Elder Goh Kee Tai

The last years of Paul’s ministry

During his three missionary journeys, under the direction and empowerment of the Holy Spirit, Paul founded many churches in Asia and Europe of the Roman Empire. At the end of his last journey, he visited the Jerusalem church to deliver alms and offerings collected from various churches for the poor saints in Judeae (Act 24:17). While observing the ritual of ceremonial purification with four other Jews who had taken the Nazarite vow at the Temple, he was falsely accused by the unbelieving Jews from Asia for desecrating the holy place by bringing Gentiles into the inner court (Act 21:27,28). By divine providence, a disorderly angry crowd which gathered around was about to kill him when the Roman soldiers came to the rescue (Act 21:31,32). Paul, under the protection of the military commander, was brought before the Sanhedrin Council for trial which ended in a great dissension between the Pharisees and the Sadducees (Act 23:7).His case was referred to Felix, the Roman governor in Caesarea, who did not find Paul guilty of any crime under the Roman law, but kept him under house arrest for two years (Act 24:23,27). When Festus became the new governor, he immediately reviewed the case and asked Paul whether or not he would be willing to go back to Jerusalem and be judged there (Act 25:9). Paul strongly objected and successfully appealed, as a Roman citizen, that this case be heard before Caesar in Rome (Act 25:12). King Agrippa also convened a hearing of Paul’s case, and the conclusion was that the Apostle had done ‘nothing worthy of death or of bonds’ and would have been set free; but since Paul had appealed to Caesar, he was taken to Rome (Act 26:31,32)

Although Paul was a Roman prisoner, he was given much liberty. At the concluding verses of Acts of the Apostles, Luke recorded: ‘And Paul dwelt two whole years in his own hired house, and received all that came unto him, Preaching the kingdom of God, and teaching those things which concern the Lord Jesus Christ, with all confidence, no man forbidding him’ (Act 28:30,31).

We have no further record of the last years of Paul’s ministry. He was still awaiting for his trial before Caesar. What was the verdict of Paul’s trial? Was he released from imprisonment? If released, did he make another missionary journey to the churches in Asia and Europe? Was he re-arrested for the work of the gospel of Christ and imprisoned again?

We have references regarding some of these questions from the epistles which Paul wrote in AD 61 to the churches in Ephesus, Philippi and Colossae and also to his dearly beloved Colossian ‘fellowlabourer’, Philemon, in his first imprisonment in Rome. These are known as the Prison Epistles as the Apostle clearly stated: ‘in my bonds’, ‘my bonds in Christ’, ‘my bonds’( Phil 1:7,13,16); ‘I am an ambassador in bonds’ (Eph 6:20), ‘I am also in bonds’, ‘Remember my bonds’ (Col 4:3;4:18), ‘ a prisoner in Jesus Christ’,‘in my bonds’ (Philem 2,9,10). Timothy was his close companion during this imprisonment (Phil 1:1;Col 1:1; Philem 1).

Epistle to the Philippians
The Philippian church was the first local witness in Europe established by Paul in his second missionary journey (Act 16:14,15). He was particularly grateful to this generous church in cheerfully sending him monetary gifts on their own accord on at least two occasions while he was in Thessalonica (Phil 4:16). When the church heard of his imprisonment in Rome, the saints sent another gift through one of their church leaders, Epaphroditus (Phil 4:18).

When Paul wrote this epistle, the trial before Caesar could have begun and his life was at stake: ‘According to my earnest expectation and my hope, that in nothing I shall be ashamed, but that with all boldness, as always, so now also Christ shall be magnified in my body, whether it be by life, or by death. For to me to live is Christ, and to die is gain’ (Phil 1:20,21). However, he seemed confident of his acquittal, as he felt that his service for the Lord was still required: ‘For I know that this shall turn to my salvation through your prayer, and the supply of the Spirit of Jesus Christ’ (Phil 1:19). He had an earnest desire to visit the brethren in Philippi: ‘But I trust in the Lord that I also myself shall come shortly’ (Phil 2:24).As he continued in the letter, he was more confident of his release: ‘And having this confidence, I know that I shall abide and continue with you all for your furtherance and joy of faith. That your rejoicing may be more abundant in Jesus Christ for me by my coming to you again’ (Phil 1:25,26).

