Acts 28:11-31 | It's Just the BeginningSample

It’s Just the Beginning

This is our last devotion and reading plan in Acts. We’ve come to the end. And it seems a bit anti-climactic.

The last words Luke writes in this epic telling of what Jesus continued to do and teach through his early disciples, especially Paul, is—

“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!” (Acts 28:30-31, NIV)

Wait, that’s it!?

What happens next!? Did Paul appear before Caesar? Did he get set free? Was he vindicated? Or was he executed for his faith?

Acts doesn’t say. And if it seems anti-climactic, that’s the point. Because Acts was never about Paul (or Peter or the early church). It’s about Jesus. His kingdom. His reign. His work. What he is continuing to do and teach until his return and until he subdues all powers of darkness and brings the liberating news that he has won everyone freedom! (Hence all the “kingdom of God” and “Lord Jesus Christ” language at the end.)

It might be the end of Acts. But the end is just the beginning. Because Jesus isn’t finished yet. Because at the end of Acts, the spread of the kingdom is still just beginning.

And this also makes it about you. How will you respond to Jesus and the advance of his kingdom? What role will you play in it? How will you be a witness in your Jerusalem (hometown), Judea (surrounding area), Samaria (cross-culturally around you), and to the ends of the earth?

That’s the question of Acts. It’s not just Peter and Paul’s journey on what it means to be a Christian. God invites you to make it your journey. Your story. It’s a story in which God has a role for you to play.

If this plan helped orient you to the ongoing work and teaching of Jesus in this world, we encourage you to subscribe to our earlier plans on Acts.