Then after three days he sent for the chief men of the Jews. When they assembled, he said to them: My brothers, though I had done nothing against the people or the ways of our fathers, I was arrested in Jerusalem and handed over to the Romans. They questioned me and were ready to set me free, for they found me not guilty of any crime deserving death. When the Jews brought charges against me again I presented my cause to Caesar for I said nothing against my nation. read more.
The reason I sent for you is to talk with you. I am in these chains because of the hope of Israel. They said to him: We have not had letters from Judea about you, and none of the brothers have come to us to give an account or say any evil about you. We desire to hear your opinion concerning this sect. We have knowledge that it is attacked in all places. So they set a date with Paul. A large number of them came that day to the place where Paul was staying. From morning till night he explained his message about the Kingdom of God to them. He tried to convince them about Jesus by quoting from the Law of Moses and the writings of the prophets. Some of them were convinced by his words, but others did not believe. So they left, disagreeing among themselves, after Paul had said this one thing: How well the Holy Spirit spoke through the prophet Isaiah to your ancestors! He said, Go and say to this people, 'You will listen and listen, but not understand. You will look and look, but not see. These people have closed their mind and are hard of hearing. They have shut their eyes so that their eyes never see. Their ears never hear. Their minds never understand. They never turn to me for healing.' You need to know that God has sent his salvation to people who are not Jews. They will listen. After he said this the Jews left arguing among themselves.