Rome at Last

“Boldly and freely he proclaimed the kingdom of God and taught about the Lord Jesus Christ.” — Acts 28:31

After three months on Malta, Paul and the others set sail again, on another ship that had spent the winter on the island. And at last they came to Italy.

As they travelled along the road towards Rome, some Christians from Rome heard that Paul was coming. They came out a long way to meet him, all the way to places called the Forum of Appius and the Three Taverns. When Paul saw them, he thanked God and was encouraged.

Do you remember what Jesus had said to Paul in Jerusalem? “You must tell people about Me in Rome too.” Through riots and trials and storms and shipwrecks and a snake bite, God had brought Paul all the way to Rome, just as He said He would.

In Rome, Paul was allowed to live in a house by himself, with a soldier to guard him. He was still a prisoner, still chained to a soldier. But he could have visitors.

Paul invited the Jewish leaders in Rome to come and see him. From morning until evening, he explained to them about the kingdom of God, and tried to persuade them about Jesus from the Law of Moses and the Prophets. Some of them believed. Others didn’t.

For two whole years, Paul stayed there in his own rented house. And he welcomed everyone who came to see him. Boldly, and without anyone stopping him, he told them about the kingdom of God and taught them about the Lord Jesus Christ.

The soldiers who guarded Paul took turns. So one by one, the Roman soldiers chained to Paul heard about Jesus too! Paul later wrote that everyone in the whole palace guard knew he was in chains because of Christ (Philippians 1:13).

That is where the book of Acts ends. Paul, in chains, in the greatest city in the world, telling everyone about Jesus.

Do you remember how Acts began? Jesus said His followers would be His witnesses in Jerusalem, and Judea, and Samaria, and to the ends of the earth. It started with about a hundred and twenty people in one room in Jerusalem. Now the good news had reached Rome, the centre of the whole Roman Empire. And from there, it would go everywhere.

It’s still going. The story of Acts didn’t really end. It’s still being written today, every time someone tells someone else about Jesus.

Read it in your Bible: Acts 28:11–31

Dear God, thank you that you kept your promise and brought Paul to Rome. Thank you that the good news has travelled all the way to me. Help me to be part of the story, and to tell others about Jesus. Amen.