Bible Study: Acts 26-27-28
Finally,
at the end of Acts, Paul makes it to Rome!
In
these chapters, we hear Paul’s various stages of defense of his case, as he is
passed from the court of the Jewish leaders in Jerusalem, to the governor’s
court in Caesarea, appearing before King Agrippa, and finally to Rome.
Interestingly, we don’t hear about the trial in Rome, or any audience with
Emperor Nero. The point of Paul’s journey to Rome, after all, is for him to
witness to God’s saving work in Jesus, as God told him in last week’s reading
(23:11). The accusation against him (that he is turning people away from Jewish
tradition, and has defiled the temple by bringing Gentiles into it), and the
ensuing trials are merely the vehicle by which he gets to Rome. Once again,
Paul uses the channels available to him, this time his Roman citizenship and
right to be heard before the Emperor, to get to a place where he can proclaim
the gospel.
While
God does not rescue Paul from imprisonment this time, as had happened earlier,
there are two miraculous saves in these chapters. First, there is a shipwreck
en route to Rome. Despite common sense that would dictate a travel advisory
this time of year (after Yom Kippur, September/October; 27:9), the captain
decides to set sail. Paul predicts trouble at sea, and there is. There are
parallels here to Jonah’s catastrophic sea voyage, but an important difference
is that these Acts sailors are saved because of Paul’s presence on the ship,
whereas Jonah’s companions were in danger precisely because that prophet was on
board. Paul assures them that they will survive; after all, God has sent Paul
to Rome, and God will get him all the way there. His sacramental act of taking,
thanking God, breaking, and giving bread to them provides reassurance and
comfort of God’s presence amidst the storm, and breaks their storm- and
panic-imposed fast. Eucharist is a sign of hope in the power and
presence of God; it’s the witness the church gives to the world in a time of
danger.1
Q: Have you ever thought of
communion as “God’s presence amidst the storm”? In what ways are meals we share
with others sacramental?
The
second miracle occurs on the island of Malta, when Paul is seized by a viper.
Those around him assume he is an evil person, and this is divine intervention,
to kill him for his sins. When he survives the bite unscathed, however, Paul
himself is thought to be the divine one. His life is preserved so that he can
continue to serve, and provides another miracle in healing the leader’s father.
Q: Have you experienced this kind of
“second chance” to be intentional about the way you live your life and the
choices you make with your time, talent, and treasure?
When
Paul finally gets to Rome, he goes not to the Emperor, but to the Jewish
leaders—his usual pattern on arriving in a new place. He gathers them together,
they receive him, but they don’t really seem to know him. They haven’t had any
messages about him, so they don’t have an opinion on whether or not he’s guilty
of any charges. As usual, after he goes into great detail to tell them about
his life and ministry since his Damascus Road “come to Jesus moment”
(literally!), some are convinced, and some are not.
We
have learned some important things from watching Paul in these last chapters.
The composer of the story we know as Luke/Acts believes “that a personal and
ongoing experience of the risen Christ is the bedrock upon which faithful
witness is built.”2 If Paul had not had that experience with Jesus
on the road, he would not be testifying to the power of Jesus. Perhaps it’s
better to think of that experience as a calling rather than a conversion; Paul
was converted from his hatred of the Christians to become a follower of Jesus,
but he clearly sees following Jesus as an extension of what it means to be a
faithful Jew. He hasn’t truly converted his religious beliefs. That kind of
experience is the basis for being able to witness to the power and presence of
Jesus. But the witness itself, we see, isn’t always enough to convince someone
else who hasn’t directly experienced that power and presence for themselves. And
yet, Luke is not telling us that faith is an personal experience. Time and
again, the believers gather together, to share their stories of what they’ve
seen God doing, to break bread, to figure out what to do next. So what is the
role of the church in facilitating a personal and ongoing experience of the
risen Christ? Do we wait for people to “get the Spirit” and then give them a
seat at worship? Paul’s travels, and the diligent proclamation of the apostles,
risking life and limb, model for us what it means to be a community gathered
around our experiences of the risen Christ. We have different experiences, and
we have them many times, sometimes obviously and profoundly, sometimes subtly,
almost hidden. How do we share life together so that our common work as church
is also a witness, and might be a first step in an experience of Christ for
someone else? How do we “become the content of the gospel proclamation”?3
Our guiding questions:
1.
What is God doing?
2.
What are the people doing?
3.
What do we learn as church?
1. Willimon,
William H. Acts (Interpretation
Series). Atlanta: John Knox, 1988. 184
2. Ibid, 180
3. Ibid, 186
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