Bold Without Fear: How Paul's Imprisonment Helped Others Proclaim the Gospel - Philippians 1:12-18

Commentary

Revd. Mark Fletcher: Verse 13, he says: “So it has become known throughout the whole imperial guard and to everyone else that my imprisonment is for Christ.” And you know that word Christ is the word for king, anointed king. And so the soldiers surrounding Paul, the ones who were guarding him, and these are not just any soldiers, by the way. These are the palace guard or the Praetorian. They are the elite soldiers who protect the Roman emperor. And one way or another, they are hearing about Christ. And some of them are becoming Christians. And it’s a really significant thing. I don’t know if you know, but in actual fact, the Roman military was one of the main ways that the gospel was spread throughout the empire. It may well have been that the gospel was first carried to Switzerland or to England in the heart and life of a Roman soldier. And the story of the conversion of the first Christian emperor, which is an incredible thing, Constantine the Great, who says he was converted because he saw a cross in the sky, may actually have been more about the political expediency of the fact that the majority of the soldiers in the empire had become Christians. And so this is really significant. People are being converted because they understand that Paul is standing for Christ in the face of the empire. And that seems to be inspiring the church. Verse 14: “Because of my chains, most of the brothers and sisters have become more confident in the Lord and dare all the more to proclaim the gospel without fear.” Isn’t there something slightly surprising about that? Paul is arrested and imprisoned, and yet that somehow makes the church more bold in their proclamation. And I think it tells us something about how the early church sees itself. You know, they believe that Jesus is the true king. They long for a better world. They don’t sit comfortably with the status quo. And so, despite opposition and even persecution by the most powerful empire the world had ever seen, Christians were being converted, churches were springing up. And they are inspired by Paul’s faithful witness, even though it is costly. Like a sort of Nelson Mandela on Robben Island, Paul is a symbol of resistance to an oppressive and corrupt regime. Paul says in verse 16: “I have been put here for the defence of the gospel.”