Paul and Nero – Acts 28, Philippians and 2 Timothy

Paul lived and traveled under four Imperial rulers in his life – Tiberius (14-37 CE), Caligula (37-41 CE), Claudius (41-54 CE) and Nero (54-68 CE). Tiberius and Caligula were princeps during Paul’s unsaved life, and neither seemed to care much of the beginnings of the Christian movement. Emperor Claudius expelled the Jews from Rome because of unrest evoked by Christians: “Since the Jews constantly made disturbances at the instigation of Chrestus, he [Emperor Claudius] expelled them from Rome” (Suetonius, Life of Claudius, 25:4; Acts 18:2). Officially, Emperor Claudius died at around noon on 13 October 54. Unofficially, he died during the preceding night or just before dawn. The “missing” hours were needed for Agrippina, after having a significant hand in her husband’s death,  to make the proper arrangements for the smooth transition of power. Initially, Agrippina made little effort to conceal her expectations control. She had several enemies openly killed, and was even found on coinage.

Though the first years of Nero’s reign (54−59) were widely regarded as excellent, the accession of Nero as the fifth “princeps” in 54 saw a young and inexperienced prince elevated to the most powerful office in the world, and it was a recipe for disaster. Nero initially did quite well, in particular because of the influence of advisors Seneca, Nero’s tutor and Burrus, the Praetorian prefect, who held his vices in check. He ruled with reason and moderation on the surace. Behind the scenes, there were worrying indications as Nero chafed against the influence of his mother (who placed his counselors around him. As he grew into the role, he showed less and less interest in mundane administration, but treasured writing poetry and pursuing music, and the thrill of gaming. Agrippina his mother did not like what she saw. What she didn’t see was his deep drives in sexual vices.

Nero, at one point early fell in love with a freedwoman named Acte (55 CE). Seneca and Burrus tolerated the affair, but Agrippina was appalled. Agrippina publicly upbraided her son for his feelings, and began to extol the virtues of Britannicus (a possible rival to the throne). Nero had Britannicus poisoned and his mother removed to her own house, and her imperial guard was withdrawn. She faded from the coinage of Rome from that time. The next we hear of her is in the writings of Tacitus in the year 59.

By the year 59 CE, Paul was awaiting trial in Caesarea, and that year marked a turning point in Nero’s reign for three reasons:

• First, he performed on stage for the first time. Nero had been devoting himself to playing the lyre, singing, acting, and composing poetry. To put Nero’s desire to perform in perspective, we must appreciate the fact that stage performers usually came from the lower orders. The Roman aristocracy found them repellent. He knew his mother would never approve of such behavior.

• Second, he fell in love with Poppaea Sabina (of Pompeii): a beautiful woman that was in her second marriage when Nero and her rendezvoused in love (She was married to general Otho). She was later to die, likely being kicked to death while pregnant by Nero himself, if Suetonius is to be believed.

• Third, he killed his own mother. An ex-slave called Anicetus built a collapsible boat to make the murder look like a maritime accident. When she survived, Nero dispatched with a column of troops, who surrounded the villa, and Agrippina was then hacked to death by her son’s soldiers.

In 59 and, Nero indulged a fantasy and donned racing chariots, an even newer low for the Roman princeps. His lyre-playing and singing annoyed the social upper classes. By 60, Nero staged the “Neronia” (humbly named after the sponsor!): a literary, musical, gymnastic, and equestrian competition modeled on Greek spectacles.

Paul likely met Nero for his first hearing in the end of the year 61 CE (following William Ramsey’s date). He had been staying at his own expense under guard in a small area close to the Tiber where tanners and dyers had their operations. He lived in modest chambers and offered us letters like Ephesians, Philippians, Colossians and Philemon. Particularly in Philippians, one can see the hope of the future, as Paul felt optimistic that he could explain his faith in non-threatening terms to the state. He wrote to the Philippians toward the end of his house arrest, anticipating the trial with confidence:

Phil 1:12 “Now I want you to know, brethren, that my circumstances have turned out for the greater progress of the gospel, 13 so that my imprisonment in the cause of Christ has become well known throughout the whole praetorian guard and to everyone else, 14and that most of the brethren, trusting in the Lord because of my imprisonment, have far more courage to speak the word of God without fear.”

