The End of the Beginning

Acts 28:17-31

Main Idea: The book of Acts concludes with Paul’s ministry in Rome, but the mission continues today through God’s people.

1. Make the Most of Every Ministry Opportunity (28:17-23,30-31; Phil 1:12-26).
2. Teach All People about King Jesus from the Scriptures (28:23-31).
   1. From dawn to dusk (28:23)
   2. From cover to cover (28:23)
   3. From heart to heart (28:23-24)
   4. From Jew to Gentile (28:25-28)
3. Ask God to Grant You Spirit-Empowered Boldness (28:30-31).
4. Maintain an Unshakeable Confidence in the Gospel (28:31).
5. Pour Yourself Out for the King Until You See the King (28:30-31; 2 Tim 4:6-8,17-18).

The concluding episode of a popular television series always creates a buzz. I remember when the show Lost was nearing its last episode. It seemed everyone was asking, “How will it end?” I also remember the mixed reviews that finale got. Many viewers weren’t satisfied with the ending, but others liked it.

Do you like happy endings? Do you want complete closure when you reach the end of a riveting novel or movie? Does seeing the words “To be continued” typed across the last page or final screen shot drive you to insanity? Do movies and books that allow you to choose your own ending seem somehow dissatisfying?

If you like complete closure and prefer happily-ever-after conclusions, then you might be disappointed with the ending of Acts. Luke has taken us for quite a journey. His writing is remarkable, but his ending might appear surprising and perhaps even a bit frustrating. We have been leading up to Paul’s trial before Caesar for many chapters now, but nothing is said about it here!

In fact, Acts closes without telling us what happened to Paul. We’re not sure how long he lived. We don’t know how long he was able to go on ministering unhindered. We can’t even be certain he ever made it to Spain. Can you imagine reading a novel that ended like this? If you did, you might write the publisher to say, “Hey! I’m missing a chapter! I need to know what happened to Paul!”

Acts essentially ends on a big “To be continued.” Why? Because Luke didn’t intend to write a biography of Paul. Luke purposed to describe the acts of the Lord Jesus accomplished by the Spirit. He set out to describe the unstoppable progress of the gospel. His first book, the Gospel of Luke, set out to tell “all that Jesus began to do and teach until the day he was taken up” (Acts 1:1-2). The book of Acts, then, is about all that Jesus continued to do after that point. The ministry of Jesus continued by the Spirit through the church. Luke leaves us with Paul preaching the mighty gospel of the kingdom in Rome. And in choosing to walk away from the story here, Luke masterfully keeps the King—not Paul or anyone else—the hero of Acts. Luke concludes Acts on a note of victory, with the triumph of the King. This is a fitting conclusion.

Luke’s message ends up being something like this: “This book is finished, but the mission Jesus assigned to the church isn’t.” This means that Christians—whether in first-century Rome or in twenty-first-century America—get to enter the story! We get to participate in the next chapters of Acts! We get to join the drama of spreading the good news to the nations. While God replaces messengers over time, the message and the mission assigned to Christians will remain unchanging until the King returns.

From Scripture we can identify at least five applications as we seek to continue this mission.

Make the Most of Every Ministry Opportunity

Acts 28:17-23,30-31; Philippians 1:12-26

From verse 30 onward, it seems that Paul lived at his own expense in a relaxed form of house arrest, able to welcome visitors. He makes the most of the situation by ministering to the Roman imperial guard (and by extension, to those associated with the guards), to the Jews, and eventually to all who would come to him. Though technically a prisoner, Paul isn’t complaining; he’s proclaiming.

In his letter to the Colossians, which was written during this imprisonment, Paul said,

Devote yourselves to prayer; stay alert in it with thanksgiving. At the same time, pray also for us that God may open a door to us for the word, to speak the mystery of Christ, for which I am in chains, so that I may make it known as I should. Act wisely toward outsiders, making the most of the time. Let your speech always be gracious, seasoned with salt, so that you may know how you should answer each person. (Col 4:2-6)

Don’t miss that in this passage Paul’s asking for prayer that he may make the message about Christ known effectively, not that he be released from prison! And he’s exhorting the believers not to think about him but to make the best use of their time, living with evangelistic sensitivity toward unbelievers. Importantly, Paul is living out his own advice. He’s seeking to make the most of his opportunity to minister the gospel in Rome. And he knows he needs God’s help to do it faithfully and effectively.

