And when they were escaped then they knew. Acts 28:1-14 Tomorrow, a revealer H. C. Trumbull, D. D. ! — A great many things are clearer today than they were last night. Tomorrow will clear up some of the mysteries of today. Weird shapes of the darkness take a matter-of-fact form when the sun rises. Doubts and fears which oppress us during the storm are found to be baseless after the clouds are scattered. This ought to comfort us when we most need cheer. What we do not know now, we shall know hereafter. If now we see as in a glass darkly, we shall then see face to face; we shall then know even as we are known. In our patience possess we our souls. "Here is the patience and the faith of the saints." ( H. C. Trumbull, D. D. )

Benson Commentary Acts 28:1 And when they were escaped, then they knew that the island was called Melita. Acts 28:1 . When they were escaped, they knew — From some of the inhabitants who came to them; that the island — On which they were cast; was called Melita — Or, Malta. This island, which took its name from the abundance of honey found therein, ( meli, in Greek, signifying honey,) lies between Africa and Sicily, about sixty miles distant from the latter country, and is about twelve miles broad, and twenty long. It consists of a chalky rock, having not more than between one and three feet depth of earth, and yet is very fertile, producing much cotton and excellent fruits. The Melitese were originally a colony of the Carthaginians, as appears from several old inscriptions in Punic characters, and from the language of the present inhabitants, the number of whom is stated to be above ninety thousand. The place on the island where Paul and his company were driven on shore is, at this day, shown to travellers, and goes by the name of St. Paul’s shore, or haven. His shipwreck here procured a kind of religious veneration to the island among Christian nations; in consequence of which, it was given, in the year of our Lord 1525, by Charles V., emperor of Germany, to the knights of Rhodes, expelled from that island by the Turks, and generally called the knights of St. John of Jerusalem. They are one thousand in number, of whom five hundred always reside on the island. In the year 1798, the French, under Bonaparte, took the island; and, in 1800, being reduced by famine, after a blockade of two years, it surrendered to the English, under whose dominion it still continues. Acts 28:2 And the barbarous people shewed us no little kindness: for they kindled a fire, and received us every one, because of the present rain, and because of the cold. Acts 28:2 . And the barbarous people showed us no little kindness — In our distressed circumstances; for they kindled a fire, &c., because of the present rain — Which had followed the storm; and because of the cold — With which, in our wet clothes, we were ready to perish. It must be observed, that the Romans and Greeks termed all people barbarians that differed from them in their language or customs. All mankind are therefore comprehended by the apostle under the distinction of Greeks and Barbarians, Romans 1:14 . The Greeks and Romans, however, were in many respects more barbarous themselves (according to the common meaning of that term) than these islanders, who, as we learn from Diodorus Siculus, (lib. 5. page 204,) were noted for their civility to strangers, and who certainly, on this occasion, gave a striking proof of that civility. They were not, indeed, as here appears, much cultivated, but the generosity which they showed to these shipwrecked strangers was far more valuable in the sight of God, and all good men, than any varnish which the politest education could give, where it did not teach humanity and compassion. Acts 28:3 And when Paul had gathered a bundle of sticks, and laid them on the fire, there came a viper out of the heat, and fastened on his hand. Acts 28:3-4 . And when Paul — Who had learned to make himself servant of all, and would stoop to any thing by which he might be serviceable, was laying on the fire a bundle of sticks — Which he had gathered; there came a viper — Which had been concealed among the wood; out of the heat, and fastened on his hand — Round which it probably twisted itself, and bit it. And when the barbarians saw the venomous beast — Or the fierce animal, as ?????? should rather be translated; the word beast being a very improper term for it; they said — Seeing also his chains; No doubt this man is a murderer — “They concluded he was a murderer, (says Elsner,) rather than a person guilty of any other crime, because they saw the viper hanging on his hand, which therefore they judged to have been the offending member, according to the rule which prevailed among the ancients, that persons were often remarkably punished in that part of the body which had been the immediate instrument of their sin;” whom, though he hath escaped the sea — Hath not been destroyed by the tempest and shipwreck; yet vengeance suffereth not (Greek, ??? ?????? , hath not suffered ) to live — They looked upon him as, in effect, a dead man already, after having been bit by that venomous creature. The poison of a viper so inflames the blood, that a person infected with it is usually tormented as with fire, and quickly dies. For this reason, the ancient Scythians, in war, used to dip their arrows in the blood and gaul of vipers, that their enemies wounded by them might die a painful and sudden death. And, in some remote times, some condemned criminals were put to death by vipers set to their breasts: by this means Cleopatra despatched herself. Though ???? , ( justice, or judgment, ) here rendered vengeance, may be understood of the divine vengeance in general; yet, as these were the words of heathen idolaters, possibly they might refer to a deity worshipped among them under that name; as we know the Greeks and Romans had a goddess whom they termed ??????? , Nemesis, the daughter of Justice, who, they supposed, punished the wicked. It must give us pleasure to trace among these barbarians the force of conscience, and the belief of a particular providence; which some people of more learning have stupidly thought it philosophy to despise. But they erred in imagining that calamities must always be interpreted as judgments. Let us guard against this error, lest, like them, we condemn, not only the innocent, but the excellent of the earth. Acts 28:4 And when the barbarians saw the venomous beast hang on his hand, they said among themselves, No doubt this man is a murderer, whom, though he hath escaped the sea, yet vengeance suffereth not to live. Acts 28:5 And he shook off the beast into the fire, and felt no harm. Acts 28:5-6 . And he shook off, &c. — Greek, ?????????? ?? ?????? , having shaken off the venomous animal into the fire, (the power of Christ interposing to preserve him,) he felt no harm — Received no injury, and took no further notice of what had happened. Howbeit, they looked when he should have swollen — The islanders, knowing that the bite of a viper was wont to occasion a sudden and painful death, expected the venom left in Paul’s flesh would have caused a burning and swelling, and that he would instantly have fallen down dead. But Christ now fulfilled in Paul the promise made to his disciples, they shall take up serpents, and if they drink any deadly thing it shall not hurt them. But after they had looked a great while — Expecting every moment the pernicious effects of the venom to appear, to their astonishment they saw no harm come to him — God hereby intended to make him remarkable among this barbarous people, and so to prepare the way for their receiving the doctrine of salvation from his lips: they changed their minds, and said that he was a god — Some deity, descended in a human form; supposing that no less power than that of a god could ward off so extreme a danger. Such is the stability of human reason! A little before he was a murderer; and presently he is a god! Just like the people of Lystra; one hour sacrificing to this same apostle, and the next stoning him. Nay, but there is a medium: he is neither a murderer nor a god, but a man of God. But natural men never run into greater mistakes than in judging