Acts 28:20
For this cause therefore have I called for you, to see you, and to speak with you: because that for the hope of Israel I am bound with this chain. For this cause therefore have I called for you, to see you, and to speak with you: because that for the hope of Israel I am bound with this chain.
The verse belongs to Paul's long-expected journey to Rome, which he reached as a prisoner landing at Puteoli on the coast of Italy. With the centurion's permission he stayed seven days with the few Christians there, while the Roman Christians one hundred and forty miles away heard of his approach and some started out to meet and welcome him. They had already received his epistle to the Romans and eagerly looked forward to his visit, though not expecting him as a prisoner, and his sufferings endeared him to them the more. It was spoken at Rome three days after arrival to the leading men of the Jews, whom he called together so they would first hear the facts about himself and his work before his enemies could embitter them against him.
He had called them to see him and to speak with them because he was bound with a chain for the hope of Israel. He had done nothing against the people or the customs of the fathers, and his chains were not for a crime against his people or their customs. He had been delivered as a prisoner from Jerusalem into Roman hands, and the Romans would have released him because there was no cause of death in him. Opposition from the Jews constrained him to appeal to Caesar after they opposed his release, and the appeal was not to accuse his nation. He said nothing of the abuse he had suffered from the Jews or their repeated plots to assassinate him.
His words were marked with caution and kindness in a simple, direct manner, seeking not personal attention or sympathy but to defend the truth and maintain the honor of the gospel. The hope of Israel for which he was bound is faith in the promised Messiah fulfilled in Christ, that is Jesus of Nazareth proclaimed as Israel's Hope and the Saviour of mankind. That hope rests on Jesus' crucifixion, resurrection, and ascension establishing him as the world's Saviour and the only hope for humanity, truths entrusted to the apostles as an enduring anchor, calling followers to look to Jesus, follow the way opened by his self-sacrifice, and keep God's law. His imprisonment shows that chains did not keep him from trusting God's word, and his endurance under Roman power illustrates faith standing firm against worldly authority even when it leads to death. The verse belongs to the period before his release from Roman imprisonment, and he left Rome soon after his release.