Expositor's Bible Commentary Commentary Acts 27

The account of Paul’s journey to Rome is the longest of Luke’s four “we” sections (27:1–28:16; cf. 16:10–17; 20:5–15; 21:1–18). The vividness and precision of the narrative confirm what the use of “we” implies—that it is an eyewitness report. The centurion Julius, assigned to take Paul to Rome, was a member of “the Imperial Regiment.” The soldiers who performed the police and escort services in Paul’s day were the speculatores, a special body of imperial guards who were particularly prominent in times of military intrigue. They did not belong to any division of a Roman army legion; instead, they formed a special unit of their own.

The port of embarkation was undoubtedly Caesarea. The boat they boarded was a coastal vessel from the city of Adramyttium in Mysia. Embarking with Paul were Luke (cf. “we”) and Aristarchus, who were possibly entered on the passenger list as Paul’s personal doctor and servant, respectively. As a Roman citizen who had appealed to the emperor, Paul would naturally have had a more favored position than the other prisoners; and the centurion would have recognized his superiority as a gentleman with attendants. That Aristarchus is included in Col 4:10 and Phm 24 as sending greetings from Rome (assuming a Roman origin for these letters) suggests that he traveled with Paul all the way to Rome and remained with him during his imprisonment there.

At Sidon, the ancient Phoenician port some seventy miles north of Caesarea, the boat took on cargo. Here Paul was permitted to visit the Christians of the city, who, like those at Tyre (cf. comment on 21:4), had probably become believers through the witness of Christian Hellenists forced to leave Jerusalem at the time of Stephen’s martyrdom (cf. 11:19). The centurion Julius had probably been advised by Festus to be lenient with Paul, and doubtless Paul had already made a good impression on him. Yet a soldier would have been always with him during his visit.

From Sidon, the boat sailed northwest toward Cyprus, staying close to the long east coast of the island because of the westerly winds that blow from spring through fall on the eastern Mediterranean. Two and one half years earlier Paul and his companions had sailed with that westerly wind from Patara to Tyre and had passed Cyprus on the south . Now, however, their voyage was considerably slower as their boat had to run against the winds, and they tried to stay in the lee of sheltering land masses. Crossing the open sea between Cyprus and Cilicia, the vessel worked its way westward to Myra in Lycia, on the southwest coast of Asia Minor, helped along by local land breezes and a westward current that runs along that coast.

From Sidon, the boat sailed northwest toward Cyprus, staying close to the long east coast of the island because of the westerly winds that blow from spring through fall on the eastern Mediterranean. Two and one half years earlier Paul and his companions had sailed with that westerly wind from Patara to Tyre and had passed Cyprus on the south . Now, however, their voyage was considerably slower as their boat had to run against the winds, and they tried to stay in the lee of sheltering land masses. Crossing the open sea between Cyprus and Cilicia, the vessel worked its way westward to Myra in Lycia, on the southwest coast of Asia Minor, helped along by local land breezes and a westward current that runs along that coast.