of the children of God. Grotius, Whitby, and some others, think that these Melitese took Paul for Hercules, ?????????? , ( the driver away of evil, ) who was worshipped in this island, and was, according to Ptolemy, one of the gods of the Phenicians. Acts 28:6 Howbeit they looked when he should have swollen, or fallen down dead suddenly: but after they had looked a great while, and saw no harm come to him, they changed their minds, and said that he was a god. Acts 28:7 In the same quarters were possessions of the chief man of the island, whose name was Publius; who received us, and lodged us three days courteously. Acts 28:7-10 . In the same quarters — In the neighbourhood of the place where the ship was stranded, and the shipwrecked company had met with such kind treatment; were possessions of the chief man of the island — The chief in wealth, if not in power also; who received and lodged us three days — The first three days of their stay in the island, till they could all be disposed of properly through the island. For such goodness Paul was soon able to make some return. For the father of Publius lay sick of a fever — The providence of God so ordering it, that he should be ill just at this time, that the cure of him might be a present recompense to Publius for his generosity, and the cure of him by a miracle, a recompense particularly for his kindness to Paul. To whom Paul entered in and prayed — Thus showing that he could do nothing of himself, but looked to, and depended on, the living and true God alone for the recovery of the sick person; and laid his hands on him — Thus, not acting as a physician, to restore him by medicines, but as an apostle, to cure him by miracle; and healed him — Made him perfectly well in an instant. Thus, by an extraordinary fact, God recommended the gospel and the ministry of Paul to Publius and his family, and indeed to the whole island. For the news of this miracle was soon spread abroad in all parts of it, so that others also, who had diseases — Of any kind, as many as were able to travel, or could any way be brought; came and were healed — In the same manner, by prayer and the imposition of Paul’s hands. Who also honoured us, &c. — The sick people, who were thus miraculously cured, together with their relations and friends, being grateful to Paul, rewarded him and his company very liberally, performing to them, during their abode in the island, every office of kindness in their power; and, at their departure, lading them with such things as were necessary — For their voyage. Acts 28:8 And it came to pass, that the father of Publius lay sick of a fever and of a bloody flux: to whom Paul entered in, and prayed, and laid his hands on him, and healed him. Acts 28:9 So when this was done, others also, which had diseases in the island, came, and were healed: Acts 28:10 Who also honoured us with many honours; and when we departed, they laded us with such things as were necessary. Acts 28:11 And after three months we departed in a ship of Alexandria, which had wintered in the isle, whose sign was Castor and Pollux. Acts 28:11 . And after three months — The three winter months, which time Paul doubtless improved, as a true labourer in the Lord’s vineyard. We departed in a ship of Alexandria, whose sign was Castor and Pollux — Two fabulous semi-deities of the Greeks and Romans, who were said to be the sons of Jupiter and Leda, and, being translated to the heavens, formed the constellation called Gemini, or the Twins, a constellation which, when it appeared, was deemed propitious to mariners. And, as it was the custom of the ancients to have images of their gods, both on the head and stern of their ships, this Alexandrian ship had these, either on her prow or stern. And yet, in a ship having such an idolatrous image, Paul did not refuse to sail, considering it as being only the name of the ship. Acts 28:12 And landing at Syracuse, we tarried there three days. Acts 28:12 . And — Soon after, leaving Malta, they made the island of Sicily; and landing at Syracuse, tarried there three days — The ship, probably, having some goods to put ashore, or some to take in there; for the ship seems to have been making a trading voyage. This city was the metropolis of Sicily, situated on the east side of the island, and had a beautiful prospect for every entrance, both by sea and land. The port, which had the sea on both sides of it, was almost wholly surrounded with elegant buildings; all the suburbs on both sides being banked up, and supported with walls of marble. While in its splendour, this city was considered as the largest and richest belonging to the Greeks; being twenty-two miles in circuit, and equalling Carthage in its wealth. It was called Quadruplex, because it was divided into four parts; the first of which contained the famous temple of Jupiter; the second, the temple of Fortune; the third, a large amphitheatre, and a surprising statue of Apollo; and the fourth, which was the island of Ortygia, the two temples of Diana and Minerva, and the celebrated fountain of Arethusa. About two hundred and ten years before the birth of Christ, this city was taken by Marcellus, the Roman general, and, in storming the place, the famous Archimedes was slain by a common soldier, while he was intent upon his geometrical studies. He was calmly drawing his lines, and proceeding in the demonstration of a problem, when a soldier entered the room and clapped a sword to his throat. “Hold,” said Archimedes, “one moment, and my demonstration will be finished.” But the soldier, equally regardless of his prayer and demonstration, killed him instantly; Marcellus extremely regretting his death, and afterward showing singular favour to his relations for his sake. The reader that will be at the pains of consulting the Encyclopædia Britannica, on the word SYRACUSE, will find a particular account of the manner in which this illustrious geometrician, Archimedes, defended the city for a long time, by his powerful engines, against all the valour and power of the Romans, beating their galleys to pieces by huge stones projected from his machines, and by his levers, chains, and hooks from the walls, weighing the ships out of the water, tossing them to and fro, whirling them round, and dashing them in pieces against each other, or against the points of rocks which projected under the walls, or sinking them to the bottom, destroying several also by burning-glasses. In short, the account of the power of his engines is, perhaps, the most extraordinary that occurs in history; and if it were not well authenticated, would exceed all belief. How these stupendous effects were produced, few, if any, have been able to comprehend. Syracuse was afterward rebuilt by Augustus, and had, at the time Paul visited it, recovered itself so as to answer its former splendour. It had at length three castles, three walls, and a marble gate, and was able to send out twelve thousand heroes, and four hundred ships; but it received such a blow from the Saracens, A.D. 884, when they razed it, that it has not been able to recover itself since: See Calmet and the Universal History, vol. 7. p. 516; vol. 17. p. 29. Acts 28:13 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: Acts 28:13-15 . From thence we fetched a compass — Coasted round the eastern shore of Sicily; and came to Rhegium — A town on the Italian shore, opposite to Messina in Sicily; and after one day — Having a favourable gale, we pursued our voyage; and came to Puteoli — A great seaport town of Campania, not far from Naples. Here finding Christian brethren — To whom Paul was known, at least by his fame; we were desired to stay with them seven days — That they might have an opportunity of hearing Paul and conversing with him. And Julius was so good as to grant their request. After which he set out with the prisoners and soldiers for Rome, by land. And now the brethren in that city, to whom Paul was well known by his letter lately written to the Romans, hearing that he was on the road, came out to meet him — Not being ashamed of his bonds; and some of them came as far as the town of Appii Forum — Which was fifty-one miles from the city, and others to