In a few years the gospel infiltrated the household of the most powerful man on earth.
“All the saints send you greetings, especially those who belong to Caesar’s household.” – Philippians 4:22
As Paul sat in a Roman prison, chained for preaching the gospel of Jesus Christ, God planned a special form of encouragement for him which I believe is at least partially responsible for the joyful tone of the letter to the Philippians. Nothing can lighten the burdens of our ministry more than being able to see some of its fruit, and by saving some of Caesar’s household God gave that encouragement to Paul when he needed it the most. We are not always permitted to see the harvest of the seeds we’ve planted, but sometimes God blesses us in this way.
Caesar’s household contained the group of people who were closest to the most powerful man on earth. What’s truly remarkable here is how quickly God made inroads into the very seat of power in the Roman Empire. Now some of those saved may well have been mere house servants or humble slaves, but yet Caesar’s household had already been infiltrated with the gospel! This was in partial fulfillment of the prophecy Christ made concerning Paul at the time of his conversion: “This man is my chosen instrument to carry my name before the Gentiles and their kings, and before the people of Israel” (Acts 9:15). Before Paul’s death, Paul would openly testify about Christ directly to Caesar. But in this ministry, in preaching the gospel faithfully to those in Caesar’s household, he has left a lasting legacy which would continue to bear fruit after his death.
“And we should pray that God will continue to raise up saints in the households of this age’s Caesars all over the world.”
While God is not at all impressed by human power and the authority of kings and emperors, He has frequently raised up witnesses for Himself close to the highest seats of power. Daniel is a very good example of this, for Daniel was in a position to give counsel to the most powerful man of his own age, Nebuchadnezzar. Too often, Christian people today think that political means of power are as important as those inherent in the spiritual advance of the Kingdom of Heaven. They are not. Rather, God is graciously using witnesses right in Caesar’s household to testify to the true and lasting power of the Kingdom of His Son, Jesus Christ. While neither the Bible nor church history records the impact of the witness these saints in Caesar’s household had for Christ, yet we can be assured that God used them marvelously to bring about His plan, a plan which included the spiritual conquest of the Roman Empire within three centuries. That should be encouragement to any of us to keep on evangelizing for Christ! And we should pray that God will continue to raise up saints in the households of this age’s Caesars all over the world.
