He also engaged in politically subversive activity, namely, when he declared again and again that Jesus is “Lord.” That word carried political as well as religious freight in the Roman Empire; it was a title used for the “divine” Caesar. To speak of another as “Lord,” not simply over some people (Jews), but over all people, including Caesar and his subjects, was insurrection, which eventually led to some jail time for Paul; he likely spent his last years under house arrest, ironically in Rome (Acts 28:30–31).
