Day 40: Acts 28:1-31

Paul has finally arrived in Rome, just as the Lord had declared: “As you have testified about me in Jerusalem, so you must also testify in Rome” (23:11).

Unlike other places where Paul would share the gospel with the goal of establishing a church, Rome already had a community of believers. Paul had penned the epistle to the Romans several years earlier. In Romans 15:29 Paul expresses his desire to visit them: “I know that when I come to you I will come in the fullness of Christ’s blessing.” So, we should not be surprised to read in Acts 28:15 that some of them greeted Paul upon his arrival.

There is also another significant difference in the way Paul spent his time in Rome. He was still a prisoner, but he did not have to share a cell with others. Instead he was assigned a soldier who would guard him while he was under house arrest.

Paul had his own digs which must have been quite spacious, because when the local Jewish leaders “came to him at his lodgings in great numbers” (v. 23), there was enough room for them all.

What do you do when you’re in Rome, if you’re the apostle Paul? You take advantage of every opportunity to bring others to Jesus. Duh! Paul begins with the Jewish leadership. He spends a whole day “trying to convince them about Jesus both from the law of Moses and from the prophets.”

The results were no different from any other place where Paul preached the gospel. “Some were convinced by what he had said, while others refused to believe.” (v. 24). But that does not deter him. He simply turns his attention to the Gentiles.

Here is what Paul has to say about this stay in Rome in Philippians 1:12-14: “I want you to know, brothers and sisters, that my situation has actually turned out to advance the gospel: The whole imperial guard and everyone else knows that I am in prison for the sake of Christ, and most of the brothers and sisters, having confidence in the Lord because of my imprisonment, now more than ever dare to speak the word fearlessly.”

Did these efforts produce fruit? If this reference at the end of an epistle is any indication, the answer is a big resounding YES! “All the saints greet you, especially those who belong to Caesar’s household.” (Philippians 4:22).

Oh, by the way, did you notice that Paul did something else with his time in Rome? That’s right. He wrote letters to the churches he had established along the way. The so-called “Prison Epistles”—Ephesians, Philippians, Colossians and Philemon—emerged from his house arrest.

There is a sense in which we, who are part of the Church today, also find ourselves in “Rome.”  We too may feel that we are under the watchful eyes of those in power or those who are opposed to us, at times. Yet, for the most part, we, like Paul, have the great privilege of “proclaiming the kingdom of God and teaching about the Lord Jesus Christ with all boldness and without hindrance.” (v. 31). We get the same spectrum of responses as Paul did too!

Are we taking advantage of this window of opportunity the way Paul did with the two years that he was given? He made every attempt that he possibly could to fulfil the mandate Jesus gave us all to be his witnesses (Acts 1:8) and “make disciples of the nations.” (Matthew 28:19-20). He did this through personal contact, in small groups and by his writing.

I sense Holy Spirit saying to all of us, as we conclude this 40 Day walk through the book of Acts and the corresponding Fast: “When in Rome, do as the apostle did.”

Some of you who are reading this need to write the books that you’ve been putting off until now within the next two years. And all of us need to “proclaim the kingdom of God and teach about the Lord Jesus Christ with all boldness” while we are still able to do so “without hindrance.” Amen?