Paul: Arrest and Trial in Rome
Paul’s journey to Rome had been far from uneventful or linear. Long sea crossings, violent storms, a shipwreck, and a near-death experience, followed by winter on a small island in the middle of nowhere. When Paul finally got off Malta the journey was just as complicated. They boarded an Alexandrian ship named Castor and Pollux with the twin gods riding the helm as the ship's figurehead. The ship docked in Syracuse for three days and then arrived at Rhegium. From Rhegium they sailed to Puteoli where they found believers and spent time in fellowship with them.
Meanwhile, in Rome, the Italian Christians had heard the news of Paul’s imminent arrival and were eagerly waiting for him. Since receiving his letter to the Romans they had been both blessed and inspired by his work. They had longed to see him face to face and now their hopes would to come to fruition. They had not, however, expected him to come to them as a prisoner but his chains only served to draw their hearts closer to him.
Having heard that Paul had landed in Puetoli many of the Italian Christians began congregating “from as far as the Forum of Appius and Three Taverns to meet” him (Acts 28:15). Bound by a heavy chain to his guard Paul walked the 140 miles from Puetoli to Rome. His heart was heavy with discouragement because this wasn’t the entrance to Rome he had envisioned. How could he, a condemned prisoner proclaim the gospel without stigma to the capital of the world?
But God didn’t allow Paul to remain disheartened. As he passed through the Forum of Appius and Three taverns the believers came out to greet Paul and “on seeing them Paul thanked God and took courage” (Acts 28:16).
There are times when serving God can be challenging; discouragements proliferate and successes seem few and far between. Though none of us have faced the humiliation of being convicted as a criminal for our beliefs we may know what it’s like to face hardship in the pursuit of God’s will for our lives. Paul’s experience on the road to Rome is a reminder to all of us that God sees our struggles and cares about them. When Paul needed it most, God sent him encouragement in the form of fellow believers. When we need it the most we can be sure that God will send us the encouragement we need to keep going. To keep serving. To keep pursuing him with our whole hearts.
Jesus’ promise to each of us in the midst of our discouragements and trials is this; “I will never leave you nor forsake you” (Hebrews 13:5). Not matter how dark the tunnel is, there is light at the end of it. Jesus has promised to walk beside us. He has also promised to deliver us from our trials.
In her book Acts of the Apostles, Ellen White says this about Paul’s encounter with other believers on the road to Rome; “Few realize the significance of those words of Luke, that when Paul saw his brethren ‘he thanked God and took courage.” In the midst of the weeping and sympathizing company of believers who were not ashamed of his bonds, the apostle praised God aloud. The cloud of sadness that had rested upon his spirit was swept away. His Christian life had been a succession of trials, sufferings, and disappointments but in that hour he felt abundantly repaid”
Paul finally arrived in Rome and Julius, the centurion who had taken charge of him in Caesarea handed him and the other prisoners in his charge to the captain of the emperor’s guard. Julius offered a glowing recommendation of Paul and handed over the letter of commendation by Festus as well. All this earned Paul the luxury of house arrest in his own rented home with a single soldier to guard him.
While under house arrest Paul was at liberty to invite people to his home and do everything in his power to continue to preach the gospel. Three days into his stay he called in the local Jewish leaders and managed to create an opening to share the gospel with them. In addition to preaching the gospel, he also wrote letters to the various churches scattered throughout the empire. These letters which came to be known as the prison epistles include Philippians, Ephesians, Colossians, and Philemon, the heartfelt appeal written on behalf of a runaway slave who had a conversion experience after meeting Paul in Rome.
The book of Acts ends with these words; “He lived there two whole years at his own expense, and welcomed all who came to him, proclaiming the kingdom of God and teaching about the Lord Jesus Christ with all boldness and without hindrance” (Acts 28:30)
Paul’s work for God went forward despite the constraints of his circumstances. It seemed that nothing could stop him from pursuing the cause so closely entwined with his heart. Perhaps this should not surprise us, after all, if beatings and mobbings and imprisonments hadn’t stopped him from proclaiming Christ around the world why would something as small as house arrest give him pause?
After a period of time, the captain of the imperial guard was replaced and the new appointee didn’t show Paul the same kind of consideration that his predecessor had. In addition to this the emperor Paul had appealed to was arguably the most capricious and cruel in the history of Rome. Nero was a man driven by hedonism and a lust for power. He poisoned his stepbrother to gain the throne and then murdered his mother and first wife.
Nero’s second wife, a Jewish proselyte, was only too happy to lend whatever influence she had to the cause of the Roman Jews who were more determined than ever to see Paul destroyed. It seemed that the odds were stacked against Paul wherever he turned and the future took on an increasingly bleak cast.
Yet Paul’s faith remained unshaken. He felt, as he always had, that his life rested in God’s hands. Regardless of how mercurial Nero was God’s faithfulness was unchanging and Paul was determined to hold fast to that assurance.
Paul’s faith was not in vain. His first trial before Nero was a success and contrary to popular expectation Nero found Paul guiltless and set him free. Soon after his release Paul left Rome and continued his work as a missionary. During this time he worked hard to establish a firm connection between the Greek and Eastern churches and made sure the young congregations were grounded in biblical truth.
But Paul’s second chance at freedom didn’t last forever. Since the moment he chose to abandon his Jewish heritage and embrace the gospel, he had a target on his back, one he could never quite shake no matter how hard he tried.
