Paul Preaching to the Jews in Rome,
Part 2: "They Will Hear It"
Acts 28:23-29
23 And when they had appointed him
a day, there came many to him into his lodging; to whom he expounded and
testified the kingdom of God, persuading them concerning Jesus, both out of the
law of Moses, and out of the prophets, from morning till evening. 24 And some believed the things which were
spoken, and some believed not. 25 And
when they agreed not among themselves, they departed, after that Paul had
spoken one word, Well spake the Holy Ghost by Esaias the prophet unto our
fathers, 26 Saying, Go unto this people, and
say, Hearing ye shall hear, and shall not understand; and seeing ye shall see,
and not perceive: 27 For
the heart of this people is waxed gross, and their ears are dull of hearing, and
their eyes have they closed; lest 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 unto you, that the salvation of God is sent unto the Gentiles,
and that they will hear it. 29 And
when he had said these words, the Jews departed, and had great reasoning among
themselves.
Introduction:
Review Part 1, “The Hope of Israel” (28:17-22)
Outline:
II. The Second Opportunity for Paul with the Jews at Rome
(28:23-24)
III. The Concluding Application by Paul to the Jews at
Rome (28:25-29)
II. The Second Opportunity for Paul with the Jews at
Rome
(28:23-24)
23 And
when they had appointed him a day, there came many to him into his lodging; to
whom he expounded and testified the kingdom of God, persuading them concerning
Jesus, both out of the law of Moses, and out of the prophets, from morning till
evening.
Expounding and Testifying the Kingdom of God in Acts
Persuading concerning Jesus from the Old Testament
Two means: expounding and testifying
Two subjects: the kingdom of God and Jesus
Two sources: the law of Moses and the prophets
24 And
some believed the things which were spoken, and some believed not.
Two responses: A mixed response
III. The Concluding Application by Paul to the Jews at
Rome (28:25-29)
25 And when they agreed not among
themselves, they departed, after that Paul had spoken one word, Well spake the
Holy Ghost by Esaias the prophet unto our fathers, 26 Saying,
Go unto this people, and say, Hearing ye shall hear, and shall not understand;
and seeing ye shall see, and not perceive: 27 For the heart of this people is waxed
gross, and their ears are dull of hearing, and their eyes have they closed;
lest 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 unto you, that the salvation of God is sent unto the Gentiles,
and that they will hear it.
There are several interesting points of comparison to an earlier
encounter between Paul and the Jews at Pisidian Antioch (13:42-47).[1]
“Here we find one of the longest biblical quotations in
Acts, and the only major one since 15:16-18.”[2]
There are 25 Scripture quotations in Acts “up to and including 15:16-18, and
only two in the rest of Acts”[3]
- this one and one in between in 23:5 where Paul cites Ex. 22:28.
What the Holy Spirit said Isaiah the prophet said.
What Isaiah the prophet said the Holy Spirit said.
The citation from Isaiah and the application by Christ
and Paul:[4]
Is. 6:8-13. - 8 Also I heard the voice of the
Lord, saying, Whom shall I send, and who will go for us? Then said I, Here am I; send me. 9 And he
said, Go, and tell this people, Hear ye indeed, but understand not; and see ye
indeed, but perceive not. 10 Make the heart of this people fat, and make their ears heavy, and
shut their eyes; lest they see with their eyes, and hear with their ears, and
understand with their heart, and convert, and be healed. 11 Then said I, Lord, how long? And
he answered, Until the cities be wasted without inhabitant, and the houses
without man, and the land be utterly desolate, 12 And the LORD have removed men
far away, and there be a great
forsaking in the midst of the land. 13 But yet in it shall be
a tenth, and it shall return, and
shall be eaten: as a teil tree, and as an oak, whose substance is in them, when they cast their leaves: so the holy seed shall be the substance thereof.
