The Unhindered Kingdom Text: Acts 28:23-29
Introduction: The Inevitable Divide
The book of Acts does not end with a period, but rather with an ellipsis. It concludes not with the apostle Paul's martyrdom, but with his ministry. He is in Rome, the heart of the empire, a prisoner in his own rented house, yet the Word of God is not imprisoned. This is the central lesson Luke wants us to grasp. The kingdom of God is an unstoppable force. It is a river that cannot be dammed, a fire that cannot be quenched, a seed that grows into a mountain. It advances not because of human ingenuity or political favor, but in spite of human opposition and political chains.
Here, at the climax of the book, we see the gospel producing the same effect it has produced since the beginning. It creates a great divide. It sorts men into two camps. There is no neutral ground before the proclamation of the resurrected Christ. When the light shines, it is either welcomed as salvation or it is hated as an intrusion. When the truth is spoken, it either persuades or it hardens. This is not a flaw in the presentation; it is the nature of the message itself. The gospel is a rock of offense and a stone of stumbling, and it is also the chief cornerstone, precious to those who believe.
In this final scene with the Jewish leaders in Rome, Paul does what he has always done. He reasons from the Scriptures. He proclaims the kingdom. He testifies to Jesus. And the result is precisely what the prophet Isaiah foretold centuries before. Some believe, and some do not. This division is not an accident of history; it is a feature of redemptive history, orchestrated by a sovereign God who uses both the faith of the elect and the unbelief of the hardened to advance His unhindered kingdom to the ends of the earth.
We are tempted to measure the success of our evangelism by the number of positive responses. We think a fruitful ministry is one where everyone agrees and shakes hands at the end. But the book of Acts shows us something very different. A faithful ministry is one that preaches Christ from the whole counsel of God, and then leaves the results to the sovereign Spirit who gives light to some and confirms the blindness of others. This is a hard truth, but it is a necessary one if we are to be faithful in our own generation.
The Text
And when they had set a day for Paul, they came to him at his lodging in large numbers; and he was explaining to them by solemnly bearing witness about the kingdom of God and trying to persuade them concerning Jesus, from both the Law of Moses and from the Prophets, from morning until evening. And some were being persuaded by the things spoken, but others were not believing. And when they disagreed with one another, they began leaving after Paul had spoken one word, "The Holy Spirit rightly spoke through Isaiah the prophet to your fathers, saying, 'GO TO THIS PEOPLE AND SAY, "YOU WILL KEEP ON HEARING, BUT WILL NOT UNDERSTAND; AND YOU WILL KEEP ON SEEING, BUT WILL NOT PERCEIVE; FOR THE HEART OF THIS PEOPLE HAS BECOME DULL, AND WITH THEIR EARS THEY SCARCELY HEAR, AND THEY HAVE CLOSED THEIR EYES; LEST THEY MIGHT SEE WITH THEIR EYES, AND HEAR WITH THEIR EARS, AND UNDERSTAND WITH THEIR HEART AND RETURN, AND I HEAL THEM."' Therefore let it be known to you that this salvation of God was sent to the Gentiles--they will also hear." [When he had spoken these words, the Jews departed, having a great dispute among themselves.]
(Acts 28:23-29 LSB)
An All-Day Bible Conference (v. 23)
We begin with the substance and method of Paul's ministry in Rome.
"And when they had set a day for Paul, they came to him at his lodging in large numbers; and he was explaining to them by solemnly bearing witness about the kingdom of God and trying to persuade them concerning Jesus, from both the Law of Moses and from the Prophets, from morning until evening." (Acts 28:23 LSB)
Notice first the diligence. From morning until evening. This was not a quick, thirty-minute presentation with a few proof texts. This was a marathon of biblical theology. Paul laid out the entire case for Christ from the whole of the Old Testament Scriptures. This is how Christian evangelism and apologetics must be conducted. We do not present Jesus in a vacuum. He is not a free-floating religious idea. He is the fulfillment of thousands of years of prophecy, the substance of every shadow in the law, the true King, the true Priest, and the true Prophet to whom the entire Old Testament points.
Look at the two pillars of his message: the kingdom of God and the person of Jesus. These are not separate topics; they are two ways of saying the same thing. To preach the kingdom is to preach the King. Evangelism is not primarily about offering people a way to get their sins forgiven so they can go to heaven. It is about announcing that the rightful King of the universe has been enthroned at the right hand of the Father and now commands all men everywhere to repent and bow the knee. Forgiveness of sins is one of the glorious benefits of citizenship in this kingdom, but the central announcement is about lordship. Jesus is Lord.
And where does Paul ground this announcement? "From both the Law of Moses and from the Prophets." He did not appeal to personal experience, or to philosophical arguments, or to the latest cultural trends. He opened the Bible. He showed them how the story fit together. He demonstrated that the carpenter from Nazareth was the one Moses wrote about in Deuteronomy, the one David sang about in the Psalms, the one Isaiah prophesied about. He was persuading them. This was not a take-it-or-leave-it emotional appeal. It was a rational, logical, biblically saturated argument aimed at convincing the mind in order to capture the heart.
The Great Sorting (v. 24)
As is always the case when the gospel is faithfully preached, the result is a division among the hearers.
"And some were being persuaded by the things spoken, but others were not believing." (Acts 28:24 LSB)
The same sun that melts the wax also hardens the clay. The same word that brings life to the elect confirms the death of the reprobate. This is the great sorting. It is crucial for us to understand that the variable here is not in the seed or in the sower. Paul preached the same message to everyone in that room. The difference was in the soil, and the state of that soil is determined by the sovereign good pleasure of God.