We know of at least one person who was converted during Paul’s house arrest in Rome. He was a runaway servant named Onesimus. Paul wrote a letter to Philemon, the servant’s owner, during this same imprisonment. He encouraged him to be reconciled to Onesimus:

Although I have great boldness in Christ to command you to do what is right, I appeal to you, instead, on the basis of love. I, Paul, as an elderly man and now also as a prisoner of Christ Jesus, appeal to you for my son, Onesimus. I became his father while I was in chains. . . . So if you consider me a partner, welcome him as you would me. And if he has wronged you in any way, or owes you anything, charge that to my account. (Phlm 8-10,17-18)

I’m sure Onesimus was grateful that Paul didn’t quit ministering during his imprisonment. Because Paul kept his heart focused on the mission of sharing Jesus rather than allowing his circumstances to shut him down, Onesimus was able to hear the apostle teach the gospel and was gloriously converted.

Paul also made the most of his opportunity with the imperial guard. Paul was under a lenient form of military custody in which only one soldier guarded him (28:16). This soldier would probably be relieved every so often, creating a rotation of guardsmen who were essentially Paul’s captive audience while chained to him—if indeed they were chained. These guards, in my view, had to be the most privileged guards in human history. They were able to hear the greatest evangelist-expositor in the history of the church. They were in a position to ask him anything! And perhaps some of them were converted as a result.

A survey of the New Testament leaves us with the idea that Paul’s witness impacted more than just the particular soldiers who guarded him. His witness apparently became the talk of the guards and the palace officials. Some estimate that there were as many as nine thousand Roman guards in that day. Paul’s message became known to many of them, to officials, and even to pagans in the streets. In Philippians, also written during this imprisonment, Paul mentions how God was accomplishing his purposes through this incarceration:

I want you to know, brothers and sisters, that what has happened to me has actually advanced the gospel, so that it has become known throughout the whole imperial guard, and to everyone else, that my imprisonment is because I am in Christ. Most of the brothers have gained confidence in the Lord from my imprisonment and dare even more to speak the word fearlessly. . . . I know this will lead to my salvation through your prayers and help from the Spirit of Jesus Christ. My eager expectation and hope is that I will not be ashamed about anything, but that now as always, with all courage, Christ will be highly honored in my body, whether by life or by death. For me, to live is Christ and to die is gain. Now if I live on in the flesh, this means fruitful work for me; and I don’t know which one I should choose. I am torn between the two. I long to depart and be with Christ—which is far better. (Phil 1:12-14,19-23)

Many Romans were hearing the good news, and Christians were becoming bolder as a result of Paul’s witness. He was a man consumed with Jesus Christ. Let’s follow Paul’s example. Wherever the Lord has you, make him known!

In verse 17 Paul calls together the local Jewish leaders. Even in Rome he sought to minister to the Jews. Two points about Paul’s outreach efforts to the Jews in Rome stand out.

First, while the apostle’s first encounter with the local Jews came at his request, the second happened because they requested to hear more. Perhaps part of their willingness to listen further can be linked to Paul’s assuring them of his innocence(28:17-19). He had done nothing wrong to the Jewish people, and he had not violated their customs. Still, however, he was handed over to the Romans and was mistreated (cf. 21:33; Luke 9:44; 18:32; 24:7). Nevertheless, Paul clarified that he had no charge to make against the Jews. This suggests that he wanted the Roman Jews to know that he had no desire for vengeance. In spite of their ill treatment of him, he had no countercharges to bring against the Jewish population.