Mt. 13:10-17 (and parallels in Mk. 4:12; Lk. 8:10;
Jn. 12:39-40) - 10 And the disciples came, and said
unto him, Why speakest thou unto them in parables? 11 He
answered and said unto them, Because it is given unto you to know the mysteries
of the kingdom of heaven, but to them it is not given. 12 For
whosoever hath, to him shall be given, and he shall have more abundance: but
whosoever hath not, from him shall be taken away even that he hath. 13 Therefore speak I to them in parables:
because they seeing see not; and hearing they hear not, neither do they
understand. 14 And in them is fulfilled the
prophecy of Esaias, which saith, By hearing ye shall hear, and shall not
understand; and seeing ye shall see, and shall not perceive: 15 For this people's heart is
waxed gross, and their ears are dull
of hearing, and their eyes they have closed; lest at any time they should see
with their eyes, and hear with their ears, and should understand with their heart, and should be converted,
and I should heal them. 16 But blessed are your eyes, for they see: and your ears, for they hear. 17 For
verily I say unto you, That many prophets and righteous men have desired to see those
things which ye see, and have not seen them;
and to hear those things which ye
hear, and have not heard them.
2 Cor. 3:13-15 - 13
And
not as Moses, which put a vail over
his face, that the children of Israel could not stedfastly look to the end of
that which is abolished: 14 But their minds were blinded: for until
this day remaineth the same vail untaken away in the reading of the old testament;
which vail is done away in Christ. 15 But
even unto this day, when Moses is read, the vail is upon their heart.
Cp. also Rom. 11:8
29 And
when he had said these words, the Jews departed, and had great reasoning among
themselves.
There is a textual issue with this verse between the
Byzantine/Majority texts and the Critical texts edited by the Nestles, the Alands,
and others. The Byzantine Textform, and the Majority Text both include this
verse. Among modern English translations the Holman Christian Standard Bible
(HCSB) is a rare exception in including this verse, although in brackets,
rather than merely noting the issue in a footnote or marginal reading.[5]
Conclusion:
May the opposite of this curse be our prayer, and our
portion!
By hearing ye shall hear, and shall not understand;
Lord, may I not just hear, but give me understanding of
what I hear!
and seeing ye shall see, and shall not perceive:
Lord, may I not just see, but enable me to perceive what
I see!
15 For this people's heart is
waxed gross,
Lord, may my heart be responsive to you and your Word!
and their ears are dull of
hearing,
Dear Lord, keep me from ever becoming dull of hearing!
and their eyes they have closed;
Thank you, Lord, for opening my eyes! Lord, may I never
close them to You and your truth!
lest at any time they should see with their eyes,
Keep me ever seeing with my eyes, Lord, and deliver me
from the spiritual blindness of sin!
and hear with their ears,
Keep me ever hearing, Lord, and deliver me from spiritual
deafness!
and should understand with their
heart,
Lord, continue enabling my heart to understand Your Word
and your will for me!
and should be converted,
Lord, may conversion be a way of life for me until glory.
Please keep turning me and conforming me to the image of Your Son!
and I should heal them.
Lord, heal me, and I shall be healed. May your healing of
me never stop until I am in glory with you! Heal me Lord!
Complete outline:
II. The Second Opportunity for Paul with the Jews at Rome
(28:23-24)
III. The Concluding Application by Paul to the Jews at
Rome (28:25-29)
[Sermon preached 7
JUN 2015 by Pastor John T. “Jack” Jeffery at Wayside Gospel Chapel, Greentown,
PA.]
Appendix 1 — Resources
cited in Notes
G. K. Beale and
D. A. Carson, eds., Commentary on the New Testament Use of the Old
Testament (Grand Rapids: Baker Academic, 2007)
.
The Greek New Testament, 4th rev. ed., eds. Barbara Aland, Kurt
Aland, Johannes Karavidopoulos, Matthew Black, Carlo M. Martini, Bruce M.
Metzger, and Allen Wikgren (Stuttgart, FRG: United Bible Societies and Deutsche
Bibelgesellschaft, 1993, 1994).
The Greek New Testament According to the Majority
Text, 2nd ed., ed. Zane C.
Hodges, Arthur L. Farstad, et al. (Nashville: Thomas Nelson Publishers, 1985).
New Testament Manuscripts Prototype on the University of Münster Institute for New Testament Textual
Research at http://nttranscripts.uni-muenster.de/AnaServer?NTtranscripts+0+start.anv
[accessed 21 MAY 2015].
