The Acts of the Apostles- 94
Pastor Marty Tuesday, March 4, 2025 at 8:57AM Subtitle: Paul Arrives in Rome
Acts 28:11-22. This sermon was preached by Pastor Marty Bonner on March 2, 2025.
The first part of this passage deals with Paul’s itinerary from the island of Malta to the city of Rome. They had wintered on Malta for about 3 months, but now it was time to get these prisoners to Rome.
They finish the trip from Malta to Rome (v. 11-16)
You can go to https://bibleatlas.org/ to see these locations. From Malta, they sail north to the island of Sicily. There they stay three days in the town of Syracuse. They then sail along the southeastern coast of Sicily headed towards the Strait of Messian. They spend a day docked at the town of Rhegium, which is on the tip of the “boot” of Italy. They then take advantage of a south wind (blowing north) and head up the western coast of modern-day Italy. They dock at a town called Puteoli and end up staying there seven days. From here, they will travel to Rome by land.
In Puteoli, they found brethren (other believers in Jesus). It is probably through them that word is sent ahead to the Christians in Rome.
As they travel to Rome, we are told that the brethren came out to meet them as far away as the Market of Appius, which was about 43 miles from Rome. This would be similar to the Rome custom of greeting a hero, or emperor, coming home to Rome from war. Of course, there is a lot of irony in the fact that Paul is in chains and on his way to Rome as a prisoner. From the viewpoint of believers, this makes him a hero, but from the Roman pagan mentality, he is not a hero.
Verse 15 tells us that Paul thanked God and took courage when he saw them. Though he is experiencing a situation that would discourage most people, we see him being encouraged by God through many means: angel visits, dreams, help from unbelievers, and help from other believers. God can and does employ a multitude of ways to help His followers.
It is easy to lose sight of the humanity of a man like Paul. If you tell someone to follow Paul’s example, or Moses, or Elijah, they typically scoff it off. “He was a saint! I’m not.” Of course, all Christians are saints, i.e., people who have been set apart by God for His purposes. But, it is easy to be derisive of such encouragement. We feel like there is no way that we can relate with a man like Paul.
When Paul is coming to Rome, he is a saint of God who is being faithful to his calling in the face of persecution. However, these people meeting him are just as much saints as he is. Paul was encouraged because a part of him was struggling with the difficulty of everything. He is just a man, needing God’s encouragement through whatever means it might come. Do you think that the Holy Spirit may have stirred their hearts to travel 40 miles in order to walk back to Rome with Paul?
We need to pay attention to this area of being encouraged because the enemy wants us to be discouraged and quit the work of God, or at least become paralyzed. Many of the encouraging things above cannot be controlled (angel visitations, what others do, etc.) However, there are somethings that are intended to encourage us, and they are completely in our control (at least, generally). We can read the Scriptures like this story and be encouraged that the same God who helped Paul is working in our life. We can pray to God and be encouraged by the Holy Spirit in our hearts. We can also be intentional in connecting with other believers. God intends for us to encourage one another.
They arrive at Rome. Paul is not handed over to the captain of the guard. Instead, he is allowed to rent a place where he can stay under the guard of a soldier. This treatment is most likely because Centurion Julius doesn’t think Paul is a flight risk and has requested this kinder treatment.
Paul calls for the leaders of the Jews of Rome (v. 17-22)
Paul would normally visit the synagogue on Saturday, but he is under house arrest. Therefore, he sends word to the Jewish leaders, asking them to meet with him.
When they arrive, he begins by explaining that he has done nothing against “our people” and the “customs of our fathers.” These counteract the main charges against Paul that have circulated throughout the Jewish communities. They accused him of being a traitor and undermining the Mosaic laws, as well as trying to destroy the temple.
Yet, he has still been delivered into the hands of the Romans as a prisoner by the Jews of Jerusalem. He also mentions that the Romans were of the mind to set him free due to the fact that there were no grounds to keep him. Yet, the Jerusalem leaders objected so much to a release that Paul had to appeal to Caesar. In all of this, Paul makes it clear that he does not intend to lay a charge against Jerusalem before Caesar. He will only present his innocence.
He tells them that he is wearing these chains for the sake of the “Hope of Israel.” His faith and belief in the Hope of Israel is at the foundation of why he is there. There are many things that we can point to as a hope of Israel, but most of these are things that they are hoping for.
The hope of Israel is another way of referencing the God of Israel. This is seen in the book of Jeremiah. Look at Jeremiah 14:7-9, particularly verse 8. Jeremiah addresses God as such. “O Hope of Israel, its Savior in time of distress, why are You like a stranger in the land or like a traveler who has pitched his tent for the night?” Again in Jeremiah 17:13-14, we see, “O Lord, the Hope of Israel, all who forsake You will be put to shame.” Ultimately God Himself was the Hope of Israel. God had also promised an Anointed Son who would redeem Israel and set all things right in the world. The Messiah then, by extension, becomes the particular means by which the Hope of Israel had promised to help and to save them.
Israel was still giving at least lip-service to the hope of Messiah’s arrival. Of course, this hope was realized in Jesus, that is the point. Jesus was the Messiah, the Hope of Israel. Yet, the leaders were not having anything with that belief. They rejected Jesus as anything but a heretic.
Let me just say that Jesus is the Hope of Israel, but he is also the Hope of Everett, WA. He is the Hope of these Fractured States of America. He is the Hope of every nation under the sun. If we are to be mistreated and looked down upon, let it be for the sake of the Hope of America.
Yet, there is a personal thing here too. The Hope of Israel has become the Hope of Paul. How? It has become so by faith. He has put his faith in Jesus. He has believed God’s witness of His Son.
If a person is connect to Hope with a capital “H”, then they have nothing to doubt or fear. Yes, in our mortal flesh, we will feel doubts and fears, but the Hope of Jesus is there to keep us out of bondage. By his Spirit, he helps us to fight through those doubts and fears. Paul was a man just like you and me. Yes, I can sense your eyes rolling. So, what is the secret? Quit looking at the chains and start looking to Jesus. Quit connecting to the doubts and fears and start connecting to the Hope of the World.
The Jewish leaders tell Paul that no letters or men have arrived in Rome. They have heard nothing about his case. This may be because they know they have no case and fear standing before Caesar “wasting his time.” It may also be that they think the problem will go away now that Paul is removed from the equation.
Of course, the work of Christ is not dependent upon any one person, even the Apostle Paul. Paul is important and you are important. Jesus works in and through all of his followers. However, no matter what happens to me, the work of Jesus will continue where he wants it to do so. The enemy can do his best to get rid of this person or that person because of their effectiveness. But, this will never stop the work of our Lord Jesus.
We need to adopt this attitude. On one hand, I am irrelevant to God’s work because I cannot stop the work of God. Yet, on the other hand, God wants me (you) to join Him in this work. He plans to use your successes and failures in order to advance His kingdom.
When that attitude surfaces that says, “I’m not Paul, so I can’t do anything.” Stop it immediately. Instead, trust God and do what He says for us to do. You know, the general call to be a witness of Jesus. And then, seek His specific calling and will in your life everyday. Do what He wants you to do.
Though these religious leaders have not heard about Paul, they have had reports about these followers of Jesus. This group is “spoken against everywhere.”
It is not easy being in a group that is maligned, pilloried, and lied against. This is what it means to stand with Jesus. In fact, today, different groups under the banner of Christianity can be the very ones maligning you. Such a place is not comfortable for our flesh, like being on a cross.
May God help us to get our eyes on something greater than the attacks against us. May we see the glory of the victory procession of King Jesus. In that day, none of the malignant statements and lies will stand!