Once his own clean slate was established, Paul went on to mention “the hope of Israel” (v. 20). These words served as a teaser meant to gather interest about Paul’s main message. By using Old Testament terminology familiar to them, Paul was setting up the Jewish leaders of Rome to hear his proclamation of the risen Christ (cf. Jer 14:8; 17:13).

The group of Jewish leaders responded to Paul’s efforts in two ways. First, they claimed ignorance regarding Paul’s trials (v. 21). Such lack of awareness may be owing to (1) the fact that Paul and the crew traveled early in the season and got to Rome before any Jews from Palestine could get there to tell tales about him, or more likely, (2) the Judean leaders had decided to back off, believing their case against the apostle had no chance in Rome, and thus they did not send a prosecutor.

The Jews’ second response was an expression of interest. Curiously, they claimed to have no real understanding of Christianity though there was a vibrant church in Rome. This makes it likely that the Roman Jews were intentionally keeping their distance from Christians by the time Paul arrived. The edict of Claudius (in which Jews were expelled from Rome; cf. 18:2) had happened about ten years earlier, and the Jews had begun resettling in Rome about four years after their expulsion (Gangel, Acts, 466). Perhaps, then, because of a sense of insecurity, the Jews had been trying to avoid association with Christians up to this point.

Importantly, this first meeting with Paul set up the next meeting. The Jews wanted to hear more, so Paul made the most of his situation by welcoming them and exalting Jesus from the Scriptures.

Teach All People about King Jesus from the Scriptures

Acts 28:23-31

As with his ministry in Pisidian Antioch, Paul’s second meeting with the Jews drew a much larger crowd (28:23; cf. 13:44). Paul’s expositional ministry in this meeting appears to have been focused on persuading the Jews about Christ’s importance through the use of the Law of Moses and the Prophets. Nevertheless, as the larger passage indicates, Paul taught all people about the King and the kingdom as he had opportunity (vv. 30-31). This reminds us of the necessity of making disciples by teaching everyone about Jesus and his kingdom from the Scriptures.

From Dawn to Dusk (28:23)

Paul had some amazing preaching stamina! In Troas he preached all night (20:7,11). Here he preached all day. This meeting requested by the Jews wasn’t over after a quick, three-minute gospel presentation. Instead, Paul took his time to explain the plan of God within the context of the Scriptures. He built on his hearers’ existing background.

Explaining the gospel to unbelievers—especially those who lack any concept of the Christian worldview—may take considerable time. A friend who ministers in a diverse region of the States and I were talking about this issue recently. We agreed that much preevangelism has to happen today before most are ready to respond to a call for repentance. We as Christians have to provide a framework. We have to explain that God made a perfect world, that sin broke it, and that God—out of love—stepped into his creation on a rescue mission to save humans from our wicked choices. Millions today—even highly educated people—have no concept of basic Bible stories or the Christian principles of sin and salvation that we often take for granted. That means we must patiently teach.

From Cover to Cover (28:23)

Paul taught about Jesus in accordance with the Old Testament, showing Christ as the hero of the Scriptures. He magnified Jesus as the Messiah throughout his exposition, imitating the pattern set forth by Jesus on the Emmaus road (Luke 24:27,44-47). Likely influenced by this, Luke ends both his Gospel and Acts by highlighting the exposition of Scripture and the central figure in the Scriptures, Jesus. Here in Acts, Paul’s main two subjects are the “kingdom of God” and “Jesus” (vv. 23,31); they summarized the heart of Paul’s instruction.

We must continue the church’s mission by continuing to expound the Scriptures and pointing people to the hero of the Scriptures!

The text doesn’t tell us exactly what Paul said about the kingdom, but surely he described how Jesus was the long anticipated Ruler, the true and better David, whose kingdom was inaugurated at his first coming and will one day be consummated at his second. He may have also contrasted the unending reign of Jesus with the kingdom of Caesar. Indeed, there’s much he could have said about the kingdom of heaven, including its inside-out nature (cf. Luke 11:39-41; Rom 14:17), its upside-down nature (cf. Matt 19:30; Luke 6:20-26; 14:11; Phil 2:1-11), and its fascinating already-not yet aspects (cf. Ps 110:1; Eph 1:13-14). The Jewish people definitely would have been interested in Paul’s take on the subject, as the disciples’ question in Acts 1:6 illustrated.

