Acts 28:15

Act_28:15

…The brethren … came to meet us as far as Appii Forum, and The three taverns: whom when Paul saw, he thanked God, and took courage.

The meeting at Appii Forum and The Three Taverns

The effect of this meeting on Paul requires explanation. He found brethren at Puteoli, but no such feelings were aroused there. What was there then in this incident to so powerfully and beneficially affect the apostles mind? He regarded it--

I. As expressive of the sympathy of the Christian Church in Rome. Sympathy is solace and help. Like the oil and wine of the good Samaritan--it heals and strengthens. It would be thoroughly appreciated by Paul, who told the Romans to Rejoice with them that do rejoice, and weep with them that weep. This sympathy was--

1. Timely. Think of Pauls circumstances.

2. Practical. It travelled further than mere sentiment and words--even thirty-three and fifty miles of hard road.

3. Noble. Paul was a prisoner, but they did not despise his chain; he was a Christian about to answer for his life, yet they dared to identify themselves with him.

II. As a token of Gods providential care. His elation on these occasions implies a previous corresponding depression. As the angel who stood by him in the night season made him of good cheer, so these brethren constrained him to thank God and take courage. But how trivial is the event mentioned! Not in the estimation of faith. It indicated the hand of God. The cloud seen by the servant on Carmel was in itself a little thing, but it was of great moment to Elijah. By no means could Paul be more effectually cheered than by a vivid realisation of Gods care for him. If God be for us, who can be against us?

III. As prophetic of the universal triumph of Christianity. Doubtless the chief cause of depression was apprehension in reference to the gospel. He was deprived of his liberty; his life was in jeopardy. Alas! for the Churches he had planted; alas! for the progress of the Word of life. But, lo! brethren arrive from Rome. The gospel has taken firm hold on Rome, and from thence it shall diffuse itself to the ends of the earth! He could not serve the gospel better than he did during those two whole years which he spent here. Conclusion: The subject teaches us further--

1. That the most eminent of Gods servants may be discouraged.

2. That God will opportunely interfere in their behalf.

3. That such interpositions should work in them gratitude and confidence. (Homilist.)

Thankfulness and courage

I. Thankfulness for the past. The Bible is full of exhortations to thankfulness, which leads us to regard it--

1. As a duty--

(1) To ourselves. Gloom and despondency are injurious, while a merry heart doeth good like medicine. Sunshine is good for health as medical men know, for they are careful to put all the patients they can in the sunny rooms of hospitals. Why, then, put children in a shady back room, when the best room is in the front, with the blinds down for fear of spoiling the carpet. Better pay for a new carpet than pay for doctors bills. Value the sunshine, for no one grows strong in Doubting Castle. It is in Beulah, where the sun always shines, that men grow strong; and the more sunshine the better, for sunshine here prepares us for Gods sunshine hereafter.

(2) To others. No man liveth to himself. Every one must cheer or depress, help or hinder those around him.

(3) To the Church. It is a blunder that the good God has given as a religion of gloom. Let the services of the Church be cheerful. Take your doubts and fears to the Mercy Seat in private, and dont air them at fellowship meetings.

(4) To the world. Religion was created to make the world happy. To be gloomy is to say that religion is a failure.

(5) To God. Thankfulness glorifies Him, and that is the great business of life.

2. As a reasonable service. Reasons for thankfulness abound on every side.

(1) Look at the evils escaped. There is a tendency to look at those who have more than ourselves; the bright thing is to look at those who have less. It is common to look at a splendid equipage and envy the possessor; why not look instead at the poor invalid?

(2) Look at the blessings received.

(a) Temporal--life, health, home, etc.

(b) Spiritual--sonship with God, hope of heaven, etc.

II. Courage for the future. When Paul thanked God and took courage, imprisonment awaited him. Every one will have trouble, but--

1. We should be on our guard not to make troubles. Trouble making is the oldest manufacture in the world, and the largest trade going. The Jews had home-made sorrow after sorrow. Obadiah made a trouble when Elijah sent him to Ahab. Some people carry on a wholesale business, making troubles for others as well as for themselves. There are the newspapers which draw pictures of invasion and what-not which fills people with misery. There are people whose children cannot be a few minutes late from school but they imagine they are run over; whose husbands cannot be detained by business but they think of railway accidents.

2. Then there are some who go to meet troubles. They can never enjoy the present for fear of the future. They cannot go for a holiday in the sunshine without remembering that the Americans had telegraphed a storm, and so they darken the sky with troubles before they come. The storm might never come at all. Men commit suicide or die of broken hearts in ninety-nine cases out of a hundred because they bring sorrow out of the future into the present. Sufficient for the day is the strength. The builder of a railway truck marks it to carry seven tons. He knows what it can bear, and God knows what we can bear. If we bring tomorrows trouble into today we shall have too heavy a load to carry.

3. Real trials will come, and it is well to look at the encouragements.

(1) Nothing can happen without the permission of Him who loves us best.

(2) All things will work together for our good. There will be no grumbling at the last day when we shall see the end from the beginning, and sing, My Jesus has done all things well.

(3) Recall the enterprise of those before us, a cloud of witnesses.

(4) Remember the promises. When the sun goes down, the stars come out. The stars are never visible till the sun has gone down. Out of the night of sorrow the promises shine.

(5) Our best Friend will never leave us. (Charles Garrett.)

Gratitude and encouragement

He who visits Rome, and drives along the Appian way between the ruined tombs and towards the Alban hills, cannot but recall this memorable scene. For, though emperors, commanders, statesmen, and scholars have passed by this road into the seven-hilled city, never did there enter by this famous approach a Roman citizen so great as the apostle Paul.

I. The occasion of these emotions.

1. So far as Pauls position was concerned, there seemed to be little human ground for gratitude. He was a prisoner who was accompanied to the imperial tribunal by the hatred of his countrymen; and his future appeared dark and threatening. He knew that he might have come to die.

2. But at this conjuncture he was cheered by the brethren of Rome, who, hearing of the apostles approach, came thus far on the road to greet him. This was acting like brethren; it was a practical exhibition of Christian sympathy and love.

II. The emotion awakened by the retrospect of the past and the experience of the present. Paul thanked God for His past faithfulness, for the honour put upon him, in that he had been suffered to labour and to endure hardship and persecution for Christs sake; and especially because God had put it in the hearts of His people to show the kindness to His servant.

III. The emotion aroused by the prospect in the future. Paul took courage. Why? Because his friends were by his side; and better still, the Lord Himself was with him. In entering the metropolis of the world as a prisoner, Paul had need of some encouragement, lest his brave heart should shrink within him. And here we see that Divine grace was sufficient for him. (Family Churchman.)

The old and the new year

I. The devout spirit in which the past should be reviewed. He thanked God. As we review the year which has just closed, we are reminded of--

1. Temporal mercies.

2. Spiritual supplies.

3. Victories achieved.

4. Work accomplished.

5. Sins forgiven. The text also indicates--

II. The heroic spirit in which the future may be anticipated. And took courage. There are many things calculated to discourage us as we endeavour to prosecute the work of the Lord--such as our consciousness of the feebleness of our powers; the magnitude, importance, and solemnity of our work; the malignity and multitude of our foes; the inveterateness of evil; the seeming slowness of the progress of truth; the brief and fleeting character of our lives, etc. But there is much to encourage. There are--

1. Inspiring memories.

2. Christian sympathy. But the most inspiring thought for the future is--

3. God is with us.

Gods purposes are on our side; His promises are on our side, no good thing will be withheld from us. Gods presence is with us, to cheer, defend, sustain, deliver. Courage gives strength, just as cowardice debilitates, and doubt paralyses. Courage gives gladness, it inspires hope, and anticipates, as well as helps to ensure victory. Courage is contagious; just as fear will strike panic into the breasts of others, so pluck will enkindle enthusiasm, and propagate ardour. (F. Brown.)

Christian sympathy

The thought which this story emphasises is the blessedness of Christian sympathy. It is illustrated under special circumstances, but it applies to all the experiences of our Christian life. Christians are marked out for this fellow feeling.

I. This Christian sympathy of which so much is said, what is it? Clearly it is something more than the compassion which a man of kindly heart, in the full consciousness of the blessings which Divine mercy has assured him, must feel for one who is buffeted by the sorrows and trials of life. It is more, too, than the pity with which we may look upon one who has been overcome by temptation. Nor is it even that tenderness of soul and readiness to extend a helping hand which are natural in all who have been brought into a loving communion with Christ in the presence of affliction and sorrow. Sympathy means very much more than this. It is a fellow feeling which makes the burdens of another our own, which shares his anxieties and cares, but shares also his successes and his joys. In its completeness it means the effacement of the ordinary self, for we cannot fully identify ourselves with others so long as we nurture some selfish passion in our own hearts.

