the governor of the island, whose name was Publius. He received us in a friendly manner and put us up for three days. Now it so happened that Publius' father was lying in bed, sick with fever attacks and dysentery. I went in to him and prayed. I laid my hands on him and healed him. The same hand that the serpent bit was the same hand that brought divine healing. This was the first time Cassius had seen the sick healed with hands been laid upon them. He was left speechless and amazed. After this happened, the rest of those on the island who had ailments came to me for prayer and were healed. They heaped honours on us, showing us every respect. When the time came for us to sail, they provided us the supplies we needed. They presented many gifts to us.
It was after three months' stay there that we set sail in a ship which had wintered in the island, an Alexandrian ship with the Twin Brothers, the gods Castor and Pollux as it's figurehead. We landed at Syracuse, the capital city of the Island of Sicily and remained there for three days. From there we sailed across to Rhegium, a maritime city on the coast of Italy. From there we followed the coastline as our guide. A day later a south wind began to blow, so we made it to Puteoli, a sea port in Italy the following day. There we found brothers in the faith who invited us to spend a week with them. Cassius accompanied Luke and I as he was still assigned to me as my personal guard. He knew as well as I did, if I died, he died. From there we went on towards Rome. I was on my way to Rome by divine plan.
The brothers there had heard about us and came as far as Appian Market and Three Inns to meet us. When I saw them, I thanked God and received new courage in my heart. When we arrived at Rome, the centurion delivered the prisoners to the captain of the guard, but he allowed me to stay by myself, with Cassius guarding me of course. I had arrived in Rome, the capital city of the free world in the Province of Italy. The splendour of Rome, the great city built upon its seven mountains, beside the Tiber River. Only Luke, the "beloved physician" was with me in Rome.
Three days after our arrival, I called a meeting with the local Jewish leaders. When they had gathered, I said to them, "Brothers, although I have done nothing against either our people or the traditions of our fathers, I was made a prisoner in Jerusalem and handed over to the Romans, being under Praetorian Guard. They examined me and were ready to release me, because I had done nothing to justify a death sentence. But when the Judeans objected, I was forced to appeal to the Emperor. Not that I had any charge to make against my own people. This is why I have asked to see you and to speak with you, for it is because of the hope of Israel that I have these chains around me."
They replied and said to me, "We have not received any letters about you from Judea, and none of the brothers who have come from there have reported or said anything bad about you. But we do think it would be appropriate to hear your views from you, yourself. For all we know about this sect is that people everywhere are speaking against it." So they arranged a day with me and came to my quarters in large numbers. From morning until evening, I explained the matter to them, giving a thorough witness about the Kingdom of God, making use of the Law of Moses, the Psalms and the Prophets to persuade them about Jesus being the Messiah. Some were convinced by what I said, while others refused to believe.
So they left, disagreeing among themselves, after I had made one final statement, "The Holy Spirit spoke well in saying to our fathers through Isaiah the prophet." Then I read out of Isaiah on an old parchment.
Go to this people and say to them. You will indeed hear and hear with your ears but you will not understand. You will indeed look and look with your eyes but you will never perceive. For the heart of this people is hardened and calloused. Their ears are heavy and hard of hearing and they have shut tight their eyes. For fear that they should see with their eyes and hear with their ears,and understand with their heart, and so return to me that I would heal them.
I ended by proclaiming unto them, "Therefore let it be known to you that this salvation of God has been sent to the Gentiles, and they are listening!" After I said these words, the Jews departed, greatly disagreeing with each other.
I remained in Rome for two whole years in an apartment that I had rented for myself. Cassius spent his days with me, guarding me. He kept things extremely professional when we were out in public. But at home he was much more relaxed. He got to hear everything about me as I continued to welcome and receive warmly all the brothers in Christ who came to visit me. He heard all the letters that I dictated to the Churches that I had visited. He got to send them off with me. He got to hear about my many travels and the great miracles that were performed by my hands.
