[The posts which follow make extensive use of The Acts of the Apostles, by Madame Cecilia, (Religious of St Andrew's Convent, Streatham), with an Imprimi potest dated 16 October 1907 (Westminster); Burns, Oates & Washbourne Ltd. (London). With grateful prayers for the author and her team:
REQUIEM æternam dona eis, Domine, et lux perpetua luceat eis. Requiescant in pace. Amen.ETERNAL rest grant unto them, O Lord, and let perpetual light shine upon them. May they rest in peace. Amen.]
Acts XXVIII : 17-31
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| St Paul Outside the Walls, Rome. Berthold Werner, Public domain, via Wikimedia Commons. |
[18] Who, when they had examined me, would have released me, for that there was no cause of death in me;
[19] But the Jews contradicting it, I was constrained to appeal unto Caesar; not that I had any thing to accuse my nation of.
[20] For this cause therefore I desired to see you, and to speak to you. Because that for the hope of Israel, I am bound with this chain.
[21] But they said to him: We neither received letters concerning thee from Judea, neither did any of the brethren that came hither, relate or speak any evil of thee.
[22] But we desire to hear of thee what thou thinkest; for as concerning this sect, we know that it is everywhere contradicted.
[23] And when they had appointed him a day, there came very many to him unto his lodgings; to whom he expounded, testifying the kingdom of God, and persuading them concerning Jesus, out of the law of Moses and the prophets, from morning until evening.
[24] And some believed the things that were said; but some believed not.
[25] And when they agreed not among themselves, they departed, Paul speaking this one word: Well did the Holy Ghost speak to our fathers by Isaias the prophet,
[26] Saying: Go to this people, and say to them: With the ear you shall hear, and shall not understand; and seeing you shall see, and shall not perceive.
[27] For the heart of this people is grown gross, and with their ears have they heard heavily, and their eyes they have shut; lest perhaps they should see with their eyes, and hear with their ears, and understand with their heart, and should be converted, and I should heal them.
[28] Be it known therefore to you, that this salvation of God is sent to the Gentiles, and they will hear it.
[29] And when he had said these things, the Jews went out from him, having much reasoning among themselves.
[30] And he remained two whole years in his own hired lodging; and he received all that came in to him,
[31] Preaching the kingdom of God, and teaching the things which concern the Lord Jesus Christ, with all confidence, without prohibition.
[17] Post tertium autem diem convocavit primos Judaeorum. Cumque convenissent, dicebat eis : Ego, viri fratres, nihil adversus plebem faciens, aut morem paternum, vinctus ab Jerosolymis traditus sum in manus Romanorum, [18] qui cum interrogationem de me habuissent, voluerunt me dimittere, eo quod nulla esset causa mortis in me. [19] Contradicentibus autem Judaeis, coactus sum appellare Caesarem, non quasi gentem meam habens aliquid accusare. [20] Propter hanc igitur causam rogavi vos videre, et alloqui. Propter spem enim Israel catena hac circumdatus sum.
[21] At illi dixerunt ad eum : Nos neque litteras accepimus de te a Judaea, neque adveniens aliquis fratrum nuntiavit, aut locutus est quid de te malum. [22] Rogamus autem a te audire quae sentis : nam de secta hac notum est nobis quia ubique ei contradicitur. [23] Cum constituissent autem illi diem, venerunt ad eum in hospitium plurimi, quibus exponebat testificans regnum Dei, suadensque eis de Jesu ex lege Moysi et prophetis a mane usque ad vesperam. [24] Et quidam credebant his quae dicebantur : quidam vero non credebant. [25] Cumque invicem non essent consentientes, discedebant dicente Paulo unum verbum : Quia bene Spiritus Sanctus locutus est per Isaiam prophetam ad patres nostros,
[26] dicens : Vade ad populum istum, et dic ad eos : Aure audietis, et non intelligetis : et videntes videbitis, et non perspicietis. [27] Incrassatum est enim cor populi hujus, et auribus graviter audierunt, et oculos suos compresserunt : ne forte videant oculis, et auribus audiant, et corde intelligant, et convertantur, et sanem eos. [28] Notum ergo sit vobis, quoniam gentibus missum est hoc salutare Dei, et ipsi audient. [29] Et cum haec dixisset, exierunt ab eo Judaei, multam habentes inter se quaestionem. [30] Mansit autem biennio toto in suo conducto : et suscipiebat omnes qui ingrediebantur ad eum,
[31] praedicans regnum Dei, et docens quae sunt de Domino Jesu Christo cum omni fiducia, sine prohibitione.
