Commentary on Acts of the Apostles Chapters 26-28
by Dave Brown
Go To Acts 21-25
Festus has lined up Herod Agrippa to hear Paul, perhaps for many reasons, but one he has expressed -- so he could get something to write down as to the charges against Paul, since he was quite perplexed as to just why the Jews wanted him dead. Paul has a fairly uninterrupted presentation (no accusers present), which reviews some things, but also clarifies other things for us.
Acts 26
26:1 And Agrippa said unto Paul, Thou art permitted to speak for thyself. Then Paul stretched forth his hand, and made his defense:
[It appears from the detail that Luke might have been there. Of course, we know that the Holy Spirit could inform Luke, but we typically find the Holy Spirit taking advantage of the writers experiences if at all possible.]
2 I think myself happy, king Agrippa, that I am to make my defense before thee this day touching all the things whereof I am accused by the Jews:
3 especially because thou art expert in all customs and questions which are among the Jews: wherefore I beseech thee to hear me patiently.
[We mentioned that Agrippa was technically of the Jewish tradition. We understand that this is the son of the Herod that killed James as recorded in Acts 12.]
4 My manner of life then from my youth up, which was from the beginning among mine own nation and at Jerusalem, know all the Jews;
5 having knowledge of me from the first, if they be willing to testify, that after the straitest sect of our religion I lived a Pharisee.
[Paul addresses Agrippa as a fellow Jew, giving him every benefit of the doubt, although Paul had to be well aware of his personal sense of morality.]
6 And now I stand (here) to be judged for the hope of the promise made of God unto our fathers;
7 unto which (promise) our twelve tribes, earnestly serving (God) night and day, hope to attain. And concerning this hope I am accused by the Jews, O king!
[Perhaps Paul used more detail here, quoting Old Testament passages that pointed to Christ ... Luke probably only summarizes what must have been a much longer presentation.]
8 Why is it judged incredible with you, if God doth raise the dead?
[There is no indication that Herod did not believe in the resurrection ... no indication that he was a Sadducee ... but for that matter he was probably not a "practicing" Jew, and certainly not a member of any of the zealous sects. Paul's argument: If God made the universe in an instant and shaped it all up in six days, what is impossible for Him?]
9 I verily thought with myself that I ought to do many things contrary to the name of Jesus of Nazareth.
10 And this I also did in Jerusalem: and I both shut up many of the saints in prisons, having received authority from the chief priests, and when they were put to death I gave my vote against them.
11 And punishing them oftentimes in all the synagogues, I strove to make them blaspheme; and being exceedingly mad against them, I persecuted them even unto foreign cities.
[Paul's early persecution of Christians would give credence to the validity of his conversion. An interesting point here is that the earliest Christians were to be found "in all the synagogues." This is consistent with who Paul got the letters to in Acts 9 -- it was to the synagogues. We often imagine the church being like it is today, but there was clearly a birth process, and the synagogues seem to be the (often unwilling) mothers of the churches. They incubated in general accord and agreement, at least in the east-Mediterranean area and Judea (recall Peter visiting the brethren toward the end of Acts 9). It seems reasonable to me that some of these entire synagogues may have been totally converted, again giving the local churches a real head start. Paul expresses his animosity toward the first Christians -- it was not just a doctrinal struggle with him, it was personal. He was "exceedingly mad against them" -- no doubt the result of his hatred for what he saw to be a very destructive and divisive movement.]
12 Whereupon as I journeyed to Damascus with the authority and commission of the chief priests,
13 at midday, O king, I saw on the way a light from heaven, above the brightness of the sun, shining round about me and them that journeyed with me.
14 And when we were all fallen to the earth, I heard a voice saying unto me in the Hebrew language, Saul, Saul, why persecutest thou me? it is hard for thee to kick against the goad.
15 And I said, Who art thou, Lord? And the Lord said, I am Jesus whom thou persecutest.
16 But arise, and stand upon thy feet: for to this end have I appeared unto thee, to appoint thee a minister and a witness both of the things wherein thou hast seen me, and of the things wherein I will appear unto thee;
17 delivering thee from the people, and from the Gentiles, unto whom I send thee,
18 to open their eyes, that they may turn from darkness to light and from the power of Satan unto God, that they may receive remission of sins and an inheritance among them that are sanctified by faith in me.
[There is much to meditate over what Jesus said to Paul at this point. Was he a mad man who made all of this up? as some suppose. It is hard to believe he would have gotten this far if that were the case. Nor can there be any suspicion that he is in the "business of religion" like many self-seeking preachers today who live high off of their flocks. No, he was not in it for the money. Jesus himself charged him with the responsibility to witness -- but not as the other apostles could witness -- he would witness to what he was seeing right then, and what Jesus would show him further. His mission was to preach the gospel to all men, but especially to the Gentiles.]
[Note the embedded promise: "... delivering thee from the people, and from the Gentiles, ..." We have speculated that many of the things we have read were of the providence of God -- now we need speculate no longer. Paul's survival was carefully orchestrated and he was preserved by Jesus himself. How sublime and concise is the word of God in all things, but especially in this regard.]
[Paul's final defense here is not really a defense at all, but a testimony. Festus and Herod Agrippa are not accusing him of anything, and this enables Paul to go through his testimony in a much more relaxed way then in his previous "defenses." Recall that one of the primary reasons Festus was interested in hearing more from Paul is so that he could put together a letter to Rome, seeing that it would be rather uncomfortable for him to send Paul to Rome without such a letter of accusation, and at this point he did not have any idea as to what to write in such a letter. Yet, he has agreed to send Paul to Rome and apparently got the concurrence of the Jewish council in such -- both of which solve problems for Festus. Having Agrippa involved is a plus for Festus in that Agrippa sort of brings a Jewish perspective to the table. We pick it up right after Paul quotes the words of Jesus.]
19 Wherefore, O king Agrippa, I was not disobedient unto the heavenly vision:
[Paul makes an appeal to the vision of Jesus ... that he had not choice but to obey.]
20 but declared both to them of Damascus first and at Jerusalem, and throughout all the country of Judaea, and also to the Gentiles, that they should repent and turn to God, doing works worthy of repentance.
[This encapsulates the plan of salvation -- belief, repentance that involves turning from your sin and to God (the positive confession in word and life that replaces the sinful activities), and continuing to do the works that are part of following Christ.]
21 For this cause the Jews seized me in the temple, and assayed to kill me.
22 Having therefore obtained the help that is from God, I stand unto this day testifying both to small and great, saying nothing but what the prophets and Moses did say should come;
[Above Jesus promised to save Paul from both Jews and Gentile enemies and preserve his life -- I believe that this is the "help that is from God;" of course, obtaining the gospel by inspiration of the Holy Spirit would also certainly be help from God.]
