THE LORD GOD ALMIGHTY HAS THE FINAL WORD

The last word of the book of Acts in the Greek New Testament is the word akolutos. The word literally means "unhindered, "though many translations render it with multiple words. Others move the word from its final position for the sake of syntax. In both cases, I think something is lost in translation. Luke was intentionally making a statement with this last word of his two volume testimony to the life of Jesus Christ. I think he intended readers to pause at the conclusion of his words, leaving us with the provocative thought of a gospel that is unhindered. After the stories of Jesus' ministry were told, after recollections of his death and ruminations of his resurrection, after Jesus' ascension and the church's beginnings, after all the resistance, disappointment, and surprises along the way, Luke concludes, "Then Paul dwelt two whole years in his own rented house, and received all who came to him, preaching the kingdom of God and teaching the things which concern the Lord Jesus Christ with all confidence, unhindered" (Acts 28:30-31). Through prisons and angry crowds, the book of Acts traces the birth and growth of the early church.