Acts 18:2 confirms the existence of the expulsion, however it does not tell us why the Jews were expelled.
After this Paul left Athens and went to Corinth. There he found a Jew named Aquila, a native of Pontus, who had recently come from Italy with his wife Priscilla, because Claudius had ordered all Jews to leave Rome. (Acts 18:1 & 2)
This expulsion ended five years later at the beginning of Emperor Nero's reign in 54 AD, and the Jews were allowed to return to Rome."
Excerpt from Expulsion of the Jews - Jews in Rome by Olivia Newman and Dylan Smith: olivianewmandylansmith.weebly.com
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Tiberius Claudius Caesar Augustus Germanicus was a Roman emperor of the Julio-Claudian dynasty , ruling from AD 41 to 54. According to Roman historian Suetonius, "Claudius banished from Rome all the Jews, who were continually making disturbances at the instigation of one Chrestus" (Ancient History Sourcebook: Suetonius: Life of Claudius, Chapter 25).
There is also Biblical evidence of this taking place. Luke, who traveled with the Apostle Paul and recorded their missions in the book of Acts wrote,
After this Paul left Athens and went to Corinth. There he found a Jew named Aquila, a native of Pontus, who had recently come from Italy with his wife Priscilla, because Claudius had ordered all Jews to leave Rome. (Acts 18:1-2).
Historians are uncertain who this "Chrestus" was. There is no record of anyone by that name, let alone anyone with that name causing riots within Rome at that time. It is thought by some that Suetonius misunderstood the Greek term Christos, and therefore thought that there was an actual person named Chrestus who was causing these disturbances. Others suggest that there was another figure within Rome at that time by the name of Chrestus who was claiming to be the messiah. However, these assumptions seem unlikely because there is no historical evidence of anyone by the name of Chrestus doing such things at that time.
It is believed by many that "Chrestus", whom Suetonius was referring to, was none other than Jesus Christ. According to New Testament scholar, Dr. Craig Keener, the use of the term "Chrestian" rather than Christian, was often used for the earliest followers of Jesus (Acts: An Exegetical Commentary, Acts 3:2710, Craig S. Keener). Some scholars believe that "Chrestus" was simply a common misspelling of "Christ" (NIV Study Bible, Acts 18:2 study note).
These latter ideas correspond with the cultural context in which much of the New Testament was written. The religious Jews in Jerusalem were strongly opposed to Jesus and His teachings, so much so, that they sought to kill Him. They eventually succeeded by persuading Rome to crucify Him. Luke recorded in Acts that the apostles were imprisoned, mistreated, and ordered by the Jews not to preach about Jesus. However, the apostles refused to obey men rather than God, therefore persecution broke out by the Jews against the church. We see time and time again throughout Acts where the apostles and the disciples are being persecuted by the Jews even outside of Jerusalem. Based on this, it seems reasonable that Claudius expelled Jews from Rome who were causing these "disturbances" against Christians.
There were also disputes between Jewish and Gentile Christians within the church during this time period. Right about the same time that Claudius expelled the Jews from Rome, Luke recorded in Acts 15 that "some men came down from Judea to Antioch and were teaching the brothers, 'Unless you are circumcised according to the custom taught by Moses, you cannot be saved.' This was somewhere between 48 and 50 AD.
"This brought Paul and Barnabas into sharp dispute and debate with them. So Paul and Barnabas were appointed, along with some other believers, to go up to Jerusalem to see the apostles and elders about this question."
While there in Jerusalem among the church, the apostles, and the elders, "some of the believers who belonged to the party of the Pharisees stood up and said, 'The Gentiles must be circumcised and required to obey the law of Moses.'"
