Nothing Else Need be Said

Scripture: For two whole years Paul stayed there in his own rented house and welcomed all who came to see him. He proclaimed the kingdom of God and taught about the Lord Jesus Christ - with all boldness and without hindrance! Acts 28:30-31

Observation: The book "The Acts of the Apostles" just ... ends, seemingly mid-thought. There isn't anything about Paul's trial and execution; Nothing about Peter coming to Rome; Nothing about any of the others back in Asia Minor and what they are continuing to do; Nothing about the expanding church elsewhere. Paul is teaching, and ...

Application: At the time this was written, Rome was still the heart of the Roman empire, which itself was a pagan nation based in old gods and imposed emperor worship. One of the reasons I believe Acts ends this way, therefore, is prophetic - the author Luke is going to end in Rome, because he knows this must be the epicenter of the church. In the effort to fulfill the great commission, the message is going "to the ends of the earth", and from the perspective of the day that would have meant to Rome, and then to wherever Rome could reach.

We all know the common reason for this ending to Acts - that the "acts of the apostles" must never actually end! WE are living out Acts 29, and the story of everything all apostles have done since Paul in Rome is massive. However, from the perspective of this one telling of the early church, Paul being free to teach in Rome without hindrance was the milestone.

Prayer: Praises may I bring for Paul, Lord God almighty! How difficult it must have been to preach boldly, knowing that your life was soon to end and there was no escaping it. Paul's letter are of course educational, but it is his outward actions that glorified you, laying the groundwork for the adoption of Christianity and taking the name of Jesus to the ends of the earth. Praise may I bring for Paul, Lord God almighty!

And praise for the modern-day Pauls as well - Rick Warren, Lee Strobel, Greg Laurie, and so many others. We are now in a land more like the old Roman empire than ever before. May their boldness prevail in this dark land.