Acts 28:20

Act_28:20

For the hope of Israel I am bound with this chain.

The chain of Paul

1. A disgraceful monument for his blinded people.

2. An honourable sign for the faithful servant of God.

3. A precious comfort for all who suffer on account of the truth. (K. Gerok.)

The chain and the hope

I. The chain.

1. It was painful to flesh and blood.

2. It involved no disgrace to Paul.

3. It manifested the hatred of the Jews to Christ.

4. While Paul wore it he was saved, as a Roman prisoner, from the murderous intentions of his enemies.

II. The hope. It was--

1. The Scriptural and Christian realisation of the expectation of the Jews.

2. The sustaining motive of his own life.

3. The chief source of comfort to his heart.

Learn:

1. You may have bonds, affliction, poverty, etc.

2. Have you a good hope? (Biblical Museum.)

The chain and the hope

I. The chain. This was the most immediately noticeable thing about the apostle. He was ever conscious of it. He lifted it as he spoke. He refers often to his bonds. As a Roman citizen, he felt the indignity of wearing them. As a citizen of the kingdom of heaven, he rejoiced in them. His chain was a hindrance--

1. To his work among the Jews. He felt obliged to explain why he came to them in fetters. He spoke with great carefulness, and yet with the deepest earnestness, for he well knew that in the eyes of the Jews, let him plead as he would, that chain, and the Roman guard to whom its other end was locked, made a most powerful argument against him and the gospel.

2. To his work as the apostle to the Gentiles. He was here in the centre of the pagan world. He had seen the paganism of Antioch and Ephesus and Athens and Corinth. It had made his heart sink. It is touching to read the effect upon his heavy heart of the coming to him of the little delegation of Christians from Rome. He thanked God and took courage. How much underlies here! Paul was reminded that, notwithstanding all obstacles, Christianity had succeeded in planting itself even in Rome. But now, arrived in the capital, how his despondency must have returned upon him. He gained such a view as he had never had of the wealth and power and majesty of the pagan world. And where were the Christian forces to array against this omnipotence of the world? A little hidden Church, and a man with a chain.

II. The hope. Paul reminded his visitors of the Messianic hope.

1. It was the hope of Israel. As he spoke of it to King Agrippa, it was the hope of the promise of God made to the fathers, etc. The only difference was that they looked for His first coming, whereas Paul believed that He had come once, and so was looking for His second coming and the completed redemption of Israel.

2. The hope of the world. There is no other hope for a sinful man or a sinful world; but in the Cross is hope. It is the worlds light in darkness.

III. The chain and the hope. Let us not look at the hope apart from the chain, or at the chain apart from the hope.

1. Paul sought to be led by the Spirit. Whithersoever He should direct, the servant of the Lord would go. The Spirit had led him to his chain, which fact gave him a peculiar feeling. His chain was sacred. He was the prisoner of the Lord. The Roman blacksmith had clinched the rivets; but an unseen presence had superintended the work. Was he not, then, in the best possible place to declare his message of hope--in Caesarea, on shipboard, in Rome? He who binds the messenger releases the message, for the Word of the Lord is not bound.

2. It is the hope that makes the chain bearable and serviceable. Paul had proved that a man chained can do as much as he can unchained, if he is the Lords prisoner. His chain had not narrowed his influence on shipboard. So soon, at Rome, he was already at work. If he could mot go to others, they could come to him. Thus he was sure of at least one man, day and night, to whom he could hold up Christ as the hope of the Roman as well as the Jew. He improved the opportunity to such purpose that his bonds fell out to the furtherance of the gospel. Blessed bonds, when the Lord had bound him.

3. If we only have the hope of the gospel, and make it our purpose in life to declare it, it will matter very little to us that we are led sometimes to chains. Is it not a privilege if we may lift a chain and testify, For the hope of Israel I am bound with this chain?

Conclusion:

1. The world is enchained by sin, and doomed to chains of darkness.

2. In Christ is the true hope for men in sin.

3. That sinners in chains may be delivered, Christians must be willing to be in chains. (G. R. Leavitt.)

The Biblical Illustrator, edited by Joseph S. Exell (c. 1880s–1900s) — public domain. Text from a community e-Sword module.

Act 28:20. Ἔνεκεν, on account of this) In the beginning he speaks with them as a brother, not as an apostle.

