Without Hindrances to the End of the Age
May 23, 2021
Preached by Benjamin Vrbicek
Scripture Reading
Acts 28:30-31
28:30 He lived there two whole years at his own expense, and welcomed all who came to him, 31 proclaiming the kingdom of God and teaching about the Lord Jesus Christ with all boldness and without hindrance.
As Davis said, this is my last Sunday before my summer sabbatical. I’ll be doing some continuing education, as well as working on a writing project. The largest portion of the sabbatical will involve rest and hanging with my family. You’ll see us at church here and there, but we’re also going to visit some churches where my friends pastor.
In a staff meeting a few months ago I mentioned that someday I really wanted to see Ben and David and Noah all lead worship on a Sunday. They were kind to do that today. And they were kind to play the hymn, “Speak O Lord,” which for years around the office we’ve joked that it’s my “pump up” song for preaching.
So, although my heart is full this morning, my sermon will be shorter than normal. As I mentioned two weeks ago, I want to give time for our membership to share with all of us. After the sermon and before communion, we’ll pass a microphone so that any member of our church who feels led to do so can finish this sentence: “Although it’s been a hard few years, I have seen God’s grace among us in _________.”
A few weeks ago when Tony Pitts preached he had to cover two entire chapters from the book of Acts. This morning I have the smallest passage we’ve taken: just two verses. And in our final sermon in Acts, we now come to the famous verse I’ve been referring to for almost two years: Paul in Rome proclaiming Jesus boldly—all done without hindrance. It’s a small passage with a big truth. Would you pray with me as we begin this sermon? “Dear heavenly Father . . .”
Without Hindrances to the End of the Age
Two Fridays ago I went to New York City for the first time in my life. I was one of several chaperones on a school field trip. We went to Ellis Island and Liberty Island. It was a wonderful day—sunny, seventy degrees, and not a cloud in the sky.
We traveled the ferry several times throughout the day, and each time we left Battery Park a prerecorded message played over the loudspeaker. Among the other announcements, passengers were told where to find safety devices. “If you are on such and such a deck of the ferry, the life vests are here. If you are on a different deck, they are here. And this is where the lifeboat is located.” That sort of thing. The final sentence told us, “We do not anticipate using any of these safety devices.”
A few thoughts came to mind. First, isn’t that what they thought on the Titanic?—which wasn’t a very encouraging thought. And as far as I could tell there was one lifeboat and six hundred people! Also, not encouraging.
Second, as I listened to the recording each time my mind went toward the book of Acts. The message over the loudspeaker essentially said that they have lots of devices that could help us if we run into serious problems but that there was zero expectation that there would be any serious problems. The subtext essentially saying that “we just have to tell you all this safety stuff for legal purposes.”
When we began our sermon series through the book of Acts in October of 2019, I want to assure you this was not how we were looking at the book of Acts. All summer long in 2019 I felt as though we would need a book, we would need preaching, we would need a gospel, we would need insights into the kindness and strength of God as played out through the stories of real Christians amid real opposition that could carry our church through hard times. In short, that summer I kept looking at the book of Acts, not from the safety of a ship in calm water, but as a pastor on a ship already in a storm.
So let’s rewind. In April of 2019, one of our long-time pastors and my co-pastor and friend told me he was taking a new job at a new church. In May we told that to all of you. His last Sunday was the last Sunday in June.
Across that summer forty new people showed up who wanted to join small groups that didn’t exist yet with leaders we didn’t have, and we were down a pastor. Also, we had to work through little pockets of drama related to those who left when Jason left. Pastor Ben was here. And we’re all so thankful for that, myself especially. He was pushing hard in seminary and leading the youth and our music. And we asked him to push harder and preach a lot more often. He did. And he did it really, really well. But it was hard.
