Transcript

In the sixteenth century, there was a protestant reformer in England by the name of Hugh Latimer. He was known as a great preacher of his day, and as a result, he was given many opportunities to speak.

Once, he was invited to preach before King Henry VIII of England. As he thought about his great responsibility to bring a message before the king, he realized that the message that God laid on his heart was not the message that the king would want to hear.

As he began his sermon, he said, “Latimer! Do you remember that you are speaking before the high and mighty King Henry VIII, who has the power to command you to be sent to prison and who can have your head cut off if it pleases him? Will you not take care to say nothing that will offend royal ears?”

He then paused and continued, “Latimer! Do you not remember that you are speaking before the King of kings and Lord of lords; before Him, at Whose throne Henry VIII will stand; before Him, to whom one day you will have to give account yourself? Latimer! Be faithful to your true Master and declare all of God’s Word.”

Latimer faced the choice: would he preach what man wanted to hear, or would he preach what Christ would have him preach? Latimer took his stand for truth, and he preached it boldly. Eventually, he was martyred by Henry VIII’s daughter, Queen Mary.

The Apostle Paul preached the truth boldly, and he did not back down from it when he addressed the Jewish leaders in Rome.

His example teaches preachers to do likewise, remembering that one day, we will have to give account to the Lord concerning our stand for His truth.

Acts 28:17-20: “And it came to pass, that after three days Paul called the chief of the Jews together: and when they were come together, he said unto them, Men and brethren, though I have committed nothing against the people, or customs of our fathers, yet was I delivered prisoner from Jerusalem into the hands of the Romans.

“Who, when they had examined me, would have let me go, because there was no cause of death in me. But when the Jews spake against it, I was constrained to appeal unto Caesar; not that I had ought to accuse my nation of.

“For this cause therefore have I called for you, to see you, and to speak with you: because that for the hope of Israel I am bound with this chain.”

When Paul arrived in Rome as a prisoner, he was placed under house arrest by the Roman authorities with a single soldier to guard him.

Three days later, from his house where he was in custody, since he could not go to them, Paul called together leading men of the Jews to him. These “chief of the Jews” in Rome would have included rulers from the synagogues in the city.

Paul anxiously wanted to speak to these leaders very soon after his arrival for two reasons. He wanted to reach out to them with an explanation of why he was in Rome as a prisoner, doing so before they arrived at any false conclusions concerning his arrest.

And second, Paul’s main concern was to share the truth with them, the truth of Christ’s resurrection and the gospel of grace.

Before this audience of Jewish leaders at the house where he was in custody, Paul told them, “Men and brethren, though I have committed nothing against the people, or customs of our fathers, yet was I delivered prisoner from Jerusalem into the hands of the Romans.”

Paul began by emphasizing that he had done nothing “against the people,” or the Jews, or “against the…customs of our fathers.” Paul wanted them to know that he was not guilty of any crime against the law of Moses or the Jewish people; he had not treated either the people or their traditional customs with disrespect.

Yet with this being the case, Paul had been “delivered prisoner from Jerusalem into the hands of the Romans.”

Paul had been falsely accused of bringing a Gentile into the inner courts of the temple, which had resulted in an uproar and riot in Jerusalem, which in turn led to him being taken into custody by the Romans.

But Paul recounted that after the Romans had examined him, they found no guilt in him and wanted to pardon him and free him. There was no evidence for putting him to death.

Three Roman officials, the military officer Claudius Lysias and the Roman governors Felix and Festus, in succession, each affirmed Paul’s innocence.

But the only reason that the Romans did not free him, Paul said was that “the Jews spake against it,” or the Jews in Jerusalem objected to his release. The desire of the Jews played an important part in their decisions, and the Roman officials did not find it politically sensible to release him and anger the Jews as a result.

When Paul stood before Governor Festus, Acts 25:7 states, “the Jews which came down from Jerusalem stood round about, and laid many and grievous complaints against Paul, which they could not prove.”

In light of the Jews challenging the wishes of the Romans to release him and refusing to deal with Paul justly, Paul’s only recourse was to use his right as a Roman citizen to appeal to Caesar and to transfer his case out of Israel to Rome.

In making this appeal, Paul made it clear that it was “not that I had ought to accuse my nation of,” or not for the purpose of bringing any charge against the Jewish nation though he could have, but rather, that he might defend himself.

His actions were defensive, not offensive, and should not be interpreted as an attack on the Jewish people. He was in Rome as a defendant, not a plaintiff. He only wanted to be acquitted of the false charges against him.

Then Paul told them, “For this cause therefore have I called for you, to see you, and to speak with you: because that for the hope of Israel I am bound with this chain.”

