Acts
28:17-31
The gospel reaches Rome, 21:1-28:31
xiv] The gospel preached in Rome
SynopsisOn reaching Rome, Paul follows his usual practice of reaching out to the local Jewish population with the gospel. Paul first explains his dispute with the Jewish authorities in Jerusalem, a dispute that has led to his present predicament. The Jews claim to have no knowledge of this, although they are aware of the Christian "heresy". Paul goes on to explain the gospel, arguing with his guests "from morning until evening". As usual, some believe, but others don't, and so Paul concludes with a prophetic word from Isaiah.
Luke concludes his book with a short summary of Paul's ministry over the next two years while under house arrest - he preaches the gospel and teaches the faithful.
Teaching
The good news of God's grace is for all humanity.
Issues
i] Context: See 21:1-16.
ii] Background:
![[Map]](images/acts36.jpeg)
Rome in the 1st. Century
iii] Structure: Paul preaches the gospel in Rome:
Engaging with local Jewish leaders, v17-22;
Debating with the local Jewish community, v23-29;
Ongoing gospel ministry, v30-31.
Spencer, in Acts and Modern Literary Approaches, 1993, points out that the three scenes in this passage each open with key disclosures of spatial, temporal and social settings.
iv] Interpretation:
From the earliest of times, commentators have wrestled with the ending to the book of Acts - it ends in a whimper rather than a bang. Somehow the ending feels unresolved, incomplete, overly concise, abrupt. It feels as though Luke is unable to properly complete his work.
Although Acts may have started out as a brief for Paul's defence, it is now the second part of Luke's magnum opus outlining the fulfilment of God's covenant promise that Israel will serve as the instrument of God's grace for all humanity: volume I, in the life death and resurrection of Jesus, Israel's anointed messiah, and volume II, in the life of Paul the prophet, the bearer of God's gospel of grace to the Gentile world. Yet, it feels as though Luke is unable to properly conclude volume II. Did he complete the book before Paul's trial took place? - "He wrote no more because he knew no more", Bruce Gk. Did he die before he could complete it? There is the suggestion that Luke intended a third volume covering the expansion of the gospel from Rome to the end of the earth. Some have argued that the Pastoral letters are Luke's third volume. Of course, Acts may end in a whimper because the trial doesn't go well for Paul and he is martyred, as recorded in tradition. Dunn argues that this explains why the ending is so abrupt.
As well as feeing unsatisfied by the abrupt and overly concise ending of Acts, the nature of the ending is also off-putting. The focus is primarily on the Jewish community in Rome. Luke doesn't tell us the identity of the "all who came to him" during his two years of house arrest, but they could just be converted Jews. Like Luke himself (there are no more "we" references in Acts), the Christian community drifts off into the background and we are left with Paul engaging with the Jewish community in Rome.
When it comes to Paul's engagement with the Jewish community, Luke records Paul's defence statement, but only summarises the content of his gospel message, namely "the kingdom of God". Where we may have expected a full-blown gospel presentation, a bang ending, we get a whimper.
Luke certainly gives prominence to his quote from Isaiah 6:9-10 , but what is its purpose? Sanders argues that it serves as a pronouncement of God's rejection of Israel, although Dunn argues against this view. It's probably true to say that dull-of-hearing is not just confined to the Jews.
With this focus on the Jewish community, Luke seems to be underlining Paul's principle of reaching out to the Jews first, but it is not clear whether Luke is revealing an ongoing pattern, or a conclusion. Bock argues that "the new faith is intended for everyone but continues to make the effort to reach Israel because the faith is the culmination of Israel's hope". Marshall, on the other hand, argues that Luke's ending is the culmination of the mission to Jew first and then Gentiles. "The gospel has come to the capital city; the church is on the brink of further expansion". The Christian community now has its marching orders, and "it is free to ignore the Jews, at least for the time being (Lk.21:24), and to go to the Gentiles".
Of course, judgments by modern readers are likely to be flawed and for this reason commentators are bound to assume that Luke knows what he is doing - he has a point to make. So, what is it?
