Acts 28:26 - Printer Friendly

ESV: “‘Go to this people, and say, “You will indeed hear but never understand, and you will indeed see but never perceive.”

NIV: 'Go to this people and say, 'You will be ever hearing but never understanding; you will be ever seeing but never perceiving.'

NASB: saying, ‘GO TO THIS PEOPLE AND SAY, 'YOU WILL KEEP ON HEARING, AND WILL NOT UNDERSTAND; AND YOU WILL KEEP ON SEEING, AND WILL NOT PERCEIVE;

CSB: when he said,Go to these people and say:You will always be listening,but never understanding;and you will always be looking,but never perceiving.

NLT: ‘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.

KJV: Saying, Go unto this people, and say, Hearing ye shall hear, and shall not understand; and seeing ye shall see, and not perceive:

NKJV: saying, ‘Go to this people and say: “Hearing you will hear, and shall not understand; And seeing you will see, and not perceive;

Paul is talking to the Jewish leadership in Rome. He has explained how Jesus of Nazareth fulfills the Messianic prophecies of Moses and the prophets. Some of the Jews accept his explanation. To those who don't, Paul quotes another prophecy: this one about Jews who refuse to understand God's Word.

Isaiah served during the reigns of the Judah kings Uzziah, Jotham, Ahaz, Hezekiah, and Manasseh. He saw the northern kingdom of Israel fall to the Assyrians and prophesied Judah would fall to Babylon (Isaiah 39). This quote is taken from Isaiah 6:9; Acts 28:27 quotes Isaiah 6:10. Isaiah 6 recounts Isaiah's commissioning as a prophet. He had a vision of the Lord on His throne, flanked by seraphim with six wings each. Isaiah lamented that as a fallen human he had no right to be in the Lord's presence. One of the seraphim ceremonially cleansed Isaiah with a burning coal so that when the Lord asked for a messenger, Isaiah volunteered (Isaiah 6:1–8).

Ironically, the Lord's first words in the commissioning ceremony were a prophecy that the people would not listen to Isaiah's warnings. Isaiah primarily prophesied to Kings Ahaz and Hezekiah. Despite Isaiah's assurance that God would protect Judah from the armies of Syria and Israel, Ahaz took money from the temple treasury and paid Assyria to draw their fire away from Judah. Ahaz then ordered the priests to build a model of the Assyrian altar in the temple and burn sacrifices on it. More horrifically, he sacrificed his own sons (2 Kings 16).

Very likely, when Paul was trying to convince the Jewish leaders in Rome about Jesus, he had included references to Isaiah's prophecies about the Messiah. It was to Ahaz that Isaiah said, "Therefore the Lord himself will give you a sign. Behold, the virgin shall conceive and bear a son, and shall call his name Immanuel" (Isaiah 7:14), "Immanuel" meaning "God with us." Not long after, Isaiah prophesied the Messiah would come from Galilee (Isaiah 9:1–7).

Like Ahaz, the Jews who reject their Messiah choose to worship false gods despite God's presence with them. We aren't told what "gods" the Jews in Rome favor. It might be their position in the synagogue or the renewed but fragile peace with the Roman government who now allowed the Jews' presence in the capital. They should think more clearly, however. Despite Judah's escape from the Assyrians, about seventy-five years after Isaiah died Jerusalem fell to Babylon. About three years after Paul died, Jerusalem fell to Rome.

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 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.