When we arrived in Rome, Paul was permitted to have his own private lodging, though he was guarded by a soldier. Three days after Paul’s arrival, he called together the local Jewish leaders. He said to them, “Brothers, I was arrested in Jerusalem and handed over to the Roman government, even though I had done nothing against our people or the customs of our ancestors. The Romans tried me and wanted to release me, because they found no cause for the death sentence. But when the Jewish leaders protested the decision, I felt it necessary to appeal to Caesar, even though I had no desire to press charges against my own people. 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.” They replied, “We have had no letters from Judea or reports against you from anyone who has come here. But we want to hear what you believe, for the only thing we know about this movement is that it is denounced everywhere.” So a time was set, and on that day a large number of people came to Paul’s lodging. He explained and testified about the Kingdom of God and tried to persuade them about Jesus from the Scriptures. Using the law of Moses and the books of the prophets, he spoke to them from morning until evening. Some were persuaded by the things he said, but others did not believe. And after they had argued back and forth among themselves, they left with this final word from Paul: “The Holy Spirit was right when he said to your ancestors through Isaiah the prophet,

‘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. For the hearts of these people are hardened,and their ears cannot hear,and they have closed their eyes—so their eyes cannot see,and their ears cannot hear,and their hearts cannot understand,and they cannot turn to meand let me heal them.’

So I want you to know that this salvation from God has also been offered to the Gentiles, and they will accept it.” For the next two years, Paul lived in Rome at his own expense. He welcomed all who visited him, boldly proclaiming the Kingdom of God and teaching about the Lord Jesus Christ. And no one tried to stop him.
Act 28:16-31

Dear God, this is such an amazing book by Luke, and then it comes to this abrupt end.

But beyond all of that, I don’t think I ever noticed this last line before: “And no one tried to stop him.” What an interesting thing for Luke to point out. What it says to me is that you put him in a unique position, through being imprisoned on house arrest, to share the gospel in a way he probably wouldn’t otherwise have been able to do. For two years, he preached, taught, and debated unfettered. He was already arrested and awaiting his appeal. What else could those who didn’t like him do to him.

It reminds me of other people in the Bible who were living through difficult situations, but they ultimately ended up accomplishing amazing things through them. Hagar comes to mind. Through Sarah’s anger and Abraham’s weakness, she was sent off with Ishmael into the desert to die. But you were actually freeing her from her slavery and setting her and her son up for a brand new life. In the moment, I’m sure it looked like she was losing, but you were orchestrating it for something better.

Jesus’s death is another example. To everyone in the moment, Jesus’s death looked like losing. But it was part of something so much bigger—the grace you would offer to all of humanity.

Going back to Abraham, I have no respect for him given the way this story portrays his interactions with Sarah and Hagar. He could have done a lot of things, and to me he chose the weakest path. He did that a lot. With Pharaoh. With another king. Telling both of them that Sarah was his sister because he was afraid for himself. He just made so many bad decisions. But you made allowance for that in your plan. You used it. It makes me think about some of the mistakes I’ve made and how you’ve redeemed them. It makes me think of some of my pain now and how you might be working to do something wonderful through something that seems like a loss to me.

Father, Jesus, Holy Spirit, I’m doing something interesting today. I’m doing something that demonstrates my faith in you and what I think is obeying your Holy Spirit. Use this not for me but for you and your plans. For your glory. Help me to decrease so that you might increase in this world.

I pray all of this in the name of my Triune God,

Amen