23 how that the Christ must suffer, (and) how that he first by the resurrection of the dead should proclaim light both to the people and to the Gentiles.
[Paul again appeals to the Old Testament, something he did not do before Felix and Festus since they were not familiar with the OT scriptures and being Gentiles it would probably have carried little if any weight.]
24 And as he thus made his defense, Festus saith with a loud voice, Paul, thou art mad; thy much learning is turning thee mad.
[I see no good reason in Festus interrupting Paul at this point ... perhaps he was aggravated by the appeal to the Jewish scriptures, perhaps his conscience was bothering him so much he just did not want to hear any more, no telling. However, the fact that his emotions were involved is obvious.]
25 But Paul saith, I am not mad, most excellent Festus; but speak forth words of truth and soberness.
26 For the king knoweth of these things, unto whom also I speak freely: for I am persuaded that none of these things is hidden from him; for this hath not been done in a corner.
27 King Agrippa, believest thou the prophets? I know that thou believest.
[It was Festus, not Agrippa who interrupted -- Paul detects that he might be getting through to the king ...]
28 And Agrippa (said) unto Paul, With but little persuasion thou wouldest fain make me a Christian.
[It is so hard when people have lived evil lives to come to near the end of them and to admit that it was all in vain, self-serving and to no positive effect, and perhaps quite negative. Even to come to the point of this particular admission is a credit to Agrippa. Some discount it and say that he was speaking sarcastically, but there is no reason not to take what he said at face value.]
29 And Paul (said), I would to God, that whether with little or with much, not thou only, but also all that hear me this day, might become such as I am, except these bonds.
[This is reflected throughout the book of Romans -- Paul felt himself to be a debtor to all men, even those who might be quite evil in the obvious wickedness. They were precious souls to Paul, as they should be to all of us.]
30 And the king rose up, and the governor, and Bernice, and they that sat with them:
31 and when they had withdrawn, they spake one to another, saying, This man doeth nothing worthy of death or of bonds.
32 And Agrippa said unto Festus, This man might have been set at liberty, if he had not appealed unto Caesar.
[But he did. What would have been the effect if Paul had been set at liberty? It would not have been a pretty picture. It was God's will that Paul be in prison to protect him at this point -- he was much more valuable alive than dead, and he had another mission -- to go to Rome -- that would have been prevented had the Jewish leaders accomplished their purpose. God does not want us to establish cults of personality, not even with Paul, not even with Jesus (1 Cor. 1:10-12). When people reach super-star status they become almost useless to the kingdom. They become an end in themselves as opposed to the means to the end of preaching the gospel and saving souls. This is a good reason that even Jesus is not with us today. Jesus ascended into heaven because God loves us and would always do the best things for us.]
Well, Paul finally gets his wish after being imprisoned for at least two years -- we might guess no more than three -- and he is on the way to Rome to do God's will. Why would God allow him to be ship-wrecked? Well, I think we shall see not only many great things came out of that, but that there are many great lesson remaining in these last two chapters for us as well.
Acts 27
27:1 And when it was determined that we should sail for Italy, they delivered Paul and certain other prisoners to a centurion named Julius, of the Augustan band.
[Why the detail? ... further evidence that Luke was totally involved, as the "we" in the next verse indicates.]
2 And embarking in a ship of Adramyttium, which was about to sail unto the places on the coast of Asia, we put to sea, Aristarchus, a Macedonian of Thessalonica, being with us.
[Recall Aristarchus was one of Paul's companions in Acts 19 in Ephesus who was seized because they apparently could not get their hands on Paul. He is called a fellow prisoner in Col. 4:10 which indicates that he may have been taken into custody with Paul and they were going through this ordeal together. Luke is there but there is not indication that he is a prisoner -- but clearly one who is attending to Paul's needs, and allowed to do so.]
3 And the next day we touched at Sidon: and Julius treated Paul kindly, and gave him leave to go unto his friends and refresh himself.
[Very kindly indeed. Perhaps having been given instructions from Lysias (the chief captain ... or perhaps Festus of Agrippa ... or maybe he was just one of the decent Romans -- we dare not neglect that possibility. I doubt Paul was left to wander -- I would expect that he was chained to a Roman soldier, and that there might have been as many soldiers aboard as there were prisoners. According to verse 37 of these chapter there were 276 souls aboard shortly before they wrecked. We expect the vast majority were prisoners and guards, If they required one-for-one, then there might be about 100 prisoners and 100 guards. This gives us a feel for the size of the operation. It was not a Paul-only thing, nor was it just a dozen or so prisoners, as we might be caused to imagine at this point.]
4 And putting to sea from thence, we sailed under the lee of Cyprus, because the winds were contrary.
[A straight course to Myra would have put Cyprus to the north of the as they went out on the open sea, but they did not want to take that chance, so they went between Cyprus and the mainland staying close to the course.]
5 And when we had sailed across the sea which is off Cilicia and Pamphylia, we came to Myra, (a city) of Lycia.
[They never intended to take the first ship to Rome. Once they got to a major city then they could find another ship that was going to Rome.]
6 And there the centurion found a ship of Alexandria sailing for Italy; and he put us therein.
7 And when we had sailed slowly many days, and were come with difficulty over against Cnidus, the wind not further suffering us, we sailed under the lee of Crete, over against Salmone;
[Cnidus was a major turning point. To that point they were headed in a WNW directly toward Italy, and that clearly was the optimal path for their trip. The came close to Cnidus ("over against ...") but at that point were driven south by the north wind. Fortunately, the island of Crete was encountered and they were able to go under it continuing west but a bit off course at this point.]
8 and with difficulty coasting along it we came unto a certain place called Fair Havens; nigh whereunto was the city of Lasea.
9 And when much time was spent, and the voyage was now dangerous, because the Fast was now already gone by, Paul admonished them,
10 and said unto them, Sirs, I perceive that the voyage will be with injury and much loss, not only of the lading and the ship, but also of our lives.
[Paul is not calling on the Lord at this point nor indicating that he has any special revelation. The fact is, due to the time of the year, it was just common sense that you do not take a chance on going any further. Paul was certainly not a novice when it came to see adventures, and while not being a sailor, one could not help but pick up much while being aboard these ancient ships that were tiny by today's comparison.]
11 But the centurion gave more heed to the master and to the owner of the ship, than to those things which were spoken by Paul.
