Acts 19:21,22

After these things were ended Paul purposed in the spirit.

Characteristics of Christianity

Note--

I. A practical beneficence in its spirit. There is distress in Jerusalem. Paul feels that something must be done for its relief. He communicates it to Timotheus and Erastus, and they feel the same; they go to the Churches of Macedonia and Achaia; they feel also, and relief comes as a matter of course. It was not a subject in those days requiring argument and declamation. In the letter which Paul wrote at this time he indicates the order in which the collection should be made, but uses no argument to enforce the duty (1 Corinthians 16:1). This is as it should be. True Christians are all members of one spiritual body; and the feeling of one member should be participated in by the whole.

II. An heroic aggressiveness in its disciples. “I must also see Rome.” What for? Merely to see it, in order to gratify curiosity, to study the institutions and habits of a wonderful people, to enrich his experience of life, to increase his acquaintance with men and things? No, but to carry the gospel there. His purpose indicates--

1. That Christianity could stand the scrutiny of the most enlightened people.

2. That no intellectual or social advancement can supersede the necessity of the gospel.

3. That evangelisation should have a special regard to the most influential centres of population.

III. An official authority amongst its minsters. Here are Paul, Timotheus, and Erastus, and there is a manifest subordination. Paul is the superior. He “sent into Macedonia two of them that ministered unto him.” The authority was not legal or prescriptive, but simply moral. In a society where all minds are spiritually pure, the simple wish of the greatest soul is the greatest law.

IV. An incidental argument for its genuineness. In the account which is here given of Paul’s purpose to visit Rome, and that which he gives himself years afterwards, there is one of those undesigned coincidences which constitute an incontrovertible argument for the truth of Christianity. (D. Thomas, D. D.)

I must … see Rome.--

Paul’s ambition

(to young men):--

I. Paul’s ambition was to see Rome, which meant seeing the world in epitome, and every young man who is worth his salt has a similar desire. This ambition--

1. Was of long standing, perhaps formed at school, and developed by intercourse with Priscilla and Aquila, who had lived in Rome. So doubtless it has been your desire ever since you have heard of life’s prospects and opportunities.

2. Was strong, and strengthened with the lapse of years. Soon after this he leaves Ephesus for Macedonia, where he hopes (2 Corinthians 10:16) to be able to preach the gospel in the regions beyond. Opportunity served, and he stood at Illyricum with the Adriatic between himself and his ambition, as previously he had stood with the AEgean between himself and Macedonia. But this time there was no call for help. Reaching Corinth, he writes to florae, and chaps, 1 and 16 show how strong his ambition had become. And so your ambition, so far from being weakened by disappointment, has grown deeper with every rebuff.

3. Natural. Consider what Rome was. The mistress of the world: the centre of the most potent civilisation the world has ever known. Even in its ruin nine educated men out of every ten hope to see it before they die. What, then, must Paul, a cultured gentleman of the first century, and withal a Roman citizen, have felt when it was in all its glory? And so it is natural that you should wish to see life, to know something of its business, to influence by speech and vote its politics and to contribute to its thought.

4. Was sanctioned by God. Generally at his conversion, more definitely just before his first missionary journey (Acts 22:21), but the direct sanction was delayed till, strange to say, he was imprisoned at Jerusalem (Acts 23:11), nor was it confirmed until near its actual realisation (Acts 27:24). Twice in his Epistle does he say that it was subordinate to God’s will. So it was not mere human craving; what was human in it was by God’s approval, and Paul’s self- restraint, made Divine. So it is not God’s will, perhaps, that you should move in a narrow sphere. Like Paul, make your ambition a matter of earnest prayer, both as to the time and to the method of its achievement.

5. Was subordinated to present duty. He had obligations to discharge in the shape of apostolic visitation, and the collection of funds for the poor, all which was indirectly helpful to the alternate realisation of his wish. Let no young man be in a hurry. An object gained prematurely, and without fitness to handle it, becomes a curse rather than a blessing.

6. Was achieved in an apparently roundabout way. Paul little thought that the path to Rome lay through Jerusalem. “God moves in a mysterious way,” and that way is always the nearest, although we may attempt “short cuts.” And see to it that you take Jerusalem on your way, and, like Paul, identify yourself with the Church. Life is a perilous place without the fear of God, a pronounced profession, and religious associates.

II. Paul’s motives. Yours, of course, cannot be quite as simple. But there is nothing wrong in seeking personal gain provided something higher is contemplated with and through this. Paul wanted to see Rome that he might--

1. Preach the gospel there. How much this was necessary we see from Romans 1:1; how much it is still necessary we know. Look, then, upon life as affording an opportunity for testimony for God. Don’t be ashamed of your mother’s religion in the warehouse or the barracks. Paul was not ashamed of it in wicked, scoffing, cruel Rome.