the Three Taverns, a town at the distance of thirty miles. This unlooked-for testimony of respect from the brethren at Rome, making a strong impression upon the apostle’s mind, he thanked God for it, and took courage — Finding Christ was at Rome also, and being greatly refreshed by the company and conversation of such affectionate friends. After which they all went forward to the city, where, it is supposed, they arrived in the February of A.D. 63. It is remarkable that there is no certain account by whom Christianity was planted at Rome. Probably some inhabitants of that city were at Jerusalem on the day of pentecost, ( Acts 2:10 ,) and being then converted themselves, carried the gospel thither at their return. Acts 28:14 Where we found brethren, and were desired to tarry with them seven days: and so we went toward Rome. Acts 28:15 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. Acts 28:16 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. Acts 28:16 . And when we came to Rome, the centurion delivered the prisoners to the captain of the guard — Or prefect of the pretorian band, according to his commission. It was customary for prisoners who were brought to Rome, to be delivered to this officer, who had the charge of the state prisoners. The person who now held this office was the noted Afranius Burrhus. But Paul was suffered to dwell by himself with a soldier that kept him — Dr. Lardner proves, from Ulpian, that the proconsul was to judge whether a person, under accusation, was to be thrown into prison, or delivered to a soldier to be guarded, or committed to sureties, or trusted on his parole of honour. The humanity with which Julius all along treated the apostle merits particular attention. At Sidon he allowed him to go ashore to visit his Christian friends. And, when they were shipwrecked on the island of Melita, he kept the soldiers from killing the prisoners that he might save Paul. And because some brethren at Puteoli wished Paul to remain with them a week, he was so good as to grant their desire. And, as this worthy person is said by Luke to have courteously entreated Paul through the whole of the voyage, he may have bestowed on him favours which are not particularly mentioned. Those, however, which are mentioned deserve notice, as proofs of esteem and love from a heathen very honourable to the apostle. Julius’s regard for Paul was founded, at first, on the favourable opinion which Festus, Agrippa, and the tribunes, had formed of his cause, and which no doubt, they made known to Julius before he left Cesarea. But his esteem of the apostle must have increased by what he himself observed in the course of their acquaintance. For, in his conversation, Paul expressed such just views of God and religion, and of the duties of morality; and, in his actions, showed such benevolence to mankind, and such a concern for their real interest, as could not fail to endear him to so great a friend to virtue, as this centurion seems to have been. Besides, if Paul was represented to Julius as one who could work miracles, that circumstance alone would induce him to treat him with great respect. And more especially, when he became himself a witness to the accomplishment of Paul’s prediction concerning their shipwreck, and to the miraculous cures which he performed on the sick, in the island of Melita. Julius, therefore, having so great a friendship for Paul, and, it may be, a favourable opinion of the Christian doctrine, we may suppose that when he delivered the prisoners to Afranius Burrhus, who was then pretorian prefect, he did justice to Paul by representing him, not only as entirely innocent of any real crime, but as a man of singular probity, who was highly favoured of God, and endowed with extraordinary powers. To this representation, as well as to Festus’s letter, the apostle was probably indebted for the indulgence which was shown him immediately on his arrival at Rome. For he was not shut up in a common jail, with the other prisoners, but from the very first was allowed to dwell in his own hired house, with a soldier, who kept him by means of a chain fastened to his right wrist, and to the soldier’s left arm. This is the chain of which Paul so often speaks in his epistles, calling it his bonds; and which he showed to the Jews, when they came to him on the third day after his arrival. Who, that had met Paul in these bonds, would have guessed at his real character, and have imagined him to have been one of the most upright, benevolent, and generous of mankind? Yet such the apostle undoubtedly was. See Macknight and Doddridge. Acts 28:17 And it came to pass, that after three days Paul called the chief of the Jews together: and when they were come together, he said unto them, Men and brethren, though I have committed nothing against the people, or customs of our fathers, yet was I delivered prisoner from Jerusalem into the hands of the Romans. Acts 28:17-20 . And after three days — Given to rest and prayer; Paul called the chief of the Jews together — His great love to the Jews induced him, wherever he came and found any, to labour in the first place to promote their salvation; and as he was now bound, and could not conveniently go round to them, he sent for the chief of them to come to him, his confinement not being so strict but he had liberty to receive the visits of his friends. He had reason to suppose that they might be offended, and imbibe prejudices against him, when they heard he had appealed from the courts in Judea to Cesar, and he judged it would be very proper for him to make an apology to them for so doing; and, in order to prepare their minds for receiving the gospel, to suffer nothing to be wanting on his part, to make them sensible of the affectionate regard that he had for them, notwithstanding the injurious treatment he had met with from their countrymen at Jerusalem. For these purposes he wished to have this interview with them. And when — According to his desire; they were come together — In the private house where he dwelt; he said, Men and brethren — Addressing them in respectful language; and thereby intimating, that he expected to be treated by them both as a man and a brother; though I have committed nothing against the people, &c. — Seeing him chained, they might have suspected he had committed something against them. Therefore he first obviates this suspicion. Yet was I delivered prisoner to the Romans — Their accusing him as a criminal before Felix the governor, and demanding judgment against him, was, in effect, delivering him prisoner into the hands of the Romans; and that at a time when he desired no more but a fair and impartial trial by their own law. But if he had declared the whole truth in this matter, the Jews would have appeared in a worse light than that in which he now represented them; for he might with truth have asserted that they would have murdered him without any colour of law or justice, if the Romans had not protected him. Who, when they had examined me — And had heard all that my adversaries could offer against me; would have let me go — That is, would have set me at liberty; because there was no cause of death in me — No crime, or offence, which they could judge to be a sufficient reason for putting me to death, or for keeping me under longer confinement. But when the Jews spake against it — He speaks tenderly of them, not mentioning their repeated attempts upon his life. I was constrained to appeal unto Cesar — To remove my cause to Rome, finding that the governors of Judea, one after another, stood so much in awe of the Jews, that they would not discharge me for fear of making them their enemies. Not that I had aught to accuse my nation of — Not that I had any design to accuse others; for, whatever injury I have received from any particular persons, I heartily forgive them, and wish the whole Jewish people, without exception, even my most inveterate enemies among them, all possible prosperity and happiness; but I was forced, contrary to my inclination, to make this appeal, purely in my own defence, and to prevent that assassination which I knew some persons were contriving against me. For this cause, therefore, have I