You Have Reached Your Destination Series

YOU HAVE REACHED YOUR DESTINATION

Text: Acts 28:11-16

Introduction

1. “God’s promises are not always fulfilled as quickly as or in the way we might hope; they come according to His timing and in His ways.”— Dieter F. Uchtdorf

2. Jesus had promised Paul that he would make it to Rome where he would preach the Good News.

3. However, along the way he stood trial, went through two weeks of bad weather at sea, was shipwrecked, and got bit by a poisonous snake. But he survived it all!

4. God makes us promises, but He never tells us it’s going to be easy, just that He will be with us every step along the way.

5. Read Acts 28:11-16

Transition: Let’s travel along with Paul on the road to Rome.

I. God Keeps His Promise

A. As we discovered last week, Paul had a time of rest and hospitable treatment by the folks on the island of Malta. However, he also had a time a tremendous ministry as all of the sick people on the island we prayed for and healed by the laying on of hands.

B. Now, it was time to move on and head for Rome. Luke tells us in vv. 11-12, “It was three months after the shipwreck that we set sail on another ship that had wintered at the island—an Alexandrian ship with the twin gods as its figurehead. 12 Our first stop was Syracuse, where we stayed three days.”

1. The three months they had spent on the island were the winter months.

2. Historians tell us that ships began to navigate the Mediterranean again around mid-February, which was probably the time they left.

3. They were able to board a ship from Alexandrea that had wintered on Malta for the winter.

4. Ships in those days were named after certain deities, and this one was named after the “twin gods,” who were the twin sons of the Roman god Zeus, and they were the patrons of navigation. Their first stop was the port of Syracuse, which is on the east coast of Sicily.

C. Next Luke tells us in vv. 13-14, “From there we sailed across to Rhegium. A day later a south wind began blowing, so the following day we sailed up the coast to Puteoli. 14 There we found some believers, who invited us to spend a week with them. And so we came to Rome.”

1. The first city they came to was Rhegium, which is called Reggio today, and is on the “toe” of Italy.

2. From there they traveled to a town called Puteoli, which now called Pouzzuli, which is about 150 miles south of Rome.

3. Since it is located in the Bay of Naples, Puteoli was the favorite entry point for Alexandrian wheat ships.

4. They stayed there for a whole week, probably because Julius, the Roman commander, had business there to attend to.

5. While they were there, Paul met with some believers and was allowed to stay with them the whole time they were there.

6. It’s possible that these were converts who had been in Jerusalem on the Day of Pentecost. When they returned home, they began telling people about Jesus!

7. Then finally, Paul made it to Rome.

D. Now that they were in Rome, Luke tells us in v. 15, ”The brothers and sisters in Rome had heard we were coming, and they came to meet us at the Forum on the Appian Way. Others joined us at The Three Taverns. When Paul saw them, he was encouraged and thanked God.”

1. The believers in Rome had heard that Paul was coming, and as you might imagine, they were excited to meet the great Apostle.

2. For us, it would be like meeting Billy Graham.

3. In fact, they were so excited to meet him, they went south and met with him at a place called the Forum on the Appian Way. The Appian Way was the oldest, straightest, and most perfectly made of all the Roman roads (Longnecker, Acts, 568), and it connected Neapolis with Rome.

4. The Forum was a famous marketplace.

5. Then some other believers met with Paul at a place called The Three Taverns which was a small town that sprouted around an inn of the same name.

6. Not only were they excited to meet with him, but he was both excited and encouraged to fellowship with them, and Paul thanked God for the fellowship.

7. Luke doesn’t tell us anything else about the Roman church but rather focuses on Paul’s evangelistic efforts.

E. Then Luke tells us, “When we arrived in Rome, Paul was permitted to have his own private lodging, though he was guarded by a soldier.”

1. Paul had finally made it to Rome. It was the most powerful city on earth at this time.