²⁴Some were convinced by what he said, but others would not believe. ²⁵They disagreed among themselves and began to leave after Paul had made this final statement: "The Holy Spirit spoke the truth to your forefathers when he said through Isaiah the prophet: Acts 28:24-25

Paul presented the gospel of Jesus Christ with the help of the Holy Spirit to the Jewish leaders and others who had gathered in Rome to hear him a second time. This was an extended session so that people could have their issues clarified. In the end some in the gathering were convinced that Jesus was the promised hope of Israel. That was a whole paradigm shift for these individuals to be able to accept that the promised Messiah had already come. Not only that, but also the fact that he came to his own and they did not recognize him.

Other people in the gathering found the presentation of Paul too hard to believe. Most likely they understood the implication so well. If the Messiah had come and had been crucified by the same people he came to save then where did they stand? One can imagine the sorts of arguments that would be going on. There would be questions like: “Then why do we still have the Roman occupation? Where were all the signs that were supposed to accompany the coming of the Messiah?”

The disagreement became so intense that some were ready to leave the assembly. They decided that this type of teaching was not something they could accept. For some of these folks, they decided to make their exit when Paul made a statement to the effect that the Holy Spirit had already spoken about the unfolding events. In other words their inability to accept the gospel was a fulfillment of Scripture.

Paul had a holy boldness in proclaiming the gospel to these Jewish leaders in Rome. Just imagine the scene, a man who was probably chained to a Roman soldier but who had the audacity to challenge the leaders with the same message that had got him in trouble in the first place. Paul was speaking of a personal experience that started on the Damascus Road but had been affirmed through his travels by the Holy Spirit.

Paul was not arguing something he had been taught. He was speaking of a relationship that he had with the Lord Jesus. This was the faith that he was inviting all his hearers to experience. That was the hope of Israel. The Holy Spirit writes the “laws” on the heart so people can say: “I know that I know that Jesus Christ is alive.”

Stay blessed.

Brother Seth