Claudius

About Claudius

Claudius, also referred to as Caesar, was the Roman emperor during a significant portion of Paul's ministry. He is mentioned in several contexts throughout the book of Acts.

In Act.11.28, the prophet Agabus foretold a great famine that would occur during the reign of Claudius, which prompted the disciples to send relief to the believers in Judea.

Act.18.2 mentions that Claudius had ordered all the Jews to leave Rome, which led Aquila and Priscilla to move to Corinth, where they met Paul.

In Act.17.7, the accusers of Paul and Silas in Thessalonica claimed that they were acting against the decrees of Caesar, likely referring to Claudius.

During Paul's trial in Acts 25-26, Claudius is mentioned as the emperor to whom Paul appealed for justice (Act.25.8,10,11,12,21; 26.32).

In Act.27.24, an angel told Paul that he must stand before Caesar, referring to Claudius or his successor.

Finally, in Act.28.19, Paul stated that he was compelled to appeal to Caesar because of the Jews' opposition.

These references to Claudius provide historical context for the events in Acts and demonstrate the Roman Empire's significant influence on the early Christian church.

Description from STEPBible TIPNR (Tyndale House, Cambridge), CC BY 4.0, lightly reformatted. This is background reference material, not Scripture and not a FaithGraph editorial claim.