Notes
17. after the third day, — i.e. after his arrival in Rome. During this time a lodging had been procured for him, and he had conversed with the Christians of Rome.
called together. As St Paul was a prisoner, he could not address them in the synagogue, according to his custom.
the chief. Evidently by this we must understand the rulers of the synagogues and the leading men of the nation then present in Rome. He had already seen the Jewish converts, so the allusion here is to the heads of the Hebrew colony. Josephus often refers to the rulers of Israel as “the chiefs” (οἱ πρῶτοι).
Plumptre suggests that St Paul’s invitation included also scribes, students of the Law, wealthy traders, and freedmen who held important offices in the imperial court. “ To such a mingled crowd, summoned by a special messenger, or, it may be, by a notice read on the Sabbath in the .synagogue, or posted on some wall or pillar in the Jewish quarter, after three days, spent partly in settling in his lodging, partly in the delivery of the summons. St Paul now addressed himself. These he was seeking to win, if possible, for Christ ” (Comm., in h. 1.).
of the Jews. The edict of Claudius promulgated in 49 A.D. (see Annot. on ch. xviii. 2) had evidently been formally repealed or allowed to lapse. The Jews had returned some few years previous to St Paul's visit, as Prisca and Aquila were in Rome when St Paul wrote bis epistle to the Romans (see Rom. xvi. 3).
The Jews dwelt in the district beyond the Tiber, where the Ghetto is situated in the present day. They were a numerous colony.
Men brethren. He uses the same form of address as to the Jews of Jerusalem (ch. xxiii. 1).
I having done nothing, etc. This is a reference to the calumnies circulated against him by the judaizing brethren of Jerusalem (see ch. xxi. 21). Although a follower of Jesus of Nazareth, St Paul had kept the Jewish Law, and taught that all Jews should observe it.
against the people. He addresses them by their favourite name. They loved to speak of themselves as “ the people ” of God, to the exclusion of all others. Also he speaks respectfully of their “ customs.” The apostle bore this testimony to himself on several occasions, e.g . —
(a) Before the Sanhedrin in Jerusalem. (ch. xxiii. 6.)(b) Before Felix and the high-priest and ancients in Cesarea. (ch. xxiv. 10-20.)(c) In presence of Festus. (ch. xxv. 8.)(d) Before Festus and Agrippa. (ch. xxvi. 5.)
was delivered prisoner. The Jews bad not formally handed over St Paul to the Romans, but their violence and injustice had compelled the former to protect the apostle's life. But for their hatred and conspiracies, he would not have appealed to Cesar. Twice the Romans had snatched him from a violent death ; twice they had defeated the plots of the Jews to kill him.
18. would have released me. All the Roman governors before whose tribunals St Paul was arraigned had declared him innocent. Agrippa and Festus had formally stated that he might have been released had he not appealed to Cesar. Had a bribe been offered to Felix, he would certainly have set St Paul at liberty (supra, xxv. 18, 19, 25, xxvi. 31-32).
19. contradicting. Lit. “speaking against” (ἀντιλεγόντων). They wished him to be sent back to Jerusalem to be judged by the Sanhedrin.
I was constrained. St Paul lays great stress on the fact that in self-defence he had no alternative but to appeal to Cesar. In the eyes of the Jews, an appeal made to a secular power on a religious matter was equivalent to renouncing the Jewish faith. St Paul explains that he had not appealed to Cesar in order to bring any complaint against his nation.
“ In a word, St Paul was compelled by the Jews themselves to appeal for justice from the spiritual court at Jerusalem to the tribunal of Nero at Rome. ... All this was foreseen and pre-announced by God, and was made instrumental by Him for the propagation of Christianity, and for the transfer of its mission from the centre of Judaism to the metropolis of the heathen world. Thus the malice of the Jews recoiled against themselves, and was used as an instrument for the glory of Christ ” (Wordsworth, p. 127).
St Paul was a true Jewish patriot, and “his love to his own people was so great that the ever-recurring suspicions of his work and conduct on the part of the Jews were the occasion of the most bitter grief to him. He longed to set himself right with the representatives of the nation dwelling in Rome, and with this hope he had sent for them to his prison room ” (Schaff, Comm. Acts, p. 578).
