Answer: Boldly and without hindrance, Paul preached the
kingdom of God and taught about the Lord Jesus Christ, (verse
31).
MORE INFORMATION AND/OR OTHER SCRIPTURE REFERENCES:
Even
though imprisoned, Paul fulfilled the mission given Him by Christ
to do "all that you have been assigned to do"
(Acts 22:10), which was to "be His witness to
all men of what you have seen and heard" (Acts
22:15) and "to open their eyes and turn them from
darkness to light, and from the power of Satan to God, so that they
may receive forgiveness of sins and a place among those who are
sanctified by faith in Me" (Acts
26:18).
Those
Christians in Rome (and in the city of Philippi) were truly amazed
at Paul's commitment and dedication "to proclaim to you
the whole Will of God" (Acts 20:2). His
life was Christ, and he gave his life completely to teaching and
preaching about the kingdom of God and the Lord Jesus Christ.
His influence and example were such that other Christians in the
city of Rome (and probably anywhere his circumstances were known)
drew great reserves of strength from him and were encouraged to
fulfill their own mission given to them by Christ (Matthew
28:18-20; Mark 16:15-16), and they began
"to speak the Word of God more courageously and
fearlessly:"
Philippians 1:12-14: "Now I [Paul]
want you [those members of the church at Philippi] to know,
brothers, that what has happened to me [being a prisoner and in
chains in Rome for the sake of Christ] has really served to advance
the Gospel. As a result, it has become clear throughout the
whole palace guard and to everyone else that I am in chains for
Christ. Because of my chains, most of the brothers in the
Lord have been encouraged to speak the Word of God more
courageously and fearlessly."
The
attitude of each Christian should be as Paul: consider
everything a loss for the sake of Christ and to gain Him and be
found in Him, bring as many as possible home with you to God,
forget what is behind and press on toward the goal to which you are
called in Christ Jesus:
1 Corinthians 9:19: "Though I
[Paul] am free and belong to no man, I make myself a slave to
everyone, to win as many as possible."
Philippians 3:7-16: "But whatever
was to my profit I now consider loss for the sake of Christ. What
is more, I consider everything a loss compared to the surpassing
greatness of knowing Christ Jesus my Lord, for Whose sake I have
lost all things. I consider them rubbish, that I may gain Christ
and be found in Him, not having a righteousness of my own that
comes from the law, but that which is through faith in
Christ--the righteousness that comes from God and is by
faith. I want to know Christ and the power of His
resurrection and the fellowship of sharing in His sufferings,
becoming like Him in His death, and so, somehow, to attain to the
resurrection from the dead. Not that I have already obtained
all this, or have already been made perfect, but I press on to take
hold of that for which Christ Jesus took hold of me.
Brothers, I do not consider myself yet to have taken hold of it.
But one thing I do: Forgetting what is behind and straining toward
what is ahead, I press on toward the goal to win the prize for
which God has called me heavenward in Christ Jesus. All of us
who are mature should take such a view of things. And if on some
point you think differently, that too God will make clear to
you. Only let us live up to what we have already
attained."
From
The Acts of the Apostles From Jerusalem to Rome by Wayne
Jackson:
The Concluding Summary -- Paul remained in his dwelling,
paid "at his own expense" (Lake, 348), or, in
"his own rented quarters" (NASB), which surely was
located in the poorer section of the city...Two entire years
go by; the implication is--he was released at the end of that
period. Henry J. Cadbury argues that Paul was probably
released after the two-year period simply because his accusers from
Jerusalem never showed up. But Professor Sherwin-White said
that Cadbury "misunderstood the evidence" (112).
The New Testament indication is that Paul did "stand before
Caesar" ([Acts] 27:24), even
though it is commonly argued that Nero usually did not hear cases
personally.
During this two-year phase, the apostle enjoyed remarkable
freedom to teach the Gospel. He received (imperfect --
continually) all who came to his dwelling. The verb is an
intense term, denoting to welcome without reserve. The middle
voice form pictures Paul's interest in these souls. The
participle rendered "went in" is a present form; it
suggests a stream of folks visiting the valiant preacher who
eagerly taught them.
The theme of Paul's message may be summed up as
follows: The Lord Jesus Christ and His kingdom. The
apostle would have drawn the connection between the reign of God
among the Hebrews in ages gone by, and the fulfillment of
Israel's hope in the Messiah, Jesus of Nazareth. He
would have shown them how to enter the kingdom by means of the new
birth process (John 3:3-5), and what God expected in
terms of kingdom service. Finally, he would have directed
their attention to the heavenly kingdom that is yet to be (2
Timothy 4:18). Paul spoke his message in a clear
unrestrained fashion, and no one (neither pagan nor Jew) hindered
his efforts. This final phrase would indicate that he received no
restraint as far as the Roman authorities were concerned, though
there was some hindrance eventually from envious brethren (cf.
Philippians 1:15-17).
Thus ends the book of Acts--rather abruptly.
Why? Apparently Luke knew of the outcome of Paul's
situation; that is implied by the "two whole years"
reference. Though there is much speculation on this topic
among commentators, the simple answer is--we do not know, save
that this was the design of the guiding Spirit. One thing is
sure: no writer, directed solely by human impulses, would
have left the story hanging in the way that it ends. Surely
this is a subtle evidence of the divine inspiration of the
document.
During this two-year span, four of Paul's letters were
composed--Ephesians, Philippians,
Colossians, and Philemon. From
references in these epistles, certain facts can be gleaned:
1) The apostle was under great stress, both physically and
emotionally (Ephesians 3:1; 4:1;
Philippians 1:16; Colossians 4:18;
Philemon 1, 9-10). 2) He
had some anxiety as to how his trial before Caesar would go
(Philippians 2:23-24). 3) In addition to
Luke and Aristarchus ([Acts] 27:2),
Tychicus was there at some point; he conveyed Paul's letter
to Ephesus (Ephesians 6:21). 4) Timothy
joined the apostle, for his name is connected to Paul's in
the salutation of the letters to the churches at Philippi
([Philippians] 1:1) and Colossae
[Colossians] 1:1), and in the
epistle to Philemon ([Philemon]
1). 5) Sometime during this period Paul
came in contact with the runaway slave, Onesimus, and led him to
the Lord (Colossians 4:9; Philemon
10). 6) Mark joined Paul during this period, as
did a Christian named Justus, and another named Epaphras
(Colossians 4:10-12). 7) Demas, who later
forsook the apostle, was there as well (Colossians
4:14; 2 Timothy 4:10). 8)
Epaphroditus came from Philippi bringing Paul financial assistance
(Philippians 4:18).
As dark as this time must have been in some ways, Paul viewed
it positively, suggesting that his troubles really had worked for
the progress of the Gospel (Philippians
1:12). What a marvelous attitude!
