I CAN DO ALL THINGS (PART IV)

“Comfort and Courage at Forum of Appius and Three Taverns”

By Akin Ojumu

Violent storm, capsizing ship, jettisoned cargoes, weeks without food or water, shipwreck, and viper’s venomous sting. None of these were on Paul’s mind when he and 275 other passengers left the shores of Jerusalem to set sail for Italy. Yet, God chose to put him through all these hardships anyways. It wasn’t because Paul was a hardened criminal who spent his life stealing, killing, and destroying, but because he was a battle-hardened bondslave who had given his life to spreading the Good News to the ends of the earth.

It had been three months since their ship ran into the ground on the island of Malta. During that time, God had used Paul to spread the Gospel all over the tiny Mediterranean island. The leader of the island, his household, and many others had come to the saving knowledge of God and a Christian Church had been formed. What should have been a three-month of negativity and vulnerability, God has turned it around into a three-month of opportunity and productivity.

Well, all good things eventually come to an end. After three months of layover in Malta, it was time for Paul to continue his journey to Rome to testify of God in the most popular city in the world. 

Now, there’s this interesting tidbit in Paul’s departure from Malta that’s worth exploring, though. 

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.”

Castor and Pollux were Greek gods; the semi-divine sons of Zeus (Jupiter) and Leda, and the patron deities of seafarers. Several Greco-Roman writers in antiquity described Castor and Pollux as rescuers of sailors caught in storms. In first-century shipping, the image of Castor and Pollux were carved, painted, or attached as a ship’s “figurehead.”

Despite Castor and Pollux’s reputation as rescuers seafaring men, it’s kind of ironic that it was YAHWEH, and not them, who rescued Paul and the 275 other passengers aboard the ship that ran into a violent storm that shipwrecked them in Malta. While these idols were powerless to save, God fulfilled His promise to Paul that He would protect and rescue him and everyone on the ill-fated ship.

Acts 27:21-26

“Since they had been without food for a long time, Paul stood up among them and said, “Men, you should have listened to me and not have set sail from Crete and incurred this injury and loss. Yet now I urge you to take heart, for there will be no loss of life among you, but only of the ship. For this very night there stood before me an angel of the God to whom I belong and whom I worship, and he said, ‘Do not be afraid, Paul; you must stand before Caesar. And behold, God has granted you all those who sail with you.’ So take heart, men, for I have faith in God that it will be exactly as I have been told. But we must run aground on some island.””

By putting Paul, the apostle of Christ, on board a ship that boasts of protection from the twin sons of Zeus, the very same idols who had been powerless on Malta’s reefs, God seemed to be sticking His anthropomorphic fingers in the eyes of Satan. I can't help but think that YAHWEH has a divine sense of humor.

To me, Paul on a ship bearing the image of Castor and Pollux is a vivid juxtaposition of the saving power of the Almighty God against the helpless, feckless, powerless gods of Rome. That a ship dedicated to demons was the one chosen by God to carry His most-valued emissary to Rome where he would go on to preach the Gospel that would result in the depletion of Satan’s kingdom is nothing short of a divine powerplay.

Finally, Paul made it safely to Italy, docking at Syracuse where he stayed for three days. From there, he proceeded along the western coast taking the Via Appia Antica (i.e., the Appian Way aka Queen of Roads) that connects the southern part of the Italian Peninsula to Rome. Paul’s journey then took him from Syracuse to Rhegium to Puteoli to the Forum of Appius and Three Taverns to Rome. 

Before reaching Rome, however, the believers in Rome had heard that Paul was coming. Although they had long wished he would visit Rome, even as he himself had intended in his letter to the Romans, neither Paul nor the Roman brethren expected the meeting to be in these circumstances. The man whose multiple exploits they had heard told in many stories, they now found chained to a centurion like a common prisoner.

Now, it’s important to have a contextual understanding of how the Roman culture of this era viewed imprisonment and prisoners. Roman society placed a high premium on strength and honor and had a low view of weakness and shame. In a setting like that, the experience of being in custody and bonds carried devastating dishonor and shame connotations. 

