On that occasion his flight had been from Macedonia to Achaia; now it was from Achaia to Macedonia. Nor would he regret the occasion which brought him once more among some of his dearest converts. Again he saw the Churches on the north of the AEgean, and again he went through the towns along the line of the Via Egnatia. (f1718) He re-appeared in the scene of his persecution among the Jews of Thessalonica, and passed on by Apollonia and Amphipolis to the place where he had first landed on the European shore. The companions of his journey were Sopater the son of Pyrrhus, (f1719) a native of Beroea, — Aristarchus and Secundus, both of Thessalonica, — with Gaius of Derbe and Timothy, — and two Christians from the province of Asia, Tychicus and Trophimus, whom we have mentioned before (p. 479), as his probable associates when he last departed from Ephesus. From the order in which these disciples are mentioned, and the notice of the specific places to which they belonged, we should be inclined to conjecture that they had something to do with the collections which had been made at the various towns on the route. As St. Luke does not mention the collection, (f1720) we cannot expect to be able to ascertain all the facts. But since St. Paul left Corinth sooner than was intended, it seems likely that all the arrangements were not complete, and that Sopater was charged with the responsibility of gathering the funds from Beroea, while Aristarchus and Secundus took charge of those from Thessalonica. St. Luke himself was at Philippi: and the remaining four of the party were connected with the interior or the coast of Asia Minor. (f1721)

The whole of this company did not cross together from Europe to Asia; but St. Paul and St. Luke lingered at Philippi, while the others preceded them to Troas. (f1722) The journey through Macedonia had been rapid, and the visits to the other Churches had been short. But the Church at Philippi had peculiar claims on St. Paul’s attention: and the time of his arrival induced him to pause longer than in the earlier part of his journey. It was the time of the Jewish passover. And here our thoughts turn to the passover of the preceding year, when the Apostle was at Ephesus (p. 432). We remember the higher and Christian meaning which he gave to the Jewish festival. It was no longer an Israelitish ceremony, but it was the Easter of the New Dispensation. He was not now occupied with shadows; for the substance was already in possession. Christ the Passover had been sacrificed, and the feast was to be kept with the unleavened bread of sincerity and truth. Such was the higher standing-point to which he sought to raise the Jews whom he met, in Asia or in Europe, at their annual celebrations.

Thus, while his other Christian companions had preceded him to Troas, he remained with Luke some time longer at Philippi, and did not leave Macedonia till the passover moon was waning. Notwithstanding this delay, they were anxious, if possible, to reach Jerusalem before Pentecost. (Act. 20:16.) And we shall presently trace the successive days through which they were prosperously brought to the fullfillment of their wish. (f1723) Some doubt has been thrown on the possibility of this plan being accomplished in the interval; for they did not leave Philippi till the seventh day after the fourteenth of Nisan was past. It will be our business to show that the plan was perfectly practicable, and that it was actually accomplished, with some days to spare.

The voyage seemed to begin unfavorably. The space between Neapolis and Troas could easily be sailed over in two days with a fair wind; and this was the time occupied when the Apostle made the passage on his first coming to Europe. (Act. 16:11.) On this occasion the same voyage occupied five days. We have no means of deciding whether the ship’s progress was retarded by calms, or by contrary winds. (f1724) Either of these causes of delay might equally be expected in the changeable weather of those seas. St. Luke seems to notice the time in both instances, in the manner of one who was familiar with the passages commonly made between Europe and Asia:(f1725) and something like an expression of disappointment is implied in the mention of the "five days" which elapsed before the arrival at Troas.