Bengel's Gnomon of the New Testament — English translation (T&T Clark, Edinburgh, 1860) — public domain. Text from a community e-Sword module.

Act_28:20. Therefore (because I am here only as a constrained appellant, and entirely free from any hostile effort) I have invited you, to see you and to speak with you. Heinrichs, Kuinoel, Schott take it otherwise: vos rogavi, ut me viseretis et mecum colloqueremini. But the supplying of me and mecum is arbitrary, seeing that, in fact, ὑμᾶς and ὑμῖν are naturally suggested by the directly preceding ὑμᾶς; besides, it is far more in keeping with courtesy for Paul to say that he desired to see and speak with them, than that he had requested them to see and speak with him.

ἕνεκεν γὰρ τῆς ἐλπίδος κ.τ.λ.] now contains the more special reason, in a national point of view so highly important, for the arrangement of this interview.

The ἐλπὶς τοῦ Ἰσραήλ is to be taken entirely, as in Act_26:6, of the Messianic national hope.

On περίκειμαι with accusative, comp. Heb_5:2; Kypke, Obss. II. p. 147; Jacobs, ad Anthol. IX. p. 75; on τ. ἅλυσιν ταύτ., comp. Act_26:29.

Meyer — Critical and Exegetical Commentary on the New Testament — English translation by Peter Christie, edited by Frederick Crombie (T&T Clark, 1880) — public domain. Text from a community e-Sword module.

Act 28:20 . διὰ ταύτην … προσλαλῆσαι : “for this cause therefore did I intreat you to see and to speak with me ,” R.V. text; in margin a comma is placed after ὑμᾶς , “call for you, to see and to speak with you ”: but the former seems the more likely, for as a prisoner St. Paul would hardly go out into the synagogue. ἔνεκεν , see critical note; if εἵνεκεν , the word is only used by St. Luke amongst the Evangelists; cf. Luk 4:18 (quotation), Luk 18:29 , and elsewhere only by St. Paul, 2Co 3:10 ; Ionic form (see Winer-Schmiedel, p. 50). τῆς ἐλπίδος τοῦ Ἰ ., cf. Act 26:6 . περίκειμαι : for construction, Winer-Moulton, xxxii., 5; cf. 4Ma 12:3 ; Clem. Rom., 2 Cor. , i. 6 ( bis ). Nothing could be more pathetic than this reference to the chain, cf. Eph 3:1 ; Eph 4:1 ; Eph 6:20 ; the words might well serve as an introduction to what was to follow, the Christian prisoner and the Jewish leaders all had “one hope of their calling,” and in that hope they and he were one.

The Expositor's Greek Testament, edited by W. Robertson Nicoll (1897–1910) — public domain. Text from a community e-Sword module.

For this cause . . . have I called for you . . . because . . . for the hope of Israel--(See on Act 26:6-7).

I am bound with this chain--"This cause is not so much mine as yours; it is the nation's cause; all that is dear to the heart and hope of Israel is bound up with this case of mine." From the touching allusions which the apostle makes to his chains, before Agrippa first, and here before the leading members of the Jewish community at Rome, at his first interview with them, one would gather that his great soul felt keenly his being in such a condition; and it is to this keenness of feeling, under the control of Christian principle, that we owe the noble use which he made of it in these two cases.

Jamieson, Fausset & Brown — Commentary Critical and Explanatory on the Whole Bible (1871) — public domain (CC PDM 1.0). Text via the HelloAO Bible API.

Verse 20. For the hope of Israel I am bound, c.] As if he had said: This, and this alone, is the cause of my being delivered into the hands of the Romans I have proclaimed Jesus as the Messiah; have maintained that though he was crucified by the Jews, yet he rose again from the dead; and, through him, I have preached the general resurrection of mankind: this all Israel professes to hope for; and yet it is on this account that the Jews persecute me. Both the Messiah and the resurrection might be said to be the hope of Israel; and it is hard to tell which of them is here meant: see Ac 13:6; Ac 24:15; Ac 24:21; Ac 26:6. It is certain that, although the Jews believed in the general resurrection, yet they did not credit it in the manner in which Paul preached it; for he laid the foundation of the general resurrection on the resurrection of Christ.

Adam Clarke's Commentary on the Bible (1810–1826) — public domain. Text from a community e-Sword/MySword module.

