August 31st, 2012
Today’s reading from Encounter with God

A Conclusion, But No End

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Opening Prayer

I rejoice, blessed Lord, that Your love never fails, Your mercy never ends, and Your strength is always available.

Read Acts 28:17-31

[17] Three days later he called together the local Jewish leaders. When they had assembled, Paul said to them: “My brothers, although I have done nothing against our people or against the customs of our ancestors, I was arrested in Jerusalem and handed over to the Romans. [18] They examined me and wanted to release me, because I was not guilty of any crime deserving death. [19] The Jews objected, so I was compelled to make an appeal to Caesar. I certainly did not intend to bring any charge against my own people. [20] For this reason I have asked to see you and talk with you. It is because of the hope of Israel that I am bound with this chain.” [21] They replied, “We have not received any letters from Judea concerning you, and none of our people who have come from there has reported or said anything bad about you. [22] But we want to hear what your views are, for we know that people everywhere are talking against this sect.” [23] They arranged to meet Paul on a certain day, and came in even larger numbers to the place where he was staying. He witnessed to them from morning till evening, explaining about the kingdom of God, and from the Law of Moses and from the Prophets he tried to persuade them about Jesus. [24] Some were convinced by what he said, but others would not believe. [25] They disagreed among themselves and began to leave after Paul had made this final statement: “The Holy Spirit spoke the truth to your ancestors when he said through Isaiah the prophet: [26] “‘Go to this people and say, “You will be ever hearing but never understanding; you will be ever seeing but never perceiving.” [27] For this people’s heart has become calloused; they hardly hear with their ears, and they have closed their eyes. Otherwise they might see with their eyes, hear with their ears, understand with their hearts and turn, and I would heal them.’ [28] “Therefore I want you to know that God’s salvation has been sent to the Gentiles, and they will listen!” [29] For two whole years Paul stayed there in his own rented house and welcomed all who came to see him. [31] He proclaimed the kingdom of God and taught about the Lord Jesus Christ-with all boldness and without hindrance!

Scripture taken from the Holy Bible, NEW INTERNATIONAL VERSION. Copyright © 1973, 1978, 1984 International Bible Society. All rights reserved throughout the world. Used by permission of International Bible Society.

Meditate

“It [the Kingdom of God] is the rule of God, through his appointed king, Jesus Christ, in the lives of his subjects, world-wide” (Richard Bewes).

Think Further

In my job as a teacher of literature, I often talk about beginnings and endings as a way of thinking about what a book means. What does the ending of Acts tell us? In some ways it takes us back to the first two chapters, where the apostles are inspired by the Holy Spirit and proclaim the Gospel in Jerusalem to an international crowd. So here, Paul, like Peter (2:17), draws on the Holy Spirit, as evidenced from the Old Testament prophets, to convince the local Jews about Jesus (23,25). The Acts of the Apostles are inextricably linked to the Acts of the Holy Spirit. We see again that the early proclamations of the Gospel were to the Jews first, and then to the Gentiles.

Does this conclusion meet our expectations that ends will be tied up, and rewards and punishments issued? Well, it’s a history book, not a novel, so Luke had to write of what he knew had happened. He writes about a moment before the great persecution under Nero. There is nothing about the martyrdom of Paul, or Peter (which would have made a different conclusion than this). There’s plenty in Acts to encourage and equip Christians facing persecution or less violent opposition to the Gospel, but it is not a history of survival. Acts is more positive. What’s more, Luke goes back to a key emphasis of his Gospel: the kingdom (23,31). It’s not a word that appears much in Acts or in the surviving writings of Paul but it’s a fitting concept for the end of Acts because, looking back, the kingdom, understood as the outworking of the sovereignty of God, has constantly triumphed over a succession of obstacles in this story of the first apostles.

Apply

Think of times when God’s sovereignty overcame obstacles in your life. Give thanks for those occasions.

Closing prayer

I pray today, Father, for Your rule and reign to be evident in me, my family, my community and my church.

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