What Changed Since Acts 28?

Acts 28 is not only the conclusion of Luke’s second book, but also the conclusion of a period in which the Jew enjoyed priority. From the beginning of the book of Acts, “the Evangel of the Circumcision” was proclaimed to Israel (Gal. 2:7), in which the people were called to still accept the roused Messiah. Had Israel repented in those days, the promise attached to this was that the Messiah would return from heaven, and with that “times of restoration of all things of which the prophets have spoken” would arrive (Acts 3:19-21).

in this time?

At the beginning of the book of Acts, the disciples ask the question: “Lord, are You restoring the kingdom to Israel in this time?” (Acts 1:6). Then they were told that it was not theirs to know the times and occasions which the Father has kept under His own authority. But at the end of the book of Acts, the answer comes after all. “The Twelve” in Jerusalem were not allowed to know it, but the thirteenth apostle, Paul, gives clarity in Rome.

… and without having come to agreement, they departed, after Paul had spoken this one word: Rightly did the Holy Spirit speak through Isaiah the prophet to your fathers, 26 saying: Go to this people and say: In hearing you shall hear and by no means understand, and seeing you shall see and by no means perceive; 27 for the heart of this people has grown fat, and with their ears they are hard of hearing, and their eyes they have closed, lest they should see with their eyes and hear with their ears and understand with their heart and turn back, and I should heal them.
-Acts 28:25-27-

the curtain falls for Israel

The special appeal made to Israel runs like a red thread through the whole book of Acts. Until in chapter 28 the curtain falls. From then on, the possibility of Israel’s restoration is ruled out. The kingdom for Israel will not be restored in those days. Israel’s special position is over, and “the Evangel of the Circumcision” that had been entrusted to Peter and his associates was no longer on the table.

was sent

Immediately after the quotation above, Paul’s meaningful statement follows:

Let it be known to you, then, that this salvation of God was sent to the nations; they will indeed hear!
-Acts 28:28-

Now that Israel’s repentance and restoration are off the table, what remains is the announcement that the salvation of God — which in the first place had been sent to the people (Acts 3:26) — was sent to the nations. Note well: “was sent,” and not, as many translations say, “is sent,” as though the salvation of God only went to the nations at this announcement. Paul is referring to the time when he became “an apostle of the nations” (Rom. 11:13), meaningfully marked by his change of name (“Saul, who is also called Paul”; Acts 13:9).

Did Paul’s message change?

It is not Paul’s message that changed since Acts 28, as some have wrongly concluded. People cut — or rather, mutilate — Paul’s letters in two: the letters he wrote before and after Acts 28. Only the later letters would still be valid for us, so the reasoning goes in this view. But this dangerous conclusion rests on the misunderstanding that “the Evangel of the Uncircumcision,” as taught by Paul, changed since Acts 28. It is the other way around: Paul declares that “the Evangel of the Circumcision” is “past its expiration date”! Since Acts 28, Paul, from prison, presents to his readers that “the dividing wall of separation” between Jew and Gentile has been broken down (Eph. 2:14). The division of “the two” has since belonged to the past.

Paul never preached “the Evangel of the Circumcision”

The book of Acts began with the preaching of exclusively “the Evangel of the Circumcision.” From Acts 13 onward, Paul also joined in, preaching “the Evangel of the Uncircumcision” alongside the already existing testimony of “the Twelve.” It is the time of two kinds of ministries (Gal. 2:1-9). In Acts 28, Paul puts an end to “the Evangel of the Circumcision,” and what remains is the one “Evangel of the Uncircumcision.”

Paul himself never preached “the Evangel of the Circumcision” to Israel (Acts 13:40, 41; 22:18). He preached “the Evangel of the Uncircumcision” (“a Gentile evangel”) to Jew and Gentile. Without distinction. For that very reason he also had a bad reputation in Jerusalem, yes, even among the following of James (Acts 21:20, 21). Paul’s thankless task during the Acts period consisted in telling the Jewish people that the Evangel had been sent to the nations. It became the reason for his arrest in Jerusalem (Acts 22:21). Paul’s announcement in Rome that Israel would not be restored in those days forms the final piece of this development.

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