Three standouts to me here in Acts 28, the final chapter of the Book. First, as we remember from Acts 27, they were in Fair Havens and wanted to go 40 miles west on Crete to Phoenix for a better winter port. The unpredictable weather and ancient seafaring skills, however, put them two weeks later at Malta, an island over 550 miles away by open sea! The sailors on Paul’s ship didn’t even recognize it when they wrecked there. They had to make it to shore and ask to find out where they were. Next, they finally put into Puteoli after waiting for the winter season to pass. Puteoli is the modern-day Pozzuoli, 150 miles from Rome, but still Rome’s main seaport. So after all this time at sea, they had a 150-mile walk up the Appian Way to actually get to Rome. It would be like us walking to Atlanta. Sometimes scripture makes these trips sound so much easier than they really were, “And thus we came to Rome.” Finally, the chapter ends rather abruptly with “He lived there two whole years…proclaiming the kingdom of God and teaching about the Lord Jesus Christ with all boldness and without hindrance.” Because of Rome’s position of influence throughout the 1st century world, these two years were monumental in establishing Christianity in Europe. God’s providential plan unfolding before our eyes. Thank the Lord this same God is still at work today! May we be about continuing the spread of the Gospel just as it was begun here in Acts, and thank You, Lord, for writing and preserving this Book for us.
What a witness to Jesus Paul was. His advice had already spared their lives. He’s bitten by the snake and lives. He heals the island’s leader’s father and then others who come. I suspect the Roman soldiers who are guarding him, as well as the other travelers, by now see he’s not a threat and have, at minimum, come to respect him.
Luke is still writing about “we” so he’s included in this trip (Acts 28:11-16) as at least one person who is with Paul.
Again we see the connection between the Old and New Testaments. Paul is going to their Scriptures – Law of Moses and the prophets (Acts 28:23) – and trying to show the Old Testament is pointing to Christ.
The last words of Acts – Acts 28:30–31 (ESV)
30He lived there two whole years at his own expense, and welcomed all who came to him,
31proclaiming the kingdom of God and teaching about the Lord Jesus Christ with all boldness and without hindrance.
He proclaimed the kingdom of God and taught about Jesus.
Okay. First off. Apologies. I had made some double entries in some days when I originally put our Bible reading plan together and it goofed up some of our Bible readings for the next few days. So, if you have already read today’s reading which was originally listed as 1 Thessalonians 2, that was an error. Maybe there’s something in 1 Thessalonians 2 that God wants you to read because we’ll read it again in a few days. 🙂
So, everything for now seems to be correct. The reading for today is Acts 28.
Sorry for the mistake on my end. If you are reading this after I corrected today’s reading to Acts 28, then pretend you didn’t read what I just wrote above. We’re good for now in the days matching where they should be.
Anyone who thinks the Bible boring has never read Acts 27. Paul’s first trip to Rome can’t be described without using the word exciting. Just why was the sea so stormy? Well, sailing the open sea from mid-September to mid-November was considered dangerous, and from mid-November to February just wasn’t done. Since the Fast, or Day of Atonement (Yom Kipper), which is late September or early October was past, it means they were sailing in a time period known for dangerous weather. Fair Havens was not a suitable port to winter in, as it provided ships no protection from northeast winds. Phoenix was 40 miles further west down the coast and offered an excellent winter harbor. As we see, it was 40 miles too far for that time of the year. The story continues to show God’s providential care to save all 276 passengers and crew even though the ship was wrecked. Can you think of times in your life when God’s providential interceding was obvious? I know I can think of several, and many more in retrospect. It is important to remember that He has said He will never leave us or forsake us. Whether we feel like He’s interceding or not, we know, just as Paul did, He is watching over us. We should remind ourselves daily of this, and walk accordingly. Thank you for your provision for Paul and for us, Father!
Having a son who has recently sailed most of the way across the Atlantic Ocean, I can’t imagine the fear this crew must have felt. Trying to follow on a map, Phoenix (Acts 27:12) was so close to where they were, but the northeasterner came suddenly and blew them way off course and they could do nothing. Some translations translate Acts 27:21 as they lost their appetite.
But even in this dangerous time, Paul was still hearing from God and telling those around him about Him (Acts 27:23-26).
Another interesting tidbit was Paul had traveling companions on the ship – Aristarchus and Luke, hence the “we” and “us” language (Acts 27:1-3) that the author, Luke, uses.
My take away is to prioritize hearing from Jesus and be open to sharing Him today.
