What Was Paul Thinking?

High expectations

    What was Paul thinking when he wrote in Romans 15:29, “I know that when I come to you, I will come in the full measure of the blessing of Christ” (italics added)? He was in Greece,  preparing to return to Jerusalem with an offering for the poor among the believers there. After that, he expected to travel to Spain, stopping at Rome on the way (Romans 15:23-26).

    He never made it to Spain.

    He went to Rome as a prisoner.

    What was Paul thinking as he envisioned himself heading for Rome in the full measure of the blessing of Christ? Did he have any idea that he’d be going there in chains? Or did he see himself sailing across the Mediterranean with a group of fellow believers, maybe stopping along the way to support the churches that he had planted on earlier trips?

    God granted Paul many visions, beginning with the confrontation on the road to Damascus in Acts 9. He had much more certainty about what lay ahead for him than the rest of us usually do. And yet he still had to walk by faith, just like us.

The reality

    His trip from Greece to Rome by way of Jerusalem is described in Acts 20 through 28. In Miletus, he told the elders from Ephesus that he didn’t know exactly what would happen to him in Jerusalem, but he’d been warned by the Holy Spirit that prison and hardships awaited him. He had written his letter to the Romans not too long before that. Was he still expecting to get to Rome in the full measure of the blessing of Christ? Or did the anticipation of hardships throw a bit of cold water on his expectations?

    Prior to saying a tearful farewell, Paul informed the elders that he would never see them again in this life. In Tyre, the disciples urged him through the Holy Spirit not to go on to Jerusalem. In Caesarea, the prophet Agabus warned him that he would be bound by the Jews and turned over to the Gentiles in Jerusalem. As a result, the Christians around him begged him not to continue on his way. He responded that he was willing not only to be arrested, but to die for Jesus in Jerusalem.

    Was he as confused as I am at this point? He was compelled by the Spirit to go to Jerusalem, and yet the Spirit used the disciples to urge him not to do it. If he died in Jerusalem, he wouldn’t be going to Rome. But he was so sure of that happening. Was he trying to sort all this out in his own mind, or was he simply trusting God to bring order out of the apparent chaos?

    From my perspective, the chaos just kept getting worse. About a week after setting foot in Jerusalem, Paul was seized by the Jews and imprisoned by the Romans, as Agabus had prophesied. When the commander found out that he was a Roman citizen, Paul was released and ordered to testify before the Sanhedrin. That led to another upheaval, so he was returned to the Roman barracks.

    A group of Jews made a vow to kill him. When Paul and his captors got wind of their plot, he was transferred to Caesarea for his own protection. Over the next few years, he appeared in court before Governor Felix, his successor Festus, and King Agrippa. Felix intentionally dragged out the process, hoping Paul would offer him a bribe. Was any of this what Paul had in mind when he said that he knew that he would travel to Rome in the full measure of the blessing of Christ?

    The chief priests and scribes pressured Festus to move Paul back to Jerusalem. They were preparing an ambush to murder him on the way. Festus wanted to do them a favor, so he was considering their suggestion. But first he sought Paul’s opinion on the idea. Paul said he should be tried by the Romans, not the Jews. He demanded to take his case directly to Caesar instead.

    What was he thinking as he made this spontaneous request? Was he annoyed by all the delays and changes in plans? Did he cry out in impatience and frustration, as some commentators suggest? Or did he have one of those aha! moments, prompted by the Holy Spirit, when it all suddenly came together in his mind?

    He knew he was going to Rome one way or another. A return to Jerusalem would have put his life at risk. He was willing to die for Jesus in Jerusalem, but he knew he was going to Rome.

    Maybe the path ahead suddenly became clear to Paul as Festus questioned him. Maybe he realized that God’s plan all along had been for a group of soldiers to escort him to Rome. I can imagine the lightbulb turning on in his head as he saw an apparent snag in his plans (his extended imprisonment) turn into an opportunity, and boldly appealed to Caesar. King Agrippa declared that if Paul hadn’t demanded an audience with Caesar, he could have been set free. Instead, he was finally on his way to his goal—Rome.

    But it didn’t get any easier. His ship was caught in a life-threatening storm. After two weeks of danger and uncertainty, the passengers and crew were shipwrecked on a sandbar near an island. The soldiers prepared to kill all of the prisoners so that they couldn’t escape, but a centurion prevented them from doing so. Everyone made it to the island safely, where Paul was bitten by a poisonous snake. Was he wondering what more could go wrong at this point, as I would have been?

    The situation finally began to turn around a bit, though. The snakebite didn’t do him any harm, and after a few months they found a ship to take them to Rome without further incident.

Expectations fulfilled

    What was Paul thinking when he arrived there in chains? Did he still believe that he was living in the full measure of the blessing of Christ as he sat under house arrest with a Roman guard posted 24/7?

    He answers this question beautifully and joyfully in his letter to the Ephesians, which was written at this time. One of the first things he says is, “Praise be to the God and Father of our Lord Jesus Christ, who has blessed us in the heavenly realms with every spiritual blessing in Christ” (verse 1:3, italics added).

    Approximately four years had passed since he’d written his letter to the Romans. Was he thinking back to the words that he’d used at that time, remembering his confidence that he would come in the full measure of the blessing of Christ, and praising God as he saw his expectations fulfilled?

    Paul went through many difficult times and much opposition to develop a more mature faith and a more powerful witness to the world. But it’s clear that it was well worth it, as I hear the joy and peace in his words to the Ephesians. Joy and peace that transcended his suffering as he lived in the full measure of the blessing of Christ despite his circumstances.