20. the hope of Israel. This hope included—
1. The belief in the coming of a Messias, who should inaugurate the Messianic Kingdom, and deliver the people of Israel from their conquerors and oppressors.2. The hope of a resurrection from the dead.
All devout Jews believed firmly in this “hope of Israel.” But St Paul differed from his Hebrew brethren, inasmuch as he recognised Christ as the Messias, and in His Resurrection he saw a guarantee of the resurrection for all men. These were the glad tidings St Paul longed to communicate to them.
with this chain. The apostle raised his hand as he spoke and shewed the chain to his listeners. These words confirm the statement made in verse 16, where it is said that he was guarded by one soldier, i.e. during the day, but at night, according to the Roman law, there were two (nox custodium geminat), a regulation which was probably enforced in the case of the apostle. It must have been a great trial for St Paul, since, by night and day, for more than four years, he never had a moment of privacy.
21. neither received letters, etc. This does not mean that the Jews in Rome had never heard of St Paul and his active propagation of the Gospel of Christ, to which they refer as “ this sect ” but that they had had no formal letters or delegates from Jerusalem touching the questions which led him to appeal to Cesar.
There was scarcely time for news to have reached them, as St Paul was sent to Rome without delay after he had appealed to Cesar, so that any letters on the subject could not reach Rome before he himself arrived there. As the Jews of Jerusalem had anticipated that the apostle would have been given up to them, and that bis formal condemnation and death would follow, it was clearly unnecessary for them to write to their brethren in Rome concerning him.
St Paul’s arguments may be thus summarized : —
1 . Although he was a prisoner, he was no renegade Jew.2. The Romans had testified to his innocence, but could not release him on account of the opposition of the Jews.3. In appealing to Cesar, his one desire was to save his own life.4. He had no complaint to bring before Cesar concerning his brethren.5. He was in chains because —
(a) he believed that Jesus was the long-expected Messias ;(b) he held that the Resurrection of Christ was a proof of His being the Messias.
22. we desire to hear. These Jews of Rome appear to listen with an impartiality which St Paul had not met with elsewhere except in Berea. It is possible that their toleration was due to the following circumstances : —
1. They had but recently been allowed to return to Rome, and, being on a very insecure footing there, they wished to avoid anything resembling a tumult.2. St Paul was evidently favoured by the Roman officials, whose ill-will they had no wish to incur by attacking him.3. It is highly probable that the edict of expulsion in 49 A.D. had been brought about by the strife of party feeling and the riots raised by the Jews against those of their brethren who had embraced Christianity.
of thee. From these words we may certainly infer that these Roman Jews knew that St Paul was a Christian teacher, otherwise they would not have appealed to him for information on the subject.
this sect. They use the same term as Tertullus, who spoke of “ the sect of the Nazarenes” (ch. xxiv. 5). Those Jews who embraced Christianity appear to have settled in another quarter of Rome, Probably in order to avoid disturbances and to practise their own religious rites more freely.
gainsayed everywhere. Reports of the attacks made by Jews against those who professed their faith in Christ as the Messias, had reached the Jews in Rome. Aquila and Priscilla could have supplied many details on this subject, and as they were prominent zealous members of the Church in Corinth, they would not have kept silence in Rome, where there was such a large Jewish population.
23. there came very many. The Greek gives the comparative “ more ” (πλείονες). There were more Jews at the second assembly in St Paul's lodging than at the first.
unto his lodgings. As the Greek word employed here (ξενία) is used for the hospitality shown to a visitor, it has been conjectured that the apostle was a guest of some of the brethren, perhaps of Aquila and Priscilla, at least for a time.
he expounded. We must supply with the R.V. some such words as “ the matter ” or ‘‘ these things.” Some commentators take the words in a different order — “expounding the kingdom of God, testifying and persuading,” etc.
testifying. This verb in the original signifies “to bear full or earnest witness” to a matter.
the kingdom of God, — i.e. the establishment of the Church of Christ as the fulfilment of the hope of Israel.
persuading them. St Paul did his utmost to convince them, but his efforts were only partially successful.
out of the law of Moses. The same truth is taught in St Luke’s gospel, where it is recorded of our Lord that, beginning at Moses and all the prophets, he expounded to them in all the scriptures, the things that were concerning him (xxiv, 27). When we recite the Nicene Creed we profess our faith in the Holy Ghost, who “spake by the prophets. ”
from morning until evening. From early morn until sunset. The Jewish evening began about three o’clock and ended at sunset, after which another day commenced.