12 And because the haven was not commodious to winter in, the more part advised to put to sea from thence, if by any means they could reach Phoenix, and winter (there; which is) a haven of Crete, looking northeast and south-east.
[Phoenix was really not that far -- maybe about 50 miles along the coast. No reason that Julius should not trust the owner of the ship, who should know the sea.]
13 And when the south wind blew softly, supposing that they had obtained their purpose, they weighed anchor and sailed along Crete, close in shore.
14 But after no long time there beat down from it a tempestuous wind, which is called Euraquilo:
15 and when the ship was caught, and could not face the wind, we gave way (to it,) and were driven.
[The name given to the wind is a combination of nasty waves and nasty wind ... I have an idea from the path that the ship was driven in that today we would call it a hurricane -- bad low pressure system that would drive them south at first and then spin them around to the west and then to the north.]
16 And running under the lee of a small island called Cauda, we were able, with difficulty, to secure the boat:
17 and when they had hoisted it up, they used helps, under-girding the ship; and, fearing lest they should be cast upon the Syrtis, they lowered the gear, and so were driven.
[This operation definitely saved the ship -- it would have been smashed to splinters by the waves, but they were able to put ropes around it to hold it together, recognizing that their reprieve would be only temporary. They figured on taking their chances with the open sea rather than the quicksand, which terrified them (since there was no way to be sure just where it was). Their hope was that the storm would be of short duration and not abnormal for that season of year.]
18 And as we labored exceedingly with the storm, the next day they began to throw (the freight) overboard;
19 and the third day they cast out with their own hands the tackling of the ship.
20 And when neither sun nor stars shone upon (us) for many days, and no small tempest lay on (us,) all hope that we should be saved was now taken away.
[Few of us have been in ships with such peril. Many of us have probably been in planes in storms where it is impossible to see anything. Many of us have such war stories. One plane the author was on got struck by lightning and the captain came on and said that the strike had "taken out some of our gear" ... I will never forget ... we had no idea what that meant, but all figured it must be the landing gear. Well, you KNOW you are going to die ... but as long as you are alive there is some hope. Perhaps "all hope" here is hyperbole, but I think many of us know how they felt. In their case they were totally fatigued and had not eaten much at all for some time, so all of that was playing into their loss of hope.]
21 And when they had been long without food, then Paul stood forth in the midst of them, and said, Sirs, ye should have hearkened unto me, and not have set sail from Crete, and have gotten this injury and loss.
[I don't think this was an "I told you so" moment. Paul is just reminding them that he is not without credibility ... he did have more common sense than their fearless leaders.]
22 And now I exhort you to be of good cheer; for there shall be no loss of life among you, but (only) of the ship.
23 For there stood by me this night an angel of the God whose I am, whom also I serve,
24 saying, Fear not, Paul; thou must stand before Caesar: and lo, God hath granted thee all them that sail with thee.
25 Wherefore, sirs, be of good cheer: for I believe God, that it shall be even so as it hath been spoken unto me.
26 But we must be cast upon a certain island.
[Well, when there is no other hope people will cling to anything. What Paul says is yet to be proven. However, the heart of superstition is: "there just might be something to it." And, no doubt most of these were superstitious types, so I would expect they would keep open minds. Paul gave them the only hope that they had, and no doubt they clung to it.]
27 But when the fourteenth night was come, as we were driven to and fro in the (sea of) Adria, about midnight the sailors surmised that they were drawing near to some country:
28 and they sounded, and found twenty fathoms; and after a little space, they sounded again, and found fifteen fathoms.
29 And fearing lest haply we should be cast ashore on rocky ground, they let go four anchors from the stern, and wished for the day.
[The last thing they wanted was to get into shallow water ... it might either be rocky or quicksand -- either way very bad. So they are trying to hold the ship in place.]
30 And as the sailors were seeking to flee out of the ship, and had lowered the boat into the sea, under color as though they would lay out anchors from the foreship,
[Pretending like they were going to do something technical ... but Paul was on top of it.]
31 Paul said to the centurion and to the soldiers, Except these abide in the ship, ye cannot be saved.
[This is an interesting twist. Paul had already said that they would all be saved. The Holy Spirit had also told him that he would testify in Rome. If you think about it, this tells us something about the working of the Holy Spirit. All of God's promises are conditional. God will keep His promise, but there are certain things that we have to do as well. These things are not monumental -- usually they are quite trivial. But that is no reason to discard them and think: "God has made a promise to me and there is nothing I have to do ... he owes it to me now." This is showing that it does not work that way. We need to be faithful in doing our part. Did the centurion believe Paul? ...]
32 Then the soldiers cut away the ropes of the boat, and let her fall off.
[Perhaps all of the soldiers did. This is definitely a display of faith in stark contrast to the crew.]
33 And while the day was coming on, Paul besought them all to take some food, saying, This day is the fourteenth day that ye wait and continue fasting, having taken nothing.
34 Wherefore I beseech you to take some food: for this is for your safety: for there shall not a hair perish from the head of any of you.
35 And when he had said this, and had taken bread, he gave thanks to God in the presence of all; and he brake it, and began to eat.
[Another great example. Sometimes our public prayers can be a testimony to God. Of course, we are not to be overbearing with our displays of religious fervor. It is a fine line that we need to walk. The answer is not at either extreme.]
36 Then were they all of good cheer, and themselves also took food.
37 And we were in all in the ship two hundred threescore and sixteen souls.
[This is where we got the idea that there may have been somewhere in the range of 100 prisoners and 100 soldiers to guard them. The rest would be the crew and passengers. This is just a guess, but is gives us a feel for the order of magnitude.]
38 And when they had eaten enough, they lightened the ship, throwing out the wheat into the sea.
39 And when it was day, they knew not the land: but they perceived a certain bay with a beach, and they took counsel whether they could drive the ship upon it.
40 And casting off the anchors, they left them in the sea, at the same time loosing the bands of the rudders; and hoisting up the foresail to the wind, they made for the beach.
[A last ditch effort to survive encouraged by Paul's prophecy.]
41 But lighting upon a place where two seas met, they ran the vessel aground; and the foreship struck and remained unmoveable, but the stern began to break up by the violence (of the waves).
[I would expect most of us have seen where such is the case and it tends to build a sand bar between the two currents. The waves are the highest where the water is shallow. They probably in their quest to go straight for land ended up hitting such a bar.]
42 And the soldiers' counsel was to kill the prisoners, lest any (of them) should swim out, and escape.
43 But the centurion, desiring to save Paul, stayed them from their purpose;
[The soldiers were responding to the fact that if any of their prisoners escaped it could cost them their lives. Fortunately, the centurion was more humane.]
