It’s right for me to feel this way about all of you. You have a special place in my heart. Whether I’m being held in chains or standing up for the truth of the good news, either way, all of you share together in God’s grace with me.
“Whether it takes a short time or a long time,” Paul replied, “I pray to God that you and everyone listening to me today may become like me—except for these chains!”
Three days later Paul called a meeting of the local Jewish leaders. When they came, Paul said to them, “My brothers, I have done nothing against our people or the customs we’ve had since long ago. But I was arrested in Jerusalem and handed over to the Romans.
They left the room and began to talk with one another. “This man doesn’t need to die or be put in prison,” they said. “He hasn’t done anything to deserve that!”