Johnson argues that this final chapter is a "deliberately and effectively crafted conclusion to a substantial apologetic argument". The ending is not focused on Paul and his forthcoming trial, but on the fidelity of God to his own word. In accord with the divine intent to realise the covenant promise that Israel would become a blessing to the world, Jesus, and then Paul, carry the instrument of salvation first to Israel, and then to the centre of the Gentile world, Rome - where everything comes to and goes from. From first to last, the events of Luke-Acts exhibit the sovereign hand of God, extending his blessing of grace to all mankind. Israel's failure to participate in the realisation of the covenant promises may have brought on it a self-inflicted curse, v26-27, but their blindness in no way interferes with the divine intent that the grace of salvation should extend to all mankind, v28. In the final verses Luke describes the kingdom realised, the new messianic community, a community continuing to preach the kingdom and teach those who believe.
When it comes to the final verses in Acts, Dunn argues that rather than ending in a whimper, Luke has the final scene "fade out with the image of Paul secure in Rome and preaching and teaching all who come to him openly and unhindered. That is to say, what Luke records is not so much a final scene as a definitively typical scene". This is surely the case for v30-31, although it is not clear whether "the ongoing debate between believers in Messiah Jesus and traditional Jews" is definitive.
Bock also argues that Luke is not recording the fate of Paul, but the advance of the gospel to Rome, now realised under the hand of God, cf., Acts 1:8. Luke's story is that under God's hand, the gospel reaches Rome and will be carried from there to the end of the earth, so Fitzmyer.
The ending of the book of Acts will always prompt debate, but it does seem that Luke's conclusion is actually conclusive. The gospel was to go first to the Jews, God's historic people, and then to the Gentiles. Now, having officially reached Rome at the hand of the apostle / prophet to the Gentiles, the Jews in Rome enact a final rejection of God's message of grace - the ear fails to hear, the eye to see, and so the heart is hardened. National Israel, as an entity, will soon face a catastrophic implosion at the hand of Rome. As for the Gentile world, having reached the centre of the world, a gospel for all humanity will now spread to the end of the world "and they will at least listen to it", Phillips, v28. The church of The Way has a new mission focus, and it is not Jew first, but everyone first.
It is this sense of one phase of mission ending and a new phase beginning that prompts the reader to look for a Part III, just as the conclusion of the mission of Jesus prompts a Part II, the mission of Paul the prophet. Luke may well have considered a Part III, although it would have been a difficult task, and who would be the hero? Anyway, the church of the Way now his its sitz im laben, its purpose in life: with its eye fixed on the Gentile world (all humanity), it is to freely and fearlessly communicate the good news of God's kingdom and teach all those who respond, v31.
v] Homiletics: The Arab-Israeli conflict
The 2024 conflict was underway as I was exegeting the last chapters of Acts - a rather distasteful shadow of unhinged violence. As usual, the Muslim world tended to cheer on the Palestinians, and the Western world tended to cheer on the Israelis. I actually found the behaviour of both sides quite disgusting. Hamas went on a murder and raping rampage of civilians and Israel set out on a bombing campaign in Gaza and Lebanon that has led to wholesale destruction and the death of tens of thousands of civilians.
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When we compare the 1947 proposed United Nations Partition Plan for an Arab State and a Jewish State with what the Palestinians are left with today, we can easily understand why there will never be peace in the Middle East until Israel complies with United Nations resolutions, and the order of the International Court, and hands back at least East Jerusalem and the West Bank for a Palestinian State (the 1949 UN Armistice Plan).
A Biblical sense of justice demands that believers support the legitimate rights of both the Israelis and the Palestinians for a life free of terror and oppression. Yet, there is a tendency for Christians to support the aspirations of the State of Israel at the expense of the Palestinian population, 10% of whom are Christian. This usually derives from a dispensational understanding of prophecy, of a restored Israel with a new temple leading to Armageddon, the Millennia and the return of Christ (pre, or post). Millennialism is a popular doctrine, but it fails to recognise the literary form of the Revelation (apocalyptic) and proceeds by proof-texting, so ending up more imposed than derived.