2. Impart some spiritual gift (Romans 1:11). Act as salt in this corrupt world. Impart to business the spiritual gifts of genuineness and honesty; to literature cleanness and truth; to politics righteousness and the golden role.

3. Fell upon a wider world (Romans 15:24). He felt that if he could regulate the pulsations, and cleanse the diseases of that great heart, a new life current would flow through the world’s moral veins. Occupy every new centre as a means of wider usefulness. You will become an employer--let your influence be felt by your employes; you will marry--set up a family altar; when you join a Church don’t be a useless log in it.

III. Paul’s realisations. He saw Rome--but as a prisoner. And there are disappointing circumstances connected with the realisation of the loftiest human ambition. Life will not be all that you expect. You may win station, wealth, and fame, but you will win a cross as well. Did. Paul repine? No.

1. He accepted the circumstances as ordained of God.

2. He regarded them as most favourable for the accomplishment of his supreme desire. Paul might have preached in synagogue or public hall for many years without exerting a tithe of the influence which his military jailers, to whom he spoke one by one, carried through the city (Philippians 1:12; Philippians 4:22).

3. He utilised his enforced leisure in a correspondence which has ever since been amongst the foremost moral forces of the world. Conclusion: Your ambition is to see life. With Christ this ambition is perfectly safe, and the result, though disappointing in some respects, will be of the most glorious character; without Christ the whole result will be disaster, for “what shall it profit a man,” etc. (J. W. Burn.)

Dreamland

Context of the passage. This has been evidently for a long time in the apostle’s mind. Some months, possibly eighteen months, later it is repeated in the Epistle to the Romans (Romans 1:13; Romans 15:23). It no doubt first took root some six or seven years before, when he worked in the workshop of Aquila and. Priscilla at Corinth. These (Aquila and Priscilla) had come, we know, straight from Rome; and no doubt the glowing account which these devoted friends of his had given Paul, of the little Christian colony of Rome, their stories of the mighty city, of the perpetual influx of strangers, of the freedom which a great capital always affords for the dissemination of new ideas, of the influence which anything emanating from Rome would probably have on provincial cities--all these determined Paul eventually to go to Rome, and perhaps make it his headquarters.

1. This Roman journey and work no doubt for years entered into Paul’s prayers. With each year the purpose evidently grew more intense. The work could never be complete till a Pauline Church flourished at Rome. It was well that his great doctrine of free salvation to all men--to Gentile equally with the Jew--should be accepted in Macedonia, in Corinth, in the wealthy Asian cities like Ephesus and. Colesse, in luxurious, pleasure loving, Syrian Antioch. But to be a doctrine of the world it must be received at Rome, the new Jerusalem of the Christian world.

