Expositor's Bible Commentary Commentary Acts 28:15

"And from thence the brethren, when they heard of us, came to meet us as far as The Market of Appius and The Three Taverns; whom when Paul saw, he thanked God, and took courage." — Acts 28:15 (ASV)

Paul and company took the Via Domitiana from Puteoli to Neapolis, turning northwest to travel to Rome on the Via Appia—that oldest, straightest, and most perfectly made of all the Roman roads. During the seven-day stopover at Puteoli, news of Paul’s arrival in Italy had reached Rome. So a number of Christians there set out to meet him and escort him to Rome. Some of them got as far as the Forum of Appius, one of the “halting stations” built every ten to fifteen miles along the entire length of the Roman road system. It was forty-three miles from Rome, and a market-town had grown up around it. Others only got as far as the Three Taverns Inn, another halting station about thirty-three miles from Rome. Paul’s gratitude to God for the delegation that met him must have been unusually fervent, for Luke makes special mention of it. In his letters, Paul often urges his readers to be thankful, and here he illustrates his own advice.