when they had appointed a day for him, they came to him at his lodging in greater numbers. from morning till evening he expounded to them, testifying to the kingdom of God and trying to convince them about Jesus both from the law of moses and from the prophets. and some were convinced by what he said, but others disbelieved. [acts 28:23-24]
from morning till evening
paul has finally arrived in rome, the destination he set out for when he appealed to caesar, and he immediately goes about doing what he does best– sharing the gospel from morning till evening, starting with his own jewish people. it appears that this roman synagogue knows nothing about paul’s history of trouble with the jewish leadership. for the first time in a long time, this gives him a blank slate from which to share the hope of the messiah.
it is my hope that given the opportunity, i too, would be able to share about Christ ‘from morning till evening’. Jesus should be at the forefront of my thoughts so that i could hold a captive crowd all day long, just sharing of who he is and the great things he has done.
the law and the prophets
paul begins his ‘expounding’ where he usually begins – proving that Jesus did not come out of nowhere, but has been carefully and methodically foretold since the earliest days of human history. what we call the old testament (the law and the prophets) was paul’s bible. he knew it well, and saw Jesus throughout! never believe the idea that the God of the old testament is somehow different than the God of the new testament! God’s love, grace, power, and majesty are the same throughout, and Jesus can be found on every page of both the old and new testaments.
some were convinced but others disbelieved
when we share the gospel, we must understand that not everyone will believe it. this can be disheartening – to share the greatest news ever only to have someone say they aren’t interested. yet not even paul could convince everyone, and clearly some people didn’t even believe Jesus himself. our calling is not to save people – only God can do that. our calling is to share the truth we have found in Christ, and by sharing encourage ourselves, other believers, and be a part of God’s work in the hearts of those who do not believe. Because although some will not believe, some will!
we can’t make everyone believe, but we can be firm in our testimony and ready to share with anyone, anywhere, at any moment.
~ jason soroski