De – Paul’s Arrival at Rome 28: 11-16

Paul’s Arrival at Rome
28: 11-16

Early February 60 AD, the earliest time of the year one would resume sailing.

Paul’s arrival at Rome DIG: Given the long delay, his shipwreck at sea, and his continuing status as a prisoner, how might Paul feel upon finally arriving in Rome? What must the believers’ reunion with him have been like in verses 14 and 15? How important was this fellowship to Paul?

REFLECT: What limitations are placed beyond your control? How do you react to those limits? How can you serve the Lord even within these limitations? How important is the fellowship of other believers in your life? As you think of the fellowship you have in your life, what would you say gives you your sense of togetherness? If that is lacking, to what would you attribute it to. How much of the fault is yours to bear? What do your brothers and sisters in the faith really need from you?

God fulfilled His promise to Paul. The apostle to the Gentiles arrived in Rome. From his Damascus conversion on, Paul had been on the move. In this passage his travels finally came to an end. More specifically, from 19:21 on, his focus had been on Rome, the capital and hub of the empire. Now at last his vision was fulfilled as he reached the great city, the ends of the earth. It was the fulfilment not just of his vision, but of the Lord’s commission (1:8).⁶⁴¹

It was impossible to travel during the winter, and so after three months (probably November, December, January), Luke said that we (to see link click Bx – Paul’s Vision of the Man of Macedonia: A closer look at the “us” or “we” passages and sea passages) set sail in a ship from Alexandria (the same kind of large grain-ship that was shipwrecked) that had wintered at the island awaiting the favorable spring breezes, with the Twin Brothers as its figurehead (28:11). Ancient ships had its name of each side of the bow and was represented by a sculptured figure. The vessel that Paul was sailing on was the Castor and Pollux, named after twin deities, who in Greco-Roman mythology were the sons of Jupiter (Zeus). They were supposedly translated to the heavens as the constellation of Gemini in reward for their brotherly devotion and wish not to be separated (see the commentary on Genesis Lw – The Witness of the Stars). They were the gods of navigation and were regarded as the special patrons and worshiped by sailors.⁶⁴²

The first leg of the renewed journey took Paul to Syracuse, which was ninety miles north of Malta. Setting down at Syracuse, we stayed there three days probably unloading some of the wheat and adding other cargo. From there we got underway and reached Rhegium (the toe of Italy); and a day later a south wind came up, so it made easy sailing north, and on the second day we came to Puteoli (one hundred and eighty miles from Rhegium, and one hundred and fifty miles southeast of Rome), which had a strong colony of Jews, so it was not surprising that some of them were Messianic believers. There we found some brothers and sisters, and we were invited to stay with them for seven days, and Julius (27:1), who had come to greatly respect Paul, allowed them to stay there for seven days before moving on. This should come as no surprise. The edict of Claudius, which Luke referred to in 18:2, dealt with a dispute in the Jewish community of Rome that seemed to involve Christ and is evidence that the gospel had already reached Italy by 50-51 AD.⁶⁴³ And in this way we began the final leg of the journey to Rome (28:11-14).

Rome was the capital of the Roman Empire. When Paul came to Rome it had existed from almost 800 years. The city itself stretched two thousand miles north and south and three thousand miles east and west. The population was about two million – one million free, one million slaves. Society was divided into roughly three classes: A small upper class, a large class of the poor, and slaves. The famous Coliseum had not yet been built, but the prominent buildings were the temple of Jupiter, the palaces of Caesar, and a temple to Mars, the god of war.

Now a second group of brothers heard about us, probably elders from the church at Puteoli who was sent up ahead of them, and came as far as the Forum of Appius on the Appian Way (forty three miles southeast of Rome) and the Three Taverns (ten miles further down the road) to meet us. They honored Paul by greeting him as the emperors were received when they arrived at Rome. It was the custom of the people to go out and meet him and escort him back into the city.⁶⁴⁴ Three years before his arrival, Paul had written his letter to the Roman believers in which he expressed his longing to come to Rome and encourage one another (Romans 1:8-13). He was looking forward to fellowshipping with them. It must have been an emotional experience for Paul to finally meet those to whom he had written. So it was not surprising that when Paul saw them, he gave thanks to God and took courage (28:15). 

60-61 AD were two years of house arrest.

Having brought Paul to Rome, Julius’ task was fulfilled and he delivered his prisoner into Imperial hands. When we entered Rome, Paul was permitted to remain in his own quarters, with a single, ordinary, soldier guarding him probably a result of the good report given by Julius the centurion (28:16). This verse concludes the brief travelogue and the we sections of Acts; therefore, it is transitional. It brings the long travel narrative to a close, and it opens the account of Paul’s witness in Rome. He was under house arrest in Rome, but what we see is that Paul’s custody in Rome was the least restrictive of all the forms he had endured since being taken captive by the Romans in Yerushalayim (see Cq – Paul is Protected by Roman Law). He was allowed to live in his own rented house; thus, he was free to bear witness to Messiah. During the next two years he is traditionally thought to have written the Captivity Epistles, with Philippians probably being the last of these in 61 AD, shortly before the resolution of Paul’s trial. In Philippians 1:13, written from this Roman custody, Paul speaks of how his message was getting through to the palace guards of Rome. Though he was the prisoner, he truly had a captive audience!⁶⁴⁵

The most important theme of the passage is that God can be taken at His word. God told Paul that he, the messenger, would testify in Rome (23:11), and Paul did. God told Paul that no lives would be lost on the ship (27:22), and none were. And God told Paul that the ship would run aground (27:26), and it did. God told Paul he would stand before Caesar (27:24), and he did. God’s word can be trusted because God can be trusted. The only thing we cannot be sure of is when God will accomplish His will.⁶⁴⁶

Many people believe in Messiah as their Savior yet never have a sense of fellowship with other believers. In Paul’s life, however, I see three strands that formed the cord of fellowship he felt with other believers.

First: Paul believed that part of his calling was to share his gifts and faith with other believers. Over and over in his letters, Paul assured churches of his prayers. He didn’t just ask God to bless them. Paul jealously sought God’s best for them. He asked big things of God because he knew God had big things to give. Paul had experienced the riches of an intimate relationship with Christ. He wanted other believers to experience those same riches.

Second: Paul believed that part of his calling was to share his gifts and faith with other believers. He truly believed that believers have an obligation to one another as well as to the lost. In First Corinthians 12:12 he said: The body is one and has many parts, and all the parts of that body, through many, are one body. Without apology, Paul instructed believers, as parts of the body of Christ, to recognize their obligation to one another – and their need for one another. Generally speaking, my spiritual gifts were given for your edification; your spiritual gifts were given for mine.

Third: Paul desired to see all people come to Christ. He preached to anyone who would listen, and he considered any convert a brother or sister. All were equally in need of salvation, and all equally loved by God. At first consideration we may fully believe we share his attitude, but sometimes we struggle with the equality of all believers. We may desire to see all people saved regardless of their position, but we don’t necessarily want them to attend worship with us.⁶⁴⁷