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Paul Travels to Rome

The story we discussed last week may have been one of the high points of Paul’s ministry: to have the opportunity to witness for Jesus in a public audience including a Jewish king, a governor, and "the high ranking officers and the leading men of the city" of Caesarea (Acts 25:23). This was the last of many such testimonies in the halls of Roman power . . . in which, we believe, Paul brought important men to faith in Jesus.

But in reality, this was a judicial hearing held so Governor Festus could write a bill of indictment to send with Paul for his trial by Caesar Nero in Rome. We don’t know exactly what the indictment said . . . probably that Paul had committed no crime, but was accused of Jewish religious infractions, and as a Roman citizen had refused to submit to trial in a Jewish court, and had appealed to Caesar. But will Nero—an immoral pagan himself—want to decide whether or not there is a resurrection of the dead?

As today’s lesson begins, Paul starts on the way to Rome . . . as a prisoner, but as a privileged imperial prisoner with two travelling companions: Aristarchus from Thessalonica and Luke. He is not the only imperial prisoner en route to Rome—though nothing is said about the names or crimes of the others. The guard detail is led by a centurion named Julius—a relatively high-ranking officer. We are led to believe there is a special relationship between Paul and Julius, because on the very first day Julius releases Paul "on his own recognizance" to visit friends in Sidon. We can only speculate why this is. Julius may have been stationed in Caesarea during Paul’s imprisonment, heard his witness to Felix and Festus, and gained respect for him. He may even be a "closet believer"! At the very least, Julius probably recognizes Paul as a desirable travelling companion . . . educated and interesting and a cut above the usual prisoner.

Chapter 27 is essentially a description of the trip across the Mediterranean from Caesarea to Rome. I know little about sailing, and even less about sailing the Mediterranean. But the bottom line is—even with the winter storm season approaching—Julius decides to risk sailing directly to Italy, rather than sail to Philppi and take the Via Egnatia superhighway across Greece. This turns out to be a bad choice. Sailing is slow and difficult; and when the Jewish Yom Kippur fast arrives to signal the approach of winter when sailing is hazardous, the ship has progressed no further than Fair Havens on Crete.

The harbor of Fair Havens is not sheltered well enough for the ship to withstand severe winter storms, so the pilot and owner decide to try and sail to the nearby harbor of Phoenix, which is suitable for the winter. Paul is moved—by the Holy Spirit, we presume—to predict the voyage will end in disaster; and he suggests to Julius that the guards and their prisoners leave the ship. But Julius makes his second bad judgement: he decides to stick with the ship as the best opportunity for an early departure in the spring.

Phoenix is only a short way from Fair Havens, but once the ship ventures out into the open sea, it’s subject to the whim of the winds . . . and, unfortunately, a hurricane force gale comes up suddenly, so powerful that the sailors lose control of the ship. They throw just about everything overboard, but are still are unable to regain control. Paul receives a second prophecy: the ship must run aground on an island, but everyone will be saved.

After 2 weeks, in the dead on night, they realize they are approaching land, and put down anchors to prevent the ship from being crashed into unseen rocks in the darkness. The sailors let down a lifeboat, intending to row it to shore and escape, leaving everyone else to die. But Paul realizes what’s happening, and suggests Julius cut the lifeboat loose. Julius complies; after his prediction in Fair Havens, Paul’s has high credibility as a prophet. Paul is in charge now, with Julius’ sword as his authority. Just before dawn, he urges the 276 people on board to eat . . .which they do, and throw the rest of the food overboard to lighten the load. The rising sun exposes a sandy beach. They cut the anchors and try to sail the ship to run aground on the beach . . . but they get mired on a sandbar instead, and the ship begins to break up from the persistent pounding of the surf.

The soldiers are responsible for their prisoners, and will receive the prisoners’ punishment if they escape . . . but killing an escaping prisoner is OK, so that’s what they propose. Fortunately, because of Paul, Julius overrules them. Aided by broken pieces of the ship for floatation, everyone arrives on land safely, and no prisoners escape.

It turns out they have reached Malta, a small island south of Sicily. The population is described as unusually kind . . . but it’s an out-of-the-way place and the residents don’t speak Greek. Also, there are no Jews on Malta, and hence no synagogue and no "God-fearing Gentiles": the backbone of Paul’s missionary work. Yet God opens the door for Paul to minister for Jesus in Malta anyway. How? Through miracles.

The first occurs as soon as the ship’s passengers—cold and wet—straggle onto the beach. Paul puts brushwood on a fire, and a poisonous snake bites his hand. The Maltans are amazed when he doesn’t swell up and die; they conclude Paul is a god!