Novum Testamentum Graece, eds. Eberhard and Erwin Nestle, 27th
ed., eds. Barbara and Kurt Aland, Johannes Karavidopoulos, Carlo M. Martini,
and Bruce M. Metzger (Stuttgart: Deutsche Bibelgesellschaft, 1898, 1993).
David G.
Peterson, The Acts of the Apostles,
in The Pillar New Testament Commentaries,
gen. ed. D. A. Carson (Grand Rapids: William B. Eerdmans Publishing Co., 2009).
Maurice A.
Robinson and William G. Pierpont, The New
Testament in the Original Greek: Byzantine Textform 2005 (Southborough, MA:
Chilton Book Publishing, 2006).
Appendix 2 — Resources
on Acts
G. K. Beale and D. A. Carson, eds., Commentary on the New Testament Use of
the Old Testament (Grand Rapids: Baker Academic, 2007), pp. 513-606.
Paul Barnett, The
Birth of Christianity: The First Twenty Years, After Jesus, Vol. 1 (Grand Rapids: William B. Eerdmans Publishing
Co., 2005).
Darrell L. Bock, Acts,
Baker Exegetical Commentary on the New
Testament, eds. Robert W. Yarbrough and Robert H. Stein (Grand Rapids:
Baker Academic, 2007).
F. F. Bruce, The Acts of the Apostles: The Greek Text
with Introduction and Commentary, 2nd ed. (Grand Rapids: Wm. B. Eerdmans
Publishing Co., 1951, 1952).
Dennis E. Johnson, The Message of Acts in the History of
Redemption (Phillipsburg, NJ: P&R Publishing, 1997).
I. Howard Marshall, Acts:
An Introduction And Commentary, Vol. 5 in Tyndale New Testament Commentaries, gen. ed. Leon Morris (Downers
Grove, IL: InterVarsity Press, 1980; 2008 reprint).
David G. Peterson, The
Acts of the Apostles, in The Pillar
New Testament Commentaries, gen. ed. D. A. Carson (Grand Rapids: William B.
Eerdmans Publishing Co., 2009).
John B. Polhill, Acts,
Vol. 26 in The New American Commentary,
gen. ed. David S. Dockery (Nashville, TN: Broadman & Holman, Publishers,
1992).
Richard Belward
Rackham, The Acts of the Apostles: An
Exposition, Oxford Commentaries, ed. Walter Lock (London: Methuen & Co., 1901), on Google Books at https://books.google.com/books?id=T4f9C9sTl9cC&printsec=frontcover#v=onepage&q&f=false [accessed 25 APR 2015]; and on Internet Archive at https://archive.org/details/actsapostlesane01rackgoog [accessed 25 APR 2015]; 8th ed., Westminster
Commentaries, ed. Walter Lock (London: Methuen & Co., Ltd., 1919) at https://archive.org/details/actsofapostlesex00rack [accessed 25 APR 2015].
Eckhard J. Schnabel, Acts,
Vol. 5 in the Zondervan Exegetical
Commentary on the New Testament, gen. ed. Clinton E. Arnold (Grand Rapids:
Zondervan, 2012).
W. C. van Unnik, “The ‘Book of Acts’ the Confirmation of
the Gospel,” in Novum Testamentum 4:1
(OCT 1960), pp. 26-59; reprinted in The
Composition of Luke’s Gospel: Selected Studies from Novum Testamentum,
compiled by David E. Orton, Vol. 1 of Brill’s
Readers in Biblical Studies (Leiden: Brill, 1999), pp. 184-218.
William H. Willimon, Acts,
in Interpretation: A Bible Commentary for
Teaching and Preaching, series ed. James Luther Mays, New Testament ed.
Paul J. Achtemeier (Louisville, KY: Westminster John Knox Press, 2010).
Appendix 3 — Resources on Paul
Kenneth E. Bailey, Paul Through Mediterranean Eyes: Cultural
Studies in 1 Corinthians (Downers Grove, IL: IVP Academic, 2011).
F. F. Bruce, Paul:
Apostle of the Heart Set Free (Grand Rapids: William B. Eerdmans Publishing
Co., 1977).
D. A. Carson, The
Gagging of God: Christianity Confronts Pluralism (Grand Rapids: Zondervan,
1996), pp. 496-501.
