Acts 28

“Some were convinced by what he said, but others would not believe” (24). By the time Paul reached Rome, many people in the Jewish communities scattered across the Roman Empire had heard something about Jesus and were “talking against this sect” (22). However, the gospel kept steadily spreading through the witness of ordinary believers, not just apostles (14), and both Jews and Gentiles were turning to Christ. The surprising thing was that often those most concerned with religion, who knew the Law, refused to believe (25-27).

“It is because of the hope of Israel that I bound with this chain” (20). The humble, the hurting, and the spiritually thirsty recognize that in Jesus our hopes are fulfilled, Jew and Gentile both.