Some "were being persuaded." Belief is not a leap in the dark. It is a Spirit-wrought persuasion. The Holy Spirit opens the eyes of the blind and unstops the ears of the deaf so that they can see the truth of the gospel and be persuaded by it. Faith is a gift of God, not a product of our unaided human will. Our wills are in bondage to sin, and we will never, on our own, choose Christ.
But others "were not believing." Why not? Was Paul's argument weak? No, he was the greatest mind the church has ever known, arguing from an infallible text. Was the evidence insufficient? No, the resurrection of Jesus Christ is the best-attested event in ancient history. They did not believe because they would not believe. Their hearts were hard, their eyes were closed, and God had not granted them the gift of repentance. This outcome does not represent a failure of the gospel. It represents the success of the gospel in doing its full work, which includes both salvation and judgment.
The Prophecy of Hardening (v. 25-27)
When the division becomes apparent, Paul does not soften his message. He sharpens it. He applies the prophetic diagnosis from Isaiah.
"And when they disagreed with one another, they began leaving after Paul had spoken one word, 'The Holy Spirit rightly spoke through Isaiah the prophet to your fathers, saying, "GO TO THIS PEOPLE AND SAY, 'YOU WILL KEEP ON HEARING, BUT WILL NOT UNDERSTAND; AND YOU WILL KEEP ON SEEING, BUT WILL NOT PERCEIVE; FOR THE HEART OF THIS PEOPLE HAS BECOME DULL...'"'" (Acts 28:25-27 LSB)
This is a staggering moment. Paul identifies their current unbelief as the fulfillment of a divine judgment spoken seven centuries earlier. This is what we call judicial hardening. When a people repeatedly reject the light God has given them, there comes a point where God, in His justice, gives them over to their rebellion. He confirms them in their blindness. He hands them over to the darkness they have chosen.
Notice the language. "Their heart has become dull." "They have closed their eyes." The initial responsibility lies with them. They are not innocent victims. They have actively resisted the truth. But God's judgment is to lock them into that state. He says, in effect, "You love blindness? Then you shall be blind. You love deafness? Then you shall be deaf." The most terrifying judgment God can visit upon a person or a people is to give them exactly what they want.
The purpose of this hardening is stated at the end of the quote: "LEST they might see... and hear... and understand... and return, and I heal them." This is a difficult truth for our sentimental age, but it is the clear teaching of Scripture. God sovereignly withholds His healing grace from those whom He has given over to judgment. This is not arbitrary or unjust. It is the righteous response of a holy God to persistent, high-handed rebellion. Jesus quotes this same passage from Isaiah to explain why He taught in parables, so that the truth would be revealed to His disciples and concealed from the hardened crowds (Matthew 13:13-15).
The Great Commission Turns (v. 28-29)
This final rejection by the Jewish leadership in Rome marks a pivotal moment. It is the final confirmation that the gospel will now officially and unapologetically turn to the Gentile world.
"Therefore let it be known to you that this salvation of God was sent to the Gentiles--they will also hear." (Acts 28:28 LSB)
This is not a new plan. The inclusion of the Gentiles was promised to Abraham from the beginning. Isaiah, the very prophet of their hardening, is also the great prophet of Gentile salvation. But here, at the end of Acts, it becomes the central thrust of the church's mission. The natural branches were broken off because of unbelief, and now the wild branches are being grafted in (Romans 11).
Paul's confidence is stunning. "They will also hear." How does he know this? Because it is God's eternal purpose. The kingdom of God will not be thwarted by the unbelief of the Jews. If they will not have their King, then the King will find other subjects. God will have a people for His name, gathered from every tribe, tongue, and nation. The failure of Israel to live up to her calling as a light to the nations does not mean the light goes out. It means God, in His mercy, takes the lampstand and gives it to another people who will bear its fruit.
The result is a "great dispute among themselves." The Word of God never returns void. It always accomplishes its purpose. Sometimes that purpose is to bring peace and unity in the truth. Other times, it is to bring a sword and division. The gospel forces a crisis. It demands a verdict. And the dispute it creates is not a sign of failure, but a sign that the truth has hit its mark.
"[When he had spoken these words, the Jews departed, having a great dispute among themselves.]" (Acts 28:29 LSB)
This is the state in which Luke leaves the Jewish nation at the end of his narrative: arguing, divided, and having rejected their Messiah. It is a somber and tragic conclusion to that chapter of their history. But it is not the end of the story for them, as Paul makes clear in Romans 9-11. There will be a future day of salvation for ethnic Israel. But for now, the curtain falls on their unbelief, and the stage lights turn to the nations.
Conclusion: An Unhindered Proclamation
The book of Acts closes with Paul in Rome, the center of world power, preaching the kingdom of God and teaching about the Lord Jesus Christ "with all openness, unhindered" (Acts 28:31). This is the final word. The gospel is unhindered. It is not hindered by Jewish rejection. It is not hindered by Roman chains. It is not hindered by theological disputes. It is not hindered by the hardness of the human heart.
Why? Because the advance of the gospel does not depend on us. It depends on the sovereign power of the resurrected King who is making all things new. Our task is the same as Paul's. We are to bear witness to the kingdom and persuade men concerning Jesus, using the whole counsel of Scripture. We are to do it with diligence, from morning until evening, in season and out of season.
And we must be prepared for the same results. Some will be persuaded, by the grace of God. Others will not believe, confirmed in the hardness of their hearts. Our job is not to secure the results. Our job is to be faithful with the proclamation. The kingdom will advance. The Gentiles will hear. The King will build His church, and the gates of Hell will not prevail against it. Therefore, let us preach and teach with all openness, knowing that the Word of God cannot be chained.