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| ROME AT LAST |
| Paul finally made it to the capital - in chains. |
| From morning till evening he explained and declared to them the kingdom of God and tried to convince them about Jesus from the Law of Moses and from the Prophets. 28:23 |
| Acts records 18 speeches in all, the last three of which were delivered before a very select empire. Roman officials, intrigued by the most talked-about prisoner in their corner of the empire, brought Paul out and asked him to perfom, like a trained bear. As a result of their inquisition, he got his long-awaited trip to Rome. It is hard for us today to realize how completely the city of Rome then dominated the world. "All roads lead to Rome" was more than a figure of speech. Like a center of gravity, the city attracted all the roads and commerce, all the leaders and thinkers and forune-seekers of the empire. Political and military power fanned out from Rome. It was the indisputable capital of the world. If Christianity was to gain a foothold anywhere, it had to be in Rome. A Missionary in Chains Ironically, Paul, the greatest spokesman for the Christian faith, arrived in Rome as a prisoner. He was exhausted, having just survived a harrowing shipwreck. In Rome, Paul got hours of quiet solitude to work on fond letters to the churches he had left behind. In one sense, Acts ends anticlimatically, for Luke leaves Paul's life dangling. Most scholars believe Paul was released from this imprisonment and expanded his ministry into new frontiers. Luke records nothing of this period, and nothing about the trial of Paul or his eventual fate. He ends with a single memory, frozen in time: Paul, confined to his house, welcoming and preaching to all who come. Paul could no longer choose his audience; they had to seek him. But boldly, in the heart of mighty Rome, he talked of |