Paul's argument in chapter 11 of Romans is also improperly understood, again often taken to promote a restored State of Israel. Paul is simply arguing that the existence of a remnant people of faith (Paul himself being one) evidences that God's covenant with Abraham is not broken by the wholesale rejection of the gospel by Israel. The unbelief of Israel is not the last word. Not only were the first believers Jews, but the conversion of the Gentiles will prompt may Jews to jealousy such that they will inevitably seek the covenant blessings that are rightly theirs, then "all (a representative) Israel will be saved", 11:26.
In our reading today Luke records a final rejection of the gospel by God's historic people, and dose so, tying this rejection to a prophetic word from Isaiah. The church of the Way is now a universal people of God, no longer Jew first, but Jew and Gentile and everyone else. Israel, once the anointed people of God, now becomes a side-note in history, soon to be wiped off the map by Rome's legions. The modern state of Israel is nothing more than a political entity generated by the holocaust and as such, Israelis deserve no more consideration than do the indigenous population of Palestine.
Text - 28:17
Paul preaches the gospel in Rome, v17-31: i] Engaging with local Jewish leaders, v17-22. Paul is under house-arrest, and so he is unable to visit the local synagogues to report the news of the realisation of the long-promised kingdom of God, as was his normal practice. So, on this occasion, he invites the twn Ioudaiwn prwtouV, "the first Jews" = "the Jewish leaders in Rome", to his apartment. Even with the expulsion of Jews from Rome by Tiberius, and later Claudius, there is a large Jewish population in Rome and numerous synagogues. First, Paul establishes his innocence. Luke provides us with a summary of the arguments Paul has already used in his defence statements - he is a loyal Jew, improperly accused and handed over to the Roman authorities, v17. He was found innocent of any crime, v18, but was forced to appeal to Caesar due to the intervention of the religious authorities in Jerusalem. Paul has no countercharge to bring against his fellow Jews; he is simple in Rome to defend himself, v19.
de "-" - but/and. Transitional, indicating a step in the narrative.
meta + acc. "later" - after [three days]. Temporal use of the preposition, introducing a temporal clause.
sugkalesasqai (sugkalew) aor. mid. inf. "[he] called together" - [he] to call together [the ones being first of the jews came about, happened]. The infinitive, with its subject and object, forms a nominal phrase subject of the impersonal verb "it came about, happened". The accusative subject of the infinitive is auton, "he".
touV o[ntaV (eimi) pres. part. "-" - the ones being. The participle serves as a substantive, introducing the object of the infinitive "to call together"
twn .... Ioudaiwn (oV) gen. "[local] Jewish [leaders]" - the first [of the jews]. The genitive is adjectival, partitive, "first among the Jews"; "prominent Jewish leaders".
sunelqontwn (sunercomai) gen. aor part. "when [they] had assembled" - [but/and they] having assembled. The genitive participle and its genitive subject autwn, "they", forms a genitive absolute construction, probably temporal, as NIV.
egw pro. "-" - [he was saying toward them, men, brothers] i [a prisoner out of jerusalem]. Emphatic by use and position. "A prisoner out of Jerusalem" is nominative in apposition to "I". The preposition ex expresses source / origin.
poihsaV (poiew) aor. part. "although I have done" - having done [nothing opposed to]. The participle is adverbial, modifying the main verb "I was delivered over", probably concessive, as NIV.
tw/ law/ (oV) "[against] our people" - the people [or the paternal customs, i was delivered over into the hand of the romans]. So also "paternal customs", dative complement of the adjective "opposed to" = "[nothing] prejudicial". "I have at no time done anything which was in any way hostile to our nation or to the customs passed on to us by our forefathers", Cassirer.
v18
anakrinanteV (anakrinw) aor. part. "they examined" - [who] having examined [they were wanting]. Attendant circumstance participle expressing action accompanying the verb "to want, will", as NIV; "They examined me and were prepared to release me", Phillips.
apolusai (apoluw) aor. ind. "to release me" - to release. Complementary infinitive, completing the sense of the verb "to want, will".
