I CAN DO ALL THINGS (PART VIII)

“Paul Plunders Nero’s Household”

By Akin Ojumu

After years of praying, wishing, and waiting, Paul finally landed in Rome. While he would have wished he arrived in Rome under a more pleasant set of circumstances, he was not the type to moan or groan that things didn’t go exactly as he hoped. A confinement to house arrest and being chained to a series of imperial guards round the clock would not dampen the spirit of this soldier of Christ.

Consumed with the fierce urgency of now, Paul plunged right into the work of preaching the Gospel with a reinvigorated vigor, revitalized vitality, and rejuvenated intensity. Perhaps sensing he had little time left to live, he wrote four of his thirteen epistles (Ephesians, Colossians, Philippians, and Philemon) in the space of two years. These four epistles remain some of the most theologically deep and spiritually enriching books in the Bible.

Paul’s work for God went forward despite the constraints of his circumstances. It seemed that nothing could stop him from pursuing the cause so closely entwined with his heart. Perhaps this should not surprise us, after all, if beatings and mobbings and imprisonments hadn’t stopped him from proclaiming Christ around the world, why would something as small as house arrest give him pause? (Source: Lineage Journey).

Barely three days into his stay in Rome, Paul had met with the local leaders of the Jews. After preaching to them the Gospel message, some of them believed and were saved, while others rejected the Gospel and were doomed for their unbelief.

It was while incarcerated in Rome that Paul met Onesimus, the fugitive slave who, after stealing from Philemon his master, had run all the way to Rome far from Colossae hoping to lose himself in the imperial capital’s teeming and nondescript slave population. By mixing with millions of other strangers milling around Rome, he thought he could stay hidden from his master. God had other plans for Onesimus, however. By the workings of providence, Paul and Onesimus crossed paths. God saved him and he became a willing slave for God and a brother to his former master.

In his letter to the Philippians, rather than Paul bemoaning his predicaments, he instead waxed lyrical about the blessings that sprouted out of the soil of the miseries he had encountered. As opposed to recounting stories of the numerous adversities he suffered all the way from Jerusalem and through his arduous journey to Rome, Paul was happy to let the Philippians know how God made lemonade out of his life’s lemon.

Philippians 1:12

“I want you to know, brothers, that what has happened to me has really served to advance the gospel.”

What the devil had hoped to use to stop Paul, God turned it into an opportunity for the advancement of the Gospel. Paul’s arrest in Jerusalem, his sham trial conducted by the two corrupt Governors of Judea, the perilous voyage to Rome, his house arrest in Rome, and him getting chained to a member of the Praetorian Guard all day long, all of these plights opened up the unlikely channel for the Gospel to penetrate the household of the most powerful man on earth at this time.

During his house arrest, Paul, in his letter to the Colossians, had asked these believers to pray for him that God would open a door for the Gospel.

Colossians 4:3-4

“At the same time, pray also for us, that God may open to us a door for the word, to declare the mystery of Christ, on account of which I am in prison – that I may make it clear, which is how I ought to speak.”

Boy! God answered that prayer and then some. 

In a spectacular fashion, the door that God opened would lead straight into the heart of the Roman empire. Paul’s imprisonment in Rome and his being bound in chains to a rotating shift of personnel of the imperial guard was like spiritual explosives that God used to blow open the front gates to the epicenter of idolatry.

The imperial guards who were assigned to watch Paul were members of the Praetorian Guard. This was the elite imperial bodyguard of Roman Emperors comprised of a group of ten thousand specially selected soldiers in Rome. Their modern equivalent is the United States Secret Service or the Army Rangers and Seal Team of the United States Special Forces. 

Established by Augustus and recruited from veteran battle-hardened soldiers, the Praetorians served as both protectors of the emperor and the royal family. Because of their close proximity to the upper ruling echelons, involvement in the ascension and assassination of emperors, authority to arrest senators and execute rivals of the emperor, enforcement of imperial decrees without challenge, and understanding of the political intrigues of the ruling class, the Praetorian Guard became a powerful political force in Rome. They enjoyed certain privileges, such as higher pay, unavailable to other members of the Roman legionaries. Unlike the regular troops who typically served for twenty years, the Praetorians completed their term of service under sixteen years.

As Praetorians, they would receive certain benefits not accorded regular troops. Length of duty with the Praetorian cohort was 16 years; pay was 50 percent greater than for nonpraetorians. They were also exempted from mundane camp duties and received a greater share of booty. In return for the benefits and rewards, the Praetorians were expected to be more than mere parade-ground soldiers or a protective screen for the army commander. Armed with the same weapons as other legionaries – pelium, gladius, short dagger, shield, leather body armor, and helmet – they were expected to function as the army’s backbone and serve as its shock troops when called upon to be so (Source: Warfare History Network).

Keep in mind that all the while Paul was engaged in preaching and teaching the Gospel to the numerous visitors he hosted in his rented apartment in Rome, he was bound with chains to a rotating shift of these fearsome imperial guards. One can only imagine what it was like for these elite soldiers of the Praetorium Guard to hear Paul talk about the Lord Jesus Christ who was crucified by the Romans ad infinitum and ad nauseum while chained to him 24/7. 

Being chained to Paul, these fearless battled-hardened soldiers couldn’t help but listen to the teachings of Paul. They heard the Gospel preached over and over again to the numerous people who visited Paul. These elite soldiers heard firsthand, from one of the greatest expositors of Scriptures, the message of the “mystery of Christ” that salvation is available to both Jews and Gentiles alike through Christ Jesus.