As King, Jesus now reigns in the hearts of all who will come to him. In this way he reigns in the midst of his enemies. Local churches are outposts of his kingdom. The King’s people, each a part of those local churches, are called to display the values and virtues of the King, giving the world a foretaste of the (consummated) kingdom to come. As the King’s people, we should “seek first the kingdom of God” (Matt 6:33), and we should invite the world to bow to the King now in order to participate in his coming kingdom later (cf. Luke 14:12-24). Paul cared about the kingdom because he cared about the King. And we will have no passion for the kingdom if we don’t have a passion for its Ruler.

In teaching about the Lord Jesus, Paul would have set forth stories of his birth, life, death, resurrection, and ascension. He would have talked about the pouring out of the Spirit and about the anticipated return of the Messiah. To do that he would have pointed to various Old Testament texts.

Paul’s method provides us an example of what it looks like to fulfill the Great Commission charge of making disciples of all nations through “teaching” (Matt 28:18-20). Patiently and faithfully, each Christian must teach the Word of Christ and the Christ of the Word. “We proclaim him,” Paul said to the Colossians (1:28). So let’s never stop opening up the Scriptures, explaining texts, and showing people—those within our homes, within our classrooms, and within our communities—how Christ fits within the larger redemptive story.

From Heart to Heart (28:23-24)

Key to understanding verses 23 and 24 is the fact that Paul was not giving a boring all-day lecture to those who gathered at his lodging. Rather, Paul was trying to “persuade” (peitho) or “convince” (ESV) the Jews of the truth about God’s kingdom (v. 23). Some were “persuaded” (v. 24; cf. 17:4) by his arguments. This may or may not mean they were actually converted to Christianity, however. Perhaps some were simply convinced of Paul’s innocence as they heard his teaching or were satisfied that Paul did indeed know how to make a coherent argument.

These possibilities serve to remind us that many people today are convinced of the truthfulness of the gospel but are not converted. Some wrongly equate mental assent that Jesus was who he claimed to be with placing saving faith in Christ. So after teaching the gospel to people, we must press on them the need to repent and embrace Christ in faith. They need to call on Jesus as Lord (Rom 10:9).

Whatever kind of “persuading” Paul did in his exposition, it divided the synagogue. Those who weren’t convinced by what he said expressed the same kind of hard-heartedness that we have observed throughout Acts. Ajith Fernando says, “There isn’t much new here. Luke underscores the tragedy of Jewish rejection of the gospel. What is new is Paul’s use of a familiar text (Isa 6:9-10)” (Acts, 625).

As we expound the gospel to others, we’re not merely trying to transfer information from our brains to theirs. Instead, we should evangelize from our hearts to the hearts of others, always seeking to persuade our hearers to bow the knee to King Jesus—the One who loves them and desires that they too become citizens of his kingdom (cf. 2 Cor 5:11).

From Jew to Gentile (28:25-28)

In verse 25 the Jews were “disagreeing among themselves,” and they began to leave after Paul made one final statement based on Isaiah 6:9-10.

The point that caused the dispute began with an introductory comment in which Paul affirmed the inspiration of Isaiah, a section of Old Testament Scripture. Throughout the book of Acts, biblical citations are introduced with references to the Spirit (cf. 1:16; 4:25). Also, Paul distanced himself from the Jews by saying “your ancestors” rather than sticking to his initial approach of calling the Jews his “brothers” (v. 17). The point here is that Paul’s faith in Christ has separated him from the Jews, who rejected the Messiah, as Isaiah “was right in saying.”

Paul cited Isaiah, who highlighted hearing, seeing, and the heart. If the people who listened to Paul’s message would actually act on what they saw and heard and understood in their hearts, then they would repent and be healed.

