Acts 28:20 - Printer Friendly

ESV: For this reason, therefore, I have asked to see you and speak with you, since it is because of the hope of Israel that I am wearing this chain."

NIV: For this reason I have asked to see you and talk with you. It is because of the hope of Israel that I am bound with this chain."

NASB: For this reason, therefore, I requested to see you and to speak with you, since I am wearing this chain for the sake of the hope of Israel.'

CSB: For this reason I’ve asked to see you and speak to you. In fact, it is for the hope of Israel that I’m wearing this chain."

NLT: I asked you to come here today so we could get acquainted and so I could explain to you that I am bound with this chain because I believe that the hope of Israel — the Messiah — has already come.'

KJV: For this cause therefore have I called for you, to see you, and to speak with you: because that for the hope of Israel I am bound with this chain.

NKJV: For this reason therefore I have called for you, to see you and speak with you, because for the hope of Israel I am bound with this chain.”

Paul is in a predicament. He is finally in Rome, but he is under house arrest. He wants to explain to the Jews in Rome that Jesus of Nazareth is the Jewish Messiah. However, at the moment, his ministry is surrounded by malicious rumor. To reach the Jews, he must first explain why he is in such a state.

In short, the Sanhedrin accused him of crimes against the Mosaic and Roman laws—capital offenses (Acts 24:5–6; 25:7). He is innocent, but the Roman governors were fearful of the Jewish leaders and refused to give him justice by releasing him (Acts 24:22–27; 26:31). In fact, he could have brought up charges of false accusation against the Sanhedrin, and they could have been executed. Paul refrained, however (Acts 28:17–19).

Paul has been charged with teaching that Jews shouldn't obey the Mosaic law, bringing a Gentile into the temple (Acts 21:20–21, 27–29), starting riots, leading an illegal religious sect, and profaning the temple (Acts 24:5–6). But through it all, he has insisted that the core of his "crime" is his belief that the Messiah has come. He believes—and he has proven numerous times—that Jesus of Nazareth rose from the dead and fulfills the prophecies of the Messiah found in the Jewish Scriptures. He is happy to be in chains if that's what it takes to share that message (Ephesians 6:20). In fact, he finds both safety and freedom of speech while chained to a Roman guard (Acts 28:30–31).

In Acts 28:17–29 Paul finally receives his heart's desire: to witness to the Jews in Rome. Rome is a strategic city and if the Jews there accept Jesus as their Messiah, they will legitimize Jesus-worship to the other Jews in the Empire. As in every city Paul visits, however, some accept Jesus and others don't. Paul becomes frustrated and redoubles his efforts to reach the Gentiles. He spends two years under house arrest but with the freedom to write and to speak with whomever chooses to come through his door.

Acts 28 records Paul's three-month stay on the island of Malta and two-year house arrest in Rome. On Malta, God empowers Paul to perform healing miracles which endear him to the locals. Once he reaches the shores of Italy, many other believers accompany him on his last leg to Rome. In Rome, he finds the Jews just as accepting of Jesus as elsewhere; some believe, but many don't. Paul reaffirms his mission to the Gentiles and spends his time preaching while under house arrest.

Acts 28 is the end of Luke's story of the witness of Jesus' story (Acts 1:8). After his wrongful imprisonment in Caesarea Maritima, Paul appealed his case to Caesar (Acts 25:1–12). He, Aristarchus, and Luke survived a raging winter storm before finally reaching Rome (Acts 27). Again under house arrest, Paul is able to share Jesus' offer of forgiveness with any who wish to visit. While there, he writes the letters Ephesians, Philippians, Colossians, and Philemon. After two years, Paul is released; tradition says he takes one more evangelistic tour before being arrested and eventually martyred around AD 67.

The summary of the book of Acts is provided in Jesus' words in Acts 1:8: ''But you will receive power when the Holy Spirit has come upon you, and you will be my witnesses in Jerusalem and in all Judea and Samaria, and to the ends of the earth.'' In Acts 2:1–13, the Christ-followers receive the Holy Spirit. Acts 2:14—7:60 describes the rapid growth of the church in Jerusalem. Chapters 8—12 find Jewish persecution inadvertently spreading the gospel throughout Judea and Samaria. And in chapters 13—28, Paul and his companions spread the good news throughout the Roman Empire.