... and commanded that they who could swim should cast themselves overboard, and get first to the land;
44 and the rest, some on planks, and some on (other) things from the ship. And so it came to pass, that they all escaped safe to the land.
[... as Paul had prophesied. Saved by the providence of God, we find all who were on the ship now safe on land.]
Acts 28
28:1 And when we were escaped, then we knew that the island was called Melita.
[This is what we call Malta today.]
2 And the barbarians showed us no common kindness; for they kindled a fire, and received us all, because of the present rain, and because of the cold.
[The word barbarian has become negative -- no negative implication is intended here, as can be seen from the context.]
3 But when Paul had gathered a bundle of sticks and laid them on the fire, a viper came out by reason of the heat, and fastened on his hand.
4 And when the barbarians saw the (venomous) creature hanging from his hand, they said one to another, No doubt this man is a murderer, whom, though he hath escaped from the sea, yet Justice hath not suffered to live.
5 Howbeit he shook off the creature into the fire, and took no harm.
[This is a fulfillment of Mark 16:18, recognizing that this statement of Mark does not give all Christians for all times such protection, nor would it even give Paul this protection. This was a special miracle for a particular purpose. We have not seen miracles used that much toward the end of Acts, especially not with Jewish audiences, and not in any of Paul's defenses. But this was a Gentile region that probably had very little Jewish influence, and Paul was about to introduce some religious ideas to them that were completely new and strange. Remember the work of miraculous gifts of the Holy Spirit had two goals -- to reveal the truth and to confirm the truth.]
6 But they expected that he would have swollen, or fallen down dead suddenly: but when they were long in expectation and beheld nothing amiss came to him, they changed their minds, and said that he was a god.
7 Now in the neighborhood of that place were lands belonging to the chief man of the island, named Publius, who received us, and entertained us three days courteously.
8 And it was so, that the father of Publius lay sick of fever and dysentery: unto whom Paul entered in, and prayed, and laying his hands on him healed him.
9 And when this was done, the rest also that had diseases in the island came, and were cured:
10 who also honored us with many honors; and when we sailed, they put on board such things as we needed.
11 And after three months we set sail in a ship of Alexandria which had wintered in the island, whose sign was The Twin Brothers.
[No doubt there were many converts made during these three months.]
12 And touching at Syracuse, we tarried there three days.
13 And from thence we made a circuit, and arrived at Rhegium: and after one day a south wind sprang up, and on the second day we came to Puteoli;
14 where we found brethren, and were entreated to tarry with them seven days: and so we came to Rome.
[Brethren (or fellow Christians) seemed easy to find. Perhaps they were informed by letters from Paul and were on the lookout. Or perhaps Luke and others sent or themselves went ahead.]
15 And from thence the brethren, when they heard of us, came to meet us as far as The Market of Appius and The Three Taverns; whom when Paul saw, he thanked God, and took courage.
[Think about the great relief it would be in a foreign land to meet with those who see things spiritually exactly like you do. We would all thank God and take courage.]
16 And when we entered into Rome, Paul was suffered to abide by himself with the soldier that guarded him.
[This is evidence that there was one soldier for every prisoner.]
17 And it came to pass, that after three days he called together those that were the chief of the Jews: and when they were come together, he said unto them, I, brethren, though I had done nothing against the people, or the customs of our fathers, yet was delivered prisoner from Jerusalem into the hands of the Romans:
18 who, when they had examined me, desired to set me at liberty, 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 aught whereof to accuse my nation.
20 For this cause therefore did I entreat you to see and to speak with (me): for because of the hope of Israel I am bound with this chain.
[It seems clear that Paul is expecting the same thing from these Jews as he had received back at Jerusalem. How pleased he must have been to hear that their evil influence had not reached Rome.]
21 And they said unto him, We neither received letters from Judaea concerning thee, nor did any of the brethren come hither and report or speak any harm of thee.
22 But we desire to hear of thee what thou thinkest: for as concerning this sect, it is known to us that everywhere it is spoken against.
[Well, they were not totally without prejudice, but seemed to have open minds. We would expect that the Jews in Jerusalem would think their problem with Christianity was solved with Paul in Rome. He could not longer turn their world upside down. They were very much mistaken that it was all the fault of one man, or that the exile of one man would impact the spread of the truth. The power is in the word, not in the man. Also, why risk taking their case to Rome and having the authorities there react against them for their evil motives.]
23 And when they had appointed him a day, they came to him into his lodging in great number; to whom he expounded (the matter,) testifying the kingdom of God, and persuading them concerning Jesus, both from the law of Moses and from the prophets, from morning till evening.
24 And some believed the things which were spoken, and some disbelieved.
25 And when they agreed not among themselves, they departed after that Paul had spoken one word, Well spake the Holy Spirit through Isaiah the prophet unto your fathers,
26 saying, Go thou unto this people, and say, By hearing ye shall hear, and shall in no wise understand; And seeing ye shall see, and shall in no wise perceive:
27 For this people's heart is waxed gross, And their ears are dull of hearing, And their eyes they have closed; Lest, haply they should perceive with their eyes, And hear with their ears, And understand with their heart, And should turn again, And I should heal them.
[This is an oft-quoted (Mt. 13:14; Jn. 12:39) passage from Isa. 6:9-10. Paul would very much have liked all of the Jewish leadership to understand the truth and to lead their synagogues there to Christ -- as we suspect some (albeit few) were led in other places. When it was obvious that this was not going to happen, he followed the same pattern that we saw in Ephesus (Acts 19) where he makes the announcement that he would turn to the gentiles. Of course, this does not mean that he was not going to continue to preach to Jews, nor that the Jews would be excluded. It is directly mostly at the leadership that they would bear the responsibility for their persistence to resist the truth. Isaiah attributes this overt resistance to God, but the ultimate fault belongs to them. God is allowing, perhaps even preventing them from seeing. But as we have made clear, this is a spiritual reality to those who refuse to consider the things of the Spirit, and only look out for their own worldly things. It is impossible for them to see (2 Corinthians 2), and like any of the physical laws of nature, this spiritual law can be attributed to God.
28 Be it known therefore unto you, that this salvation of God is sent unto the Gentiles: they will also hear.
29(And when he had said these words, the Jews departed, having much disputing among themselves.)
30 And he abode two whole years in his own hired dwelling, and received all that went in unto him,
31 preaching the kingdom of God, and teaching the things concerning the Lord Jesus Christ with all boldness, none forbidding him.
[To Paul this had to be success. Perhaps being under house arrest, but none forbidding him to preach the gospel with all boldness. Again, we see the providence of God in bringing these positive things that may never have been possible had it not been for all of the trials that had gone before.]
