”Three days after Paul’s arrival, he called together the local Jewish leaders. He said to them, “Brothers, I was arrested in Jerusalem and handed over to the Roman government, even though I had done nothing against our people or the customs of our ancestors. The Romans tried me and wanted to release me, because they found no cause for the death sentence. But when the Jewish leaders protested the decision, I felt it necessary to appeal to Caesar, even though I had no desire to press charges against my own people. I asked you to come here today so we could get acquainted and so I could explain to you that I am bound with this chain because I believe that the hope of Israel—the Messiah—has already come.” They replied, “We have had no letters from Judea or reports against you from anyone who has come here. But we want to hear what you believe, for the only thing we know about this movement is that it is denounced everywhere.” So a time was set, and on that day a large number of people came to Paul’s lodging. He explained and testified about the Kingdom of God and tried to persuade them about Jesus from the Scriptures. Using the law of Moses and the books of the prophets, he spoke to them from morning until evening. Some were persuaded by the things he said, but others did not believe. And after they had argued back and forth among themselves, they left with this final word from Paul: “The Holy Spirit was right when he said to your ancestors through Isaiah the prophet, ‘Go and say to this people: When you hear what I say, you will not understand. When you see what I do, you will not comprehend. For the hearts of these people are hardened, and their ears cannot hear, and they have closed their eyes— so their eyes cannot see, and their ears cannot hear, and their hearts cannot understand, and they cannot turn to me and let me heal them.’ So I want you to know that this salvation from God has also been offered to the Gentiles, and they will accept it.”“
Acts of the Apostles 28:17-28 NLT
Rome in the ancient world was known as the seat of pagan culture. Yet today it is seen as the seat of Christianity in the ancient world. Arguably the world’s largest religion, Roman Catholicism evolved out of the is land of idolatry and evil. It was to these Christians that the book of Romans was written. This book is the first systematic theology of Christianity and has guided churches since the beginning. Yet, Paul’s journey was fraught with unbelief and his arrival was a lukewarm reception. This should give us pause as he was trying to grasp the magnitude and scope of God’s plan and power. Paul was integral to this plan, though he couldn’t see beyond himself and his circumstances. In his faith, he charged boldly toward Rome and did his part. In doing so, he established an earthly outpost, imperfect as it is, for godly people. This outpost outlasted every dissenter and to this day is beloved by the whole world. We must be clear in our understanding that God understands what we do not. We must not let the limits of our perception be hindering to his mission and purposes. Our faith ought to go beyond salvation but into playing our part I. The orchestra of his will. This may be a hard life to come, but it will be a worthy one.
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