Paul’s main purpose in calling these Jews in Rome together was to show them the truth which his accusers had so bitterly opposed and which had now cost him his liberty. This truth was the very “hope of Israel.”

This hope concerned the Messiah. It was the truth of the resurrection in general and the resurrection of Jesus of Nazareth in particular.

The resurrection of the dead and the truth of Christ’s resurrection, which Paul proclaimed with light and power, had stirred and resulted in the enmity of the Jews, but this truth was Israel’s hope.

Earlier in Acts, before the Jewish Sanhedrin, Paul “cried out in the council, Men and brethren…of the hope and resurrection of the dead I am called in question.”

Before Felix, Paul said, “And have hope toward God, which they themselves also allow, that there shall be a resurrection of the dead, both of the just and unjust” (24:15).

As ours is, Israel’s hope is about the future resurrection. Israel was told in Job 19:26-27: “And though after my skin worms destroy this body, yet in my flesh shall I see God: Whom I shall see for myself, and mine eyes shall behold, and not another; though my reins be consumed within me.”

Paul remained “bound with this chain” for proclaiming that which was the basis of all Israel’s hope and their future resurrection, which is the resurrection of Jesus Christ.

Paul proclaimed the good news of Christ’s resurrection as God’s proof that our sins have been fully paid for at the Cross. And because He lives, we will live also. Christ’s death and resurrection is the hope of Israel, and it is the hope of the world.

And out of his deep love for his countrymen, Paul called these Jewish leaders in Rome together so that he might share the good news of the resurrection with them.

Acts 28:21-25a: “And they said unto him, We neither received letters out of Judaea concerning thee, neither any of the brethren that came shewed or spake any harm of thee.

“But we desire to hear of thee what thou thinkest: for as concerning this sect, we know that every where it is spoken against.

“And when they had appointed him a day, there came many to him into his lodging; to whom he expounded and testified the kingdom of God, persuading them concerning Jesus, both out of the law of Moses, and out of the prophets, from morning till evening.

“And some believed the things which were spoken, and some believed not. And when they agreed not among themselves, they departed, after that Paul had spoken one word…”

In response to his words, the Jewish leaders denied any knowledge about Paul. They had not received any written reports from Judea concerning him, and none of their fellow Jews had brought any oral reports to them against Paul.

However, they did want to hear more from Paul, because they had heard about this sect of people who believed in the resurrection of Jesus Christ. And everywhere, they said, this group was spoken against and opposed.

Not much has changed in history, as it continues to this day that those who believe in Christ and His resurrection are spoken against by the world.

Diplomatically and out of curiosity, the Jews told Paul that they wanted to hear what his views were and what his opinion was “concerning this sect” and their beliefs.

With that, they “appointed him a day” or they set a date for a conference and a second time to return and meet with the apostle at his place of house arrest.

Sometime later, “there came many to him into his lodging.” A large number of Jews in Rome, beyond just the leaders of the synagogue now, gathered at Paul’s house in the city on the set date.

Paul spent the entire day, from morning till evening, preaching the truth to this crowd.

On this day, Paul expounded and testified the kingdom of God and sought to persuade them concerning Jesus from the Word of God.

Paul did not tell these Jews what they wanted to hear; he boldly gave them the truth concerning the truth of the kingdom and who Jesus of Nazareth is.

Verse 23 says Paul “expounded and testified the kingdom of God.” Also, in verse 28, Luke recorded how for two years under house arrest, Paul was “Preaching the kingdom of God.”

What this means is that Paul explained how the earthly kingdom of God was promised plainly and in great detail in Scripture, but that now this promised kingdom of God was suspended and in a holding pattern because the Messiah had been rejected.

Because God is faithful to all His promises, the kingdom of God WILL be established on the earth and literally fulfilled one day, but now it awaits the completion of the current dispensation of grace. To expound and testify the kingdom of God after Israel’s fall is about referring to the temporary suspension of that kingdom today.

And today, during this dispensation, when one trusts the gospel of grace by faith alone, they are “translated…into the kingdom of His dear Son” in heaven above.

Thus, to testify and preach the kingdom of God under grace also entails explaining how and in what way believers today are made part of the kingdom of God. We have a heavenly hope in the Church, and thus our hope is the heavenly sphere of God’s kingdom.

At this one-day conference in Rome, Paul also quoted and proved by the law and the prophets to the Jews that Christ was the prophesied One.

He skillfully preached and walked them through the prophecies that related to the coming of Israel’s king and Messiah and showed how Jesus Christ was the fulfillment of those prophecies, and how the Old Testament points to Him in every way.

Jesus of Nazareth is the promised Messiah, but He, the Messiah, was rejected during His earthly ministry and was crucified in accordance with prophecy.