II. We pass on to inquire how this sympathy is to be attained? In its perfection it will not be realised by us here. The ideal may float before our faith as an object of holy ambition; but it will remain an ideal in our present imperfect state. That is no reason why it should not be kept constantly before the heart to be desired, pursued, sought. Much has to be done in all of us before we are freed from the varied forms of selfishness. In some it is the hard self-complacency of the bigot; in others, the arrogance and isolation of the proud; in others, the self-indulgence and luxury of the idle; in others, the unsympathetic indifference of the self-absorbed; and, alas! in some the resentful passion which finds it impossible to forgive an injury, and forgets the solemn and terrible condemnation which the Lord Himself has pronounced on this unforgiving temper. It remains then only that we should be continually advancing. Yea! The heart grows rich by giving. Of it it is more true than of almost anything beside--there is that withholdeth more than is meet, and it tendeth only to poverty. It is said that a limb may lose some power it once possessed by disuse, and, indeed, we are familiar with the fact that exercise strengthens the muscles on which stress is laid, while a failure to employ them at all is followed by a steady degeneracy and loss of power. Give the heart free play for all its generous impulses, its lofty aims, its loving thoughts; let it be accustomed to thoughts of gentleness and deeds of self-sacrifice. The more it yields to the inspirations of faith and love the greater will become its capacities for trusting and loving. Then sympathy is a gift which none are too poor to bestow.

III. Is it then to be said that this is the Christlike spirit, and that to have the Christlike spirit is to be a Christian? Unquestionably. (J. Rogers, B.)

The sight of Christian friends enlivening

The narrative teaches us--

I. That characters the most distinguished in the church of God may sometimes need encouragement. What made the apostle now droop we cannot determine. Perhaps he had heard what a tiger Nero had lately become; or felt some melancholy thoughts as to the result of his trial. But whatever was the cause, it seems that even his courage failed, who, in writing to these Romans, could say, if God be for us, who can be against us? People often imagine that Scripture saints were a race entirely different from modern Christians. This is a mistake. Our case is not peculiar--we neither sigh nor tremble alone.

II. The benefit that is to be derived from intercourse with Christian friends. When Paul saw these brethren, he was inspired with new life. Ointment and perfume rejoice the heart, so doth the sweetness of a mans friend by hearty counsel. Iron sharpeneth iron, so a man sharpeneth the countenance of his friend. In no condition is it good for man to be alone. Religion, instead of destroying the social principle, refines and strengthens it. Our Saviour promised that, where two or three are gathered together in His name, He will be in the midst of them. To cheer and animate each other, He sent forth His disciples two and two. Two are better than one. Have you ever been in distress? How soothing was the presence of a tender and a pious friend! Have you ever been in spiritual darkness and perplexity?--you sighed, No one was ever like me! But a Christian related his experience, and announced the same feelings, and you were set at liberty. Or have you, in a scorching day, been ready to perish for thirst? Like another angel, in the case of Hagar, He opened your eyes and showed you a well--and you went on your way rejoicing. How pleasing is it, when travelling to heaven, to overtake those who will be our companions in tribulation. What a glow of satisfaction does a man, called by Divine grace, diffuse in a Church when he enters to ask for communion and fellowship with them. They that fear Thee will be glad when they see me, because I have hoped in Thy Word! How desirable is the Lords day, and the Lords house, in which we see so many of our brethren! How charming will heaven be, where we shall see a multitude which no man can number, etc.!

III. That we may be edified by those who are below us in station and in talents and in grace. Thus these private Christians helped an inspired apostle. Apollos was an eloquent man, and mighty in the Scriptures; but he was taught the way of the Lord more perfectly, by two of his hearers, Priscilla and Aquila. Naaman the Syrian was a mighty man; but he was indebted for his cure to a little maid. The king is served by the labour of the field. There is no such thing as independence--that there is a connection among men which embraces all ranks and degrees--and a dependence founded upon it; so that no being is above the want of assistance, and no being is useless or unimportant. It is in the world, and it is in the Church, as it is in the human frame. The eye cannot say unto the hand, I have no need of thee, etc.

IV. All the comfort and advantage we derive from creatures should awaken gratitude to God. It is said, he thanked God. Doubtless the apostle was sensible of his obligations to these brethren, and thanked them. But says Paul, Who made these Christian friends, and rendered them the means of restoring my soul? God uses channels to convey blessings to us, but all our springs are in Him. (W. Jay.)

The force of Christian sympathy

We have here an illustrious example of--

I. Christian sympathy under trying circumstances. This sympathy was--

1. Practical. Some of the brethren had come thirty and some fifty miles.

2. Unselfish. Paul was a poor prisoner; he had nothing to give.

3. Reasonable. They had previously been benefited by Pauls labours. It is our duty to sympathise with troubled Christian brethren, and it should be esteemed a privilege to render them assistance. Mutual help is a Divinely appointed necessity. Sympathy, like the sun, gladdens life and awakens force in the heart. Christ was the great Sympathiser.

II. Christian gratitude under trying circumstances. This is not a conqueror going to be crowned, but a prisoner going to confinement and perhaps death. A man has reason for joy in prosperity, but Paul is grateful in adversity and bonds. He thanked God, not man. Mans life is in Gods hands. God is the disposer of all events. What reasons had the apostle for thanking God? He was grateful--

1. For the sympathy the gospel had excited.

2. For the zeal the gospel had awakened.

3. For the triumphs the gospel had gained.

4. For the consolation the gospel afforded.

No mans condition is so dark and distressing as to exclude all cause for gratitude. We have homes, friends, health, life, the promise of heaven. A thankless man is the most contemptible thing in Gods universe.

III. Christian heroism under trying circumstances. Courage--

1. Is the impulse that enables us to endure suffering, and to accomplish arduous achievements.

2. Carries a man beyond the attainments of habit or selfish impulses.

3. Has opportunities for development in every sphere in life.

4. Never seeks to report itself. We may be called upon to evince our heroism,

(1) An easy but dishonourable path may be opened.

(2) Persecution for religion may be accompanied by loss.

(3) Temptation, poverty, and bereavement may enter our homes.

Let us be courageous. One Being can sustain--God. One hope can cheer us--heaven. We each need courage, counsel, and help. What the Three Taverns were to the apostle, the Sabbath, the sanctuary, the Scriptures, the Church, may be to us. (J. Woodhouse.)

A new years sermon

I. Let us thank God for the old year.

1. For lives preserved. During the year tens of thousands have fought the last battle and been laid in the dust who entered upon it with as little expectation of it being their dying year as we did. We are spared. Throughout another year the pendulum of life has given its noiseless beats, the pulse has throbbed without a pause, the silver cord has borne the strain.

2. For health enjoyed. To multitudes this year has been a living death; yea, death itself has often been desired as a friend. Not so has it been with us. Passing pains and transient sickness may have fallen to our share, but most of them are now forgotten. They were but noticed through their contrast with our general days. How few Sabbaths have many of us lost through sickness: not half so many as we have by our souls worldliness. Thank God, then, that not only has the life current flowed, but that it has flowed strongly.

3. For prosperity granted. Not only has there been the strength to work, but there has been the work to employ the strength. Perhaps the year was entered with many a dark foreboding thought. Difficulties seemed closing around you, and you prophesied that this year the storm must burst. Well, how is it now? God has been to you a Jehovah Jireh. Though far from wealthy, you find you can spare something for the poorer brethren, and give your little to the work of God.

4. For home mercies. Among all the gifts of heaven there is none more beautiful or worthy of praise than a home where kindness, love, and cheerfulness abide. To Adam, Paradise was home, and to the holy among his descendants home is Paradise. And how has it been in the home during the year? Thank God, many of you can reply, it has been well. The same faces that smiled upon you on last new years day smiled upon you with as fresh a smile this morning. If it be so, I charge you thank God. There are this morning homes yet wrapt in gloom, and a gloom that is deepened by the very season of the year. In other homes, a deeper shade than ever bereavement casts, hangs heavily; for if home be not the source of purest joys, it is of deepest misery. Think of home with all its mercies, and thank God again and again.

5. For national blessings. There is enough in the providential dealings of our God with all to give a thankful heart. True, we have all had our sorrows and our disappointments. But what have been the number of our trials compared with the multitude of our mercies? And contrasted with our deserts, how light will the heaviest become!

6. For Gods mercies to the soul.

(1) We have been kept from falling. With no feeling of pride, but only grateful love, you may exclaim, Having obtained help of God, I continue unto this day. Our thankfulness may well be intensified by the sad remembrance that some have fallen during the year, and lost their power for testimony. With a nature like ours so dangerously quick to sin, and living, amid a very shower of fiery temptations, how great the grace that has preserved us thus far. Thank God.

(2) Our spiritual life has been maintained and increased. The two things do not always go together. It is possible to be free from any great and open fall, and yet have the painful consciousness that inwardly there has been a declusion. Great then is the cause for thankfulness if we can express the hope that the inward experience has corresponded with the outward appearance.

(3) What times of refreshing from the presence of the Lord have we often had?

(4) Some of you have been converted during the year. What a transformation scene has taken place in you since last New Years Day. The stones of this building might well cry out in judgment, if above all other voices yours is not heard, crowning the year with, Thank God, thank God.

7. We have Church mercies to thank God for.

(1) The spirit of hearing is still maintained.

(2) The work of conversion has been carried on.

II. Look forward with courage to the new. We now turn our eyes to the time to come. How different the view! A thick veil shrouds all in impenetrable gloom. In vain we strain our eyes to pierce the curtain dark. We enter on the year by faith and not by sight. The hand of mercy only clears the darkness as step by step we enter in it. The new year is yet a land uninhabited and unknown. With what feelings shall we enter it? Let our text give the answer. Having thanked God for the past, let us now take courage for the future. Because Thou hast been our help, therefore under the shadow of Thy wing will we trust. Doubtless, there are some looking forward with dread. Although ignorant of the particular forms their troubles may assume, they reckon rightly that troubles of some sort they are sure to meet, and the very indefiniteness of them serves to magnify their greatness. Possible loss, disappointment, and grief cast their shadow on the spirit. They did on Paul. Yet he took courage. I will therefore mention a few thoughts calculated to inspire courage.

