WWUTT 1148 Conclusion at Rome?

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So, the Apostle Paul made it to Rome, and he proclaimed the gospel of Jesus Christ there, the very capital city of the world, that the gospel might go out into all of the world.

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When we understand the text. You're listening to When We Understand The Text, an online

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Bible ministry committed to teaching sound doctrine and exposing the faulty. Find videos and more at our website, www .tt

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.com. Now, here's our host, Pastor Gabe Hughes. Thank you, Becky. Well, we come to our study of the book of Acts, and we'll finish it up today.

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Chapter 28. We've been in this study since the end of August, so it's been about the last six months now.

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I'm going to begin reading in verse 17, and if you will recall, the Apostle Paul is now in Rome.

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He is under house arrest. He can't go anywhere, but people can come to him, and so that's how this begins here.

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As we start in verse 17, and I'll read through to the end of the chapter. After three days,

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Paul called together the local leaders of the Jews, and when they had gathered, he said to them, Brothers, though I had done nothing against our people or the customs of our fathers, yet I was delivered as a prisoner from Jerusalem into the hands of the

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Romans. When they had examined me, they wished to set me at liberty because there was no reason for the death penalty in my case, but because the

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Jews objected, I was compelled to appeal to Caesar, though I had no charge to bring against my nation.

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For this reason, therefore, I have asked to see you and speak with you, since it is because of the hope of Israel that I am wearing this chain.

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And they said to him, We have received no letters from Judea about you, and none of the brothers coming here has reported or spoken any evil about you, but we desire to hear from you what your views are, for with regard to this sect, we know that everywhere it is spoken against.

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When they had appointed a day for him, they came to him at his lodging in greater numbers.

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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.

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And some were convinced by what he said, but others disbelieved. And disagreeing among themselves, they departed after Paul had made one statement, the

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Holy Spirit was right in saying to your fathers through Isaiah the prophet, Go to this people and say,

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You will indeed hear, but never understand. And you will indeed see, but never perceive.

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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.

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Therefore, let it be known to you that this salvation of God has been sent to the

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Gentiles. They will listen. Paul lived there two whole years at his own expense and welcomed all who came to him, proclaiming the kingdom of God and teaching about the

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Lord Jesus Christ with all boldness and without hindrance.

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That's the end. That's the conclusion of the book of Acts. And yes, that is the finish.

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It closes with Acts chapter 28, not Acts chapter 29, contrary to there being a number of ministries that would call themselves

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Acts 29. It's not just the Acts 29 church network. I've been hearing that name used since I was a kid, as though it was like a pun or a reference to a continuation of the church beyond Acts 28.

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It's like we live now in the Acts 29 era, as the church has continued on for the next 2 ,000 years.

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I like the sentiment. Just don't let it be confusing to you that there's a 29th chapter of Acts, for there's not.

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Okay, so verse 17, after three days, Paul called together the local leaders of the

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Jews, and when they had gathered, he said to them, brothers, though I had done nothing against our people or the customs of our fathers, yet I was delivered as a prisoner from Jerusalem into the hands of the

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Romans. Now that's quite an indictment. That's not just Paul explaining to them what has taken place, but he's saying here that the

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Jews are turning me over to the Romans. They can't even handle cases on their own.

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They think that they have to get the Romans involved, though the Jews would not wish to be ruled by the

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Romans. Though they should have enough understanding of the scriptures to be able to handle these cases on their own without having to turn it over to the

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Roman guard. So the Jewish leaders that are there, that are listening to Paul talk about this, that is indeed puzzling to them.

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Why would Jews turn a Jew over to the Romans, even though he had done nothing wrong, as Paul stipulates here?

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So verse 18, when they had examined me, Paul says, they wish to set me at liberty.

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The Romans wanted to set me free because there was no reason for the death penalty in my case.

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Now, that's the second time Paul has said that he said that earlier to King Agrippa. If there was a reason for the death penalty,

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Paul said that he would welcome it. And there was a reason for him to be put to death.

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It was because he had been putting Christians to death. But that's not what the Jews were trying him for.

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So based on the case that was being brought against Paul, there was no reason for the death penalty.

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But because the Jews objected, verse 19, I was compelled to appeal to Caesar.