called for you — As soon as I came hither; to see and speak with you — With a view, if possible, to prevent any prejudice which might be entertained by any of you to my disadvantage; because that for the hope of Israel — What Israel hopes for, namely, the Messiah and the resurrection; I am bound with this chain — And exposed to all these sufferings; and therefore, rather merit your compassion and friendship, than your resentment. Acts 28:18 Who, when they had examined me, would have let me go, because there was no cause of death in me. Acts 28:19 But when the Jews spake against it , I was constrained to appeal unto Caesar; not that I had ought to accuse my nation of. Acts 28:20 For this cause therefore have I called for you, to see you , and to speak with you : because that for the hope of Israel I am bound with this chain. Acts 28:21 And they said unto him, We neither received letters out of Judaea concerning thee, neither any of the brethren that came shewed or spake any harm of thee. Acts 28:21-22 . And they said, We have neither received letters, &c. — There must have been a particular providence in this; neither any of the brethren, (the Jews,) that came from Judea, showed or spake any harm of thee — This was very strange if true: that the restless and inveterate rage of the Jews, which had followed Paul whithersoever he went, should not follow him to Rome also, to get him condemned there, was remarkable. But, perhaps his accusers had not yet arrived; or the Jews did not dare to pursue him with their accusations into the court, to which, by appealing to Cesar, he had now removed his cause. But we desire to hear of thee what thou thinkest — What thy opinions or sentiments are, and what thou hast to say in defence of thy doctrine, as a disciple and missionary of Jesus of Nazareth; for as concerning this sect — Which professes so high regard to him; we know — In the general; that it is everywhere spoken against — And held in great contempt. This was not, nor is it ever a proof of a bad cause; but a very probable mark of a good one. Some think this refers to a fact mentioned by Justin Martyr, ( Dialog. cum Tryph., pp. 171, and 368,) and afterward by Origen, ( contra Cels., lib. 6.,) and Eusebius, ( Ecc. Hist., lib. 4. cap. 18,) that the Jews at Jerusalem sent chosen men, of the most distinguished character, all over the world, representing the Christians as an atheistical sect, and charging them with the grossest calumnies, which the ignorant heathen advanced against them. The fact itself is very credible, but as the exact date of it cannot be ascertained, it possibly might take place after this period, and so not be the cause of the reproach now everywhere cast on the Christians. The carnal mind, which is enmity against God and his holy religion, will always dispose those who are only born after the flesh, to hate, despise, and persecute those that are born after the Spirit, and this circumstance sufficiently accounts for all the obloquy and ill treatment which the disciples of Jesus met with. Acts 28:22 But we desire to hear of thee what thou thinkest: for as concerning this sect, we know that every where it is spoken against. Acts 28:23 And when they had appointed him a day, there came many to him into his lodging; to whom he expounded and testified the kingdom of God, persuading them concerning Jesus, both out of the law of Moses, and out of the prophets, from morning till evening. Acts 28:23 . And when they had appointed him a day — Which might best suit the convenience of most of them that were present; they came to him at his lodging — For though they were much prejudiced against the Christian religion, as being everywhere maligned, yet they were willing to be accurately informed concerning it, which the Jews at Jerusalem were not. And though Paul appeared among them, with every disadvantage, having been sent to Rome a prisoner, and being at this very time bound with a chain; yet they were willing to give him a patient hearing, judging it unjust to condemn a man, a party, or cause, unheard. So far, it seems, had they imbibed the fair and equitable principles of the imperial city wherein they resided. To whom he expounded — Various passages of their own Scriptures, as well as the chief principles of the Christian faith; and testified the kingdom of God — That is, bore testimony to the erection and establishment of God’s kingdom, under the Messiah; or set forth the nature of the Messiah’s kingdom, showing that it was a spiritual, not a temporal kingdom; persuading them concerning Jesus — Namely, that Jesus of Nazareth, in whose name he preached, was the very person foretold as the Lord of that kingdom; both out of the law of Moses, and out of the prophets — That is, he showed that the birth, doctrine, miracles, death, resurrection, and ascension of Jesus, and the pouring out of the Holy Spirit, had all happened exactly according to the predictions concerning the Messiah contained in the law and the prophets, and from that agreement he argued and proved that Jesus was their long-expected Messiah. On this head, he had as much need to persuade as to convince, their will making as strong a resistance as their understanding. And in such an important light did he view this subject, and so much was his heart set upon it, that he continued his discourse from morning till evening — Probably eight or ten hours, urging it upon his hearers with all his might; for he knew not when he should have such another opportunity, and therefore was willing to make the most of this. Acts 28:24 And some believed the things which were spoken, and some believed not. Acts 28:24-26 . And some believed the things which were spoken — Were happily persuaded of the truth of Paul’s doctrine, and were induced to embrace Christianity; and some — On the other hand, were so much under the influence of strong prejudice and hardened, that they believed not — But rejected the gospel, amidst all the evidence which Paul advanced to support it. And when they agreed not among themselves — But were of opposite opinions; they departed — The assembly broke up; after that Paul had spoken one word — In the close of all, on account of that obstinacy which he observed to prevail in most of them; Well spake the Holy Ghost unto our fathers — What is equally applicable to you; saying, Go unto this people — Perverse and obstinate as they are; and say, Hearing ye shall hear, &c. — That is, ye shall most surely hear; and shall — Or rather will; not understand — The words seem to denote a judicial blindness, consequent upon a wilful and obstinate resistance of the truth. See notes on Isaiah 6:9-10 ; Matthew 13:14 ; John 12:40 . We may observe here, that this passage of Isaiah is quoted oftener in the New Testament than any other taken from the Old; namely, no fewer than six times: (see the margin:) and yet in such a variety of expressions, as plainly proves that the apostles did not confine themselves exactly, either to the words of the original Hebrew or of the Greek version. Acts 28:25 And when they agreed not among themselves, they departed, after that Paul had spoken one word, Well spake the Holy Ghost by Esaias the prophet unto our fathers, Acts 28:26 Saying, Go unto this people, and say, Hearing ye shall hear, and shall not understand; and seeing ye shall see, and not perceive: Acts 28:27 For the heart of this people is waxed gross, and their ears are dull of hearing, and their eyes have they closed; lest they should see with their eyes, and hear with their ears, and understand with their heart, and should be converted, and I should heal them. Acts 28:28 Be it known therefore unto you, that the salvation of God is sent unto the Gentiles, and that they will hear it. Acts 28:28-29 . Be it known, therefore, &c. — Having reproved the unbelieving and disobedient among his hearers, he assured them that the salvation of God, which they despised and seemed to fortify themselves against, was sent unto the Gentiles — Namely, more especially from that time; and that they would hear and embrace it, and so inherit the blessings which these Jews rejected. His words imply, that he would, from that day forward, turn to the Gentiles; and would seek, in their faith and obedience, his consolation under that grief which the infidelity of his brethren gave him. Before this, it must be observed, no apostle had been at Rome. St. Paul was the first. And when he had said these words — The last, it seems, that he