Ephesians 3:1-6

“For this reason I, Paul, a prisoner of Christ Jesus on behalf of you Gentiles – assuming that you have heard of the stewardship of God’s grace that was given to me for you, how the mystery was made known to me by revelation, as I have written briefly. When you read this, you can perceive my insight into the mystery of Christ, which was not made known to the sons of men in other generations as it has now been revealed to his holy apostles and prophets by the Spirit. This mystery is that the Gentiles are fellow heirs, members of the same body, and partakers of the promise in Christ Jesus through the gospel.”

It’s impossible to be bound in chains with a man like Paul, and be exposed to his deep teachings, and be left unimpressed or untouched. The sharp two-edged sword of the Word of God must have pierced their hardened breastplates of their hearts, exposing their numerous sins, condemning them of their various iniquities, and convicting them of their unrighteousness.

Hebrews 4:12-13

“For the word of God is living and active, sharper than any two-edged sword, piercing to the division of soul and of spirit, of joints and of marrow, and discerning the thoughts and intentions of the heart. And no creature is hidden from his sight, but all are naked and exposed to the eyes of him to whom we must give account.”

As a result of the constant drumbeat of the Gospel message, the stony hearts of these elite warriors of the Roman empire were gradually melted allowing the light of the Word of God to enter, driving away the darkness. I can’t but imagine the very moment the first Praetorian Guard fell down on his knees, broke down in tears, and asked God to forgive his sins. That must have been a glorious moment that day in Paul’s rented apartment. Heaven must have gone agog for the first Roman soul saved in Caesar’s backyard.

Luke 15:7

“Just so, I tell you, there will be more joy in heaven over one sinner who repents than over ninety-nine righteous persons who need no repentance.”

So bountiful must have been the harvest of souls among the Praetorian Guard that Paul mentioned it in his letter to the Philippians as a way of encouraging the Christians at Philippi who must have felt despondent to learn that Paul was locked up in Rome. He was eager to share with them the heartwarming and uplifting news that his imprisonment had resulted in the advancement of the Gospel and that his chains have yielded a massive catch of fish for the kingdom of God from among the very people who put him in chains.

Philippians 1:12-13

“I want you to know, brothers, that what has happened to me has really served to advance the gospel, so that it has become known throughout the whole imperial guard and to all the rest that my imprisonment is for Christ.”

Satan made a major strategic blunder when he allowed Paul to get locked up in Rome. Just like the people of Troy let in the Trojan Horse, Satan let into his den his archnemesis. Unfortunately for the devil, this nemesis he allowed into his kingdom meant business and wasn’t the type who liked to play around. Paul did not come to Rome for vacation. He came to burn down hell.

Not only did the Gospel become known throughout the whole imperial guard, but the ripple effect had also spilled over into the entire city of Rome. Within a short period of time that he was imprisoned in Rome, virtually everyone in town had heard of Paul and the Gospel message that he preached. The resulting effect was a massive haul of souls from the kingdom of darkness into the kingdom of God.

For me, the icing on the cake of Paul evangelistic exploits in Rome was the reach of the Gospel into Caesar’s household. Paul alluded to this in the final greetings of his letter to the Philippians.

Philippians 4:21-22

“Greet every saint in Christ Jesus. The brothers who are with me greet you. All the saints greet you, especially those of Caesar’s household.”

Caesar’s household consisted of a significant number of people, not limited to Caesar’s family, which would include courtiers, princes, judges, cooks, food-tasters, musicians, custodians, builders, stablemen, soldiers, and accountants. Within that large group, Paul had in mind those who, through the proclamation of the gospel by members of the church at Rome, had been saved prior to his coming. Newly added to their number were those led to Christ by Paul himself, including those soldiers who were chained to him while he was a prisoner (Philippians 1:13). (Source: The MacArthur Bible Commentary).

Let’s not lose sight of the fact that the Roman Emperor at this time was Nero, who ruled for 14 years from AD 54 to 68. Nero was an insane cruel tyrant, a murderer (he murdered his stepbrother, stepsister, wife Octavia, and own mother Agrippina, and many others), an arsonist (he set Rome on fire and made Christians the scapegoat), and persecutor (slaughtered thousands of Christians including Peter and Paul).

It’s also instructive to note that the last 13 years of Paul’s ministry coincided with almost the entire duration of Nero’s reign of terror. Many of the exploits that God wrought through Paul occurred while an evil tyrant who considered himself God was the ruler of the Roman empire. Yet, the most powerful earthly king could not stop the move of the King of kings. 

No wonder Paul made the following profound declarations in his letter to the Ephesians, a letter he wrote while under house arrest as Nero’s prisoner.

Ephesians 1:19-23

“I also pray that you will understand the incredible greatness of God’s power for us who believe him. This is the same mighty power that raised Christ from the dead and seated him in the place of honor at God’s right hand in the heavenly realms. Now he is far above any ruler or authority or power or leader or anything else – not only in this world but also in the world to come. God has put all things under the authority of Christ and has made him head over all things for the benefit of the church. And the church is his body; it is made full and complete by Christ, who fills all things everywhere with himself.”

Guess what? The imperial guards, who were loyal to Nero, read every word of the above passage, and they still gave their lives to Christ. If that’s not a miracle, I don’t know what is.

Glory Halleluiah!!!

We’ll take it from here next time.