Paul had been shipwrecked on the island of Malta along with the rest of the people from the ship on which he was being taken to Rome. After three months, he left and started moving north, stopping in Syracuse and then passing to the north, just off of the coast of where we live today. They made a couple of other stops on their way north to Rome and then finally arrived in Rome where he intentionally connects with the local Jewish leaders, even calling them to his house to talk with them.
They were willing to listen for a time, but when Paul brought them to teach them about Christ, he emphasized the teaching of the kingdom of God:
They arranged to meet Paul on a certain day, and came in even larger numbers to the place where he was staying. He witnessed to them from morning till evening, explaining about the kingdom of God, and from the Law of Moses and from the Prophets he tried to persuade them about Jesus.
Acts 28:23
Paul explains to the Jewish leaders the kingdom of God, the Law of Moses, and the Prophets. But why are these points the emphasis of Paul’s discussion with the Jews? Two main reasons:
First, the Jews believed, and in fact many still believe, that the Abrahamic and Mosaic covenants are the covenants that they had with God. But Paul is explaining that there is now a different reality, a different way in which they must come to God. God had told Abraham and Moses both that he would be their God and they would be his people. To Abraham, God said that they must circumcise their males as a sign of their people, and to Moses, God reminded him that he and all of the people must obey his commandements. And if they will do that, then the covenant would remain in effect.
Of course, the Israelites had not only disobeyed God’s commandments, but they had also renounced their allegiance to God as their king. They said that they wanted a human king just like all of the nations around them. And right along with that desire came their ongoing worship of the other “gods” of the other nations.
So as Jesus came, he came preaching the kingdom of God. Why? Because in Christ, Jesus came to reclaim what was rightly his, his kingdom of people on the earth.
Of course, as the Israelites heard him, they assumed that the kingdom of God meant the nation of Israel. They were still thinking about the Abrahamic and Mosaic covenants. But those covenants had been broken long ago, and at the Last Supper, Jesus explained that there was now a new covenant, a covenant that was established by his blood. Those that placed their faith in Jesus’s blood would be his people. And in fact, his blood would be offered to all people, not just to the Israelites. The offering of the covenant was now expanded to everyone, not just the Israelites any longer.
Paul also explained the Law and the Prophets to the Jewish leaders. He did this to help the Jews understand that Jesus is the king in the kingdom of God. The Law and the Prophets spoke of the Messiah, the one who would come to rule over his people. This Messiah was predicted to have done many amazing things, whether to have been born of a virgin, to have been killed despite being innocent, and to have been resurrected from the dead.
Of course, the only person to have fulfilled all of these prophecies, and many more, was Jesus. And so Paul explained all of these things to the Jews. They would hear and decide whether or not they would believe.
Some would believe. Unfortunately, others would not. Those that would not would reject Israel’s true king, the one Messiah, Jesus Christ. They would reject becoming part of true kingdom of God, where all are welcome who would follow him.
Instead, those that would believe by placing their faith in his blood as a payment for their sins, they would become part of the kingdom of God. They would live for Christ as their king, doing all that he had commanded the people of his kingdom to do.
This was the teaching of Jesus, inviting people to enter into his kingdom, the kingdom of God, through his blood. And this also was the teaching of Paul, that we all, both Israelites and Gentiles, can enter into the kingdom through Christ and the payment of sins. The blood of Jesus is the blood of the new covenant and the new covenant establishes those that are part of God’s kingdom and those that are not. Those that place their faith in Christ’s blood and make him the king of their lives become a part of the kingdom of God.
But unfortunately, those that do not will become like the Jews who reject Paul, and ultimately reject Christ. In fact, Paul quotes Isaiah back to the Jews as they reject his message, and it should continue to be a warning to us even today:
“You will be ever hearing but never understanding;
Acts 28:26-27
you will be ever seeing but never perceiving.”
For this people’s heart has become calloused;
they hardly hear with their ears,
and they have closed their eyes.
Otherwise they might see with their eyes,
hear with their ears,
understand with their hearts
and turn, and I would heal them.