The Acts of the Apostles

42 THE ACTS OF THE APOSTLES
tion passed to the Gentiles from the Jews, who had
lost it {cf. supra, pp. xxi. ss.). Chap, xxviii. 25-28
forms both the true conclusion and the true key to
the book. The fact here stated in impressive fulness
of language, and with the trumpet-blast of Isaiah's
prophetic utterance here proclaimed in the sentence :
yvcocTTOV ovv eoTTO) v/uliv OTi TOig eOvetriv aire-
(TTaXrj TOVTO TO (TCOTijpiov Tov Ocov' avTol Kal
aKova-ovraifhas been before expressly, even if not so
loudly, declared in various passages of the work (from
xiii. 46 onwards ; vide xviii. 6, &c.). Certainly from
vi. Iff. onwards it forms the leading thought in the
whole economy of the book ; while even earlier it
probably lies at the background of the great list of
nations in chap. ii. Now at the close this leading
thought again comes to the front and holds the field
with sovereign power. As he writes these concluding
words the author plainly declares that he must now
leave St. Paul as he before left St. Peter—the diffi-
culty is the same in both cases, even if the disappear-
ance of St. Peter is not half so strange—for the
Divine plan of salvation is fulfilled ! Soli Deo gloria/
The author is concerned not with Peter nor with Paul,
but with the grand development of the Divine purpose
whereby Jewish hearts were hardened, whereby
the gospel was proclaimed among the Gentiles from
Antioch to Ephesus and Corinth and finally in Rome,
whereby also Gentile hearts were made receptive of
the message : ^ avrol koi ctKovcrovTai ! According to
St. Luke it was not St. Paul who began the mission
to the Gentiles ; others had preceded him ; only with
^ Vide e.g. xvi. 14: 6 Kvpios Sirjvoi^ev rriv Kapvlav t^s \vZlas.