It was in Rome that I finally without hindrance, openly proclaimed the Kingdom of God and taught about the Lord Jesus as the Messiah.
I am Paul, I am the least of all the apostles. I'm not even worthy to be called an apostle because I persecuted God's church. So, my dear brothers and sisters, be strong in the Lord and immovable. Greet one another with a holy kiss.
Amen - so be it.
The First Martyr. #7
Cassius learnt how at first I hated this Jesus with a violent passion. How I detested the Messiah to the extent that I persecuted Him at every opportunity that presented itself to me. How this Jesus of Nazareth was my worst enemy. I told Cassius how zealous I was in my murderous quest to totally annihilate the Christ. I told him how I had developed a taste for blood over the years and I was always thirsty for murder. How I'd been baptised with pure hatred towards Jesus. That I made it my quest to obliterate His seed from off the face of the earth. Cassius found out how I wanted Jesus and His followers extinguished and wiped out of the history books forever.
Cassius was intrigued by my past. I told him how I opposed anyone who contradicted my personal beliefs and threatened the extinction of the traditions of my forefathers. How I wasn't going to allow our two thousand year old traditions to be overthrown and trodden down under foot without a fight. Especially when my forefathers had paid a price for them with their own blood, to be handed down to us.
How dare He insult our two thousand year old traditions and deem them as being obsolete. I hated Him with a passion. Since I was a young boy, I had diligently studied the ancient laws and texts of our forefathers. I had disciplined myself to follow every rule and regulation religiously. I had dedicated myself to the keeping of every tradition, every feast, festival and all the holy Sabbath days. I religiously kept every regulation regarding offerings and ceremonial cleansing. When it came to observing the laws and traditions of our forefathers, I was blameless. I was circumcised on the eighth day after my birth which was customary according to our law. I made a point of keeping all the laws that were handed down to us.
I protested in argument, "How could He even dare to tell me that true righteousness could be obtained in a different manner, other than in keeping the laws and traditions of my forefathers?" I had studied the Law of Moses in the finest religious institution and had been mentored by Gamaliel the most brilliant minded teacher of our day. As a Pharisee in the council of the Sanhedrin Gamaliel was highly esteemed by all the people in Jerusalem. It was at his feet that I was taught the perfect manner of the Law and the traditions of our Jewish fathers. I was his prodigy and could re-sight the entire books of the Law of Moses, the Psalms and the Prophets.
Cassius knew that I was a Pharisee and the son of a Pharisee from the debates in my defence and how I was obsessed with the observance and keeping of the Law. I was familiar with all the ancient texts and writings of the prophets. I knew everything about the covenants, the patriarchs, the prophets, the priesthood, the laws and the linage of our kings. I announced, "How dare He even challenge the foundation of our two thousand year old dynasty." I became possessed with intent to protect the beliefs and traditions of my Hebrew ancestors. So great was my obsession that I began to put to death every person who converted to this new order of beliefs. They became an insult to me when they rejected the ancient traditions of our Jewish forefathers.
I had developed my taste for shedding blood when I
watched the stoning of a young man known as Stephen. How This young man was full of the faith, that I opposed. I told Cassius how the new message, the Good News of God kept on spreading throughout Jerusalem and that the number of disciples that were converted to this new order had multiplied greatly. And how a large number of the priests also became obedient to this new faith craze.
It was this faith, that at first, I was dead against. Jerusalem had been invaded by twelve apostles who were the ringleaders of this new sect, the sect of the Nazarene. They were responsible for promoting this new doctrine of faith by believing in Jesus Christ. They claimed that the righteousness of God was made manifest through believing. A righteousness that was exempt from keeping the Law of Moses and the traditions of our forefathers. They claimed that this righteousness of God, was obtained by faith and by faith in Jesus Christ alone.
Cassius could not believe his ears. He was astounded by the fact that I once opposed what I was now a messenger of, "This fuelled my hatred towards