1. We shall have the same God with us. The change of year brings no change in Him who is our Rock and our Defence. Our God, our help in ages past, may well be our hope for years to come.

2. The same promises will be your support. Round about you, like the mountains round Jerusalem, or the chariots of fire round the prophet, are the same precious promises that have glittered like stars in your darkest night. As thy days, so shall thy strength be. My grace is sufficient for thee.

3. The same hope which has cheered the old year accompanies you into the new. The hope of either your going to Jesus, or Jesus coming to you. (A. Brown.)

The welcome at Appii Forum

Here was an unexpected joy. St. Paul no longer felt friendless and alone! He was cheered up, and the path seemed brightened. He realised that though dark shadows of affliction and persecution were round the path, yet God was comforting His servant by giving him the sympathy and friendship of his fellow Christians. For these mercies, unexpected yet cheering, he thanked God, and accepted them as tokens of his Heavenly Fathers care, and pledges that the hand of Jesus would help and support him in the future, therefore he took courage to meet with calm and earnest faith what might be still in store for his coming years! Often the Christian finds himself surrounded with cares and disappointments. It is the characteristic of many worries in life to be quite disproportionate in the pain they give to their importance, the smallest wound on the hand or finger, being in constant friction, gives more pain than a far more serious injury somewhere else. When we meet with disappointments, worries, and perhaps worse trials, it is the wise and Christian course to strive and see the bright side of them. They are part of the appointed discipline of life. May not we regard the lesser troubles of daily life to be like the gravel and stones on the path, which, when pressed down by patient endurance, become a firm path? The Christian, who takes patiently the discipline of lesser evils, learns gradually to train himself to higher things. It was a remarkable saying of a heathen sage that a good man bearing adversity patiently was a sight pleasing to the gods! But ofttimes God has been pleased in a wonderful way to reward the patience and confidence of His children. One winter a lonely widow and her family were much oppressed with anxiety and dread. Not only was food and fuel scarce and dear, but the whole land was in peril from fierce foes, and bands of armed men marched from village to village. There was no strong arm to defend the widows door, nor any plentiful stores to satisfy the rapacity of armed men. All she could do was to cast all her cares on her Heavenly Father. That night the rumour spread through the village that the foemen were near. Her cottage stood at the entrance of the village and near the high road. When she last looked out the snowflakes were falling fast, and the winter winds howling round the thatch. Next morning the December dawn seemed darker than usual, and she looked abroad, a huge snowdrift had almost blocked up the house, and did not melt for many hours, but when she was able to venture forth she found that the enemys army had indeed marched through the village and plundered every other house, but had never noticed her humble homestead concealed behind its protecting snow shield! Even so our Father defends those who place their trust in Him. God bestows on us abundant earthly blessings, and best of all, He has given His dear Son to be our Saviour and Redeemer. Let us, then, with heart and life serve and adore Him, and taking courage, give thanks. (J. Hardman, LL.)

Soul inspiration from human sympathy

I. The sympathy of God is here manifested through the sympathy of man. Paul saw the disciples and thanked God.

II. The sympathy so manifested inspires the soul with ennobling feelings.

1. Paul thanked God. Here is gratitude for the past and present.

2. He took courage. Here is help for the future.

III. The lesser may inspire and strengthen the greater. Paul, the greatest of the apostles, was helped by these humble Christians. Even Christ was once strengthened from a similar source (Mat_11:25). (W. Harris.)

Give him a cheer

Many a man fails in a good but difficult effort because he receives criticism when he needs and ought to have encouragement. A fireman was trying to reach from the top of a ladder a poor woman who was imploring help at the window of a burning house. One among the crowd below cried, You cant do it, come down. He was already somewhat burned, and almost choked by the smoke. He began to descend, and was leaving the woman to her fate, when a man shouted, Give him a cheer. The vast crowd made the air ring with their encouragement, whereupon the fireman stopped, again ascended towards the window, and, aided by the cheering of the multitude, brought the woman safely to the ground. If you know a timid brother who is weak and liable to fall, help him all you can and God will bless you. Give Him a cheer.

Sympathy helpful

In enforcing the duty of the congregation to encourage their minister, Dr. Dale said: There are times when the most buoyant sink into despondency, when a great, chilly mist creeps over the soul of those who have the largest happiness in the service of God, and they feel as if all their strength was gone. Not very long ago--if I may venture once more to speak of myself--one of these evil moods was upon me; but as I was passing along one of the streets of Birmingham a poor but decently dressed woman, laden with parcels, stopped me and said, God bless you, Dr. Dale! Her face was unknown to me. I said, Thank you. What is your name? Never mind my name, was the answer, but if you only knew how you have made me feel hundreds of times, and what a happy home you have given me! God bless you! she said. The mist broke, the sunlight came, I breathed the free air of the mountains of God.

Human sympathy

No part of the world affords a more difficult or dangerous navigation than the approaches of our northern coast in winter. Before the warmth of the Gulf Stream was known, a voyage at this season from Europe to New England, New York, and even to the capes of the Delaware and Chesapeake, was many times more trying, difficult, and dangerous than it now is. In making this part of the coast vessels are frequently met by snowstorms and gales which mock the seamens strength and set at naught his skill. In a little while his bark becomes a mass of ice; with her crew frosted and helpless, she remains obedient only to her helm, and is kept away from the Gulf Stream. After a few hours run she reaches its edge, and almost at the next bound passes from the midst of winter into a sea at summer heat. Now the ice disappears from her apparel; the sailor bathes his stiffened limbs in tepid waters; feeling himself invigorated and refreshed with the genial warmth about him, he realises out there at sea the fable of Antseus and his mother Earth. He rises up and attempts to make his port again, and is again as rudely met and beat back from the northwest; but each time that he is driven off from the contest he comes forth from this stream, like the ancient son of Neptune, stronger and stronger, until, after many days, his freshened strength prevails, and he at last triumphs and enters his haven in safety. His experiences bear a resemblance to those of the man who is tempest tossed upon the sea of social life. This man, struggling in what Shakespeare designates a sea of troubles, has to brave great billows of adversity and to face the chilling blasts of misfortune. He is well-nigh hopeless and powerless, when he suddenly encounters the warm stream of human sympathy which flows even in societys most icy regions. Under its vitalising influences the horrors of his despair melt away; his heart glows with renewed hope; he is nerved with fresh strength for a successful struggle against his calamities, so that he is able at length to accomplished his destined purpose. (Scientific Illustrations.)

The Biblical Illustrator, edited by Joseph S. Exell (c. 1880s–1900s) — public domain. Text from a community e-Sword module.

28:15 Paul was greeted by brothers and sisters who met his party on the way up to Rome.

Tyndale Open Study Notes — © Tyndale Open Resources, licensed CC BY-SA 4.0. Text via the HelloAO Bible API.

Act 28:15. Οἱ ἀδελφοὶ, the brethren) Christians.—ἀπάντησιν, to meet us) Offices of kindness towards foreigners are implied in προπέμπειν, ἀπαντᾶν, to escort on the way, and to go to meet.—ἄχρις, even to) He met with some in Appii Forum, others afterwards at the Three Taverns.—εὐχαριστήσας, having given thanks) for having obtained his wish, to see Rome: ch. Act 19:21; Rom 1:11, “For I long to see you;” Act 15:23.—ἔκαβε θάρσος, took courage) actively. He saw that Christ is even at Rome. There was not always the same degree of confident energy even in Paul. He already forgets the troubles of his journey. Ammonius says that θράσος is an unreasonable impulse; but θράσος, a rational impulse.

Bengel's Gnomon of the New Testament — English translation (T&T Clark, Edinburgh, 1860) — public domain. Text from a community e-Sword module.

Act_28:15. Οί ἀδελφοί] Considering the largeness which we must assume the church at Rome to have attained, according to Rom_16:3 ff., probably a numerous representation of it is to be conceived as present.

ἡμῖν] appropriating dative of the pronoun. See Bernhardy, p. 98. Comp. Joh_12:13. Mat_8:34; Jdt_5:4.

ἄχρις Ἀππίου φ. κ. Τριῶν ταβ.] καί: and, respectively. Luke narrates from the standpoint of the travellers. These came first to Forum Appii, a village on the Via Appia, 43 miles from Rome, and then to Tres-tabernae (Three-booths), an inn ten miles nearer to Rome; in both places they were received by the brethren (who thus went to meet them in two detachments). As they had tarried seven days at Puteoli, the Roman Christians might have obtained information timeously enough in order to come so far to meet them with the speed of love and reverence.

εὐχαρ. τ. Θεῷ ἔλαβε θάρσος] How natural was it that Paul, to whom Rome, this ἐπιτομὴ τῆς οἰκουμένης (Athen. Deipnos. i. 20), had for so long been in view as a longed-for goal of his labours (Act_19:21, Act_23:11; Rom_1:9 ff.), should now, at the sight of the brethren, who had thus from Rome carried their love forth to meet him, glow with gratitude to God, and in this elevated feeling receive confidence as to the development of his fate and as to his new sphere of work! According to Baumgarten, it is true, he saw at the same time in the Roman church, not founded by any apostle, the identity and continuity of the Pentecostal churchof all which the text contains not a hint, as, indeed, such a fancy as to the founding of the church is by no means justified by the circumstances of the case being unknown to us.

