When was paul imprisoned in caesarea

So, rather than seeing this new imprisonment as a great tragedy, he took an optimistic view of it. He is reported to have said, "I have been away from my writing too long. Now, we should all admire someone who accomplishes so much for Christ while in prison. In this series we study the letters of Paul that are commonly called his "prison epistles," These are letters to various churches and people that Paul wrote while he was in prison for his service to Christ.

And third, we will examine the theological unity of the prison epistles, focusing on some major themes that they all share. One of the first things we should mention is that scholars are somewhat divided on the place Paul was imprisoned when he wrote his letters to the Colossians, Philemon, the Ephesians, and the Philippians. Some believe that he wrote from Caesarea, while others believe that he wrote from Rome.

In this lesson, we will argue that Paul probably wrote from Rome, although this detail will not be critical to any of our interpretations. Nevertheless, because respected scholars disagree on these matters, we should discuss his time in both cities. Next, we will explore the events surrounding his arrest in Jerusalem, and then his initial imprisonment in Caesarea. Finally, we will turn to his subsequent imprisonment in Rome.

Their intention was to deliver funds to the poor Christians in Jerusalem, who were enduring a famine. On their way, they stopped in Miletus, where Paul met with the elders from the nearby church of Ephesus. During this meeting, Paul revealed that the Holy Spirit had warned him that he would be imprisoned when he arrived in Jerusalem. But the Holy Spirit compelled Paul toward this imprisonment.

So, Paul knew that these prophecies were not intended to dissuade him from his course, but rather to prepare him for his coming hardships.

Paul had many enemies in Jerusalem, and he knew he might be arrested and imprisoned when he arrived. In Patara, they found a ship that took them past Cyprus before arriving in Tyre.

In Tyre, the Holy Spirit moved many more believers to warn Paul of the coming hardships in Jerusalem. But Paul was still determined to reach his goal. From Tyre, the group sailed to Ptolemais, then to Caesarea on the coast of Samaria. Because there were so many cities named Caesarea in the ancient world, this particular city is sometimes called "Caesarea Maritima," which means "Caesarea by the Sea," to distinguish it from the others. During his stay in Caesarea Maritima, Paul was warned yet again not to go to Jerusalem.

In a well-known dramatic scene, the prophet Agabus bound his own hands and feet as a prophetic sign, warning that Paul would be arrested and bound if he continued to Jerusalem.

But Paul knew that God was planning to use his arrest and imprisonment to further the gospel. As we read in Acts chapter 21 verse 13,. Paul understood that his coming imprisonment was would be "for the name of the Lord Jesus. And Paul had good reason to trust the Holy Spirit as he faced these dangers. According to Acts chapter 16 verses 6 through 10, Paul had wanted to preach the gospel in Asia and Bythinia, but the Holy Spirit had prevented him.

Although this must have seemed strange to Paul, he obeyed the Spirit and traveled to Troas. But had Paul disobeyed the Holy Spirit by preaching in Asia and Bythinia, he would not have been able to preach in Macedonia. Through this experience and many others, Paul had come to follow the leading of the spirit to Jerusalem no matter what would happen there.

For Paul, it was enough to know what God wanted him to do and to trust that God would use this hardship to accomplish something wonderful and unexpected. He completed his third missionary journey by traveling to Jerusalem, probably in the year A. According to Acts chapter 20 verse 16, he may have arrived near the time of Pentecost, around the beginning of summer.

How did Paul come into conflict with the authorities in Jerusalem? Why was he imprisoned? When Paul arrived in Jerusalem, he stayed with a believer named Mnason, and was well received by the church. The elders of the church in Jerusalem also gathered to meet Paul. Presumably, it was at this point that Paul delivered to the church the famine relief funds that he had collected during his third missionary journey.

Paul hoped that when the Jewish Christians received this gift from the Gentiles, their thankfulness would make them more eager to receive the Gentiles as full brothers in Christ. Probably, this indicates that the Jerusalem church did not appreciate the famine relief funds as greatly as Paul had hoped they would. Specifically, it was rumored that Paul taught Jewish Christians living among Gentiles to disregard traditional Jewish practices, such as circumcision.

