Lineage Pentecost to Patmos
Paul: Arrest & Trial in Rome Episode 13
After spending the winter in Malta,
Paul and his companions continued by ship,
ending their journey in Puteoli, about 140 miles from Rome.
He spent about a week with some of the believers there
before continuing his journey by foot
also pausing to stop about 40 miles from Rome
in Appii Forum along the way.
Paul was afforded certain privileges
due to the respect that the captain of the guard had for him
and also possibly due to his age.
One of these was that he could stay in his own rented house,
though still with a soldier to guard him.
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He always thought that he would one day end up here in Rome,
though not under these conditions.
But Paul was not someone to wallow in self-pity.
He used the time here to minister to the many people who came by his house
as well as writing letters to the churches.
These letters are sometimes known as the prison epistles
and they include Philippians, Colossians, Ephesians, and Philemon.
Of the 13 books in the New Testament that he wrote,
these four were written during his first imprisonment of AD 61-62.
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It is in these letters that we can glean
some of the things that happened to Paul while he was here.
In Philippians 1:12 and 4:22 we learn
that he was able to convert some of those in Caesar's household.
Paul did not think it was a waste of time to attempt to convert those
in the very citadel of error and falsehood in the hardest of places.
Likewise, we should not think that anyone,
no matter their family connections or work surroundings,
is beyond the influence of the power of the gospel.
These letters were carried to their destinations by faithful couriers.
One of these, Tychicus, carried the letter to the Philippians,
the Colossians, and Philemon.
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Nero is emperor of Rome at the time,
and despite him being of the basest character,
he is unable to find a reason to try him and Paul is released.
He enjoys a few years of liberty,
during which time he writes letters to Timothy and Titus,
but his years as a free man would soon end again.
Rome is hit with a tragic fire which some say Nero helped to start,
but soon the small Christian community is blamed
and many of them die in the persecution that follows.
Paul is eventually arrested again and brought back here to Rome,
this time with just Luke as his companion.
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It was during his second imprisonment
that Paul wrote his final letter, 2 Timothy,
a word of encouragement and admonition to the young evangelist.
Tradition says that the Mamertine Prison
held both Peter and Paul at various times.
In this letter we learn that Paul was tried a second time, alone,
and there is a sense of fatality about his writings,
[a sense] that he knows the end is coming.
As he summarises the book, he says,
'I have fought a good fight, I have kept the faith,
and henceforth is laid up for me a crown of life in heaven.'
Paul lived a life worthy of heaven,
though his final years here on earth were characterized
by being shipwrecked, tried, and imprisoned.
His final reward in heaven will reflect how God sees him, and not man.
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Due to his status as a Roman he was not allowed to be tortured,
but would have died via a beheading.
It is believed that he was killed near here where the Tre Fontane Abbey stands
and buried where the Church of Saint Paul Outside the Walls stands.
Paul was one of the greatest apostles to have ever lived.
An able preacher, a gifted writer, an eloquent debater,
and a faithful pastor to the churches that he raised up.
He went to some of the hardest places to preach, yet he never shied away,
learning that the power of the Cross could change lives.
May we have the same passion, determination, and courage
that he had in sharing the gospel.