dia to + inf. "because" - because [no reason of death to be]. This construction, dia to + the infinitive, serves to introduce a causal clause explaining why the Roman authorities released Paul. The accusative subject of the infinitive is "no reason of death".
qanatou (oV) gen. "death" - [there is no reason = grounds] of death [to be found]. The genitive is adjectival, descriptive, idiomatic. The noun "no grounds" = "I am innocent of any charge", is modified / limited by the genitive "of death" = "that deserves the death penalty".
en + dat. "-" - in [me]. Culy suggests that the preposition is used here to express reference / respect; "because there were no grounds in (with respect to) my life and conduct for a charge involving the death penalty", Barclay.
v19
Paul concludes his outline of the circumstances that brought him as a prisoner to Rome, by reinforcing the fact that he has not come to Rome as a plaintiff against the Jewish people, but as a defendant against the false charges laid by the religious authorities in Jerusalem.
antilegontwn (antilegw) pres. part. "objected" - [but/and the jews] spoke against, in response. The genitive participle, and its genitive subject "the Jews", forms a genitive absolute construction, either temporal, "when the Jews objected", Berkeley, or causal, "because the Jews objected", ESV.
epikalesasqai (epikalew) aor. mid. inf. "to make an appeal" - [i was compelled] to call on [caesar]. Complementary infinitive, completing the sense of the verb "to compel, force".
ouc wJV "[I] certainly [did] not" - not as [ the one having a certain thing]. The exegesis of this verse has prompted some debate, given that wJV can be used in multiple ways (see notes on Syntax). Here often viewed with the anarthrous participle ecwn, "having", to form an idiomatic construction expressing a pretext, so Bruce, "as if". So, usually translated as concessive; "though I had no charge to bring ...", ESV. It seems more likely that wJV is used here to express a characteristic quality, not "like", but "exactly as", as NIV. Taken this way, the participle ecwn, "having", serves as a substantive, "the one having"; "I certainly have no charge to bring against my own people".
kathgorein (kathgorew) pres. inf. "charge" - to accuse. The infinitive is epexegetic, specifying ti, "a certain thing = anything", namely a charge against Paul's own people.
tou eqnouV (oV) gen. "[my own] people" - the nation [of me]. Genitive of direct object of the kata prefix infinitive "to make an accusation against".
v20
Because of (dia) Paul's present circumstances, namely his house arrest due to his need to appeal to Caesar (tauthn, "this"), Paul therefore (oun) sets out to explain the prime cause of his predicament to the local Jewish leaders, namely that (gar), it is because of (eneken) the hope of Israel that he is in chains. This hope is the realisation of the kingdom of God / the covenant promises to Israel (people, land, and blessing = life to all) in the person of God's messiah, Jesus, his life, death and resurrection, the benefits of which are appropriated by faith in his faithfulness.
dia tauthn ... thn aitaian "for this reason" - because of this reason. The prepositional phrase dia touto, "because of this", is often inferential, rather than causal, "for this reason", but with the noun "the reason" and an inferential oun, "therefore", the sense here is obviously causal, "because of this reason, therefore, ......" The touto, "this", is backward referencing.
oun "-" - therefore. Inferential, drawing a logical conclusion.
idein (oJraw) aor. inf. "[I have asked] to see" - [i urged, exhorted = begged] to see [and to speak to you]. Along with the infinitive "to speak to", this infinitive serves as the object of the verb "to urge, exhort" / dependent statement of indirect speech expressing what Paul urged, namely "that I may see and speak with you". The pronoun uJmaV, "you", serves as the direct object of the correlated (kai) infinitives.
gar "-" - for. Explanatory, "since it is because of ....", ESV.
eneken + gen. "it is because" - because. Causal, serving to introduce a causal clause.
tou Israhl gen. "of Israel" - [the hope] of israel [i am wearing this chain]. The genitive is adjectival, possessive, identifying the possession of a derivative characteristic, "the hope pertaining to Israel", although usually classified as verbal, subjective, "the hope exercised by Israel".