Expositor's Bible Commentary Acts 28:1 And when they were escaped, then they knew that the island was called Melita. Acts 28:16 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. 3 Chapter 18 IN PERILS ON THE SEA. Acts 27:1-3 ; Acts 28:16 THIS chapter terminates our survey of the Acts of the Apostles, and leads us at the same time to contemplate the Apostle of the Gentiles in a new light as a traveller and as a prisoner, in both which aspects he has much to teach us. When St. Paul was despatched to the judgment-seat of Caesar from the port of Caesarea, he had arrived at the middle of his long captivity. Broadly speaking, he was five years a prisoner from the day of his arrest at Jerusalem till his release by the decision of Nero. He was a prisoner for more than two years when Festus sent him to Rome, and then at Rome he spent two more years in captivity, while his voyage occupied fully six months. Let us now first of all look at that captivity, and strive to discover those purposes of good therein which God hides amidst all his dispensations and chastisements. We do not always realise what a length of time was consumed in the imprisonments of St. Paul. He must have spent from the middle of 58 to the beginning of 63 as a prisoner, cut off from many of those various activities in which he had previously laboured so profitably for God’s cause. That must have seemed to himself and to many others a terrible loss to the gospel; and yet now, as we look back from our vantage-point, we can see many reasons why the guidance of his heavenly Father may have led directly to this imprisonment, which proved exceedingly useful for himself and his own soul’s health, for the past guidance and for the perpetual edification of the Church of Christ. There is a text in Ephesians 4:1 which throws some light on this incident. In that Epistle, written when St. Paul was a captive at Rome, he describes himself thus, "I therefore the prisoner in the Lord," or "the prisoner of the Lord," as the Authorised Version puts it. These words occur as the beginning of the Epistle for the Seventeenth Sunday after Trinity. Now there is often a marvellous amount of spiritual wisdom and instruction to be gained from a comparison between the, epistles and gospels and the collects for each Sunday. All my readers may not agree in the whole theological system which underlies the Prayer Book, but every one will acknowledge that its services and their construction are the result of rich and varied spiritual experiences extending over a period of more than a thousand years. The mere contrast of an epistle and of a collect will often suggest thoughts deep and searching. So it is with this text, "I therefore the prisoner in the Lord." It is preceded by the brief pithy prayer, "Lord, we pray Thee that Thy grace may always prevent and follow us, and make us continually to be given to all good works, through Jesus Christ our Lord." The words of St. Paul to the Ephesians speaking of himself as the prisoner of God and in God suggested immediately the idea of God’s grace surrounding, shaping, constraining to His service every external circumstance; and thus led to the formation of the collect which in fact prays that we may realise ourselves as so completely God’s as, like the Apostle, continually to be given to all good works. St. Paul realised himself as so prevented, using that word in its ancient sense, preceded and followed by God’s grace, guarded before and behind by it, that he looked beyond the things seen, and discarding all secondary agents and all lower instruments, he viewed his imprisonment as God’s own immediate work. I. Let us then see in what way we may regard St. Paul’s imprisonment as an arrangement and outcome of Divine love. Take, for instance, St. Paul in his own personal life. This period of imprisonment, of enforced rest and retirement, may have been absolutely necessary for him. St. Paul had spent many a long and busy year building up the spiritual life of others, founding churches, teaching converts, preaching, debating, struggling, suffering. His life had been one of intense spiritual, intellectual, bodily activity on behalf of others. But no one can be engaged in intense activity without wasting some of the spiritual life and force necessary for himself. Religious work, the most direct spiritual activity, visiting the sick, or preaching the gospel, or celebrating the sacraments, make a tremendous call upon our devotional powers and directly tend to lower our spiritual vitality, unless we seek abundant and frequent renewal thereof at the source of all spiritual vitality and life. Now God by this long imprisonment took St. Paul aside once again, as He had taken him aside twenty years before, amid the rocks of Sinai. God laid hold of him in his career of external business, as He laid hold of Moses in the court of Pharaoh, leading him into the wilderness of Midian for forty long years. God made St. Paul His prisoner that, having laboured for others, and having tended diligently their spiritual vineyard, he might now watch over and tend his own for a time. And the wondrous manner in which he profited by his imprisonment is manifest from this very Epistle to the Ephesians, in which he describes himself as God’s prisoner - not, be it observed, the prisoner of the Jews, or of the Romans, or of Caesar, but as the prisoner of God-dealing in the profoundest manner, as that Epistle does, with the greatest mysteries of the Christian faith. St. Paul had an opportunity during those four or five years, such as he never had before, of realising, digesting, and assimilating in all their fulness the doctrines he had so long proclaimed to others, and was thus enabled out of the depth of his own personal experience to preach what he felt and knew to be true, the only kind of teaching which will ever be worth anything. Again, St. Paul designates himself the prisoner of the Lord because of the benefits his imprisonment conferred upon the Church of Christ in various ways. Take his imprisonment at Caesarea alone. We are not expressly told anything about his labours during that time. But knowing St. Paul’s intense energy we may be sure that the whole local Christian community established in that important centre whence the gospel could diffuse itself as far as the extremest west on the one side and the extremest east on the other, was permeated by his teaching and vitalised by his example. He was allowed great freedom, as the Acts declares. Felix "gave orders to the centurion that he should be kept in charge, and should have indulgence; and not to forbid any of his friends to minister unto him." If we take the various centurions to whom he was intrusted, we may be sure that St. Paul must have omitted no opportunity of leading them to Christ. St. Paul seems to have known how to make his way to the hearts of the Roman soldiers, as his subsequent treatment by Julius the centurion shows, and that permission of the governor would be liberally interpreted when deputies from distant churches sought his presence. Messengers from the various missions he had founded must have had recourse to Caesarea during those two years spent there, and thence too was doubtless despatched many a missive of advice and exhortation. At Caesarea, too, may then have been written the Gospel of St. Luke. Lewin (vol. 1. p. 221), indeed, places its composition at Philippi, where St. Luke laboured for several years prior to St. Paul’s visit in 57 A.D. after leaving Ephesus; and he gives as his reason for this conclusion that St. Paul called St. Luke in 2 Corinthians 8:18 , written about that time, "the brother whose praise is in the Gospel," referring to his Gospel then lately published. I think the suggestion much more likely that St. Luke took advantage of this pause in St. Paul’s activity to write his Gospel at Caesarea when he had not merely the assistance of the Apostle himself, but of