Acts 28:11-16 (NIV)
After three months we put out to sea in a ship that had wintered in the island. It was an Alexandrian ship with the figurehead of the twin gods Castor and Pollux. We put in at Syracuse and stayed there three days. From there we set sail and arrived at Rhegium. The next day the south wind came up, and on the following day we reached Puteoli. There we found some brothers who invited us to spend a week with them. And so we came to Rome. The brothers there had heard that we were coming, and they traveled as far as the Forum of Appius and the Three Taverns to meet us. At the sight of these men Paul thanked God and was encouraged. When we got to Rome, Paul was allowed to live by himself, with a soldier to guard him.
After three long months on the island, it finally reached the point where sailing was safe on the Mediterranean again. When an Alexandrian ship that had wintered on the island prepared to set sail for Italy, the soldiers booked passage for Paul and the other prisoners and soldiers.
Luke’s careful travelogue notes all the stops on the journey that brought Paul finally to Rome. Notable along this way was the landfall at Peteoli on the west coast of Italy, about 170 miles southeast of Rome, where Paul and his companions were invited by some believers to stay for a week before they continue their journey by road.
These fellow Christians sent messengers to Rome to announce that Paul was on the way. The Roman Christians knew of Paul through his letter to their Church that he had written nearly three years earlier, and from letters he had written to Churches in other cities that had been circulated as far as Rome.
Many of the Roman Christians set out to meet Paul along the way, going as far as the Forum of Appius and the Three Taverns, thirty miles outside Rome, where the sight of so many smiling and welcoming faces cheered Paul immensely. These brothers and sisters in Christ walked with Paul along the road all the way to Rome, chatting and getting acquainted with the apostle.
When Paul finally reached Rome, he was allowed to rent a house in the city but had to stay bound in a chain and a soldier stayed with him to act as a guard. As favorable as his reputation had become, even among the soldiers who had been with him on the ship, he was still a prisoner of the empire, and had to stay in that state until his case had been heard by the emperor.
Father, Paul’s patience is stunning to me. He could have been resentful of his chains and the guard, but he didn’t seem to be. His dealings with everyone, even the soldiers, was gracious and winsome, so that he easily won their favor. He knew that his day in court was coming, and that he would then be freed. In the meantime, he was content to just sit tight and to look for opportunities to spread the good news of Jesus to everyone around him. What a great model for us today! Amen.
If you are enjoying my blog, I invite you to check out my book, When We Listen, A Devotional Commentary on the Gospel of Mark. Just follow this url: https://www.amazon.com/When-We-Listen-Devotional-Commentary/dp/198668153X/ref=sr_1_1?keywords=when+listen+robertson&qid=1569731760&s=gateway&sr=8-1 Thanks, and God bless you all!