Hearing the word of God always has an effect on people, but the same sun that melts the ice also hardens the clay. Either people are melted and moved by Jesus when they hear the word, or they reject him and become increasingly hard-hearted toward him as a result. No one can listen to the gospel and remain neutral to it. That’s why we must warn unbelievers that they must respond positively to God’s word, or the Lord may give them what they want—eternal separation from him and from his grace.

Sadly, in this passage the Roman Jews heard the message about Jesus, but many refused to respond to it. The concept of “hearing” appears throughout these meetings with the Roman Jews (cf. 28:22,26-28). The last time Paul uses this verb in verse 28, he says that Gentiles will “listen” and respond appropriately to God’s message of salvation.

Paul’s words here remind us of Jesus’s emphasis on the proper hearing of God’s Word. In his parable of the Soils, he too quoted Isaiah 6 (cf. Matt 12:39-40; Mark 4:12; Luke 8:10). Isaiah 6:9-10, in fact, appears in various places in the New Testament (cf. John 12:39-40; Rom 11:8)—always in contexts of unbelief and hardness of heart.

In Romans 11 Paul discusses the Jews’ failure to hear the gospel (11:8; citing Isa 29:10 and Deut 29:4)—a rejection that’s something of a riddle. Paul suggests that the Jewish rejection may be temporary. During this temporary rejection, many Gentiles will believe, and in the end, in the mystery of God’s purposes, there will a great turning of Jews to Christ. Here in Acts 28 Paul simply notes the tragedy of the Jewish rejection of Jesus. A message of salvation was foretold by Jewish prophets, fulfilled in a Jewish Messiah, preached by Jewish evangelists, rejected by the Jews, but embraced by the Gentiles (Polhill, Acts, 544).

Initially the conversion of Gentiles like Cornelius was the exception in Christianity, not the norm. At first the Jewish Christians wrestled with the inclusion of the Gentiles (Acts 15). But by the end of Acts, things have changed. Jewish converts are the exception, and Gentile converts are the norm. God’s kingdom encompasses the nations. Jewish evangelism must continue, but Christianity primarily involves Gentiles who place faith in Jesus.

Verse 28 is the third time in Acts in which Paul turned to the Gentiles (cf. 13:46; 18:6), and Paul’s ministry among them has been fruitful. So, is Paul at this point turning from the Jews to Gentiles in a final and definitive move (Polhill, Acts, 544)? Is Paul finished with the Jews? In one sense, no. “All” were welcome to hear the message, including Jews (28:30). John Stott notes, “The most natural explanation of this is that the ‘all’ who came to see Paul included both [Jews and Gentiles]” (Message of Acts, 400). And all along, some Jews had believed through his ministry, though not in great number (v. 24). This passage is a reminder that we too must continue evangelizing our Jewish neighbors. But in another sense we might say yes. Paul believed “official Judaism,” the Jewish people as a whole, wouldn’t embrace Jesus (Polhill, Acts, 545)—at least not at this point in redemptive history. Paul therefore turns his attention mainly to the Gentiles.

We must teach the nations about King Jesus from the Scriptures. To do this, we need the Spirit’s help.

Ask God to Grant You Spirit-Empowered Boldness

Acts 28:30-31

In verses 30-31 Luke concludes Acts suddenly. Here we learn that since the Romans weren’t in a hurry to deal with Paul, he continued to receive all kinds of visitors throughout his house arrest (v. 30). It’s easy to picture Paul in this house, teaching the Scriptures day after day, just as he taught in the lecture hall of Tyrannus a few years earlier (19:9).

During this time Paul wrote four important letters known as the Prison Epistles: Ephesians, Philippians, Colossians, and Philemon. Through studying these documents, we know of some of the people who visited him: Tychicus, Onesimus, and Epaphroditus. When these and others stopped by his rented home, Paul continued to share about the kingdom of God and about the things concerning the Lord Jesus Christ (v. 31). Paul communicated this message with Spirit-empowered “boldness.”

