What is the meaning of Acts 28:25?

They disagreed among themselves

• Paul’s Jewish listeners in Rome reacted just as audiences had elsewhere: some believed, others resisted (Acts 17:4–5; John 7:43).

• The gospel always exposes hearts, dividing those who embrace truth from those who cling to tradition (1 Corinthians 14:33).

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and began to leave

• Instead of wrestling further with the message, many walked away—echoing earlier departures from Jesus’ teaching (John 6:66; Mark 10:22).

• Turning away is never neutral; it steps toward spiritual hardness (Hebrews 3:12).

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after Paul had made this final statement

• Paul’s pattern, seen in Pisidian Antioch and Corinth, was to give a decisive word when opposition crystallized (Acts 13:46; Acts 18:6).

• Like Ezekiel’s watchman, he discharged his duty; the hearers now bore responsibility for their response (Ezekiel 33:4–5).

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“The Holy Spirit was right

• Inspiration is personal: the Spirit Himself spoke, guaranteeing absolute reliability (2 Peter 1:21; John 14:26; Acts 1:16).

• Paul affirms that unbelief never proves Scripture wrong; it proves Scripture right.

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when He spoke to your fathers

• The same Spirit who addressed the ancestors now addresses their descendants, showing continuity of God’s dealings (Hebrews 3:7–9; Romans 15:4).

• Generational memory matters; past warnings are meant to shape present responses (Psalm 78:8).

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through Isaiah the prophet

• Paul quotes Isaiah 6:9-10, the classic indictment of willful deafness and blindness (Isaiah 6:9-10; Matthew 13:14; John 12:39-41).

• By invoking Isaiah, he shows that persistent unbelief was foretold and that rejection of Messiah fulfills prophetic expectation, not thwarts it.

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summary

Acts 28:25 underscores that gospel rejection is neither new nor surprising. The Spirit who once warned Israel through Isaiah now speaks through Paul, exposing hard hearts and vindicating Scripture’s accuracy. Division, departure, and disbelief fulfill prophecy, while those who receive the message step into the stream of God’s unbroken, Spirit-given revelation.