If you’ve been following along with recent studies (or have studied the book of Acts in the Bible), let me ask you this: What does Paul usually do when entering a city? In my reading, Paul tends to visit the local synagogue, at least until he gets kicked out. However, when Paul was in Rome (as of Acts 28), being under house arrest, he can’t get out for his usual practice, so he invites Jewish leaders to talk to him where he is.
Three days later he called together the local Jewish leaders. When they had assembled, Paul said to them: “My brothers, although I have done nothing against our people or against the customs of our ancestors, I was arrested in Jerusalem and handed over to the Romans.
Acts 28:17 NIV
Paul has more to say, and I encourage you to read all of verses 17-20.
For this reason I have asked to see you and talk with you. It is because of the hope of Israel that I am bound with this chain.”
Acts 28:20 NIV
Apparently [per Reese, p.936], there were at least seven synagogues in Rome, so inviting leaders to hear him actually saves him from having to speak in multiple synagogues.
Paul explains why he called them to talk, explaining that he hadn’t committed any capital offense against either Jewish or Roman laws. Remember also that Paul’s message is not refuting anything from the Jewish Scriptures (what Christians know as the Old Testament). By preaching about Jesus, Paul is explaining the fulfillment of prophecies, the promised Messiah, and the next step in God’s revealed plan.
Still, Paul needs to explain why he’s currently under Roman house arrest, and his appeal to Caesar (along with his reason for doing so) provides an explanation for his current situation. A commentator [Reese, p.938] points out how the Jewish people would generally not have approved of appealing to Caesar, since asking an occupying heathen government to handle a legal matter implied that they couldn’t take care of it locally in their own system. However, Paul explains why this was his only reasonable choice.
In all of this, Paul is clear that he doesn’t have anything against his people as a whole. He makes the statement, “It is because of the hope of Israel that I am bound with this chain.” In fact, pretty much all of Paul’s work (since his conversion, at least) has revolved around getting the good news about Jesus Christ – the Messiah who the Jewish people had waited and waited for – out to those who need to hear it. And, while we could debate how much of Paul’s adventures was due to Paul’s strategy and how much was God’s plan (although hopefully both were aligned), he’s gotten to Rome, where he can share the gospel at the center of the Roman Empire, but he’s gotten there as a prisoner awaiting trial.
His belief in Jesus as the Messiah (promised by God in the Jewish Scriptures) was the reason that Paul was chained [ref. Gaertner, p.427, and the Lookout], but his chain was also a means by which Paul could share the good news about the Messiah in Rome. In fact, Paul’s accompanying guard even provided him protection against those who might want to harm him. He actually had it better in custody than some of the other physically-demanding parts of his ministry.
Do you have a chain on today? I don’t mean a necklace or bracelet, but rather shackles of some kind that seem to be holding you back. Maybe this is a physical challenge, or a financial limitation, or a particular situation that seems to keep you from living life to the fullest.
As our pastor preached the week before the original material for this article was taught as a Sunday School lesson, sometimes bad things happen to people because we live in a broken world. However, maybe God’s plan is to use your “chain” to further the good news in a world where so many people need to hear it.
Let’s remember that what seem to be chains in our lives, limiting what we can do in one area, may actually be providing us with opportunities to do good and spread the good news to new and different people and places. A chain doesn’t stop us from following and serving Jesus – in fact, it may be the very means by which we are called to do so.
From Sunday School lesson prepared for November 26, 2023
References:
- The Lookout, November 19, 2023, © 2023 Christian Standard Media.
- Scripture taken from the Holy Bible, NEW INTERNATIONAL VERSION®, NIV® Copyright © 1973, 1978, 1984, 2011 by Biblica, Inc.® Used by permission. All rights reserved worldwide.
- New Testament History: A Critical and Exegetical Commentary on the Book of Acts, by Gareth L. Reese. © 1976, College Press Publishing Company.
- The College Press NIV Commentary – Acts, by Dennis Gaertner. © 1993 College Press Publishing Co.
Those Who Sin Differently 