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The Jews continued to insist there was a reason for the death penalty. The Romans determined there was no reason for me to be put to death.

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But the Jews said there was reason for me to be put to death. So I had no choice but to appeal to Caesar.

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It was really the only way for Paul to save his own life. Though that's not really the reason why he did it.

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He used his rights as a Roman citizen to have this opportunity to come to Rome and share the gospel.

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And that is indeed why he is here. He calls the Jews to him first. And he's going to share the gospel with them.

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And they're not going to hear. So then he continues to share the gospel with the Gentiles.

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This is the way it's been for him in every city that he's gone into. As we've been reading in the book of Acts, ever since his conversion in chapter nine, when

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Paul would go into a city, he would go first to the synagogue, the Jewish place of worship, where the scrolls were kept, where the prophets were read and the law was proclaimed.

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That's where Paul would go, because he would use the Old Testament scriptures to demonstrate that Jesus is the

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Christ that had been prophesied about. So he would first proclaim there. And when the Jews rejected him there, then he would go to the

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Gentiles. Here he comes to Rome as a prisoner and he's under house arrest. So he can't go to the synagogue, but he calls the

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Jewish leaders to himself. And that's who he appeals to first. Why? Because remember the commission that Jesus gave to his disciples, not as we read it in Matthew 28, but as we read it in Acts chapter one, he says to his disciples, you will be my witnesses in Jerusalem and in Judea and Samaria and to the ends of the earth.

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So they're going to the Jewish people first, then to the Jews and those others who are in the outlying areas.

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And then you're going to go to the ends of the earth, namely the Gentiles. Paul said in Romans one 16 and Romans is where we're going next.

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By the way, I'll begin that study on Monday. Paul said there, I am not ashamed of the gospel for it is the power of God for salvation to all who believe to the

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Jew first and also to the Greek. The message of the gospel was proclaimed first to the

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Jews. That's who Jesus came to. That's who he proclaimed to. And then when the Jews rejected it, it goes to the

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Gentiles. There are other Jews that do believe, but they're a remnant. Paul talks about that in Romans.

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Also, those Jews that believe are a remnant of the Jews to whom God has given faith.

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But the majority of the Jews were going to reject this message of the gospel. Of course, the majority of the

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Gentiles will as well. But it's because the Jews have rejected it that the message goes to the

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Gentiles. So to make the Jews jealous to see that God has called to himself a people who were not descended of Abraham, at least not according to his lineage, but they are children of Abraham if they believe in the

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Lord Christ, as even Jesus said in John chapter eight. So here

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Paul is preaching to the Jews, as was his custom to go into every city and do so. He can't go to the synagogue in Rome, but he can have the

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Jews come to him. So that's what he's going to do here. The Jews objected. I was compelled to appeal to Caesar.

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He comes to Rome, the capital city of the world. He has finally made it here, and he's finally proclaiming the gospel here.

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And this is really what Luke was writing about. Why do we not end the book of Acts with the death of Paul?

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Because that wasn't the intention of the writing of the book of Acts. Luke was not writing the biography of Paul.

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In fact, Peter and Paul are both prominent figures in the book of Acts. Luke was writing about how the gospel made it to the world.

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The gospel of Luke is the gospel. Acts is the story of how the gospel then made it to the world.

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And that mission is accomplished when you get to Acts chapter 28. Paul made it to the capital city of the world,

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Rome. And whatever is going out from Rome can go anywhere. If you've heard the old expression, all roads lead to Rome.

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Well, that means all roads lead out of Rome, too. So Rome being the central hub of the world at that particular time, this was where you wanted to get to.

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And from here, the gospel could go out anywhere. Paul would not stay in prison here.

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He would have the opportunity to be released. This was his first imprisonment in Rome. And he went from here over to Spain.

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And then it was on his way back through. He would be arrested a second time. And his second imprisonment is when he is eventually martyred.

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But here in Rome, he is preaching the gospel as he did everywhere else. First to the

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Jews, the Jews objected. I compelled the Caesar, though I had no charge to bring against my nation.

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That's not the reason why Paul is here. He's not in Rome to bring a charge against the

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Jews. He's there to preach the gospel. For this reason, therefore,

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I have asked to see you and speak with you since it is because of the hope of Israel that I am wearing this chain.

