On to Rome

“But the following night the Lord stood by him and said, ‘Be of good cheer, Paul; for as you have testified for Me in Jerusalem, so you must also bear witness at Rome.’"

- Act 23v11

Surely Paul must have wondered if those who had advised him not to go to Jerusalem were right. Since he had been there he had been talked into trying to appease some legalist, had been attacked by a mob, arrested, and on the verge of being beaten. He had been forced to play his trump card and use his Roman citizenship to avoid more beatings. He had been brought to a religious council of religious leaders and seen them break into a row over the resurrection. From there he had been taken back to the soldier’s barracks for protection.

After all this happened the Lord appeared to Paul to explain what was going on. “Cheer up Paul,” the Lord said, “just like you have testified here you are going to testify of me in Rome.”

What a turning point in history. Of course history centres on the cross, but this must be #2. The gospel was just about to go to Europe. It would change the face of the entire globe. It would impact everything from legal systems, to the arts, to the calendar the world would use.

All of this was peripheral however. The important thing is that the saving gospel of Jesus Christ was about to go to the population centre of the west. There has probably not been a city with the import of Rome before or since. God knew exactly what He was doing in all this. What could not have looked more confused was just perfect in God’s eyes. God was going to allow Paul to carry the gospel – to ROME!

Next time you can’t figure out what is going on stop trying to figure it out – remember how God got the gospel to Europe!