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Commentary Index | Return to PrayerRequest.com | DownloadPaul Kretzmann Commentary - Acts 28:11 - 28:16
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From Melita to Rome:
v. 11. and after three months we departed in a ship of Alexandria, which had wintered in the isle, whose sign was Castor and Pollux.
v. 12. And landing at Syracuse, we tarried there three days.
v. 13. and from thence we fetched a compass and came to Rhegium; and after one day the south wind blew, and we came the next day to Puteoli;
v. 14. where we found brethren, and were desired to tarry with them seven days; and so we went toward Rome.
v. 15. and from thence, when the brethren heard of US, they came to meet us as far as Appii Forum and The Three Taverns; whom when Paul saw, he thanked God and took courage.
v. 16. and when we came to Rome, the centurion delivered the prisoners to the captain of the guard; but Paul was suffered to dwell by himself with a soldier that kept him.
The stay at Melita was made as short as possible, since Julius was anxious to deliver his prisoners to the imperial court. After three months, or at the very latest at the end of February or the beginning of March, they all sailed in a ship from Alexandria which had wintered in the island, whose distinguishing mark, or sign, either on the figurehead at the prow or on the pennant, was the Twin Brothers, Castor and Pollux. These two heathen gods were considered the special protectors of sailors, and ships were often ornamented with their carved figures. Sailing almost due north, they put in at Syracuse, a city on the eastern coast of Sicily, where they remained for three days, probably waiting for favorable winds. When they had cast off here, the wind was still from the wrong quarter, and they were obliged to work up along the coast by tacking, and thus reached Rhegium, in the southwestern corner of Italy, on the Strait of Messina. Here they were more fortunate, for after a stay of only one day a steady south wind arose: enabling them in two days to come to Puteoli. Here the vessel ended her voyage, and Paul and his fellow prisoners disembarked. The city was one of the leading ports of Italy in those days, its relation to Rome being about that of Liverpool to London. Here Paul and his companions looked up and found brethren, Christians forming a congregation, and were begged by them to remain for seven days before going on to the capital, some hundred and forty miles distant. That Paul received the permission from Julius to accede to the urgent request of the local Christians shows that he was held in high respect by the Roman. Thus they here, in Puteoli, reached the boundaries of the territory of Rome, for Luke carefully distinguishes between the city proper and the wider territory which was commonly reckoned with it. News of Paul's coming had meanwhile traveled ahead to the city, where the brethren were awaiting the coming of their great teacher with eager interest. Some of the disciples of Rome went down to meet them, as far as Appii Forum, a village on the Appian Way, forty-three miles from Rome; and ten miles nearer to the capital, at Three Taverns, there was another delegation of Christians awaiting the apostle. Though the two little towns, therefore, were of no importance otherwise, and one of them, at least, was noted for its road-houses, their names have been preserved in sacred history as halting-places of Paul's company. This indication of respect and affection on the part of the Roman brethren filled Paul with great joy and comforted his heart, for when he saw them, he gave thanks to God and took courage. It is both elevating and strengthening to the faith when Christians on their journey through life find everywhere brethren that with them serve the true God of heaven. When Julius and his band of prisoners reached Rome, he delivered Paul to the proper officers, or to the prefect of the emperor's guard. And the centurion's report as well as the letter of Festus must have been very favorable; for Paul, while waiting for his case to be called and during the course of his trial, was given permission to remain in his own lodgings, having only a soldier with him as a guard. He was bound to this soldier by a light chain, a fact which map have been irksome at times, but it was almost the lightest form of imprisonment known to the Romans and gave the apostle the free opportunity to see the brethren and hold all the services that he chose to have. The exalted Christ Himself held His protecting hand over Paul, in order that the congregation at Rome might receive the benefit of Paul's teaching and be established in the Christian doctrine.