This post presents limited research concerning the impact the Greco-Roman era had on events and conditions within the Book of Acts in Scripture. Spanning a timeline of 30 to 65 A.D., numerous concurrent and sequential events had a substantial bearing upon the early Church and particularly Paul the Apostle’s ministry. The early Church, and to a significant extent, nations and territories comprising of the Roman empire underwent an epic injection of the gospel within a relatively short period. While there were numerous sources of opposition and animosity, the situational environment narrated within the Book of Acts imposes and illuminates a perilous and inexorable message of treachery and hope. This post stitches together a few examples concerning the conditions and pressures the Greco-Roman era placed upon the early Church as narrated within the Book of Acts.
Interwoven throughout the Book of Acts are historical facts concerning the people, places, and circumstances around the arrival of the Holy Spirit and His work through developing Christendom in Judea, Samaria, and the Gentile world to include the Mediterranean and upper Mesopotamian territories. There are numerous underlying circumstances in the text of Acts that describe how the early Church grew with thousands of new believers, yet with often adversarial encounters in opposition to what the Holy Spirit accomplished. Moreover, government, religious, and cultural objections were imposed with adversity from people who sought to protect self-interest within Judaism or their Greco-Roman way of life.
The backdrop of ongoing Jewish hostilities among synagogue and temple leaders was a continuing opposition to believers in Christ. Yet, while Roman authorities’ force and aggression were a source of Jewish leverage, the presence of Roman prosecution toward Christians pressed upon both experienced and new believers alike. While some may feel an obligation of sympathy as due toward Roman authorities, there are various examples throughout the Book of Acts to indicate a rationale to the contrary. As evangelism and an apologetic for Christianity to the Romans were advocated throughout Acts,1 there remains further in the text an unmistakable peace-keeping presence for its governing interests. Pax Romana was the forceful current of the time to assure order and security, while Christ himself appointed the gospel to spread. The expansion of the early Church was explosive due to several factors. Notwithstanding Holy Spirit emboldened apostles who brought the gospels to the nations, the acceptance of the Greek language, the building of the Roman roads, the removal of Mediterranean pirates, and the openness of secular thought and philosophical ideas were viewed as alternatives or replacements to Greek and Roman polytheism.2 Within the Greco-Roman world, the arrival of the gospel and the early Church’s work was at just the right time.
From reading through the Book of Acts at least a few times, a reader begins to see a pattern emerge concerning the havoc Jewish leaders repeatedly raise by using Roman authority as a means of leverage to oppose, silence, and eliminate believers obedient to Christ. From after the time of Pentecost (Acts 2:1-3) through the conversion of Paul (Acts 9:1-31), there are just a few apparent references to Roman or Greek influence on events within the text (Acts 2:9-11, Acts 4:27, Acts 6:9). However, in Acts chapter 10, the narrative begins to change with the introduction of the devout Roman Centurion Cornelius (Acts 10:1) in Caesarea, a predominately pagan city,3 about 40 miles Northwest of Jerusalem.
Jewish temple leaders, the Sanhedrin, and prominent synagogue members throughout Israel and Asia Minor effectively weaponized Greco-Roman interests to stop or subdue evangelistic and apologetic efforts among apostles and disciples who siphoned off adherents of Judaism, God-fearers from synagogues, and pagan worshipers from idolatrous practices. From Peter (Acts 11:8) and the Judaizers (Acts 15:1,5, Gal 6:12-13), it was inferred and concluded from the gospel that the Jews were no longer the exclusive people chosen by God.4 As such, Roman authorities often then became Jewish instruments of Christian persecution. Just as Jesus was tried and crucified by Roman authorities by means of Jewish persecution (Acts 13:28), apostles and believers within the early Church would face the same adversarial hostilities (John 15:20).
It was not enough for Jewish leadership to use Roman authorities against the spread of the gospel. On Paul’s missionary journeys, he and his companions visited synagogues, marketplaces, and public gathering locations to speak before people who were present to hear the gospel. In so doing at Thessalonica, for example, yet another group of Jewish leaders formed a mob to drag some disciples before “city authorities” (NASB) or “rulers of the city” (KJV), or πολιτάρχης, politarchēs in Acts 17:6. By “turning the world upside down,” the Jews make accusations against followers of Christ and their efforts among cities and towns. To infer a legal disturbance that damages the Roman empire’s peace and well-being in Thessalonica, a Roman capital district in Macedonia.5
As emperor worship and offerings became expected of inhabitants within the Roman district of Thessalonica during the time of emperor Caligula (37-41 A.D), to advocate ideas to the contrary would at a minimum point to disloyalty to the empire.6 For the Jewish population of Thessalonians to hear Paul, his companions, and new followers proclaim and advocate a gospel that informs people of reconciliation to God without adherence to Jewish tradition and requirements would become reported and condemned. By “turning the world upside down” (Acts 17:6), further accusations of disruption to the policy of Pax Romana throughout the empire would become assailed. Thereby again rendering the Roman authorities a weapon of the Jewish leaders within the synagogues. Leaders who opposed Christ, His followers, and the gospel. With Greco-Roman idolatry the center of worship toward current and former emperors, Jewish leaders likely knew the risks of new believers who were to abstain from such practices. Speaking before city occupants, they spread a gospel that drew people away from their synagogues, and now from the temples of Greco-Roman gods.
