The Way
Brothers Waiting at the Forum of Appius
The Rome he had longed to see
Story
Three months later they set sail in an Alexandrian ship that had wintered at the island. Its figurehead was the twin gods, the Dioscuri. They stayed three days at Syracuse, went on by Rhegium, and with a south wind came to Puteoli. There they found brothers and stayed with them seven days. And at last they walked toward Rome.
The brothers in Rome heard the news and set out. They came as far as the Forum of Appius and the Three Taverns to meet them. When Paul, a prisoner, saw their faces, he thanked God and took courage. About three years earlier, Paul had written from Corinth to these very people. Paul wrote, “I long to see you.”
In that letter Paul said he wanted to visit Rome joyfully on his way to Spain and to rest with them. It was not the way Paul had pictured it, but God really did bring Paul to Rome. When they entered Rome, Paul was allowed to live by himself. A soldier always stayed beside him to guard him.
Walk this scene on the map →Words of the Lord and of Paul
The brothers there heard about us and came as far as the Forum of Appius and the Three Taverns to meet us. When Paul saw them, he thanked God and took courage.
I long to see you so that I may share some spiritual gift with you to make you strong.
Pray that by God's will I may come to you with joy and be refreshed together with you.
The sayings are fresh renderings of the original meaning in today's language. Text: Acts 28:11–16
Background
The Forum of Appius was a market town on the Appian Way, the road running south from Rome, about sixty kilometers from the city. Three Taverns means “three inns,” and it lay about fifty kilometers from Rome.
Pause and Reflect
Can I be the first to go to a weary person and give them strength?