Did the Christian church have designs on the civil order of Rome from its beginnings in Jerusalem? The structure and content of the book of Acts suggests that the answer is yes.

Luke, who wrote more of the New Testament than any other author, takes the outline of his book from Jesus Himself. “You shall be witnesses to me in Jerusalem, and in all Judea and Samaria, and to the end of the earth” (Acts 1:8). Acts then follows the extension of the church from Jerusalem to Samaria to Syria to Greek-speaking parts of the empire, and finally to Rome. There he ends the story begun in Jerusalem, with Paul the prisoner preaching freely to any and all. From Rome, Paul writes to the Philippians, appending the note, “All the saints greet you, but especially those who are of Caesar’s household” (Phil. 4:22).

While narrating the advance of the church, Luke develops several themes, such as the general rejection of the gospel by the synagogue and the receptiveness of the Gentiles. A significant element in the Gentiles’ response was the conversion of government officials. The centurion at the cross “glorified God” (Luke 23:47). The longest account of a single conversion in Acts belongs to Cornelius (chap. 10). The governor of Cyprus believed (13:6-12). The Philippian jailer’s conversion gets much attention (16:16-40). The only other individual conversions given so much attention by Luke are that of the Ethiopian eunuch, another government official (8:26-40), and of Paul himself.

Besides giving full accounts of the conversion of government officials, Luke notes every time Roman officials show favor to Paul. Gallio in Corinth refused to listen to Jewish complaints against Paul (Acts18:12-17). In Ephesus, “some of the officials of Asia, who were his friends, sent to him pleading that he would not venture into the theater” (19:31). A Roman chiliarch, Claudius Lysias, made sure that Roman standards of justice were followed where Paul was concerned (chaps. 21- 23). A centurion kept the soldiers from killing Paul in the shipwreck at Malta (27:43). The magistrate in Malta, Publius, treated Paul well and with honor (28:8-10).

Isaiah prophesied that “kings shall be your foster fathers, and their queens your nursing mothers; they shall bow down to you” (Isa. 49:23). The book of Acts intentionally highlights the beginning of the fulfillment of that promise in the conversion of Roman officials, in their frequent help to Paul, God’s missionary to the nations, and in ending the story where it was still just beginning: in Rome itself. Yes indeed, the church from its beginning had designs on Rome. And after alternately aiding and persecuting the church, Rome finally learned one thing: It could no longer serve its old gods because they were nothings. It had to become Christian. The beginning of Christendom was the logical and natural extension of the path laid out in the book of Acts, not an aberration from true religion as some would have it.