03 - The Gospel Reaches Rome II

The Jews stopped work on the afternoon of the sixth day each and every week, and streamed homeward into the Jewish quarter from every part of the city. This was true of all, free-born Roman Jews, old inhabitants of the city, the half-free, and the slaves. No power had been able to break them of this habit for it was on this day that they stretched out their hands to each other to show their union as branches of the great tree of Israel. The rich brought baskets of tuna fish, caught in the Tiber. The poor brought baskets of vegetables, or little salted fish, which they fried in a coating of dough. The odor of onions and garlic wafted from Jewish homes and, although Gentiles made fun of the Jewish taste for these vegetables, they were attracted by the appetizing smell.

The Gentiles couldn’t understand how men could waste one day in seven, doing no work, but passing the hours in prayer and communion with their God, but every Friday afternoon they could hear the tumult of Sabbath preparations, the mingled noises of cooking and washing. When evening fell, tiny candles starred the darkness, and all Rome knew that the Jews had begun the celebration of their Sabbath.


One Friday, Priscilla prepared for an unusually large gathering. Besides the workers in her husband’s factory, she invited nearly half the membership of the synagogue, for a traveler had arrived from the Holy City with some very strange news.

This visitor had presented himself to the synagogue rulers with the fantastic story that Messiah had revealed himself, and the redemption had begun. The man said that he’d been baptized in Messiah’s name, and was fulfilling the commandments of Messiah by coming here. He was living in the hourly hope that the Kingdom of Heaven was about to begin.

Word spread with lightning speed, and a thrill of hope went through the community. Priscilla and Aquila immediately invited the man to be a guest in their home, and this was the reason for the special preparations and large invitation.

The Jews of Rome used the eating habits of the homeland, sitting on mattresses on the floor rather than half reclining on low couches like the Romans. The oldest and most honored ate from a low table. The others stood around the walls. A clean, white sheet was spread on the table, and light from the oil lamps placed on the sheet was reflected in the jar of Roman glass that held the red date wine. The table was loaded with vegetables, fried fish, and rolled cakes. The master of the house made the Sabbath benediction, after which the assembly ate the common meal. This was followed by the singing of certain verses from the Psalms. Finally the visitor, who sat at the head of the table next to the father of the synagogue, began to deliver his news of Messiah.

The man’s name was Andronicus, and though his name and language were Greek, his features showed that he was definitely a Jerusalem Jew. He was one of the oldest members of the congregation, and had personally heard Messiah himself preach in Jerusalem.

“Brothers in Israel,” he began, “I’m here to tell you that the holy Messiah of the God of Jacob came to us, but because of our many sins, we were not worthy and did not know him. Therefore he was delivered into the hands of the Gentiles, who tortured him beyond imagination. This was just as the prophets said, ‘He turned his cheek to the smiters and stretched out his body to be beaten.’

“He died for our sins. All of this was ordained by heaven, for our sakes, that he might atone for our sins, and that through his sufferings we might be raised from death, and win redemption. He took death on himself willingly, so that he might be a pure offering for all of us.

“But know this too, that he lives with God in the heavens, even as it is also written. He showed himself to his disciples; they saw him, just as we see each other here. And he sent them to carry the news of his coming to the world, and to prepare the world for him. For salvation will come suddenly like lightning at midday. Therefore we must be prepared. All that we go through today is the warning of his approach.

“The evil one grows stronger and rages against us in the form of Caesar, who would exalt himself above the Lord of the world and wipe out the name of God from the earth. That’s why he commanded that his image be placed in the Holy of Holies. I say that these are just birth pangs, and that redemption stands at the door, knocking and pleading for admission, even as the wisest of all men has sung, ‘The voice of my beloved calls, open my sister, my bride.’

“These words were written of Messiah, who knocks on our doors. Therefore we must be prepared for the day when Messiah comes on the clouds of heaven with the legions of the Lord of Hosts. He will ascend the judgment seat to judge the living and the dead. He will call together his flock, and the dead will rise from their graves, even as Daniel prophesied, ‘some to eternal life, some to eternal death.’”

