Acts 23:11 begins by saying: “…the Lord stood near Paul…” Imagine! Paul was undergoing trial after trial with far more to endure, and yet the Lord stood near him!
The Apostle was on a course to preach the Gospel in Rome - of this Paul had the direct assurance from God Himself (Acts 23:11). With this assurance, Paul could undergo all that was about to befall him – attacks and plots against his life by the Jews, Roman chains and the rest – with confidence that the Lord’s purposes through him must and would be served.
Acts 23:11, in fact, is a key verse for the entire chronicle of Acts, as God goes on to tell Paul: “Take courage! As you have testified about me in Jerusalem, so you must also testify in Rome.” Paul’s mistreatment was all part God’s “Gospel delivery system,” and it is noteworthy that while Paul underwent abuse and finally execution, we find in the very last verse of the Book of Acts that in Rome, Paul preached the Gospel and taught all about Jesus Christ “…with all boldness and without hindrance”! Things may not have been “convenient” for Paul, but the Gospel was nevertheless preached by him, and the Lord certainly stood near him.
Now is a good time to skip over and read Acts 28:24-28, Paul’s final recorded speech to Jewish leaders in Rome. This is Paul’s final summation of the main theme of Acts: carriage of the Gospel to the Gentiles and to “the ends of the earth.” This very theme was introduced at Acts 1:8 – “and you will be my witnesses in Jerusalem, and in all Judea and Samaria, and to the ends of the earth.” Thus, Acts 1:8 and Acts 28:28 form textual “bookends” between which the Great Commission is chronicled in detail.
With these observations in mind, we can more readily discern purposes and meanings of the intervening chapters and passages, and we can look to Acts for vital instruction on:
The nature and “look” of the Great Commission
The nature and articulation of the “Gospel”
The definition of “preaching the Gospel”
The movement of the Kingdom from ‘exclusive’ Judaism to ‘inclusive’ Christianity
The great costs of preaching the Gospel and carrying out the Great Commission
The roots of the Church – how, where, when and why it was established, and
The historical framework for the rest of the New Testament.
Generally and simply, the Good News (Gospel) and Great Commission can be seen in the following components:
Who Christ is, what He did, & what He is doing – Law, Prophets and Four Gospels
Go preach the Gospel to all nations – Acts
Explain & expound on Jesus’ work & commands – Matthew, Gospels, Epistles
Finally: Take heart! Persevere! Christ is the Ultimate Victor! – Revelation
How grateful we should be that the Bible is so much more than a mere collection of moral instructions. We can reflect with great awe upon the fact that God – the omnipotent, holy, all-knowing Creator and Sustainer of the universe – saw fit not only to save us from ourselves, but to “stand near us,” in part by providing us with His written word - a detailed explanation of His plans and actions of redemption.
As we follow His instructions, however weakly and imperfectly, the Lord stands by us and says “Take courage!”
I think it will be a good thing to pause here and consider that while God promised to sustain Paul through the trials of his calling, there are some things God did not promise. It is good to think through some of these, because we have a great propensity for reading self-serving promises and reassurances into Scripture that are not really there. When it comes to reading scripture and understanding its lessons, truth is far better than fiction.
Here are a few examples of promises which were never given:
If you preach the Gospel faithfully, all will come to faith.
Fact: Most did not; some did. Many hated the Gospel messengers and did not come to faith.
If you are faithful to proclaim the Gospel, God will keep you from harm.
Fact: Paul endured whippings, stoning, threats, shipwreck, chains, and more as he faithfully carried out the commands of God. All the other original Apostles (except John) were violently martyred for their faith.
God will give you victory over your enemies.
Fact: The ultimate victory is Christ’s, and our victory (like Paul’s) is secure in Him; Paul did, however, have his head cut off by the Roman authorities after enduring years under Roman arrest; so in the temporal, worldly sense, his enemies prevailed.
You will sow peace wherever you share the Gospel, because it is the Gospel of Peace.
Fact: Jesus said He came not to bring peace but a sword; we know also that the Gospel is offensive to most. Wherever Paul went, and wherever he preached the Gospel, hatred and violence erupted against him and the Christians. This allegation that Christianity incites violence at times is, well, correct sometimes.
It is up to you, Christian, to figure out how to package and present the Gospel in such a creative and inoffensive way as to ensure it will be acceptable to the people hearing it.
Fact: Paul relied on the Holy Spirit and the Gospel, preaching only Christ and Him crucified and resurrected – he did not change the message, think of creative slogans that everyone would find soothing and empowering, and then write books with catchy titles proclaiming his uplifting message. He simply preached the Gospel, and the Holy Spirit regenerated those who received the gift of faith by God’s grace.