The history of Alexandria Troas, first as a city of the Macedonian princes, and then as a favorite colony of the Romans, (f1726) has been given before; but little has been said as yet of its appearance. From the extent and magnitude of its present ruins (though for ages it has been a quarry both for Christian and Mohammedan edifices) we may infer what it was in its flourishing period. Among the oak-trees, which fill the vast enclosure of its walls, are fragments of colossal masonry. Huge columns of granite are seen lying in the harbor, and in the quarries on the neighboring hills. (f1727) A theatre, commanding a view of Tenedos and the sea, shows where the Greeks once assembled in crowds to witness their favorite spectacles. Open arches of immense size, towering from the midst of other great masses of ruin, betray the hand of Roman builders. These last remains — once doubtless belonging to a gymnasium or to baths, and in more ignorant ages, when the poetry of Homer was better remembered than the facts of history, popularly called "The Palace of Priam" (f1728) — are conspicuous from the sea. We cannot assert that these buildings existed in the day of St. Paul, but we may be certain that the city, both on the approach from the water, and to those who wandered through its streets, must have presented an appearance of grandeur and prosperity. Like Corinth, Ephesus, or Thessalonica, it was a place where the Apostle must have wished to lay firmly and strongly the foundations of the Gospel. On his first visit, as we have seen (pp. 241-245), he was withheld by a supernatural revelation from remaining; and on his second visit (pp. 478-480), though a door was opened to him, and he did gather together a community of Christian disciples, yet his impatience to see Titus compelled him to bid them a hasty farewell. (2Co. 2:13.) Now, therefore, he would be the more anxious to add new converts to the Church, and to impress deeply, on those who were converted, the truths and the duties of Christianity: and he had valuable aid, both in Luke, who accompanied him, and the other disciples who had preceded him.

The labors of the early days of the week that was spent at Troas are not related to us; but concerning the last day we have a narrative which enters into details with all the minuteness of one of the Gospel histories. It was the evening which succeeded the Jewish Sabbath. (f1729) On the Sunday morning the vessel was about to sail. (f1730) The Christians of Troas were gathered together at this solemn time to celebrate that feast of love which the last commandment of Christ has enjoined on all His followers. The place was an upper room, with a recess or balcony (f1731) projecting over the street or the court. The night was dark: three weeks had not elapsed since the Passover, (f1732) and the moon only appeared as a faint crescent in the early part of the night. Many lamps were burning in the room where the congregation was assembled. (f1733) The place was hot and crowded. St. Paul, with the feeling strongly impressed on his mind that the next day was the day of his departure, and that souls might be lost by delay, was continuing in earnest discourse, and prolonging it even till midnight, (f1734) when an occurrence suddenly took place, which filled the assembly with alarm, though it was afterwards converted into an occasion of joy and thanksgiving. A young listener, whose name was Eutychus, was overcome by exhaustion, heat, and weariness, and sank into a deep slumber. (f1735) He was seated or leaning in the balcony; and, falling down in his sleep, was dashed upon the pavement below, and was taken up dead. (f1736) Confusion and terror followed, with loud lamentation. (f1737) But Paul was enabled to imitate the power of that Master whose doctrine he was proclaiming. As Jesus had once said ( Mat. 9:24; Mar. 5:39.) of the young maiden, who was taken by death from the society of her friends, "She is not dead, but sleepeth," so the Apostle of Jesus received power to restore the dead to life. He went down and fell upon the body, like Elisha of old, (f1738) and, embracing Eutychus, said to the bystanders, "Do not lament; for his life is in him."

With minds solemnized and filled with thankfulness by this wonderful token of God’s power and love, they celebrated the Eucharistic feast. (f1739) The act of Holy Communion was combined, as was usual in the Apostolic age, with a common meal:(f1740) and St. Paul now took some refreshment after the protracted labor of the evening, (f1741) and then continued his conversation till the dawning of the day. (f1742)

It was now time for the congregation to separate. The ship was about to sail, and the companions of Paul’s journey took their departure to go on board. (f1743) It was arranged, however, that the Apostle himself should join the vessel at Assos, which was only about twenty miles (f1744) distant by the direct road, while the voyage round Cape Lectum was nearly twice as far. He thus secured a few more precious hours with his converts at Troas; and eagerly would they profit by his discourse, under the feeling that he was so soon to leave them: and we might suppose that the impression made under such circumstances, and with the recollection of what they had witnessed in the night, would never be effaced from the minds of any of them, did we not know, on the highest authority, that if men believe not the prophets of God, neither will they believe "though one rose from the dead."