v21
It is going too far to suggest that the Jewish leaders are lying about their knowledge of Paul and the new Christian sect, but their response is certainly political - a Sergeant Schultz "I see nothing". They have every reason to be wary, since Claudius had only recently expelled Jews from the capital due to a disturbance over Chrestus. The details are unknown, as is also the sense of the word "Chrestus", but they do seem to imply a Christian on Jew dispute that has somehow got out of hand. Of course, the use of the word "Chrestus" by the Roman historian Suetonius, may be the name of an unknown individual rather than an allusion to Christ, Christians, or Christianity. Whatever is going on, Luke paints a picture of a Jewish leadership which is not biased against Paul, but does view the Christian sect as heretical. Given the presence in Rome of a Jewish Rabbi who is a leader in the sect, the leadership team avails themselves of the opportunity to find out about the sect first hand.
oiJ de "they" - but/and they [they said toward him]. Transitional construction indicating a change in subject from Paul to the Jewish leaders.
oute ...... oute "not ..... and none" - neither [we received letters from judea concerning you] nor [certain = any]. Negated correlative / comparative construction, "neither ....., nor ...."
twn adelfwn (oV) gen. "of our people" - of the brothers. The genitive is adjectival, partitive.
paragenomenoV (paraginomai) aor. part. "who have come from there" - having come [reported or spoken certain = anything evil concerning you]. Attendant circumstance participle expressing action accompanying the verbs "to report" and "to speak"; "nor has any of the brothers come here and reported, or stated, anything against you". Although anarthrous, the participle could be treated as adjectival, attributive, limiting tiV, "certain = any", as NIV; "nor have any brothers who have come here reported or said .....
v22
The hoped-for realisation of Israel's covenant promises spawned numerous sects within Israel, usually focused on a messianic claimant or last-days prophetic spouter. Christianity was just one of many, and so the Roman Jews "were anxious to hear what Paul's views on the subject were", Dunn.
akouisai (akouw) aor. inf. "to hear" - [but/and we count worthy, deem / think = desire / request, ask] to hear [from beside you what you think]. The infinitive introduces the object of the verb "to deem worthy / desire / request" / dependent statement of perception / indirect speech expressing what is deemed worthy / desired / requested; "But we think it fair that we should hear from you what you have in mind", Berkeley. Serving as the object of the verb is likely, but it may also be simply classified as complementary; "We what to hear you state your views", Phillips.
gar "for" - because. Introducing a causal clause explaining why they want to hear Paul's views.
men "-" - on the one hand / indeed. Often serving to introduce an adversative comparative / correlative construction, but here there is no de, "but/and on the other hand" (Luke does assume de sometimes). None-the-less, it seems more likely that men is being used here as an emphatic particle, "indeed"; "for indeed, concerning this sect, it is known to us that everywhere it is spoken against" = "With regard to this sect we know that everywhere it is spoken against", ESV.
hJmin dat. pro. "we [know]" - [concerning this sect, it is known] to us. Dative complement of the adjective gnwstoV, "know".
oJti "that" - that [everywhere it is spoken against]. Introducing the object of the paraphrastic "it is known" / dependent statement of perception expressing what is known.
v23
ii] Debating with the local Jewish community, v23-29. For this second meeting, a large contingent of Jews attend Paul's lodgings and end up debating / discussing with him all day long. The topic is "the kingdom of God", and, from the scriptures, Paul sets out to explain the euagglion, "gospel / important news", that the long awaited kingdom of God is now realised in the person and work of Jesus Christ. In Acts, when addressing Jews, the fulfilment of the covenant promises is often explained in kingdom terms, ie., of both the inauguration and realisation of the long awaited reign and realm of God in human time and space.
taxamenoi (tassw) aor. mid. part. "they arranged to meet" - [but/and] having appointed [a day to him, many came toward him into the hospitable place = his lodgings]. We are best to follow the NIV and treat this participle as attendant circumstance expressing action accompanying the verb "to come"; "they appointed a day for him and came in great numbers". The dative autw/, "to him", is probably a dative of interest, advantage, "for him".
