What does one do while in Rome? Years ago when we were in Rome, we asked our guide to take us to the Via Appia or Appian Way. There Melanie, Casey, and I walked on the ancient Roman road which Paul used to come up to Rome from the port of Puteoli. The stones where we walked were large, shiny black stones made of basalt.
When Paul walked that road, he did not walk alone. After surviving a shipwreck and snake bite, Paul landed in Puteoli and found fellow believers there. Paul shared his story and continued to proclaim the good news of Jesus.
Although he was a prisoner, Paul enjoyed the freedom of living in a rented house with a Roman soldier as his guard. The day would come when Paul would be killed for serving Christ. But for a season, he preached Christ boldly and without hindrance. Luke shows us that the gospel is finally unstoppable.
In Acts 1:8, Luke records Jesus’ words to his disciples. “You will be my witnesses in Jerusalem, Judea, Samaria, and to the uttermost parts of the earth.” The book of Acts shows how the Holy Spirit empowered the early believers to take the gospel all the way to the capital city of the Roman Empire. Thankfully it did not stop there. How do we know? The gospel has made it all the way to you and to me. It must not stop with us. We have a story to tell. With whom will we share it today?