Meanwhile, I officiated five weddings in two months. Then I completed my ordination process in our denomination, which required completing a huge paper and undergoing a four-hour oral defense of my theology. Then, three days later, I had a massive shoulder surgery that left me in a sling for a few months, sleeping in a recliner for longer, and undergoing painful but helpful physical therapy for longer still.
Meanwhile, we formed a search team to look for a new pastor, which meant we were not only short-staffed but that we had to devote part of each week to reading resumes and doing interviews. I remember going to lunch with Pastor David and Jaime in January when they first visited. He looked me in the eyes and saw how tired I was—in January. Our church voted to hire David in mid-March of 2020, which I am so thankful that the Lord brought David here. But the Sunday after we hired David, we closed our church for in-person gatherings for thirteen straight weeks because a pandemic was spreading across the world.
And just about one year ago, in last May, I had almost nothing left to give.
All of that is a roundabout way to illustrate that I wasn’t overstating my point when I said that all summer long in 2019, I kept looking at the book of Acts not from the safety of a ship in calm water but as a pastor on a ship already in a storm. And it wasn’t just that I felt as though we would need a book, we would need preaching, we would need a gospel, we would need insights into the kindness and strength of God that could carry our church through hard times. It was that I needed a book, I needed preaching, I needed a gospel, I needed insights into the character of God that could carry me through hard times. And I think in God’s kindness he’s done that for us. I know he carried me.
That summer of 2019, Pastor Ben and I made a list of many of the hindrances in the book of Acts. Without much trouble, we listed eighteen hindrances to the gospel as experienced in the book of Acts. That list went like this:
Outright persecution via beatings and martyrdom (e.g., James and Stephen) but also softer persecution such as when Peter and the other disciples are laughed at in Acts 2 (“filled with too much wine”) or when Paul is laughed at on Mars Hill in Acts 17
Racism, as seen in places like Acts 6 with issues around food distribution and in Acts 10–11 with Cornelius’s conversion and hesitancy to embrace what God was doing
Christianity clashes with idols, both literal idols and heart idols
Religious fundamentalists are surprised they too must repent
A liberal, permissive, pluralistic backdrop that can’t understand the exclusivity of Jesus (in other words, many people believed that just as many roads lead to Rome, so also many roads lead to God)
True Christians are the minority
The newness of new converts and all that comes with immaturity
Idolization and worship of political leaders, as when in Acts 12:22 the people shout of King Herod that he has “The voice of a god, and not of a man!”
Leadership transitions, certainly the transition of Jesus’s ascension to heaven but also among the disciples and then later with Paul and then with Gentile leaders
Financial greed and selfishness, as seen in Acts 5 with the death of Ananias and his wife Sapphira
The battle over how the Old Testament Scriptures relate to this new “sect” (i.e., a battle over who has the Old Testament story correct)
Religious tribalism and “market share” were valued as more important than truth
Spiritual apathy
How to reckon with the undeniably miraculous events of the book
Genuine conversion was costly to coverts in a “this must change my life” kind of way
Demonic opposition
Differing cultures colliding, both within the church and also Christianity with Jewish and secular culture
The greatness of the task and the scarcity of resources
That was our list of the hindrances within the book of Acts, which I’ve never read in church before but looked at often. And yet, even looking at this list now, I’m reminded of how often the book of Acts is filled with strategically placed summary verses to show God’s kingdom advancing and his church being built through and despite these hindrances. I’ll read these summary verses to you now.
And day by day, attending the temple together and breaking bread in their homes, they received their food with glad and generous hearts, praising God and having favor with all the people. And the Lord added to their number day by day those who were being saved. (Acts 2:46–47)
And more than ever believers were added to the Lord, multitudes of both men and women (Acts 5:14)
And the word of God continued to increase, and the number of the disciples multiplied greatly in Jerusalem, and a great many of the priests became obedient to the faith. (Acts 6:7)
So the church throughout all Judea and Galilee and Samaria had peace and was being built up. And walking in the fear of the Lord and in the comfort of the Holy Spirit, it multiplied. (Acts 9:31)
But the word of God increased and multiplied. (Acts 12:24)
So the churches were strengthened in the faith, and they increased in numbers daily. (Acts 16:5)
So the word of the Lord continued to increase and prevail mightily. (Acts 19:20)
And then finally, we come to the last summary passage in the book which just so happens to be the last verses in the book.