The apostle was indefatigable, and spared neither time nor efforts to convert his brethren. Like their Divine Master, Christ’s servants, in their laborious ministry, often had not so much as time to eat (St Mark vi. 31).
24. some believed, etc. From the context it appears that those who believed were in the minority.
“ There is something terribly dramatic in the words of the Isaiah blessing and the Isaiah curse which the sorrowful servant of Jesus Christ pronounced, as the Hebrew rejectors of the glorious message of his Divine Master departed from his prison chamber that same evening, resolved to see his face no more .... The melancholy and indignant tone of the apostle’s words, with which he closed the memorable day of argument and exhortation, only too plainly tell us of a loving patience at last exhausted. They are the words of one giving up a hopeless struggle ” (Schaff, Comm. Jets, p. 574).
25. this one word. This quotation from their own Scriptures brought two points clearly into relief : —
(a) The incredulity of the Jews had been foretold by the prophets.
(b) Their very rejection of the Gospel served to confirm the truths taught, since their obduracy had been predicted.
This was not the first warning the apostle had given his unbelieving brethren, for in his epistle to the Romans he had also quoted this “one, word,” telling them plainly that blindness in part has happened in Israel until the fulness of the Gentiles should come in (Rom. xi. 26).
Well did the Holy Ghost speak, etc. St Paul here clearly asserts that Isaias was an inspired writer.
Our Lord taught this doctrine when He said : David himself saith by the Holy Ghost ; The Lord said to my Lord, Sit on my right hand, until I make thy enemies thy footstool (St Mark xii. 36).
to our fathers. Codices A, B give “ your fathers.”
26. Go to this people, etc. The quotation is given almost verbatim from Isaias vi. 9, in that graphic passage which records the vision and mission of Isaias. These words are quoted several times in the New Testament, e.g . —
1. By our Lord Himself when He explained to the Jews why He taught in parables. (See St Matt. xiii. 14 ; St Mark iv. 12; St Luke viii, 10.)2. It is applied by St John the Evangelist to the unbelieving Jews (St John xii 40).3. It is quoted by St Paul in this chapter and in the epistle to the Romans (xi. 8).
With the ear. Lit. ‘‘by hearing” (ἀκπῇ).
you shall them. The Hebrew Scriptures give the imperative “hear ye,” “see ye,” which is a poetical Hebrew idiom for expressing the future.
and shall not perceive. In the Greek there is great emphasis shewn by the use of the double negatives. The phrase may be rendered “surely you shall not perceive.” As a punishment for not understanding and accepting what was so clearly explained to them, they should not be able to grasp it eventually. God punishes men by the very thing which led them into sin. “Per quæ quis peccaverit, per hæc et punietur.”
‘‘Where there is the power of choice, there is the presentation of new light or truth ; if it is rejected, it becomes a judgment. Before the coming of the light or truth, the darkness is not felt, the sin is dormant; when the light and truth come and are rejected, then the sin becomes alive, the darkness conscious. Accordingly, the effect of the preaching of the Gospel is to harden the hearts of those who will not receive it; and this hardening is not to be thought of as a fate predestined for certain individuals, but as a judgment allowed by, and in fact the expression of, the divine law. Thus St Paul’s preaching was for life or death ; wherever he went, he divided the Jews into two ; they had either to believe or disbelieve ” (Rackham, Acts of the Apostles, p. 605).
27. For the heart, etc. The heart was formerly regarded as the seat of the intellect.
Note that the order of the words is reversed. In the first part of verse 15 we have heart— ears — eyes. In the second part the order is eyes - ears—heart. This inversion brings out a psychological truth, viz. that when the sinner turns away from God, it is the heart which is first corrupted, and this interior depravity affects and deadens the ears and eyes. When man turns to God, the eyes and earn are the channels through which the truth penetrates to the heart.
be converted. Lit “turn round and retrace their footsteps,” a metaphorical expression for amendment of life.