Now, the Jewish Christians in Jerusalem strongly believed that all Jewish Christians should maintain traditional Jewish practices. And James and the elders were concerned that the local Jewish Christians would oppose Paul because of these rumors.

We should pause for a moment to point out that these rumors about Paul were false. Throughout his epistles, Paul affirmed the validity of the moral law of God found in the Old Testament. And beyond this, he did not even encourage Jewish communities to abandon the traditions they had added to the Mosaic Law. On the contrary, he himself followed Jewish tradition when he was in Jewish communities. However, he did teach that with the death and resurrection of Christ, a new age had dawned.

And as he explained in his epistles, neither Gentiles nor Jews were required to maintain these traditions. Christians should generally hold Jewish traditions in high regard, but only for the sake of spreading the gospel among unbelieving Jews. Listen to the way he described his position on these matters in 1 Corinthians chapter 9 verses 20 and Paul did not hesitate to behave like a Gentile when he was among Gentiles.

But he was also happy to follow Jewish traditions for the sake of the gospel. Now, God did not obligate Paul to maintain these traditional Jewish applications of Old Testament law. As Paul said here, he was free to abandon these traditional practices. It is not hard to imagine how such a carefully nuanced doctrine might have been misunderstood, or why it might have been rumored that Paul taught Jews to abandon their traditions. In any event, James and the elders came up with a solution that they believed would satisfy the Jewish Christians in Jerusalem.

Specifically, they suggested that Paul demonstrate his commitment to the Mosaic Law by participating in the rituals of the temple in Jerusalem. In particular, they urged him to undergo purification rites with four men who had taken Nazirite vows. As the apostle to the Gentiles, Paul knew that his actions would affect the way the Jewish Christians perceived not only him, but also the Gentile Christians.

The temple grounds included both an outer court and inner court. The outer court was separated from the inner court by a gate. The outer court was called the court of the Gentiles because people from all nations were permitted to enter it. But the inner court, the court of Israel, was reserved for Jews alone. Gentiles who entered the court of Israel were liable unto death. These were very likely unbelieving Jews rather than Christian converts from Judaism. Earlier, these same Jews had seen Paul with a man named Trophimus, who had accompanied Paul to Jerusalem.

So, when they saw Paul in the court of Israel, they wrongly assumed that Trophimus had also entered that court, and they were outraged. In response, these Jews roused the city against Paul, and an angry mob dragged him from the court of Israel, intent on killing him. But when the commander of the Roman garrison in Jerusalem heard that the city was rioting, he rushed to quell the disturbance, chained Paul, and took him into custody.

As a citizen of Rome, Paul was entitled to special legal protections, including the right not to be chained or beaten without a trial. The next day, Lysias presented Paul before the Sanhedrin, the Jewish ruling body, in order to discover the allegations against him.

Apparently, no witnesses came forward to testify that Trophimus had entered the court of Israel, so Paul was free to defend himself by explaining why so many Jews had taken offense to his teachings.

Paul claimed that the Sadducees opposed him because he was a Pharisee, and that the gospel he preached agreed with the teachings of the Pharisees on many points. In fact, this was true, especially with regard to the resurrection.

On the previous day, Paul had addressed the angry mob by explaining that Jesus had risen from the dead and had appeared to him in a vision, and had explained the gospel to him. So, when Paul proclaimed to the Sanhedrin that he preached a gospel based on his vision of the resurrected Christ, he gained some sympathy from the Pharisees.

Once the Pharisees realized that Paul counted himself a Pharisee, and agreed in many ways with their beliefs, they began to defend him in the Sanhedrin. But the Sadducees did not back down, and the meeting became extremely violent.

So, once again, Lysias took Paul into custody. The next day, Lysias intended to present Paul before the Sanhedrin once again, in order to get to the bottom of the allegations against him. Now, since Paul was a Roman citizen, Lysias was bound to protect him.

So, instead of sending him to the Sanhedrin, he transported Paul out of Jerusalem to the neighboring city of Caesarea Maritima, and into the custody of Felix, the governor of the Roman province of Judea. You will recall that Caesarea Maritima was on the coast of Samaria.

It was also the capital city of the Roman province Judea. When Paul first arrived in Caesarea, probably in A. Those accusing him included the high priest Ananias, a number of Jewish elders, and Tertullus, who was the lawyer for the group. When the accusers arrived, Felix held a hearing.