diamarturomenoV (diamarturomai) pres. "he witnessed" - [he was explaining to whom] testifying to. The participle is adverbial, modifying the imperfect verb "to explain" (probably an inceptive imperfect, "he began to explain"), instrumental, expressing means, "by testifying, bearing witness". The dative pronoun oi|V, "to whom", is a dative of indirect object.
tou qeou (oV) gen. "[the kingdom] of god" - [the kingdom] of god. For the kingdom of God, see Introduction, Eschatology, and 1:3. For the genitive tou qeou, see 1:3.
te ..... kai ... "and .... and" - both [from the law of moses] and [the prophets]. Correlative construction; "both .... and ...." The genitive MwusewV, "of Moses", is adjectival, descriptive, idiomatic / identification, "the law which was written by Moses", ie., the Pentateuch, the five books of Moses, being the first section of the scriptures. The second section consists of the writings of the prohpets, major and minor. The third section is the writings, Psalms, Wisdom etc., not given the same authority as the first two sections, which is why Paul confines himself to the Law and the Prophets.
peiqwn (qeiqw) pres. part. "he tried to persuade" - persuading [them about jesus from morning until evening]. The participle is adverbial, modifying the imperfect verb "to explain", again instrumental, although probably the present tense is conative (attempted unrealised action), "by trying to convince them about Jesus". The two prepositions apo, "from", expressing source, and e{wV, "until", expressing extension "up to", are temporal.
v24
As usual, Paul's exposition of the gospel receives a mixed reception. Some are peiqw, "persuaded", although it is unclear what that means. It probably means that Paul's case was convincing and so they went away and thought about it, with some committing their lives to Jesus, ie., became disciples, contra Keener, Barrett.
oiJ men ..... oiJ de "some ..... but others" - some on the one hand [were being persuaded ........] but others [were not believing]. Adversative comparative / correlative construction.
toiV legomenoiV (legw) dat. pres. mid. part. "by what he said" - to the things being said. The participle serves as a substantive, the dative being instrumental, expressing means, as NIV. "As a result, several of them were won over by his words, but others would not believe", Philipps.
v25
Luke doesn't actually tell us what Paul's Jewish guests are arguing about, but it is surely the proposition that the kingdom of God is realised in the person and work of Jesus Christ. Some are willing to consider the proposition, but others reject it outright. This leads to Paul's quote from Isaiah 6:9-10.
onteV "they disagreed" - [but/and] being [in a disagreement toward one another they were released]. The participle is adverbial, modifying the imperfect verb "to release", possibly causal. Kellum suggests the imperfect is inceptive, so "because they were bickering with each other, they began to disperse".
eipontoV (legw) gen. aor. part. "after [Paul] made [this final statement]" - [paul] having said [one word]. The genitive participle, and its genitive subject "Paul", forms a genitive absolute construction. We would expect it to be temporal, but Kellum suggests it is consecutive, expressing result; "so as a result Paul spoke one word" = "so Paul followed up with a parting shot". This is a rather strong statement; "it is more vitriolic that this situation suggests", Kellum.
oJti "-" - that [the holy spirit spoke through isaiah the prophet toward the fathers of you]. Introducing an object clause / dependent statement of direct speech expressing what Paul said.
v26
The quote references God's call to Isaiah the prophet in the Temple. It became a standard text in Christian circles to explain the rejection of the gospel by the Jews. The quote is alluded to in all the gospels and paraphrased by Paul in Romans in 11:8. The text used by Luke is from the LXX with some slight changes.
legwn (legw) pres. part. "-" - saying. Attendant circumstance participle redundant, serving to introduce direct speech, cf., legonteV 19:28.
akoh/ (h) dat. "ever [hear]" - in hearing [you will hear]. The dative noun is adverbial, modal, modifying the verb "to hear" (ie., cognate). Barrett notes that it is used instead of the Hebrew infinitive absolute and serves to intensify the meaning of the verb, "hear and hear"; "you will intently listen, but never actually catch the meaning".
ou mh sunhte (sunihmi) subj. "never perceiving" - [and yet] no no understand. As for ou mh sunhte, "never perceiving", subjunctive of emphatic negation, "by no means understand".
