Paul’s Desire to Visit Rome

Paul, in the beginning of his letter to the Romans, writes about his desire to take the Gospel to Rome. However, his ministry kept him busy and he had been prevented from carrying out his will. God had other plans for him and he was following God’s plan.

 ⁹ For God is my witness, whom I serve with my spirit in the gospel of his Son, that without ceasing I mention you ¹⁰ always in my prayers, asking that somehow by God’s will I may now at last succeed in coming to you. ¹¹ For I long to see you, that I may impart to you some spiritual gift to strengthen you— ¹² that is, that we may be mutually encouraged by each other’s faith, both yours and mine. ¹³ I do not want you to be unaware, brothers, that I have often intended to come to you (but thus far have been prevented), in order that I may reap some harvest among you as well as among the rest of the Gentiles. ¹⁴ I am under obligation both to Greeks and to barbarians, both to the wise and to the foolish. ¹⁵ So I am eager to preach the gospel to you also who are in Rome.¹

Paul prayed that “somehow by God’s will” he would make it to Rome. Paul’s prayer was answered and he eventually made it to Rome, but it was in God’s time and in God’s manner of choosing.

It certainly was not the way Paul had envisioned it. God’s will was slightly different than Paul’s will.

To Rome…in Chains

Paul had been arrested by the Romans in Jerusalem after a riot broke out among the Jews over his claims that Jesus was the Messiah. He was jailed for about two years and was tried by two different Roman governors, Felix and Festus.

The Romans found no guilt in him and were prepared to release him, but they were afraid of an uprising by the Jewish people so they kept him locked up. Paul, probably tired of languishing in jail and fearful of his life, appealed to Caesar² as a Roman citizen.

Paul was sent to Rome as a prisoner for Christ. It was not an easy trip to say the least. The ship sailed late in the year and the weather was rough. Paul was eventually shipwrecked on the island of Malta.

But God was at work here. During the three months Paul was in Malta he was able to perform miracles in Jesus’ name and spread the Gospel. This was part of God’s plan to introduce the Gospel to a somewhat isolated island on the way to Rome that would not have been possible if Paul had gone to Rome his way.

Eventually they set sail again and Paul finally made it to Rome.

Paul was put on what we would now call house arrest while he waited another two years for his case to be heard. He was allowed visitors and some freedom.

We all know the old saying, when in Rome do as the Romans do. What did Paul do while in Rome with the limited freedom he had?

When in Rome…

Paul preached the very same Gospel in this pagan country that he was arrested for preaching in Jerusalem.

Within three days after arriving in Rome, and undaunted by his arrest in Judea, Paul preached the Gospel to the Jewish leaders who had come to see him. He was able to convince some of them that Jesus was the Messiah but most of them would not listen. That did not stop him, he continued to preach the Gospel for the two years he was imprisoned.

In addition to this he wrote to the Ephesians, Philippians, and Colossians during his imprisonment. In these letters he wrote about being united in Christ, he wrote about salvation through Christ, and he wrote about being content no matter the situation you are in because you have Christ.

He wrote this while sitting in jail:

¹¹ Not that I am speaking of being in need, for I have learned, in whatever situation I am, to be content.³

Paul did not sit in jail in Rome and lament his situation. He used his situation to spread the gospel, and the letters he wrote during his imprisonment have been preserved as scripture for our benefit. So, in effect, he is still spreading the Gospel from Rome today.

He was eventually released before being arrested a second time under Nero. During this second imprisonment he did not have the same level of freedom he had in his first imprisonment, but he was able to write a letter to Timothy shortly before his execution. Here is part of what he said:

⁸ Remember Jesus Christ, risen from the dead, the offspring of David, as preached in my gospel, ⁹ for which I am suffering, bound with chains as a criminal. But the word of God is not bound! ¹⁰ Therefore I endure everything for the sake of the elect, that they also may obtain the salvation that is in Christ Jesus with eternal glory.⁴

Even while in chains he encouraged Timothy, proclaiming the word of God cannot be bound! He wrote about enduring the imprisonment and impending execution for all of us who would eventually come to Christ. He fought the good fight, finished the race, and kept the faith⁵ all the way until the end.

Where is My Rome? Where is Your Rome?

The old saying about doing what Romans do when in Rome is about blending in with those around you no matter where you are, to be like them and their culture, to not stand out.

However, Paul did not blend in with the Romans, he continued to preach the gospel and he wrote several letters that became part of the New Testament. We as Christians do not want to blend in with the culture around us either. We want to stand out and we want to be a light to those around us.

1 Peter 2:9 tells us that we have been set apart so that we can proclaim the glory of God.

⁹ But you are a chosen race, a royal priesthood, a holy nation, a people for his own possession, that you may proclaim the excellencies of him who called you out of darkness into his marvelous light.

How are we to do this if we look and act like everyone else? How are we to do this if we remain silent because we want to fit in?

Where is my Rome? Where is your Rome? We are all where God wants us to be. God put us all where we are for a reason. Our Rome is where we are right now no matter where we are.

When in Rome don’t do as the Romans do, do as Paul did. Or, in a world of Romans be a Paul.

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1. Romans 1:9-15 ESV ↩︎
2. See Romans 28:18-20 ↩︎
3. Philippians 4:11 ESV ↩︎
4. 2 Timothy 2:8-10 ESV ↩︎
5. See 2 Timothy 4:7 ↩︎