I should heal. God would certainly heal them if only they turned towards Him. This prophecy was fulfilled in the time of Isaias, when calamities overwhelmed the Israelites, and when they were led into captivity, and, in spite of these punishments, they persevered in their obduracy. It was also fulfilled in a more remote sense, when the Jews rejected the messengers of the Gospel, and refused to accept Christ as the Messias.
28. this salvation of God, — i.e. that which the apostle preached to them, and which they could secure by faith in Christ.
is sent to the Gentiles. Once more St Paul announces that the graces, which the unbelieving Jews refuse to accept, are to be given to the Gentiles.
“On the rejection of the Gospel by the Jews, he declared that intention to them at Antioch, xlii. 46 ; at Corinth, xviii. 6 ; and now, for the third time, he declares it at Rome. Thus he gave them a triple warning — in Asia, in Greece, in Italy ” (Bengel).
they will hear it. St Paul had already experienced how readily the Gentiles listened to and accepted the glad tidings of salvation. Moreover, he knew by revelation that God would bless his ministry in Rome, and, as the majority of the Jews refused to accept the Gospel, the apostle understood that these blessings were reserved for the Gentiles,
29. and when he had said, etc. This verse is found in the Vulgate and in the Bezan text, but it is not represented in א, A, B, E. Tischendorf rejects it ; but, as Alford remarks, “This verse has not the usual characteristic of spurious passages, viz. the variety of readings in those MSS. which contain it. It may perhaps, after all, have been omitted, as appearing superfluous after verse 25” (Greek Testament, p. 288).
St John Chrysostom accepts this passage, which is certainly written in St Luke’s style, and necessary for completing the narrative. Without it we are left in ignorance of the result of the discussion.
30. two whole years. All this time St Paul was a state prisoner, and we learn from his epistles that during these two years the Philippian converts ministered to his temporal wants, sending their offerings on one occasion by Epaphroditus. In return for their generous gifts, the apostle thanks them in these words : You have done well in communicating to my tribulation . . . . Not that I seek the gift, but I seek the fruit that may abound to your account . . . . And may my God supply all your wants, according to his riches in glory in Christ Jesus (Phil. iv. 14-19).
During his captivity in Rome, St Paul wrote his epistles to the Ephesians, the Colossians, and the Philippians, and a short letter to Philemon. These writings throw a light on his life in Rome, and they give the names of some of his companions, among whom we may cite St Luke, Timothy, Aristarchus, St Mark, and Tychicus. During this time some of these companions were sent on different missions, e.g. Tychicus took St Paul’s letter to the Ephesians.
he received all that came. Being a prisoner, it is not probable that he was allowed to attend the services in the synagogue, but crowds flocked to his humble dwelling, and for all there was a hearty welcome, as the ardent zeal of the apostle found an outlet in ministering to these souls and bringing them into the one true Fold.
31. the things which concern the Lord Jesus. Christ’s ambassador in chains spoke to these enquiring souls of all things which Jesus began to do and, teach.
with all confidence. St Paul’s discourses were characterized by fearlessness.
without prohibition. The Bezan text adds, “ saying that this Jesus is the Christ the Son of God, by whom the world will be judged.” There was no active opposition on the part of the unbelieving Jews, and the Romans tolerated the Christian Faith and allowed St Paul to preach it freely. This period of rest gave the apostle time and opportunity for gathering many into the Church, and for instructing and confirming them in the Faith. A few years later the scene was changed, when the tyrannical Tigellinus urged Nero to exterminate the Christians from the face of the earth, and Rome was steeped in the blood of the martyrs.
The Acts closes somewhat abruptly. St Luke does not even record the circumstances which led to the apostle’s release, though he must have written these closing lines after it had taken place, otherwise he could not have given the duration of his captivity, but he closes with “the victory of the Word of God,” with Paul at Rome, which is the culminating point of the Gospel. Thus the Acts end “Victoria Verbi Dei. Paulus Romæ. Apex Evangelii Actorum Finis ” (Bengel). St Paul, the minister of the Gospel, is in bonds, but, as he triumphantly exclaims, “The Word of God is not bound” (Verbum Dei non est alligatum), (2 Tim. ii. 9).
Totus tuus ego sum
Et omnia mea tua sunt;
Tecum tutus semper sum:
Ad Jesum per Mariam
Et omnia mea tua sunt;
Tecum tutus semper sum:
Ad Jesum per Mariam
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