The book of Acts seems to be missing its ending. In Acts 28, the last chapter, we read about Paul being imprisoned in Rome. It seems that as he arrived there, some of the Jews of that city went to visit him in prison, and he told them the story of how he had come to be in prison and awaiting trial. He had been falsely accused in Jerusalem, had been imprisoned, had been held in Caesarea for quite some time without a trial date, had appealed to Rome, travelled to Rome, and was now awaiting a trial before Caesar. The Jews of the city wanted to know more about Paul, and they visited him in prison. Paul told them his story, but he also took the opportunity to tell them about Jesus. Some of the Jews believed, but, we are told, the majority did not. Paul, in frustration, recalled the teaching of the OT book of Isaiah where we read that the Israelites of 600 years earlier had refused to hear God’s Word. He then went on to say that his ministry would now focus on the Gentiles. And, in the very last words of the book of Acts, we are told that Paul remained in Rome for 2 years, preaching the gospel without hindrance.
And that is where the story ends. Luke, the author of Acts, seems to have left out the rest of the story, neglecting to tell us about how the church in Rome grew stronger, how things went at the trial (Paul was set free), and what Paul did after he left Rome. We do know from Paul’s other writings that he travelled as far as Spain, preaching the gospel to the people there. But we do now know this from the book of Acts.
Some have commented that this is entirely appropriate, for although we would like to know the rest of the story, the rest of the story has not been written. That is true. If Luke has told us about Paul’s eventual death (tradition has it that it was in Rome where he was beheaded), we might have come to think of that being the end of the story. If we had read that one of the greatest Christian missionaries who ever lived had now died, we might be inclined to believe that it was all over. But, since the story of the missionary work of the church isn’t finished in the Bible, we are moved to believe that it is not yet over.
We do know that the gospel spread throughout Europe through the early centuries, mostly because Rome conquered most of Europe. We know that there were churches in many parts of western Asia and northern Africa. It also seems that there were churches as far away as India. But, we can be quite certain, there were no Christians in sub-Saharan Africa, in vast parts of Asia, including the far east, and in North and South America or Oceania. It wasn’t until centuries later that the gospel was made known to the rest of the world. Today there are very few places where there are no Christians at all. In nearly every nation there is, at very least, a few Christians and often a few churches.
The relatively recent spread of the gospel began in earnest in the early 19th century with William Carey from England heading up a very significant missionary movement. He was joined by many others who endured long voyages to distant places to tell the world about Jesus. Today, the largest churches in the world are not located in the Mideast, where the church began or in Europe where the church has been for hundreds of years. The largest churches in the world are located in Nigeria where one congregation sees an attendance of over 500,000 and in South Korea where a congregation welcome just under 500,000 people weekly. In fact, of the top 18 largest congregations in the world, only four are found in North America and none are found in Europe.
We might think that because the gospel has gone to all parts of the world that the work of missions is nearly completed, but that is not so. Some places which used to be predominantly Christian, at least in name, are now almost entirely without knowledge of Jesus Christ. We think of places like Yemen (now Islamic but at one time a very Christian nation), Quebec (at one time Roman Catholic and now almost entirely secular), and the Netherlands (at one time nearly entirely Christian and now vastly secular). The very places that once used to send missionaries are now in dire need of someone to tell the people there about Jesus.
In other words, the story remains incomplete. And that, perhaps, is why Luke ended the book of Acts so abruptly. He wanted to illustrate that there is more to the story, parts of which are largely unwritten. That makes us part of the story too. The ministry of the church may not be to just feed Christians with spiritual food but, rather, to feed Christians so that the can, in turn feed others. The purpose of the church is to continue the unfinished work of Acts. One day the story will be finished, and it will be at the same moment that we see Jesus returning to this earth. Until then, we are on a mission to make Jesus known.