I CAN DO ALL THINGS (PART V)

“Paul Always Wanted to Go to Rome”

By Akin Ojumu

Midway into his third missionary campaign, Paul was in Ephesus, a prominent Roman City in Asia minor. It was here he ran into the twelve disciples of John the Baptist who had never heard of the Holy Spirit. Perceiving that they did not understand that the baptism of John pointed directly to Christ, Paul preached the Gospel to them. And they believed and were saved. 

To give them the assurance that they now had the Holy Spirit in them, Paul laid hands on them, the Holy Spirit came upon them like on the Day of Pentecost, and they spoke in tongues – i.e. they spoke in known human language they did not previously speak or understand.

Paul spent three whole years in Ephesus preaching the Gospel. It was the longest stretch of time he ever spent in a single place in his entire ministry. As was his custom wherever he went, he kicked off his preaching circuit in the local synagogue in Ephesus. There, Paul boldly “reasoned” with the Jews and devout gentiles in the synagogue for three months, trying to persuade them to come to the saving knowledge of Christ and be accepted into God’s kingdom.

 

Acts 19:8

“And he entered the synagogue and for three months spoke boldly, reasoning and persuading them about the kingdom of God.”

The Greek word translated “reasoning” is the word “DIALEGOMAI,” from which we get the English word dialogue. It means to converse, discuss, reason with, argue, debate, or preach. So, when the Bible says that Paul “reasoned” with them boldly, what it is saying is that he wasn’t afraid to engage the Jews and devout gentiles in an intellectual and theological dialogue. He opened the Scriptures, and from Moses and the Prophets, he debated them, point by point, on the reasons why Jesus Christ of Nazareth was the promised Messiah. 

Unlike many church folks today who are averse to debating theology or the Bible, Paul never once shied away from such opportunities whenever and wherever they presented themselves. He was always ready to explain the Gospel to anyone who would listen. And many times, his audience never listened. On several occasions, they would beat and stone him.

1 Peter 3:15

“But in your hearts sanctify Christ as Lord. Always be prepared to give a defense to everyone who asks you the reason for the hope that is in you…”

Just like everywhere else Paul went, some of the Jews believed and some didn’t. The Jews in Ephesus who did not believe didn’t stop at merely rejecting the Gospel message, they also became hostile, antagonistic, and went about maligning and disparaging the Way, as the Christian faith was called at this time.

Seeing that their hearts were hardened, Paul shifted venue. Without wasting time, he relocated to the Hall of Tyrannus where he continued his dialegomai from 11am to 4pm daily. Talk about a man consumed with a mission.

Acts 19:9-10

“But when some became stubborn and continued in unbelief, speaking evil of the Way before the congregation, he withdrew from them and took the disciples with him, reasoning daily in the hall of Tyrannus. This continued for two years, so that all the residents of Asia heard the word of the Lord, both Jews and Greeks.”

For three years, Paul remained in Ephesus. Extraordinary miracles accompanied his teachings. So great were the manifestations of signs and wonders that people started taking pieces of clothing that had touched Paul’s skin to their sick relatives. And as soon as the clothing was laid on the sick person, they got healed.

Acts 19:11-12

“And God was doing extraordinary miracles by the hands of Paul, so that even handkerchiefs or aprons that had touched his skin were carried away to the sick, and their diseases left them and the evil spirits came out of them.”

Now, I must digress a little and comment on the incident described in the above passage. Modern-day faith healers – read that as fake healers – have taken the above texts and turned it from simply being a descriptive text into a prescriptive text. We now have general overseers, apostles, and prophets who cajoled their undiscerning followers to bring handkerchiefs, combs, jerry cans of water to Church to get them anointed. What these preachers are doing is nothing short of a cruel exploitation of weak, desperate, and vulnerable people.

Nowhere in the above passage, or anywhere else in the Bible for that matter, would you find it written that Paul or any of the other Apostles instructed people to bring handkerchiefs or aprons or other objects to them to pray over. Anyone who carefully reads Acts 19:11-12 should know that it was the Ephesians who, on their volition, chose to do these acts. And the fact that they did it doesn’t make it normative or prescriptive. To create a cottage industry of healing and deliverance ministry out of what happened in Ephesus is to do violence to the Word of God.

The signs and wonders that accompanied Paul’s ministry in Ephesus had a specific purpose. They happened as means of confirming and authenticating Paul as God’s messenger. This was necessary because the New Testament had not been completed at this time. Unlike today when we have a completely closed Canon of Scripture, there was nothing back then to use to validate the truth of Paul’s message.

There was yet another incident that happened in Ephesus that God used to validate Paul as His chosen messenger. It was the encounter of the seven sons of Sceva with a demon. The sons of Sceva were itinerant exorcists, like the modern-day demon slayers, who attempted to cast out a demon in the name of Jesus. Because the demon knew they were charlatans, it beat the living daylights out of them.

