“17 After three days he called together the leaders of the Jews. When they had gathered he said to them: ‘Brothers, although I have done nothing against our people or the customs of our ancestors, I was delivered as a prisoner from Jerusalem into the hands of the Romans. 18 After they examined me, they wanted to release me, since I had not committed a capital offense. 19 Because the Jews objected, I was compelled to appeal to Caesar; it was not as though I had any accusation against my nation. 20 For this reason I’ve asked to see you and speak to you. In fact, it is for the hope of Israel that I’m wearing this chain.’

21 Then they said to him, ‘We haven’t received any letters about you from Judea. None of the brothers has come and reported or spoken anything evil about you. 22 But we would like to hear from you what you think. For concerning this sect, we are aware that it is spoken against everywhere.'”

Acts 28:17-22

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There really isn’t anything new under the sun. From the beginning of the Church, people have been speaking against it. This last exchange by the Jews in Rome could have been said just today. So many people speak against the Church even today. When we stand firm in the truth, people are offended, uncomfortable and often respond with ugliness. Rumors and untrue stereotypes abound, and the world lashes out at us through their misguided understanding of what we believe. They want us on the defensive, they try their hardest to throw us off balance.

Paul seeks out those people who should know better, who should be at least -familiar- with the Scriptures. He always went to the synagogues first, even if that meant a difficult exchange was coming. And while the Jews in Rome hadn’t heard anything about what had been going on with Paul, they had heard about the Church and they had heard people speaking against it. But that will not deter Paul, he was always faithful to try speaking and sharing and witnessing to those who should have a base to help them understand the Gospel message, the people of Israel, the children of promise. 

As we GoLove people in Jesus’ Name, we will find individuals who already ahev some basic knowledge of the Sciptures, maybe they were raised in church and fell away, maybe they are the spiritually ‘curious’ person who has actually taken time to read portions of the Bible. These people are going to have a sensitivity to what we have to say, but just like Paul found, that also means that you will probabaly find yourself battling misconceptions and wrong ideas that have been painted to look like they belong. 

Paul’s strategy also included the opportunity to walk away from the Jews & those gathered in the synagogues after he had made a legitimate attempt to share Christ with them. After they had heard the Gospel, and after they had some time with him to ask questions and have some conversation with him, he would move on. Those who had accepted, accepted and those who would not were left behind.  Paul then moved on to the slightly more difficult task of sharing the gospel with the pseudo-religious or irreligious crowds & pagans. 

Sometimes the hardest thing we must do is step away from trying to share Jesus with someone that we want to see come to Christ, but has no desire to actually make a move toward Him. We must also remember that God simetimes uses one person to plant a seed, another person waters it and still another gets to take part in the harvest. When we step away from someone, it’s not giving up on them, it’s giving control of the situation over to God. You keep praying for them, but you also allow some time and space to see them come to Christ by the power of God and the witness of another person. 

Paul had to exhibit a lot of trust in the hand of God in these trying times, and we must learn to do likewise. We must also remember to be good stewards of our time and to make an effort to reach out to others that may have been off our radar. Don’t beat yourself up because someone won’t respond. It just might be that the best thing you can do is let someone else have a chance & give the situation over to God. Paul is going to find this out in the next few verses of this last chapter of Acts, pray and ask God to see when those occasions come up for you & when to move forward elsewhere. Pray to be sensitive to the leading of His Holy Spirit.