REJOICING IN ROME
|
Paul had written to the believers in Rome three or four years before he arrived there and had expressed his hope that he would be able to visit them as part of his ongoing missionary journeys (see Romans 1:15; 15:24). When he finally got to Rome, it was not in the circumstances he had imagined, but the manner of his arrival—a high-profile prisoner under the watch of the palace guards—brought greater attention to his presence there.
“What has happened to me has actually served to advance the gospel,” Paul reported to the Philippians (Philippians 1:12). He described how he had been recognized as a different kind of prisoner than the political prisoners and criminals with whom the palace guards would have been much more familiar. What Paul wanted everyone to know about him was that he was “in chains for Christ” (Philippians 1:13). But Paul was also excited to note that his presence in the city and the unconventional connection he had with the palace was an opportunity for the believers in Rome to share their faith. Paul was in the news—or at least the gossip—across the city, and he was glad to see and hear many of the believers growing in daring to proclaim the gospel in the capital city of the empire. It was a daunting place to live and witness as a Christian, but the attention brought by Paul’s arrival and ongoing witness in the city gave the believers a new sense of courage. These were the people he would work and worship with during his last few years in Rome. Despite his imprisonment and the ongoing threats he faced, seeing the newly emboldened Christians in Rome sharing the good news about Jesus was a reason for Paul to rejoice. “Christ is preached. And because of this I rejoice” (Philippians 1:18).
