The Prisoner

The Prisoner

A novel on the life of the Apostle Paul, as told from a prison in Rome

Jim Reiher

Table of Contents

1. Sorrow, Forgiveness and Reconciliation

2. The prisoner

3: Slavery

4: When two gospel writers meet

5: Women, love and celibacy

6: The riot to define all riots

7: Dead man walking

8: Domestic violence, divorce and remarriage

9: The murder of James

10: Paul’s trial and afterwards

11: On the road again, and then back to Rome

12: Timothy

13: Love your enemies

14: Different visitors

15: Fire!

Appendix

1) Sorrow, Forgiveness, and Reconciliation

‘Paul, I know I don’t have to ask, but I will anyway. Would you mind if I stand inside your house during my shift today? The stench on the street is terrible.’

Paul looked up from the bare wooden chair that he was sitting on.

‘Sure. My home is your home,’ he replied with a smile.

Paul’s humble one room house was not just his home, it was his jail. He was under house arrest with limited privileges. It was a small single room, rented quite cheaply in the over-crowded, ugly, and usually dangerous end of Rome. It was always smelly as well, but particularly so this day.

The house was actually reasonably good accommodation for a prisoner. It was certainly better than the normal Roman cells that were notoriously cold, damp, rat infested and miserable. Being a Roman citizen had some advantages. It also helped that Paul was charged with a crime that was ill-defined, seemed concocted to even the Romans who guarded him, and was so ‘low key’ that even his main accusers had not turned up from Jerusalem to argue against him at his first hearing. Paul had been there nearly 4 months now. It had been quite a journey that eventually brought him to the capital of the Empire, as a prisoner of Rome.

His own rented home afforded him some little benefits for which he was grateful. Top of his list was the fact that he could have visitors, most of the time at least. If he had a particularly grumpy guard, he might find them being turned away. Usually, however, most of the guards were more accommodating. Paul proved to be an easy prisoner to work with and so the majority of the guards were happy to get rostered on to the Jewish apostle.

When Paul was alone he would either spend the time writing, or praying, or sleeping. He had not had any visitors for a few days since the last food parcel came to him from the local church. On this particular occasion, Paul was writing, when he was interrupted by the guard on duty.

Julian stood silently by the closed door. Paul and he were talking about nothing in particular. Paul was always looking for a way to turn the conversation around to his favourite topic of course, but before he could do that this time, there was a knock at the door.

Julian opened it and stepped back into the offensive odours of a decaying part of the city. Less than a minute later he was calling back inside to Paul.

‘Paul! You have a visitor. Do you want to see …’ he turned his head and called out through the open door ‘what’s your name again?’

‘John Mark, from Jerusalem,’ came the reply.

Paul heard the voice and his eyebrows lifted in surprise. Mark? Really? He had not spoken to Mark for a very long time. Not since that rather unpleasant fall out they had had.

The guard noticed Paul’s expression. ‘I’ll send him away.’

‘No,’ Paul replied quickly. ‘I, I would like to see him’.

With a shrug of the shoulders and a grunt, the guard stepped back outside and Mark replaced him.

‘You are welcome to stay inside Julian,’ Paul called out.

A grateful Roman quickly came back in and shut the door. He stood near the door and gave the impression that he would not be listening to the conversation. (Though, how could he not listen? It was a one room house.)

There was an uncertain silence for a few seconds. Paul broke it, walked over to Mark, and the two of them embraced in a slightly awkward, less than enthusiastic, way.

‘Mark! Thanks for visiting. How are you?’

‘I’m well, thanks Paul. It’s good to see you.’

‘And you, Mark. Um… what brings you to my … um …’ (Paul looked around and then back at Mark) ‘… home?’

After a few seconds (where Mark was wondering in what order to share the important news he wanted to mention) Mark continued, ‘I actually have a number of reasons for coming Paul.’

‘Sit, sit’ entreated Paul. He pointed to the one small wooden chair in the room, and Mark sank into it. Paul sat on the end of the frame that was his bed.

Mark began his more lengthy explanation. ‘The first thing I have to share is bad news I’m sad to say. My cousin Barnabas’ (there was a sigh and his words became softer) ‘… was murdered in Cyprus recently. Just two months ago. I don’t know if you’re aware of that or not.’

‘I … I …. I didn’t know,’ responded Paul. He was quite shocked. ‘I’m so sorry to hear that.’

‘He had done great work there since he parted ways with you Paul. That split in your friendship with him was the doorway God used to see a wonderful church work grow in Cyprus. But ..’ tears began to well in his eyes, ‘but at a great cost it seems.’

