Without Let Or Hindrance

28:30-31 For the space of two whole years, Paul remained there, earning his own living; and it was his custom to receive all who came to him, preaching the kingdom of God and teaching them the facts about the Lord Jesus Christ with complete freedom of speech and without let or hindrance.

To the end of the day Paul is Paul. The King James Version obscures a point. It says that for two years he lived in his own hired house. The real meaning is that he lived at his own expense, that he earned his own living. Even in prison his own two hands supplied his need; and he was not idle otherwise. It was there in prison that he wrote the letters to the Philippians, to the Ephesians, to the Colossians and to Philemon. Nor was he ever altogether alone. Luke and Aristarchus had come with him and to the end Luke remained ( 2 Timothy 4:11 ). Timothy was often with him ( Philippians 1:1 ; Colossians 1:1 ; Philemon 1:1 ). Sometimes Tychicus was with him ( Ephesians 6:21 ). For a while he had the company of Epaphroditus ( Philippians 4:18 ). And sometimes Mark was with him ( Colossians 4:10 ).

Nor was it wasted time. He tells the Philippians that all this has fallen out to the furtherance of the gospel ( Philippians 1:12 ). That was particularly so because his bonds were known throughout all the Praetorian Guard ( Philippians 1:13 ). He was in his own private lodging but night and day a soldier was with him ( Acts 28:16 ). These headquarters soldiers were members of the picked troops of the Emperor, the Praetorian Guard. In two years many of them must have spent long days and nights with Paul; and many a man must have gone from his guard duty with Christ in his heart.

And so the Book of Acts comes to an end with a shout of triumph. In the Greek without let or hindrance are one word and that one word falls like a victor's cry. It is the peak of Luke's story. We wonder why Luke never told us what happened to Paul, whether he was executed or released. The reason is that this was not Luke's purpose. At the beginning Luke gave us his scheme of Acts when he told how Jesus commanded his followers to bear witness for him in Jerusalem and all over Judaea and Samaria and away to the ends of the earth ( Acts 1:8 ). Now the tale is finished; the story that began in Jerusalem rather more than thirty years ago has finished in Rome. It is nothing less than a miracle of God. The Church which at the beginning of Acts could be numbered in scores cannot now be numbered in tens of thousands. The story of the crucified man of Nazareth has swept across the world in its conquering course until now without interference it is being preached in Rome, the capital of the world. The gospel has reached the centre of the world and is being freely proclaimed--and Luke's task is at an end.

-Barclay's Daily Study Bible (NT)

FURTHER READING

Acts

F. F. Bruce, The Book of Acts (NLC E)

E. Haenchen, Die Apostelgeschichte (G)

F. J. Foakes Jackson and K. Lake, The Beginnings Of Christianity (A five-volume work; especially useful are Vol.

IV, The Commentary and Vol. V, Additional Notes)

W. Neil, The Acts of the Apostles (NCB E)

Abbreviations

NCB: New Century Bible

NLC: New London Commentary

E: English Text

G: Greek Text

-Barclay's Daily Study Bible (NT)