We come today to the end of our journey through the book of Acts. We began our study of this treasured book on October 23, 2022, and so we have completed it in two years. In addition, we have also completed our study of the two books written by Luke, the Gentile medical doctor who was the Apostle Paul’s fellow missionary in the preaching of the gospel of Jesus Christ. While our study ends with these verses, the story of the preaching of the gospel and the saving of souls does not end. That story goes on, and more chapters are being written and recorded in the Book of Life. From the beginning, Luke intended to write about the Lord Jesus Christ and the salvation He brings. All through this book, Luke has presented the exclusivity of Jesus Christ, that only He can save the lost soul. Religion cannot help, wealth presents no solution, and no amount of work or effort can save the soul. God incarnate, perfect, holy, crucified, risen, ascended and glorified, Jesus and only Jesus can save the soul. The message of salvation is Jesus, and whoever desires to possess eternal life must believe in Jesus. There is simply no other way.
Luke also presents the origin and purpose of the church. The true church is the sole possession of the Lord Jesus and is made up only of those who have been redeemed through the blood of Jesus Christ, the Lamb of God. Only He can cleanse the soul, impute absolute holiness, and grant everlasting life. He does so only for those who come to Him by faith. The Lord Jesus has gathered those blood-bought redeemed people into an organism called the church that He created. Luke recorded its beginning on the Day of Pentecost, mere days after our Lord’s ascension to the Father’s right hand. Luke also tells of the church’s mission–those gathered by their common faith in Jesus Christ have only one mission, and that is “to be witnesses of Jesus Christ both in Jerusalem, and in all Judea and Samaria, and even to the remotest part of the earth” (Acts 1:8). That mission has never changed. Believers in Jesus Christ who choose to please Him and obey Him are His witnesses and take active roles in preaching the truth that people are lost and only Jesus Christ can save them and in teaching those to come to Christ by faith to grow as His disciples, be baptized in the name of the Father and the Son and the Holy Spirit, and observe all that Jesus commanded.
This leads us to a clear and present truth. Luke consistently affirmed, as does the rest of the Bible, that there are only two types of people–those who are lost and those who are saved. There are no others. Today, right now, each one of us falls into one of these two categories. You and I are either lost or we are saved. There are many examples of this biblical thinking, but I will take the time to look at only a few of them. In the Old Testament book of Joshua, at the end of his career as Israel’s leader, Joshua told the people of Israel that there were only two ways and it involved a specific volitional choice. He said, “Choose for yourselves today whom you will serve: whether the gods which your fathers served which were beyond the River, or the gods of the Amorites in whose land you are living; but as for me and my house, we will serve the Lord” (Joshua 24:15). There were only two choices to make. Either they could serve false gods or they could serve the Lord. No other choices.
In His Sermon on the Mount, the Lord Jesus affirmed that there were only two gates, “Enter through the narrow gate; for the gate is wide and the way is broad that leads to destruction, and there are many who enter through it. For the gate is small and the way is narrow that leads to life, and there are few who find it” (Matthew 7:13-14). Even today there are only two gates. The popular gate leads to everlasting condemnation and the narrow gate leads to everlasting life. That’s all. There is no other way into eternity.
Later in that same sermon, Jesus spoke of only two responses to His teaching. “Therefore everyone who hears these words of Mine and acts on them, may be compared to a wise man who built his house on the rock. And the rain fell, and the floods came, and the winds blew and slammed against that house; and yet it did not fall, for it had been founded on the rock. Everyone who hears these words of Mine and does not act on them, will be like a foolish man who built his house on the sand. The rain fell, and the floods came, and the winds blew and slammed against that house; and it fell–and great was its fall” (Matthew 7:24-27). There are only two foundations–one built on the truth that Jesus saves souls and the other that rejects Christ as Savior.
In His sermon on the Parables in Matthew 13, Jesus spoke about two types of crops, the wheat and the tares. “The kingdom of heaven may be compared to a man who sowed good seed in his field. But while his men were sleeping, his enemy came and sowed tares among the wheat, and went away. But when the wheat sprouted and bore grain, then the tares became evident also. The slaves of the landowner came and said to him, ‘Sir, did you not sow good seed in your field? How then does it have tares?’ And he said to them, ‘An enemy has done this!’ The slaves said to him, ‘Do you want us, then, to go and gather them up?’ But he said, ‘No; for while you are gathering up the tares, you may uproot the wheat with them. Allow both to grow together until the harvest; and in the time of the harvest I will say to the reapers, “First gather up the tares and bind them in bundles to burn them up; but gather the wheat into my barn’” (Matthew 13:24-30). The Lord saw only two types of people–those pictured by the wheat, who trust in Christ and are gathered eternally to the Lord–and the tares who reject Christ, who are also gathered, but to be burned in the fires of eternal judgment.
Finally, in Matthew 25, Jesus specifies only two types of eternal conditions. He said, “These will go away into eternal punishment, but the righteous into eternal life” (Matthew 25:46). There are no other eternal destinies: for each of us it will be either eternal punishment or eternal life. And your destiny and mine are determined by our faith in Jesus Christ or our lack of it.