In essence, the charge made against him regarded an issue for Jewish courts – the violation of a barrier in the Temple past which he was accused of taking a non-Jew. It was not a capital crime, and Paul felt he could argue effectively. Dr. Luke apparently volunteered to come along with Paul in his transport, which implies openly that he traveled as his slave to Rome in Acts 28 (or would not have been afforded the opportunity). He suffered the shipwreck on the way, but offered the confidence and hope Paul needed on cold nights facing his trial. During the time of his house arrest, Paul seems to have sent his companions on deliveries (Luke may have carried Philippians, Aristarchus and Epaphrus were sent back toward Asia Minor. Demas was with him, but Paul had doubts about his reliability. The last part of his time in Rome he was mostly alone but he was soon released and began to travel again.

While in Rome in the year 62 CE, an earthquake (subduction in the Bay of Naples) caused a tsunami with a tidal wave that swamped the ships at Ostia harbor near to Rome, ruining as much as one third of the Alexandrian grain. Coins were minted to show the people that all was well in spite of the disaster, but Nero must have found himself scrambling to meet the needs of the people for bread in that year.

Paul was released to travel more between the years 62 and 65. After he departed Rome, it appears that he went to Crete (2 Tim. 4:17) with Timothy and Titus, leaving Titus to organize the church there. He and Timothy headed to Macedonia (1 Tim. 1:13) and over to Ephesus, where Paul excommunicated to trouble makers (Hymenaeus and Alexander, 1 Tim. 1:20) and left Timothy to work on the restoration of the believers there. Back to Macedonia he went, issuing letters to both Titus in Crete and Timothy in Ephesus. Traveling back to Asia Minor, Alexander the metalworker aided men in arresting Paul at Troas (2 Tim. 4:20). He was transferred to Miletos and back to Rome via ship. This time, the mood had changed.

During Paul’s travels in 64 CE, Nero raced chariots in public at Naples. These games helped to bring hope back to the region, still dealing with the blow of the earthquake two years earlier. Many public works were under repair. By mid July of 64, the fire of Rome started in shops near the Circus Maximus, devastating the surrounding hills as people poured into the narrow streets and were suffocated, crushed, or roasted alive in their flight. Nero was at his estate at Antium on the coast and returned to the city, opening public buildings to refugees, offering food and supplies Ten days after the fire, it was obvious the devastation was massive.

Nero singled out the strange eastern cultists called Christians as the problem. Rome basically allowed religious traditions to coexist unless they threatened the public order or cross purposed with Roman interests. Since failure to perform the required rituals risked the wrath of the gods, (seen in fires, floods, etc.) Christians seemed likely culprits. They disapproved of the rituals that were so vital to the welfare of the community and upset the social order by refusing to recognize rank in their membership.

Paul may have arrived back in Rome as early as 66, but Nero was gone for a year in Greece to compete in the Greek festivals, where he (shockingly) won every game (including ones he never participate in!). Nero returned to Rome late in 67, but continued to act, sing, recite poetry, and race in public – where our sources reflect that the elite felt that Nero’s artistic performances were the height of irresponsibility. Though the Emperor returned in an exceptional mood, the palace and the Senate’s tenor quickly collapsed his mood to one of darkness. In that state, Paul knew he stood virtually no chance. More than that, it appears Paul sensed his time was near. 2 Timothy was his response to the realization that he wasn’t going to be on the earth much longer. Listen to the tone of these words:

2 Timothy 4:6 “For I am already being poured out as a drink offering, and the time of my departure has come. 7I have fought the good fight, I have finished the course, I have kept the faith; 8in the future there is laid up for me the crown of righteousness, which the Lord, the righteous Judge, will award to me on that day; and not only to me, but also to all who have loved His appearing.”

Luke remained a faithful companion (2 Tim. 4:11), but there were few who could see or hear from Paul unless he went to extraordinary measures to get a message out. I am very glad that he DID get a letter to Timothy!

(For a great discussion on these times, check out St. Paul: Traveler and Roman Citizen by William Ramsey as well as the lectures of Dr. Garrett Fagan. Both are excellent and rewarding for the research.)