Expositor's Bible Commentary Commentary Acts 28:14

"where we found brethren, and were entreated to tarry with them seven days: and so we came to Rome." — Acts 28:14 (ASV)

There are two rather surprising statements in this verse. First, at Puteoli Paul and his companions “found some brothers who invited us to spend a week with them.” It was not, of course, unusual for Christians to be found in such an important city as Puteoli, especially since there was a Jewish colony there. What is surprising, however is that prisoner Paul was at liberty to seek out the Christians of the city and accept their invitation to spend seven days in fellowship with them. For some reason Julius found it necessary to stay at Puteoli for a week, and during that time he allowed Paul the freedom (though undoubtedly accompanied by a guard) to seek out his fellow believers and enjoy their hospitality (cf. 27:3). As Luke presses toward the end of his story, his account becomes more and more concise.

A second surprising feature of v.14 is its forthright conclusion: “And so we came to Rome.” It is not surprising that they came to Rome, for that had for some time been the goal of Paul’s journey and Luke’s narrative. But that the mention of their arrival appears here before v.15 and not as the opening statement of v.16 is indeed surprising. The best explanation is that it reflects Luke’s eagerness to get to the climax of his story and that this eagerness led him to anticipate their arrival at Rome even though he had to go back in v.15 and include another detail of the last stage of the journey.