Philip the deacon, and was within easy reach of St. James and the Jerusalem Church. St. Luke’s Gospel bears evident traces of St. Paul’s ideas and doctrine, was declared by Irenaeus ("Haer.," 3:1) to have been composed under his direction, and may with much probability be regarded as one of the blessed results flowing forth from St. Paul’s detention as Christ’s prisoner given by Him in charge to the Roman governor. The Apostle’s Roman imprisonment again was most profitable to the Church of the imperial capital. The Church of Rome had been founded by the efforts of individuals. Private Christians did the work, not apostles or eminent evangelists. St. Paul came to it first of all as a prisoner, and found it a flourishing church. And yet he benefited and blessed it greatly. He could not, indeed, preach to crowded audiences in synagogues or porticos as he had done elsewhere. But he blessed the Church of Rome most chiefly by his individual efforts. This man came to him into his own hired house, and that man followed him attracted by the magnetic influence he seemed to bear about. The soldiers appointed as his keepers were told the story of the Cross and the glad tidings of the resurrection life, and these individual efforts were fruitful in vast results, so that even into the household and palace of the Caesars did this patient, quiet, evangelistic work extend its influence. Nowhere else, in fact, not even in Corinth, where St. Paul spent two whole years openly teaching without any serious interruption; not even in Ephesus, where he laboured so long that all who dwelt in Asia heard the word; nowhere else was the Apostle’s ministry so effective as here in Rome, where the prisoner of the Lord was confined to individual effort and completely laid aside from more public and enlarged activity. It was with St. Paul as it is with God’s messengers still. It is not eloquent or excited public efforts, or platform addresses, or public debates, or clever books that are most fruitful in spiritual results. Nay, it is often the quiet individual efforts of private Christians, the testimony of a patient Sufferer perhaps, the witness all-powerful with men, of a life transformed through and through by Christian principle, and lived in the perpetual sunshine of God’s reconciled countenance. These are the testimonies that speak most effectually for God, most directly to souls. Lastly, St. Paul’s imprisonment blessed the Church of every age, and through it blessed mankind at large far more than his liberty and his external activity could have done in one other direction. Is it not a contradiction in terms to say that the imprisonment of this courageous leader, this eloquent preacher, this keen, subtle debater, should have been more profitable to the Church than the exercise of his external freedom and liberty, when all these dormant powers would have found ample scope for their complete manifestation? And yet if Christ had not laid His arresting hand upon the active, external labour in which St. Paul had been absorbed, if Christ had not cast the busy Apostle into the Roman prison-house, the Church of all future time would have been deprived of those masterly expositions of Christian truth which she now enjoys in the various Epistles of the Captivity, and specially in those addresses to the churches of Ephesus, Philippi, and Colossae. We have now noted some of the blessings resulting from St. Paul’s five years’ captivity, and indicated a line of thought which may be applied to the whole narrative contained in the two chapters with which we are dealing. St. Paul was a captive, and that captivity gave him access at Caesarea to various classes of society, to the soldiers, and to all that immense crowd of officials connected with the seat of government, quaestors, tribunes, assessors, apparitors, scribes, advocates. His captivity then led him on board ship, and brought him into contact with the sailors and with a number of passengers drawn from diverse lands. A storm came on, and then the Apostle’s self-possession, his calm Christian courage, when every one else was panic-stricken, gave him influence over the motley crowd. The waves flung the ship of Alexandria in which he was travelling upon Malta, and his stay there during the tempestuous winter months became the basis of the conversion of its inhabitants. Everywhere in St. Paul’s life and course at this season we can trace the outcome of Divine love, the power of Divine providence shaping God’s servant for His own purposes, restraining man’s wrath when it waxed too fierce, and causing the remainder of that wrath to praise Him by its blessed results. II. Let us now gather up into a brief narrative the story contained in these two chapters, so that we may gain a bird’s-eye view over the whole. Festus entered upon his provincial rule about June, A.D. 60. According to Roman law the outgoing governor, of whatever kind he was, had to await his successor’s arrival and hand over the reins of government-a very natural and proper rule which all civilised governments observe. We have no idea how vast the apparatus of provincial, or, as we should say. colonial government among the Romans was, and how minute their regulations were, till we take up one of those helps which German scholars have furnished towards the knowledge of antiquity, as, for instance, Mommsen’s "Roman Provinces," which can be read in English, or Marquardt’s "Romische Staatsverwaltung," vol. 1, which can be studied either in German or French. The very city where first the new governor was to appear and the method of fulfilling his duties as the Judge of Assize were minutely laid down and duly followed a well-established routine. We find these things indicated in the case of Festus. He arrived at Caesarea. He waited three days till his predecessor had left for Rome, and then he ascended to Jerusalem to make the acquaintance of that very troublesome and very influential city. Festus then returned to Caesarea after ten days spent in gaining an intimate knowledge of the various points of a city which often before had been the centre of rebellion, and where he might at any moment he called upon to act with sternness and decision. He at once heard St. Paul’s cause as the Jews had demanded, brought him a second time before Agrippa, and then in virtue of his appeal to Caesar despatched him to Rome in care of a centurion and a small band of soldiers, a large guard not being necessary, as the prisoners were not ordinary criminals, but for the most part men of some position, Roman citizens, doubtless, who had, like the Apostle, appealed unto the judgment of Caesar. St. Paul embarked, accompanied by Luke and Aristarchus, as the ship, being an ordinary trading vessel, contained not only prisoners, but also passengers as well. We do not intend to enter upon the details of St. Paul’s voyage, because that lies beyond our range, and also because it has been thoroughly done in the various "Lives" of the Apostle, and above all in the exhaustive work of Mr. James Smith of Jordanhills. He has devoted a volume to this one topic, has explored every source of knowledge, has entered to discussions touching the build and rigging of ancient ships and the direction of Mediterranean winds, has minutely investigated the scenery and history of such places as Malta where the Apostle was wrecked, and has illustrated the whole with beautiful plates and carefully drawn maps. That work has gone through four editions at least, and deserves a place in every man’s library who wishes to understand the life and labours of St. Paul or study the Acts of the Apostles. We may, however, without trenching on Mr. Smith’s field, indicate the outline of the route followed by the holy travellers. They embarked at Caesarea under the care of a centurion of the Augustan cohort, or regiment, as we should say, whose name was Julius. They took their passage at first in a ship of Adramyttium, which was probably sailing from Caesarea to lie up for the winter. Adramyttium was a seaport situated up in the northwest of Asia Minor near Tress, and the Sea of Marmora, or, to put it in modern language, near Constantinople. The ship was in fact, about to travel over