20. For the hope of Israel. We must understand much more under these words than Luke expresseth; as we gather out of the answer, where the Jews speak of the sect; to wit, repeating his speech, which Luke omitteth. Therefore Paul intreated of Christ, that it might plainly appear that neither the law nor the temple did profit the Jews anything without him; because the covenant of adoption is grounded in him, and the promise of salvation is in him confirmed. Neither did they doubt but that the restoring of the kingdom did depend upon the coming of the Messias; and even at that time their misery and decay did increase the hope and desire of him. Wherefore Paul saith, for good causes, that he is bound for the hope of Israel. Whereby we be also taught, that no man doth hope aright, but he which looketh unto Christ and his spiritual kingdom; for when he placeth the hope of the godly in Christ, he excludeth all other hopes.

John Calvin's Commentaries (1540-1563) — public domain. Text from the Calvin Translation Society English edition (1840s-50s) via the Christian Classics Ethereal Library (ccel.org). Calvin's coverage is partial (roughly two-thirds of the Bible); uncommented books and verses are honest gaps, never fabricated. The 19th-century editor's footnotes and remarks are omitted so the notes are faithfully Calvin's own voice.

(20) For the hope of Israel I am bound with this chain.—The mention of “chain” in the singular agrees with the fact stated in Act_28:30, that he was entrusted to the keeping of a single soldier. There is a certain touch of pathos in this appeal to his sufferings as a prisoner. (Comp. Eph_3:1; Eph_4:1; Eph_6:20.) The hope for which he suffered was two-fold: (1) the expectation of the Messiah as bringing in a kingdom of heaven, which was cherished by every Israelite; (2) the hope of a resurrection from the dead, which he proclaimed as attested by the resurrection which proved (Rom_1:3-4) that Jesus was the Christ, the Son of God. (See Notes on Act_26:6-7.)

A Bible Commentary for English Readers, edited by Charles John Ellicott (1878–1897) — public domain. Text from a community e-Sword module.

20. For this cause therefore have I called for you to see you, and to speak with you] [R. V. “did I intreat you to see and to speak with me”] As the marginal note in the R. V. shews, the A. V. may be a correct rendering of the Greek, and it is more probable that Paul would say that he wished to speak to the Jews than that he wished them to come and speak with him.

because that for the hope of Israel I am bound with this chain] The hope of Israel is the general expectation of Messiah. In Jesus Paul believed that the expected Saviour had appeared, and for preaching this he had been attacked and made a prisoner. He held the same faith as all the Jews, only going in this matter farther than they in that he believed the ancient promise was now fulfilled. We can see from the reply of the Jews that they understood his position exactly.

The Cambridge Bible for Schools and Colleges (gen. ed. J. J. S. Perowne; Cambridge University Press, 1878–1918) — public domain. Text from a community e-Sword module.

For this cause therefore have I called for you,.... To let them know the true state of his case; that though he was a prisoner, it was not for any crime he had done, much less any of a capital nature; and that as he was no scandal to his country, so neither did he intend to raise any against it, or say or do anything which might bring it into contempt and danger: as well as

to see you and speak with you; and keep up and maintain a free and friendly conversation together:

because that for the hope of Israel I am bound with this chain; which was then upon him, and he pointed to; the true reason of which was, because he had preached that the Messiah the tribes of Israel were hoping and waiting for, and who is the only solid foundation of the hope of eternal life and salvation, was already come; and that he had suffered and died, and rose again from the dead, and that Jesus of Nazareth was he; see Jer 14:8. And this title well agrees with Jesus Christ, who in the New Testament is called "our hope", and "the hope of glory", Ti1 1:1, and he is the hope of every Israelite indeed, of every sensible sinner, of every regenerated person, whether Jew or Gentile; and such are encouraged to hope in him for grace here, and glory hereafter: and whereas they see themselves lost and undone, and that there is no salvation for them by their own works, and that there is salvation in Christ, they are directed and encouraged to hope in him for it; because it is a work finished by him, and is complete in him; it is of free grace and favour bestowed; it is wrought out for the chief of sinners; and such as they themselves are, are invited by himself to look to him for it; and the Gospel declaration is, that whoever believes in him shall be saved: they see themselves to be sinners, and that there is no hope of the forgiveness of their sins from an absolute God, or the absolute mercy of God out of Christ, but that the blood of Christ was shed for the remission of sins, and that God, for Christ's sake, does forgive sins: wherefore they hope in him for it; to which they are encouraged by the proclamation of the grace of God, as a forgiving God in Christ; by the promises of forgiveness in the covenant of grace; by the Gospel declaration of it; by its being entirely of free grace, through the blood of Christ; and by the many instances of the worst of sinners who have been favoured with it: these Israelites, indeed, also see themselves unrighteous creatures, and that they cannot be justified before God by works of righteousness done by them; but that there is a righteousness wrought out by Christ, which is acceptable and well pleasing to God; is freely bestowed on men, and is imputed to all sorts of men, even to the ungodly; wherefore they hope in him for it, and lay hold on this object of hope set before them: in a word, they have hope of eternal life on his account, that being the gift of God through him; and it being the will of God, that whoever believes in him should have it; and it being in the power and right of Christ to bestow it; and they having also his Spirit as the earnest and pledge of it; as well as have his righteousness as their title to it, his grace as their meetness for it, and have a share both in his intercession and in his preparations of it: moreover, the apostle taught that there would be a general resurrection of the dead, upon which would succeed a state of everlasting happiness for the righteous; and which was the hope of the tribes of Israel in common, especially of every Israelite indeed: now these things had irritated the carnal Jews against him, who could not rest till they had been the means of bringing him into the condition he now was; nor were they content with this, without having his life.

John Gill's Exposition of the Whole Bible (1746–1763) — public domain (CC PDM 1.0). Text via the HelloAO Bible API.

20 For this cause therefore have I called for you, to see you, and to speak with you: because that for the hope of Israel I am bound with this chain.

Ver. 20. For the hope of Israel] That is, for the resurrection of the dead and that eternal life that Israel hopes and looks for. Hallucinantur philosophi, qui sapientem non metu solum sed et spe vacare vellent. Spes in terrenis incerti nomen boni, spes in divinis nomen est certissimi, Heb 11:1. Hope in God, saith every David to himself, Psa 43:5.

I am bound with this chain] At Rome, such prisoners as had liberty to go abroad, had a long chain, the one end whereof was fastened to their right hand, and the other end was tied to a soldier’s left hand, who was to be his keeper. Thus was St Paul bound, likely.

John Trapp, A Commentary or Exposition upon All the Books of the Old and New Testament (1647–1656) — public domain. Text from a community e-Sword module.

Because that for the hope of Israel - On account of the hope which the Jews cherish of the coming of the Messiah; of the resurrection; and of the future state. See this explained in the notes on Act 23:6.

I am bound with this chain - See the notes on Act 26:29. Probably he was attached constantly to a soldier by a chain.

Albert Barnes' Notes on the Bible (1834–1885) — public domain. Text from a community e-Sword/MySword module.

Because that for the hope of Israel. That is, of the Messias, so long expected and hoped for by the Israelites. (Witham) --- According to the Roman custom, St. Paul must have been fastened by the right hand to one end of a chain, the other end of which chain held to the left hand of the soldier who guarded him. (Bible de Vence)

George Leo Haydock (1774–1849), Haydock's Catholic Family Bible and Commentary, 1859 edition — public domain. Excludes Psalms (Douay-Rheims chapter numbering differs from Protestant) and Deuterocanonical books (Catholic canon only).

For the hope of Israel: see Act 23:6; 24:21. This hope is either,

1. Of the resurrection, as in the forementioned places; and Act 26:6,7; or:

2. The Messiah; Christ is the hope of Israel, so they pretended for many ages, and him now Paul preached.

I am bound with this chain; for though he had his liberty to go abroad, yet he was chained with his right hand to the soldier’s left hand who went with him, and could not possibly be loosened unwittingly from him.

Matthew Poole's English Annotations on the Holy Bible (1683–1685) — public domain. Text from a community e-Sword/MySword module.

20. For this cause—From the fact of his being a true brother Jew in undeserved bonds.

Hope of Israel—A deeper underlying cause, the real cause of his chain, is the hope of Israel, the Messiah. And that brings up the main point of discussion, not himself, but Christ.

Daniel D. Whedon (gen. ed.), Commentary on the Old and New Testaments (1874–1909) — public domain. Text from a community e-Sword module.

