The Prisoner In The Lord

by Hope, A. M. | Category: The Life And Work Of Paul | May 1971

"Go, lictors: strip off their garments: let them be scourged". The official order was obeyed Paul and Silas were beaten with rods, then cast into the inner prison at Philippi. As far as we know this was Paul's first experience of prison. It was not to be his last.

What must it have been like that midnight? Their backs bleeding, their bodies racked with pain, their feet tortured in the stocks; Paul and his companion, weary at the end of a long day, prayed and sang hymns. God was listening as Acts clearly shows. The prisoners listened too. The psalms 0 David must have been a real source of comfort to Paul that night.

The suffering and shameful treatment which Paul endured resulted in great joy for the jailer and his household. Paul was imprisoned for the sake of the gospel (e.g. see Ephes. 6:20 and Philip. 1:12). Not only the jailer but countless others have been led to Christ by the words which were first spoken in that prison, "Believe on the Lord Jesus, and thou shalt be saved, thou and thy house".

A PRISONER IN SPIRIT

Paul's experience at Philippi must have been repeated more than once elsewhere Some time before his arrest at Jerusalem, Paul wrote the second epistle to the Corinthians. In that epistle he speaks about stripes and imprisonments (2 Cor. 6:5 and see also 11:23). Of these we know nothing.

To the elders of Ephesus Paul explains that, inevery city, the testimony of the Holy Spirit to him was that "bonds and afflictions abide me". At that time he regarded himself a prisoner in chains-not in body but in spirit (Acts 20:22-23). There was no escape from imprisonments, and Paul accepted this as God's purpose for him. As a prisoner in spirit Paul said, "I am ready not to be bound only, but also to die for the name of the Lord Jesus" (Acts 21:13). As an evangelist he said, "I am ready to preach the gospel" (Rom. 1:15). The ambassador of the gospel would become an ambassador in chains.

ARREST AT JERUSALEM

As he was once dragged into the market place at Philippi, Paul, some years later, was dragged out of the Temple at Jerusalem. The Jews would have killed him immediately but he was rescued by Roman soldiers. On the steps of the castle where they had brought him he asked permission to speak to his accusers. The ambassador of the gospel preached to a silent crowd of Jews (Acts 22). At least they were silent until he spoke of preaching to the Gentiles then their shout was heard, "Away with such a fellow from the earth". Next day Paul made his defence before the Sanhedrim in the place where Stephen, the martyr, had once stood. Confusion ensued. Paul would have been torn in pieces but for the intervention of the Roman soldiers who conveyed him secretly to Caesarea to circumvent a plot by some Jews to kill their prisoner.

TWO SILENT YEARS IN CAESAREA

How did Paul present the gospel message? We can learn this from the words he spoke at Caesarea. Here he defended himself before Felix, the governor, when faced with false accusations by the Jews. He preached to Felix and Drusilla, his wife, on the subject of righteousness, temperance, and the judgement to come. He took his stand against Festus and appealed to Caesar. King Agrippa heard him preach the gospel. Paul's desire was that all who heard him should become as he was except for his bonds.

Apart from his witness on these occasions which is reported in great detail, God's word is silent about the two years in Caesarea. In this respect they are like the years he spent in Arabia. It may be that Paul lived so active a life, moving continually from place to place, that he required a time of meditation and quietness. Could it have been in Caesarea that Paul received some of the material for what we call the prison epistles?

AND SO WE CAME TO ROME.

"Fear not, Paul: thou must stand before Caesar" (Acts 27:24). No storm, nor shipwreck was allowed to hinder the fulfilment of God's purpose for His prisoner. Paul knew he would reach Rome safely and, when he arrived, he was suffered to abide by himself (Acts 28:16).

The book of the Acts closes with Paul at Rome.

Acts 28:23 "They came to him into his lodging".

Was this the house of friends, the temporary residence of a guest, as we have in Philemon 22?

Acts 28:30 "He abode two whole years in his own hired dwelling".