But the time came when St. Paul too must depart. The vessel might arrive at Assos before him; and, whatever influence he might have with the seamen, he could not count on any long delay. He hastened, therefore, through the southern gate, past the hot springs, (f1745) and through the oak-woods, (f1746) — then in full foliage, (f1747) — which cover all that shore with greenness and shade, and across the wild water-courses on the western side of Ida. (f1748) Such is the scenery which now surrounds the traveler on his way from Troas to Assos. The great difference then was, that there was a good Roman road, (f1749) which made St. Paul’s solitary journey both more safe and more rapid than it could have been now. We have seldom had occasion to think of the Apostle in the hours of his solitude. But such hours must have been sought and cherished by one whose whole strength was drawn from communion with God, and especially at a time when, as on this present journey, he was deeply conscious of his weakness, and filled with foreboding fears. (Compare Rom. 15:30, 31, Act. 20:3 with Act. 20:22-25, 21:4, 13.) There may have been other reasons why he lingered at Troas after his companions: but the desire for solitude was (we may well believe) one reason among others. The discomfort of a crowded ship is unfavorable for devotion: and prayer and meditation are necessary for maintaining the religious life even of an Apostle. That savior to whose service he was devoted had often prayed in solitude on the mountain, and crossed the brook Kedron to kneel under the olives of Gethsemane. And strength and peace were surely sought and obtained by the Apostle from the Redeemer, as he pursued his lonely road that Sunday afternoon in spring, among the oak-woods and the streams of Ida.

No delay seems to have occurred at Assos. He entered by the Sacred Way among the famous tombs, (f1750) and through the ancient gateway, and proceeded immediately to the shore. We may suppose that the vessel was already hove to and waiting when he arrived; or that he saw her approaching from the west, through the channel between Lesbos and the main. He went on board without delay, and the Greek sailors and the Apostolic missionaries continued their voyage. As to the city of Assos itself, we must conclude, if we compare the description of the ancients with present appearances, that its aspect as seen from the sea was sumptuous and grand. A terrace with a long portico was raised by a wall of rock above the water-line. Above this was a magnificent gate (f1751) , approached by a flight of steps. Higher still was the theatre, which commanded a glorious view of Lesbos and the sea, and those various buildings which are now a wilderness of broken columns, triglyphs, and friezes. The whole was crowned by a citadel of Greek masonry on a cliff of granite. Such was the view which gradually faded into indistinctness as the vessel retired from the shore, and the summits of Ida rose in the evening sky. (f1752)

The course of the voyagers was southwards, along the eastern shore of Lesbos. When Assos was lost, Mitylene, the chief city of Lesbos, came gradually into view. The beauty of the capital of Sappho’s island was celebrated by the architects, poets, and philosophers of Rome. Like other Greek cities, which were ennobled by old recollections, it was honored by the Romans with the privilege of freedom. (f1753) Situated on the south-eastern coast of the island, it would afford a good shelter from the northwesterly winds, whether the vessel entered the harbor or lay at anchor in the open roadstead. (f1754) It seems likely that the reason why they lay here for the night was, because it was the time of dark moon, (f1755) and they would wish for daylight to accomplish safely the intricate navigation between the southern part of Lesbos and the mainland of Asia Minor.

In the course of Monday they were abreast of Chios (v. 15). The weather in these seas is very variable: and, from the mode of expression employed by St. Luke, it is probable that they were becalmed. An English traveler under similar circumstances has described himself as "engrossed from daylight till noon" by the beauty of the prospects with which he was surrounded, as his vessel floated idly on this channel between Scio and the continent. (f1756) On one side were the gigantic masses of the mainland: on the other were the richness and fertility of the island, with its gardens of oranges, (f1757) citrons, almonds, and pomegranates, and its white scattered houses overshadowed by evergreens. Until the time of its recent disasters, Scio was the paradise of the modern Greek: and a familiar proverb censured the levity of its inhabitants, (f1758) like that which in the Apostle’s day described the coarser faults of the natives of Crete (Tit. 1:12).

The same English traveler passed the island of Samos after leaving that of Chios. So likewise did St. Paul (v. 15). But the former sailed along the western side of Samos, and he describes how its towering cloud-capped heights are contrasted with the next low island to the west. (f1759) The Apostle’s course lay along the eastern shore, where a much narrower "marine pass" intervenes between it and a long mountainous ridge of the mainland, from which it appears to have been separated by some violent convulsion of nature. (f1760) This high promontory is the ridge of Mycale, well known in the annals of Greek victory over the Persians. At its termination, not more than a mile from Samos, is the anchorage of Trogyllium. Here the night of Tuesday was spent; apparently for the same reason as that which caused the delay at Mitylene. The moon set early: and it was desirable to wait for the day before running into the harbor of Miletus. (f1761)