In fact, the Roman authorities deliberately paraded prisoners in public bound in chains not just for the purpose of humiliating them, but to also inspire a general and sometimes lifelong contempt for the prisoners. As a result, family and friends of the prisoners were sometimes left with no choice but to abandon their incarcerated loved ones.

Given the number of times that Paul had been jailed, stripped naked, flogged, 

chained and paraded in public, you’d expect the shame of it all would have so worn out his resolve that he would simply give up in frustration. Nah! That wasn’t Paul. Instead of capitulating, the man stiffened his spin and doubled down.

2 Timothy 1:8-12

“So do not be ashamed of the testimony of our Lord, or of me, His prisoner. Instead, join me in suffering for the Gospel by the power of God…For this reason, even though I suffer as I do, I am not ashamed; for I know whom I have believed, and I am convinced that He is able to guard what I have entrusted to Him for that day.”

However, many of his most trusted associates and traveling companions weren’t similarly indignant. Many of them just up and left.

2 Timothy 4:10,16

“For Demas, in love with this present world, has deserted me and gone to Thessalonica...At my first defense, no one stood with me, but everyone deserted me. May it not be charged against them.”

Surprisingly, though, the Christians in Rome stood by Paul. Undeterred by the shame and ridicule of his chains, believers in Puteoli, Italy welcomed Paul into their homes. They even made him stay with them for seven days, before letting continue his journey to Rome.

Acts 28:11-14a

“Putting in at Syracuse, we stayed there for three days. 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. There we found brothers and were invited to stay with them for seven days.”

Even though it would have been understandable if these believers didn’t want to be seen with Paul, since they hadn’t even met the man in person and had only heard of him through stories and a letter, the believers in Rome were so eager to meet Paul they couldn’t wait for him to arrive in the city. As soon as they heard that Paul had landed in Italy, they travelled 43 miles from Rome to the Forum of Appius and the Three Taverns to welcome him.

Acts 28:15

“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.”

In the above passage, we read that Paul was “encouraged” when he saw the group of believers in Rome who had come all the way to welcome him to the Imperial City. “Paul was encouraged and thanked God.” It’s easy to gloss over that little fact and not stop to ask, “why did Paul need to be encouraged?”

Paul was a human being just like the rest of us. He wasn’t a robot with no human emotions. His walk with God didn’t make him a supernatural human. He was probably at one the lowest emotional moments of his life at this point. He had gone through some of the most harrowing experiences any follower of Christ would ever go through in their life. Paul had been on three missionary journeys, traveling over 10,000 miles on foot. He was imprisoned frequently, beaten severely, and exposed to death again and again. And now, he is on his way to Rome facing the real possibility of being tortured and executed. It’s easy to see why he needed encouragement.

2 Corinthians 11:23-25

“Are they servants of Christ? I am a better one – I am talking like a madman – with far greater labors, far more imprisonments, with countless beatings, and often near death. Five times I received at the hands of the Jews the forty lashes less one. Three times I was beaten with rods. Once I was stoned. Three times I was shipwrecked; a night and a day I was adrift at sea.”

The human heart craves love and sympathy, especially during hard times. Paul, the zealous, tough-as-nails missionary was not above this quintessential human need. The encouragement of friends soothed his aching heart, providing a healing balm that buoyed him in his hour of need (Source: Lineage).

Ellen White, in her book titled “Acts of Apostles,” describes the profound therapeutic effect of this encounter between Paul and the Roman believers at the rest area at Forum Appius and the Three Taverns.

“Few realize the significance of those words of Luke, that when Paul saw his brethren ‘he thanked God and took courage.” In the midst of the weeping and sympathizing company of believers who were not ashamed of his bonds, the apostle praised God aloud. The cloud of sadness that had rested upon his spirit was swept away. His Christian life had been a succession of trials, sufferings, and disappointments but in that hour, he felt abundantly repaid.”

Just at the right time, when Paul most needed the warm arm of human fellowship to be wrapped around his weary shoulders, God sent him the Romans believers, people whom he had never met before until that time, as a source of encouragement. While at his breaking point, God sent the much-needed succor.

My prayer is that the God of all comfort will send encouragement your way when you need it most.

We’ll take it from here next time.