What does Acts 28:25 mean?
Jewish leaders in Rome have finally heard Paul's explanation that Jesus of Nazareth fulfills the prophecies of the Jewish Messiah. Paul has wanted to do this for years. His greatest hope is that his people will accept Jesus as their Messiah; he is even willing to be condemned to hell if that's what it would take (Romans 9:1–5).Jesus told Ananias that Paul was Jesus' instrument "to carry [His] name before the Gentiles and kings and the children of Israel" (Acts 9:15). In every situation—every new town—Paul has prioritized the Jews. Every time he enters a new city, he first goes to the synagogue or the place of meeting and introduces the Jews and devout Gentiles to Jesus. In almost every city, some Jews commit to Jesus, but most don't. This breaks Paul's heart. Israel is God's chosen people: chosen to serve God, be blessed by God, and to present the Messiah for the salvation of the world. The Messiah has come, and the Jews should be spreading the message (Acts 1:8). If the Jews as a nation refuse to accept their Messiah, there is little purpose for the nation's continued existence. Indeed, between ten and fifteen years after this meeting, the Romans destroy Jerusalem and the Jews do not become a sovereign nation again until 1948.
As the return of Christ nears, God will once again focus on His plan for Israel, this time through His new covenant (Jeremiah 31). God promises, "For this is the covenant that I will make with the house of Israel after those days, declares the LORD: I will put my law within them, and I will write it on their hearts. And I will be their God, and they shall be my people" (Jeremiah 31:33).
Until then, Paul increasingly realizes that Israel in the church age is better represented by the prophecy in Isaiah 6:9–10: a people who see but don't understand, with dull hearts and deaf ears (Acts 28:26–27).