An Appointment To Preach -- The Jewish leaders probably
discussed the matter among themselves, and then set a particular
day upon which they would listen to Paul's case, in which he
would argue the validity of Christianity. At the assigned
time, they came to his spacious "lodging." The
word xenia means "hospitality;" here, by
metonymy [a figure of speech consisting of the use of the name of
one thing for that of another of which it is an attribute or with
which it is associated (as in "lands belonging to the
crown")], it denotes the place where the
apostle's hospitality was extended. It was morning when
the crowd arrived, and all day long, "till evening,"
they carefully listened as Paul "expounded" (imperfect
-- kept on setting forth) the facts of the Gospel.
Contrast this with many modern auditors [listeners/hearers] who can
scarcely bear to sit still for a sermon that extends beyond a
half-hour!
The apostle "testified" (imperfect --
sustained proclamation) regarding the kingdom of God. The
participle represents an intensive form, which suggests that Paul
thoroughly covered his subject. In discussing the
"kingdom of God" he almost certainly would have traced
the "reign" of God, as such had been manifested among
the Israelite people of the Old Testament period. He would
have demonstrated from the Scriptures that the whole design of the
Mosaic economy [the system of arrangement or mode of operation or
functioning of something: organization] was focused
ultimately in the incarnation of Jesus and the Lord's
messianic mission. He doubtless stressed that following the
Savior's death, the divine reign found its fulfillment in a
new, spiritual nation, the church (cf. Matthew 21:43;
1 Peter 2:9).
From the Old Testament documents, here represented under a
two-fold breakdown ("the law of Moses" and "the
prophets"), the apostle demonstrated that Jesus of Nazareth
was the central theme of their Scriptures. Christ was
the fulfillment of the messianic hope, so happily treasured across
the centuries. With forceful reasoning Paul kept on seeking
to "persuade" (peitho -- to bring about a
change of mind by the influence of reason or moral considerations
-- Vine, 599) them of the validity of his message.
Christianity is not a system grounded in speculative
"hunches," nor is it to be established by harsh
intimidation, or superficial emotionalism; rather, it is based upon
solid historical data argued with persuasive logic.
