ISB ~ Acts 28 v30

two whole years:From about A.D. 60 to 62. Luke is silent about the outcome of Paul’s case before Caesar, although tradition has it that Paul was released and returned to active ministry. If so, the story of his captivity probably unfolded in one of two ways. (1) It may be that Paul successfully defended himself and was acquitted by the Roman tribunal. This might be expected since every Roman official in Acts up to this point was convinced of his innocence. (2) It is also possible that Paul’s accusers from Jerusalem failed to make an appearance before the court, giving Rome legal cause to dismiss the charges against him and warrant his release. As for a subsequent ministry, Paul expressed in

tentions to travel westward from Rome to Spain (Rom 15:24) as wellas eastward from Rome to Macedonia and Asia Minor (Phil 2:24; Philem 22). There is some evidence to suggest he was successful on both counts: Titus 1:5 tells us that Paul evangelized the island of Crete in the east—a mission that is all but impossible to fit into Paul’s travel schedule anywhere earlier in Acts—and Clement of Rome tells us around A.D. 95 that he carried the gospel to the limits of the west (1 Clement 5:5-7). Tradition holds that Paul was later rearrested and martyred (beheaded) in Rome in the mid 60s. See note on Acts 28:16.