Bible

Today, in the Bible room, we conclude the reading of the book of Acts with Session 13, the summaries of chapters 26, 27, and 28.

____________________________________

Acts

Session 13

Chapter 26. Almost

Agrippa tells Paul he is permitted to speak for himself:

• Paul begins by telling Agrippa he is happy to speak with him,
• And to answer these accusations from the Jews;
• Because, he says, Agrippa knows the customs of the Jews,
• And will understand Paul, and what he has to say;
• Paul says the Jews have known him from his early years;
• He grew up in Jerusalem, and was taught a strict Pharisee;
• The Jews should be willing to verify this for him;
• But now he is being judged for the hope he has in God,
• And the promise God made to their forefathers,
• The twelve tribes, who persisted in their hope in God;
• And now, for this hope, the Jews are accusing him;
• God raising people from the dead should not be unbelievable;
• Paul says he was one who did many things opposing Jesus;
• Including at Jerusalem where he had received authority
• From the chief priest to arrest and imprison followers of Jesus;
• And he admits his approval when some of them were killed;
• He says he attacked them with rage in every synagogue;
• Even traveled to foreign cities to find and persecute them;
• He goes on to recount the day he received authority from the
• Chief priest to travel to Damascus and arrest any believers he
• Could find there in the synagogue, but suddenly, on the road,
• At midday, a light from heaven, brighter than the sun, knocks
• Him, and his traveling companions, to the ground;
• He hears a voice speaking in the Hebrew language, saying
• ‘Saul, why are you persecuting Me?’ Then Saul asks the voice:
• ‘Who are You, Lord?’ The voice answers:
• ‘I am Jesus Whom you are persecuting; I am calling you now
• To be a minister and witness for Me, of the things I will show
• You. I will save you from the Jews as I am sending you now
• To the Gentiles to show them the light, and turn them away
• From Satan toward God that they may receive forgiveness of
• Their sins and be sanctified by faith in Me.’
• Paul then tells Agrippa he has obeyed the voice from heaven,
• And immediately started his new calling in Damascus, then
• Jerusalem, all the region of Judea, then to the Gentiles;
• And for that, the Jews arrested him in the temple, and
• Would have killed him except for the help of God;
• So, since then, he has been telling his story to everyone,
• And saying only the things spoken by Moses and the prophets,
• That the Christ would come, and he would die, and be
• The first to be raised from the dead and proclaim light to the
• Jews and to the Gentiles.
• At this point, Festus interrupts Paul, tells him he has gone mad;
• Paul says he is not out of his mind, simply speaking the truth,
• And he is sure that the king understands these things, as he
• Knows all of this has been out in the open for all to see;
• Paul says he knows that King Agrippa believes the law and
• The prophets, to which Agrippa offers his reply:
• ‘You almost persuade me to become a Christian;’
• Paul says he begs to God that Agrippa, and everyone else who
• Has heard him this day, would not just be ‘almost’ but
• ‘Altogether’ be as he is, except for his chains.
• Then Agrippa and Bernice, along with the governor and the
• Others, stand up and walk aside to talk among themselves;
• They conclude that Paul has done nothing to warrant death,
• Nor even to be in chains, and Agrippa says Paul could be set
• Free, except he has appealed to Caesar.     

Chapter 27. Courage

In time, it is decided to send Paul, and some other prisoners, to Italy:

• A centurion named Julius will be in charge of the prisoners;
• We board a ship of Adramyttium, to sail along the coast of
• Asia to Sidon where Julius allows Paul to visit friends and
• To receive care before the ship sails again;
• We sail in cross winds close to Cyprus, coming to Myra of
• Lycia, where Julius finds a ship bound for Italy;
• Slowly, we sail for many days, finally passing Crete,
• Until coming to a place called Fair Havens, near Lasea;
• While we were there, the Day of Atonement passed, after
• Which, the winds had become treacherous and dangerous;
• Paul advises the owner of the ship that these conditions
• Would likely result in loss of the cargo, and lives as well;
• However, the ship’s owner and the crew think otherwise,
• So, they will attempt to sail to Phoenix at Crete to spend the
• Winter; But soon, a headwind begins, and the ship encounters
• A northeaster so severe they must drop the sails, let the ship be
• Driven by the wind, and tossed about by the waves, until
• Everyone begins to fear for their lives; To lighten the load, they
• Throw some cargo overboard, and after the third day, with our
• Own hands, we helped throw the ship’s tackle overboard;
• Finally, after enduring this tempest for many days, unable to
• Eat anything, all hope is lost, when Paul stands in their midst:
• First, he reminds them of what he had told them at Crete, but
• Now he says they should take courage because not one person
• Will be lost in the shipwreck which is coming;
• He tells them an angel of God has given him assurance that he
• Will make it safely to Caesar, and all on the ship will be saved;
• After fourteen days and nights on the Adriatic Sea, around
• Midnight, the sailors measure the water depth and know
• They are getting close to land, so they drop four of the
• Ship’s anchors, and wait for daylight; Before daybreak, Paul
• Urges everyone to take some food as they have not eaten for
• Fourteen days, so, he takes bread, gives thanks openly to God,
• And eats along with the others; When it gets light, they see
• A sandy beach on shore where they can run the ship aground,
• So, they scuttle the anchors, in the sea, raise the mainsail, and
• Ride the ship toward the sand; However, at some distance from
• The beach the prow of the ship runs aground, leaving the ship’s
• Stern to be destroyed by the waves; Some people swimming,
• Some floating on pieces of the ship, all two hundred and
• Seventy-six passengers escape safely to shore.

Chapter 28. Salvation

Later, they learn they have landed on an island called Malta:

• It is raining, and cold, but the natives are very kind;
• They build us a fire, and make us all feel welcome;
• As Paul is gathering sticks for the fire, he does not see the
• Viper among the sticks until it attaches itself to his hand;
• When the natives see this snake biting his hand, they talk
• Among themselves that this man must be a murderer who
• Has escaped the storm, but is now getting his proper justice;
• After Paul shakes the snake off his hand, with no ill effects,
• They watch him for some time, and when he does not die,
• They decide he is a god;
• The magistrate of the island is named Publius, and he has
• Received us with kindness and courtesy for three days;
• It happens that his father is very sick with fever, so, Paul goes 
• To his house, prays for him, and the man is healed;
• This brings all the islanders with sickness and diseases to Paul,
• And all are healed; They give us gifts when we leave;
• We stay on the island for three months, then sail away on a
• Ship from Alexandria to Syracuse where we stay three days;
• From there to Rhegium, then on with the wind to Puteoli;
• After visiting with some believers, we go on toward Rome;
• At Rome, the centurion lets Paul stay alone with his guard;
• After three days, Paul calls a meeting of the Jewish leaders;
• He begins by telling them why he is under arrest in Rome,
• Explaining how the Jews in Jerusalem lodged charges against
• Him, though he was innocent, so he appealed to Caesar;
• Now, he is appealing to these Jews to understand him;
• They tell Paul nothing has come to them about his charges,
• Neither letters nor visiting Jews; But they want to hear from
• Him about his beliefs as everyone is speaking against him;
• So, on a given day, they all come to where he is staying, and
• He speaks to them all day about how Jesus is spoken of in the
• Law of Moses and in the prophets; Some are persuaded, and
• Some do not believe, creating a disagreement among them,
• Leading Paul to say: The Holy Spirit spoke through Isaiah,
• The prophet to their fathers when he said: Hearing, you will
• Hear and not understand, and you have closed your eyes so
• That you neither see nor hear, nor understand with your
• Heart, so that I could heal you. Now, the salvation of God has
• Come to the Gentiles who will hear;
• With that, the Jews walk away, arguing among themselves;
• For the next two years, Paul lives in a rented house, and is
• Allowed to have many visitors as he continues to teach
• About the kingdom of God and the Lord Jesus Christ.

End of Session 13 of the book of Acts.

(This concludes the reading of the book of Acts.)