Community Bible Study -- Acts Text of Presentation, Lesson 23, Acts 27:1-28:31 Click Here to see Lesson 23 Photos . . . Click Here to return to Acts Home Page

Paul Travels to Rome

The story we discussed last week may have been a high point of Paul’s ministry: witnessing for Jesus in a public audience including a Jewish king, a governor, and “the high ranking officers and the leading men of the city” of Caesarea (Acts 25:23). This was the last of many such testimonies in the halls of Roman power . . . in which, we believe, Paul brought important men to faith in Jesus.

The public audience was held so Governor Festus could gather enough information to prepare a bill of indictment to send with Paul for a trial by Caesar Nero in Rome. Luke does not appear to know what the indictment said . . . but the only thing Festus could write is that Paul was accused of Jewish religious infractions, but refused to submit to trial in a Jewish court, and instead exercised his right as a Roman citizen to appeal to Caesar. But how will a pagan like Nero decide a case based on Judaism?

Nevertheless, as today’s lesson begins, Paul starts on his way to Rome . . . as a prisoner, yes, but a privileged imperial prisoner with two travelling companions: Aristarchus from Thessalonica and Luke. He is with other imperial prisoners en route to Rome with a guard detail led by a centurion, a relatively high-ranking officer. There seems a special relationship between Julius, the centurion, and Paul . . . because on the second day, Paul is released to visit friends in Sidon. Julius may have heard Paul witness to Felix and Festus, and recognizes him as an educated and interesting traveling companion . . . a cut above the usual prisoner. Julius may even be a “closet believer”!

Chapter 27 is essentially a description of the trip across the Mediterranean from Caesarea. With the winter storm season approaching, Julius has two options to get to Rome: sail directly to Rome and hope for good weather, or sail to Philppi and take the Via Egnatia superhighway across Greece. He decides to sail to Rome; which might seem the safe choice with a group of prisoners, but it turns out to be a bad choice. Travel is slow and difficult; the ship has progressed no further than Fair Havens on Crete when the safe sailing season passes (Jews date this by Yom Kippur).

The harbor of Fair Havens is not well enough sheltered for the ship to withstand severe winter storms, so the pilot and owner decide to sail 50 miles along the coast of Crete to a harbor more suitable for spending the winter. Paul predicts the voyage will end in disaster, and he suggests to Julius that they not go . . . but Julius makes his second bad judgment, and decides to stay with the ship as the best opportunity for an early departure in the spring.

But once the ship ventures out into the sea, it’s at the mercy of the winds . . . and a hurricane force gale comes up suddenly. The sailors lose control of the ship; they throw just about everything overboard, but are still unable to regain control. When there seems no hope of being saved, Paul receives a second prophecy: the ship will run aground on an island and be destroyed, but everyone will be saved.

After 2 weeks buffeted by the wing and waves, they realize one night they are approaching land, and put down anchors to prevent the ship from being crashed into unseen rocks in the darkness. The sailors let down a lifeboat, intending to row it to shore and leave everyone else to die; but Paul realizes what’s happening, and suggests Julius cut the lifeboat loose. Paul has credibility as a prophet, so Julius complies; Paul is now in charge, with Julius as his enforcer. Just before dawn, he urges the 276 people on board to eat to gain strength for the morning task, and he leads them in prayer. The morning sun exposes a sandy beach; the sailors cut the anchors and try to sail to it . . . but the ship runs aground on a sandbar, and begins to break up from the pounding of the surf.

The soldiers are responsible for their prisoners, and will receive the prisoners’ punishments if they escape. Hence they plan to kill them to prevent any escapes; but out of consideration for Paul, Julius overrules. Fortunately, no prisoners escape, and everyone reaches land safely – aided by floatation on broken pieces of the ship.

They have landed on Malta, a small island south of Sicily. The population is described as unusually kind . . . but it’s an out-of-the-way place and the residents don’t speak Greek. Also, there are no Jews, and hence no synagogue where Paul can find “God-fearing Gentiles”: the backbone of his missionary work. Yet God opens the door for Paul to minister for Jesus in Malta through miracles. The first occurs as soon as the ship’s passengers – cold and wet – straggle onto the beach. Paul puts brushwood on a fire, and a poisonous snake bites his hand. The Maltese expect him to swell up and die; but when he doesn’t, they conclude Paul is a god!

Paul was proclaimed a “god” by pagans in a city with little Jewish influence in Lystra (cf Acts 14); then, he protested vociferously, the people turned on him, and he was stoned. Luke doesn’t say how Paul reacts this time, but trial and error has taught him to soften his message without compromising fundamentals. The net result is a major healing ministry, which causes the people to “honor” Paul and his companions (Acts 28:10). Luke doesn’t say this in Acts, but tradition is that Paul brought many Maltese to faith in Jesus and built a strong Christian congregation before he left.

When the safe sailing season arrives in the spring, Julius arranges passage to Italy on a ship which wintered in Malta. It visits Syracuse in Sicily . . . then Rhegium . . . and finally Puteoli on the Bay of Naples, 75 miles south of Rome. There are Christians in Puteoli! . . . giving evidence to the incredible spread of the gospel throughout the Roman world. Julius is anxious to get to Rome, but when Paul asks if he can I spend a week with his Christian friends, Julius agrees. So they do.

This allows Paul to send word to the church in Rome that he has arrived in Puteoli and is on his way to Rome. Paul has never been to Rome . . . but 3 years earlier he wrote a letter to the Roman church which is considered his most important epistle. Paul is well known to the believers in Rome, and they are so eager to meet him that they send delegations down the Appian Way to intercept him en route. . . and they do so at two of the way stations:  43 and 33 miles from Rome. These delegations give great encouragement to Paul; and he travels the rest of the way to Rome like a conquering hero . . . even though he’s an imperial prisoner.