Acts 19:13-17

“Then some of the itinerant Jewish exorcists undertook to invoke the name of the Lord Jesus over those who had evil spirits, saying, “I adjure you by the Jesus whom Paul proclaims.” Seven sons of a Jewish high priest named Sceva were doing this. But the evil spirit answered them, “Jesus I know, and Paul I recognize, but who are you?” And the man in whom was the evil spirit leaped on them, mastered all of them and overpowered them, so that they fled out of that house naked and wounded. And this became known to all the residents of Ephesus, both Jews and Greeks. And fear fell upon them all, and the name of the Lord Jesus was extolled.”

As a result of Paul’s “dialegomai,” the Word of God grew and multiplied in Ephesus spreading to the surrounding towns and villages. Tradition has it that it was during this 3-year period of Paul’s ministry in Ephesus that the seven Churches mentioned in the Book of Revelations were formed. 

Untold number of converts were won to Christ. And many of these converts who had previously engaged in magic and sorcery before coming to Christ were so convicted that they brought out their books of magic and sorcery and made a bonfire of them. The total value of the burnt books was calculated to be around 50,000 pieces of silver, an equivalent of 50,000 days of wages for the common laborer. Such an astonishing amount of money demonstrated the extent to which the practice of magic and sorcery was widespread in Ephesus.

Acts 19:18-20

“Also many of those who were now believers came, confessing and divulging their practices. And a number of those who had practiced magic arts brought their books together and burned them in the sight of all. And they counted the value of them and found it came to fifty thousand pieces of silver. So the word of the Lord continued to increase and prevail mightily.”

Now, you’d think Paul would rest on his oars seeing the massive success he had been able to achieve in his three-year ministry in Ephesians. Some other men would have looked around at the number of people attending his daily meetings in the Hall of Tyrannus and the number of branches that have been established in Smyrna, Pergamum, Thyatira, Sardis, Philadelphia, and Laodicea, and would have pat themselves in the back and tell themself, it is time to put down roots, relax, and enjoy the accolades and success.

Of course, Paul was not like other men. After three years in Ephesus, he decided it was time to move on to new challenges and new harvests. Restless and itching to launch out again, the man set his eyes on the crown jewel of Christian evangelistic outreach of the time. Rome, the imperial city, the capital of the world.

Seeing what was happening in Ephesus, the Gospel increasing and prevailing mightily, souls getting saved, people abandoning the great goddess Artemis of the Ephesians, magic and spell books being set on fire, Churches spring up all across the Asia Minor, Paul must have wished he could also replicate all this in the epicenter of pagan worship of the time.

Acts 19:21

“Now after these events Paul resolved in the Spirit to pass through Macedonia and Achaia and go to Jerusalem, saying, “After I have been there, I must also see Rome.””

Paul had not visited the imperial capital. For many years, he had longed to go to Rome. Moreso, Paul intended to use Rome as a launch pad for a ministry in the region of Spain. But up till this point, God had prevented him from realizing that desire. 

Romans 15:22–24 

“This is the reason why I have so often been hindered from coming to you. But now, since I no longer have any room for work in these regions, and since I have longed for many years to come to you, I hope to see you in passing as I go to Spain, and to be helped on my journey there by you, once I have enjoyed your company for a while. At present, however, I am going to Jerusalem bringing aid to the saints.”

As the heart of the Roman Empire, Rome was a city of immense influence and power. Paul was determined to go there, and nothing and no one was going to stop him, except God. The man knew he had to go to Rome. He had set his sight for Rome. There was no way his ministry would be complete without him taking the Gospel to Satan’s headquarters. But God wouldn’t let him until it was the appointed time.

Acts 19:21b (KJV)

“I must also see Rome.”

Acts 19:21b (NIV)

“I must visit Rome also.”

Acts 19:21b (NLT)

“I must go on to Rome!”

Acts 19:21b (CSB)

“It is necessary for me to see Rome as well.”

In the various translations of Acts 19:21b, you’d find the emphatic, I MUST. “I must go to Rome” became Paul’s consuming passion. This simple declaration marked a turning point in the Book of Acts. From this point on, Rome became Paul’s obsession, if you like. 

Eventually, the appointed time came. As his ministry in Ephesus was winding down to a close, God finally opened the door and steered Paul in the direction of the heart of the Roman Empire. The road to Rome, however, wasn’t going to be easy-peasy. On the way, he would suffer in the hands of Jewish mob in Jerusalem. It was this near-lynching incidence that would trigger events that would eventually take him to Rome.

Paul was compelled by the Holy Spirit to proceed to Rome. He would ultimately arrive there as a prisoner chained to a Roman centurion.

Acts 28:16

“And when we came into Rome, Paul was allowed to stay by himself, with the soldier who guarded him.”

Next time, God willing, we’ll see what Paul did while in Rome. But I can tell you right away, it was certainly not, “When in Rome, do as the Romans do.”