Paul, in Acts 26 gives his testimony before King Agrippa, Bernice, Agrippa’s sister and consort, and Governor Festus. As we would expect, Paul wastes no words and is clear and truthful in his presentation. He concludes this testimony by challenging Agrippa, “King Agrippa, do you believe the prophets? I know that you believe.” Agrippa now faces a dilemma—agree with Paul and face embarrassment with the Romans, or disagree and face the wrath of his Jewish subjects. He deflects Paul’s question with one of his own, meant to add levity to the situation, “In a short time would you persuade me to be a Christian?” not realizing that is exactly what Paul would intend. His audience thought that Paul was merely giving his defense, but in actuality, Paul was witnessing to these leaders just as he did to all Jews and Gentiles who would hear him. Oh, that we could all have the boldness of Paul! Empower us, Holy Spirit, to give witness as boldly as our brother Paul when we are given the opportunity!
My Bible word nerdiness is coming out here. I was looking at the word for “appoint” in Acts 26:16 (ESV). “… for I have appeared to you for this purpose, to appoint you as a servant and witness ….”
The Greek word, spelled in English is procheirizo. It can be broken down into smaller parts this way:
“Pro” is a preposition and means “before.” (Like be “pro-active.”)
“Cheir,” (pronounced like “Keir”) means “hand.”
“Izo” is some kind of action.
So the word in its literal base parts is the “action to hand before” Hence it means to choose or pick in advance or appoint.
The Message Bible tries to get to this base meaning of this Greek word and translates this phrase – “I’ve hand-picked you to be a servant and witness….”
I love the more graphic imagery of “hand-picked” than just “appoint,” and that more graphic word picture for me is a clearer mental picture for me.
For every one of us who are following Jesus, He has given us the opportunity to respond to His recognizing Him in His behind the scenes moving and working in and around us. He’s hand-picked us to be His servants and give witness to others about what He’s doing.
So, let’s get on out there and be His witnesses today. He’s hand-picked us to do it.
Two things about today’s reading struck me. “Agrippa and Bernice came with great pomp . . . “
1. All their pomp and ceremony surely drew attention to Paul and his gospel message. We can only imagine how many people were reached with the good news
2. All that pomp and puffery is so meaningless. When King Agrippa took his last breath, only one thing mattered, and it wasn’t the admiration of men.
No matter the intentions of man, God uses all for good! I doubt Agrippa and Felix intended to spread the gospel that day, but God did!
After all this time, people haven’t changed. We see coronations, red carpets, and all sorts of worldly gain, but this life is just a blink in time, and those things are ultimately worthless. Storing up treasures in heaven and keeping our eyes on Jesus are what result in true and everlasting glory.
Acts 25 demonstrates Paul’s wisdom in continuing to know and use the rules to get a trip to Rome courtesy of the Romans. He is also able to witness to the new governor and king in the process. I became interested in King Agrippa and Bernice, so decided to do a little research on just who they were. He was Herod Agrippa II, son of the Herod that had killed James and imprisoned Peter. He was also the last of the Herods to play a prominent role in New Testament history. His great-uncle, Herod Antipas, was the Herod of the Gospels, while his great-grandfather, Herod the Great, ruled at the time of Jesus’ birth. Bernice was not his wife, but his consort and sister. (Their sister, Drusilla, was married to the former governor, Felix.) Their incestuous relationship was the talk of Rome, where Agrippa was raised. Bernice for a while was the mistress of Emperor Vespasian, and then of his son, Titus, but she always returned to her brother. We observe questionable morals in many of our world leaders today, but history shows us this has always been a sordid problem with humanity. It is one of the great contrasts with living a truly Christian life, and helps illustrate just how much difference a Christian lifestyle represents. Thank You, Lord, for showing us a better way to live and providing the means to do so!
First Felix knows Paul is innocent of the trumped up charges but wants to give the Jews a political favor, so he keeps Paul in jail (Acts 24:27).
Festus too finds out that the Jews are just debating theology with Paul and Paul has not done any crime (Acts 25:18-20, 25-27). He feels stuck. Paul is a Roman citizen, but the angry mob of Jews are filled with so much anger, it will make his life much more difficult to set him free. Acts 25:24 says that Festus thought the “whole Jewish people petitioned” him. The CEV translates, “Every Jew from Jerusalem and Caesarea has come to me, demanding for him to be put to death.” Now that is obviously hyperbole, but the point is made, Festus is feeling the pressure.
The CEV translates Acts 25:27
27It makes no sense to send a prisoner to the Emperor without stating the charges against him.
Oh boy! No it doesn’t make any sense. So you Festus are keeping a man in prison and you don’t know what crime he’s committed and you’re just looking for one? Stunning.
Justice is supposed to be blind, but for Paul, just as it was for Jesus, it is sometimes corrupted. Those in political power sometimes don’t do the right thing, but the most expedient thing for themselves. Christ followers can get caught up in it.
I am reminded that this side of heaven is not our perfect place. Ultimately we put our hands in the ultimate judge of the universe and as Paul said yesterday in Acts 24 we live before him with a pure conscience.