exactly the same ground as St. Paul himself had traversed more than two years before when he proceeded from Troas to Jerusalem. Surely, some one may say, this was not the direct route to Rome. But then we must throw our, selves back into the circumstances of the period. There was then no regular transport service. People, even the most exalted, had to avail themselves of whatever means of communication chance offered. Cicero, when chief governor of Asia, had, as we have already noted, to travel part of the way from Rome in undecked vessels, while ten years later than St. Paul’s voyage the Emperor Vespasian himself, the greatest potentate in the world; had no trireme or warship waiting upon him, but when he wished to proceed from Palestine to Rome, at the time of the great siege of Jerusalem, was obliged to take a passage in an ordinary merchant vessel or cornship. It is no wonder, then that the prisoners were put on board a coasting vessel of Asia, the centurion knowing right well that in sailing along by the various ports which studded the shore of that province they would find some other vessel into which they could be transferred. And this expectation was realised. The centurion and his prisoners sailed first of all to Sidon, where St. Paul found a Christian Church. This circumstance illustrates again the quiet and steady growth of the gospel kingdom, and also gave Julius an opportunity of exhibiting his kindly feelings towards the Apostle by permitting him to go and visit the brethren. In fact. we would conclude from this circumstance that St. Paul had already begun to establish an influence over the mind of Julius which must have culminated in his conversion. Here, at Sidon, he permits him to visit his Christian friends; a short time after his regard for Paul leads him to restrain his troops from executing the merciless purposes their Roman discipline had taught them and slaying all the prisoners lest they should escape; and yet once again, when the prisoners land on Italian soil and stand beside the charming scenery of the Bay of Naples, he permits the Apostle to spend a week with the Christians of Puteoli. After this brief visit to the Sidonian Church, the vessel bearing the Apostle pursues its way by Cyprus to the port of Myra at the southwestern corner of Asia Minor, a neighbourhood which St. Paul knew right well and had often visited. It was there at Patara, close at hand, that he had embarked on board the vessel which carried him two years before to Palestine, and it was there too at Perga of Pamphylia that he had first landed on the shores of the Asiatic province, seeking to gather its teeming millions into the fold of Jesus Christ. Here at Myra the centurion realised his expectations, and finding an Alexandrian transport sailing to Italy he put the prisoners on board. From Myra they seem to have sailed at once, and from the day they left it their misfortunes began. The wind was contrary, blowing from the west, and to make any way they had to sail to the island Cnidus, which lay northwest of Myra. After a time, when the wind became favourable, they sailed southwest till they reached the island of Crete, which lay half-way between Greece and Asia Minor. They then proceeded along the southern coast of this island till they were struck by a sudden wind coming from the northeast, which drove them first to the neighbouring island of Clauda, and then, after a fortnight’s drifting through a tempestuous sea, hurled the ship upon the shores of Malta. The wreck took place towards the close of October or early in November, and the whole party were obliged to remain in Malta till the spring season permitted the opening of navigation. During his stay in Malta St. Paul performed several miracles. With his intensely practical and helpful nature the Apostle flung himself into the work of common life, as soon as the shipwrecked party had got safe to land. He always did so. He never despised, like some religious fanatics, the duties of this world. On board the ship he had been the most useful adviser to the whole party. He had exhorted the captain of the ship not to leave a good haven; he had stirred up the soldiers to prevent the sailors’ escape; he had urged them all alike, crew and passengers and soldiers, to take food, foreseeing the terrible struggle they would have to make when the ship broke up. He was the most practical adviser his companions could possibly have had, and he was their wisest and most religious adviser too. His Words on board ship teem with lessons for ourselves, as well as for his fellow-passengers. He trusted in God, and received special revelations from heaven, but he did not therefore neglect every necessary human precaution. The will of God was revealed to him that he had been given all the souls that sailed with him, and the angel of God cheered and comforted him in that storm-driven vessel in Adria, as often before when howling mobs thirsted like evening wolves for his blood. But the knowledge of God’s purposes did not cause his exertions to relax. He knew that God’s promises are conditional upon man’s exertions, and therefore he urged his companions to be fellow-workers with God in the matter of their own salvation from impending death. And as it was on board the ship, so was it on the shore. The rain was descending in torrents, and the drenched passengers were shivering in the cold. St. Paul shows the example, so contagious in a crowd, of a man who had his wits about him, knew what to do and would do it. He gathered therefore a bundle of sticks, and helped to raise a larger fire in the house which had received him. A man is marvellously helpful among a cowering and panic-stricken crowd which has just escaped death who will rouse them to some practical efforts for themselves, and will lead the way as the Apostle did on this occasion. And his action brought its own reward. He had gained influence over the passengers, soldiers, and crew by his practical helpfulness. He was now to gain influence over the barbarian islanders in exactly the same way. A viper issued from the fire and fastened on his hand. The natives expected to see him fall down dead; but after looking awhile and perceiving no change, they concluded him to be a god who had come to visit them. This report soon spread. The chief man therefore of the island sought out St. Paul and entertained him. His father was sick of dysentery and the Apostle healed him, using prayer and the imposition of hands as the outward symbols and means of the cure, which spread his fame still farther and led to other miraculous cures. Three months thus passed away. No distinct missionary work is indeed recorded by St. Luke, but this is his usual custom in writing his narrative. He supposes that Theophilus, his friend and correspondent, will understand that the Apostle ever kept the great end of his life in view, never omitting to teach Christ and Him crucified to the perishing multitudes where his lot was cast. But St. Luke was not one of those who are always attempting to chronicle spiritual successes or to tabulate the number of souls led to Christ. He left that to another day and to a better and more infallible judge. In three months’ time, when February’s days grew longer and milder winds began to blow, the rescued travellers joined a corn-ship of Alexandria, which had wintered in the island, and all set forward towards Rome. They touched at Syracuse in Sicily, sailed thence to Rhegium, passing through the Straits of Messina, whence, a favourable south wind springing up, and the vessel running before it at the rate of seven knots an hour, the usual speed for ancient vessels under the circumstances, they arrived at Puteoli, one hundred and eighty-two miles distant from Rhegium, in the course of some thirty hours. At Puteoli the sea voyage ended. It may at first seem strange to us with our modern notions that St. Paul was allowed to tarry at Puteoli with the local Christian Church for seven days. But then we must remember that St. Paul and the centurion did not live in the days of telegraphs and railway trains. There was. doubtless a guard-room, barrack, or prison in which the prisoners could be accommodated. The