The assembly shuddered in awe at this news.

“What must we do to be worthy of admission into the Kingdom of Heaven?” asked Zadoc, one of the fathers of the synagogue.

“You’ve heard that John came baptizing and preaching repentance,” resumed Adronicus. “John was Elijah the prophet, who fulfilled the prophecy, ‘A voice shall be heard crying in the wilderness.’ After him came the pure and holy Messiah of the God of Jacob, Jesus of Nazareth, who, though born of a women, was yet the messenger of the Lord. Therefore let everyone who desires to be saved and to enter into the kingdom of heaven be baptized in the name of Messiah, and let him believe with perfect faith that Jesus of Nazareth, who died for our sins and rose from the dead, is that Messiah.

“We must be a holy people, who love our enemies and forgive those who do us evil. We must purify our hearts, removing all sin and uncleanness. We must cling to him, and be made one with him. For his disciples teach that when they feasted together at the Passover, just before he sacrificed himself, he broke bread and gave them all to eat, saying, ‘This is my body.’ And he took a goblet, made the benediction, and gave them to drink, saying, ‘Drink, this is my blood.’ What else can this mean, but that all who believe in Messiah must become a part of him, must live in purity and holiness, even as he lived. This is what the disciples teach, and they learned it at the holy source.”

Andronicus went on to talk about the things Messiah taught, the deeds and wonders he performed, and the prayers he composed. He also told them more about his death and resurrection and of the martyrs in Jerusalem. One could have heard a pin drop as he told of Simon and John and of James, the lord’s brother, and of all the other holy ones. He told of the persecutions they’d had to endure and of the death of the martyr Stephen, who had died with the name of Messiah on his lips.

“And all those who believe in Messiah must be prepared to offer up their lives as testimony, and to suffer even as he suffered.”

Included in the story of persecutions was that of a certain young man named Saul, who persecuted the faithful in Jerusalem. He told them how Saul had gone to Damascus for the same purpose, and how Messiah had appeared to him on the road.

He told them further of the marvelous things God had done with the Gentiles, in opening their hearts to the word of God. Them too Messiah had taken into the Kingdom of Heaven. And now the news of Messiah was spreading out to the remotest corners of the world, as he’d told his disciples to do, and would soon cover the earth as the waters cover the sea.

During the hours that this was going on, word passed through the various dwellings in the house about the words being spoken in the home of Aquila and Priscilla. Groups of Jews left their own Sabbath feasts, and were stealing in quietly. Soon the place was jam packed with Jews. All eyes were trained on the speaker, some dark and flashing and others damp with tears of hope. Some faces showed tender smiles of belief and others bore a hovering shadow of doubt. And other faces there were, that showed neither belief nor doubt, but a silent, far-off longing.

All night long Andronicus sat with the Jews in Priscilla’s house, and before the Sabbath dawned, the first congregation of Messiah had been founded in Rome.


Since baptism could not be performed on the Sabbath, the ceremony was delayed until the day after.

And so it was early on Sunday morning when a company of young Roman aristocrats, returning from a banquet and staggering with drink, saw a strange spectacle at the Pontus aqueduct. A group of men and women, dressed in white, stood shoulder deep in the water. A man with a long gray beard was baptizing the males, while a woman leader was baptizing the females. It was a damp, wintry morning.

“Look at that!” cried one of the revelers, pointing to the men and women steeped in the waters of the aqueduct. “Rome is filled with alien and sinister faiths. Jews!”

Another answered, “Our Roman matrons have taken a fancy to the God the Jewish women sell them along with their Oriental cosmetics. Let me tell you, the conquered will soon be masters of the conquerors. Before you know it, we’ll be spending every seventh day in idleness and turning up our noses at a savory piece of pork.”

“It’s high time something was done about it,” returned the first. “Come! Let us sacrifice a suckling pig to the god Gaius.”