Ad Majorem Dei Gloriam (To the Greater Glory of God)
From: Acts 28:16-20, 30-31
Arrival in Rome (Continuation)
---------------------------------------
[16] And when we came into Rome, Paul was allowed to stay by himself, with the soldier that guarded him.
Paul and the Roman Jews
---------------------------------
[17] After three days he called together the local leaders of the Jews; and when they had gathered, he said to them, "Brethren, though I had done nothing against the people or the customs of our fathers, yet I was delivered prisoner from Jerusalem into the hands of the Romans. [18] When they had examined me, they wished to set me at liberty, because there was no reason for the death penalty in my case. [19] But when the Jews objected, I was compelled to appeal to Caesar though I had no charge to bring against my nation. [20] For this reason therefore I have asked to see you and speak with you since it is because of the hope of Israel that I am bound with this chain."
Paul's Ministry in Rome
-------------------------------
[30] And he lived there two whole years at his own expense and welcomed all who came to him, [31] preaching the kingdom of God and teaching about the Lord Jesus Christ quite openly and unhindered.
***********************************************************************
Commentary:
16. Paul must have arrived in Rome around the year 61. He was allowed to stay in a private house; in other words he was under "custodia militaris", which meant that the only restriction was that he was guarded by a soldier at all times.
This is the last verse where St Luke uses the first person plural.
17. In keeping with his missionary custom, Paul immediately addresses the Jews of Rome; in fact there is no further mention of his contact with the Christians in the city. The Apostle wants to give his fellow Jews a kind of last opportunity to hear and understand the Gospel. He presents himself as a member of the Jewish community who wants to take a normal part in the life of that community and feels he has to explain his own position.
19. The use of Roman privileges by a Jew might have been regarded by Jews as a sign of disrespect towards their own beliefs and customs. Therefore, Paul tries to explain why he took the exceptional step of invoking his Roman citizenship and appealing to Caesar.
30-31. "Not only was he not forbidden to preach in Rome", St Bede writes, "but despite the enormous power of Nero and all his crimes which history reports, he remained free to proclaim the Gospel of Christ to the furthest parts of the West, as he himself writes to the Romans: 'At present, however, I am going to Jerusalem with aid for the saints' (Rom 15:25); and a little later: 'When therefore I have completed this, and have delivered to them what has been raised, I shall go on by way of you to Spain' (v. 28). Finally he was crowned with martyrdom in the last years of Nero" ("Super Act Expositio, ad loc.").
We do not know exactly what happened at the end of the two years. It may be that Paul's Jewish accusers did not appear, or they may have argued their case before the imperial tribunal and Paul was found not guilty. At any event, he was set free and Luke considers his task done--the work God gave him to do when he inspired him to write his book.
"If you ask me", St John Chrysostom observes, "why St Luke, who stayed with the Apostle up to his martyrdom, did not bring his narrative up to that point, I will reply that the Book of the Acts, in the form that has come down to us, perfectly fulfills its author's purpose. For the evangelists' only aim was to write down the most essential things" ("Hom. on Acts", 1).
The kind of conventional way the book concludes has led many commentators (from early times up to the present day) to think that it had already been finished before Paul's first imprisonment in Rome came to an end. Christian tradition has nothing very concrete to say about exactly when the Acts of the Apostles was written.
Peter's Primacy (Continuation)
---------------------------------------
[20] Peter turned and saw following them the disciple whom Jesus loved, and who had lain close to His breast at the supper and had said, "Lord, who is it that is going to betray You?" [21] When Peter saw Him, he said to Jesus, "Lord, what about this man?" [22] Jesus said to him, "If it is My will that he remain until I come, what is that to you? Follow Me!" [23] The saying spread abroad among the brethren that this disciple was not to die; yet Jesus did not say to him that he was not to die, but, "If it is My will that he remain until I come, what is that to you?"
Conclusion
--------------
[24] This is the disciple who is bearing witness to these things, and who has written these things; and we know that his testimony is true.
[25] But there are also many other things which Jesus did; were every one of them to be written, I suppose that the world itself could not contain the books that would be written.
***********************************************************************
Commentary:
20-23. According to St. Irenaeus ("Against Heresies", II, 22, 5; III, 3, 4) St. John outlived all the other Apostles, into the reign of Trajan (98-117 A.D.). Possibly the evangelist wrote these verses to dispel the idea that he would not die. According to the text, Jesus does not reply to Peter's question. The important thing is not to be curious about what the future will bring but to serve the Lord faithfully, keeping to the way He has marked out for one.
24. This is an appeal to the testimony of the disciple "whom Jesus loved" as a guarantee of the veracity of everything contained in the book: everything which this Gospel says should be accepted by its readers as being absolutely true.
Many modern commentators think that verses 24 and 25 were added by disciples of the Apostle, as a conclusion to the Gospel, when it began to be circulated, a short time after St. John completed it. Be that as it may, the fact is that both verses are to be found in all extant manuscripts of the Fourth Gospel.
25. St. John's account, written under the inspiration of the Holy Spirit, has as its purpose the strengthening of our faith in Jesus Christ through reflecting on what our Lord said and did. Like the Fourth Gospel, we shall never be able to capture the full richness and depth of our Lord's personality. "Once one begins to be interested in Christ, one's interest can never cease. There is always something more to be known, to be said--infinitely more. St. John the Evangelist ends his Gospel making this very point (John 21:25). Everything to do with Christ is so rich, there are such depths for us to explore; such light, strength, joy, desire have their source in Him. [...] His coming to the world, His presence in history and culture and [...] His vital relationship with our conscience: everything suggests that it is unseemly, unscientific and irreverent ever to think that we need not and cannot advance further in contemplation of Jesus Christ" (St Paul VI, "General Audience", 20 February 1974).