Photo by Priscilla Du Preez on Unsplash.
I want you to know, brothers, that what has happened to me has really served to advance the gospel, so that it has become known throughout the whole imperial guard and to all the rest that my imprisonment is for Christ. And most of the brothers, having become confident in the Lord by my imprisonment, are much more bold to speak the word without fear. [Philippians 1:12-14 ESV]
A few years ago I came across a book written by John Piper, entitled 'Don't Waste Your Cancer.' He originally wrote this just prior to having surgery for prostate cancer. It might seem surprising, even bizarre, that someone would regard cancer as something positive. John Piper was trusting in God to perform a miracle and heal him from this disease, but he recognised that he may not be healed. But John Piper's faith was giving him a different perspective on his diagnosis. Even if this turned out to be fatal, he saw that God had a purpose in this and he prayed that God would be glorified in his experiences as a cancer patient.
John Piper (and countless other Christians) are following the example of Paul in this extract from his letter to the Philippians. Paul is in prison, probably in Rome, but he doesn't engage in self-pity or anger or despair. He sees his imprisonment as an opportunity to witness to more people. He tells that he was able to witness to the imperial guard. It seems likely that in the course of a day, different soldiers were on duty guarding this unusual prisoner in shifts or watches. Paul took the opportunity to witness to them and he would start off the conversation by explaining to them individually how he came to be in chains. They must have noticed that Paul was different from the typical prisoner who would have been arrested for treason or insurrection. Paul's only crime was that he was preaching the Gospel of Jesus Christ. It is ironic that the Romans were unable to silence Paul and, on the contrary, their decision to put him in custody backfired and resulted in the good news about Jesus being spread even more.
Luke's account in the book of the Acts describes the situation with Paul's imprisonment: And when we came to Rome, Paul was allowed to stay by himself, with the soldier who guarded him. [Acts 28: 16]. Paul is not imprisoned in the usual sense of the word but he has been deprived of his liberty. We are also told in the Acts that he lived in this way for two years at his own expense. He was able to have visitors and was able to preach to the Jewish leaders in Rome. The description Luke gives fits in well with the verses in Paul's letter to the Philippians.
He lived there two whole years at his own expense, and welcomed all who came to him, proclaiming ethe kingdom of God and teaching about the Lord Jesus Christ with all boldness and without hindrance. [Acts 28:30 - 31 ESV]
So Paul was not put off by his adverse circumstances or the restrictions to his liberty. He took advantage of this situation to share the good news with those whom he met daily. This was effective and productive.
His preaching had a mixed reception among the Jewish community in Rome. Some accepted his message and believed but others were offended by his teaching about Jesus (Acts 28: 23 - 28).
The letter to the Philippians ends with a greeting from the saints in Christ Jesus, especially those of Caesar's household. This shows that some who were closest to the Roman Emperor became followers of Jesus Christ (Philippians 4:21).
Some Christian brothers were inspired by Paul's example and became more confident in their faith and more courageous in sharing the message of Jesus (Philippians 1:14).
Paul was delighted that the good news of Jesus was preached and communicated to others, even when some folks were doing this for all the wrong reasons (Philippians 1:15-18).
I am challenged as I am writing this blog. I have not been as enthusiastic in sharing the good news of Jesus even though I have encountered much less opposition than Paul did.
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