Unhindered… Even in Chains

Oct. 31

Read: Acts 28:17-31, Mark 1:14,15

Acts;

Unhindered… Even in Chains

“Now after John was arrested, Jesus came into Galilee, proclaiming the gospel of God, and saying, “The time is fulfilled, and the kingdom of God is at hand; repent and believe in the gospel.” - Mark 1:14,15

“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…He 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 Lord Jesus Christ with all boldness and without hindrance.” - Acts 28:23,30-31

When Paul finally made it to Rome, no one had sent ahead any charges against him. (v.21,22)  He remained in chains and was put under house arrest. The people - in essence - declared, “we have no beef with you, but we do want to hear what all thew commotion is about.” So the people gathered where Paul was being housed and listened as he taught the gospel message of Jesus. (v.23) The response is almost always the same… some accept Christ and many reject the message and leave. (v.24) Paul remains under house arrest for two years and the entire time he is “teaching about the Lord Jesus Christ with all boldness and without hindrance.” (v.31) There are two things I want us to consider about this ending of the book of Acts.

1.) It is a “cliff-hanger” sort of ending if you ask me

There is not a whole lot of resolution in this ending to the book of Acts! What happens to Paul? We know from what we are taught in other books and fork history… but the book of Acts - the scriptural account leaves us hanging! He is “in chains” and under house arrest.There is no resolution of his case told to us. He basically remains a “prisoner for the Gospel”, and boldly spends his time teaching. It is clear how God is using these circumstances for the message of the Kingdom and of Jesus to spread … and yet it is perplexing that Paul is not exonerated from the charges. There is some “tension” left in the story. This is actually pretty fitting for us even today. The truth is that God is always working… moving… expanding his Kingdom through his people… and yet there remains a good bit of unresolved tension. The path is not “tidy” hut rather quite messy… with it’s fair share of “shipwrecks” and “snake bites” along the way. We don’t always get the sort of “resolution” or “ending to the story” that we would like. One of the things that stands out to me in it all is that Paul remains “bold” and energized for the gospel. (cf. v.15) No matter what twists and turns are ahead of us, may we remain the same way!

2.) Paul proclaims the Kingdom of God, just like Jesus did.

On two different occasions in these closing verses, it mentions that Paul was proclaiming and teaching about the kingdom of God. It was central to his message. In the same way that the kingdom of God was the gospel that Jesus spoke, it was the central point of what Paul declared while bound and in chains. Jesus is the central figure at the heart of the kingdom of God… And his death, burial and resurrection are the climax of his ministry. In short, Jesus and the kingdom of God go hand in hand… and the Kingdom of God is the gospel message of Jesus. Paul never doubted that message… even when he was in chains for it. The kingdom of God is truly unstoppable! No matter what is thrown at it, God works and moves the kingdom forward… the message of Jesus (the King) and His Kingdom will not be stopped. These difficulties are used by God to catapult the message to every tribe, tongue, and nation. It is funny to think about how the pages of Acts close with the comment that Paul declared the message “without hindrance”. (cf. v.31) Evidently, Paul did not see his chains as a hindrance! It is wild to think being under house arrest didn’t qualify as a hindrance! The truth is, the inconveniences of this world ARE NOT hindrances to the work of God!

May the Lord give us the boldness and perseverance of Paul. Whatever twists and turns… unresolved tensions… that we may face, let us trust that they cannot stop the Kingdom of God. May the Lord give us eyes to see how he is working… ears to hear his voice as he calls… and a heart that takes courage and trusts his work. The world desperately needs the message of God’s kingdom and the hope of Jesus the King. I guess we will just have to read other bible passages and a little bit of history to learn how the rest of Paul’s life plays out! Good thing he wrote a bunch of letters while he was in prison! Love you guys. - JDP