bleponteV (blepw) pres. part. "ever [seeing]" = [and] seeing [you will see and yet no no perceive]. The participle is adverbial, modal, expressing manner; it serves the same function as akoh above. "You will intently look, but never actually work out what you're looking at".
v27
A causal gar, "for", introduces an explanation as to why God's historic people do not understand or perceive. The reason lies with their "heart", it "has become bloated", ie., their being / self / "internal disposition of freedom", Johnson, is hardened / dulled. This state is caused by the condition of their ears and eyes - they listen with deaf ears (instrumental dative), and their eyes are closed. The verb "has become bloated" is not a divine passive; "the people closed their eyes and were themselves to blame for the fact that they did not see", Barrett. So, as a result they cannot (mhpote + subj. - here consecutive) with their eyes perceive, and with their ears understand, and with their hearts know (three instrumental datives), and choose to turn and have God heal / save them.
gar "for" - for [the heart of (belonging to) this people has become bloated]. Introducing a causal clause.
toiV wsin (ouV oV) dat. "with their ears" - in = by the ears [with difficulty they hear and the eyes of them they have closed]. The dative is adverbial, instrumental, expressing means, "by means of their ears they can barely hear".
mhpote + subj. "otherwise [they might see]" - in order that not = lest / with the result that not [they may see]. The sense of this construction is disputed. Usually taken as a negated purpose clause, so Culy, but Kellum opts for a negated result clause. There is always an oscillation in the NT between final and consecutive, with purpose often expressing a hypothetical result, "so that" rather than "in order that".
The simplest solution is to treat the construction as consecutive, expressing result; as above. When taken to express purpose, commentators head in numerous directions, even going so far as to argue that God has predestined Israel's blindness - God dulls their hearing so that they cannot hear. Bruce proposes an interpretation that recognises the intent behind the words. The text is warning Isaiah that "he cannot expect a favourable response from the people. The effect of his ministry, divinely ordained though it was, would be but to make the deaf still more deaf (there are none so deaf as those who will not hear)". Peterson Gk. proposes a rhetorical explanation for the wording, namely that the statement is ironical. "Although God's desire is that they might see, hear, understand and turn, it is expressed negatively (in the form of a negated purpose clause) as a mocking challenge". "I mean really, I wouldn't want them to open their ears, eyes and heart, and repent, would I? If they did that I might have to save them".
toiV ofqalmoiV (oV) dat. "with their eyes" - with the = their eyes [and may hear with the ears and may know with the heart and they may turn back (repent)]. As with "ears" and "hearts", the dative is adverbial, instrumental, expressing means, "by means of".
iasomai (iaomai) fut." [and] I would heal" - [and] i will heal [them]. The change from aorist subjunctive verbs to a future middle verb serves to highlight the consequence of seeing, hearing and turning. So, grammatically this verb, along with the other three, is controlled by mhpote; " ....... they may turn and I may heal (save) them", but to emphasise the inevitable consequence of turning / repentance, the future is used; "and I will heal / save them"
v28
This is the third time Paul has told a group of Jews that their refusal to accept the gospel prompts a move to the Gentiles, but this time the reader senses that the move is final. This rejection of the gospel by national Israel does not stand outside of God's purpose. The divine blessing of grace was ultimately intended for all humanity. The historic people of God were to serve that end as a light unto the Gentiles, and through Jesus (corporate Israel) and his apostles (prophets) that light shines. The failure of national Israel to share in this divine project simply makes Israel a relic of history. What was first to Jews is now to everyone. Yet, although national Israel has now no place in this new universal dispensation, the children of Abraham do have their place, God has not cast off all of Israel, cf., Romans 11. The ongoing conversion of Jews has been an evident fact throughout history and is likely to represent the "all (representative???) Israel" who will be saved, Rom.11:25.
oun "therefore" - therefore. Inferential, drawing a logical conclusion.
uJmin dat. pro. "[I want] you [to know]" - [let it be known to] you. Dative complement of the predicate nominative adjective gnwston, "known", of the verb to-be estw.