Today, as Luke closes the book of Acts, a group of Jewish people will be brought to the precipice of decision. They will be called upon to receive Jesus Christ as their Savior or reject Him. In the glare of startling reality, their choices will determine their eternal destiny. We will see what they will choose.
PAUL’S MEETING WITH ROME’S JEWISH LEADERS. Acts 28:16-22
Evangelism–to the Jew First. Because Paul had appealed his case to Rome’s supreme court under Emperor Nero, and because he was a Roman citizen, he was not placed in a prison but was allowed to stay in his own rented quarters. However, Roman law mandated that he remain in the custody of a Roman guard who was shackled to Paul all day. The guards remained chained to Paul in four to six hour shifts. Paul was not allowed to be alone. Almost as soon as he was settled in Rome, Paul continued with his evangelistic ministry and the method given to him by the Holy Spirit that in all cases he should go “to the Jew first and also to the Greek” (Romans 1:16). He had used this formula for his entire ministry and continued it in Rome. Since he was not permitted to travel in the city, Paul called for the Jewish leaders to come to his dwelling.
Paul had a passion to reach both Jews and Gentiles for Christ, but, as a Jew, he had a longing to see the Jewish people receive Christ as their Messiah and Savior. In Romans 10 Paul wrote, “Brethren, my heart’s desire and my prayer to God for them is for their salvation. For I testify about them that they have a zeal for God, but not in accordance with knowledge. For not knowing about God’s righteousness and seeking to establish their own, they did not subject themselves to the righteousness of God. For Christ is the end of the law for righteousness to everyone who believes” (Romans 10:1-4). Paul knew that Jewish men and women were lost and needed salvation in Christ and he longed for them to be saved.
Paul’s Explanation for His Chains. You and I can imagine what the Jewish leaders must have thought when they gathered at Paul’s residence. They had received an invitation and chosen to attend, but when they arrived, they found their host was a Roman prisoner chained to a Roman guard. This was certainly not typical and required some explanation. So, Paul explained why he was under arrest. In his report Paul made several significant points: First, he was innocent of damaging the Jews or their customs. Second, the Roman authorities in Judea had declared Paul was innocent. In fact, they said he should have been set free. Third, under these circumstances, Paul’s only recourse was to appeal to Caesar because the Jews refused to deal with Paul justly. This fourth point was vital: he was not pressing charges against Israel; his only hope was to be found innocent and set free.
Paul’s fifth point was his primary objective in calling these leaders together–he wanted to talk with them about the “hope of Israel.” The hope of Israel was fulfilled by the resurrection of Jesus of Nazareth, who was vindicated as Israel’s messianic Savior. Jesus is the One through whom God fulfilled His promises that constituted Israel’s hope. Paul firmly believed Jesus is Israel’s promised Messiah who will return someday and establish Himself as the King of Israel and Lord of all nations.
The Jewish Leaders’ Response. Curiously, the Jewish leaders seem to have known nothing of Paul’s condition or the reasons for it. They told Paul that the authorities in Jerusalem had not sent any letters about Paul or his case and none of the Jerusalem leaders had come to Rome to pursue Paul’s case. In fact, no one who had come from Jerusalem had said anything about Paul. These leaders gathered in Paul’s quarters claimed they wanted to hear from Paul about his teaching and information about Christianity. All of this seems strange because the Jewish leaders could not be unaware of Jews in Rome who had become Christians. It was likely true that they had heard nothing of Paul, but they probably knew more than they acknowledged about Christianity. They seemed to be interested in hearing from Paul since they knew people were talking against his message.
PAUL’S WITNESS TO THE JEWISH LEADERS. Acts 28:23-29
Paul’s Gospel Presentation. The Jewish leaders returned to Paul’s lodging at the appointed day and time bringing many more with them. We note that Paul labored diligently to persuade them about the truth regarding the Lord Jesus Christ. He spoke to them all day–from morning until evening. Using the entire Old Testament as his text, Paul proved to them that the gospel of Jesus Christ was the true and necessary fulfillment of God’s promises to Israel. He focused on the ministry of Jesus and included His incarnation, passion, and triumph through His resurrection.
This has always been the pattern of a true gospel presentation. He used the Word of God and explained its fulfillment in the Person and work of Jesus Christ. He spoke about salvation, a subject with which the Jews were familiar. He applied it to them, telling them they had to believe. And, as on the Day of Pentecost, some of these Jewish leaders were persuaded and believed. What a joy it must have been for these new believers. The veil of unbelief was lifted by the Holy Spirit as they turned to the Lord. In that moment, they were saved by grace. They had all been religious and thought that their obedience to the Law and their righteous works might be enough. But now faith flooded into their souls and they realized that Christ and Christ alone could set them free from the Law and by faith He had given them everlasting life.
Rejection of the Gospel. But for others, their minds remained hardened to the gospel message. The veil of unbelief kept them from trust because unbelief is removed only by Jesus Christ. They remained unredeemed and unsaved. How completely sad it is when someone hears the truth about faith in Jesus Christ and rejects, condemning their own soul for eternity. These Jews left as they arrived, spiritually deaf and blind. Having rejected Jesus Christ, these Roman Jews had themselves made a deliberate choice, a choice that resulted in God’s judgment. They could blame no one but themselves for their eternal condemnation.