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Festus has lined up Herod Agrippa to hear Paul, perhaps for many reasons, but one he has expressed -- so he could get something to write down as to the charges against Paul, since he was quite perplexed as to just why the Jews wanted him dead. Paul has a fairly uninterrupted presentation (no accusers present), which reviews some things, but also clarifies other things for us.
Acts 26
26:1 And Agrippa said unto Paul, Thou art permitted to speak for thyself. Then Paul stretched forth his hand, and made his defense:
[It appears from the detail that Luke might have been there. Of course, we know that the Holy Spirit could inform Luke, but we typically find the Holy Spirit taking advantage of the writers experiences if at all possible.]
2 I think myself happy, king Agrippa, that I am to make my defense before thee this day touching all the things whereof I am accused by the Jews:
3 especially because thou art expert in all customs and questions which are among the Jews: wherefore I beseech thee to hear me patiently.
[We mentioned that Agrippa was technically of the Jewish tradition. We understand that this is the son of the Herod that killed James as recorded in Acts 12.]
4 My manner of life then from my youth up, which was from the beginning among mine own nation and at Jerusalem, know all the Jews;
5 having knowledge of me from the first, if they be willing to testify, that after the straitest sect of our religion I lived a Pharisee.
[Paul addresses Agrippa as a fellow Jew, giving him every benefit of the doubt, although Paul had to be well aware of his personal sense of morality.]
6 And now I stand (here) to be judged for the hope of the promise made of God unto our fathers;
7 unto which (promise) our twelve tribes, earnestly serving (God) night and day, hope to attain. And concerning this hope I am accused by the Jews, O king!
[Perhaps Paul used more detail here, quoting Old Testament passages that pointed to Christ ... Luke probably only summarizes what must have been a much longer presentation.]
8 Why is it judged incredible with you, if God doth raise the dead?
[There is no indication that Herod did not believe in the resurrection ... no indication that he was a Sadducee ... but for that matter he was probably not a "practicing" Jew, and certainly not a member of any of the zealous sects. Paul's argument: If God made the universe in an instant and shaped it all up in six days, what is impossible for Him?]
9 I verily thought with myself that I ought to do many things contrary to the name of Jesus of Nazareth.
10 And this I also did in Jerusalem: and I both shut up many of the saints in prisons, having received authority from the chief priests, and when they were put to death I gave my vote against them.
11 And punishing them oftentimes in all the synagogues, I strove to make them blaspheme; and being exceedingly mad against them, I persecuted them even unto foreign cities.
[Paul's early persecution of Christians would give credence to the validity of his conversion. An interesting point here is that the earliest Christians were to be found "in all the synagogues." This is consistent with who Paul got the letters to in Acts 9 -- it was to the synagogues. We often imagine the church being like it is today, but there was clearly a birth process, and the synagogues seem to be the (often unwilling) mothers of the churches. They incubated in general accord and agreement, at least in the east-Mediterranean area and Judea (recall Peter visiting the brethren toward the end of Acts 9). It seems reasonable to me that some of these entire synagogues may have been totally converted, again giving the local churches a real head start. Paul expresses his animosity toward the first Christians -- it was not just a doctrinal struggle with him, it was personal. He was "exceedingly mad against them" -- no doubt the result of his hatred for what he saw to be a very destructive and divisive movement.]
12 Whereupon as I journeyed to Damascus with the authority and commission of the chief priests,
13 at midday, O king, I saw on the way a light from heaven, above the brightness of the sun, shining round about me and them that journeyed with me.
14 And when we were all fallen to the earth, I heard a voice saying unto me in the Hebrew language, Saul, Saul, why persecutest thou me? it is hard for thee to kick against the goad.
15 And I said, Who art thou, Lord? And the Lord said, I am Jesus whom thou persecutest.
16 But arise, and stand upon thy feet: for to this end have I appeared unto thee, to appoint thee a minister and a witness both of the things wherein thou hast seen me, and of the things wherein I will appear unto thee;
17 delivering thee from the people, and from the Gentiles, unto whom I send thee,
18 to open their eyes, that they may turn from darkness to light and from the power of Satan unto God, that they may receive remission of sins and an inheritance among them that are sanctified by faith in me.
[There is much to meditate over what Jesus said to Paul at this point. Was he a mad man who made all of this up? as some suppose. It is hard to believe he would have gotten this far if that were the case. Nor can there be any suspicion that he is in the "business of religion" like many self-seeking preachers today who live high off of their flocks. No, he was not in it for the money. Jesus himself charged him with the responsibility to witness -- but not as the other apostles could witness -- he would witness to what he was seeing right then, and what Jesus would show him further. His mission was to preach the gospel to all men, but especially to the Gentiles.]
[Note the embedded promise: "... delivering thee from the people, and from the Gentiles, ..." We have speculated that many of the things we have read were of the providence of God -- now we need speculate no longer. Paul's survival was carefully orchestrated and he was preserved by Jesus himself. How sublime and concise is the word of God in all things, but especially in this regard.]
[Paul's final defense here is not really a defense at all, but a testimony. Festus and Herod Agrippa are not accusing him of anything, and this enables Paul to go through his testimony in a much more relaxed way then in his previous "defenses." Recall that one of the primary reasons Festus was interested in hearing more from Paul is so that he could put together a letter to Rome, seeing that it would be rather uncomfortable for him to send Paul to Rome without such a letter of accusation, and at this point he did not have any idea as to what to write in such a letter. Yet, he has agreed to send Paul to Rome and apparently got the concurrence of the Jewish council in such -- both of which solve problems for Festus. Having Agrippa involved is a plus for Festus in that Agrippa sort of brings a Jewish perspective to the table. We pick it up right after Paul quotes the words of Jesus.]
19 Wherefore, O king Agrippa, I was not disobedient unto the heavenly vision:
[Paul makes an appeal to the vision of Jesus ... that he had not choice but to obey.]
20 but declared both to them of Damascus first and at Jerusalem, and throughout all the country of Judaea, and also to the Gentiles, that they should repent and turn to God, doing works worthy of repentance.
[This encapsulates the plan of salvation -- belief, repentance that involves turning from your sin and to God (the positive confession in word and life that replaces the sinful activities), and continuing to do the works that are part of following Christ.]
21 For this cause the Jews seized me in the temple, and assayed to kill me.
22 Having therefore obtained the help that is from God, I stand unto this day testifying both to small and great, saying nothing but what the prophets and Moses did say should come;
[Above Jesus promised to save Paul from both Jews and Gentile enemies and preserve his life -- I believe that this is the "help that is from God;" of course, obtaining the gospel by inspiration of the Holy Spirit would also certainly be help from God.]
