But when it had been determined that we should sail to Italy, they delivered up Paul and certain other prisoners to a centurion, by name Julius, of Augustus' company.
Read Full Chapter →Commentary for this Verse
The last stretch of Acts begins here. One short decision puts Paul on a ship for Italy, in the charge of a centurion, along with other prisoners. The narrator slips back into "we," and the man who had long wanted to see Rome now goes there in chains. So whose plan is this voyage?
A Decision Made Above the Court
The verse reads like an official note. Writers trace the decision back to a purpose the Lord had already spoken.
While at Ephesus Paul had "resolved in the Spirit" and said, "I must also see Rome" (Acts 19:21). More important still, it was the Lord's purpose for him: "so you must testify also in Rome" (Acts 23:11). We have just been tracing God's ways behind the scenes, bringing about the decision that we should sail for Italy.
Three Threads Pulling One Way
Roman legal process, God's purpose, and Paul's own longing all point to the same destination at once.
The governor sent Paul to Rome for a hearing before the Emperor Nero. At Rome the Lord had already determined that he should bear witness to his Saviour. He had long wished to see the Christians there. If he were allowed, he would share some spiritual gift with them when he came, so that they might be strengthened (Rom. 1:11). Roman law required his transfer to the capital. His presence there would carry God's purposes forward. It would also fulfil desires he had long held. So Paul was not going against his will, though the circumstances were not what he had first expected.
The answer to his prayers for that visit came in a form he never pictured.
When he prayed that he might reach the Christians at Rome and share some spiritual gift with them, he probably had no idea that he would go there bound in chains. But that is how it happened. And at the same time his prayers were answered, and more than answered.
The Return of "We"
The word "we" is the only sign that the writer is on board. One commentator notes how he keeps himself out of view.
His name is never once mentioned. Only the change from "they" to "we" lets us trace him... On the apostle's voyage to Italy he is with Paul the whole way to Rome (Acts 27:1 – 28:16). Through it all he certainly filled an important place... yet he keeps this silence about himself all along the way.
Free Men Who Boarded a Prison Ship
Luke and Aristarchus travel with a man in custody, and neither of them had to.
We see at once that Luke is with the apostle on his voyage, and Aristarchus also... Neither appears to have been at this time a prisoner. Both chose to share the treatment given to the prisoner. Love led them to join him in the face of shame and danger. So they did not throw away their boldness, which has great reward.
The Centurion Named Julius
Julius guards Paul the whole way. How he treats his prisoner shapes the voyage.
He treated Paul with great kindness, letting him visit his friends at Sidon and rest. Paul advised him about where they should spend the winter. But Julius, as you would expect, was swayed by the master of the ship. It proved afterwards that it would have been wiser to listen to the man of God... When the shipwreck came, Julius would not let the prisoners be killed, because he wanted to save Paul. God was watching over His servant, and turned the heart of Julius towards him.
Rough Start, Right Path
Paul had appealed to Caesar, and that appeal is why he sailed.
Looking at human causes, Paul might have bitterly regretted his appeal to Caesar, since Agrippa said that without it he might have been set free. Looking to God, all was clear. Yet though God had ordered the journey, it did not follow that everything moved with ease and smoothness. The very opposite. From the beginning the record says that "the winds were against us" (v. 4). Circumstances against us are no proof that we are out of the way of God's will. Nor do favourable circumstances have to mean that we are in the way of His will. We cannot safely judge from circumstances what may or may not be His will for us.
How the Gospel Entered the Capital
Rome already had believers before Paul ever reached it.
It is not that God had not work there already done. Many souls were there before this, calling on the name of the Lord, both Jews and Gentiles, as the letter to the Romans lets us see. But the great witness of the gospel was to enter Rome as a prisoner.
Summary
- Purpose — the sailing order was paperwork. The decision behind it was God's: Paul must testify in Rome.
- Prayer — Paul had asked to reach Rome. God answered him, and more than answered, but in chains.
- Partners — Luke rejoins the record with "we," and Aristarchus sails too. Neither was a prisoner. Love put them on that ship.
- Providence — Julius showed Paul kindness, and later refused to let the prisoners be killed. God had turned the heart of the officer who held His servant.
- Practice — the winds were against them from the start. Hard circumstances are no proof that you are outside God's will.