Paul began to choke up. He and Barnabas had gone their separate ways under quite unpleasant circumstances. Despite that, Paul always had a soft spot for one of his earliest Christian friends. Barnabas was the man who had taken Paul under his wing when no other Jerusalem Christian seemed to trust him or wanted anything to do with him. Barnabas was the one who had risked his own life to meet Paul. He had wanted to find out about Paul’s conversion story. If Paul had been hoodwinking the church, Barnabas would have been arrested and probably killed, but he had heard rumours from Damascus that this previous persecutor of the Church was now a follower of Jesus too! He was prepared to take the risk and show him forgiveness and acceptance and trust. Others who accepted Paul’s conversion had been slow to give Paul forgiveness and trust - but not Barnabas. What an encouraging man he had been! What a quiet hero.

Paul had written to Barnabas since their fall out, and the two were reconciled. But that was all very formal and even sterile. It did not lessen the pain of what Paul was feeling now. What a sad loss to the church! What a tragic way for Barnabas to die. Thoughts were racing through Paul’s mind. ‘What a pity I hadn’t seen him a bit more,’ he thought with a deep regret.

‘How?’ Paul sighed and continued in a kind of staccato stammer: ‘How.. did ..it.. happen Mark?’ He immediately realised it might not have been the most appropriate thing to ask so he quickly added: ‘You don’t have to go into that if you don’t want to of course.’

‘It’s okay Paul. And I’m okay to tell you.’ He sighed heavily and began. ‘Barnabas was preaching when it happened. Jews had come from Jerusalem, and they were angry with the message that Barnabas was sharing. Of course they were. He was sharing about Jesus the Messiah. What else hey? But this group were very angry: more angry than others we had encountered at times. Well, when the meeting was over and many had left, they angrily surrounded Barnabas and began screaming at him about his ‘heresies’. I was still there watching all this. I appealed for calm but was pushed to the ground and the men grabbed Barnabas and dragged him to the edge of the town. I chased after them, but was held back. They beat him terribly, Paul, and when I thought they might just finish, and leave us, they topped off their sin by picking up stones, and stoning him to death. I was held down by three of the crowd during it and they were bragging about their behaviour as if it was what God required! They scathingly told me that I’d better learn a lesson from this or I could be next. I don’t know why they didn’t kill me too. I guess it was the fact that Barnabas had been such a good speaker and was preaching Christ in their presence. I don’t know…’

Mark was shaking his head in confusion. ‘But they left me there, and I was able to tend to my cousin’s body, and on the days following, arrange his body for burial. After that, I headed back to Jerusalem to share the news with the church there.’

‘I’m so, so, sorry, Mark. He was a great man, a humble and dedicated servant of Christ. I’ve never met a more loving and gracious man who really knew how to live that grace of God - much better than I ever have. He’ll be sadly missed.’

‘He will indeed,’ mused Mark.

‘And he has left a great legacy for the church too, by way of his well known letter that he penned not all that long ago,’ added Paul. ‘I remember the first time I saw a copy of it. I found it exhilarating. What is it that some folk have begun nicknaming that letter? .. I know… The letter to the Hebrews! Yes… now that’s a wonderful gift to have left the churches. It means that some of his teaching emphasis will continue on after him. And he deserves that much at least.’

‘Yes that’s true,’ replied Mark. ‘It’s been copied a number of times now. Perhaps it’ll be cherished for a while.’ And then as an afterthought: ‘As it should be.’

After what seemed like ages, Mark continued on. ‘I’ve also been meaning to visit for some time for another reason as well Paul. Even before the death of my cousin, I knew I wanted to find you and apologise to you for the stress I caused you all those years ago. It’s taken me far too long to finally come, and I’m sorry for that too. But with Barnabas’ death, and you sitting in a Roman jail awaiting… well…who knows what outcome…. I knew I couldn’t put it off any longer. So here we are! And now I can say it. Paul: I’m sorry that I left your mission trip all those years ago, and I’m sorry that I was the cause of the fall out you had with Barnabas.’

Paul was overcome with a mix of feelings that were compounded by the sudden news of the death of his old friend. Finally he spoke. ‘It’s me who should be saying sorry to you Mark. Thank you, though, for coming, and thank you for your kind words.’

They both spontaneously stood at the same time, and embraced once more. This time it was much more heartfelt than when Mark had first walked into the room.

They re-sat and Paul found the words to change the topic. It felt a bit artificial doing so, but there is only so much you can say and do when you get such sad news. ‘What else has been happening Mark? Tell me more about the things you’ve done up till now.’