23 how that the Christ must suffer, (and) how that he first by the resurrection of the dead should proclaim light both to the people and to the Gentiles.
[Paul again appeals to the Old Testament, something he did not do before Felix and Festus since they were not familiar with the OT scriptures and being Gentiles it would probably have carried little if any weight.]
24 And as he thus made his defense, Festus saith with a loud voice, Paul, thou art mad; thy much learning is turning thee mad.
[I see no good reason in Festus interrupting Paul at this point ... perhaps he was aggravated by the appeal to the Jewish scriptures, perhaps his conscience was bothering him so much he just did not want to hear any more, no telling. However, the fact that his emotions were involved is obvious.]
25 But Paul saith, I am not mad, most excellent Festus; but speak forth words of truth and soberness.
26 For the king knoweth of these things, unto whom also I speak freely: for I am persuaded that none of these things is hidden from him; for this hath not been done in a corner.
27 King Agrippa, believest thou the prophets? I know that thou believest.
[It was Festus, not Agrippa who interrupted -- Paul detects that he might be getting through to the king ...]
28 And Agrippa (said) unto Paul, With but little persuasion thou wouldest fain make me a Christian.
[It is so hard when people have lived evil lives to come to near the end of them and to admit that it was all in vain, self-serving and to no positive effect, and perhaps quite negative. Even to come to the point of this particular admission is a credit to Agrippa. Some discount it and say that he was speaking sarcastically, but there is no reason not to take what he said at face value.]
29 And Paul (said), I would to God, that whether with little or with much, not thou only, but also all that hear me this day, might become such as I am, except these bonds.
[This is reflected throughout the book of Romans -- Paul felt himself to be a debtor to all men, even those who might be quite evil in the obvious wickedness. They were precious souls to Paul, as they should be to all of us.]
30 And the king rose up, and the governor, and Bernice, and they that sat with them:
31 and when they had withdrawn, they spake one to another, saying, This man doeth nothing worthy of death or of bonds.
32 And Agrippa said unto Festus, This man might have been set at liberty, if he had not appealed unto Caesar.
[But he did. What would have been the effect if Paul had been set at liberty? It would not have been a pretty picture. It was God's will that Paul be in prison to protect him at this point -- he was much more valuable alive than dead, and he had another mission -- to go to Rome -- that would have been prevented had the Jewish leaders accomplished their purpose. God does not want us to establish cults of personality, not even with Paul, not even with Jesus (1 Cor. 1:10-12). When people reach super-star status they become almost useless to the kingdom. They become an end in themselves as opposed to the means to the end of preaching the gospel and saving souls. This is a good reason that even Jesus is not with us today. Jesus ascended into heaven because God loves us and would always do the best things for us.]
Well, Paul finally gets his wish after being imprisoned for at least two years -- we might guess no more than three -- and he is on the way to Rome to do God's will. Why would God allow him to be ship-wrecked? Well, I think we shall see not only many great things came out of that, but that there are many great lesson remaining in these last two chapters for us as well.
Acts 27
27:1 And when it was determined that we should sail for Italy, they delivered Paul and certain other prisoners to a centurion named Julius, of the Augustan band.
[Why the detail? ... further evidence that Luke was totally involved, as the "we" in the next verse indicates.]
2 And embarking in a ship of Adramyttium, which was about to sail unto the places on the coast of Asia, we put to sea, Aristarchus, a Macedonian of Thessalonica, being with us.
[Recall Aristarchus was one of Paul's companions in Acts 19 in Ephesus who was seized because they apparently could not get their hands on Paul. He is called a fellow prisoner in Col. 4:10 which indicates that he may have been taken into custody with Paul and they were going through this ordeal together. Luke is there but there is not indication that he is a prisoner -- but clearly one who is attending to Paul's needs, and allowed to do so.]
3 And the next day we touched at Sidon: and Julius treated Paul kindly, and gave him leave to go unto his friends and refresh himself.
[Very kindly indeed. Perhaps having been given instructions from Lysias (the chief captain ... or perhaps Festus of Agrippa ... or maybe he was just one of the decent Romans -- we dare not neglect that possibility. I doubt Paul was left to wander -- I would expect that he was chained to a Roman soldier, and that there might have been as many soldiers aboard as there were prisoners. According to verse 37 of these chapter there were 276 souls aboard shortly before they wrecked. We expect the vast majority were prisoners and guards, If they required one-for-one, then there might be about 100 prisoners and 100 guards. This gives us a feel for the size of the operation. It was not a Paul-only thing, nor was it just a dozen or so prisoners, as we might be caused to imagine at this point.]
4 And putting to sea from thence, we sailed under the lee of Cyprus, because the winds were contrary.
[A straight course to Myra would have put Cyprus to the north of the as they went out on the open sea, but they did not want to take that chance, so they went between Cyprus and the mainland staying close to the course.]
5 And when we had sailed across the sea which is off Cilicia and Pamphylia, we came to Myra, (a city) of Lycia.
[They never intended to take the first ship to Rome. Once they got to a major city then they could find another ship that was going to Rome.]
6 And there the centurion found a ship of Alexandria sailing for Italy; and he put us therein.
7 And when we had sailed slowly many days, and were come with difficulty over against Cnidus, the wind not further suffering us, we sailed under the lee of Crete, over against Salmone;
[Cnidus was a major turning point. To that point they were headed in a WNW directly toward Italy, and that clearly was the optimal path for their trip. The came close to Cnidus ("over against ...") but at that point were driven south by the north wind. Fortunately, the island of Crete was encountered and they were able to go under it continuing west but a bit off course at this point.]
8 and with difficulty coasting along it we came unto a certain place called Fair Havens; nigh whereunto was the city of Lasea.
9 And when much time was spent, and the voyage was now dangerous, because the Fast was now already gone by, Paul admonished them,
10 and said unto them, Sirs, I perceive that the voyage will be with injury and much loss, not only of the lading and the ship, but also of our lives.
[Paul is not calling on the Lord at this point nor indicating that he has any special revelation. The fact is, due to the time of the year, it was just common sense that you do not take a chance on going any further. Paul was certainly not a novice when it came to see adventures, and while not being a sailor, one could not help but pick up much while being aboard these ancient ships that were tiny by today's comparison.]
11 But the centurion gave more heed to the master and to the owner of the ship, than to those things which were spoken by Paul.
12 And because the haven was not commodious to winter in, the more part advised to put to sea from thence, if by any means they could reach Phoenix, and winter (there; which is) a haven of Crete, looking northeast and south-east.