But the Messiah, also in accordance with prophecy, rose again, proving beyond any doubt that He is Israel’s Messiah.

But when the Messiah was rejected after His ascension and during the ministry of the Holy Spirit, Who bore testimony of Him and His resurrection in early Acts, Israel “stumbled at that Stumblingstone” and she fell and was temporarily set aside.

The Book of Acts concerns the fall and diminishing of God’s program with Israel, and God turning to the Gentiles to have a program with the nations.

As the Apostle of the Gentiles went to the Jews during the Acts period, you find again and again that as he attempted to reach them, Paul proved to the Jews from the Scriptures that Jesus is the promised Messiah.

However, most times, most of the Jews would not accept that truth or the proof from the Scriptures, and they refused to be persuaded.

Thus, most times, Paul got no farther, and he could not go on to preach to the Jews the truths that had been specially revealed to him for this current age.

But this refusal by the Jews to accept the truth did not bring God’s plan of salvation to a halt, but rather, it demonstrated and vindicated the reason why God had turned to the Gentiles and why He had raised up an apostle of the Gentiles to take His plan of salvation for today to the world.

But Paul, out of his burden for the Jews, was persistent and continued to reach out to individuals and groups of Jews, as he said in Romans 11:14, “If by any means I may provoke to emulation [or jealousy] them which are my flesh, and might save some of them.”

Paul’s prayer was that by his ministry among the nations, showing the Jews that God’s salvation had been sent unto the Gentiles, and by the Jews seeing Gentiles saved by the grace of God, that it would make Israel jealous, with the effect that some would desire God’s truth for today and respond to the gospel of grace and be saved.

Here in Rome, the results from Paul’s preaching to the Jews were mixed: some were persuaded by what Paul had spoken and believed, others believed not, but all the Jews disagreed among themselves. By this response, it reminds us that the truth divides.

The Jews then all departed. But they all departed after Paul had one final, convicting message and word of warning for them.

Acts 28:25b-28: “Well spake the Holy Ghost by Esaias the prophet unto our fathers, Saying, Go unto this people, and say, Hearing ye shall hear, and shall not understand; and seeing ye shall see, and not perceive:

“For the heart of this people is waxed gross, and their ears are dull of hearing, and their eyes have they closed; lest they should see with their eyes, and hear with their ears, and understand with their heart, and should be converted, and I should heal them.

“Be it known therefore unto you, that the salvation of God is sent unto the Gentiles, and that they will hear it.”

It’s important to note how Paul put the phrase, “Well spake the Holy Ghost by Esaias the prophet.” It was the Holy Spirit who wrote the Book of Isaiah, and Who inspired and used Isaiah to write that prophetic Book.

By Paul putting it this way, it was a reminder to the Jews that the prophecy that follows was not just Isaiah’s estimation of his countrymen; they were the words of God.

Paul had been preaching from morning to evening from the Scriptures, so he sent off this Jewish crowd with a word from the Word concerning the Jews.

When Paul saw that once again the truth was being, on the whole, rejected by the Jews, he quoted Isaiah 6:9-10, words that described their heartbreaking spiritual condition.

The Jews in Rome who refused to believe, resisted the truth, and caused disagreement were continuing their nation’s history of rejecting God’s messengers of truth. And their spiritual condition was prophesied in Isaiah.

Isaiah had written by the Holy Spirit, “Go unto this people, and say, Hearing ye shall hear, and shall not understand; and seeing ye shall see, and not perceive.”

In essence, so to speak, these words mean that the truth would go in one ear and out the other! It is one thing to listen and something else to hear, and there is a difference between seeing and perceiving.

That day in Rome, all heard the Word alike, all saw the same thing that Paul set before them from the Scriptures, but in their refusal to believe, they did not understand the truth or perceive its spiritual reality.

And Paul went on quoting Isaiah, stating, “For the heart of this people is waxed gross, and their ears are dull of hearing, and their eyes have they closed; lest they should see with their eyes, and hear with their ears, and understand with their heart, and should be converted, and I should heal them.”

The prophecy shows that the trouble is in the heart. The heart is used figuratively in Scripture to refer to the seat and center of one’s life. It is the core of one’s being.

The unbelieving Jews had permitted their hearts to “wax gross,” or literally to thicken. It refers to their hearts being calloused, dull, and insensitive to the truth of God.

And Isaiah’s words teach that obstinate refusal to believe results in calloused hearts, deafened ears, and closed eyes.

The Lord had told Isaiah what would be the fruit and result of his ministry in proclaiming the truth: calloused hearts, dull ears, and closed eyes. And Paul had experienced the same result when he brought the truth of God to these Jews in Rome.