The last time Paul was proclaimed a "god" by pagans in a city with little Jewish influence was in Lystra (cf Acts 14). That time Paul protested vociferously, the people turned on him, and he was stoned. We have talked about how trial and error has taught Paul to soften his message without compromising Christian fundamentals. Luke doesn’t say what Paul does this time . . . but he seems to keep things cool, and he undertakes a major healing ministry. This causes the people to "honor" Paul and his companions (Acts 28:10); and although Luke doesn’t confirm it, tradition is that Paul brought many Maltans to faith in Jesus and built a strong Christian congregation before he left.

When spring arrives—with the safe sailing season—Julius arranges passage on a ship which wintered in Malta. They sail to Italy, and land at Puteoli on the Bay of Naples, 75 miles south of Rome. Now we see evidence of the incredible spread of Christianity throughout the Roman world: there are Christians in Puteoli! And somehow, although Julius is anxious to get to Rome, when Paul asks, "Hey, can I spend a week here with my Christian buddies?" Julius says, "Sure!" So they do.

This allows Paul to send word to the church in Rome that he has arrived in Puteoli and is on his way to Rome. Paul has never been to Rome . . . but 3 years earlier he wrote a letter to the Roman church which is considered his most important epistle. Paul is well known among the believers in Rome . . . and probably also in Puteoli, which explains his reception there. The Roman Christians surely received a message Paul was coming as a prisoner . . . and they must be concerned the trip has taken so long. If they heard his ship never made it to Phoenix harbor, they may fear he is been lost at sea . . . which would make them overjoyed to hear he has arrived in Italy safely. They are so eager to meet Paul that they send a delegation—or delegations—down the Appian Way to intercept him en route. . . and they do so at two of the way stations: 43 and 33 miles from Rome. These delegations give great encouragement to Paul; and he travels the rest of the way to Rome like a conquering hero . . . even though he’s an imperial prisoner.

Arriving in Rome, Paul rents a house, with only one soldier to guard him . . . nice that he was allowed to do so, and has the necessary funds. Friends are allowed to come and go, and he is able to write and preach at will. In fact, most scholars believe it was here that he wrote his letters to the Ephesians, Colossians, Philippians, and Philemon. Life doesn’t get any better than this . . . except for the overhanging prospect of a trial before Caesar.

Paul puts first things first. He needs to get his defense in order. After 2 years in Caesarea with Felix and Festus, Paul ought to know how to best phrase what he will say in his defense . . . but who will press the prosecution of his case? What witnesses—if any— will be brought against him, and what will they say? The best source of such information is the Jews of Rome. (Although Caesar Claudius expelled all Jews from Rome more than 10 years earlier, the Jews have returned since Clauidus died more than 5 years ago.) Paul needs to know: has the Sanhedrin requested help from local Jews in the prosecution of Paul’s case? Have they sent representatives to Rome to bring the charges and serve as "hearsay witnesses" . . . like they did in Caesarea? Any such representatives will be lodging with local Jews, where they can eat kosher. And even if the Sanhedrin is not prosecuting Paul’s case in Rome, he wants good relations with his fellow Jews. After all: Paul is charged with violating Jewish religious law, and appealing to Caesar because he refuses to be tried by a Jewish court. Who knows if Caesar prosecutors will request local Jews as expert witnesses about Paul’s "Jewishness"—or lack thereof? Best be prepared!

So Paul contacts the leaders of the Jews, and arranges a meeting three days after his arrival in Rome. This analogy is imperfect . . . but we might look at this as like the pre-trial conference we see on TV in shows like Law and Order: the prosecution and the defense get together and share information to streamline the time in court.

Paul’s remarks at this hearing seem strange . . . but make sense in the context of a contrast Dennis has often referred to: "temple Jews" vs "synagogue Jews." The "temple Jews," localized in Jerusalem, are dominated by Sadducees like Ananias. They have been Paul’s most vigorous prosecutors, but are more political than religious. The "synagogue Jews," outside Jerusalem, are dominated by Pharisees . . . the Jewish sect to which Paul belonged. Hence, as Paul addresses the leaders of the Jews of Rome, he adopts the posture he has used defending himself before other Jews for the past 3 years: "I’m an observant Jewish Pharisee. However, because I believe Jesus is the Messiah and was resurrected from the dead, I was unjustly charged with violating Jewish law by the Sadducees in the temple. The Romans found I had committed no crime and wanted to release me, but since these Jews objected, I was compelled to appeal my case to Caesar. This does not mean I hold any grudges against the Jewish people; in fact, it is because of my belief in the Jewish Messiah that I stand on trial here in Rome."

