Bible Timeline · About AD 60 to 62

Paul in Chains in Rome

After two years in prison at Caesarea, Paul appealed to Caesar and was shipped to Rome. A storm wrecked the ship on Malta, but all 276 people survived. In Rome Paul spent two years under house arrest, welcoming visitors and writing Ephesians, Philippians, Colossians and Philemon.

Read it in the Bible: Acts 25-28 Philippians 1:12-14 Ephesians 3:1 Ephesians 6:20 Colossians 4:18 Philemon 1:8-16

About AD 60, the apostle Paul arrived in Rome, not as a free traveler but as a prisoner chained to a Roman soldier. He had appealed to Caesar after two years in custody in Caesarea, survived a shipwreck on the island of Malta, and finally reached the capital of the empire. For the next two years, about AD 60 to 62, he lived under house arrest in a rented home, preaching to everyone who came and writing four letters that are now in the New Testament: Ephesians, Philippians, Colossians and Philemon. Acts ends right there, with the gospel going out unhindered from the heart of the empire.

Paul stayed there two full years in his own rented house, welcoming all who came to visit him. Boldly and freely he proclaimed the kingdom of God and taught about the Lord Jesus Christ. Acts 28:30 to 31

Why Was Paul Sent to Rome?

About AD 57, at the end of his third missionary journey, Paul was mobbed in the Jerusalem temple by people who thought he had brought a Gentile inside. Roman soldiers rescued him and then held him. When forty men vowed not to eat until they killed him, the Romans moved him by night to Caesarea under heavy guard.

In Caesarea, Paul stood before the governor Felix, who kept him in prison for two years hoping for a bribe, Acts 24:26 to 27. When the next governor, Festus, suggested sending him back to Jerusalem for trial, Paul used his right as a Roman citizen.

But if there is no truth to their accusations against me, no one has the right to hand me over to them. I appeal to Caesar!” Acts 25:11

Before he left, Paul also told his story to King Herod Agrippa II, the son of the Herod who killed James. Agrippa said, Can you persuade me in such a short time to become a Christian? Acts 26:28. Paul answered that he wished everyone listening would become what he was, except for these chains. The emperor Paul appealed to was Nero, who ruled from AD 54 to 68.

What Happened in Paul’s Shipwreck?

Acts 27 is one of the most detailed sea voyage stories from the ancient world. Luke was on board, so he writes as we. Paul sailed under guard of a centurion named Julius. It was late in the season, after the Fast, the Day of Atonement in the fall, when sailing the Mediterranean got dangerous. Paul warned them to wait for spring. The ship’s owner and captain disagreed, and the centurion sided with the professionals.

Then a violent wind called the Northeaster hit. For two weeks the ship was driven across the sea. The crew threw cargo and tackle overboard. Neither sun nor stars appeared for many days, and Luke says they gave up all hope. Then Paul stood up with a message.

For just last night an angel of the God to whom I belong and whom I serve stood beside me and said, ‘Do not be afraid, Paul; you must stand before Caesar. And look, God has granted you the lives of all who sail with you.’ So take courage, men, for I believe God that it will happen just as He told me. Acts 27:23 to 25

On the fourteenth night the sailors sensed land. Paul urged everyone to eat, gave thanks for bread in front of them all, and they took heart. At dawn the ship ran aground and began breaking apart. The soldiers planned to kill the prisoners so none would escape, but the centurion stopped them to save Paul. Some swam, others floated on planks, and all 276 people on board made it safely to shore, Acts 27:37 to 44.

What Happened to Paul on Malta?

The island was Malta, south of Sicily. The locals built a fire for the soaked survivors. As Paul laid a bundle of sticks on it, a viper fastened onto his hand. The islanders decided he must be a murderer whom justice had caught at last. When he shook it into the fire and did not swell up or drop dead, they changed their minds and decided he was a god. Paul was neither. He was just a man under God’s protection.

Paul then healed the father of Publius, the island’s chief official, and the rest of the sick on the island came and were healed too. After three months, they sailed for Italy on an Alexandrian ship. Malta still remembers Paul. Its people honor him as the one who brought them the faith, and they celebrate the shipwreck every February 10.