Three standouts to me here in Acts 28, the final chapter of the Book. First, as we remember from Acts 27, they were in Fair Havens and wanted to go 40 miles west on Crete to Phoenix for a better winter port. The unpredictable weather and ancient seafaring skills, however, put them two weeks later at Malta, an island over 550 miles away by open sea! The sailors on Paul’s ship didn’t even recognize it when they wrecked there. They had to make it to shore and ask to find out where they were. Next, they finally put into Puteoli after waiting for the winter season to pass. Puteoli is the modern-day Pozzuoli, 150 miles from Rome, but still Rome’s main seaport. So after all this time at sea, they had a 150-mile walk up the Appian Way to actually get to Rome. It would be like us walking to Atlanta. Sometimes scripture makes these trips sound so much easier than they really were, “And thus we came to Rome.” Finally, the chapter ends rather abruptly with “He lived there two whole years…proclaiming the kingdom of God and teaching about the Lord Jesus Christ with all boldness and without hindrance.” Because of Rome’s position of influence throughout the 1st century world, these two years were monumental in establishing Christianity in Europe. God’s providential plan unfolding before our eyes. Thank the Lord this same God is still at work today! May we be about continuing the spread of the Gospel just as it was begun here in Acts, and thank You, Lord, for writing and preserving this Book for us.
What a witness to Jesus Paul was. His advice had already spared their lives. He’s bitten by the snake and lives. He heals the island’s leader’s father and then others who come. I suspect the Roman soldiers who are guarding him, as well as the other travelers, by now see he’s not a threat and have, at minimum, come to respect him.
Luke is still writing about “we” so he’s included in this trip (Acts 28:11-16) as at least one person who is with Paul.
Again we see the connection between the Old and New Testaments. Paul is going to their Scriptures – Law of Moses and the prophets (Acts 28:23) – and trying to show the Old Testament is pointing to Christ.
The last words of Acts – Acts 28:30–31 (ESV)
30He lived there two whole years at his own expense, and welcomed all who came to him,
31proclaiming the kingdom of God and teaching about the Lord Jesus Christ with all boldness and without hindrance.
He proclaimed the kingdom of God and taught about Jesus.
Let’s do it.
Okay. First off. Apologies. I had made some double entries in some days when I originally put our Bible reading plan together and it goofed up some of our Bible readings for the next few days. So, if you have already read today’s reading which was originally listed as 1 Thessalonians 2, that was an error. Maybe there’s something in 1 Thessalonians 2 that God wants you to read because we’ll read it again in a few days. 🙂
So, everything for now seems to be correct. The reading for today is Acts 28.
Sorry for the mistake on my end. If you are reading this after I corrected today’s reading to Acts 28, then pretend you didn’t read what I just wrote above. We’re good for now in the days matching where they should be.
Anyone who thinks the Bible boring has never read Acts 27. Paul’s first trip to Rome can’t be described without using the word exciting. Just why was the sea so stormy? Well, sailing the open sea from mid-September to mid-November was considered dangerous, and from mid-November to February just wasn’t done. Since the Fast, or Day of Atonement (Yom Kipper), which is late September or early October was past, it means they were sailing in a time period known for dangerous weather. Fair Havens was not a suitable port to winter in, as it provided ships no protection from northeast winds. Phoenix was 40 miles further west down the coast and offered an excellent winter harbor. As we see, it was 40 miles too far for that time of the year. The story continues to show God’s providential care to save all 276 passengers and crew even though the ship was wrecked. Can you think of times in your life when God’s providential interceding was obvious? I know I can think of several, and many more in retrospect. It is important to remember that He has said He will never leave us or forsake us. Whether we feel like He’s interceding or not, we know, just as Paul did, He is watching over us. We should remind ourselves daily of this, and walk accordingly. Thank you for your provision for Paul and for us, Father!
Having a son who has recently sailed most of the way across the Atlantic Ocean, I can’t imagine the fear this crew must have felt. Trying to follow on a map, Phoenix (Acts 27:12) was so close to where they were, but the northeasterner came suddenly and blew them way off course and they could do nothing. Some translations translate Acts 27:21 as they lost their appetite.
But even in this dangerous time, Paul was still hearing from God and telling those around him about Him (Acts 27:23-26).
Another interesting tidbit was Paul had traveling companions on the ship – Aristarchus and Luke, hence the “we” and “us” language (Acts 27:1-3) that the author, Luke, uses.
My take away is to prioritize hearing from Jesus and be open to sharing Him today.
