the Messiah, who IS Jesus! Some of the men began to become convinced by Paul’s exposition, but others refused to believe the truth.
In a state of disharmony, the men left, but not before Paul had one final word for them. He cited Isaiah 6:9-10, where Isaiah was commanded to go preach to the people of Israel to tell them they were being providentially hardened by God because of their continued refusal to listen to His word and to obey Him. Because they had filled their hearts with wickedness and closed off their ears and eyes to God’s truth, they had refused to repent, which would have brought God’s forgiveness and soul-healing. Paul applied this same passage to the men in front of him, particularly the willful rejecters of truth, informing them that God’s message of salvation has been sent to the Gentiles, and they will not reject it as these men just had.
In conclusion, Paul lived in Rome for 2 years, paying his own expenses. Everyone who came to Paul (Jew or Gentile, rich or poor, old or young) were warmly welcomed by him, and he seized every opportunity to proclaim to every person that he could about the kingdom of God and the Lord Jesus Christ. This he did with tremendous Spirit-filled boldness and without any hindrance: no Roman intervention, Jewish opposition, discouragement, or Satanic opposition! And this is how Luke abruptly ends his 2nd letter to Theophilus. But the story of God’s kingdom being built over the past 2,000 years through the efforts of ordinary people committed to God is the continuance of Luke’s letter, and these kingdom efforts will continue (and will succeed!) until the Lord returns for His bride.
You can listen to this teaching on Acts 28:17-31 by clicking on the following link: God’s Truth Is Marching On