[Phoenix was really not that far -- maybe about 50 miles along the coast. No reason that Julius should not trust the owner of the ship, who should know the sea.]
13 And when the south wind blew softly, supposing that they had obtained their purpose, they weighed anchor and sailed along Crete, close in shore.
14 But after no long time there beat down from it a tempestuous wind, which is called Euraquilo:
15 and when the ship was caught, and could not face the wind, we gave way (to it,) and were driven.
[The name given to the wind is a combination of nasty waves and nasty wind ... I have an idea from the path that the ship was driven in that today we would call it a hurricane -- bad low pressure system that would drive them south at first and then spin them around to the west and then to the north.]
16 And running under the lee of a small island called Cauda, we were able, with difficulty, to secure the boat:
17 and when they had hoisted it up, they used helps, under-girding the ship; and, fearing lest they should be cast upon the Syrtis, they lowered the gear, and so were driven.
[This operation definitely saved the ship -- it would have been smashed to splinters by the waves, but they were able to put ropes around it to hold it together, recognizing that their reprieve would be only temporary. They figured on taking their chances with the open sea rather than the quicksand, which terrified them (since there was no way to be sure just where it was). Their hope was that the storm would be of short duration and not abnormal for that season of year.]
18 And as we labored exceedingly with the storm, the next day they began to throw (the freight) overboard;
19 and the third day they cast out with their own hands the tackling of the ship.
20 And when neither sun nor stars shone upon (us) for many days, and no small tempest lay on (us,) all hope that we should be saved was now taken away.
[Few of us have been in ships with such peril. Many of us have probably been in planes in storms where it is impossible to see anything. Many of us have such war stories. One plane the author was on got struck by lightning and the captain came on and said that the strike had "taken out some of our gear" ... I will never forget ... we had no idea what that meant, but all figured it must be the landing gear. Well, you KNOW you are going to die ... but as long as you are alive there is some hope. Perhaps "all hope" here is hyperbole, but I think many of us know how they felt. In their case they were totally fatigued and had not eaten much at all for some time, so all of that was playing into their loss of hope.]
21 And when they had been long without food, then Paul stood forth in the midst of them, and said, Sirs, ye should have hearkened unto me, and not have set sail from Crete, and have gotten this injury and loss.
[I don't think this was an "I told you so" moment. Paul is just reminding them that he is not without credibility ... he did have more common sense than their fearless leaders.]
22 And now I exhort you to be of good cheer; for there shall be no loss of life among you, but (only) of the ship.
23 For there stood by me this night an angel of the God whose I am, whom also I serve,
24 saying, Fear not, Paul; thou must stand before Caesar: and lo, God hath granted thee all them that sail with thee.
25 Wherefore, sirs, be of good cheer: for I believe God, that it shall be even so as it hath been spoken unto me.
26 But we must be cast upon a certain island.
[Well, when there is no other hope people will cling to anything. What Paul says is yet to be proven. However, the heart of superstition is: "there just might be something to it." And, no doubt most of these were superstitious types, so I would expect they would keep open minds. Paul gave them the only hope that they had, and no doubt they clung to it.]
27 But when the fourteenth night was come, as we were driven to and fro in the (sea of) Adria, about midnight the sailors surmised that they were drawing near to some country:
28 and they sounded, and found twenty fathoms; and after a little space, they sounded again, and found fifteen fathoms.
29 And fearing lest haply we should be cast ashore on rocky ground, they let go four anchors from the stern, and wished for the day.
[The last thing they wanted was to get into shallow water ... it might either be rocky or quicksand -- either way very bad. So they are trying to hold the ship in place.]
30 And as the sailors were seeking to flee out of the ship, and had lowered the boat into the sea, under color as though they would lay out anchors from the foreship,
[Pretending like they were going to do something technical ... but Paul was on top of it.]
31 Paul said to the centurion and to the soldiers, Except these abide in the ship, ye cannot be saved.
[This is an interesting twist. Paul had already said that they would all be saved. The Holy Spirit had also told him that he would testify in Rome. If you think about it, this tells us something about the working of the Holy Spirit. All of God's promises are conditional. God will keep His promise, but there are certain things that we have to do as well. These things are not monumental -- usually they are quite trivial. But that is no reason to discard them and think: "God has made a promise to me and there is nothing I have to do ... he owes it to me now." This is showing that it does not work that way. We need to be faithful in doing our part. Did the centurion believe Paul? ...]
32 Then the soldiers cut away the ropes of the boat, and let her fall off.
[Perhaps all of the soldiers did. This is definitely a display of faith in stark contrast to the crew.]
33 And while the day was coming on, Paul besought them all to take some food, saying, This day is the fourteenth day that ye wait and continue fasting, having taken nothing.
34 Wherefore I beseech you to take some food: for this is for your safety: for there shall not a hair perish from the head of any of you.
35 And when he had said this, and had taken bread, he gave thanks to God in the presence of all; and he brake it, and began to eat.
[Another great example. Sometimes our public prayers can be a testimony to God. Of course, we are not to be overbearing with our displays of religious fervor. It is a fine line that we need to walk. The answer is not at either extreme.]
36 Then were they all of good cheer, and themselves also took food.
37 And we were in all in the ship two hundred threescore and sixteen souls.
[This is where we got the idea that there may have been somewhere in the range of 100 prisoners and 100 soldiers to guard them. The rest would be the crew and passengers. This is just a guess, but is gives us a feel for the order of magnitude.]
38 And when they had eaten enough, they lightened the ship, throwing out the wheat into the sea.
39 And when it was day, they knew not the land: but they perceived a certain bay with a beach, and they took counsel whether they could drive the ship upon it.
40 And casting off the anchors, they left them in the sea, at the same time loosing the bands of the rudders; and hoisting up the foresail to the wind, they made for the beach.
[A last ditch effort to survive encouraged by Paul's prophecy.]
41 But lighting upon a place where two seas met, they ran the vessel aground; and the foreship struck and remained unmoveable, but the stern began to break up by the violence (of the waves).
[I would expect most of us have seen where such is the case and it tends to build a sand bar between the two currents. The waves are the highest where the water is shallow. They probably in their quest to go straight for land ended up hitting such a bar.]
42 And the soldiers' counsel was to kill the prisoners, lest any (of them) should swim out, and escape.
43 But the centurion, desiring to save Paul, stayed them from their purpose;
[The soldiers were responding to the fact that if any of their prisoners escaped it could cost them their lives. Fortunately, the centurion was more humane.]