Although Paul was also imprisoned in Caesarea for two years, there is no doubt that this epistle was written in Rome as indicated in these verses: ‘But I would ye should understand, brethren, that the things which happened unto me have fallen out rather unto the furtherance of the gospel; So that my bonds in Christ are manifest in all the palace, and in all other places. And many of the brethren in the Lord, waxing confident by my bonds, are much more bold to speak the word without fear’ (Phil 1:12-14). The ‘palace’ or the praetorium refers to a group of imperial guards who had heard of the gospel which Paul preached to them when they were assigned to guard him. He also mentioned Christians among employees of the imperial palace: ‘All the saints salute you, chiefly they that are of Caesar’s household’(Phil 4:22).

Epistle to Philemon
Philemon was converted under the gospel ministry of Paul and a fellow servant of the Lord (Philem 1,19). The gospel of grace was spread to Colossae during Paul’s ministry at Ephesus (Act 19:10). The growth and evangelism of this church was mainly through Epaphras who visited Paul in Rome and reported to him the spiritual conditions of the church (Col 4:12; Philem 23).

Philemon had a slave named Onesimus who stole from him and had run away. This was a serious offence which carried a death sentence. By the providence of God, Onesimus arrived in Rome and was led to the saving grace of Christ by Paul (Philem 10). Paul an aged missionary, wrote this very personal letter of appeal to Philemon to restore the penitent Onesimus to his master as his fellow brethren in Christ (Philem 9). The Apostle even offered to reinstate what Onesimus had stolen (Philem 19). Paul was looking forward to visit the Colossian church and requested Philemon to reserve an accommodation for him: ‘But withal prepare me also a lodging: for I trust that through your prayers I shall be given unto you’ (Philem 22).

Paul’s release from imprisonment in Rome
It seemed quite certain that Paul was released from imprisonment, probably the Jewish accusers from Jerusalem who finally arrived and appeared in the trial, were not able to convince the court in Rome that he had committed an offence against Caesar worthy of death or of imprisonment, similar to the conclusion reached in his trials in Caesarea (Act 24:23; 26:31). After his release, he undoubtedly departed from Rome and made another missionary journey to other churches in the Roman Empire.

Paul’s last missionary journey
From a careful study of his pastoral epistles to Timothy (first epistle) and Titus written in AD 63 and AD 65, respectively, and his second epistle to Timothy in AD 66, Paul mentioned a number of places which he visited. These included Crete, Ephesus, Macedonia, Troas, Corinth, Nicopolis, Melitum and Colossae. Since the itineraries could not fit into Luke’s account of Paul’s three missionary journeys, these travels which could have taken several years, must have occurred after his release from his imprisonment in Rome.

As indicated in his epistle to the Philippians, Paul was confident that he would be released from imprisonment in Rome. He would have visited the church at Philippi shortly after his release (Phil 2:24). Similarly, he would have travelled to Colossae as in his letter to Philemon, Paul requested him to prepare a lodging there (Philem 22).Paul visited Ephesus where he was well looked after by Onesiporus, his faithful fellow worker (2 Tim 1:18) before he travelled to Macedonia (northern Greece).He left Timothy at Ephesus to supervise the churches in this city and charged him to continue to contend for the faith (1 Tim 1:3). Paul desired to be with Timothy whenever he could (1 Tim 3:14). He travelled to Miletum with Trophimus, an Ephesian brethren who fell sick there and could not continue on with the journey (2 Tim 4:20). Paul was in Troas with Carpus, his co-labourer in this city (2 Tim 4:13) and in Corinth with Eratus, his fellow companion whom he sent to Macedonia in his third missionary journey (Act 19:22). Eratus remained behind in the city to strengthen the work there (2 Tim 4:20). Paul travelled to the island of Crete with Titus and left him there to use his spiritual gift of administration in appointing and ordaining elders in every city to pastor the flock and defend the truth (Titus 1:5). Paul then ministered in the city of Nicopolis, located in the Province of Achaia in southern Greece, and spent his winter there. At Paul’s request, Titus diligently co-laboured with him in this city (Titus 3:12). While Paul could have visited the Roman province of Illyricum (Rom 15:19) in his previous missionary journeys, he might also have travelled to Dalmatia in this last trip, as suggested by his sending Titus from Nicopolis to consolidate the ministry in this province (2 Tim 4:10).