centurion and guard were weary after a. long and dangerous journey, and they would be glad of a brief period of repose before they set out again towards the capital. This hypothesis alone would be quite sufficient to account for the indulgence granted to St. Paul, even supposing that his Christian teaching had made no impression on the centurion. The Church existing then at Puteoli is another instance of that quiet diffusion of the gospel which was going on all over the world without any noise or boasting. We have frequently called attention to this, as at Tyre, Ptolemais, Sidon, and here again we find a little company of saintly men and women gathered out of the world and living the ideal life of purity and faith beside the waters. of the Bay of Naples. And yet it is quite natural that we should find them at Puteoli, because it was one of the great ports which received the corn-ships of Alexandria and the merchantmen of Caesarea and Antioch into her harbour, and in these ships many a Christian came bringing the seed of eternal life, which he diligently sowed as he travelled along the journey of life. In fact, seeing that the Church of Rome had sprung up and flourished so abundantly, taking its origin not from any Apostle’s teaching, but simply from such sporadic effects, we cannot wonder that Puteoli, which lay right on the road from the East to Rome, should also have gained a blessing. A circumstance, however, has come to light within the last thirty years which does surprise us concerning this same neighbourhood, showing how extensively the gospel had permeated and honeycombed the country parts of Italy within the lifetime of the first apostles and disciples of Jesus Christ. Puteoli was a trading town, and Jews congregated in such places, and trade lends an element of seriousness to life which prepares a ground fitted for the good seed of the kingdom. But pleasure pure and unmitigated and a life devoted to its pursuit do not prepare such a soil. Puteoli was a trading city, but Pompeii was a pleasure-loving city thinking of nothing else, and where sin and iniquity consequently abounded. Yet Christianity had made its way into Pompeii in the lifetime of the apostles. How then do we know this? This is one of the results of modern archaeological investigations and of epigraphical research, two great sources of new light upon early Christian history which have been only of late years duly appreciated. Pompeii, as every person of moderate education knows, was totally overthrown by the first great eruption of Mount Vesuvius in the year 79 A.D. It is a curious circumstance that contemporaneous authors make but the very slightest and most dubious references to that destruction, though one would have thought that the literature of the time would have rung with it; proving conclusively, if proof be needed, how little the argument from silence is worth, when the great writers who tell minutely about the intrigues and vices of emperors and statesmen of Rome do not bestow a single chapter upon the catastrophe which overtook two whole cities of Italy. These cities remained for seventeen hundred years concealed from human sight or knowledge till revealed in the year 1755 by excavations systematically pursued. All the inscriptions found therein were undoubtedly and necessarily the work of persons who lived before A.D. 79 and then perished. Now at the time that Pompeii was destroyed there was a municipal election going on, and there were found on the walls numerous inscriptions formed with charcoal which were the substitutes then used for the literature and placards with which every election decorates our walls. Among these inscriptions of mere passing and transitory interest, there was one found which illustrates the point at which we have been labouring, for there, amid the election notices of 79 A.D., there appeared, scribbled by some idle hand, the brief words, "Igni gaude, Christiane" ("O Christian, rejoice in the fire"), proving clearly that Christians existed in Pompeii at that time, that they were known as Christians and not Under any other appellation, that persecution and death had reached them, and that they possessed and displayed the same undaunted spirit as their great leader and teacher St. Paul, being enabled like him to rejoice even amid the seven-fold-heated fires, and in view of the resurrection life to lift the victorious paean, "Thanks be to God, which giveth us the victory through our Lord Jesus Christ." After the week’s rest at Puteoli the centurion marched towards Rome. The Roman congregation had received notice of St. Paul’s arrival by this time, and so the brethren despatched a deputation to meet an apostle with whom they were already well acquainted through the epistle he had sent them, as well as through the reports of various private Christians like Phoebe, the deaconess of Cenchreae. Two deputations from the Roman Church met him, one at Appii Forum, about thirty miles, another at the Three Taverns, about twenty miles from the city. How wonderfully the heart of the Apostle must have been cheered by these kindly Christian attentions! We have before noticed in the cases of his Athenian sojourn and elsewhere how keenly alive he was to the offices of Christian friendship, how cheered and strengthened he was by Christian companionship. It was now the same once again as it was then. Support and sympathy were now more needed than ever before, for St. Paul was going up to Rome not knowing what should happen to him there or what should be his sentence at the hands of that emperor whose cruel character was now famous. And as it was at Athens and at Corinth and elsewhere, so was it here on the Appian Way and amid the depressing surroundings and unhealthy atmosphere of those Pomptine Marshes through which he was passing; "when Paul saw the brethren, he thanked God, and took courage." And now the whole company of primitive Christians proceeded together to Rome, allowed doubtless by the courtesy and thoughtfulness of Julius ample opportunities of private conversation. Having arrived at the imperial city, the centurion hastened to present himself and his charge to the captain of the praetorian guard, whose duty it was to receive prisoners consigned to the judgment of the Emperor. Upon the favourable report of Julius, St. Paul was not detained in custody, but suffered to dwell in his own hired lodgings, where he established a mission station whence he laboured most effectively both amongst Jews and Gentiles during two whole years. St. Paul began his work at Rome exactly as he did everywhere else. He called together the chief of the Jews, and through them strove to gain a lodgment in the synagogue. He began work at once. After three days, as soon as he had recovered from the fatigue of the rapid march along the Appian Way, he sent for the chiefs of the Roman synagogues, which were very numerous. How, it may be thought, could an unknown Jew entering Rome venture to summon the heads of the Jewish community, many of them men of wealth and position? But, then, we must remember that St. Paul was no ordinary Jew from the point of view taken by Roman society. He had arrived in Rome a state prisoner, and he was a Roman citizen of Jewish birth, and this at once gave him position entitling him to a certain amount of consideration. St. Paul told his story to these chief men of the Jews, the local Sanhedrin perhaps, recounted the bad treatment he had received at the hands of the Jews of Jerusalem, and indicated the character of his teaching which he wished to expound to them. "For this cause therefore did I entreat you to see and speak with me: for because of the hope of Israel I am bound with this chain," emphasising the Hope of Israel, or their Messianic expectation, as the cause of his imprisonment, exactly as he had done some months before when pleading before King Agrippa. { Acts 26:6-7 ; Acts 26:22-23 } Having thus briefly indicated his desires, the Jewish council intimated that no communication had been made to them from Jerusalem about St. Paul. It may have been that his lengthened imprisonment at Caesarea had caused the Sanhedrin to relax their vigilance, though we see that their