... and commanded that they who could swim should cast themselves overboard, and get first to the land;
44 and the rest, some on planks, and some on (other) things from the ship. And so it came to pass, that they all escaped safe to the land.
[... as Paul had prophesied. Saved by the providence of God, we find all who were on the ship now safe on land.]
Acts 28
28:1 And when we were escaped, then we knew that the island was called Melita.
[This is what we call Malta today.]
2 And the barbarians showed us no common kindness; for they kindled a fire, and received us all, because of the present rain, and because of the cold.
[The word barbarian has become negative -- no negative implication is intended here, as can be seen from the context.]
3 But when Paul had gathered a bundle of sticks and laid them on the fire, a viper came out by reason of the heat, and fastened on his hand.
4 And when the barbarians saw the (venomous) creature hanging from his hand, they said one to another, No doubt this man is a murderer, whom, though he hath escaped from the sea, yet Justice hath not suffered to live.
5 Howbeit he shook off the creature into the fire, and took no harm.
[This is a fulfillment of Mark 16:18, recognizing that this statement of Mark does not give all Christians for all times such protection, nor would it even give Paul this protection. This was a special miracle for a particular purpose. We have not seen miracles used that much toward the end of Acts, especially not with Jewish audiences, and not in any of Paul's defenses. But this was a Gentile region that probably had very little Jewish influence, and Paul was about to introduce some religious ideas to them that were completely new and strange. Remember the work of miraculous gifts of the Holy Spirit had two goals -- to reveal the truth and to confirm the truth.]
6 But they expected that he would have swollen, or fallen down dead suddenly: but when they were long in expectation and beheld nothing amiss came to him, they changed their minds, and said that he was a god.
7 Now in the neighborhood of that place were lands belonging to the chief man of the island, named Publius, who received us, and entertained us three days courteously.
8 And it was so, that the father of Publius lay sick of fever and dysentery: unto whom Paul entered in, and prayed, and laying his hands on him healed him.
9 And when this was done, the rest also that had diseases in the island came, and were cured:
10 who also honored us with many honors; and when we sailed, they put on board such things as we needed.
11 And after three months we set sail in a ship of Alexandria which had wintered in the island, whose sign was The Twin Brothers.
[No doubt there were many converts made during these three months.]
12 And touching at Syracuse, we tarried there three days.
13 And from thence we made a circuit, and arrived at Rhegium: and after one day a south wind sprang up, and on the second day we came to Puteoli;
14 where we found brethren, and were entreated to tarry with them seven days: and so we came to Rome.
[Brethren (or fellow Christians) seemed easy to find. Perhaps they were informed by letters from Paul and were on the lookout. Or perhaps Luke and others sent or themselves went ahead.]
15 And from thence the brethren, when they heard of us, came to meet us as far as The Market of Appius and The Three Taverns; whom when Paul saw, he thanked God, and took courage.
[Think about the great relief it would be in a foreign land to meet with those who see things spiritually exactly like you do. We would all thank God and take courage.]
16 And when we entered into Rome, Paul was suffered to abide by himself with the soldier that guarded him.
[This is evidence that there was one soldier for every prisoner.]
17 And it came to pass, that after three days he called together those that were the chief of the Jews: and when they were come together, he said unto them, I, brethren, though I had done nothing against the people, or the customs of our fathers, yet was delivered prisoner from Jerusalem into the hands of the Romans:
18 who, when they had examined me, desired to set me at liberty, 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 aught whereof to accuse my nation.
20 For this cause therefore did I entreat you to see and to speak with (me): for because of the hope of Israel I am bound with this chain.
[It seems clear that Paul is expecting the same thing from these Jews as he had received back at Jerusalem. How pleased he must have been to hear that their evil influence had not reached Rome.]
21 And they said unto him, We neither received letters from Judaea concerning thee, nor did any of the brethren come hither and report or speak any harm of thee.
22 But we desire to hear of thee what thou thinkest: for as concerning this sect, it is known to us that everywhere it is spoken against.
[Well, they were not totally without prejudice, but seemed to have open minds. We would expect that the Jews in Jerusalem would think their problem with Christianity was solved with Paul in Rome. He could not longer turn their world upside down. They were very much mistaken that it was all the fault of one man, or that the exile of one man would impact the spread of the truth. The power is in the word, not in the man. Also, why risk taking their case to Rome and having the authorities there react against them for their evil motives.]
23 And when they had appointed him a day, they came to him into his lodging in great number; to whom he expounded (the matter,) testifying the kingdom of God, and persuading them concerning Jesus, both from the law of Moses and from the prophets, from morning till evening.
24 And some believed the things which were spoken, and some disbelieved.
25 And when they agreed not among themselves, they departed after that Paul had spoken one word, Well spake the Holy Spirit through Isaiah the prophet unto your fathers,
26 saying, Go thou unto this people, and say, By hearing ye shall hear, and shall in no wise understand; And seeing ye shall see, and shall in no wise perceive:
27 For this people's heart is waxed gross, And their ears are dull of hearing, And their eyes they have closed; Lest, haply they should perceive with their eyes, And hear with their ears, And understand with their heart, And should turn again, And I should heal them.
[This is an oft-quoted (Mt. 13:14; Jn. 12:39) passage from Isa. 6:9-10. Paul would very much have liked all of the Jewish leadership to understand the truth and to lead their synagogues there to Christ -- as we suspect some (albeit few) were led in other places. When it was obvious that this was not going to happen, he followed the same pattern that we saw in Ephesus (Acts 19) where he makes the announcement that he would turn to the gentiles. Of course, this does not mean that he was not going to continue to preach to Jews, nor that the Jews would be excluded. It is directly mostly at the leadership that they would bear the responsibility for their persistence to resist the truth. Isaiah attributes this overt resistance to God, but the ultimate fault belongs to them. God is allowing, perhaps even preventing them from seeing. But as we have made clear, this is a spiritual reality to those who refuse to consider the things of the Spirit, and only look out for their own worldly things. It is impossible for them to see (2 Corinthians 2), and like any of the physical laws of nature, this spiritual law can be attributed to God.
28 Be it known therefore unto you, that this salvation of God is sent unto the Gentiles: they will also hear.
29(And when he had said these words, the Jews departed, having much disputing among themselves.)
30 And he abode two whole years in his own hired dwelling, and received all that went in unto him,
31 preaching the kingdom of God, and teaching the things concerning the Lord Jesus Christ with all boldness, none forbidding him.
[To Paul this had to be success. Perhaps being under house arrest, but none forbidding him to preach the gospel with all boldness. Again, we see the providence of God in bringing these positive things that may never have been possible had it not been for all of the trials that had gone before.]
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