Daily Office Readings for Saturday of Proper 16 Year 1
AM Psalm 20, 21:1-7(8-14); PM Psalm 110:1-5(6-7), 116, 117 1 Kings 7:51-8:21; Acts 28:17-31; Mark 14:43-52
“Let it be known to you then that this salvation of God has been sent to the Gentiles; they will listen.” (Acts 28:28)
Here again is one of those weird quirks in the Bible where there is a missing verse. There is no verse 29! Some manuscripts include here “After he said this, the Jews left, arguing vigorously among themselves” There is a verse 30 and 31, (For two whole years Paul stayed there in his own rented house and welcomed all who came to see him. He proclaimed the kingdom of God and taught about the Lord Jesus Christ—with all boldness and without hindrance!) What does your Bible say about verse 29?
This pretty much ends Acts. We started with Luke speaking about Peter’s experiences and we end with Paul and his experiences. Paul leaves us with the facts that the Gentiles will listen. Ethnically, most Christians today fall into the category of the Nations, or the Gentiles.
But this is more than labels. This is really about who will listen. And this word listen is more than just hearing; it goes straight to believing and trusting. It seems that God is more concerned with what we believe than what our biology is.
What I get from Acts is that both Peter and Paul are Israelites who were commissioned to carry the message of eternal life and salvation through Jesus the Son of God to ALL people. We are given a temporary window of opportunity (this life) to have eternal life and all we have to do as believe, but also, behave in accordance with our Christian beliefs.
Let us hear what the Spirit is saying to and through God’s people. John+
onewhoponders 