“the time is coming when anyone who kills you will think they are offering a service to God” (John 16:2).

They wanted to kill Paul.  And they were actively trying to do so.

Why?

He had done nothing wrong. He did not raise up a crowd.  He did not desecrate the temple. He did not blaspheme.

The true root was jealousy.  The ideological root was trying to stamp out a belief system that opposed what they believed.  A belief system thought to be “dangerous,” although it promoted nothing but love.

Sometimes it feels like reading the book of Acts is reading today’s newspapers.  The world is still trying to stamp out the Christian faith by killing it off.  And they do so thinking they have the moral high ground.

Paul could have been set free.  Instead, he used his imprisonment as an opportunity to get to Rome, something he had wanted to do for a long time.

The Holy Spirit warned him and Paul knew it would end in his death.  But prior to that, he was free to preach for 2 years in Rome.  Something that he always wanted to do and was willing to pay the price.

What the people wanted to do for evil, God used it for good.  It got Paul where he wanted to be.  To preach the gospel to the ends of the earth.