May 10, 2011
Paul was in jail. A minister of Jesus Christ in jail? That does not sound very comforting, but it could be our testimony today. He was there because he preached the gospel of God’s grace, a message that the masses did not want to hear. Paul realized that public opinion was against him all along. He knew that his mission and message were not of this world, and so the world was antagonistic to both. He realized that God had chosen him to bear His name before Gentiles, kings, and Jews. He also knew that it was his destiny to suffer for communicating the name of Jesus (Acts 9:15-16).
But Paul understood that no matter how things appeared, he was never out of the grip of God’s plan for him. He told his fellow believers that the things that had happened to him had actually turned out for the furtherance of the gospel. In fact, he said that the whole Roman courtyard was buzzing with the news of the gospel that he was preaching. Believers who were free were becoming much more bold to preach the gospel because of Paul’s success while in prison. Some unbelievers were preaching the gospel in an attempt to mock Paul’s being in jail. Believers, on the other hand, were preaching the gospel because they were motivated by Paul’s success even while in jail. Paul’s response was that regardless of the motive, the gospel was being preached and for that he was glad (Philippians 1:12-21). Paul realized the amazing power of the gospel to find its target and accomplish its purpose of giving the life of God to those who were dead in sin.
When I was about 8 years old I had the opportunity to visit my aunt and uncle on their small farm near Tallapoosa, Georgia. My aunt had a large magnifying glass on the end of an end table that immediately caught my eye. She used it to read or maybe to thread a needle. It made the words on a page or the eye of the needle, appear bigger, so they could be seen more clearly. She was delighted to show me how it worked. I took it out into the yard and quickly learned its benefits. I looked at grasshoppers, ants, bugs, and other insects, and I was delighted with what I saw. I ran around the back yard on a discovery mission. It wasn’t long before I found another amazing feature of this small glass. I found if you held it just right it would direct the available sunlight into one small area and, you guessed it, start a fire. I started several small grass fires and quickly exterminated them. Fortunately, my uncle had followed me out at a distance, and he quickly relieved me of my prized possession. It probably saved his farm.
Centuries before the apostle Paul lived, a young songwriter named David penned these words to a song, “Oh, magnify the Lord with me, and let us exalt his name together” (Psalm 34:3). The great apostle may have been thinking of this song as he found himself locked in chains in a Roman prison. Mighty Rome! Wow! Paul had almost certainly dreamed of going there. The time had come and he was
finally in this great historical city, but not as he had hoped. He was a prisoner. He was quickly chained to a member of the famous Praetorian Guard. Paul had become accustomed to this kind of treatment and realized that his God was in control of every area of his life, and this was no different. He knew that God had placed him right where He wanted him to be. Paul was chained to a guard, but then the guard was also chained to him. The guard could not leave Paul’s side. Paul had a captive audience!
What do you think Paul talked about? How he had been wrongly treated? The weather? Sports? Politics? No! He told the guard about Jesus Christ. He magnified the Lord. He made our Lord appear large in the eyes of the guard. Every four hours the guard was changed. The guards were going out into the palace courtyard and sharing the gospel with others. This was happening so much that the gospel was being spread not only there but also throughout Rome and on down the famous Appian Way to other parts of the Empire. Like the magnifying glass, Paul so magnified the Lord that he started a fire that quickly spread throughout the area and the known world. His success in ministry while in prison began to motivate those on the outside to boldly begin to share the gospel. Their thought was “if Paul is being this successful while a captive in prison, what should we be doing as free men?” That is a question that needs to be asked today of those of us who live in this “free country.”
Paul’s prayer should be our prayer – that Christ would be magnified in our bodies, whether by life or by death. For to him to live, is Christ, and to die is gain. What about us? Shouldn’t we be making the gospel large in the eyes of this lost world, and should we be starting a fire where we live?