The short voyage from Chios to Trogyllium had carried St. Paul through familiar scenery. The bay across which the vessel had been passing was that into which the Cayster (f1762) flowed. The mountains on the mainland were the western branches of Messogis and Tmolus, (f1763) the ranges that enclose the primeval plain of "Asia." The city, towards which it is likely that some of the vessels in sight were directing their course, was Ephesus, where the Apostolic labors of three years had gathered a company of Christians in the midst of unbelievers. One whose solicitude was so great for his recent converts could not willingly pass by and leave them unvisited: and had he had the command of the movements of the vessel, we can hardly believe that he would have done so. He would surely have landed at Ephesus, rather than at Miletus. The same wind which carried him to the latter harbor would have been equally advantageous for a quick passage to the former. And, even had the weather been unfavorable at the time for landing at Ephesus, he might easily have detained the vessel at Trogyllium; and a short journey by land northward would have taken him to the scene of his former labors. (f1764)

Yet every delay, whether voluntary or involuntary, might have been fatal to the plan he was desirous to accomplish. St. Luke informs us here (and the occurrence of the remark shows us how much regret was felt by the Apostle on passing by Ephesus) that his intention was, if possible, to be in Jerusalem at Pentecost (v. 16). Even with a ship at his command, he could not calculate on favorable weather, if he lost his present opportunity: nor could he safely leave the ship which had conveyed him hitherto; for he was well aware that he could not be certain of meeting with another that would forward his progress. He determined, therefore, to proceed in the same vessel, on her southward course from Trogylliurn to Miletus. Yet the same watchful zeal which had urged him to employ the last precious moments of the stay at Troas in his Master’s cause suggested to his prompt mind a method of re-impressing the lessons of eternal truth on the hearts of the Christians at Ephesus, though he was unable to revisit them in person. He found that the vessel would be detained at Miletus (f1765) a sufficient time to enable him to send for the presbyters of the Ephesian Church, with the hope of their meeting him there. The distance between the two cities was hardly thirty miles, and a good road connected them together. (f1766) Thus, though the stay at Miletus would be short, and it might be hazardous to attempt the journey himself, he could hope for one more interview, — if not with the whole Ephesian Church, at least with those members of it whose responsibility was the greatest.

The sail from Trogylliurn, with a fair wind, would require but little time. If the vessel weighed anchor at daybreak on Wednesday, she would be in harbor long before noon. (f1767) The message was doubtless sent to Ephesus immediately on her arrival; and Paul remained at Miletus waiting for those whom the Holy Spirit, by his hands, had made "overseers" over the flock of Christ (v. 28). The city where we find the Christian Apostle now waiting, while those who had the care of the vessel were occupied with the business that detained them, has already been referred to as more ancient than Ephesus, (f1768) though in the age of St. Paul inferior to it in political and mercantile eminence. Even in Homer, the "Carian Miletus" appears as a place of renown. Eighty colonies went forth from the banks of the Maeander, and some of them were spread even to the eastern shores of the Black Sea, and beyond the Pillars of Hercules to the west. It received its first blow in the Persian war, when its inhabitants, like the Jews, had experience of a Babylonian captivity. (f1769) It suffered once more in Alexander’s great campaign; (f1770) and after his time it gradually began to sink towards its present condition of ruin and decay, from the influence, as it would seem, of mere natural causes, — the increase of alluvial soil in the delta having the effect of removing the city gradually farther and farther from the sea. Even in the Apostle’s time, there was between the city and the shore a considerable space of level ground, through which the ancient river meandered in new windings, like the Forth at Stirling. (f1771) Few events connect the history of Miletus with the transactions of the Roman Empire. When St. Paul was there, it was simply one of the second-rate seaports on this populous coast, ranking, perhaps, with Adramyttium or Patara, but hardly with Ephesus or Smyrna. (f1772)

