Paul in Rome: Big-City Evangelist in Chains

This chapter is based on Acts 28:11-31 and the Letter to Philemon. 

When sailing was safe again, the centurion and his prisoners set out on their journey to Rome. An Alexandrian ship had wintered at Malta on her way westward, and the travelers were able to get passage on it. When it safely completed the voyage, the ship dropped anchor in the beautiful harbor of Puteoli in Italy, where a few Christians urged the apostle to stay with them for seven days, a privilege that the centurion kindly granted. 4TC 230.2

Since receiving Paul’s letter to the Romans, the Christians of Italy had eagerly looked forward to a visit from the apostle. His sufferings as a prisoner only made him more precious to them. The seaport was only 140 miles from Rome, so some of the Christians started out to meet and welcome him. 4TC 230.3

On the eighth day after landing, the centurion and his prisoners set out for Rome. Julius willingly granted the apostle every favor he was able to give, but he could do nothing about the fact that Paul was a prisoner. With a heavy heart Paul went forward to the world’s metropolis. How was he to proclaim the gospel while chained like a criminal? 4TC 231.1

At last the travelers reached Appii Forum, 40 miles from Rome. The gray-haired old man, chained with a group of hardened-looking criminals, received many a scornful glance and was made the subject of rude jokes. 4TC 231.2

Suddenly there was a cry of joy, and a man leaped out from the passing crowd and embraced the prisoner with tears and rejoicing, like a son would welcome a long-absent father. This scene happened again and again. Many recognized the chained captive as the one who at Corinth, Philippi, or Ephesus had spoken to them the words of life. 4TC 231.3

As the warmhearted disciples eagerly flocked around their father in the gospel, the whole group was brought to a standstill. The soldiers, impatient with the delay, did not have the heart to interrupt this happy meeting, for they too had learned to appreciate their prisoner. The disciples saw the image of Christ reflected in that pain-stricken face. They assured Paul that they had not stopped loving him. In the depth of their love they would carry him on their shoulders the whole way to the city, if they could only have the privilege. 4TC 231.4

When Paul saw his fellow Christians, “he thanked God and took courage.” The weeping, sympathizing believers were not ashamed of his shackles. The cloud of sadness that had rested on his spirit was swept away. Chains and afflictions were waiting for him, but he knew that it had been his privilege to deliver others from a bondage infinitely more terrible, and he rejoiced in his sufferings for Christ’s sake. 4TC 231.5

Paul, in Chains, Appeals to the Jews

At Rome Julius delivered his prisoners to the captain of the emperor’s guard. The good account that he gave of Paul, with the letter from Festus, caused the chief captain to look with favor on the apostle, and instead of Paul’s being thrown into prison, he was permitted to live in his own rented house. Although still chained to a soldier, he was able freely to receive his friends and to work for the cause of Christ. 4TC 232.1

Many of the Jews previously banished from Rome had been allowed to return. Paul determined to present the facts concerning himself and his work to these people first of all, before his enemies had opportunity to prejudice them against him. Three days after his arrival he called their leading men together and said: 4TC 232.2

“Though I have done nothing against our people or the customs of our fathers, yet I was delivered as a prisoner from Jerusalem into the hands of the Romans, who, when they had examined me, wanted to let me go, because there was no cause for putting me to death. But when the Jews spoke against it, I was compelled to appeal to Caesar. ... For the hope of Israel I am bound with this chain.” 4TC 232.3

He said nothing of the repeated plots to assassinate him. He was not trying to win sympathy but to defend the truth and maintain the honor of the gospel. 4TC 232.4

His hearers said that none of the Jews who had come to Rome had accused him of any crime. They also expressed a strong desire to hear for themselves the reasons for his faith in Christ. Paul asked them to set a day, and when the time arrived, many came to hear him. “He explained and solemnly testified of the kingdom of God, persuading them concerning Jesus from both the Law of Moses and the Prophets.” He told of his own experience and presented arguments from the Old Testament Scriptures. 4TC 232.5

Religion Is Practical and Experiential

The apostle showed that religion is a practical, personal experience of God’s renewing power in the life. Moses had pointed Israel to Christ as that Prophet whom they were to hear. All the prophets had testified of Him as the guiltless One who was to bear the sins of the guilty. Paul showed that while the Jews performed the ritual service with great exactness, they were rejecting Him who was the fulfillment of all that system. 4TC 232.6

Paul told them that he had rejected Jesus of Nazareth as an impostor because He did not fulfill his cherished idea of the Messiah to come. But now his views of Christ were more spiritual, for he had been converted. To get a glimpse of Christ by faith, to have a spiritual knowledge of Him, was more important than a personal acquaintance with Him in His human form on the earth as only an earthly and human companion. 4TC 233.1

As Paul spoke, those who were honestly searching for truth were convinced. His words made an impression on some minds that they would never forget. But other people stubbornly refused to accept the testimony of the Scriptures. They could not refute Paul’s arguments, but they refused to accept his conclusions. 4TC 233.2

As a Prisoner, Paul Has Stronger Influence

Many months passed before the Jews of Jerusalem appeared to present their accusations against the prisoner. Now that Paul was to be tried before the highest court of the Roman Empire, they had no desire to risk another defeat. Delay would give them time to try to influence the emperor secretly in their favor, so they waited a while before making their charges against the apostle. 4TC 233.3

This delay helped the spread of the gospel. Paul was permitted to live in a spacious house, where he could present the truth every day to those who came to hear. So for two years he continued his work, “preaching the kingdom of God and teaching the things which concern the Lord Jesus Christ with all confidence, no one forbidding him.” 4TC 233.4