Did I entreat you to see and to speak with me for have I called for you, to see you, and to speak with you, A.V.; for because of for because that for, A.V. To see and to speak with me. Meyer, followed by Alford, rightly prefers the rendering of the A.V. and the margin of the R.V. Parakalew is here in its primary sense of calling any one to come to you, and the two infinitives express the object for which he called them, viz. to see and speak with them. Because of the hope of Israel. (see Act_23:6 Act_24:14, Act_24:15, 21 26:6, 22, 23) I am bound with this chain (perikeimai). Mar_9:42 and Luk_17:2 the millstone "hangs about" (perikeitai) the neck. But here and Heb_5:2 the construction is different, and the subject and the object are reversed. Instead of the chain encompassing Paul, Paul is said to be bound with the chain. (For the chain, see ver. 16, note, and Act_24:23) The force of this saying seems to be this, "I have asked you to come to me because this chain which binds me is not a token of a renegade Israelite who has come to Rome to accuse his nation before the heathen master, but of a faithful Israelite, who has endured bondage rather than forsake the hope of his fathers."

The Pulpit Commentary (1880–1919), ed. H.D.M. Spence-Jones & Joseph S. Exell — public domain. Text from a community e-Sword module.

The hope of Israel - What Israel hopes for, namely, the Messiah and the resurrection.

John Wesley, Explanatory Notes Upon the Whole Bible (1754–1765) — public domain. Text via the GEBible commentary corpus.

See notes on verse 17

J. W. McGarvey (with Philip Y. Pendleton), Commentaries on the New Testament (The Fourfold Gospel, 1914; Acts; and the epistles) — public domain. Text from a community e-Sword/MySword module.

20. διὰ ταύτην οὖν τὴν αἰτίαν παρεκάλεσα ὑμᾶς ἰδεῖν καὶ προσλαλῆσαι, for this cause therefore have I called for you to see and to speak with you. It is possible in this sentence either to take ὑμᾶς as the object of ἰδεῖν and προσλαλῆσαι, or to understand με, and render (as in Rev. Vers.) ‘did I entreat you to see and to speak with me.’ As it seems more probable that Paul would say he wished to speak to the Jews than that he wished them to come and speak with him, the A.V. which the Rev. Vers. gives on the margin appears the preferable rendering. It is quite true that παρακαλέω is generally rendered by ‘beseech’ ‘desire’ or ‘entreat,’ but there is no doubt that St Paul’s message would be an earnest request, and we might render here ‘have I desired.’

ἕνεκεν γὰρ τῆς ἐλπίδος τοῦ Ἰσραήλ, because that for the hope of Israel. The ‘hope of Israel’ is the general expectation of Messiah. In Jesus Paul believed that the expected Saviour had appeared, and for preaching this he had been attacked and made a prisoner. He held the same faith as all the Jews, only going in this matter farther than they in that he believed the ancient promise was now fulfilled. We can see from the reply of the Jews that they understood his position exactly.

τὴν ἅλυσιν ταύτην περίκειμαι, I am bound with this chain. περίκειμαι has a construction like that of passive verbs of which the active governs a dative of the person with the accusative of the thing, e.g. πιστεύω τινί τι of which the passive form becomes (Gal 2:7) πεπίστευμαι τὸ εὐαγγέλιον. Since περίκειμαι has to serve for both active and passive we cannot have the form equivalent to πιστεύω τινί τι, but in its passive sense περίκειμαι follows the same form of construction as πεπίστευμαι.

Cambridge Greek Testament for Schools and Colleges (Cambridge University Press, 1896; 21 vols, various authors incl. Carr, Maclear, Plummer, Farrar, Lumby, Moule, M. R. James, Simcox) — public domain. Text from a community e-Sword module.

20.] παρεκάλεσα is here in its primary meaning, I have called you to me.

διὰ ταύτ. τ. αἰτ., for the reason just stated: because I have no hostile feeling to my nation. Then ἕνεκεν γὰρ … adds another motive; for not only so, but I may well wish to see and speak with you, being a prisoner for the hope of Israel (see ch. 26:6, and notes).

Henry Alford, The Greek Testament (1849–1861) — public domain. Text from a community e-Sword module.

I am bound [περικειμαι] . Lit., compassed.

Marvin R. Vincent, Word Studies in the New Testament (1887–1900) — public domain. Text from a community e-Sword/MySword module.