Such inspiration would enable the apostle to "make known the mystery of the gospel _with freedom and confidence of speech_": the expression rendered "with boldness"[180] means all this. Before the emperor Nero, or the slave Onesimus, he will be able with the same aptness and dignity and self-command to declare his message and to vindicate his Master's name. "The mystery of the gospel" is no other secret than that which this epistle unfolds (iii. 3-9), the great fact that Jesus Christ is the Saviour and the Lord of the whole world. Jesus proclaimed Himself to Pilate, who represented at Jerusalem the imperial rule, as the King of all who are of the truth; and the apostle Paul has the like message to convey to the head of the Empire. It needed the greatest boldness and the greatest wisdom in the ambassador of the Messianic King to play his part at Rome; an unwise word might make his own life forfeit, and bring incalculable dangers on the Church.
St Paul's trial, we suppose, passed off successfully, as he at this time anticipated.[181] The Roman government was perfectly aware that the political charge against their prisoner was frivolous; and Nero, if he personally gave Paul a hearing on this earlier trial, in all probability viewed his spiritual pretensions on his Master's behalf with contemptuous tolerance. If he did so, the toleration was not due to any want of courage or clearness on the defendant's part. It is possible even that the courage and address of the advocate of the "new superstition" pleased the tyrant, who was not without his moments of good humour nor without the instincts of a man of taste. The apostle, we may well believe, made an impression on the supreme court at Rome similar to that made on his judges in Caesarea.
St Paul's bonds in Christ have now become widely "manifest" in Rome (Phil. i. 13). He pleads in circumstances of disgrace. But God brings good for His servants out of evil. As he said at a later time, so he could say now: "They have bound me; but they cannot bind the word of God."[182] He was "not ashamed of the gospel" in the prospect of coming to Rome years before (Rom. i. 16); and he is not ashamed now, though he has come in chains as an evil-doer. Through the intercessions of Christ's people all these injuries of Satan are turning to his salvation and to the "furtherance of the gospel"; and Paul rejoices and triumphs in them, well assured that Christ will be magnified whether by his life or death, whether by his freedom or his chains (Phil. i. 12-26). The prayers which the imprisoned apostle asks from the Church were fulfilled. For we read in the last verses of the Acts of the Apostles, which put into a sentence the history of this period: "He received all that came to him, preaching the kingdom and teaching the things concerning the Lord Jesus Christ, _with all boldness_, none forbidding him."
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The paragraph relating to Tychicus is almost identical with that of Colossians iv. 7, 8. It begins with a "But" connecting what follows with the statement the apostle has just made respecting his position at Rome. As much as to say: "I want your prayers, set as I am for the defence of the gospel and in circumstances of difficulty and peril. But Tychicus will tell you more about me than I can convey by letter. I am sending him, in fact, for this very purpose."
St Paul knew the great anxiety of the Christians of Asia on his account. Epaphras of Colossae had "shown him the love in the Spirit" that was felt towards him even by those in this region who had never seen him in the flesh (Col. i. 8). The tender heart of the apostle is touched by this assurance. So he sends Tychicus to visit as many of the Asian Churches as he may be able to reach, bringing news that will cheer their hearts and relieve their discouragement (iii. 13).[183] The note sent at this time to Philemon indicates the hopeful tidings that Tychicus was able to convey to Paul's friends in the East: "I trust that through your prayers I shall be given to you" (Philem. 22). To the Philippians he writes, perhaps a little later, in the same strain: "I trust in the Lord that I myself shall come shortly" (Phil. ii. 24). He anticipates, with some confidence, his speedy acquital and release: it is not likely that this expectation, on the part of such a man as St Paul, was disappointed. The good news went round the Asian and Macedonian Churches: "Paul is likely soon to be free, and we shall see and hear him again!"