Meyer — Critical and Exegetical Commentary on the New Testament — English translation by Peter Christie, edited by Frederick Crombie (T&T Clark, 1880) — public domain. Text from a community e-Sword module.

Act 28:15 . κἀκεῖθεν , see on Act 14:26 . τὰ περὶ ἡμῶν : phrase only in Luke and Paul, see above on p. 481. The natural supposition is that there were two companies; one met them in advance at Appii Forum, and the other nearer Rome at the Tres Tabernæ. εἰς ἀπάντησιν , cf. 1Th 4:17 , Mat 25:6 ; Mat 27:32 (W.H [431] margin), frequent in LXX, cf. Polyb., v., 26, 8. See Plumptre’s note on the meeting of Cicero on this same road on his return from exile, Senate and people going out to meet him; for St. Paul’s friends in Rome see Lightfoot, Philippians , Introd., and p. 171 ff.; Sanday and Headlam, Romans , 18, 27, 34, 40, etc., Godet, L’Épître aux Romains , ii., 599 ff. Aquila and Priscilla would be amongst them. Ἀππίου φόρου : situated on the great Appian Way, near the modern Treponti , 43 miles from Rome, Cic., Ad Att. , ii., 10; Hor., Sat. , i., 5, 3, and for the distance, Itin. Ant. , p. 107, Itin. Hier. , p. 611 (see however on this point Encycl. Bibl. , p. 267, 1899). Probably its name was due to Appius Claudius as the constructor of this part of the road, Livy, ix., 29, and even in the time of St. Paul it seems to have been connected in some way with the Appian family. It was situated at the northern end of a canal which ran thither from a few miles apparently above Terracina through the district of the Pomptine Marshes. The boatmen of whom Horace speaks in his lively description, u. s. , were employed in conveying passengers in boats towed by mules along this canal. The Appian Way itself was parallel with the canal, so that the centurion and the Apostle might have travelled by either, and this uncertainty as to the route no doubt made the Roman Christians wait at Appii Forum. Night travellers apparently preferred the boat. The R.V. renders “The Market of Appius” (really the Greek is a transliteration of the Latin Appii forum, as the words stood in 1611, “forum” (not Forum), Hastings’ B.D.). The word apparently implied what we should call a borough or assize town, cf. Forum Julium, etc. The picture drawn by Horace suggests a sharp contrast between the holy joy of the Christian meeting and the coarse vice and rude revelry which so often filled the wretched little town (Plumptre, C. and H.). Τριῶν Ταβ .: Tres Tabernæ , frequent halting-place, deversorium , about 33 miles from Rome on the Via Appia, probably at the point where the road from Antium crosses it, near the modern Cisterna . At this time it was a place of some importance, cf. Cic., Ad Att. , ii., 12. The Latin tabernæ = a shop of any kind, and would require an adjective like deversoria ( sc. taberna ) to be equivalent to a tavern in the modern sense, Lewin, Saint Paul , ii. 224. εὐχ . τῷ Θεῷ ἔλαβε θάρσος , cf. Job 17:9 , whether Ramsay is correct in connecting this encouragement with the chronic disorder of the Apostle, which would often occasion fits of depression, it is evident that St. Paul, who was so full of sympathy, “the heart of the world,” and craved for sympathy from others, may well have felt that he was still a prisoner, and the recent perilous voyage may also have left its mark upon him. Anyhow, the meeting with Christian friends, and the thought that these Christians were not ashamed either of the Gospel of Christ, or of Paul the prisoner, even in Rome, may well have endued his soul with much strength. Bishop Lightfoot, Phil. , pp. 16, 17 (so too Hort, Judaistic Christianity , p. 113), thinks that the words may intimate that it was a relief to St. Paul to find that some members at least of the Roman Church were favourably disposed towards him; but, as Zöckler points out, there is certainly no proof here, at least, that the Church was composed preponderatingly of Jewish Christians, or that Paul was glad that he received a welcome in a Church so composed, and we have no direct evidence of the existence of an anti-Pauline Jewish party among the Roman Christians; but in the presence of the brethren St. Paul would see a proof that this love was not merely in word or in letter, but in deed and in truth: “videbat Christum etiam Romæ esse,” Bengel.

[431] Westcott and Hort’s The New Testament in Greek: Critical Text and Notes.

The Expositor's Greek Testament, edited by W. Robertson Nicoll (1897–1910) — public domain. Text from a community e-Sword module.

Appius way, was a pavement made by Appius the blind with the help of his soldiers, long and broad, and running out toward the sea, and there were three taverns in it.

God never suffereth his to be afflicted above their strength.

Geneva Bible (1599) marginal notes — public domain. Text via Bolls.life.

And from thence, when the brethren--of Rome

heard of us--by letter from Puteoli, and probably by the same conveyance which took Julius' announcement of his arrival.

they came to meet us as far as Appii Forum--a town forty-one miles from Rome.

and the Three Taverns--thirty miles from Rome. Thus they came to greet the apostle in two parties, one stopping short at the nearer, the other going on to the more distant place.

whom when Paul saw, he thanked God--for such a welcome. How sensitive he was to such Christian affection all his Epistles show (Rom 1:9, &c.).

and took courage--his long-cherished purpose to "see Rome" (Act 19:21), there to proclaim the unsearchable riches of Christ, and the divine pledge that in this he should be gratified (Act 23:11), being now about to be auspiciously realized.

Jamieson, Fausset & Brown — Commentary Critical and Explanatory on the Whole Bible (1871) — public domain (CC PDM 1.0). Text via the HelloAO Bible API.

Verse 15. When the brethren heard of us] By whom the Gospel was planted at Rome is not known: it does not appear that any apostle was employed in this work. It was probably carried thither by some of those who were converted to God at the day of pentecost; for there were then at Jerusalem, not only devout men, proselytes to the Jewish religion, from every nation under heaven, Ac 2:5, but there were strangers of Rome also, Ac 2:10. And it in most reasonable to believe, as we know of no other origin, that it was by these Christianity was planted at Rome.

As far as Appii Forum] About 52 miles from Rome; a long way to come on purpose to meet the apostle! The Appii Forum, or Market of Appius, was a town on the Appian way, a road paved from Rome to Campania, by the consul Appius Claudius. It was near the sea, and was a famous resort for sailors, peddlers, c. Horace, lib. i. Satyr. 5, ver. 3, mentions this place on his journey from Rome to Brundusium:-

____________________________Inde FORUM APPI

Differtum nautis, cauponibus atgue malignis.

"To Forum Appii thence we steer, a place

Stuff'd with rank boatmen, and with vintners base." This town is now called Caesarilla de S. Maria.

And the Three Taverns] This was another place on the same road, and about 33 miles from Rome. Some of the Roman Christians had come as far as Appii Forum: others, to the Three Taverns. Bp. Pearce remarks, there are some ruins in that place which are now called Tre Taverne and this place Cicero mentions in his epistles to Atticus, lib. ii. 11. Ab Appi Foro hora quarta: dederam aliam paulo ante in Tribus Tabernis. "Dated at ten in the morning, from Appii Forum. I sent off another (epistle) a little before, from the Three Taverns."

Zosimus, lib. 2, mentions τρια καπηλεια, the three taverns, or victualling houses, where the Emperor Severus was strangled by the treason of Maximinus Herculeus, and his son Maxentius. See Lightfoot.

The word taberna, from trabs, a beam, signifies any building formed of timber; such as those we call booths, sheds, c., which are formed of beams, planks, boards, and the like and therefore me may consider it as implying, either a temporary residence, or some mean building, such as a cottage, c. And in this sense Horace evidently uses it, Carm. lib. i. Od. iv. ver. 13:-

Pallida mors aequo pulsat pede pauperum tabernas

Regumque turres.

"With equal pace, impartial Fate

Knocks at the palace as the cottage gate."

FRANCIS.

This place, at first, was probably a place for booths or sheds, three of which were remarkable other houses became associated with them in process of time, and the whole place denominated Tres Tabernae, from the three first remarkable booths set up there. It appears to have been a large town in the fourth century, as Optatus mentions Felix a Tribus Tabernis, Felix of the Three Taverns, as one of the Christian bishops.

Thanked God, and took courage.] He had longed to see Rome; (see Ro 1:9-15;) and, finding himself brought through so many calamities, and now so near the place that he was met by a part of that Church to which, some years before, he had written an epistle, he gave thanks to God, who had preserved him, and took fresh courage, in the prospect of bearing there a testimony for his Lord and Master.

Adam Clarke's Commentary on the Bible (1810–1826) — public domain. Text from a community e-Sword/MySword module.

15. When the brethren heard. God did comfort Paul by the coming of the brethren who came forth to meet him, that he might the more joyfully make haste to defend the gospel. And the zeal and godly care of the brethren appeareth therein, in that they inquire for Paul’s coming, and go out to meet him. For it was at that time not only an odious thing to profess the Christian faith, but it might also bring them in hazard of their life. Neither did a few men only put themselves in private danger, because the envy redounded to the whole Church. But nothing is more dear to them than their duty wherein they could not be negligent, unless they would be counted sluggish and unthankful. It had been a cruel fact to neglect so great an apostle of Jesus Christ, especially seeing he labored for the common salvation.