Arriving in Rome, Paul is left with only one soldier to guard him. He rents a house – where friends are allowed to come and go – and he is able to write and preach at will. Most scholars believe he wrote his letters to the Ephesians, Colossians, Philippians, and Philemon from here. Life doesn’t get any better . . . except for the overhanging prospect of a trial before Caesar Nero.

Therefore, the first thing Paul does is get his defense in order. After 2 years with Felix and Festus in Caesarea, Paul knows what to say in his defense . . . but who will prosecute his case? Has the Sanhedrin sent representatives to Rome to bring charges and serve as “hearsay witnesses,” like in Caesarea? The Jews of Rome are the best source of such information; any representatives will lodge with local Jews, where they can eat kosher. (Jews expelled from Rome by Caesar Claudius more than 10 years earlier have returned in the 5+ years since Claudius’ died.)  And even if the Sanhedrin is not prosecuting Paul’s case in Rome, he wants to contact his fellow Jews right away: in other Greco-Roman cities, the local synagogue has proved his best forum for evangelism.

So Paul arranges a meeting with local Jewish leaders three days after his arrival in Rome. There he learns that they “have not received any letters from Judea concerning (Paul)” (Acts 28:21). In other words, the Sanhedrin will not press Paul’s case before Caesar. What chance do they have, anyway? Their “hearsay witnesses” failed to impress either Felix or Festus . . . and if Caesar Nero is annoyed because they have wasted his time, he might name a new high priest – or worse, pull the plug on the self-government the Sanhedrin enjoys in Jerusalem. Nero is not noted for his emotional stability; so they had best leave well enough alone. After all, Ananias and the Sadducees only want to control the temple as a source of income from sacrifices and offerings and from the temple markets. Paul in Rome is in no position to affect their control of the temple; they’re not going to put a dog in this fight. Paul seems “off the hook” on the matter of his trial. Why would Caesar want to arbitrate a Jewish religious dispute if the plaintiffs don’t show up to prosecute? Most likely Caesar will dismiss the case immediately.

But even though the Jews of Rome have heard nothing about Paul, they have heard lots about Christians . . . and what they have heard is negative: “people everywhere are talking against this sect,” they say (Acts 28:22). All this makes sense when we remember: the Sadducees control the temple, but the Pharisees dominate the synagogues outside Jerusalem. The Pharisees supported Paul against the Sadducees at his trial, because he claimed to be a Pharisee, persecuted for Pharisaic beliefs. But on the issue of the claim that Jesus is the Jewish Messiah . . . the Pharisees have been Paul’s most vociferous opponents in the synagogues, and they are the ones in contact with the Jews of Rome

It’s interesting that the Jews of Rome know about Christianity only from rumor – even though there are Christian churches in Rome and Puteoli and probably other nearby cities. These Italian churches must be Gentile, rather than Jewish-Gentile like the ones Paul founded.

Nevertheless, the Jews of Rome seem open minded: “We want to hear what your views are,” they say (Acts 28:22); and Paul would never miss an opportunity for evangelism. So Paul invites them to his home . . . and lots of people show up on the appointed day. “From morning till evening (Paul) explained and declared to them the kingdom of God and tried to convince them about Jesus from the Law of Moses and from the Prophets” (Acts 28:23). The results are predictable . . . just like the other times Paul testified in a synagogue: “Some were convinced by what he said, but others would not believe. They disagreed among themselves” (Acts 28:24-25a). But as usual, it seems there are more “con” than “pro”; so at the end of the day, Paul closes with a quote from Isaiah 6:

The Holy Spirit spoke the truth to your forefathers when he said through Isaiah the prophet: “Go to this people and say, ‘You will be ever hearing but never understanding; you will be ever seeing but never perceiving.’ For this people's heart has become calloused; they hardly hear with their ears, and they have closed their eyes.  Otherwise they might see with their eyes, hear with their ears, understand with their hearts and turn, and I would heal them.” Therefore I want you to know that God's salvation has been sent to the Gentiles, and they will listen! (Acts 28:25-28).

This is the kind of speech with which Paul usually concludes a synagogue ministry when he has been rejected; and after these comments, the Jews “began to leave” (Acts 28:25). It’s possible Paul even offended his supporters . . . because as we learned from the riots in Jerusalem, one of the most offensive things Paul says to the Jews is that “since you won’t listen, God is sending the good news of salvation to the Gentiles”; the Jews refuse to believe God offers salvation to Gentiles . . . unless they become Jews.

It’s interesting how Paul’s dialogue with the Jews of Rome seems to summarize the history of his ministry. In a new town, he began in the synagogue, where he preached Jesus as Messiah to people familiar with Messianic prophesy. But most Jews would not read God’s word for themselves . . . they accepted Jewish tradition instead. Hence Paul concluded by saying something like he says here in Rome, and went on to more fertile fields. Nevertheless – despite Paul’s strong words – in place after place he left a strong church of God-fearing Gentiles and a remnant of Jews. Paul was Christianity’s most effective missionary, throughout history. And the same pattern applies here in Rome: “for two years Paul stayed there in his own rented house” awaiting his trial by Caesar, “and welcomed all who came to see him. Boldly and without hindrance he preached the kingdom of God and taught about the Lord Jesus Christ” (Acts 28:30-31).

Acts ends with these words. But what happened in Paul’s trial before Caesar? And what happened to Paul . . . and Peter . . . and James and the Jerusalem church? There is no written record . . . but in our last session, titled “The Rest of the Story,” Christian tradition will be discussed . . . along with the historical account of the destruction of the temple, and its theological significance for both Jews and Christians as the fulfillment of a prophesy of Jesus.