After three months we set sail in a ship that had wintered in the island, a ship of Alexandria, with the twin gods as a figurehead. 12 Putting in at Syracuse, we stayed there for three days. 13 And from there we made a circuit and arrived at Rhegium. And after one day a south wind sprang up, and on the second day we came to Puteoli. 14 There we found brothers and were invited to stay with them for seven days. And so we came to Rome. 15 And the brothers there, when they heard about us, came as far as the Forum of Appius and Three Taverns to meet us. On seeing them, Paul thanked God and took courage. 16 And when we came into Rome, Paul was allowed to stay by himself, with the soldier who guarded him. (ESV)

”And so we came to Rome.”

I’m struck by the simplicity of that sentence. Entirely without fanfare. Yet it represents an event of great magnitude. There is a sense of peace about Paul’s arrival in Rome, and of the good Hand of God being upon Him. God is in control, not Rome. He has His man exactly where He wants him.

‘Paul went toward Rome, as we have seen, under very different circumstances from those that he originally anticipated; but, after all, they gave him the greatest opportunity of his life. The things that befell him were for the furtherance of the gospel. In no other way could he have approached or touched such men as the centurion, or the members of Caesar’s household, or Publius, or Nero himself…How he had longed to see mighty Rome! He was now allowed to live in his own house, chained to a soldier. In these circumstances he was secure from the hatred and plottings of the Jews, who in every city had endangered his life and impeded his labours.’ F.B. Meyer

”Brothers.” What a precious, family word. How it warms our hearts, whenever we travel at home or abroad, and we encounter brothers and sisters in Christ.

‘Even an apostle needs to be encouraged at times, and the saints who met Paul did just that. The group at Appii Forum travelled about ten miles farther than the other group. How far would you go to encourage a fellow believer?’ Warren W. Wiersbe.