During Paul’s first imprisonment, Christianity grew to such an extent that it began to garner the attention of the Roman authorities. Nero was especially incensed when members of his own household embraced the faith and changed their lifestyles. Around the time Paul was released half of Rome burned to the ground. Rumors blazed that Nero had caused the fire and in an attempt to divert suspicion from himself, he accused Christians of setting the fire. They were declared enemies of the state and the mob rose up against them, targeting them as convenient scapegoats. Thousands of innocent Christians were massacred.
When Paul was arrested the second time the Jews claimed that he was the arsonist behind the burning of Rome. No one really believed that Paul was capable of such a thing but they petitioned for Paul’s arrest nonetheless. He was arrested and taken to Rome. This second arrest was not as comfortable or as promising as the first. In the aftermath of the fire in Rome thousands of Christians had been put to death and Christianity was not just maligned but stigmatized as well. Nero's relentless persecution had carved a hole in the Christian population in Rome and those who had not been killed had escaped for their lives.
The few who remained lived in fear and were powerless against the hatred and discrimination of the state. When Paul arrived in Rome he was treated with contempt largely because he had been accused of burning the city but also because he was a Christian. He was housed in a dungeon prison where he was to remain until his death.
When Paul first arrived in Rome he was accompanied by a handful of faithful friends. Before long however they began to leave him for various reasons; some deserted him because of the thickening maelstrom of anger and persecution that surrounded him. Others simply needed to leave in order to continue much-needed missionary efforts in various cities around the empire. Only Luke remained with him and his companionship meant a great deal to Paul during the final dark stretch of his life. Paul’s final letter was penned during this time and was addressed to his beloved Timothy, his son in the faith.
In his second letter to Timothy Paul wrote about his trials and struggles but he also shed light on the simple visits of friends that served to encourage him. “May the Lord grant mercy to the household of Onesiphorus, for he often refreshed me and was not ashamed of my chains, but when he arrived in Rome he searched for me earnestly and found me, may the Lord grant him to find mercy from the Lord on that day! And you also well know all the service he rendered at Ephesus” (2 Timothy 1:16-18)
The human heart craves love and sympathy, especially during hard times. Paul, the zealous, tough-as-nails missionary was not above this quintessential human need. The encouragement of friends soothed his aching heart, providing a healing balm that buoyed him in his hour of need.
Finally, Paul was brought before Nero for trial and it seemed, even before he appeared before the emperor that his sentence had been passed down; death, final and without mercy. The nature of the crime he was accused of coupled with the ubiquitous animosity against Christians offered no other options.
Generally, the Romans allowed the accused to retain counsel; a trained lawyer or orator who could plead their case with the passion, intelligence and eloquence needed to secure a favorable verdict. But Paul stood before Nero without an advocate. He went to face the most trying hour of his life completely bereft of human companionship. Describing some of what he experienced Paul wrote to Timothy “at my first defense no one came to stand by me but all deserted me. May it not be charged against them! But the Lord stood by me and strengthened me so that through me the message might be fully proclaimed and all the Gentiles might hear it. So I was rescued from the lion’s mouth”
All deserted me…but the Lord stood by me. What a testimony to the unfailing love of God! In our darkest moments, when we feel most alone, we can have the assurance that God stands by us offering us every ounce of comfort and strength that we need, if we are willing, by faith, to reach out and grasp the unseen
What a striking contrast Paul’s final trial presents; Nero, the uncontested supreme ruler of the most powerful empire on earth; peerless in position and power, unrivaled in supremacy. And there before him, was the aged, penniless, friendless, and defenseless Paul; Roman citizen and servant of the Most High God. Whose life mattered more? Whose life made a greater impact? Whose life possessed eternal possibilities? It certainly wasn’t Nero’s.
The judgment hall was packed to capacity, filled with a curious mixture of various socio-economic tiers. The only thing they all had in common was their ignorance of the gospel and their lack of hope beyond the grave. Paul didn’t waste the opportunity God had given him to speak to this eager and restless mob. He preached the gospel before Nero in Rome one final time, pointing him to Jesus as the friend of sinners, the only one who could save them all from their sins and offer them something better.
Nero was so moved by what he heard that he deferred sentencing Paul and sent him back to prison. It was during this pause that Paul wrote the epistle of 2nd Timothy. However, Nero’s magnanimity was short-lived. Exasperated by the continued spread of Christianity and the unwillingness of Christians to be bullied into submission Nero decided to make Paul a public example. He sentenced him to death. Paul’s Roman citizenship gave him immunity against torture and the usual forms of death that most criminals suffered at the hands of the Roman war machine. Instead, Paul was taken privately and executed by beheading.
Paul’s last words to Timothy shine like a beacon of encouragement to every successive generation of Christians; “I have fought a good fight, I have finished the race, I have kept the faith. Henceforth there is laid up for me the crown of righteousness which the Lord, the righteous judge, will award to me on that day and not only to me but also to all who have loved his appearing” (2 Timothy 4:7-8)
When Paul came to the end of his life he knew two things for certain; he had accomplished the task God had given him and he had the assurance of eternal life. Those two certainties alone made every moment of suffering and hardship worth the effort. The challenges we face on this earth cannot compare to the eternal weight of glory eternity presents to us through Jesus. Whatever your struggles, hold fast to your faith, fight the good fight and let no man take your crown.