And now forasmuch as he had written to them before, and had of his own accord offered his service to them, it had been an unseemly thing not to repay to him brotherly goodwill and courtesy. Therefore, the brethren did, by this their dutifulness, testify their godliness toward Christ; and Paul’s desire was more inflamed, because he saw fruit prepared for his constancy. For though he were endued with invincible strength, so that he did not depend upon man’s help; yet God, who useth to strengthen his by means of men, did minister to him new strength by this means. Though he were afterward forsaken when he was in prison, as he complaineth in a certain place, (2 Timothy 4:16) yet he did not despair; but did fight no less valiantly and manfully under Christ’s banner, than if he had been guarded with a great army. But the remembrance of this meeting did serve even then to encourage him, seeing he did consider with himself that there were many godly brethren at Rome, but they were weak, and that he was sent to strengthen them. And there is no cause why we should marvel that Paul was emboldened at this present when he saw the brethren, because he did hope that the confession his faith would yield no small fruit. For so often as God showeth to his servants any fruit of their labor, he doth, as it were, prick them forward with a goad, that they may proceed more courageously in their work.

John Calvin's Commentaries (1540-1563) — public domain. Text from the Calvin Translation Society English edition (1840s-50s) via the Christian Classics Ethereal Library (ccel.org). Calvin's coverage is partial (roughly two-thirds of the Bible); uncommented books and verses are honest gaps, never fabricated. The 19th-century editor's footnotes and remarks are omitted so the notes are faithfully Calvin's own voice.

(15) And from thence, when the brethren heard of us . . .—Better, the brethren having heard about us. The seven days at Puteoli had given ample time for the news of the Apostle’s arrival to reach the disciples at Rome. Among these “brethren” were many, we may believe, of those whom he had known at Corinth, and to whom he had sent messages of greeting in Romans 16 : Aquila and Epænetus, Andronicus and Junias, Herodion, and those of the household of Narcissus. Most of these were Jews by birth, of the libertini or freed-man class. All had probably read or heard the Epistle to the Romans. They were yearning, some for the presence of the friend whom they had known seven years before at Corinth, some for a glimpse of one whom, though they had not known him, they had learnt to love. It is clear, from the salutations sent to Aquila and Priscilla and the rest in Romans 16, that the decree of Claudius banishing the Jews from Rome had been rescinded or allowed to lapse. The influence of Poppæa, now dominant at Rome, was probably in their favour, and secured their protection. Herself a proselyte to Judaism, after the fashion of her class she would extend her protection to the Jews of Rome, as she did, about the same time, to those of Jerusalem. (See Note on Act_26:32.)

They came to meet us.—The practice of going some miles from the city to meet one whom men delighted to honour was a common one. So the Jews of Rome had gone out to meet the Pseudo-Alexander who claimed to be a son of Herod (Jos. Ant. xvii. 12, § 1). So the Romans had poured forth to meet Germanicus (Sueton. Calig. c. 4) when he lived, and to do honour to his remains after his death (Tacit. Ann. iii. 5). So in earlier days, Cicero had been welcomed on his return from exile, journeying from Brundusium on the self-same Appian Way on which St. Paul was now travelling, senate and people alike going forth to meet him (Cic. pro Sext. 63, in Pison. 22).

Appii forum.—There was an obvious reason for their not going further than this, as they could not tell whether the Apostle and his companions would come by the canal or the road. The town took its name probably from the Appius under whom the road had been made, and was so called as being a centre of local jurisdiction—an assize-town, as it were. So we have Forum Julium (now Friuli), Forum Flaminium, &c. Horace (Sat. i. 5, i. 4), had condemned the town to a perpetual infamy, as

“Inde Forum Appî,

Differtum nautis, cauponibus atque malignis.”

[“With sailors filled, and scoundrel publicans.”]

Now, we must believe, on the evening when the two parties met, the wretched little town, notorious for its general vileness, was the scene of a prayer-meeting, thanksgivings and praises pouring forth from rejoicing hearts.

The three taverns.—Better, the Three Tabernœ. The Latin word has a wider range than the English, and is applied to a booth or shop of any kind, requiring the addition of an adjective such as “diversoria” or “cauponaria” before it becomes a “tavern” in the modern sense. The Roman itineraries place this town at a distance of ten miles from Appii Forum, and therefore thirty-three from Rome, Aricia forming a kind of half-way stage between the Three Tabernæ and the capital. It is mentioned more than once by Cicero in his letters, and appears to have been on the Via Appia, at a point where a road from Antium fell into it (Ad Att. ii. 10). It was accordingly a town of considerable importance. No traces of the name are found now near that position, but it could not have been far from the modern Cisterna. The transfer of traffic from the old Via Appia to the new road of the same name (the Via Appia Nuova), which takes a more circuitous route from Castella to Terracina, probably deprived it of its importance and led to its decay. A local tradition, indeed, but probably of very late date, finds the name of Tre Taberne at a distance of about twelve miles from Rome, on the old Via Appia. Here, it is clear, a second detachment of friends met him, who had either started later than the others or had felt unequal to the additional ten miles.

He thanked God, and took courage.—The words imply a previous tendency to anxiety and fear. There had been no possibility of any communication with Rome since he had left Caesarea, and questions more or less anxious would naturally present themselves. Would he find friends there who would welcome him, or would he have to enter Rome as a criminal, with no escort but that of the soldiers who kept him? Were those Roman disciples to whom he had written so warmly still safe and well, and sound in the faith? Had persecution driven them from their homes, or had the Judaisers perverted their belief? The language of Rom_1:10-12, shows how prominent they were in his thoughts and prayers. To these questions the arrival of the disciples was a full and satisfying answer, and the Apostle resumed his journey with an eager and buoyant hope.

A Bible Commentary for English Readers, edited by Charles John Ellicott (1878–1897) — public domain. Text from a community e-Sword module.

15. when the brethren heard of us] Between Puteoli and Rome there was constant communication, and the seven days of the Apostle’s sojourn in the port were amply sufficient to make the whole Christian body in Rome aware of his arrival in Italy and of the time when he would set out towards the city.

they came to meet us] If it were quite certain that the sixteenth chapter of the Epistle to the Romans was part of the letter which was sent to that Church we might make sure of the names of some who would be of the party which started from Rome to welcome St Paul on his arrival in Italy. Aquila and Priscilla, Epænetus; Andronicus and Junias, who are both spoken of as having been formerly fellow-prisoners with the Apostle; Rufus, Herodion and Apelles, who are mentioned there in terms of the greatest affection, could hardly have failed to be among the company at Appii Forum. But the whole closing chapter of the Epistle to the Romans appears to apply better to some Asiatic Church, probably Ephesus, than to Rome, and so it is unsafe to conclude that the Christians there mentioned were those who now met St Paul and cheered him on his way.

as far as Appii forum] [R. V. the Market of Appius] The name ‘Forum’ seems to have been given by the Romans to places such as we should now call Borough-towns. The town here mentioned was situated on the Appian Way, the great road from Rome to Brundusium. Both road and town owed their name to the famous Appius Claudius, the Roman Censor, and this town is mentioned by Horace as crowded with sailors, and abounding in tavernkeepers of bad character (Sat. i. 5. 4). It was distant rather more than forty miles from Rome, and as the Appian Way was only one of two ways by which travellers could go from Appii Forum to the Imperial City, it was natural that the deputation from Rome should halt here and wait for the Apostle’s arrival.

The three taverns] The name “Tabernæ” had in Latin a much wider signification than the English “Taverns” and was applied to any shop whatever, not as the English word to one where refreshments are sold. The site of this place has not been identified, but it is said to have been about ten miles nearer to Rome than Appii Forum; and the body of Christians who came as far as this had perhaps set out from Rome later than their brethren. The whole distance from Puteoli to Rome was about 140 miles. “Tres Tabernæ” is placed 33 miles from Rome.

he thanked God, and took courage] When thinking and writing about his coming to Rome, Paul had never thought that his first visit to it would be as a prisoner. He had hoped (Rom_1:11-12) to come as the bearer of some spiritual blessing, and to be comforted himself by the faith of the Roman brethren. How different was the event from what he had pictured. But yet here were some of the brethren, and their faith and love were made manifest by their journey to meet the Apostle, and no doubt they brought with them the salutations of all the Church. This was somewhat to be thankful for. The prisoner would not be without sympathy, and the spiritual gift might be imparted even though Paul was no longer free. The cause of Christ was advancing; and cheered by the evidence of this the Apostle’s heart revived.

The Cambridge Bible for Schools and Colleges (gen. ed. J. J. S. Perowne; Cambridge University Press, 1878–1918) — public domain. Text from a community e-Sword module.