During this time Paul did not forget the churches he had established in many lands. The apostle addressed their needs in letters of practical instruction, and from Rome he sent consecrated workers to labor in fields that he had not visited himself. The apostle kept in constant communication with them, and he was able to exercise wise supervision over them all. 4TC 233.5

In this way Paul exerted a wider and more lasting influence than if he had been free to travel among the churches as he had in earlier years. As a “prisoner of Jesus Christ,” he had a firmer hold on the affections of the believers, and his words commanded greater attention and respect than when he was personally with them. Up to then the believers had usually excused themselves from carrying responsibilities and burdens because they did not have his wisdom, tact, and boundless energy. But now they valued his warnings and instructions more than they had appreciated his personal work. And as they learned of his courage and faith during his long imprisonment, they determined to be even more faithful in the cause of Christ. 4TC 234.1

At Rome, Luke, “the beloved physician,” who had been Paul’s companion on the journey to Jerusalem, through the two years’ imprisonment at Caesarea, and on his dangerous voyage to Rome, was still with him. Timothy also did what he could to make him comfortable. Tychicus stood nobly by the apostle. Demas and Mark were with him. Aristarchus and Epaphras were his “fellow prisoners.” (See Colossians 4:7-14). 4TC 234.2

Mark’s Christian experience had deepened as he had studied the life and death of Christ more closely. Now, sharing the living conditions of Paul the prisoner, he understood better than ever before that it is infinite gain to win Christ, infinite loss to win the world and lose the soul. In the face of severe difficulties, Mark remained faithful, a wise and beloved helper of the apostle. 4TC 234.3

Paul wrote, “Demas has forsaken me, having loved this present world” (2 Timothy 4:10). For worldly gain, Demas traded away every high and noble consideration. But Mark, choosing to suffer for Christ’s sake, had eternal riches. 4TC 234.4

The Beautiful Story of Onesimus the Slave

Among those who gave their hearts to God in Rome was Onesimus, a pagan slave who had wronged his master, Philemon, a Christian believer in Colosse, and had escaped to Rome. In the kindness of his heart, Paul tried to relieve the needs of the poor fugitive and then worked to bring the light of truth into his darkened mind. Onesimus listened, confessed his sins, and was converted to Christ. 4TC 234.5

He endeared himself to Paul by tenderly caring for the apostle’s comfort and by his zeal in promoting the gospel. Paul saw that he could be a useful helper in missionary work and counseled him to return immediately to Philemon, beg his forgiveness, and plan for the future. Paul was about to send Tychicus with letters to various churches in Asia Minor, so he sent Onesimus with him to the master he had wronged. It was a severe test, but this servant had been truly converted, and he did not turn aside from duty. 4TC 235.1

Paul gave Onesimus a letter to take to Philemon in which the apostle pleaded for the repentant slave. He reminded Philemon that everything he possessed was due to the grace of Christ. This alone made him different from the wicked and the sinful. The same grace could make the corrupt criminal a child of God and a useful laborer in the gospel. 4TC 235.2

The apostle asked Philemon to receive the repentant slave as his own child, “no longer as a slave but more than a slave—a beloved brother.” He expressed his desire to keep Onesimus with him as one who could minister to him in his imprisonment as Philemon himself would have done, but he did not want his services unless Philemon himself was willing to set the slave free. 4TC 235.3

The apostle knew how severely masters could treat their slaves. He knew also that Philemon was angry over what his servant had done. He tried to write in a way that would appeal to Philemon’s tenderest feelings as a Christian. Paul would regard any punishment inflicted on this new convert as inflicted on himself. 4TC 235.4

Paul volunteered to pay the debt of Onesimus in order to spare the guilty one the disgrace of punishment. “If then you count me as a partner,” he wrote to Philemon, “receive him as you would me. But if he has wronged you or owes anything, put that on my account. I, Paul, am writing with my own hand. I will repay.” 4TC 235.5

How fitting an illustration of the love of Christ! The sinner who has robbed God of years of service has no way to cancel the debt. Jesus says, I will pay the debt. I will suffer in his place. 4TC 235.6

Paul reminded Philemon how much he himself owed the apostle. God had made Paul the instrument of his conversion. As Philemon had refreshed the believers by his generosity, so he would refresh the spirit of the apostle by giving him this reason to rejoice. “Having confidence in your obedience,” he added, “I write to you, knowing that you will do even more than I say.” 4TC 235.7

Paul’s letter to Philemon shows the influence of the gospel on the relationship between master and servant. Slaveholding was an established institution throughout the Roman Empire, and masters and slaves were found in most churches where Paul worked. In the cities where slaves often greatly outnumbered the free population, laws of terrible cruelty were thought necessary to keep slaves under control. A wealthy Roman often owned hundreds of slaves. With full control over the souls and bodies of these helpless beings, he could inflict on them any suffering he chose. If in retaliation or self-defense a slave dared to raise a hand against his owner, the whole family of the offender might be inhumanely sacrificed. 4TC 236.1

Some masters were more humane than others, but the vast majority, living for lust, passion, and appetite, made their slaves the miserable victims of tyranny. The whole system was hopelessly degrading. 4TC 236.2

It was not the apostle’s work suddenly to overturn the established order of society. Trying to do this would prevent the success of the gospel. But he taught principles that struck at the foundation of slavery and would surely undermine the whole system. “Where the Spirit of the Lord is, there is liberty” (2 Corinthians 3:17). When converted, the slave became a member of the body of Christ, to be loved and treated as a brother, a fellow heir with his master to the blessings of God. On the other hand, servants were to perform their duties “not with eyeservice, as menpleasers, but as bondservants of Christ, doing the will of God from the heart” (Ephesians 6:6). 4TC 236.3

Master and slave, king and subject, have been washed in the same blood and made alive by the same Spirit. They are one in Christ. 4TC 236.4