‘I would’ve been surprised if you had particularly kept up with my comings and goings,’ said Mark with the start of one of those uncertain grins – the kind that is stopped before it formed, because of mixed feelings that it might still not be appropriate to show that kind of humour after talking about such bad news just a few seconds earlier.

‘Okay… where do I start… hmm … Okay: I still remember that day when I left Barnabas and you, and your companions during your mission trip through Galatia. It was a hard decision, and to this day I still wonder if it was the right thing or not. It seemed like it was the correct path for me to take at the time. I was concerned about how you were presenting the story of Jesus to the Gentiles we were meeting. My Jewish roots were strong and I found it hard that you didn’t insist on them being circumcised or insist on them keeping the laws of Moses. It was all a bit much for me back then. And, if I’m honest, I think I missed the comforts of home. I found life on the road very hard. My cousin Barnabas was able to reconcile your methods but I found it all a bit difficult. But if I had stayed … well … I still wonder if I would’ve undermined morale and been a negative influence on the team. … hmm… just not sure still to this very day!’

‘That’s water under the bridge Mark. It was a long time ago!’ said Paul.

‘It was a long time ago, wasn’t it! And so much has happened in the years since. The last time we actually saw each other was when you and Barnabas were about to head off on your next missionary journey, and Barnabas wanted to take me with you both. And you refused.’

‘I remember’.

‘Barnabas was adamant, and of course it led to your famous – um – infamous split!’

‘Not my best moment I’m afraid. We argued terribly and left on bad terms.’

‘You’ll get no disagreement from me on that point! But Barnabas believed in me for reasons that I’m still blurry about, and he did give me another chance to travel and minister. I think I did better on that particular trip; the one that he and I did together through Cyprus. It had been a few years since I bailed out of the previous mission trip, and I guess I had grown up a bit in that time. More ready the second time as a result!’

‘I’m glad to hear that. Barnabas was clearly right about you,’ admitted Paul. ‘Has it really been 12 years since we last talked? Mark, I really am sorry for the way I treated both you and Barnabas. I’m sorry I didn’t want you on the team. It seemed so important at the time. But now, in hindsight.’ He shook his head with sadness. ‘You know, when you sit in a couple of different prisons for about 3 years, you have a lot of time to reflect. If I could have my time over again, with the knowledge of hindsight, I would do a number of things differently.’

Mark watched Paul’s eyes and saw the sincerity of the man. He nodded acknowledging his words. And Mark broke into an appreciative smile.

‘Barnabas saw potential in me and trusted me – but maybe it was more to do with our family connection than my actual character and talents at the time!’

‘Maybe’, said Paul, ‘but Barnabas was also a man who naturally saw the best in people. He was the man who got my ministry started too, if you remember. So we have something in common don’t we! We both owe a lot to your cousin!’

‘He was certainly the encourager, no doubt about that,’ added Mark. ‘Anyway: after our Missionary journey through Cyprus and the surrounding areas, we ended up back in Antioch before you did, and it was there that I got to spend more time with Simon Peter. He began to take me under his wing, and soon I was travelling with him for occasional stints, and was ministering alongside him. I loved hearing all his stories of his time with Jesus. I actually started taking lots of notes. And about 10 to 12 months ago, I finished putting it all together into one scroll.’

‘You sound like Luke!’ interrupted Paul. ‘It would be great if you could meet him. He isn’t here in Rome right now, but he’ll be back soon. I sent him on a circuit of some of the churches, to encourage them and pass on some letters and notes I’d written to various people. Luke has that same obsession as you seem to have. He loves writing down the stories of the life of Jesus. He has scraps of parchment everywhere.’

‘I’ve heard Luke’s name but have never met him. I would love to finally meet him,’ added Mark. ‘Anyway, as I was saying, I am doing a lot with Peter now, and Barnabas was glad for it, and he encouraged me to do so more. I remember him saying to me that it is always good to get some extra outside input from others who are trusted and proven!’

‘I would imagine that Peter was a good mentor and friend too.’

‘He was, and still is. We had some wonderful times travelling together. And that brings me to another reason why I’ve come to Rome: I’ve come ahead of Peter. He’s moving here soon himself. He’s been thinking and talking and praying a lot about this for some time, and the time seems right. He is hoping to join the Church of Rome and work from here.’

‘That’s wonderful news,’ reflected Paul. ‘His transition from primarily Jewish congregations to Gentile ones has been a slow journey. But I was aware that he was doing more work with Gentiles.’

‘He’s become a kind of spiritual father to me,’ added Mark. ‘And it has