After much consideration by the apostles and elders, Peter addressed them saying, “Brothers, you know that some time ago God made a choice among you that the Gentiles might hear from my lips the message of the gospel and believe. God, who knows the heart, showed that he accepted them by giving the Holy Spirit to them, just as he did to us. He did not discriminate between us and them, for he purified their hearts by faith. Now then, why do you try to test God by putting on the necks of Gentiles a yoke that neither we nor our ancestors have been able to bear? No! We believe it is through the grace of our Lord Jesus that we are saved, just as they are.”
Many of the Jewish Christians believed that Gentile Christians were required to be circumcised and follow the law of Moses in order to be saved. Furthermore, there were issues of Jewish Christians who still believed that they were better than Gentiles because they were God's "chosen people." These were common issues within the early church. So much so, that James and Peter addressed in their letter to the churches, that in order to be Abraham's seed, one has to have faith, and that Gentiles, "who once were not a people, are now [included as being] a chosen people, a royal priesthood, a holy nation, a people belonging to God", agreeing with Jesus's teachings.
Paul was also compelled to address these issues, and nearly all of his letters to the churches contain, at least some of the elements of the issue, including the church in Rome. Though many Biblical scholars suggest that Paul's primary purpose of writing this letter was to provide the church with God's plan of salvation, and a theological treatise, it seems evident by the historical context in which Romans was written, that Paul's primary purpose was to correct the issues that were taking place within the church between Jewish and Gentile Christians. The letters written by Paul, as well as the other apostles and James, were typically for the purpose of straightening out issues that arose within the church, and Romans is no different. Much of the content within Romans is geared towards correcting Jewish Christians who believed that there was a distinction between Jew and Gentile in the sight of God, and that God favored them over the Gentiles. Paul pointed out to them that there is no distinction between them based on their race or ethnicity, but that faith in Christ is what determines whether a person is of Israel, and inherits the Kingdom of God or not. Much of what Paul wrote to the church in Rome, he also wrote to the church in Galatia, and his content regarding these matters in his letters to the other churches, all agree with each other.
Paul's letter to the Romans was written sometime between late 55 and 58 AD, after the Jews were allowed to return to Rome after being expelled by Claudius, indicating that this issue still existed at that time. Although the date of the writing of Galatians is uncertain, the early date of 48-49, would indicate that the issue was taking place in the Galatian church at the time that Claudius expelled the Jews, and the late date of 53 to 57 would indicate that the issue still existed after the Jews returned to Rome, corresponding with Romans. Though Paul's later letters to the churches contain elements of this issue, it does not seem to be as prevalent.
The letter is addressed to "all in Rome who are loved by God and called to be saints", that is, to the church in Rome. How the church came to exist is unknown, however it was likely formed by Christians who fled from Jerusalem and scattered throughout Judea and Samaria. As they preached the Word, it spread from place to place, eventually arriving in Rome.
Another more likely possibility is that the Jews from Rome who were saved at Pentecost, returned back to their homeland after receiving the Holy Spirit, and formed the church there (Acts 2).
The church of Rome was comprised of both Jews and Gentiles. Though Paul is called "the apostle to the Gentiles", it does not mean that he preached the gospel exclusively to Gentiles, but that he preached the Gospel in Gentile regions. Within these regions, Jews resided, many of whom became Christians, and many of whom rejected Jesus as the Messiah, and stirred up riots against Paul. It was because of Jews like these that Claudius expelled Jews from Rome. At least some Christian Jews must have also been expelled along with these disruptive Jews, as we see when Paul met Priscilla and Aquila in Corinth in Acts 18:1-2.
I was surprised when I learned this, because I had no idea. Romans is a difficult book, but knowing the context in which it was written has helped me understand it much better. Every time I learn the historical context of a book or passage in the Bible, I realize how important context is to understanding it. Much of evangelicalism is cherry picking versus that are taken out of context and applying them to us and our situation. Application is the Bible reading method that I learned when I started reading the Bible. Application is important for obedience, but context is important for knowing God and His word.
So, keep this in mind what was going on throughout the Roman Empire the next time you read Romans. Hopefully it will help you understand this difficult book of the Bible better.
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