A picture of Paul on mission, an example for our witness, too

By Dean Collins

When you are on a mission you often feel like there is little time to waste. I suspect the apostle Paul felt that way. We know of all of the trials, travel woes, and time it took for Paul to get to Rome. And when he finally arrived in Rome, Acts 28:17 seems to suggest Paul took just three days alone before he was right back at teaching, preaching, and writing.

As was true on many occasions, Paul started his conversation with the local leaders of the Jews. In his first meeting he began to explain how he got to Rome and the various false allegations he confronted along the way, including all his legal appeals. He discussed how fellow Jews had delivered him from Jerusalem and into the hands of Rome.

And when he finished his opening explanation, the audience basically said, “That’s news to us. No one has sent us any letters about you, and no one has come here saying anything bad about you.” I guess this is one case where the good came before the gossip and false accusations. Paul’s Jewish audience indicated they were eager to hear what Paul had to say and what he knew of the sect that everyone was talking about. So they set a day for Paul to share his story.

Common ground

When the day arrived, there was a big crowd, and Paul went all day long telling them about the kingdom of God. He started with common ground. That’s a good tip for us as well. If you want to share something about your faith, find a connection with the person you are speaking with and build from there. For Paul, this meant the Law of Moses and the prophets.

By the end of the day some in the crowd believed what Paul shared and decided to follow Jesus. But others did not agree with what Paul had to say. This started a bigger disagreement in the crowd, and then Paul said one thing that set many of them off:

“The Holy Spirit was right in saying to your fathers through Isaiah the prophet: ‘Go to this people, and say, “You will indeed hear but never understand, and you will indeed see but never perceive.” For this people’s heart has grown dull, and with their ears they can barely hear, and their eyes they have closed; lest they should see with their eyes and hear with their ears and understand with their heart and turn, and I would heal them.’”

We don’t know the tone Paul used, but in Paul’s defense, he was quoting Isaiah which would have been familiar to the audience. Hearing that your heart has become dull and you basically want to cover your eyes and ears to what God is saying does tend to make one feel a little defensive. Sometimes we don’t want to hear what we don’t want to hear! I know I have felt defensive at times when someone points out an area of my life that isn’t right. Jesus, the long-awaited Messiah had come. By this time, tens of thousands had been transformed by the power of the gospel. Miracles were well documented in town after town. The kingdom of God was expanding rapidly. But some then, like some now, just didn’t want to see it or participate because it wasn’t consistent with their traditions or preferences.

Some will listen

Paul chose not to argue but to share the good news with those who were ready to listen: “Therefore let it be known to you that this salvation of God has been sent to the Gentiles; they will listen.”

This is probably good advice for us here as well. When we are in a conversation and have a disagreement, hunkering down and fighting about who is right probably won’t change anyone’s mind. What we can do is continue to love the person we disagree with; one day love might change the conversation. We can also move on to share the good news with someone God places in our path who is ready to listen. The church will grow more through love than through argument.

More than we can imagine

As chapter 28 ends, we learn that Paul was given much freedom in his house arrest. Here he would write several of his letters (Ephesians, Philippians, Colossians, and Philemon). It’s worth pausing to consider the blessing we have from these wonderful letters, written while Paul was stuck in prison. Maybe when we feel stuck in difficult circumstances, God is doing something in us and through us that is bigger than we can possibly imagine.

I hope today you will rest in the knowledge that, just as in Paul’s life, God is always working in us as we surrender ourselves to him. The very problem you face today might bring a blessing and a victory for someone as a result of your faithfulness to God through this difficult situation.

Your time with God’s Word
‬‬ Acts‬ ‭28:17-28, 30-31‬ ‭ESV

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