Testified

This week, we have been closing out our journey through Acts by looking at a section from each of the final chapters. Yesterday, Paul’s ship was shipwrecked on the island of Malta. Today, we find out (check out Acts 28) that Paul has finally arrived in Rome and we will have one final opportunity to hear Paul share what he believes (in this case, the Jewish leaders in Rome).

Acts 28
23 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. 24 Some were persuaded by the things he said, but others did not believe. 25 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, 26 ‘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. 27 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.’ 28 So I want you to know that this salvation from God has also been offered to the Gentiles, and they will accept it.” 30 For the next two years, Paul lived in Rome at his own expense. He welcomed all who visited him, 31 boldly proclaiming the Kingdom of God and teaching about the Lord Jesus Christ. And no one tried to stop him.

Testified. We began this journey with words from Jesus that were a prophetic, challenging and revolutionary call for us to be witnesses of his story (check out

Acts 1:8). Then, as the story is unveiled, we see Peter testifying in Jerusalem (check out Acts 2:14-41). We see Philip testifying in Samaria (check out Acts 8:4-13). We see Paul testifying throughout the Roman Empire … Iconium (check out Acts 14:1-3), Philippi (check out Acts 16:12-15), Thessalonica (check out Acts 17:1-4) and Ephesus (check out Acts 19:1-10) to name a few … and now in Rome, the center of the Roman Empire. The Bible is really the Story of God and this part of his story reveals our role in the Kingdom of God … our responsibility to testify. I think Paul said it best when he described our role as ambassadors (please check out 2 Corinthians 5:14-21). Where, in your circle of influence, are you testifying for Jesus? Where are you representing God?

We will be taking a break next week. We encourage you to use any of the 47 posts available in the archive. On Monday, September 29th, we will return with all new posts. Have a great weekend and a great week. See you on the 29th.