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Commentary Index | Return to PrayerRequest.com | DownloadPaul Kretzmann Commentary - Acts 28:25 - 28:29
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A word from Isaiah applied:
v. 25. And when they agreed not among themselves, they departed after that Paul had spoken one word, Well spake the Holy Ghost by Esaias the prophet unto our fathers,
v. 26. saying, Go unto this people and say, Hearing ye shall hear and shall not understand, and seeing ye shall see and not perceive;
v. 27. for the heart of this people is waxed gross, and their ears are dull of hearing, and their eyes have they closed, lest they should see with their eyes, and hear with their ears, and understand with their heart, and should be converted, and I should heal them.
v. 28. Be it known, therefore, unto you that the salvation of God is sent unto the Gentiles, and that they will hear it.
v. 29. And when he had said these words, the Jews departed, and had great reasoning among themselves.
It was at this point in the discussion, when some were being persuaded by Paul's words, yielding to the conviction of God's Word, and others continued in their disbelief, and when they could not come to an agreement among themselves, that Paul reminded them of a word of the Prophet Isaiah, chap. 6:9-10, which caused the meeting to disperse without a definite conclusion in regard to the matter. He referred to the prophecy concerning self-hardening followed by hardening on the part of God. Isaiah had received the express command to go to the Jews of his day and tell them that they would, literally, hear with their hearing, and yet not understand; that they would see with their eyes upon the Word, and yet receive no impression on their mind. And the reason for that judgment was that the heart of the people had become callous, unfeeling, and the spiritual hearing of their ears had become difficult, and their eyes were prevented from seeing. Therefore the Lord had given them up to the hardness of their hearts, lest they should see with their eyes and hear with their ears, and understand with their heart, and turn, be converted, and the Lord heal them. This terrible judgment upon the stubborn Jews had begun in the time of Isaiah, it had been threatened in the days of the Savior, Mat_13:14-15; Mar_4:12; Luk_8:10, and it was now about to be carried out in its final terrible curse. And they would have no one to blame for the terrible results of their enmity toward Christ and God but themselves. Formally and solemnly Paul announces to the assembled Jews this consequence of their resistance and the course which he would be compelled to adopt henceforth. He wanted to have it known, to be understood by them, that the salvation of God, in the Gospel of the Messiah, was now sent to the Gentiles, and they would hear and accept its glorious news. Note that even these last words are spoken not merely to condemn, but also to lead to repentance. It was like showing to the Jews the horrible yawning abyss at whose edge they were standing, having deliberately closed their eyes and ears against every warning. And some results seem to have attended this last warning, if the text here is correct, for when Paul said these words, they left his quarters, discussing the matter among themselves with great vehemence. If the interest thus aroused only leads to a careful searching of Scriptures, a person may feel well rewarded for even such apparently fruitless discussions.