Just as emperor Caligula declared himself a god (37 A.D.),7 there were cultural expectations that accompanied his divinity claim. As if he was an equivalent to Roman god Jupiter (Zeus in Greek mythology), he expected townspeople to recognize and honor him in accordance with what he believed. For people to act contrary either intentionally or unintentionally added weight of risk carried by believers as they knew of potential ramifications for disobedience. With the imperial religion permeating Roman society and local townspeople in Lystra,8 its evidence is recorded in Scripture (Acts 12:22, Acts 14:11-15) to highlight Jewish leaders’ exploitations of Roman culture and authority to stop the spread of the gospel and the growth of the Church.
Within the Book of Acts’ continued narrative, there were yet further trials that were framed by the Jewish leaders in Jerusalem to involve substantial Roman government and military resources that were a culmination of intensified and heightening tensions.9 As Jesus spoke to Ananias, “I will show him how much he must suffer for My name’s sake,” we have Paul’s later confirmation concerning what the Lord has said about his witness testimony to Rome. Paul had the confidence and guidance of the Holy Spirit and Christ Jesus (Acts 19:21, Acts 23:11) to travel to Jerusalem and Rome. It was to become a journey in which he would become captured and where the Jewish leadership will again produce false charges and hand him over to Roman authorities. Ultimately, after years of delay and further hardships, Paul the Apostle, our Lord’s faithful servant, was given over to Rome, where he became imprisoned (60 A.D.) and after that appeared before Caesar of Rome. Like Christ, Paul would face Roman execution as delivered from Jewish leaders to his death (64 A.D.).10
Citations
1 D.A Carson & Douglas J. Moo, An Introduction to the New Testament (Grand Rapids: Zondervan, 2005), 303. 2 Steven J. Lawson, Pillars of Grace(Orlando, FL: Reformation Trust, 2011), 48. 3 John P. Lange, A Commentary on the Holy Scriptures: Acts (New York, NY: Scribner, 1867), 191. 4 Don Garlington, An Exposition of Galatians: A Reading from the New Perspective, Third Edition. (Eugene, OR: Wipf and Stock Publishers, 2007), 379. 5 M. G. Easton, Easton’s Bible Dictionary: Thessalonica. (New York: Harper & Brothers, 1893). 6 Andrew R. Talbert, “Thessalonica,” ed. John D. Barry et al., The Lexham Bible Dictionary (Bellingham, WA: Lexham Press, 2016). 7 Walter A. Elwell and Barry J. Reitzel, “Caesars, The,” Baker Encyclopedia of the Bible (Grand Rapids, MI: Baker Book House, 1988), 394. 8 John B. Polhill, “Acts,” in Holman Concise Bible Commentary, ed. David S. Dockery (Nashville, TN: Broadman & Holman Publishers, 1998), 516. 9 Patrick Schreiner, “Evaluating the Validity of the ‘Three Missionary Journeys’ Structuring Motif in Acts” Journal of the Evangelical Theological Society Vol. 63, No.3, (2020), 514. 10 Rose Publishing; Illustrated edition. Rose Book of Bible & Christian History Timelines. Peabody: Hendrickson Publishers, 2006.
Bibliography
Dockery, David S. Holman Concise Bible Commentary. Nashville: Holman Reference, 1998. Easton, M.G. Easton’s Bible Dictionary. Logos Systems, Inc., 1893. Elwell, Walter A. Baker Encyclopedia of the Bible. Grand Rapids: Baker Book House, 1988. Garlington, Don. An Exposition of Galatians: A Reading from the New Perspective. Eugene: Wipf and Stock Publishers, 2007. Lange, John Peter. “A Commentary on the Holy Scriptures: Acts.” In the Acts of the Apostles, An Exegetical and Doctrinal Commentary, by D.D. Gotthard V. Lechler, 480. New York: Charles Scribner & Co., 1867. Lawson, Steven J. Pillars of Grace. Orlando: Reformation Trust, 2011. The Lexham Bible Dictionary. Bellingham, 2016. Moo, D.A. Carson & Douglas J. An Introduction to the New Testament. Grand Rapids: Zondervan, 2005. Rose Publishing; Illustrated edition. Rose Book of Bible & Christian History Timelines. Peabody: Hendrickson Publishers, 2006. Schreiner, Patrick. “Evaluating the Validity of the “Three Missionary Journeys” Structuring Motif in Acts.” Journal of the Evangelical Theological Society, 2020: 505-516.
