With All Boldness And Without Hindrance

WITH ALL BOLDNESS AND WITHOUT HINDRANCE

a prayer to open

Holy Spirit, come. Center my heart.

Fill my mind. Guide my steps.

Three days after Paul’s arrival, he called together the local Jewish leaders. He said to them, “Brothers, I was arrested in Jerusalem and handed over to the Roman government, even though I had done nothing against our people or the customs of our ancestors. The Romans tried me and wanted to release me, because they found no cause for the death sentence. But when the Jewish leaders protested the decision, I felt it necessary to appeal to Caesar, even though I had no desire to press charges against my own people. I asked you to come here today so we could get acquainted and so I could explain to you that I am bound with this chain because I believe that the hope of Israel—the Messiah—has already come.”

They replied, “We have had no letters from Judea or reports against you from anyone who has come here. But we want to hear what you believe, for the only thing we know about this movement is that it is denounced everywhere.”

So a time was set, and on that day a large number of people came to Paul’s lodging. He explained and testified about the Kingdom of God and tried to persuade them about Jesus from the Scriptures. Using the law of Moses and the books of the prophets, he spoke to them from morning until evening. Some were persuaded by the things he said, but others did not believe. And after they had argued back and forth among themselves, they left with this final word from Paul: “The Holy Spirit was right when he said to your ancestors through Isaiah the prophet,

‘Go and say to this people:

When you hear what I say,

you will not understand.

When you see what I do,

you will not comprehend.

For the hearts of these people are hardened,

and their ears cannot hear,

and they have closed their eyes—

so their eyes cannot see,

and their ears cannot hear,

and their hearts cannot understand,

and they cannot turn to me

and let me heal them.’

So I want you to know that this salvation from God has also been offered to the Gentiles, and they will accept it.”

For the next two years, Paul lived in Rome at his own expense. He welcomed all who visited him, boldly proclaiming the Kingdom of God and teaching about the Lord Jesus Christ. And no one tried to stop him.

The book of Acts ends without resolution. What happened to Paul? Why didn’t Luke tell us? We don’t have clear answers to either of these questions. It is fitting that this book, which started with Jesus’ statement that the disciples would be his “witnesses in Jerusalem, and in all Judea and Samaria, and to the ends of the earth” (1:8, NIV), would end in Rome, with Paul preaching about the Kingdom of God and the Lord Jesus Christ with boldness and without hindrance. In his second letter to Timothy, his protégé, just before Paul’s death (scholars believe he was martyred between AD 64 and 67), he said,

I have fought the good fight, I have finished the race, I have kept the faith. Now there is in store for me the crown of righteousness, which the Lord, the righteous Judge, will award to me on that day—and not only to me, but also to all who have longed for his appearing.

2 Timothy 4:7-8, NIV

• Read Acts 28:17-31 again. What word or phrase stands out to you? Then sit quietly, reminding yourself that you are in God’s loving presence, and ask him to show you how that word or phrase connects to your life.
• What are one or two insights God has granted you about the Holy Spirit during the past fifty-six days?
• What have you discovered to be true of God as you’ve read and reflected on the book of Acts? What have you discovered to be true of you?

Father, thank you for the book of Acts. Thank you for the rich history of your church and all the demonstrations of your power, provision, and love. Fill me with your Holy Spirit anew. Give me the courage and strength to open to your abiding presence and follow all that you call me to be and do. May I finish well the race you have marked out for me and always share about your Kingdom and the Lord Jesus Christ with boldness and without hindrance. Amen.