And from thence,.... That is, from Rome, whither they were going:

when the brethren heard of us; when the Christians at Rome heard that the apostle and his friends were landed at Puteoli, and were on their journey to Rome: these were the members of the church at Rome; for there was a church state here before this time. The apostle had before this written a letter to them, called the Epistle to the Romans, in which he treats them as a church. The Papists say that the Apostle Peter was the first bishop of it, and pretend an uninterrupted succession from him; though it is questionable whether he ever was at Rome; and if he was, it is not probable that he should take upon him the care of a single church, which was not consistent with his office as an apostle: in the "first" century, the bishops or pastors of this church were as follow; after the martyrdom of Paul and Peter, Eusebius (l) says, Linus was the first bishop of it, the same that is mentioned in Ti2 4:21 and according to the same writer (m), Anencletus succeeded him, and then Clement, a fellow labourer of the Apostle Paul's, Phi 4:3; who wrote two epistles to the Corinthians, which are still extant; though Eusebius (n), not consistent with himself, makes Clement in another place to succeed Linus; and some make Clement even to be before him; and some place one Cletus before Anencletus and him: such an uncertainty is there, and such a puzzle attends the first account of this uninterrupted succession; and which seems designed in Providence to bring it into contempt: in the "second" century, Euarestus succeeded Clement; and then followed him Alexander, Sixtus, or Xystus, Telesphorus, Hyginus, Pius, Anicetus, Soter, Eleutherius, and Victor: in the "third" century, Victor was succeeded by Zephyrinus; and after him were Calixtus, Urbanus, Pontianus, Anterus, Fabianus, Cornelius, Lucius, Stephanus, Sixtus, or Xystus II, Dionysius, Felix, Eutychianus, and Gaius: in the "fourth" century, Marcellinus succeeded Gaius; who was followed by Marcellus, Eusebius, Miltiades, Sylvester, Julius, Liberius, Felix II, Damasus, and Siricius (o); and further than this age, it is not worth while to follow them; the man of sin began to grow apace, and in a century or two afterwards, proclaimed himself universal bishop:

they came to meet us as far as Appii Forum and the Three Taverns; these were both of them towns that lay in the Appian way to Rome; the former of these Horace (p) makes mention of, in the account of his journey from Rome to Brundusium; first he says, he came to Aricia, or Rizza, which is about 160 furlongs, or 21 miles from Rome, and from thence to Appii Forum: that Appii Forum was further from Rome than the Three Taverns, appears from what Cicero says (q), who dates his letter to Atticus from Appii Forum, at four o'clock, and tells him, that be had sent him another a little before from "Tres Tabernae", or the Three Taverns; and indeed, Appii Forum was one and fifty miles from Rome, and the Three Taverns but three and thirty: so that the sense must be, that some of the brethren from Rome came as far as the Three Taverns, and others as far as Appii Forum; which, as before observed, were two towns upon the road: hence the former of these was not a statue of Appius, near the city of Rome, as some have (r) said; nor a market in the city itself, as says Jerom (s), or a writer under his name; whose words are, Appii Forum is the name of a market at Rome, from Appius, formerly a consul, and from whom the Appian way had its name: but this was a town at some distance; there were several towns in Italy of a like appellation; as Julii Forum, Cornelii Forum, now Imola, Livii Forum, now Forli: Pliny (t) makes mention of an Appii Forum; and there was a town in Calabria, called Taberna: and as the one was not a mere market place, so the other does not design three houses for public entertainment; for the words should not be translated "three taverns", nor indeed translated at all; nor are they by Luke, who retains the Latin name, as the name of a place; and here it was that Severus, the Roman emperor, was killed by Herculius Maximianus (u); and this, in Constantine's time, was the seat of a bishop; for among the bishops assembled on account of Donatus, mention is made of one "Felix a Tribus Tabernis" (w), or Felix bishop of Tres Tabernae, the same place we call "the Three Taverns":

whom when Paul saw, he thanked God and took courage; that is, when he saw the brethren that came to meet him, he gave thanks to God for the sight of them, which he had so much desired; and he took heart and courage, and went on cheerfully, and in high spirits, towards Rome; in hope of seeing the rest, and believing that God had some work for him to do there.

(l) Eccl. Hist. l. 3. c. 2. (m) Ib. c. 13. (n) Ib. c. 4. 15. (o) Magdeburg. Eccl. Hist. cent. 2. c. 10. p. 165, &c. cent. 3. c. 10. 193, &c. cent. 4. c. 10. p. 736, &c. (p) Sermonum, l. 1. Satyr 5. (q) Ad Atticum, l. 2. ep. 11. (r) Isidor. Pelusiot. Ep. l. 1. ep. 337. (s) De locis Hebraicis, fol. 95. K. (t) Nat. Hist. l. 14. c. 6. (u) Aurel. Victor. Epitome, p. 346. (w) Optat. de Schism Donat. l. 1. p. 26.

John Gill's Exposition of the Whole Bible (1746–1763) — public domain (CC PDM 1.0). Text via the HelloAO Bible API.

15 And from thence, when the brethren heard of us, they came to meet us as far as Appii forum, and The three taverns: whom when Paul saw, he thanked God, and took courage.

Ver. 15. They came to meet us] So Paul entered Rome as a long-looked-for triumpher.

John Trapp, A Commentary or Exposition upon All the Books of the Old and New Testament (1647–1656) — public domain. Text from a community e-Sword module.

And from thence - From Puteoli.

When the brethren heard of us - The Christians who wore at Rome.

As far as the Appii Forum - This was a city about 56 miles from Rome. The remains of an ancient city are still seen there. It is on the borders of the Pontine Marshes. The city was built on the celebrated Appian Way, or the road from Rome to Capua. The road was made by Appius Claudius, and probably the city was founded by him also. It was called the forum or market-place of Appius, because it was a convenient place for travelers on the Appian Way to stop for purposes of refreshment. It was also a famous resort for peddlers and merchants. See Horace, book i. Sat. 5, 3.

And the Three Taverns - This place was about 8 or 10 miles nearer Rome than the Appii Forum (Cicero, a.d. Art., ii. 10). It undoubtedly received its name because it was distinguished as a place of refreshment on the Appian Way. Probably the greater part of the company of Christians remained at this place while the remainder went forward to meet Paul, and to attend him on his way. The Christians at Rome had doubtless heard much of Paul. His Epistle to them had been written about the year of our Lord 57 a.d., or at least five years before this time. The interest which the Roman Christians felt in the apostle was thus manifested by their coming so far to meet him, though he was a prisoner.

He thanked God - He had long ardently desired to see the Christians of Rome, Rom 1:9-11; Rom 15:23, Rom 15:32. He was now grateful to God that the object of his long desire was at least granted, and that he was permitted to see them, though in bonds.

And took courage - From their society and counsel. The presence and counsel of Christian brethren is often of inestimable value in encouraging and strengthening us in the toils and trials of life.

Albert Barnes' Notes on the Bible (1834–1885) — public domain. Text from a community e-Sword/MySword module.

Appii forum; a place about one and fifty miles, or seventeen leagues, from Rome; so called from Appius Claudius, who made a way from Rome thither, called from his name: The Appian Way; and had his statue there set up; which is the reason why it is called thus: for the Romans did call those places fora, were such statues were placed. (The concourse to see those statues might bring them to become markets).

The three taverns; as that was a place of resort for the buying and selling of other commodities, so this for the affording of necessary provision; a little town, hence so called, about three and thirty miles, or eleven leagues, from Rome. So that some came a greater, some a lesser way to meet with Paul, and show their respect unto him. These brethren are thought to have been converted by such as at the day of Pentecost were present when those miracles were wrought, Act 2:10, it being expressly said, that there were strangers from Rome.

Took courage; God moving so many not to be ashamed of his bonds.

Matthew Poole's English Annotations on the Holy Bible (1683–1685) — public domain. Text from a community e-Sword/MySword module.

15. Brethren heard of us—To the Church at Rome, Paul had three years previous addressed the greatest of his epistles. To all appearance it was eminently a Pauline Church. They heard the sudden news that the apostle of the Gentiles, adorned with fetters gloriously earned in the cause of the blessed Jesus, was on his way within a hundred miles or more of Rome, we might well anticipate, with rare delight.

Appii Forum—About forty miles from Rome. Leaving Capua, on arriving at the celebrated Pomptine Marshes Julius would have his choice to keep the Appian Way in its circuitous route around the Marshes, or take the canal across in a boat dragged by mules. Both routes united at Appii Forum. The Roman Christians not knowing (any better than we) which of the two routes the apostle would take, met him at the junction at Appii Forum. Appii Forum, or Appius’ Market, was probably a cluster of houses formed at the junction originally, around a station where articles were retailed to travellers.

Three Taverns—A tavern, taberna, (derived from trabs, a plank,) was primitively a wooden hut, derivatively not an inn, but rather a grocery, a restaurant, “a retail shop where all sorts of eatables and drinkables were kept.”

Took courage—Christian sympathy quickened the heart of our genial apostle. It is very possible that many if not all this little band of Roman Christians were within three or four years driven into exile or cruelly murdered by the execrable Nero. On the night of July 19, A.D. 64, a fire burst out in Rome which continued a week, and laid nearly one quarter of the city in ashes. Popular opinion fixed the charge of originating the conflagration on Nero himself. To exculpate himself from this suspicion Nero laid the charge upon the Christians of Rome, and forthwith commenced a series of cruelties which appalled that and every other age. From causes mentioned in our note on Act_28:22, the Christians were now the object of pagan hatred. Esteeming them as helpless victims, and hoping that popular hatred would sustain his cruelty, Nero inflicted tortures which even a pagan historian, Tacitus, records with abhorrence. Of those who refused to call the emperor Lord, to swear by his name, to offer sacrifices to his image and to the heathen deities, “some,” says Tacitus, “were disguised in the skins of wild beasts and worried to death by dogs, some were crucified, and others were wrapped in pitched shirts by night that they might serve as lights to illuminate the night.” No longer protected by Roman power, the Church, condemned as holding an unlawful religion, was exposed both to the violence of the populace and the severity of the magistrate.

Daniel D. Whedon (gen. ed.), Commentary on the Old and New Testaments (1874–1909) — public domain. Text from a community e-Sword module.