Throughout the book of Acts, this Spirit-produced courage is highlighted as a character trait of faithful witnesses (cf. 4:29-31). Luke wrote earlier,

When they observed the boldness of Peter and John and realized that they were uneducated and untrained men, they were amazed and recognized that they had been with Jesus. (4:13; emphasis added)

Paul, too, was known for speaking boldly—even in his writings. Let’s ask God to grant us this same type of boldness in our evangelistic efforts (cf. Eph 6:19-20).

Maintain an Unshakeable Confidence in the Gospel

Acts 28:31

Luke says that Paul continued to proclaim Jesus boldly and “without hindrance” (akolutos). Perhaps this is meant only to indicate that because the Romans didn’t perceive Paul as being dangerous, they put no stumbling block in the way of his gospel proclamation. But it could also be that in using this word here, Luke was alluding to the unbound nature of the gospel; it triumphs over every worldly and spiritual barrier. Though Paul was chained, for instance, the Word of God wasn’t bound (cf. 2 Tim 2:9)! Though he was hindered from traveling beyond a set area, it was not. Consider how Luke has been tracking the triumph of the gospel in Acts:

So the word of God spread, the disciples in Jerusalem increased greatly in number, and a large group of priests became obedient to the faith. (6:7)

So the church throughout all Judea, Galilee, and Samaria had peace and was strengthened. Living in the fear of the Lord and encouraged by the Holy Spirit, it increased in numbers. (9:31)

But the word of God flourished and multiplied. (12:24)

So the churches were strengthened in the faith and grew daily in numbers. (16:5)

In this way the word of the Lord flourished and prevailed.(19:20)

We may now add 28:31 to the list of summary statements expressing the triumph of the Word.

We should stop and marvel at the spectacular spread of Christianity. Since the start of Acts, the gospel has taken hold in Jerusalem, in cities all over the ancient world, and has finally made it to Rome. We often assume that Jerusalem was the center of action in the ancient world, but it wasn’t. It was important to the Jews, and it was the center of the messianic hope, but the city itself was rather insignificant in many ways (Richards and O’Brien, Misreading Scripture with Western Eyes, 65). It was on the eastern fringe of the Roman Empire. Rome controlled the area, but the activities there didn’t really occupy Roman interest (ibid.). Randolph Richards and Brandon O’Brien note the following about the humble beginnings and the explosive growth of the Christian faith:

Pilate was more the main finance officer or tax collector than anything else. The events of Jesus’s life, death and resurrection, so important for the Jews and Christians at the time, were marginal events in a nothing town on the edge of an empire with more important matters to consider. If we fail to recognize this, we can fail to recognize just how remarkable the rapid growth of the early church really was. For the first couple of centuries, Roman writers often referred to Christians as “Galileans,” indicating how nominal and provincial they considered the early Jesus movement to be. (Ibid.)

Yet, at the end of Acts, we see the beginnings of the worldwide movement of a people who worship the risen King from Nazareth. The gospel’s progress and tenacity are breathtaking!

But nearly two thousand years after Christ’s resurrection, we who live so far away from Jerusalem and Rome can easily fall prey to our culture’s general doubts about the power of the gospel. People seem disinterested in the Bible’s message. Some mock the idea of a crucified man from Palestine dying for their sins and then returning to life in triumph. Do not let the skepticism of others take your mind off our mission. The world’s scorn is nothing new.

Kent Hughes notes that visitors to Rome can see a square of plaster cut from the wall of the barracks in the Palace of the Caesars (Acts, 344). On this plaster is a sketch of a human figure with the head of a donkey who is nailed to a cross. At the foot of the cross is the sketch of a man kneeling before it. Clearly this ancient picture was intended to mock someone who had converted to Christianity—possibly a Roman soldier. The inscription reads, “Alexamenos worships his God” (ibid.).