Paul, in Acts 26 gives his testimony before King Agrippa, Bernice, Agrippa’s sister and consort, and Governor Festus. As we would expect, Paul wastes no words and is clear and truthful in his presentation. He concludes this testimony by challenging Agrippa, “King Agrippa, do you believe the prophets? I know that you believe.” Agrippa now faces a dilemma—agree with Paul and face embarrassment with the Romans, or disagree and face the wrath of his Jewish subjects. He deflects Paul’s question with one of his own, meant to add levity to the situation, “In a short time would you persuade me to be a Christian?” not realizing that is exactly what Paul would intend. His audience thought that Paul was merely giving his defense, but in actuality, Paul was witnessing to these leaders just as he did to all Jews and Gentiles who would hear him. Oh, that we could all have the boldness of Paul! Empower us, Holy Spirit, to give witness as boldly as our brother Paul when we are given the opportunity!
My Bible word nerdiness is coming out here. I was looking at the word for “appoint” in Acts 26:16 (ESV). “… for I have appeared to you for this purpose, to appoint you as a servant and witness ….”
The Greek word, spelled in English is procheirizo. It can be broken down into smaller parts this way:
“Pro” is a preposition and means “before.” (Like be “pro-active.”)
“Cheir,” (pronounced like “Keir”) means “hand.”
“Izo” is some kind of action.
So the word in its literal base parts is the “action to hand before” Hence it means to choose or pick in advance or appoint.
The Message Bible tries to get to this base meaning of this Greek word and translates this phrase – “I’ve hand-picked you to be a servant and witness….”
I love the more graphic imagery of “hand-picked” than just “appoint,” and that more graphic word picture for me is a clearer mental picture for me.
For every one of us who are following Jesus, He has given us the opportunity to respond to His recognizing Him in His behind the scenes moving and working in and around us. He’s hand-picked us to be His servants and give witness to others about what He’s doing.
So, let’s get on out there and be His witnesses today. He’s hand-picked us to do it.
Two things about today’s reading struck me. “Agrippa and Bernice came with great pomp . . . “
1. All their pomp and ceremony surely drew attention to Paul and his gospel message. We can only imagine how many people were reached with the good news
2. All that pomp and puffery is so meaningless. When King Agrippa took his last breath, only one thing mattered, and it wasn’t the admiration of men.
No matter the intentions of man, God uses all for good! I doubt Agrippa and Felix intended to spread the gospel that day, but God did!
After all this time, people haven’t changed. We see coronations, red carpets, and all sorts of worldly gain, but this life is just a blink in time, and those things are ultimately worthless. Storing up treasures in heaven and keeping our eyes on Jesus are what result in true and everlasting glory.
Acts 25 demonstrates Paul’s wisdom in continuing to know and use the rules to get a trip to Rome courtesy of the Romans. He is also able to witness to the new governor and king in the process. I became interested in King Agrippa and Bernice, so decided to do a little research on just who they were. He was Herod Agrippa II, son of the Herod that had killed James and imprisoned Peter. He was also the last of the Herods to play a prominent role in New Testament history. His great-uncle, Herod Antipas, was the Herod of the Gospels, while his great-grandfather, Herod the Great, ruled at the time of Jesus’ birth. Bernice was not his wife, but his consort and sister. (Their sister, Drusilla, was married to the former governor, Felix.) Their incestuous relationship was the talk of Rome, where Agrippa was raised. Bernice for a while was the mistress of Emperor Vespasian, and then of his son, Titus, but she always returned to her brother. We observe questionable morals in many of our world leaders today, but history shows us this has always been a sordid problem with humanity. It is one of the great contrasts with living a truly Christian life, and helps illustrate just how much difference a Christian lifestyle represents. Thank You, Lord, for showing us a better way to live and providing the means to do so!
Acts 25 would be funny if it weren’t so tragic.
First Felix knows Paul is innocent of the trumped up charges but wants to give the Jews a political favor, so he keeps Paul in jail (Acts 24:27).
Festus too finds out that the Jews are just debating theology with Paul and Paul has not done any crime (Acts 25:18-20, 25-27). He feels stuck. Paul is a Roman citizen, but the angry mob of Jews are filled with so much anger, it will make his life much more difficult to set him free. Acts 25:24 says that Festus thought the “whole Jewish people petitioned” him. The CEV translates, “Every Jew from Jerusalem and Caesarea has come to me, demanding for him to be put to death.” Now that is obviously hyperbole, but the point is made, Festus is feeling the pressure.
The CEV translates Acts 25:27
27It makes no sense to send a prisoner to the Emperor without stating the charges against him.
Oh boy! No it doesn’t make any sense. So you Festus are keeping a man in prison and you don’t know what crime he’s committed and you’re just looking for one? Stunning.
Justice is supposed to be blind, but for Paul, just as it was for Jesus, it is sometimes corrupted. Those in political power sometimes don’t do the right thing, but the most expedient thing for themselves. Christ followers can get caught up in it.
I am reminded that this side of heaven is not our perfect place. Ultimately we put our hands in the ultimate judge of the universe and as Paul said yesterday in Acts 24 we live before him with a pure conscience.