Paul had expressed his desire to visit Spain when he wrote his epistle to the Romans (Rm 15:24,28).He probably would have brought the gospel of everlasting life to this country after his release from imprisonment in Rome.

In his Pastoral Epistles, Paul also mentioned a number of his fellow brethren whom Luke did not record. They probably co-laboured with him during his last missionary journey. Among these were Crescens, Carpus, Eubulus, Pudens, Linus and Claudia (2 Tim 4:10,13, 21), Onesiphorus, (2 Tim 1:16),Artemas and Zenas (Titus 3:12). Some like Demas, Alexander, Hymenaeus, Philetus, Phygellus and Hermogenes who had departed from the faith and had forsaken him must have occurred after Paul’s release from imprisonment in Rome (1 Tim 1:20; 2 Tim 1:15; 2:17,18; 2 Tim 4:10,14)

Paul’s second imprisonment in Rome
In AD 64, Rome was burned and Christians were blamed. Caesar Nero who reigned from AD 54-68 then made Christianity an illegal religion and evangelism was a crime punishable by death. Nero was notorious for his insane barbaric persecution and massacre of Christians.

Paul was believed to be re-arrested after Caesar’s decree in AD 64 when he was in Troas and taken to Rome for trial and condemnation to death. It occurred so suddenly and unexpectedly that he could not even take his cloak, books and his personal copies of the Old Testament with him (2 Tim 4:13). When Onesiphorus, an Ephesian brethren, heard of his imprisonment in Rome, he diligently sought out Paul, and ministered to him (2 Tim 1:16,17)

The second pastoral epistle to Timothy was written in his second imprisonment in Rome. Unlike his first imprisonment which was actually house arrest in which he was given much liberty, the second was quite different. He could have been scourged, cast into the dark inner dungeon and his feet fast in the stock, as when he was imprisoned in Philippi (Act 16:24). The sentiments of this pastoral epistle expressed his imminent martydom. Many of his co-labourers had left him for their respective ministries: Crescens to Galatia, Titus to Dalmatia, and Tychicus to Ephesus. Only Luke was with him (2 Tim 4:10-12). He wanted Timothy to be with him and urged him to come quickly with Mark also (2 Tim 4:9,11). He was cold and alone in the dungeon and he needed his cloak which he left at Troas (2 Tim 4:13). He realised that his death was imminent: ‘Be not thou therefore ashamed of the testimony of our Lord, nor of me his prisoner: but be thou partaker of the afflictions of the gospel according to the power of God’ (2 Tim 1:8). ‘For I am now ready to be offered, and the time of my departure is at hand. I have fought a good fight, I have finished my course, I have kept the faith. Henceforth there is laid up for me a crown of righteousness, which the Lord, the righteous judge, shall give me at that day: and not to me only, but unto all them also that love his appearing’ (2 Tim 4:6-8).

According to tradition, Paul was beheaded.

Conclusion
From a careful study of the Prison Epistles, it is quite certain that Paul was released from his first imprisonment in Rome. After his release, he undoubtedly embarked on another missionary journey to a number of places in the Roman Empire. Before the great fire in Rome in AD 64, the Roman authorities considered Christianity a sect of Judaism. However, when Nero decreed Christianity to be an illegal religion, evangelism became extremely difficult. Nevertheless, Paul was undeterred by bond or death for the name of the Lord Jesus Christ (Act 21:13) and continued to persevere until he was re-arrested and imprisonment again in Rome. For to him, ‘to live is Christ, and to die is gain’ (Phil 1:21). He had fought a good fight, he had finished the course and he had kept the faith (2 Tim 4:7). Amen.