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The hope of Israel is the message of the Messiah as attested to by his resurrection.

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Jesus Christ was raised from the dead. He is the Messiah. He is the hope of Israel who had been prophesied about through the law and the prophets.

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It was the is the very reason why Paul is now in chains, because he had been preaching that message.

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Jesus is the hope of Israel. So verse 21, they said to him, we have received no letters from Judea about you.

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And none of the brothers coming here have reported or spoken any evil about you. It wasn't really a

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Jew's ambition to try to go to Rome. There were Jews there. Obviously, Paul has summoned them to himself.

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But Jews were not trying to go to Rome. That was the central hub of the Romans. They didn't want to be ruled by the

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Romans. Another reason why they didn't want to go to Rome was because of Claudius, who had expelled the

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Jews when he was emperor. Now, Claudius was no longer emperor at this time. It was now Nero. And since Nero was taken over, the

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Jews that lived in Rome were allowed to come back. But there still probably was a stigma among a lot of Jews that, hey, the

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Jews got kicked out of Rome, so I'm not going there. Perhaps the main reason why no letter had come to these

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Jews yet concerning Paul was because, remember, this was right after winter was over. Winter was not a season for travel.

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So in those three months, no letter had been sent that would therefore come to Rome and warn the

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Jews about Paul and consider his case there. So they said, we've received no letters.

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None of the brothers coming here has reported or spoken any evil about you. There have been Jews that have come in. They haven't said anything about Paul.

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But we desire to hear from you what your views are. For with regard to this sect, we know that everywhere it is spoken against.

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Sect is the word that they are using for Christianity there. Remember the group of people that are regarded as the

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Nazarenes because they follow Jesus of Nazareth. So this sect,

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Christianity, is spoken against everywhere. You're a representative of Christianity. You're proclaiming

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Christ. We know that about you. And because Christianity is spoken against everywhere, only by those

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Jewish leaders and teachers that are opposed to it, then we're going to hear from you about these things that you have been saying, and we're going to make a determination on your case just based on what we hear you say now, not what you've said in Jerusalem, not what you've said everywhere else.

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Let us hear you now. And that's a really fair thing to say, as even though most of them are going to disregard and reject what it is that Paul is about to preach to them, it's very fair of them to say, well, we're going to make a judgment now.

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So speak to us and let us hear what you have to say. So verse 23, they had appointed a day for him and they came to him at his lodging in greater numbers.

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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.

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Now, when Paul is talking to them about the kingdom of God, he's not speaking about an earthly kingdom. He is speaking about a heavenly kingdom.

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Jesus, when he began his ministry, according to Matthew 4, 17, repent for the kingdom of heaven is at hand.

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The Jews thought this coming kingdom was a kingdom on Earth in which Jesus was going to take his throne in Jerusalem and he would reign from there.

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Not Jesus necessarily, but this Messiah who was coming. That's where he would reign from.

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They're looking for an earthly kingdom that was like David's or Solomon's. So when

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Paul is preaching about the kingdom of God, he's talking about that spiritual kingdom in which

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Christ reigns and we worship and honor him by doing what he says.

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He convinced them. He tried to convince them about Jesus, both from the law of Moses and from the prophets.

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So he testified to the kingdom of God and trying to convince them about Jesus, both from the law of Moses and from the prophets, how all of these things point to Christ.

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And some were convinced by what he said, verse 24, but others disbelieved and disagreeing among themselves.

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They departed after Paul had made one statement. So he's been preaching to them about all of this.

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He's been preaching to these guys who know the law and the prophets inside and out.

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They know these things and Paul has been attempting to show them. What have you been believing these things for?

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All of this has been leading up to something. All of this has been pointing to something. And that is Jesus Christ.

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And he is the fulfillment of the law and the prophets. Let me show you how. How is it that Jesus is the fulfillment of these things?

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We'll go back to the gospel of Luke, because Luke wrote down essentially what it was that Paul preached as far as Paul's gospel was concerned.

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And he talks about their Jesus being the fulfillment of the law and the prophets goes through the genealogy of Christ, how he's descended from Adam to Abraham to David and to the present is the rightful heir of the throne of David being one who is descended from David.