What Was Paul’s House Arrest in Rome Like?

Believers in Rome heard Paul was coming and walked out along the Appian Way as far as the Forum of Appius and the Three Taverns to meet him, about 33 to 43 miles from the city. When Paul saw them, he thanked God and took courage, Acts 28:15.

In Rome, Paul was allowed to live by himself with a soldier guarding him, Acts 28:16. He was probably chained to that soldier, with guards rotating in shifts. That means a long line of Roman soldiers heard the gospel whether they wanted to or not. Paul called together the Jewish leaders in Rome and explained the gospel from Moses and the Prophets. Some believed and some did not. Then he kept teaching everyone who came for two whole years.

What Are Paul’s Prison Letters?

Four of Paul’s letters say he wrote them in chains. Most scholars believe he wrote them during this Roman imprisonment, about AD 60 to 62. Some think one or more came from an earlier imprisonment in Ephesus, about AD 54 to 55, or from Caesarea.

Ephesians describes the church as one body of Jews and Gentiles, and ends with the armor of God. Paul calls himself an ambassador in chains, Ephesians 6:20.
Philippians is Paul’s most joyful letter, written to a church that loved him. He mentions the palace guard and the household of Caesar, Philippians 4:22.
Colossians shows that Christ is supreme over all creation. Paul signs it himself and says, Remember my chains, Colossians 4:18.
Philemon is a short personal note asking Philemon to welcome back Onesimus, a runaway slave who became a believer, no longer as a slave but as a beloved brother.

Here is what Paul said about his arrest from inside it.

Now I want you to know, brothers, that my circumstances have actually served to advance the gospel. As a result, it has become clear throughout the whole palace guard and to everyone else that I am in chains for Christ. And most of the brothers, confident in the Lord by my chains, now dare more greatly to speak the word without fear. Philippians 1:12 to 14

What Happened to Paul After Acts Ends?

Acts stops with Paul still waiting for trial. Many think Luke finished the book at that point, about AD 62. What happened next comes from Paul’s later letters and early church writers. Many believe Paul was released, traveled again, and wrote 1 Timothy and Titus, then was arrested a second time. Clement of Rome, writing about AD 96, says Paul reached the farthest limits of the West, which may mean Spain, Romans 15:24. Tradition says Paul was beheaded in Rome under Nero in the mid 60s. The article on the Great Fire of Rome and the deaths of Peter and Paul tells that part.

What Paul’s Chains Mean for You Today

Paul did not let prison stop his mission. He turned guards into an audience and a rented room into a church. He wrote some of his most hopeful words with a chain on his wrist.

For to me, to live is Christ, and to die is gain. Philippians 1:21

You may never be shipwrecked or arrested, but everyone has seasons that feel like chains. Paul’s story says God can use even those. As he wrote later from prison, the word of God cannot be chained, 2 Timothy 2:9.

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Questions People Ask

How did Paul end up in Rome?

Paul was arrested in Jerusalem about AD 57 and held for two years in Caesarea. When Governor Festus wanted to send him back to Jerusalem, Paul used his right as a Roman citizen and appealed to Caesar, Acts 25:11. He was then shipped to Rome under guard.

Where was Paul shipwrecked?

Paul was shipwrecked on the island of Malta, south of Sicily, Acts 28:1. All 276 people on board survived. Malta still honors Paul and celebrates the shipwreck each year on February 10.

What are Paul's prison letters?

The prison letters are Ephesians, Philippians, Colossians and Philemon. Each says Paul wrote it in chains. Most scholars believe he wrote them during his house arrest in Rome about AD 60 to 62, though some suggest Ephesus or Caesarea.

How long was Paul under house arrest in Rome?

Acts 28:30 says Paul stayed two full years in his own rented house in Rome. He was guarded by a soldier but was free to welcome visitors and preach the kingdom of God.

Was Paul released from his first imprisonment in Rome?

Acts does not say. Many believe he was released about AD 62, traveled again and wrote 1 Timothy and Titus, then was arrested again and executed under Nero. Clement of Rome, about AD 96, says Paul reached the farthest limits of the West.

Sources

← The Council of Jerusalem The Great Fire of Rome and the Deaths of Peter and Paul →

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