The brethren, when, etc., came for when the brethren, etc., they came, A.V.; The Market of Appius for Appii forum, A.V.. The brethren, when they heard of us. During the seven days" stay at Putcoli, the news of the arrival of the illustrious confessors reached the Church at Rome. The writer of that wonderful Epistle which they had received some three years before, and in which he had expressed his earnest desire to visit them, and his hope that he should come to them in the fullness of the blessing of the gospel of Christ, (Rom_1:11, Rom_1:12, 15 15:22, 24, 28, 32) was now almost at their gates as a prisoner of state, and they would soon see him face to face. They naturally determined to go and meet him, to honor him as an apostle, and show their love to him as a brother. The younger and more active would go as far as Appii Forum, "a village on the Via Appia, forty-three miles from Rome" (Meyer). The rest only came as far as The Three Taverns, ten miles nearer to Rome. Alford quotes a passage from Cicero"s letters to Atticus (it. 10), in which he mentions both "Appii Forum" and the "Tres Tabernae;" and refers to Josephus ("Ant. Jud:," 17:12:1) for a similar account of Jews at Rome, who, on hearing of the arrival of the pretended Alexander at Puteoli, went out in a body to meet him (pan town plhqov uJpantiazontev ejxhesan). He also quotes from Suetonius the passage in which he tells us that, on Caligula"s return from Germany, "populi Romans sexum, aetatem, ordinem omnem, usque ad Vicesimum lapidem effadisse se" ("Calig.," c. 4). Appii Forum was not far from the coast, and was a great place for sailors and innkeepers (Horace, "Sat.," 1:5, 3). The Via Appia was made by Appius Claudius, B.C. 442. It led from the Ports Capena in Rome through the Pontino marshes to Capua.

Human kindness.

A striking and touching instance is this of valuable human kindness. It is a positive relief to our minds to think that the faithful veteran soldier of Jesus Christ, bearing in his body such marks of lifelong conflict, worn with toil and care and suffering, having escaped from one kind of affliction and on his way to another, met with such considerate kindness as greatly comforted and cheered him. The text may remind us

I THAT HUMAN KINDNESS IS A DIVINELY IMPLANTED DISPOSITION. As God created us "in his own image," we were made to feel and show kindness one to another; to rejoice in one another"s success; to promote one another"s prosperity; to sympathize with one another in sorrow; to be willing to deny ourselves, to run risks, to make sacrifices, to help others in their time of need.

II THAT UNDER THE CURSE OF SIN IT MAY RE ERADICATED FROM THE SOUL; e.g. pirates, wreckers, thugs, etc.

III THAT IT SHOULD BE DEVELOPED BY CONSTANT CULTURE. Kindness, like all other graces, needs regular cultivation, or it will decline or even perish. It needs:

1. The nurture which comes from the utterance of truth; the reception of right thoughts into the mind.

2. The strengthening which proceeds from daily illustration; that which is derived from the practice of slight and simple acts of considerateness and good will.

3. The confirmation of larger acts of self-sacrificing love; such acts as cause trouble, as involve difficulty, as entail risk, as necessitate expenditure.

IV THAT IT HAS RENDERED HIGH SERVICE IN THE KINGDOM OF CHRIST.

1. To the great King himself; for shall we not say that much of the ministry of those women who waited on him so kindly, and something of the attendance granted by the men who tendered him their aid, was the offering of human kindness rather than of Divine service? Yet it was not on that account unacceptable or unserviceable.

2. To his apostles. Here is one instance in which human kindness greatly comforted and heartened a valued servant of Christ, and helped him on his useful and fruitful course.

3. To his servants in all succeeding centuries. Who shall tell how much the cause of Christ has been furthered by the opportune kindness shown by tender hearts and gentle hands to those who have been its representatives and champions?

V THAT IT IS AN ADMIRABLE THING IN ITSELF: one that is highly esteemed of God (Heb_13:16; Eph_3:3) one that is beautiful in the sight of man, that adorns the doctrine, that is to the character what the bloom is to the plant; one that has a general and precious reflex influence on those that exercise and exhibit it.

VI THAT IT IS A BLESSING FOR WHICH WE SHOULD BE GRATEFUL TO GOD. Paul "thanked God" as well as "took courage." We have reason to thank God for human kindness as much as for any blessing we receive. For though this does not come as perceptibly from him as the sunshine and the rain, yet ultimately and actually it is as much his gift as they are. Only the loving God can originate love in the human heart and in the human life. "God is our Sun," from whom streams every ray of human kindness that falls on our path and cheers our soul. Let us, too, thank God for it, while we take courage from it. C.

The break in the clouds.

thanked God, and took courage? Review of the apostolic history. The word of God fulfilled. The varied emotions of the ambassador"s heart, personal in view of his work, in anticipation of the results of the future in Rome. The gospel at the gates of the empire. Spiritual power before worldly power.

I THE STUDY OF PROVIDENCE a help to the development of Christian character and life.

1. It promotes thankfulness.

2. It confirms faith.

3. It draws Christians nearer to one another, as they rejoice together.

4. It prepares for work and suffering. Paul needed all the courage he could take.

II THE USE WE SHOULD MAKE OF OUR OPPORTUNITIES.

1. Not to "rest and be thankful," but to press on for the prize. The prosperous times of the Church, as of the individual, often precede great trials. Paul is outside Rome, but he is not out of danger.

2. The opportunity of renewed intercourse with brethren and revived life in the Church, for higher testimony. Help each other to be strong. R.

Gratitude and courage well linked together.

Paul speaks elsewhere of the severity in some sort, at all events of the stress, laid upon his spiritual sympathies at times. (2Co_11:28-30) We can well understand that any severity, any pain, felt from the claim set up by such sympathies lay not in the act of sympathizing, but in the consideration of the state of things, the sins, the errors, the inconsistencies in "all the Churches," or in the members of them that called for both "care," on the one hand, for the erring, and on the other sympathy with the aggrieved. The sympathy which he so ungrudgingly gave, however, at whatever expenditure, he had a wonderful heart to receive when proffered to himself. And it is among the signs of his large and susceptible heart that it was so, and that he made so much of it. Here we read of another help of this kind given him by the way. How gratefully and with what appreciation he received it! He felt it was a token of the Divine presence and the Divine goodness, and that as such it must be used and improved. Therefore first he "thanked God," and then "took courage" afresh. Let us notice the following implications of this verse:

I THE HIGHEST STYLE OF CHRISTIAN PURPOSE AND ENTERPRISE IS AIDED BY HUMAN SYMPATHY.

1. This is great testimony to the inartificial character of Christianity.

2. It is one of its great safeguards against superciliousness and other temptations to affect separateness from or superiority to ordinary humanity.

II THE SIMPLEST STYLE OF SHOWING SYMPATHY AND KINDNESS STRIKES HOME ALL AS SURELY TO THE HEARTS OF THE GREATEST AS TO THOSE OF THE HUMBLER.

III GRATITUDE IS ALWAYS DUE TO GOD, WHO, HOLDING ALL HEARTS IN HIS HAND, MOVES NOW THE HEARTS OF THOSE WHO SHALL COME TO GIVE US SPECIAL HELP FOR SPECIAL NEED.

1. How often help coming at the exact crisis of need ought to count with all as great moral force as a physical miracle, for our persuasion, that a heavenly Friend is observantly and graciously watching our every step!

2. What an incentive to religious life the network of hope and fear, joy and sorrow, and all the play of light and shade, because such constitution of life finds the prized opportunities of Divine interposition, as no mere equable life, were it all light or all shade, could possibly find.

IV THE FAITHFUL SERVANT OF CHRIST NEVER MORE FEELS HOW DUE THANKS ARE TO HIS MASTER THAN WHEN THAT MASTER APPEARS TO SHOW HIS OWN COMMANDING INTEREST IN HIS OWN WORK. How many the ways are in which Jesus does this!

1. By the occasional manifest blessing upon it that he gives.

2. By the Spirit he puts into the hearts of many to uphold the hands and arms of those who do the actual work.

3. By such more delicate methods as that now before us, when the help that the many bring to the one is seen, ay, and felt, to lie in the life and the love that the Divine work has wrought in their heart. They can bring nothing except, perhaps, that all to bring, themselves.

V THAT THE REAL THING, COURAGE, WHICH DOES NOT BURN DOWN, AWAKENED THOUGH IT MAY BE BY HUMAN AID AND SYMPATHY, RESTS EVER STILL ON THE DIVINE. It was not in obedience to any hollow professionalism that Paul "thanked God." Nor did his courage lack the energy that came from sincere acknowledgment of dependence on God. This was surely betokened by his "thanking God. B.

The Pulpit Commentary (1880–1919), ed. H.D.M. Spence-Jones & Joseph S. Exell — public domain. Text from a community e-Sword module.

The brethren -- that is, the Christians, came out thence to meet us - It is remarkable that there is no certain account by whom Christianity was planted at Rome. Probably some inhabitants of that city were at Jerusalem on the day of pentecost, chap. ii, 10; and being then converted themselves, carried the Gospel thither at their return. Appii-Forum was a town fifty-one miles from Rome; the Three Taverns about thirty. He took courage - He saw Christ was at Rome also, and now forgot all the troubles of his journey.

John Wesley, Explanatory Notes Upon the Whole Bible (1754–1765) — public domain. Text via the GEBible commentary corpus.

Appii

the market of Appius.

The Scofield Reference Bible (1917 edition), notes by C. I. Scofield — public domain. Text from a community e-Sword module.