At this hearing, Tertullus argued that Paul disturbed the peace and incited riots. This was a very serious charge in the eyes of governor Felix, since it was his duty to keep peace in Judea. But even more importantly from the Jewish point of view, they also accused Paul of trying to violate the temple. The Jewish elders who were present affirmed this accusation, although none of them came forward as official witnesses.

Evidently, the Jews wholeheartedly believed the false rumors about Paul. They seem to have been convinced that Paul sought the downfall of Judaism, and that he would proudly admit to trying to desecrate the temple.

And so, the only witness the Jewish accusers called upon by name was Paul himself! Now, Paul was not a lawyer, but his response to his accusers was compelling. His defense had four main points:. First, he pointed out that there were no witnesses against him for any of the alleged crimes. This meant that there was no basis for any of their charges. This was an important point because Paul was accused of committing his crimes in broad daylight in a crowded area. If he had been guilty, certainly someone should have seen it.

Second, he rightly argued that others had disturbed the peace not he. The riot had been started by Jews from Asia Minor.

Paul was not a disturber of the Roman peace; the Jews were. This fact was confirmed by the letter from Lysias that accused the Jews of planning to assassinate Paul. Third, and perhaps to the surprise of his accusers, Paul insisted that he had had no desire to defile the temple. On the contrary, he believed everything written in the Scriptures, and he had come to the temple to worship. Fourth, Paul reminded the court that the Sanhedrin had not found him guilty.

This argument was quite damaging to the prosecution. The proper Jewish ruling body, the Sanhedrin, had not proven him guilty of the alleged crimes. Why then did they still seek to have him executed? Based on the insufficient accusations against Paul, Felix could have released him. Instead, he saw an opportunity for personal gain. Acts 9 May. Acts 10 May. Acts 11 May. Acts 12 May. Acts 13 May.

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Ephesians 2 Oct. Colossians 3 Oct. Colossians 4 Oct. Colossians 5 Oct. Colossians 6 Oct. Colossians 7 Oct. Colossians 8 Oct. Colossians 9 Oct. Philemon 10 Oct. Philemon 11 Oct. Philippians 12 Oct. Philippians 13 Oct.

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Luke 4 Dec. Luke 5 Dec. Luke 6 Dec. Mark 7 Dec. Matt , John 8 Dec. Mark 9 Dec. Matthew 10 Dec. Luke 11 Dec. Luke 12 Dec. He eventually arrives in the city and spends time in a hired house , while under arrest, for about two years as he awaits his trial and ultimate acquittal in the spring of 63 A.

In mid to late 67 Paul is arrested again but this time ends up in a jail cell in Rome. He is incarcerated until he is beheaded by the Romans around May or June of Technically speaking, the Apostle Paul is under arrest for about five years during his ministry. Although about two and one half years of this period is spent in a literal prison cell, the rest is spent either under house arrest or being escourted by a Roman soldier from Jerusalem to Rome.

Ask a Question! Question: What is the total amount of time Paul was in prison during his ministry? Athens - Berea. Caesarea - Corinth - Damascus. Ephesus - Malta - Miletus. From the rise of the antichrist, the mark of the beast, to the return of Christ and paradise restored.

What is the Bible Prophecy Timeline? How did you determine dates—particularly the time of creation? What are you primary sources for the timeline? Are you predicting when Christ will return? Can I view the timeline on an iPad or other tablet? What browsers support this timeline? Sign In Sign Out. Account Settings Sign In Close. The Timeline is divided into three major sections: Age of Patriarchs—Creation to c. Age of Israel—c. Age of Christ—c. Each of these sections are further divided into more specific time periods for ease of study.

Bainton, Roland H. New York: Abingdon Press, Bokenkotter, Thomas. A Concise History of the Catholic Church. New York: Double Day, Cannon, William R.

Courvoisier, Jaques. Zwingli: A Reformed Theologian. Richmond: John Knox Press, The Story of Christianity, Vol. New York: HarperOne, Heinze, Rudolph, W. Woodbridge and David F. Wright, series editor Tim Dowley. Grand Rapids: Baker, House, H.

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