These unbelieving Jews had calloused hearts, so they did not understand God’s message.

They had dull ears, so they did not hear God’s message, and they had closed eyes, so they could not perceive or see God’s message.

Thus, the apostle felt again the heartbreak of preaching God’s truth to his countrymen who did not want to understand it, see it, or hear it.

In view of this rejection by the Jews, Paul announced, “Be it known therefore unto you, that the salvation of God is sent unto the Gentiles, and that they will hear it.”

Paul stated that he was taking the gospel to the Gentiles, and he expressed the assurance that they would hear it.

This was a bittersweet announcement, bitter to the Jews, but sweet to the Gentiles. God’s program with Israel was fully set aside, and Gentiles have been receiving the salvation of God ever since.

After Israel’s fall in Acts 7 with the stoning of Stephen, this was the direction of God’s plan of salvation: to the Gentiles, or the nations.

There are three declarations of this fact to the Jews in the Book of Acts, and this is the third one.

The first one is in Acts 13:46, where Paul said, “It was necessary that the word of God should first have been spoken to you: but seeing ye put it from you, and judge yourselves unworthy of everlasting life, lo, we turn to the Gentiles.”

The second one is in Acts 18:6, where Paul said, “Your blood be upon your own heads; I am clean: from henceforth I will go unto the Gentiles.”

In all three of these declarations, there is a consistent pattern. First, Paul preaches the truth to the Jews. Second, a remnant of Jews believes, while the majority rejects and opposes it. Third, Paul turns away from the Jews and to the Gentiles.

These pronouncements and the transition in Acts in turning away from Israel and toward the Gentiles teach us about God’s dealings with mankind today.

After Israel rejected their Messiah and fell in her unbelief, God set His program with Israel aside temporarily and He turned to the nations and sent His salvation to the world. And now God’s program today is about winning many Gentiles to Himself.

God’s plan of salvation has gone to the world; this age is the day of salvation for the world. Salvation by grace is extended to all people everywhere, whether Jews or Gentiles.

Any who respond to the gospel of grace by faith alone, simply trusting that Christ died for our sins and rose again, will be saved.

As Romans 11 states, “I say then, Have they stumbled that they should fall? God forbid: but rather through their fall salvation is come unto the Gentiles, for to provoke them to jealousy. Now if the fall of them be the riches of the world, and the diminishing of them the riches of the Gentiles; how much more their fulness?” (11:11-12).

A great change in God’s dealings with mankind takes place in the transitional Book of Acts. During our Lord’s earthly ministry, He had said to the Samaritan woman at the well: “Salvation is of the Jews” (John 4:22). But now the apostle of the glorified Lord in heaven declares: “The salvation of God has been sent to the Gentiles” (Acts 28:28).

God’s present work among the Gentiles is not the fulfillment of prophecy. God has a work among the nations that awaits a future day, when Israel is saved, and the Gentiles find salvation through her.

God’s present work is called “this mystery among the Gentiles.” This plan of God for the nations and sending His salvation to the Gentiles had been hidden, kept secret by God, and never revealed prior to Paul.

It had been predicted that Israel would stumble in unbelief at the Stumblingstone, and that they would be Lo-Ammi, or not God’s people (Hos. 1:9) but God had never made known the purpose in His heart of love to send salvation to the Gentiles through Israel’s “fall” and “casting away” (Rom. 11:11-15).

And our hearts should overflow with wonder and gratitude that in this dispensation of grace, we Gentiles, to whom God had promised nothing in time past (Eph. 2:11,12), can be saved by God’s grace and then worship and have a relationship with the true God.

And on top of this, we have the high privilege by grace of belonging to the Church, the Body of Christ, with Christ as our living Head, and we are seated with Him in the heavenlies, blessed there with “all spiritual blessings.”

The time and opportunity of this dispensation and program with the Gentiles, however, is limited. While Israel has been set aside, her setting aside is only temporary.

“For I would not, brethren, that ye should be ignorant of this mystery, lest ye should be wise in your own conceits; that blindness in part is happened to Israel, until the fulness of the Gentiles be come in” (Rom. 11:25).

The fulness of the Gentiles refers to the completion of this age and dispensation which concerns the Gentiles primarily. It closes with the Rapture and catching away of the Church to heaven before the prophesied Tribulation and time of Jacob’s trouble.

At that point, God will turn again to Israel, and salvation will be “of the Jews” again, and then God will fulfill everything He has promised to Israel.

What we see with Paul the preacher is that he boldly and unashamedly preached the Word, so that others might be saved and come to a knowledge of the truth. His preaching was as a ministry of comfort, encouragement, and warning. His preaching had its core what was spiritually best for his listeners and thus, his preaching was based in love.