Luke describes the journey from Malta to Rome, with the last stage being overland. There already were groups of believers in Italy, including some in Rome. Some of the Christians in Rome came to meet Paul and his friends, and this encouraged Paul. In Rome, he was allowed to stay in a rented house, although always chained to a soldier.
As was his usual method when going somewhere new, Paul contacted the Jewish leaders. He explained to them why he had reached Rome as a prisoner. They were unaware of what had happened to him in Jerusalem but expressed an interest in hearing his views because they knew that Christians had been spoken against. So a day conference was arranged in the house where he stayed, and a great number gathered to hear him.
The outcome of his expositions was that some were convinced that Jesus is the Messiah and others were not. Paul’s response was that the rejection of his message was made by those who were blind to the truth and therefore he was going to focus on Gentiles in Rome. When Luke reached the end of his account, Paul had been there for two years, his trial before Caesar had not yet happened, and he was free to preach and teach without hindrance from the authorities.
So Paul reached Rome as Jesus had told him. We know from other passages in the New Testament some of the things that took place there. During his imprisonment, he wrote the letters to the churches in Ephesus, Colosse and Philippi, as well as the personal letter to Philemon. Eventually he appeared before Caesar and after a trial was released. This was followed by some shorter trips because we are told he went to Crete with Titus and then travelled to other places. Whether he went somewhere before he went to Crete is not known. No one knows if he ever made it to Spain, although that had been his aspiration. At some stage, he was re-arrested. During that time he wrote 2 Timothy in which he describes himself as waiting for his death. This took place when he was executed for his faith in Jesus. We can imagine the welcome he received when his soul entered heaven, but our imagination will be far short of the reality. It is good for us, who have followed him on his journeys recorded in Acts, that we can follow him to heaven.
