Paul was in a very minimum security facility. In fact, he was allowed to rent his own house (Acts 28:30). He had only been in Rome three days when he organized a meeting with his fellow Jews.
Paul normally went to the Jewish Synagogue in every town he visited. He was under house arrest so he couldn’t leave. He did the next best thing. He invited the Jewish leadership to visit him.
Paul naturally assumed that these Jews had heard of his case. He had been in jail in Caesarea for two years. His accusers were high ranking Jewish officials in Jerusalem, the major Jewish city. Paul thought surely they had spread the word about their displeasure with him. He told his Jewish peers in Rome that he was not guilty of breaking any laws. He explained that he was forced to appeal to Caesar and that was the only reason he was in Roman custody. His only “crime” was preaching that he believed Jesus was the “hope of Israel”, the Messiah. It must have surprised Paul that these Jewish leaders in Rome had not heard a word about his case. They had not received any letters nor had anyone came to them personally from Jerusalem to give a report about Paul (Acts 28:21). Their second statement also must have surprised him. Though they hadn’t heard about him, they had heard about Christianity! They had heard that it was condemned as heresy everywhere! They wanted to hear about it! God knew there were Jews in Rome that were ready to hear the truth. They set up a date for them to visit his rental house and hear the Gospel. When the day came, Paul preached all day long. Some believed and some didn’t. That’s the exact same response the Gospel gets today!
Paul normally went to the Jewish Synagogue in every town he visited. He was under house arrest so he couldn’t leave. He did the next best thing. He invited the Jewish leadership to visit him.
Paul naturally assumed that these Jews had heard of his case. He had been in jail in Caesarea for two years. His accusers were high ranking Jewish officials in Jerusalem, the major Jewish city. Paul thought surely they had spread the word about their displeasure with him. He told his Jewish peers in Rome that he was not guilty of breaking any laws. He explained that he was forced to appeal to Caesar and that was the only reason he was in Roman custody. His only “crime” was preaching that he believed Jesus was the “hope of Israel”, the Messiah. It must have surprised Paul that these Jewish leaders in Rome had not heard a word about his case. They had not received any letters nor had anyone came to them personally from Jerusalem to give a report about Paul (Acts 28:21). Their second statement also must have surprised him. Though they hadn’t heard about him, they had heard about Christianity! They had heard that it was condemned as heresy everywhere! They wanted to hear about it! God knew there were Jews in Rome that were ready to hear the truth. They set up a date for them to visit his rental house and hear the Gospel. When the day came, Paul preached all day long. Some believed and some didn’t. That’s the exact same response the Gospel gets today!