15. The delay of seven days was long enough for news to reach the brethren in Rome, that Paul was in Puteoli on his way to their city. (15) " And the brethren, having heard from that place concerning us, came out to meet us as far as Appii Forum and Three Taverns. When Paul saw them he thanked God and took courage. " The two place here mentioned were about ten miles apart, and it was doubtless two different companies who met them, having left Rome at different times. One party had come about forty miles, to Appii Forum, and the other about thirty, to the places called Tres Tabernæ, or Three Taverns. Such a mark of respect extended to him in his bonds was highly gratifying, and no wonder that he "thanked God and took courage."

J. W. McGarvey (with Philip Y. Pendleton), Commentaries on the New Testament (The Fourfold Gospel, 1914; Acts; and the epistles) — public domain. Text from a community e-Sword/MySword module.

15, 16. After the week they started toward Rome. Their route was along one of the great roads for which the Romans were so famous, the Consular Way to Capua, and the along the celebrated Appian Way to Rome. When the brethren heard of us. The church in Rome. They determined to meet the great apostle on the way. They had already received from him the Epistles to the Romans. No doubt some of his Asiatic or European converts were in the church. Aquila and Priscilla had returned to their old home (Rom. 16:3) in the Imperial city, and perhaps were of those who met him on the way. As far as Appii Forum. Some met them at Appii Forum, which is forty-three miles from Rome, and another band met them at the Three Taverns, which is ten miles nearer the great city. Both these places are mentioned by Horace and Cicero (Hor. Sat. 1:5, 4; Cic. Letters to Atticus 2:12). Thanked God. As the apostle traveled as a prisoner amid these strange scenes, along the crowded Appian Way, with so many evidences of colossal power on every hand, and of such luxury and corruption, it was a glad sight to meet a welcome from loving brethren, already numerous in Rome. See Rom. chap. 16. It seemed a cheering omen that the church of the capital of the world should meet and greet him. The distance traveled by land from Puteoli to Rome as about 135 miles.

Delivered the prisoners to the captain of the guard. The commander of what was called the Prætorian Guard, the Prætorian Prefect; at this time this great officer was named Burrhus. The Prætorian camp was the permanent garrison of Rome. But Paul was suffered to dwell by himself. Sometimes state prisoners, sent from the provinces, awaiting trial, were thrown into a prison adjoining the Prætorian camp, and sometimes were allowed to choose their own residence under the guard of a soldier. Paul was permitted the latter course, no doubt on account of the kindly reports sent from Cæsarea by Festus and King Agrippa to Rome. The soldier was fastened to the prisoner by a chain. See verse 20.

B. W. Johnson's The People's New Testament with Notes (1889–1891) — public domain. Electronic text from the Christian Classics Ethereal Library (CCEL) ThML edition.

15. οἱ ἀδελφοὶ ἀκούσαντες τὰ περὶ ἡμῶν, the brethren having heard of us. Between Puteoli and Rome there was constant communication, and the seven days of the Apostle’s sojourn in the port were amply sufficient to make the whole Christian body in Rome aware of his arrival in Italy and of the time when he would set out towards the city.

ἦλθαν εἰς ἀπάντησιν ἡμῖν, they came to meet us. Because the verb ἀπαντάω takes a dative after it, the same case stands after the noun. For examples cf. LXX. 2Ch 15:2, καὶ ἐξῆλθεν εἰς ἀπάντησιν τῷ Ἀσᾷ. Also 2Ch 20:18; Jdg 6:35; Jdg 20:25; 1Sa 13:10, &c. If it were quite certain that the sixteenth chapter of the Epistle to the Romans was part of the letter which was sent to that Church we might make sure of the names of some who would be of the party which started from Rome to welcome St Paul on his arrival in Italy. Aquila and Priscilla, Epænetus; Andronicus and Junias, who are both spoken of as having been formerly fellow-prisoners with the Apostle; Rufus, Herodion and Apelles, who are mentioned there in terms of the greatest affection, could hardly have failed to be among the company at Appii Forum. But the whole closing chapter of the Epistle to the Romans appears to apply better to some Asiatic Church, probably Ephesus, than to Rome, and so it is unsafe to conclude that the Christians there mentioned were those who now met St Paul and cheered him on his way.

Perhaps however when we remember the Greek influence which prevailed in the early centuries of the Christian era at Rome we need not marvel at the Greek names we meet with in this xvith chapter. The first Bishops of Rome have nearly all Greek names, and even Clemens Romanus wrote in Greek, and not in Latin.

ἄχρι Ἀππίου φόρου, as far as Appii Forum, i.e. the Market of Appius. The name ‘Forum’ seems to have been given by the Romans to places such as we should now call borough-towns. The town here mentioned was situated on the Appian Way, the great road from Rome to Brundusium. Both road and town owed their name to the famous Appius Claudius, the Roman Censor, and this town is mentioned by Horace as crowded with sailors, and abounding in tavern-keepers of bad character (Sat. I. 5. 4). It was distant rather more than forty miles from Rome, and as the Appian Way was only one of two ways by which travellers could go from Appii Forum to the Imperial City, it was natural that the deputation from Rome should halt here and wait for the Apostle’s arrival.

καὶ Τριῶν ταβερνῶν, and the three Taverns. The name ‘Tabernæ’ had in Latin a much wider signification than the English ‘Taverns’ and was applied to any shop whatever, not as the English word to one where refreshments are sold. The site of this place has not been identified, but it is said to have been about ten miles nearer to Rome than Appii Forum: and the body of Christians who came as far as this had perhaps set out from Rome later than their brethren. The whole distance from Puteoli to Rome was about 140 miles. ‘Tres Tabernæ’ is placed 33 miles from Rome.

εὐχαριστήσας τῷ θεῷ ἔλαβε θάρσος, he thanked God and took courage. When thinking and writing about his coming to Rome, Paul had never thought that his first visit to it would be as a prisoner. He had hoped (Rom 1:11-12) to come as the bearer of some spiritual blessing, and to be comforted himself by the faith of the Roman brethren. How different was the event from what he had pictured. But yet here were some of the brethren, and their faith and love were made manifest by their journey to meet the Apostle, and no doubt they brought with them the salutations of all the Church. This was somewhat to be thankful for. The prisoner would not be without sympathy, and the spiritual gift might be imparted even though Paul was no longer free. The cause of Christ was advancing; and cheered by the evidence of this the Apostle’s heart revived.

Cambridge Greek Testament for Schools and Colleges (Cambridge University Press, 1896; 21 vols, various authors incl. Carr, Maclear, Plummer, Farrar, Lumby, Moule, M. R. James, Simcox) — public domain. Text from a community e-Sword module.

15.] The brethren at Rome had heard probably by special message sent by some of their fellow-voyagers. See a detailed account of the stages of the journey not here mentioned, in C. and H. ii., pp. 438 ff.

τὰ περὶ ἡμῶν] the news concerning us, i.e. that we were coming.

Ἀππίου Φόρου κ. Τ. Ταβερνῶν] Luke writes as one of the travellers to Rome, who would come on Appii Forum (forty-three miles from Rome) first. It was on the Via Appia (“Censura clara eo anno (u.c. 442) Appii Claudii, et C. Plautii fuit: memoriæ tamen felicioris ad posteros nomen Appii, quod viam munivit et aquam in urbem duxit, eaque unus perfecit.” Liv. 9:29), which leaving Rome by the Porta Capena, passed through the Pontine marshes, as far as Capua. Being not far from the coast (Strabo, v. 233), it was the resort of sailors (‘Forum Appî differtum nautis, cauponibus atque malignis.’ Hor. Sat. i. 5. 3. It has been suggested to me, that these may have been sailors belonging to the canal boats, as Appii Forum is too far inland to have been resorted to by sailors from the coast), and an unpleasant halting-place for travellers, having, besides, ‘aqua deterrima’ (ib. ver. 7).

The ‘Tres Tabernæ’ was a ‘taberna deversoria,’ or way-side inn, ten miles nearer Rome. Cicero mentions both in the letters to Atticus, ii. 10, ‘Ab Appii Foro hora quarta: dederam aliam paullo ante Tribus Tabernis.’

The brethren were in two parties: some had come the longer, others the shorter distance, to meet the Apostle. We have in Antt. xvii.12.1, an account of the pretended Alexander, on his way to Rome, landing at Dicæarchia (Puteoli, see above), and it is added, προσελθόντος εἰς τὴν Ῥώμην λόγου τοῦ περὶ αὐτοῦ, πᾶν τὸ τῇδε Ἰουδαίων πλῆθος ὑπαντιάζοντες ἐξῇεσαν. Suet. relates, on Caligula’s return from Germany, “populi R. sexum, ætatem, ordinem omnem usque ad vicesimum lapidem effudisse se.” Cal. c. 4. And Tacit. Ann. iii. 5, speaking of the honours paid by Augustus to the body of Drusus, says, “ipsum quippe asperrimo hiemis Ticinum usque progressum, neque abscedentem a corpore simul urbem intravisse.”

θάρσος] Both encouragement as to his own arrival, as a prisoner, in the vast metropolis,—in seeing such affection, to which he was of all men most sensible; and encouragement as to his great work so long contemplated, and now about to commence in Rome,—in seeing so promising a beginning for him to build on.

Henry Alford, The Greek Testament (1849–1861) — public domain. Text from a community e-Sword module.