Before the Apostle Paul ever arrived in Rome there was already a thriving group of Christians there who had heard the good news about Jesus Christ and had given their lives to follow Jesus.
How had the people of ancient Rome heard about Jesus Christ?
The good news of Jesus Christ came to Rome from people who had traveled to Jerusalem.
In Acts 2:5-11 we read:
“Now there were staying in Jerusalem God-fearing Jews from every nation under heaven. When they heard the sound [the sound of the good news of Jesus in their own language – vs. 4], a crowd came together in bewilderment, because each one heard them speaking in his own language.
“Utterly amazed, they asked: ‘Are not all these men who are speaking Galileans? Then how is it that each of us hears them in his own native language? Parthians, Medes and Elamites; residents of Mesopotamia, Judea and Cappadocia, Pontus and Asia, Phrygia and Pamphylia, Egypt and the parts of Libya near Cyrene; visitors from Rome (both Jews and converts to Judaism); Cretans and Arabs – we hear them declaring the wonders of God in our own tongues!’”
There was already a large community of Jewish people living in Rome during this time.
When we think of ancient Rome, with its gladiators and its wealthy upper-class homes lavishly decorated with mosaics and frescos, we typically don’t think of there also being a Jewish synagogue and a community of Jewish people living in ancient Rome as well.
Here you can see gladiator graffiti on a fancy Roman fresco wall.
Here you can see a wealthy Roman home with its lavish mosaic-floored entryway.
And here, down a normal neighborhood street, we can imagine a Jewish synagogue might have been.
In thinking about a thriving Jewish community in ancient Rome … alongside converts to Judaism (Roman citizens, slaves, as well as many other nationalities) … it’s interesting to read what God has to say to these people, in the letter he sent to them via the pen of the Apostle Paul:
“Now you, if you call yourself a Jew; if you rely on the law and brag about your relationship to God, if you know his will and approve of what is superior because you are instructed by the law; if you are convinced that you are a guide for the blind, a light for those who are in the dark, an instructor of the foolish, a teacher of infants, because you have in the law the embodiment of knowledge and truth – you, then, who teach others, do you not teach yourself?
“You who preach against stealing, do you steal? You who say that people should not commit adultery, do you commit adultery? You who abhor idols, do you rob temples? You who brag about the law, do you dishonor God by breaking the law?
“Being a Jew has value if you observe the law, but if you break the law, you have become as though you aren’t even a Jew at all! If those who are converts to Judaism [aka: Roman citizens, slaves, and other nationalities] keep the law’s requirements, will they not be regarded as if they are Jews.
“The one who is not a Jew by birth and yet obeys the law will condemn you who, even though you have the written code and are born Jew, are a lawbreaker. – Romans 2:17-27
God continues in what he has to say to these early Christians living in ancient Rome:
“What shall we conclude then? Are we [aka: Jews] any better? Not at all! We have already made the charge that Jews and Gentiles alike are all under sin. As it is written: ‘There is no one righteous, not even one; there is no one who understand, no one who seeks God. All have turned away, they have together become worthless; there is no one who does good, not even one.’ – Romans 3:9-12
God continues in what he has to say:
“But now a righteousness from God, apart from law, has been made known, to which the Jewish Law and Prophets testify. This righteousness from God comes through faith in Jesus Christ to all who believe.
“There is no difference, for all have sinned and fall short of the glory of God, and are justified freely by his grace through the redemption that came by Christ Jesus.” – Romans 3:21-24
