Read and pray: "Proclaiming the kingdom of God and teaching about the Lord Jesus Christ with all boldness and without hindrance." (Acts 28:31)
Contacting the Jewish Leaders and Ministering in Rome
Immediately after arriving in Rome, Paul contacted the Jewish leaders (vv. 17-22). He was wise in doing so. Then he began to minister to them. Naturally, his ministry was accepted by some and rejected by others.
Paul’s presence in Rome was a strengthening factor for the church there, especially because a good number of Jews had been saved. He arrived in Rome shortly after writing his Epistle to the Romans. A few years after writing it, the author himself came to Rome.
Acts 28:23-24 states: "When they had appointed a day for him, they came to him at his lodging in great numbers. From morning till evening he expounded to them, testifying to the kingdom of God and trying to convince them about Jesus both from the Law of Moses and from the Prophets. And some were convinced by what he said, but others disbelieved."
Here, he testified about the kingdom of God. As we have emphasized, the kingdom of God was the main subject of the apostles’ teaching. It is not a material kingdom visible to human eyes but rather the kingdom of divine life. It is the spreading of Christ as life to the believers to form a sphere where God governs in His life.
In verses 25-27, we read: "And disagreeing among themselves, they departed after Paul had made one statement: ‘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.’"
God the Father had spoken these words to the stubborn children of Israel in Isaiah 6:9-10. God the Son quoted them to the Jews who rejected Him in Matthew 13:14-15. And now, God the Spirit, through the apostle, repeated them to the people with hardened hearts. This indicates that in every step of the Divine Trinity, the children of Israel were disobedient to the God of grace. Then, He turned to the Gentiles to carry out His New Testament economy by spreading His kingdom to build the churches through the propagation of the resurrected and ascended Christ (v. 28).
Acts 28:30 states: "He lived there two whole years at his own expense and welcomed all who came to him." During this time, the apostle wrote the Epistles to the Colossians (cf. Col. 4:3, 10, 18), Ephesians (cf. Eph. 3:1; 4:1; 6:20), Philippians (cf. Phil. 1:7, 14, 17), and Philemon (cf. Philem. 1, 9). In Philippians 1:25 and 2:24 and Philemon 22, he expected to be released from prison. Probably after two years, he was set free and visited Ephesus and Macedonia (1 Tim. 1:3), from where he likely wrote the First Epistle to Timothy. Then, he visited Crete (Titus 1:5) and Nicopolis (Titus 3:12), from where he wrote the Epistle to Titus. Later, he went to Troas and Miletus (2 Tim. 4:13, 20), where he probably wrote the Epistle to the Hebrews.
Acts 28:31 states that during the two years he stayed in his rented house in Rome, Paul "proclaimed the kingdom of God and taught about the Lord Jesus Christ with all boldness and without hindrance." The kingdom of God is one of the emphases of Acts. Luke’s writing begins (1:3) and ends with the kingdom of God.
Paul’s proclamation of the kingdom of God was the propagation of the resurrected Christ. How do we know this? It is proven by the words "taught about the Lord Jesus Christ" in verse 31. This indicates that the kingdom of God goes along with the things concerning the Lord Jesus Christ. Teaching people about Christ is spreading the kingdom of God. Thus, the kingdom of God is, in fact, the propagation of the resurrected Christ.
Enjoy More: Hymn 379
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