House Arrest in Rome

We wrap up Sha’ul’s Journey Through the Book of Acts.

Drawing from Sha’ul’s commitment in Acts 28, consider how you can mentor someone in your church or community. If you’ve been a Believer for years, identify a new believer or someone who seems eager to grow in their faith. Offer to meet regularly, whether over coffee or a lunch meeting, and share insights from your spiritual journey. This personal investment can help them feel welcomed and nurtured in their faith. As you guide them through questions or challenges they face, you embody the spirit of mentoring that Jesus exemplified in His ministry.

Sha’ul Under House Arrest

¹⁶ And when we arrived at Rome, the officer allowed Sha’ul to stay by himself, though guarded by a soldier.

Jewish Leaders Visit Sha’ul

The concluding passage of the book of Acts contains essential material for understanding the relationship  between Judaism and Christianity, Gospel and Tanakh, and Messianic and non-Messianic Judaism. The conclusion is that Sha’ul had a very successful evangelistic ministry among the Jewish community of Rome and that entire synagogues became Messianic. It is one of the high points of Messianic Jewish history. ^[1]

¹⁷ After three days, Sha’ul called a meeting of the local Jewish leaders. When they had gathered, he said to them: “Brothers, although I have done nothing against either our people or the traditions of our fathers, I was made a prisoner in Yerushalayim and handed over to the Romans.

The local Jewish leaders. In his three days, Sha’ul had arranged with the brothers in the Roman community, of whom he knew many (see Romans 16), to draw up a list of Jewish community leaders, for he would quickly have ascertained what these leaders later said themselves (vv. 21–22), that they knew very little about the Gospel. Thus, Sha’ul saw an evangelistic opportunity. The believers in the Roman congregation had apparently not done much to evangelize the 10,000 or more Jews living in Rome. Perhaps they wished to avoid the sort of persecution some of them might have already experienced in Yerushalayim when they came to faith at or shortly after Shavuot (Acts 2:10) or after the martyrdom of Stephen (Acts 8:1–3).

¹⁸ They examined me and were ready to release me, because I had done nothing to justify a death sentence. ¹⁹ But when the Judeans objected, I was forced to appeal to the Emperor—not that I had any charge to make against my own people. ²⁰ This is why I have asked to see you and speak with you, for it is because of the hope of Isra’el that I have this chain around me.” ²¹ They said to him, “We have not received any letters about you from Y’hudah, and none of the brothers who have come from there has reported or said anything bad about you. ²² But we do think it would be appropriate to hear your views from you, yourself, for all we know about this sect is that people everywhere speak against it.”

These Jewish leaders were very open-minded, more so than today usually are. The situation in Rome was different from the others described in the book of Acts, where very quickly, the non-Messianic Jewish community took a hostile position against the Messianics. Somehow, the Roman believers avoided such a clash with the non-Messianic synagogues so that at Sha’ul’s arrival, they were willing to listen and not immediately opposed.

Sha’ul Proclaims Yeshua As The Messiah

²³ So they arranged a day with him and came to his quarters in large numbers. From morning until evening, he explained the matter to them, giving a thorough witness about the Kingdom of God and making use of both the Torah of Moshe and the Prophets to persuade them about Yeshua. ²⁴ Some were convinced by what he said, ²⁵ while others refused to believe.

So they left, disagreeing among themselves, after Sha’ul had made one final statement: “The Ruach HaKodesh spoke well in saying to your fathers through Yesha’yahu the prophet,

²⁶ ‘Go to these people and say,

“You will keep on hearing but never understand, and you will keep on seeing but never perceive, ²⁷ because the heart of this people has grown thick— with their ears, they barely hear, and their eyes they have closed,

for fear that they should see with their eyes, hear with their ears, understand with their heart, and do t’shuvah (turning),

so that I could heal them.” (Isaiah 6:9–10) ²⁸ Therefore, let it be known to you that this salvation of God has been sent to the Goyim, and they will listen!” Some manuscripts include verse 29: After he had said this, the Jews left, arguing vehemently among themselves.

Some were convinced by what he said, while others refused to believe.  What may reasonably be concluded, therefore, is that the whole leadership of Rome’s Jewish community was well represented by the “large numbers” and that a sizeable proportion of them, though not necessarily half, were persuaded of the truth of Messianic Judaism then and there. We know of no other reported instance of a sizeable proportion of a significant Jewish community’s leadership coming to faith in the Gospel in one day. So they left, disagreeing among themselves. The Gospel properly proclaimed always causes division because those who believe it and those who do not have different world outlooks.

Two Years of Ministry

³⁰ Sha’ul remained two whole years in a place he rented for himself, and he continued receiving all who came to see him, ³¹ openly and without hindrance, proclaiming the Kingdom of God and teaching about the Lord Yeshua the Messiah. ^[2] 

As always, Sha’ul supported himself and did not rely on others, especially not on young and struggling Messianic congregations. In this respect, he was like other rabbis of his day. By his life, as well as his words, he showed forth the Messiah in him. Sha’ul was a light to the nations (Isaiah 49:6) and to the Jews as well.

In our next and following posts, we will examine the rest of Sha’ul’s Letter’s to the Saints, beginning in Colossians.

^[1] David H. Stern, Jewish New Testament Commentary.

^[2] Acts 28:16–31.