Acts 28:25-28 25And disagreeing among themselves, they began leaving when Paul said this word: “The Holy Spirit spoke correctly through the prophet Isaiah to our fathers, saying, 26‘Go to this people and say, “You will hear but never understand, and seeing you will see but never perceive.” 27For this people’s heart has grown dull, and with their ears they can barely hear, and their eyes they have closed; lest they might see with their eyes and might hear with their ears and might understand with their heart and turn, and I would heal them.’ 28Therefore, let it be known to you that this salvation of God has been sent to the Gentiles; and they will listen.”
As the Jews were arguing and starting to leave, Paul got the last word in with a quotation from the Greek Septuagint of Isaiah 6:9-10, which these Jews would have likely been familiar with. Significantly, he attributed these words to having been inspired by the Holy Spirit. At that moment, the Holy Spirit was speaking to these Jews, but they were not responding positively; instead, they were hardening their hearts. Paul connected their response to the same way their ancient fathers responded to Isaiah’s warnings.
The specific application comes as a warning in verse 26. Three areas of cognizance are mentioned by Isaiah. The heart represents the inner person where decisions are made, and one accepts God’s truth. The ears are the instruments of hearing the truth. The eyes see the evidence of the truth. All three represent how one comes to accept and believe the truth. Seeing and believing should lead to understanding, which is essential for genuine belief. These Jews had seen and heard, and they had some understanding now because of Paul. So, the breakdown happened at the believing stage. All three were not functioning in Israel when Isaiah prophesied, and neither were they for the Jews of Rome. If they would only accept the truth of the gospel, they would be healed. The assumption is that this healing would be of their sinful hearts, with the result of eternal life.
Paul’s final statement in verse 28 is significant for several reasons. In the context of this passage and Paul’s discussion with the Jews in his confined location, it reveals his frustration with those who would not accept his logical argument based on Scripture and testimony. The statement is also consistent with Paul’s actions in other places, where he turned to the Gentiles after being rejected by the Jews (13:46; 18:6). Paul never completely gave up on the Jews (see Romans 11), but his vision was global and inclusive of non-Jews.
Finally, in the context of the whole book of Acts, this statement shows how the gospel is for the “nations” (ethnesin, Gentiles). The book ends with the fulfilment of its beginning. Jesus told his disciples in 1:8 that they would be witnesses to the ends of the earth, which would be inclusive of Gentile nations. Paul was the prime example of this effort, though he was not the only one, as evidenced by believers already in Rome when he arrived. These are the last words of Paul in Acts, and they reinforce the global vision of Christianity. The tense of the verb has been sent (apestalē) is aorist, indicating that the action had already been started and that the gospel message was already going out to the Gentiles. The unbelieving Jews were going to miss out on God’s plan of salvation because of their hardened hearts. The very ones who should have listened were not. However, not all Jews were like this. Some did believe, and the mission did continue to impact Jews who accepted their Messiah. Even to this day, there are “Messianic Jews” who believe God’s full message of salvation began in Genesis and will be completed in Revelation.