W. J. Conybeare and J. S. Howson, The Life, Times and Travels of St. Paul, 2 vols. in 1, unabridged
American ed. (New York: E. B. Treat U Co., 1869); on Google Books at http://books.google.com/books?id=Bn1CAAAAIAAJ&printsec=frontcover#v=onepage&q&f=false
[accessed 12 FEB 2013].
Adolf Deissmann, Paul:
A Study in Social and Religious History, 2nd ed., trans. William E. Wilson
(New York: Harper Torchbooks, n.d.).
F. W. Farrar, The Life
and Work of St. Paul (New York: E. P. Dutton and Co., 1889); on Google Books at http://books.google.com/books?id=RB2KeCSM6KsC&printsec=frontcover#v=onepage&q&f=false
[accessed 12 FEB 2013].
Bruce N. Fisk, “Paul: Life and
Letters”, in The Face of New Testament
Studies: A Survey of Recent Research, ed. Scot McKnight and Grant R.
Osborne (Grand Rapids: Baker Academic, 2004), pp. 283-325.
Richard B. Gaffin, Jr.,
"Acts and Paul", 46 lectures (MP3 format), WTS Resources Media Center
on Westminster Theological Seminary
at http://wts.edu/resources/media.html?paramType=audio&filterTopic=5&filterSpeaker=10&filterYear=2005 [accessed 20 MAR 2013].
Frank J. Goodwin, A
Harmony of the Life of the St. Paul According to the Acts of the Apostles and
the Pauline Epistles (New York: American Tract Society, 1895); on Google Books at http://books.google.com/books?id=YgpEAAAAYAAJ&printsec=frontcover#v=onepage&q&f=false
[accessed 12 FEB 2013].
Richard N. Longenecker, The
Ministry And Message Of Paul (Grand Rapids: Zondervan, 1971).
Richard N. Longenecker, Paul,
Apostle Of Liberty (New York: Harper & Row, 1964).
Richard N. Longenecker, ed., The Road From Damascus : The Impact Of Paul's Conversion On His Life,
Thought, And Ministry (Grand Rapids: Eerdmans, 1997).
Richard N. Longenecker, Studies
In Paul, Exegetical And Theological (Sheffield : Sheffield Phoenix Press,
2004).
J. Gresham Machen, The
Origin of Paul's Religion: The James Sprunt Lectures Delivered at Union
Theological Seminary in Virginia (Grand Rapids: Wm. B. Eerdmans Publishing
Co., 1925).
Leon Morris, The
Apostolic Preaching of the Cross (Grand Rapids: Wm. B. Eerdmans Publishing
Co., 1955).
John Pollock, The
Apostle: A Life of Paul, 3rd ed. (Colorado Springs: David C. Cook, 1969,
2012); also published as The Man Who
Shook the World (Wheaton: Victor Books, 1972; originally The Apostle: A Life of Paul, New York:
Doubleday, 1969).
Stanley E. Porter, Paul
in Acts, in Library of Pauline
Studies, gen. ed. Stanley E. Porter (Peabody, MA: Hendrickson Publishers,
Inc., 1999; 2001 reprint of The Paul of
Acts: Essays in Literary Criticism, Rhetoric and Theology, in Wissenschaftliche Untersuchungen zum Neuen
Testament 115, by Mohr Siebeck, Tubingen).
W. M. Ramsay, The
Cities of St. Paul: Their Influence on his Life and Thought (New York: A.
C. Armstrong and Son; London: Hodder and Stoughton, 1908); on Google Books at http://books.google.com/books?id=JryEbmKool0C&printsec=frontcover#v=onepage&q&f=false
[accessed 13 FEB 2013].
W. M. Ramsay, Pauline
and Other Studies in Early Christian History (New York: A. C. Armstrong and
Son, 1906); on Google Books at http://books.google.com/books?id=-1ZJAAAAYAAJ&printsec=frontcover#v=onepage&q&f=false
[accessed 13 FEB 2013].
W. M. Ramsay, St. Paul
the Traveler and the Roman Citizen, 10th ed. (London: Hodder and Stoughton,
1907); on Christian Classics Ethereal
Library (CCEL) at http://www.ccel.org/ccel/ramsay/paul_roman.html
[accessed 13 FEB 2013].