oJti "that" - that. Introducing a clause which serves as the subject of the verb to-be estw; "let that this salvation from God was sent to the Gentiles be known to you" = "You've had your chance. The non-Jewish outsiders are next on the list", Peterson.
tou qeou (oV) gen. "God's [salvation]" - [this salvation] of god [was sent]. Given the context, Cassirer is surely right when he assumes that Paul is speaking of "this message of salvation", and of course, the message, namely the gospel, is sent from God, or by God. So, the genitive is adjectival, either idiomatic / source, or verbal, subjective; "Be it known to you, therefore, that this message of salvation has been sent by God to the Gentiles. It is they who will listen to it", Cassirer.
toiV eqnesin (oV ouV) dat. "to the Gentiles" - to the gentiles [and they will listen]. Dative of direct object, emphatic by position.
v29
The AV included this Byzantine text, originally from the Western text; "And when he had said these words, the Jews departed and had great reasoning among themselves", Metzger.
v30
iii] Ongoing gospel ministry, v30-31; Luke now establishes the sitz im laben, the purpose in life for the Gentile church of the Way - communicate the gospel and teach those who respond. As already noted, Luke does not specify those who came to Paul's lodgings, but it is likely that Luke intends the reader to see this as an entirely Gentile enterprise (Gentiles and Jews - the Western text even adds "both Jews and Greeks"), setting the pattern for a universal Christianity emanating from Rome and spreading to the ends of the earth.
de "-" - but/and. Transitional, indicating a step in the narrative.
misqwmati (a atoV) dat. "[in his own] rented house - [he remained a whole two years in his own] payment, rent / price for hire. The sense of this noun remains unclear. Used of receiving money, or paying money, as rent or pay. The NIV, Phillips, Berkeley, .... opts for rented quarters / lodgings, while the ESV, NEB, Barclay, Bruce Gk., ...., opts for the wider sense of living at his own expense. The wider sense is more likely, even extending to Paul being given leave to not only rent his own quarters but earn a living as he waited for his trial. Imprisonment tended to be a last resort for the Roman authorities who found it more economic to let trusted prisoners fend for themselves as they awaited trial. Wasting a soldier's time chained to Paul for two years is unlikely.
touV eisporeuomenouV pres. part. "[all] the ones coming" - [and was receiving all] the ones coming [toward him]. The participle serves as a substantive, object of the verb "to receive".
v31
The business of the church is preaching (proclaiming the gospel) and teaching, and this Paul does "with all freedom of speech" and "without let or hinderance", Bruce Gk. There is no need for Luke to detail the teaching syllabus, although the Western text does attempt to specify it with "that this is Jesus the son of God, through whom the whole world is to be judged", Metzger. Nor does Luke need to detail God's announcement of the realisation / inauguration of the long-awaited kingdom / reign and realm of God. Luke is happy to end his book with the euaggelion, "important news", encapsulated in a Semitic idiom, because in his gospel he records how Jesus came proclaiming the same news, the news concerning "the kingdom of God", Lk.4:43. For the Graeco-Roman world, the proclamation of the coming kingdom will need to be contextualised. Thankfully, John, in his gospel, sets the direction for us, eg., Jn.3:16. Of course, contextualising the gospel is always fraught. In Sydney, when I was growing up, a person dedicated themselves to nailing the sign "Jesus Saves" to trees beside the roads leading out of town. The joke, "I wonder what bank he used?" became part of our national psyche.
khrusswn (khrussw) pres. part. "he proclaimed" - proclaiming [the kingdom of god and teaching]. As with "teaching", the participle is adverbial, modifying the verb "to receive", v30, modal, expressing the manner of his receiving guests, so Kellum, contra Culy who opts for attendant circumstance. For the genitive tou qeou, "of God", see 1:3.
ta art. "-" - the things [concerning the lord jesus christ]. The article serves as a nominalizer, turning the prepositional phrase, "concerning the Lord Jesus Christ", into a nominal phrase, object of the participle "teaching".
meta + gen. "with" - with [all freedom of speech and without hindrance]. Adverbial use of the preposition, modal, expressing manner, "freely and unhindered".
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