Summary retelling of Acts 28:17-22
In
Rome, Paul calls together the leaders of the Jews. Paul talks about how he had attempted to
follow the law but some people in Jerusalem had him arrested. He also talks about how when he was examined
time and time again that they couldn’t find any fault with him. Because of the sheer anger of the Jews in
Jerusalem, Paul had to appeal to Caesar.
Thus, Paul says that he wanted to meet with the Jews in Rome. The Jews tell Paul that they haven’t heard
anything bad about him. They also say
that they want to hear more about this “sect” called Christianity because they
haven’t heard anything good about it.
Thoughts for Today
First Thought:
Paul
wants to get this trial over. He calls
the Jews together. But He also wants to
take the opportunity to talk about Jesus, too!
This is the really neat part of the story of Paul. How many times does Paul get frustrated with
the Jews? Yet, in place after place Paul
moves on and starts again right back with the Jews. Paul may not stay in one place forever, but
his mission is consistent. He wants to
talk about Jesus to his kin while at the same time talking to the Gentiles
about both Jesus and God the Father.
Is
it tough to stay on focus, especially when time and time again your efforts are
met with frustration? What is necessary
within a person to keep having that fierce pursuit of a difficult goal?
Second Thought:
Paul
genuinely desires to reflect truth. If
you think about what Paul says about what happened in Jerusalem, he is being
honest. He didn’t think he had done
anything wrong. The Jews did. They wanted him arrested and killed, but none
of the Roman governors could find anything wrong with him. It was out of fear of the anger of the Jews
that made Paul come to Rome.
How
important is it to be honest when speaking to people? Does it make it more important to speak truth
when speaking to them for the first time?
Third Thought:
The Jews in Rome had heard nothing about
Paul. It could be that the Jews in
Jerusalem quit caring after this time.
It could be that the messengers they sent with word encountered the same
storms as Paul and didn’t make it through the storms. It could be that the Jews in Jerusalem were
just happy to have him gone. Whatever
the reason, the Jews in Rome have not heard anything bad about Paul. Thus, they are open to hearing about God.
How
big of a hand do you think God had in keeping the Jews in Rome from hearing
about Paul? What can we learn from this
passage about how the testimonies we hear from other people about third parties
can taint our perspective of the third party once we meet them?
Passage for Tomorrow: Acts 28:23-31
2 comments:
*Jews in Rome* and that third thought would fall under the triangle thing we talked about before?
Oh. Yup. Third thought ... middle of the paragraph ... should be Jews in Rome haven't heard anything rather than Jews in Jerusalem. I teel you, that was a tough paragraph to write ... I was messing that up all the time and still didn't get it a hundred percent right! LOL
As to your triangulation thing we talked about before .. how very perceptive of you! I hadn't originally thought along those lines when I formulated the question. But yeah, that is absolutely a good application of the thought. So often other people do talk to us about third parties because they are trying to triangulate us into resolving their issues for them. And that absolute does taint our perception of other people!
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