Philippians 1:12-26.  Yesterday I mentioned that the Philippian believers might have been getting tired and discouraged.  In today’s reading Paul deals with the thing that may have been the biggest discouragement to them; his imprisonment.  Instead of focusing on the way being a prisoner was effecting him personally Paul looked at his situation from the point of view of his mission in life; he was the “sent one” to the Gentiles.  Now here he was in Rome being watched by the Praetorian Guard.  Praetorian was a Latin term designating things associated with the governor of a region, in this case the region was Rome and the head of the area would have been the Caesar. The Preatorian Guard would have been Caesars personal army unit.  If Rome had been a strict monarchy then this group might have been called “The Royal Guard”.  I’m sure if Paul had just wandered into Rome and started preaching that these guys wouldn’t have listened to him for a moment (unless he started a riot, which did happen a few times when he was in a city).  But as a prisoner in their care one of them would have been with him 24/7.  According to verse 13 the whole platoon or whatever they called their group had heard the “good news” about Jesus, and a lot of other people too.  Talk about a gentile audience.  No wonder Paul told the Philippian believers that this situation had “turned out for the greater progress of the gospel”.

According to verse 14 there was another benefit of his being in prison, some of the believers in Rome were encouraged to become more bold for Jesus.  Paul was in town and making a stir and people were talking about it, even the laid back believers.  When I was in college they had an area called the “free speech platform” anyone could walk out on this slab of concrete and give a speech.  One time there was a guy there talking all about God and Hell and Jesus and other things from the Bible.  A large group was standing around listening and I happened to be going by.  I stopped and listened for a minute then asked a total stranger what was going on.  They answered me and we had a small conversation about God.  I probably wouldn’t have talked to anyone about God that day if it hadn’t been for the situation.  I still wasn’t very bold but I said more than I would have if the guy hadn’t been there.  I think that is what was happening in Rome.

Verses 15-17 indicate that there were two groups of people who were talking about Jesus; some who were basically supporting what Paul was saying and those who were trying to cause him trouble.  Paul isn’t very specific about what the trouble-makers were saying but in verse 18 he does say that in some way their message supported Jesus.  My guess would be that the one group was a group of Judaizers.  Judaizers were people who sort of believed in Jesus but wanted to keep all of the Old Testament Law in place too.  The New Testament is clear that the Old Testament Law never makes things right between us and God it just points out how we have failed (Romans 3:19-20).  Judaizers seem to have realized that Jesus was the promised Messiah (Christ or “Chosen One”) but they didn’t seem realize that only by his “beating were we healed” (Isaiah 53:5; 1 Peter 2:24) not by their own works.  It also seems pretty unclear how anyone would benefit at all by talking about Jesus but the Jewish religion was officially recognized and maybe these troublesome preachers were trying to keep things cool with the government.  In verse 18 Paul says he is very happy that Jesus is being talked about.  This reminds me of a story in the book of Mark.  Jesus’ followers saw someone casting demons out of people in “the name of Jesus” and they tried to stop the person; after all this person wasn’t part of their group.  Jesus told them to leave the person alone and then told his followers that someone using his power to perform miracles would not be able to say anything negative about Jesus later (Mark 9:38-39).  The truth about Jesus is the truth and that truth is irrefutable.  If miracles can be done because of some authority and power Jesus has then we all need to listen to and respect Him.

At first verses 19-20 seem to tell us that Paul expected to be released and that all this talk about Jesus was helping his cause in that way.  But when he is talking about deliverance I think he is talking about not being discredited.  At the end of verse 20 he tells the Philippian believers that he is sure that Jesus will be honored by his life, even if he is executed.  Wow!  That is amazing his who view of life revolved around Jesus’ reputation, that is amazing, especially for a guy who completely denied Jesus as a young man (See “Paul: “Sent One” to the Gentiles”).

In verses 21-23 we see that his life was no picnic.  If life was all easy and wonderful he probably would not have the great desire to go to Heaven.  The tension was that he wanted to stay and continue to help the Philippian believers (and others no doubt) grow stronger in their faith.  Although he was confident that Jesus would gain honor by his death in verses 25-26 he comes to the conclusion that it’s not his time yet.  God still has things for Paul to do in the lives of the Philippian believers and others.

Paul’s outlook on his life was amazing, it was all about Jesus.  Just amazing.  I could only hope to have a fraction of that in my life.  I hope I do.  In the end (like “the Day of the LORD” end) everything else will not matter.  What will matter is our relationship with God.  Did we live for God or were we just flirting with him.  It’s a hard question and I am so glad that God is so forgiving, because in the end we all fail God to one degree or another.  What we need to do is put our faith in the fact that Jesus took our punishment for us and try to live a life of appreciation for that gift, that “grace” (Philippians 1:2).  Maybe with a little practice each day we too will grow to have the faith and trust that Paul did, but don’t expect it to come without some trials.

God help me appreciate the trials that come into my life.  Help them increase my faith and trust in you.  Help me have the perspective of Paul.  Help me want only for you to be honored, in my life and in how I deal with circumstances.  Be honored God.  Thank you for eternity with you.