Now as then the gospel sounds like foolishness to some, yet we who have heard and embraced the message of Scripture know it to be the power of God (cf. 1 Cor 1:18; 2 Cor 2:16). So let’s not doubt the power of the gospel! Let’s not try to domesticate the message. If we empty the cross of its supposed foolishness, we empty it of its power (cf. 1 Cor 1:27).

Pour Yourself Out for the King Until You See the King

Acts 28:30-31; 2 Timothy 4:6-8,17-18

From everything we read in these last chapters of Acts, from what we can piece together from Paul’s letters (e.g., Phil 1:12-26), and from what we learn from church history (see Witherington III, Acts of the Apostles, 792), it seems that Paul was likely released around AD 62 or 63. When given his freedom, he resumed his traveling ministry. During this obscure period Paul went to various places, visited his churches, and wrote 1 Timothy and Titus before being rearrested. After this second arrest, and just prior to his martyrdom, he wrote 2 Timothy. Richard Longnecker offers a summary of Paul’s final years:

We may believe that after Paul’s release from this [first] Roman imprisonment he continued his evangelistic work in the eastern portion of the empire (at least in lands surrounding the Aegean Sea)—perhaps even fulfilling his long cherished desire to visit Spain (Rom. 15:23-24; cf. 1 Clement 5). And since 2 Timothy 4:16-18 speaks of an approaching second trial and a tone of resignation, we may conclude that Paul was rearrested about 67 and, according to tradition, beheaded at Rome by order of the Emperor Nero. (Acts, 572)

In 2 Timothy, Paul’s last letter, he concluded with these moving words to his protégé Timothy:

I am already being poured out as a drink offering, and the time for my departure is close. I have fought the good fight, I have finished the race, I have kept the faith. There is reserved for me the crown of righteousness, which the Lord, the righteous Judge, will give me on that day, and not only to me, but to all those who have loved his appearing. . . .

At my first defense, no one stood by me, but everyone deserted me. May it not be counted against them. But the Lord stood with me and strengthened me, so that I might fully preach the word and all the Gentiles might hear it. So I was rescued from the lion’s mouth. The Lord will rescue me from every evil work and will bring me safely into his heavenly kingdom. To him be the glory forever and ever! Amen. (2 Tim 4:6-8,16-18)

Indeed, the Lord delivered Paul safely to Rome, and in time he welcomed the war-torn apostle to his heavenly home.

Until we too see the King, let us follow Paul’s model of pouring ourselves out in service to the kingdom. Keep fighting. Keep running the race. When you see Jesus Christ with your own eyes, you won’t regret having served him faithfully until your dying breath. We as blood-bought Christians will be in the presence of the glorified Nazarene forever. We will be there with the saints from every tribe and tongue, including those, like Paul, who were slain for the sake of the Name. And there we will join a multitude of the redeemed in singing praises to the One who is worthy of all our adoration. The mission of Acts is to be continued until Jesus, the source of life, concludes it.

Reflect and Discuss

1. Describe your reaction to Luke’s ending of Acts.
2. Read Philippians 1:12-26 in light of Acts 28. What can we learn from Paul’s perspective on his imprisonment in Rome?
3. How did Paul make the most of his house arrest in Rome? What does his example teach about making the most of every ministry opportunity the Lord gives us?
4. What does the conversion of Onesimus teach (Phlm 8-16)?
5. What can we learn about disciple making from Acts 28:23-31?
6. Why do you think we are often tempted to doubt the power of the gospel? What does this passage teach about the ultimate triumph of the gospel?
7. Does Paul’s vision of the heavenly kingdom in 2 Timothy 4:6-18 inspire you to greater faithfulness? Why or why not?
8. What might it look like for you to speak about Jesus with boldness? Take a moment to pray for boldness to share the good news of Jesus this week and ask God to help your listeners to respond in repentance and faith.
9. What are your top three takeaways from having read the book of Acts? What lessons have been most meaningful?
10. Pause to pray for faithful evangelists who are taking the gospel to unreached people groups as they continue this mission of making disciples among all nations. Ask the Lord to bless their ministries and to draw many people into his kingdom.