- After some time on Malta, Paul, the Roman guards, and the other prisoners take off again, in another ship of Alexandria.
- They land on Puteoli, the largest transit port of Rome, and at once, Paul comes across brothers in the faith and stays with them a few days, gaining encouragement from their fellowship.
- Presumably, these Christians had heard the word from other sources, and not Paul himself.
- This should remind us that the Gospel was already in active spread across the world, from East Africa via the Ethiopian Eunuch to the grand city of Rome, and much further.
- Upon entering house arrest, Paul calls the local Jews of the city to his home, intending again to convince them of the Gospel.
- We see Paul once more work to convince the Jews that the Old Testament was a witness to the coming Christ and that Jesus was that Christ.
- Again, we see that some Jews believed, and others fell into disbelief,
- and Paul leaves the unbelieving Jews with a powerful word from Isaiah 6, reminding them that Isaiah's prophecy claimed that the Jews would "Be ever hearing, but never understanding; be ever seeing, but never perceiving", and that salvation was now given to the Gentiles who would listen and believe.
- If we are to imitate Paul as he imitates Christ, do our lives demonstrate to others that we value the gospel as Paul did? In reading this account of Luke in Acts, the Word is compelling us to look at our own lives and works, and ask ourselves in what ways we fall short in glorifying God, whether it be in our rash disobedience or in our listless works.