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So showing how all of the Old Testament points to Christ and how only Jesus could be the fulfillment of all of these things.

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But as Paul is talking to them about this, these guys who know the law and the prophets, and yet they remain unconvinced that all of this was meant to point to Christ and that only

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Jesus could have been the fulfillment of these things. As he's talking with them about this, they don't believe.

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And so Paul basically concludes this message that he's been giving to them that they will not receive and will not believe.

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Some of them have, most of them don't. So he concludes with this 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.

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You will indeed see, but never perceive for this people's heart has grown dull and with their eyes, they can barely hear and their eyes.

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They have closed lest they should see with their eyes and hear with their ears and understand with their heart and turn.

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And I would heal them. Therefore, let it be known to you that this salvation of God has been sent to the

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Gentiles. They will listen. This is very similar to, to Paul talking to the

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Corinthians. Remember when Paul went to the Corinthians, so they wouldn't listen to what he had to say to them either, the

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Jews there in Corinth. And he shook his garments in front of them as a gesture and said,

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I am innocent of the blood of all of you. Today, I'm going to the Gentiles. He spoke to them, the message of the gospel, the message that has the power to save those who believe they wouldn't believe.

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And so if they come into judgment, it's their fault. It won't be Paul's for he preached to them the whole gospel and held nothing back.

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Same sort of a thing here. He says, therefore, let it be known to you that this salvation of God, which you've rejected, has been sent to the

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Gentiles and they will listen. There will be many converts in this city, and it will be because the

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Gentiles listened to the gospel and believed it. Verse 30,

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Paul lived there two whole years at his own expense. Yeah, he had some money with him.

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He wasn't relieved of all of his own personal possessions, even though he was arrested and treated here as a prisoner.

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And and it's likely money that was given to him to help him with the ministry, or it could be money that he had saved up because he had worked a lot and saved that money to be able to provide for himself.

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So when he went into a city to preach the gospel, he would not be a burden on anyone. They wouldn't have to pay for his way of living.

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He could pay for himself. The Philippians during this time that Paul is in prison, the Philippians gather an offering and send it to him to help him with his ministry there.

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And Paul says to them that he doesn't need it in the letter that he writes back to them, which is the book of Philippians.

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He says that he didn't need the offering, but he receives it. So it might be a blessing to them so that they would be blessed in knowing we have helped

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Paul and his ministry. We've shown our affection for him, and he's receiving this offering to demonstrate that he's receiving our affection.

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The money would still go to the ministry, but he was saying to them he didn't have need of it because the Lord had been providing for him.

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And he was able to sustain himself even while he was there in Rome. He welcomed all who came to him, proclaiming the kingdom of God and teaching about the

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Lord Jesus Christ with all boldness and without hindrance. And what a beautiful way for this letter to conclude.

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And it is a letter because remember, Luke started by saying in the first book, O Theophilus, it is a book that was written, but it was written to Theophilus that he might know and hear the story of how the gospel made it to the world.

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Paul continued to teach the Lord Jesus Christ with all boldness and without hindrance and proclaiming the kingdom of God.

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And this time that Paul was spending there in Rome under house arrest wasn't wasted.

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It was even during this imprisonment here in these first two years that Paul wrote what we refer to as as the prison letters.

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And they included Ephesians, Philippians, Colossians and Philemon.

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And that's it. That's our study of the book of Acts. I hope you enjoyed it. You can always go back to the very beginning and hear all those from the start, which would be back in August.

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That was when we started this particular study. Monday, Tuesday and Wednesday, we do a

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New Testament study. And so tomorrow we will be in the Psalms.

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Monday, we're going to be in Romans. That's where I'm going next. So I'm just turning the next page after Acts 28, and we're going to pick up reading in the book of Romans.

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I hope you'll join me. Heavenly Father, we thank you for this study and our time together in your word. And may we take these words to heart, rejoicing that the gospel came to us, that we may also take the gospel to the world.

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In Jesus name we pray. Amen. You've been listening to When We Understand the

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Text with Pastor Gabe Hughes. Monday, Tuesday and Wednesday, Gabe will be going through a New Testament study.

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Then on Thursday, we look at an Old Testament book. On Friday, we take questions from the listeners and viewers.