[Paul] lived there two whole years at his own expense, and welcomed all who came to him, proclaiming the kingdom of God and teaching about the Lord Jesus Christ with all boldness and without hindrance. (Acts 28:30–31)
The point we made over and over again was that in and around these summary verses are trials upon trials, suffering stacked on suffering, setbacks leading to more setbacks, and hindrances piling on top of more hindrances. And yet the gospel goes forward boldly and sovereignly without hindrance. The apostle Paul may enter Rome wearing chains, but the word of God is not chained (cf. 2 Tim. 2:9).
Speaking of the word of God not being chained, during these two years, from ad 60–62, Paul wrote several letters, the letters we call the “prison epistles,” epistle being a fancy name for a letter. The prison epistles are Ephesians, Colossians, Philemon, and Philippians. I want to read you two passages from Philippians, which again, Paul wrote while in Rome under the house we’re reading about in Acts 28. Consider chapter 1.
I want you to know, brothers, that what has happened to me has really served to advance the gospel, so that it has become known throughout the whole imperial guard and to all the rest that my imprisonment is for Christ. And most of the brothers, having become confident in the Lord by my imprisonment, are much more bold to speak the word without fear. (Phil. 1:12–14)
In other words, because of the hindrance of Paul’s imprisonment, the gospel has run through the whole of the Roman imperial guard without hindrance. All the soldiers want to know who is this man we are guarding and who is it that he worships? They want to know about Jesus, so Paul tells them.
Now, see the way Paul ends the letter of Philippians in chapter 4.
Greet every saint in Christ Jesus. The brothers who are with me greet you. All the saints greet you, especially those of Caesar’s household. The grace of the Lord Jesus Christ be with your spirit. (Phil. 4:21–23)
Oh by the way, Paul says, Caesar—you know, that guy who is the most powerful man in the world—yeah, well, his family is getting saved and they want me to tell you hello.
After these two years, Paul was released from prison. He did more missions work, perhaps even getting to Spain as he told the church in Rome he wanted to do (Rom. 15:23–24; cf. the nonconical letter of 1 Clement 5:7). During that time Paul wrote the letters of 1 Timothy and Titus. Then Paul went back into jail in Rome around ad 67 and writes 2 Timothy just before he is beheaded (so church tradition holds).
So why didn’t Luke write about all that other stuff in Acts? Why did Luke end the book of Acts where he did? After traveling with Paul for so much of the book, why didn’t Luke write about the ending of Paul’s life? We can’t know for sure; likely there are several reasons. But here is one of them: the book is not about Paul. And it’s not about you. The book of Acts is about the living Jesus. Jesus was born, Jesus lived, Jesus died, Jesus rose, Jesus ascended to the throne of the universe where Jesus sits, ruling over everything and everyone, and one day, just as Acts 1:11 promises, this same Jesus will return just as he left. The book of Acts is about the living Jesus.
I titled this sermon “Without Hindrance to the End of the Age” as an allusion to Jesus’s words at the end of the book of Matthew. As we close Acts, let me read them to you:
And Jesus came and said to them, “All authority in heaven and on earth has been given to me. Go therefore and make disciples of all nations, baptizing them in the name of the Father and of the Son and of the Holy Spirit, teaching them to observe all that I have commanded you. And behold, I am with you always, to the end of the age.” (Matt. 28:18–20)
Indeed, Jesus is with us even now with all his authority and all his power. This book is a missionary book because we have a missionary God who goes with his people. If you want in on his salvation, all you must do is ask. Jesus exalts himself to show mercy.
Let’s pray . . .