This may indicate a more permanent residence than his lodging. While awaiting trial he enjoyed a measure of liberty to preach and teach. Although bound with a chain he was really under house-arrest. He could not go out to the people and work among them. Instead they came to him. He was preaching the kingdom of God and teaching the Lord Jesus to all, whether Jew or Gentile.

Did Paul's confinement restrict the gospel? Rather, it led to the progress of the gospel. It reached the Imperial guard who were in immediate attendance upon the Emperor and it reached the slaves of Caesar's household (Philip. 4:22). Brethren in the assembly became heralds of the gospel. Paul's example spurred them on to preach without fear. At this time, too, he was writing (or dictating) the

PRISON EPISTLES

"Paul received all that went in unto him" (Acts 28:30). Onesimus, the runaway slave, came to Paul and was led to Christ in a Roman prison. Hence, the letter to Philemon. Epaphras came to tell the apostle that Gnosticism had raised its head in the church at Colossae. Epaphras remained with Paul while Tychicus accompanied Onesimus back to Colossae. He bore the letters to the Colossians and the Ephesians. Epaphroditus brought the gift to the Lord's servant from the church at Philippi. Paul's letter of acknowledgement was the epistle to the Philippians.

These are the epistles from the prison. We learn from them that Paul had helpers and visitors during these two years.

Luke, the beloved physician, remained with him (Col. 4:14).

Mark was a fellow-worker and so was Demas (Phil. 24).

Timothy was with him (Philip. 1:1).

Tychicus, the beloved brother, was a close companion (Col. 4:7).

Aristarchus and Epaphras are called fellow-prisoners (Col. 4:10 and Phil. 23).

Our wealth in Christ, the relationship of the Head to the members, our witness and walk: this is the ministry of Ephesians, Philippians and Colossians. In these epistles it is revealed to us what it really means to belong to Christ. Here the ambassador in chains presents to us "the unsearchable riches of Christ".

Let us pause at Philippians 2 which tells us of the mind of Christ in the believer. Here is a portrait of the Christ of the lowly mind-the one who was both God and Bondservant. He humbled Himself.

We are to be of the same mind with Christ which, of course, leads to being of one accord and of one mind with each other. This is the remedy for faction, vainglory, self-interest and selfishness.

Later on in the chapter there is held up to us the example of Timothy (I have no man likeminded), and Epaphroditus (messenger and minister to my need). These men reflected the mind of Christ in their lives and we will do well to follow them.

DID PAUL'S APPEAL TO CAESAR SUCCEED?

What happened to Paul after Acts 28? Was he acquitted or condemned to death? The charges brought against him that he was a pestilent fellow, a ringleader of the Nazarenes and a profaner of the Temple at Jerusalem surely, as Agrippa himself said, were not worthy of death or of bonds under Roman law. It seems that Paul's appeal to Caesar was successful and he spent some years of freedom before his final imprisonment.

FINAL IMPRISONMENT

The last of Paul's letters from prison was 2 Timothy. It was carried by Tychicus. From this letter we learn that Paul's circumstances had changed. Demas had forsaken him and only Luke remained with him at the end. Paul was not treated leniently as before but was chained as a malefactor (2 Tim. 2:9). We infer that he was in a cold dungeon because he asked Timothy to bring a cloak. There is no record of preaching now. Onesiphorus, Linus, Pudens and Claudia are names of those who shared in the apostle's changed circumstances which probably came about as a result of the fire at Rome. This evoked a wave of persecution against the followers of Christ.

Paul now knew loneliness for all forsook him, but the Lord strengthened him as He had done when Paul was arrested at Jerusalem and when he was about to be shipwrecked on his way to Rome.

The time of his departure had come. Paul faced death with calm assurance. He sees himself poured out as a drink offering. Yes, his had been a life given to God. He could look beyond the unrighteous judge and commit himself, as his Lord had done, to Him that judgeth righteously.

Paul's greatness shines out at the last. He had shown many times his readiness to preach in the face of danger. Now he was to preach in the face of death. The message had been fully proclaimed even before Nero and his accusers. One day we shall see the crown of righteousness on the head of God's greatest ambassador in chains.

Hope, A. M. | May 1971
The Life And Work Of Paul