W. M. Ramsay, The
Teaching of Paul in terms of The Present Day: The Deems Lectures in New York
University (London: Hodder and Stoughton, 1914); on Internet Archive at http://ia600404.us.archive.org/2/items/teachingofpaulin00rams/teachingofpaulin00rams.pdf
[accessed 13 FEB 2013].
A. T. Robertson, Epochs
in the Life of Paul: A Study of Development in Paul's Character (Grand
Rapids: Baker Book House, 1974).
Eckhard J. Schnabel, Paul The Missionary: Realities, Strategies
And Methods (Downers Grove, IL: IVP Academic,
2008).
Udo Schnelle, Apostle
Paul: His Life and Theology, trans. M. Eugene Boring (Grand Rapids: Baker
Academic, 2003; trans. from Paulus: Leben
und Denken, Berlin: Walter de Gruyter GmbH & Co., n.d.).
Thomas R. Schreiner, Paul,
Apostle of God's Glory in Christ: A Pauline Theology (Downers Grove, IL:
IVP Academic, 2001).
James Smith, The
Voyage and Shipwreck of St. Paul with Dissertations on the Life and Writings of
St. Luke, and the Ships and Navigation of the Ancients, 2nd ed. (London:
Longman, Brown, Green, Longmans, & Roberts, 1856); on Internet Archive at https://archive.org/details/voyageandshipwr02smitgoog
[accessed 23 APR 2015]; and 4th ed., rev. Walter E. Smith (London: Longmans,
Green, and Co., 1880); on Google Books
at http://books.google.com/books?id=IMsNAAAAQAAJ&printsec=frontcover#v=onepage&q&f=false
[accessed 23 APR 2015].
James Stalker, The
Life of St. Paul, (Edinburgh: T. & T. Clark, 1885; rev. ed. 2010 by
Kessinger Publishing from 1912 ed.); on Google
Books at http://books.google.com/books?id=vT0HAAAAQAAJ&printsec=frontcover#v=onepage&q&f=false
[accessed 7 FEB 2013].
James Ironside Still, St.
Paul on Trial (London: Student Christian Movement, 1923).
End Notes:
[1] David G. Peterson, The Acts of the Apostles, in The Pillar New Testament Commentaries,
gen. ed. D. A. Carson (Grand Rapids: William B. Eerdmans Publishing Co., 2009),
pg. 714.
[2] Peterson, op. cit., pg.
713.
[3] Peterson, op. cit., pg. 713, note 80.
[4] On this see especially the following:
G. K. Beale and D. A.
Carson, eds., Commentary on the New Testament Use of the Old Testament
(Grand Rapids: Baker Academic, 2007), pp. 600-601.
David G. Peterson, The Acts of the Apostles, in The Pillar New Testament Commentaries,
gen. ed. D. A. Carson (Grand Rapids: William B. Eerdmans Publishing Co., 2009),
pg. 715-717.
[5] See the following for documentation on this issue:
Maurice A. Robinson and
William G. Pierpont, The New Testament in
the Original Greek: Byzantine Textform 2005 (Southborough, MA: Chilton Book
Publishing, 2006), pg. 322.
The Greek New Testament According to the Majority Text, 2nd ed., ed. Zane C. Hodges, Arthur L. Farstad, et
al. (Nashville: Thomas Nelson Publishers, 1985), pg. 474.
Novum Testamentum Graece, eds. Eberhard and Erwin Nestle, 27th ed.,
eds. Barbara and Kurt Aland, Johannes Karavidopoulos, Carlo M. Martini, and
Bruce M. Metzger (Stuttgart: Deutsche Bibelgesellschaft, 1898, 1993), pg. 408.
The Greek New Testament, 4th rev. ed., eds. Barbara Aland, Kurt Aland,
Johannes Karavidopoulos, Matthew Black, Carlo M. Martini, Bruce M. Metzger, and
Allen Wikgren (Stuttgart, FRG: United Bible Societies and Deutsche
Bibelgesellschaft, 1993, 1994), pp. 517-518.
New Testament Manuscripts Prototype on the University of Münster Institute for New Testament Textual Research at http://nttranscripts.uni-muenster.de/AnaServer?NTtranscripts+0+start.anv
[accessed 21 MAY 2015].
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