2. And Paul’s prayer was granted. The long “agony” and wrestling with the Holy Spirit was successful. The Lord heard His servant’s wish. Paul found himself at Rome; but how, in what position? He dreamed of the warm welcome from the poor but devoted Christians of the Suburra quarter across the Tiber, of the secret support of many a noble Roman lady, of many a patrician who had heard of him from the Chamberlain of Corinth, the Asiarch of Ephesus, possibly from a Sergius Paulus or a Gallio; but what was the reality? He found himself at Rome; but a prisoner, guarded, chained to a soldier; perhaps with a weary captivity, with a life-long slavery in the mines, perhaps with a cruel, violent death before him. These things were Paul’s lot in the queen city. But his life dream was realised. He saw Rome, but disappointed. His earnest prayer granted, his life wishes realised, but all so altered with him. Let me anticipate some of the lessons I mean to draw. Many a one of us win our heart’s desire, and find it so different to what we hoped, dreamed of, longed for. The man may win his post--the coveted post; he probably will find it full of anxieties, perplexities, cares, even disappointment. He may win wealth, station, high consideration, all those things once he thought so desirable; and with these, perhaps, he will find the hour of health and strength gone, the power of enjoying and even of using the much-coveted possession. Rank, consideration, wealth--gone, hopelessly gone. At Rome, the longed for Rome, like Paul: but, like Paul, a captive, hemmed in, hampered, hindered, bearing about a dying body. Like Paul, he must forget himself; he must set to with the weary work, the restless anxieties, the weak and fading health, and do his best for his Master and his Brother. He must never lose heart, but bravely struggle on. He must, as did Paul, remember it is the Lord’s hand leading him. Perhaps he himself has been unwise in coveting the higher post, but he must take up his heavier cross bravely and carry it to the end for his Master’s sake uncomplainingly, as did Paul. Are there no women among our worshippers who, in past years, have longed for another, a more stirring, a brighter life; have longed for a home, as it is called, of their own; for husband and children, for a so-called independent life; and finding these, have found many a trouble, many a care, many a sorrow? The Rome they found is very different to the Rome of their girl dreams. How did Paul behave under his heavy sorrow? As a brave Christian should. He braced himself up to new and fresh work. Debarred from those missionary circuits which had done so much in old days, when Ephesus was his headquarters, now comparatively alone and friendless, he did his best. He gathered new congregations as best he could--soldiers, camp followers, court attendants--and spoke his Master’s words to these. So passed two years, perhaps more, at Rome--his dream city. Yes; God had heard his prayer. Once more free. Contrary to his expectation evidently, from his sad words in the Philippian letter. He leaves the city associated with so much grief and dread. He had seen Rome, but in chains. Once more free, he hastens away; again the free missionary, but now aged and worn. Three more years of earnest, self-denying, gallant toil for his loved Master. But the shadow of imperial Rome still hangs over the devoted life. The suspicious government now watched him. They looked on him as a ringleader of a dangerous and fanatical sect; as a concealed enemy of the empire. So they seized him again, and again brought him to Rome--after three years. What must have been the aged prisoner’s thoughts when a second time he catered the city he has so desired to dwell in and to see--again in chains? Shall we trace his second residence? It only lasted a few months in close and weary captivity. He probably, save on the days of his trial, never saw the blue heavens, till that morning when they led him out beyond the gates to die. Thus Paul’s heart’s desire was granted, and “he saw Rome.”

(1) This strange fulfilment of a prayer almost suggests to us that Paul’s earnest wish “to see Rome,” to lay the ground storeys of a mighty Pauline Church in the great capital, was hardly in accordance with his Master’s will; seems as though Paul had not in this particular subordinated his will to his Lord’s; for though the prayer was granted it was a fulfilment very different to the end Paul looked for. He won his prayer; but the fulfilment was accompanied with sorrow and anguish.

(2) With us we, too, long “to see Rome”; aye, all of us, from the school girl to the grown, trained man, in the power and vigour of his manhood. We all, I think, “long to see.” Do we not? On in front we see, like Paul, a dream city, far different to the one in which our lot is cast. What do we want there? Is it gold, or leisure, or power, or pleasure? Do we, in our plans for the future, in our hopes for what will happen “after long years,” at all think of the kingdom of God, of the advancement of His glory, of the being able better to help our sister and our brother in their need and trouble, in their sickness and sorrow? Or in our dreamcity of the future do we only, or even chiefly, see our future--ourselves?

(3) But then there is another point to consider. Are we wise and prudent? Was Paul wise and prudent, so to pray, so to desire? Could he not have worked on, quiet and contented, doing his Father’s business, in the comparative retirement of a provincial city? I will not try and answer this. Each man and woman must put the question to their own hearts and God will whisper to each the answer.

(4) The grand lesson which we draw from these little words, which throw, however, so strong a light over many a page of Paul’s eventful life is--If you long for great things, for power and opportunity to do great things, see well, look carefully, why you want this power, these opportunities. If the reason be indeed a noble one (but be sure first that it is), then pray for it, live for it, train for it, as did Paul. But remember, it may come to you as it did to Paul, most probably with anxiety, care, trouble, weariness, painfulness. Think well, ye discontented servants of high God, who long for greater things and nobler chances, whether at the price it is worth while to covet other things than those in the midst of which God has fixed your lot. Or whether the wiser, the more prudent, perhaps the better part even in God’s eyes, is not to make the best of what you are and where you are. This is to do indeed your Father’s business with quiet contentment; and such a life will in the glad end be crowned with the crown He has promised.

(5) “I must see Rome.” Better, oh, young toiler for bread or honour, better say--far better pray--I must see Jerusalem. Not the desecrated buildings now piled over the shapeless ruins of the old Sion, once the joy of the earth; but I must see the glorious city, the city of God, where the river of life flows from the throne of God and the Lamb; the city where shall be no more curse; the city of eternal day--for the Lord God giveth it light--where His saints shall reign for ever and ever. Pray for this city, agonise for this home. Your Lord has made it ready; your Lord has washed His pilgrims’ robes in His own dear blood, that they may enter in forgiven, clothed in white; and then, oh, blessed thought, these will go no more out. (Dean Spence.)