We don’t know if Paul is surprised at the answer he receives. But just as the Sanhedrin seemed content to "contain" Paul in Caesarea and did not press for a Roman trial there, the same attitude seems to apply in Rome. The Jewish leaders say: "We have not received any letters from Judea concerning you, and none of the brothers who have come from there has reported or said anything bad about you" (Acts 28:21). In other words, the Sanhedrin has no intention of pursuing Paul’s case before Caesar. Why? Their "hearsay witnesses" failed to impress either Felix or Festus; and they have lots to lose if they annoy Caesar Nero by wasting his time. Nero could pull the plug on the self-government they enjoy in Jerusalem; and since Nero is not noted for emotional stability . . . they had better leave well enough alone. After all, although Christians take a "global view"—wanting to bring Jesus to the world (Acts 1:8)—the focus of the Sadducees is local and parochial. As long as they control the temple—and with it the temple markets and a large "cut" of the sacrifices and offerings—they don’t care what happens in the rest of the world. Paul is "out of sight, out of mind" . . . in no position to affect their control of the temple while he is in Rome. They’re not going to put a dog in this fight.

Thus Paul seems "off the hook" on the matter of his trial. Why would Caesar want to arbitrate a Jewish religious dispute if the plaintiffs don’t show up to prosecute? Most likely Caesar will immediately dismiss Paul’s case.

But even though the Jews of Rome have heard nothing about Paul, they have heard lots about Christians . . . and what they have heard is negative: "We want to hear what your views are," they say, "for we know that people everywhere are talking against this sect" (Acts 28:22). This is interesting: although there is a Christian church in Rome—and Puteoli and probably other nearby cities—the Jews of Rome know nothing but hearsay about Christianity. What does that say to us? Perhaps that these Italian churches are mostly Gentile, rather than Jewish-Gentile like the churches Paul founded.

Paul, as always, is glad they are willing to listen . . . and probably especially since they have such a bad impression of Christianity. So Paul invites them to come over to his house and spend a day while he explains Jesus as the Messiah of Jewish prophesy.

Lots of people show up on the designated day; it must be a large house. "From morning till evening (Paul) explained and declared to them the kingdom of God and tried to convince them about Jesus from the Law of Moses and from the Prophets" (Acts 28:23). The results are predictable . . . the same results Paul experienced whenever he went into synagogues from Pisidian Antioch to Thessalonica to Corinth to Ephesus: "Some were convinced by what he said, but others would not believe. They disagreed among themselves" (Acts 28:24-25a). Nevertheless, it appears that there were more "con" than "pro," because at the end of the day, Paul lays this on the Roman Jews:

Paul quotes from Isa 6. This is the kind of speech he usually gives to conclude a synagogue ministry when he has been rejected by the Jews. And after Paul makes these comments, the Jews "began to leave" (Acts 28:25). It’s possible he even offended those who had become his supporters . . . because as we learned from the riots Paul caused in Jerusalem, one of the most offensive things Paul said to the Jews was "since you won’t listen, God is sending the good news of salvation to the Gentiles"; the Jews just didn’t believe God offered salvation to the Gentiles . . . except to become Jews.

It’s interesting how Paul’s dialogue with the Jews of Rome seems to summarize the history of his ministry. He always began in Jewish synagogues—where he could preach Jesus as Messiah to people familiar with Messianic prophesy. But when most Jews showed they believed Jewish tradition more than God’s word, Paul concluded by saying something like he says here in Rome: that their hearts were "calloused; they hardly hear with their ears, and they have closed their eyes. . . . Therefore . . . God's salvation has been sent to the Gentiles, and they will listen!" (Acts 28:27-28).

Strong words . . . but in place after place Paul followed up by founding a strong church with God-fearing Gentiles and a remnant of Jews. And before the Jews of Rome, Paul stands on his track record of strong churches all across the lands that today are Greece and Turkey. Paul is, throughout history, Christianity’s most effective missionary. And the same pattern applies here in Rome . . . "for two years Paul stayed there in his own rented house" awaiting his trial by Caesar, "and welcomed all who came to see him. Boldly and without hindrance he preached the kingdom of God and taught about the Lord Jesus Christ" (Acts 28:30-31).

Acts comes to an end with these words. What happened in Paul’s trial before Caesar? And what happened to Paul . . . and Peter . . . and James and the Jerusalem church? There is no authentic written record, but next week—in a session titled "The Rest of the Story"—we will discuss Christian tradition. And we will also discuss the destruction of the temple—which is a matter of historical record—and it’s theological significance for both Jews and Christians as the fulfillment of a prophesy of Jesus.