As they were leaving Paul’s residence, Paul quoted from Isaiah 6:9-10, “Go to this people and say, “You will keep on hearing, but will not understand; and you will keep on seeing, but will not perceive; for the heart of this people has become dull, and with their ears they scarcely hear, and they have closed their eyes; otherwise they might see with their eyes, and hear with their ears, and understand with their heart and return, and I would heal them”” (Acts 28:26-27). In Isaiah’s time, his message was that Israel’s heart, mind, and eyes were closed to the proclamation God given by His prophet for which God held them responsible. Isaiah was not the only prophet to warn the people of Israel to open their ears and listen and to open their eyes and see. Jeremiah warned Israel many times to turn back to the one, true God, but they steadfastly refused. In Jeremiah 35 we read, “I have spoken to you again and again; yet you have not listened to Me. I have sent to you all My servants the prophets, sending them again and again, saying: “Turn now every man from his evil way and amend your deeds, and do not go after other gods to worship them…but you have not inclined your ear or listened to Me”” (Jeremiah 35:14-15). In Paul’s day, most of them still refused to listen to God’s truth.
God’s Salvation Sent to the Gentiles. At this point, Paul chose to change the priority of his missionary endeavor. He no longer made Jewish evangelism his primary goal and decided to focus on reaching Gentiles for Christ. He did not entirely abandon reaching out to Jewish people for their salvation, but he chose to spend most of his time reaching Gentiles. There is something else that needs to be clearly said, especially in our day of apostasy, biblical illiteracy, and poor Bible study. That Paul is taking the gospel to the Gentiles does not mean that the Gentiles have replaced Israel or that the Church has replaced Israel. God still desires that the Jewish people are saved by believing in Jesus Christ, and in our time, many have. Romans 11:25 reminds us that “a partial hardening has happened to Israel until the fullness of the Gentiles has come in.” During the coming Tribulation Period, thousands of Jewish people will come to faith in Christ, and at the end of that time, multitudes will rejoice in the return of their Messiah, Jesus Christ.
Both Jews and Gentiles will continue to receive Jesus Christ as Messiah and Savior and be saved. Official Judaism rejected the gospel but many individual Jews did not. Paul’s passion to reach the Jewish people did not cease and Paul continued to include the Jews in the presentation of the gospel. There is no statement that the Jews have been excluded, only that the gospel will be preached to the Gentiles and they will respond. Look around you today. Many Gentiles have indeed received Christ. And so have many Jews.
THE SUPREMACY OF THE GOSPEL. Acts 28:30-31
Two Years in Rome. During his time in Roman custody, Paul wrote the books of Ephesians, Philippians, Colossians and Philemon. During this time, he had Timothy with him as well as John Mark, Luke, Aristarchus: Epaphras, Justus, and Demas. He also met Philemon’s runaway slave Onesimus and led him to faith in Christ. Dr. Luke ended his book before Paul’s case had been heard, so he could not give us the results of the trial. We have every reason to believe that Paul was indeed released and that he resumed his ministry, probably traveling as far as Spain. During this period, he wrote letters to Timothy and Titus. Wherever he went, he sought to bring Jews and Gentiles to faith in Jesus Christ.
The Unhindered Gospel. To all who came to him, Jew and Gentile alike, Paul continued what he had been doing since the day he received Jesus Christ as his Savior–he preached the kingdom of God and taught about the Lord Jesus Christ. Although he was in chains, no one can put a chain on God’s Word. Luke did not write his book simply to record ancient history. He wrote to encourage the church in every age to be faithful to the Lord and carry the Gospel to the ends of the earth. So it is that in our days, as in the days of the Apostle Paul, the gospel message calling men and women, girls and boys to faith in Jesus Christ under God’s sovereign control, still travels from Jerusalem to the remotest parts of the earth.
This story will not end until the Second Coming of Jesus Christ. The Gospel will continue to be preached and taught. People like you and me will receive Christ as their personal Savior and Lord and by grace become His disciples. We will baptize in the name of the Father, the Son, and the Holy Spirit. And, through the continuous ministry of the Holy Spirit, we will learn and obey all the things the Lord Jesus has taught us. We are His church, that is who we are and what we are called to do.
People today, like the people to whom Paul preached, will make the same decision, and it is a simple decision. Either they will choose to receive Christ as their personal Savior or they will choose to reject Him. Those are the only two choices we can make. Our Lord Jesus Himself said it this way, there are two gates–one is very narrow and one is wide. Jesus said, “Enter through the narrow gate; for the gate is wide and the way is broad that leads to destruction and there are many who enter through it. For the gate is small and the way is narrow that leads to life, and there are few who find it.” Which will you choose?
Are you a believer in Jesus Christ? Have you already chosen the narrow gate and received Jesus as your personal Savior? If you have not, please allow me to plead with you to believe in the Lord Jesus Christ so you can be saved!
