Well, we’re still here! The world did not end yesterday as some predicted and one reason that I am glad is that I have been really looking forward to getting to preach this message. Today we conclude our journey through the book of Acts and there are two experiences from last week that really bring this message home for me. One is all this hype about the end of the world and how shamelessly these people were in holding up their signs and proclaiming their message. The other experience is a group of people that paid a visit to the parsonage on Friday and dropped off some Jehovah’s Witness material. What resounded in my mind after they left was this thought: when was the last time I was as bold and persistent in proclaiming the true gospel of Jesus Christ as these people were in proclaiming a false one?
According to Acts 1:8, this is the purpose of His church: to be His witnesses. There is no such thing as a Christianity that does not proclaim its King. This means that there is no true Christianity that doesn’t witness. This also means that there can be no true Christianity that is separated from missions and no true Christians who aren’t concerned about and supportive of missions. We exist to this end: to know God and to make Him known and this reality is to permeate every area of our lives. I’m asking God to shake something in each of us today so that the reality of Acts becomes the reality of our lives.
The book of Acts ends on a note of triumph and victory, with the gospel being proclaimed boldly and without hindrance. Despite all opposition, the gospel is making its way to the ends of the earth. Jesus is building His church and the gates of hell are not prevailing against it (Matthew 16:18). I want you to see with me three ways that God’s kingdom is advancing as this book comes to a close.
THE KINGDOM OF GOD WILL ADVANCE DESPITE ANY REJECTION (Acts 28:17-28)
Paul wastes no time once He gets to Rome. Within three days, he gathers together the local Jewish leaders and explains to them why he has come to Rome as a prisoner (which would obviously need explanation). His explanation is what we have already seen in Acts: Paul has done nothing against the Jewish people or the Jewish law; the Romans have nothing against Paul; and Paul is in Rome, not because He has a charge against the Jews, but because he had to appeal to Caesar due to Jewish objection (17-19). But Paul says that there is a deeper reason that He is in Rome in chains and that is “the hope of Israel.” (20) That’s what he wants to talk to these Jewish leaders about. What is this hope? The Jewish leaders call it a “sect” (22), but in 28:23 and 28:31, Paul “expounds” the content of this hope to them as being God’s promised Kingdom and God’s promised King (Jesus). These promises were made to the Jewish people in the Old Testament, which is one reason Paul always goes to the Jews first and then to the Gentiles when he gets to a city (Romans 1:16).
It’s worth the time to ponder a little further how the coming of God’s King and Kingdom is the hope of Israel, because the hope of Israel is the hope of all. The kingdom of God is simply the promised rule of God over and among His people through Christ. This coming kingdom (God’s rule over and among His people) is the central hope of the Old Testament. It did include Israel’s restoration, but it also included much more. This kingdom would also be extended to include the Gentiles. And the coming of God’s kingdom in its fullness would mean a reversal of the curse, a defeat of Satan, sin and death, and a return to life as it was supposed to be in God’s good and perfect original creation. Think about it like this: it is the hope of a King who in bringing His kingdom rescues His people and everything else in creation from the fall. And we’ve already saw this, but the reason that Paul keeps tying this hope and kingdom to a resurrection from the dead is because this rescue includes God reaching back into history and rescuing His people who have died from death. This is why God’s Kingdom is the hope of Israel, because it represents everything God is going to accomplish in rescuing and restoring His people. What makes Jesus the King of this Kingdom is His perfect life, His death to pay for sin and satisfy the wrath of God, and His crowning victory over death. He’s the preview of this hope. And in Jesus Christ, this kingdom has both come and is coming. That is at the heart of the gospel that we proclaim to people, that in Jesus Christ God has won, is winning, and will win. This is the heart of all reality: God is advancing His unstoppable Kingdom for His glory.
Deaf Ears, Blind Eyes, & Hard Hearts (24-28)
As beautiful as this story of a loving God-King fighting for, dying for, and rescuing His people is to His people, it is not beautiful news to those who are not part of the people of God. As 2 Corinthians 2:16 says, “the aroma of Christ” is a fragrance from death to death for some and a fragrance from life to life for others. The same light that illuminates reality for some causes blindness in others. This means that rejection will be a reality. Some, who are Christ’s sheep, will receive this message and others, who are not Christ’s sheep, will reject it. This is what we see here in verse 24.
For those who reject God’s message, Paul gives a solemn warning here from Isaiah 6:9-10. He accuses these Jews who reject the gospel of having blind eyes, deaf ears, and hard hearts. He is issuing a prophetic warning that refusing is risking. To refuse to hear and obey the word of God is to risk reaching a point where it will never be heard again. Is this not what we saw with Felix in Acts 24:24-27? Felix put off surrendering to Christ and as a result had the gospel preached to him for another two years without ever hearing it again. That is a terrifying reality for me and it should be for you as well. We need to pray constantly for open eyes, open ears, and open hearts to perceive and understand what God is saying to us.
