Acts 28:17 - Meaning and Application

Paul had come to Rome as a prisoner, after a long and costly journey full of danger. Yet when he arrived, no one appeared to bring a formal charge against him. So he had to present his own case, and he did that before the leading Jews in Rome.

Not long before, Emperor Claudius had forced the Jews out of Rome, and they had only been back for about five years. Many had returned for business and trade, though it does not seem they had a synagogue or a public place of worship there. These leading Jews were the most respected men among them, men of influence and wealth. Paul gathered them because he wanted to be understood correctly and to keep a good relationship with them.

He spoke to them with respect, calling them “men and brothers.” In that way, he showed that he expected to be treated as both a man and a fellow believer in the human family. He also promised, in effect, to speak honestly, because all people are members of one another and should deal fairly with one another.

First, Paul said plainly that he was innocent. He had done nothing against the Jewish people, nothing against their religion, and nothing against their civil rights. He had not added to their troubles, and he had not broken with the customs handed down from their fathers. It was true that he did not force those customs on Gentiles, because they were never meant for Gentiles. But among Jews, he had not fought against their lawful practices. His real conflict was with their hostility toward the Gentiles, as in (Galatians 2:12). His own conscience told him he had acted faithfully toward the Jews.

Second, he gently complained about the way he had been treated. Even though he had done no wrong, he had been handed over as a prisoner from Jerusalem to the Romans. If he told the whole story, it would have made the Jewish leaders look even worse, because they would have killed him without any real legal basis if the Romans had not protected him. Still, they had accused him before Governor Felix and were pressing for judgment against him, which in effect handed him over to Roman custody when all he wanted was a fair hearing under their own law.

Third, Paul pointed to the verdict of the Roman officials. They examined him carefully, heard both the charges and his defense, and found no reason to sentence him to death. The commander, Felix, Festus, and Agrippa all came to the same conclusion. Nothing in his case showed him to be a dangerous man. He appeared to be honest, peaceful, and serious about what he believed. They would have released him if the Jews had not pressed so hard. It was a credit to Paul that the people who looked most closely at his case cleared him, while only those who had not heard him, or who were already biased against him, condemned him.

Fourth, Paul explained why he had appealed to Caesar. He had not done it to bring charges against his own nation or to answer evil with evil. When the Jews opposed his release and tried to block it, he was forced to appeal to Caesar because the governors kept fearing the Jews and would not let him go. He was simply trying to defend himself. Every person has the right to speak in his own defense, though he should not use that right to attack others. To accuse a nation, especially a nation like Israel, is a serious thing. Paul prayed for them, but he never acted against them. At that time, Roman leaders already thought badly of the Jews, seeing them as restless and dangerous. Paul could easily have stirred up even more hatred against them, but he refused to do that. He always tried to put the best view on people and not make bad things worse.

Fifth, Paul explained the true reason for his suffering, so they would not side with his enemies against him, but would care about his situation. He had called them to speak as countrymen and friends, because he was “bound with this chain for the hope of Israel.” He likely wore the sign of his imprisonment openly and may have been chained to the soldier guarding him. He suffered because he preached that the Messiah had come, the one Israel had been hoping for. The Jews all agreed that the Messiah would be the glory of Israel, so Paul was preaching the very hope they claimed to believe. The difference was this, they were looking for a Messiah still to come, while Paul preached a Messiah who had already come.

He also preached the resurrection of the dead, which was another hope of Israel, as he had said before in (Acts 23:6), (Acts 24:15), (Acts 26:6), and (Acts 26:7). Many of the Jews wanted a Messiah who would free them from Rome and make them prosperous on earth. That was what filled their minds. But they were angry because Paul turned their hopes toward the greater things of the next world, and because he pointed them to a Messiah who would give them those eternal blessings instead of earthly power and greatness.

Paul says he is trying to bring people into the spiritual and lasting blessing that their fathers hoped for by faith. He means that this is why the Jews hate him. He wants to turn them away from what he calls the false hope of Israel, the idea of a Messiah who would only bring earthly power and success. Instead, he points them to the true hope of Israel, the real meaning of all the promises made to the fathers, a spiritual kingdom of holiness and love planted in people’s hearts. That kingdom is a pledge and preparation for the joyful resurrection of the dead and the life of the world to come.

The Jews answered that they had nothing in particular against Paul. They said they had not received any letters from Judea about him, and no Jewish brethren who had come to Rome had reported anything harmful about him (Acts 28:21). This was surprising, because the same fierce hostility that had followed Paul in other places did not seem to reach him in Rome. Some think the Jews were lying and really had orders to accuse him, but were afraid to say so because they were already in danger of the emperor’s displeasure.

It is more likely that they told the truth. Paul had reached the very goal he sought when he appealed to Caesar, which was to move his case into a court where his enemies would not dare pursue it. In that sense, he acted like David when he fled to the land of the Philistines, where Saul gave up trying to find him (1 Samuel 27:1). So Paul’s appeal carried him to Rome, out of their reach, and they let the matter drop.

The Jewish leaders also said they wanted to hear Paul’s views in detail. They asked what he thought, meaning what his opinions and ideas were, and what kind of teaching he was so devoted to spreading in the face of so much resistance (Acts 28:22). Their words carried some scorn. They said they knew only one thing about Christianity: it was a sect that was spoken against everywhere.

These were Jews, even the leading Jews in Rome, who prided themselves on their knowledge (Romans 2:17). Yet this was all they knew about the Christian faith. They named it badly and then condemned it for the name they had given it. They called it a sect, but that was false. True Christianity is not built on narrow opinions or private interests, the way sects often are. It seeks no worldly gain. Its blessings are spiritual and eternal, and it is meant to unite people, not divide them.

Their other claim was true, though. Christianity was, and still is, spoken against everywhere. Those they knew spoke against it, so they assumed everyone did. In fact, most people did. It has always been the lot of Christ’s holy religion to be spoken against everywhere.