²¹They replied, "We have not received any letters from Judea concerning you, and none of the brothers who have come from there has reported or said anything bad about you. ²²But we want to hear what your views are, for we know that people everywhere are talking against this sect."  Acts 28:21-22

The Jewish leaders had listened patiently to Paul as he explained how he was arrested in the Temple and his trials in Jerusalem and Caesarea. Paul concluded by emphasizing that he was in Rome as a prisoner because of the hope of Israel. Paul knew that the concept of the coming Messiah was undeniable In Judaism. Now it was the turn of the Jewish leaders to respond to all that they have heard from Paul.

The Jewish leaders replied by saying that they had not received any letters from Judea concerning Paul. In other words there were no specific negative reports that should alarm them about the ministry of Paul. It is important to observe that the ministry of Paul had been among the Gentiles outside Judea. Paul had been commissioned as the apostle to the Gentiles. So it was not surprising that the Jewish leaders in Rome had not heard any reports about Paul from Jerusalem. The reports reaching the Jewish leaders in Rome were all about activities in Judea, principally in Jerusalem. That would be the only explanation for the fact that these Jewish leaders in Rome did not hear about Paul who had been preaching the message of Christ in many cities in the Roman world.

The Jewish leaders in Rome indicated that they wished to hear more about the views of Paul. These leaders also indicated that they had received reports about a sect in Judaism that they were not sure of. This was because everywhere people were talking against this sect. In effect, they had heard some negative reports on Christianity or the sect. But they had not associated this sect with the mission and ministry of Paul.

Now it was the turn of Paul either to convince these leaders of the faith that he had found in Jesus Christ or he could back away from this faith so that they would not associate him with this sect that they had received negative reports about.

There will come a time that each one of us would be called upon to either stand for our faith in the Lord Jesus Christ or be pressured to abandon that faith because people around us may have objections to what Christianity stands for.

I am not ashamed of the gospel of Jesus Christ!

Stay Blessed

Brother Seth