THE KINGDOM OF GOD WILL ADVANCE DESPITE ANY PERSECUTION (Acts 28:30-31) – the Word of God is not Bound
The point here is simply going to be that Paul will experience an extensive ministry as a prisoner under house arrest. This is because even though Paul is in chains, the gospel is not. The first place we see this is in Paul’s witness to the Jews here as a prisoner. Are you catching this? He jumps on the opportunity, AS A PRISONER, to preach Christ to these free Jews! Under house arrest, Paul would be chained to six guards a day who would rotate in four-hour shifts. Well guess what Paul, AS A PRISONER, loved talk to the guards about? By the time Paul writes the Philippians, he says these words, “I want you to know brothers, that what has happened to me has really served to advance the gospel, so that it has become known throughout the whole imperial guard and to all the rest that my imprisonment is for Christ.” (Philippians 1:12-13) He even sends greeting from some of the “saints” who are part of Caesar’s household (Philippians 4:22). He will even go on testify to emperor Nero himself, something that would be impossible apart from His being a prisoner.
Simply put, Paul is, as he says in Ephesians 6:20, “an ambassador in chains.” His chains have not sidetracked Him from His calling. The servants of God are not sidetracked by their suffering, but instead they utilize it and their vocation, their relationships, their hobbies, and everything else as a platform to preach Christ from. Is this what your life looks like (countless platforms from which to preach Christ to others)?
God’s Author in Chains
Not only was Paul an ambassador in chains, he was also an author of Scripture while in chains. During this imprisonment, Paul would write the books of Ephesians, Philippians, Colossians, and Philemon. Through them Paul is still preaching from prison today! One of my favorite verses that Paul writes concerning his imprisonment is in 2 Timothy 2:9, where he says that even though he is “bound with chains as a criminal,” “the word of God is not bound!” Paul could say this because even though he was Rome’s prisoner, He was ultimately God’s prisoner. And as God’s ambassador in chains, he would preach Christ in any way that he could, be it in spoken or written form, and he had an unshakable confidence that even if he were to be silenced, the God of the gospel could not be.
THE KINGDOM OF GOD WILL ADVANCE DESPITE ANY UNCERTAINTY (Acts 29?)
What I mean by uncertainty is how the book of Acts ends. There is uncertainty as to what happens to the Apostle Paul. Luke tells us that Paul ministered in Rome for two years and what that ministry looked like (30-31) and then kind of says, “the end.” It is very “Monty Python and Search for the Holy Grail”! We’re left looking for Acts 29! And here is what is even more puzzling: while there is uncertainty as to what happens to Paul, what most people are certain about is that Luke knew what had happened to Paul when he wrote Acts. So catch this: Luke knows the fate of Paul and chooses not to tell us. Why not? Because the fate of Paul is not the point of the book of Acts. There are two powerful lessons here that I want you to consider.
WE ARE ACTS 29…
One reason that the book of Acts ends with a sense of “to be continued,” is because the story of Acts is “to be continued” by you and me. The reason there is no Acts 29 is because Luke wants his readers to understand that they are Acts 29! We, as the church of Jesus Christ, are to take the baton of the gospel and carry it to all peoples in all places, from where we are to the ends of the earth until the end of time. We are Acts 29.
The Real Hero of Acts: GOD!!!
Another reason that the book of Acts ends so open-ended is because Luke wants to communicate Who the real Hero of Acts is. God, not Paul, is the real Hero of the book of Acts. As I said, the point of Acts is not the fate of Paul, but the triumph of God through the gospel. The book of Acts begins with Jesus Christ in Acts 1:8 declaring that His people will be His witnesses to the ends of the earth. I say “declaring” because what he was telling them was more than a suggestion or a command. It was a declaration of what would be! The Holy Spirit Himself would see to it. That is what we see here in Acts 28:30-31 where God’s witness is in chains, but His gospel is freely, and mightily, and unstoppably advancing “with all boldness and without hindrance.”
In closing, we see a book that ends with a faithful church who is a faithful church because she has a faithful God and a faithful gospel that is unstoppable. And we are to read, “to be continued” as this book ends and understand that the story of Acts continues with us. And we are to march ahead faithfully as the Church of Jesus Christ knowing that our God has won, is winning, and will win. This note of the triumph of God through the gospel is to ignite a confidence and a boldness and a passion to proclaim the gospel of Jesus Christ to the ends of the earth until the end of time.
If you would take the time to turn with me to Revelation 7:9-17, I would like to show you the real ending of Acts. As we see Acts 28:28-31 close with this note of God’s salvation being extended to the Gentile nations and God’s gospel going to the ends of the earth, we also see here Revelation 7 that that has come to fruition. The gospel has made it to the ends of the earth, as evidenced by the diversity of the saints seen in heaven. Here the hope of Israel has become the hope of all. Here God’s kingdom has come and we will forever live with and enjoy our glorious King Who has fought for us and rescued us at the greatest possible cost to Himself. This is our God. This is our gospel. If you have never sworn allegiance to this great King, will you do so today?
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