Acts 28:16-31 “End of the Road”

Jared M. was reading Forbes magazine about a recent study showing that boredom helps us to reset our brains and is very beneficial. So, if you find my preaching boring today, it is because I am hoping for sincere benefit to you! IN this boredom may your brains be reset!

Today we hit the end of the journey for Saint Paul. He finally leaves Malta, after having converted the entire island to Christianity. That was an incredible part of the story. One of you, okay it was Vicki, came up to me after worship at the Aloha time to say that she so wanted to interrupt my sermon last week to shout out that she had been to Malta, and that it was the coolest place! Yes, Malta is still cool!

As we know Paul did not die on Malta as many would have expected after the shipwreck and being bitten by the viper. He died in Rome. Wait a minute, the bible does not say Paul died in Rome. That is right. The historian Eusebius states that Paul was martyred by Nero probably in the year 64 AD. He was beheaded after a short hearing with Emperor Nero. So, he did complete his mission. By the way, other historical references say he was martyred as an old man, perhaps at the age of 90.

In this light, we can say that the emphasis of the Book of Acts is not about how Paul died, since Luke does not even mention his death; It is about how he lived. Moreover it is not just about how he lived, but how he lived NOT for himself but for Christ, knowing that he was going to meet him again one day just as he had done on the Road to Damascus. And, for each one of us, we can only hope that after we have gone to meet our maker that people, those loved ones we have left behind, will recall how we lived as believers in Christ rather than merely focusing on how we died.

The book of Acts is about how Paul, Peter, Barnabas, Timothy, Silas and so many other holy people, whom we today call “saints,” lived their lives. The book of Acts is a testament to how those who had been touched first by Christ and then the Holy Spirit lived out their lives in ministry. It is a schematic as to how we should live our lives with Christ and the Spirit today.

What a journey Paul has been on with the Lord! I will pray that those things never happen to any one of us here. However, when suffering does come into our lives for the sake of the Lord, we should do well to remember Paul’s own words in his letter to the Romans, Chapter 8: 18, “I consider that the sufferings of this present time are not worth comparing with the glory about to be revealed to us.” And of course we remember Paul’s words in verse 28 of that same chapter: “We know that all things work together for good for those who love God, who are called according to his purpose.”

We should remember from our own reading of Acts that when Paul faced his accusers he did so cheerfully. When he was in prison, he spent the time singing praises to God in worship. When he was shipwrecked, he reached out and healed others. This is how we are supposed to live our lives.

Also not in the Bible is where Saint Paul’s body is finally laid to rest. Because he was a Christian and Nero had just burned down the city and blamed the Christians, he was buried outside the Roman city walls at the time. Almost 300 years later, when Rome becomes the Holy Roman Empire under Emperor Constantine, a basilica was built over the site. I mention this because many of you will have been to St. Paul’s Cathedral in London, England. That is NOT where Saint Paul was buried. He did not die in the UK! He died in Rome for sure.

I want you to consider one more thing about Paul that is not in the Bible but that we must confess is absolutely true. Paul’s faith lived on and spread. That is right: his faith did not die when he did. We know today that it grew and spread around the world and is part of who we are here today even!

When we consider why the Book of Acts ends where it does it really does not make much sense unless we look at it epidemically. In the book The Tipping Point by Malcolm Gladwell. His topic is about how ideas seem to spread much like diseases. An idea can stay in a relatively small group until the group gets to a certain size and environment, and then the idea will take off like an epidemic. One point he uses to display this phenomenon is the cell phone use today. Cell phones were around for a long time before their use suddenly exploded in the 1990’s so that practically everyone today has one. At some point there came a tipping point when so many people had them that it seemed everybody would have to get one.

Consider the Book of Acts: It is a story of still a relatively few Christian believers. Paul would go into a town and meet with just a few at first. At some places, such as Thessalonica or Ephesus, he was run out of town. Other places he was not even allowed to go into by the workings of the Holy Spirit. Throughout the entire Book of Acts there is a nagging question as to whether this new religion was ever really going to take off or not. We are standing on the other side of history and so already know for certain the outcome, but the first readers of Luke’s writings, there must have been some question in their minds still if Christianity was going to make it or not.

Then, Paul comes to Rome. Something amazing happens as the ship from Malta comes to the Italian peninsula. As Paul arrives in Rome, those who have heard of him already come in from far and wide to welcome him. Look at verse 15 of chapter 28: “The believers from there, when they heard of us, came as far as the Forum of Appius and the Three Taverns to meet us. On seeing them, Paul thanked God and took courage.”

You see, when Paul reaches Rome, he also seems to reach a tipping point in the ministry of the church. One almost misses the fact, that amazing fact, that when Paul comes to Rome, the faith of Jesus Christ has preceded him already!!! The epidemic of faith in Jesus has already spread before him. He is welcomed as a hero of the faith, not a prisoner of the State!!! Luke wrote his journal up until that point in history when the Faith could no longer be stopped! Amen to that! The faith was taking on epidemic strength in spreading to others. It had come to the point where everyone could see that it would change the world for sure. To be sure, that is the climax of Paul’s story in the faith. Once Paul reaches Rome and sees that Christ’s name has preceded him, he knows what we all know today—the Faith will grow and thrive even long after we are all gone from this planet and are with our Lord again.

It is interesting to note that when doctors talk about epidemics, they nickname the first carrier of disease as “Patient Zero.” For instance, with the spread of AIDS in North America, Patient Zero was a Canadian flight attendant who infected at least 30 other people. We should do that with our Christian Faith and call Saint Paul “Christian Zero.” From his day to ours, we are still infected with that same strain of belief in Jesus Christ. In this way, we are absolutely connected still with Saint Paul. And, when we ask why Luke decided to stop writing just then, we can honestly say that the story is still being written as we are still carriers of the Faith of Saint Paul.

If your Bible has verse 29 in it, good for you! Our pew bibles have it in the footnotes. I really do not want to spend any time on text criticism, just know that the meaning of the passage does not change. It says in verse 29 that the Pharisees were angry and left while arguing among themselves. Yup, that is what they do! We do not need to do that!

Verse 30 is what is key in this passage anyway. It says that the Apostle Paul welcomed all who came to him! So, as we read, some of the Pharisees who were there, only some, did start to believe in Jesus. They were welcome to visit Paul, and everyone else.

However, what makes this really unique is that in those days, Christians were being persecuted. Generally speaking, someone had to invite you to a secret church worship time in order to attend. They had passwords and secret symbols. They would make the sign of the fish for instance. That is how the fish symbol became in use as a sign of Christianity. In spite of this, Paul was open to having everyone come and drop by. He was not ashamed of being in chains. He was not afraid of someone who might want to do him harm. He is in essence totally resigned to just being open to all people no matter what.

I really love this. As I get older, closer to joining Jesus in heaven, I am caring less and less as to what might happen to me. How old was Paul when he was in prison in Rome? One can argue that he was middle aged, but the tradition is that he is already an old man. People did not live so long back then. Some commentaries state that Paul lived into his 90s. The images we have of Saint Paul today generally show him to be an elderly fellow indeed. Please see the cover of the bulletin.

We love all people here in this church. Everyone is welcomed. We take the lead from Saint Paul and just open ourselves to all kinds! And, if people go away angry with us for doing that, then we will also add them as the missing verse, a footnote to the ministry here in Waimea! Jesus was and is for all people, and Saint Paul welcomed all even in his humiliation and martyrdom.

Amen.