When considering how God prepared Paul for his work among both Jews and Gentiles during his life, there were very specific outcomes both favorable and unfavorable to many people. Especially concerning those who were in Jerusalem and well beyond that into Asia Minor and Macedonia.
After Jesus confronted Paul on the road to Damascus, the Holy Spirit entered Paul through Ananias’s appointed visit. Jesus had informed Ananias that Paul must carry His name before the Gentiles and that he would suffer for the sake of His name. So as Ananias prayed and placed his hands upon Paul, his sight was restored, and the Holy Spirit took up residence within Paul to begin the work that Jesus had set up for Paul to accomplish. As Paul was a fierce adversary of the Church, Jesus selected Paul and transformed that energy and drive into work for the Kingdom. Along the way, Paul’s hardened character would withstand numerous trials and abuses as a cost of proclaiming the gospel to people both receptive and hostile.
Jesus chose an aggressive iron workhorse, so to speak, for the work of His Kingdom. His hardened constitution, intelligence, background, and grit oriented him to take the gospel to many Gentile peoples through the Holy Spirit’s guidance, care, protection, and inspiration. Moreover, his strong spirit was integral to the Holy Spirit’s work in the early church to resolve issues surrounding the integrity of the gospel among Judaizers and Jewish Church leaders who insisted on keeping Hebrew traditions and requirements. Peter, James, John, and others at the Jerusalem council rejected undue attachments to the gospel and supported both Paul and Barnabas in their missionary efforts and teaching. To the relief of God-fearers outside Judea and Samaria, Gentiles who attended synagogues to worship and honor Yahweh were overjoyed at the news of the gospel. Yet also of their acceptance and freedom to love and serve Him in truth.
Before Paul’s transformation, he witnessed the killing of Stephen. In fact, he indirectly and passively participated through his approval. Among the mob, he heard Stephen’s message to include the testimonies and pleadings of others he persecuted. Through violence, trauma, and social upheaval, Paul caused immense harm to the early Church. Thinking he was serving the interests of Judaism, its traditions, and the leadership in Jerusalem, the magnitude of his error was stratospheric. Yet while he was in full-speed motion in the wrong direction while carrying about in evil conduct against the Church, he pressed upon individuals one-by-one until he would bring them all to “justice.” Offended by betrayal against tradition and who the Messiah was to be, he became an outspoken critic and violent persecutor of people who were actually followers of Christ he would come to know.
Jesus selected Paul as a qualified higher caliber Israelite with an impressive background to promptly and permanently refute attempts to dismiss his credibility, zeal, ethnicity, and righteousness. His experience, academics, hardships, dangers, persecutions, and sufferings were a testimony to the truth of his proclamations, teachings, and claims. His pedigree was potent enough to render accusations and criticisms against him as nonsense. There would be no room for indifference or dismissal of his messages from false perceptions surrounding an inferior background people might have assumed. As a Jewish and Roman citizen, he was a well-developed and resourceful individual, multilingual, and highly educated. He was highly qualified and well-formed to speak with influence and authority before his Hebrew contemporaries, the indigent, and distant Gentiles, about historical covenants, the law, and prophetic promises concerning their Messiah. Yet who prevailed upon Paul was Christ as witnessed by many. As everything else he achieved was counted as loss for the sake of his treasured possession in Jesus as Lord.
On the verge of shipwreck, Paul the Apostle as a prisoner of Rome is with a crew of sailors, soldiers, and prisoners on a vessel bound for Italy. They were about 276 persons in all. By the revelation of the Lord Jesus’ presence that Paul was to go before Caesar. To answer false accusations, but also to bring his testimony before Gentiles. Some Gentiles of which were of considerable influence and were being made accountable before the living God. They were made accountable in the hearing of Paul’s testimony while appearing before king Agrippa, governors Felix and Festus, and emperor Caesar. He witnessed that the Lord Jesus was pressing upon them the meaning of God’s kingdom as spoken of by Himself and the prophets.
Throughout Acts, from Pentecost all the way to Paul’s missionary journeys, the Holy Spirit was bringing to life Gentiles throughout numerous far-off locations. As the good news of redemption through Jesus made its way beyond the Jews, Paul the Apostle through great hardship carried the gospel to the common person.
So as commissioned by the Lord, Paul fully obeyed and sought to honor our Most High King. Among 276 souls and through distress, fear, uncertainty, beatings, imprisonment, and poisoning, he was brought through by what Jesus had him do. For His glory and for the people claimed for His kingdom.
That even when the Lord’s originally chosen people would not accept the prophets or Himself, His apostles would take the gospel to the common people, and the Lord would breathe His Spirit among them and bring them to life.
As it is written:
“Therefore let it be known to you that this salvation of God has been sent to the Gentiles; they will also listen.” [When he had spoken these words, the Jews departed, having a great dispute among themselves.] And he stayed two full years in his own rented quarters and was welcoming all who came to him, preaching the kingdom of God and teaching concerning the Lord Jesus Christ with all openness, unhindered.” -Acts 28:28-31
