The Beginning of the End...

One of the most operative words in today’s society is "interactive." We’ve got interactive books and videos and computer software and educational curricula that permit us to interact with an issue or topic by adding our own ideas and answers and endings. It’s just part of our postmodern world; the kind of thing that would make our grandparents smirk. But as we look at the way Luke concludes the Book of Acts, he is showing us in very much the same way that we are to interact fully with its message. Luke wants us to continue the story…

Last week we left the shipwreck survivors on the island of Malta where tradition says they stayed from mid-November till about mid-February. Then Paul and the rest of the assengers and crew put out to sea again (Acts 28:11). Verse 14 reads, “…we came to Rome. Continuing, we find out that some Christians in Rome had heard that Paul was coming, greeted him and provided a reception and escort fit for an emperor. What an irony: Paul
the imperial prisoner makes a triumphal procession to the capital of the Empire! …Paul thanked God and was encouraged (Acts 28:15). Why? From our study of Acts we know that one of Paul's long-standing desires was to bear witness in Rome. Well, he finally got there – in chains, through shipwreck, and with significant obstacles behind him – and once there, he preached! As Luke concludes the Book, he reminds us again that Christians were denounced everywhere by the Romans. He tells again how Paul persisted in using the Law of Moses to teach the Jews that Jesus was indeed Messiah. Some were convinced by what he said, but others would not believe.” (Acts 28:24) Read Paul’s response in Acts 28:28 and then read Acts 13:46. And with that account, Luke's story is pretty much over.

Luke’s literary artistry had certainly come full circle. Paul’s entrance into Rome is just the beginning of the fulfillment of Acts 1:8 -- that the Gospel would be proclaimed to the ends of the earth. Why does Luke end the Book of Acts so abruptly? The book is not so much about the life of Paul, but about the spread of the gospel. Now that the gospel had been established and preached in Rome - the world’s center of trade and government - it would definitely spread to the ends of the earth. It simply wasn’t necessary to write anything else about the continuing history of the Church. We are the Church. We are writing its history today. We are interacting with the message! Look at Luke’s final words in Acts 28:30-31: “For two whole years Paul…welcomed all who came to see him. Boldly and unhindered he preached the Kingdom of God and taught about the Lord Jesus Christ.”

Despite all the obstacles and the Roman government's attitude toward Christianity, Paul was unhindered. This message (the part where we are supposed to start interacting) is framed by one of Luke’s very last words: akolytos, “unhindered.” Paul was unhindered in his witness. It’s no different today. We’ve got obstacles. We’ve got a government that is more-or-less indifferent (often hostile) toward Christianity. Despite our postmodern world, things are still pretty much the same. But, as Christians, we’re called to be bold and unhindered as we interact with and continue the story. Where are you in this interactive story?

– Pastor Mark