The excitement and joy must have been great among the Christians of Ephesus, when they heard that their honored friend and teacher, to whom they had listened so often in the school of Tyrannus, was in the harbor (f1773) of Miletus, within the distance of a few miles. The presbyters must have gathered together in all haste to obey the summons, and gone with eager steps out of the southern gate, which leads to Miletus. By those who travel on such an errand, a journey of twenty or thirty miles is not regarded long and tedious, nor is much regard paid to the difference between day and night. (f1774) The presbyters of Ephesus might easily reach Miletus on the day after that on which the summons was received. (f1775) And though they might be weary when they arrived, their fatigue would soon be forgotten at the sight of their friend and instructor; and God, also, "who comforts them that are cast down" (2Co. 7:6), comforted him by the sight of his disciples. They were gathered together — probably in some solitary spot upon the shore — to listen to his address. This little company formed a singular contrast with the crowds which used to assemble at the times of public amusement in the theatre of Miletus. (f1776) But that vast theatre is now a silent ruin, — while the words spoken by a careworn traveler to a few despised strangers are still living as they were that day, to teach lessons for all time, and to make known eternal truths to all who will hear them, — while they reveal to us, as though they were merely human words, all the tenderness and the affection of Paul, the individual speaker.

The close of this speech was followed by a solemn act of united supplication (Act. 20:36). St. Paul knelt down on the shore with all those who had listened to him, and offered up a prayer to that God who was founding His Church in the midst of difficulties apparently insuperable; and then followed an outbreak of natural grief, which even Christian faith and resignation were not able to restrain. They fell on the Apostle’s neck and clung to him, and kissed him again and again, (f1777) sorrowing most because of his own foreboding announcement, that they should never behold that countenance again, on which they had often gazed (f1778) with reverence and love (ib. 37, 38). But no long time could be devoted to the grief of separation. The wind was fair, (f1779) and the vessel must depart They accompanied the Apostle to the edge of the water (ib. 38). (f1780) The Christian brethren were torn away from the embrace of their friends; (f1781) and the ship sailed out into the open sea, while the presbyters prepared for their weary and melancholy return to Ephesus.

The narrative of the voyage is now resumed in detail. It is quite clear, from St. Luke’s mode of expression, that the vessel sailed from Miletus on the day of the interview. With a fair wind she would easily run down to Cos in the course of the same afternoon. The distance is about forty nautical miles; the direction is due south. The phrase used implies a straight course and a fair wind, (f1782) and we conclude, from the well-known phenomena of the Levant, that the wind was north-westerly, which is the prevalent direction in those seas. (f1783) With this wind the vessel would make her passage from Miletus to Cos in six hours, passing the shores of Caria, with the high summits of Mount Latmus on the left, and with groups of small islands (among which Patmos (Rev. 1:9) would be seen at times) (f1784) studding the sea on the right. Cos is an island about twenty-three miles in length, extending from south-west to north-east, and separated by a narrow channel from the mainland. (f1785) But we should rather conceive the town to be referred to, which lay at the eastern extremity of the island. It is described by the ancients as a beautiful and well-built city: and it was surrounded with fortifications erected by Alcibiades towards the close of the Peloponnesian war. Its symmetry had been injured by an earthquake, and the restoration had not yet been effected; but the productiveness of the island to which it belonged, and its position in the Levant, made the city a place of no little consequence. The wine and the textile fabrics of Cos were well known among the imports of Italy. Even now no harbor is more frequented by the merchant-vessels of the Levant. (f1786) The roadstead is sheltered by nature from all winds except the north-east, and the inner harbor was not then, as is is now, an unhealthy lagoon. (f1787) Moreover, Claudius had recently bestowed peculiar privileges on the city. (f1788) Another circumstance made it the resort of many strangers, and gave it additional renown. It was the seat of the medical school traditionally connected with AEsculapius; and the temple of the god of healing was crowded with votive models, so as to become in effect a museum of anatomy and pathology. (f1789) The Christian physician St. Luke, who knew these coasts so well, could hardly be ignorant of the scientific and religious celebrity of Cos. We can imagine the thankfulness with which he would reflect — as the vessel lay at anchor off the city of Hippocrates — that he had been emancipated from the bonds of superstition, without becoming a victim to that scepticism which often succeeds it, especially in minds familiar with the science of physical phenomena. (f1790)

On leaving the anchorage of Cos, the vessel would have to proceed through the channel which lies between the southern shore of the island and that tongue of the mainland which terminates in the Point of Cnidus. If the wind continued in the north-west, the vessel would be able to hold a straight course from Cos to Cape Crio (for such is the modern name of the promontory of Triopium, on which Cnidus was built), and after rounding the point she would run clear before the wind all the way to Rhodes. (f1791) Another of St. Paul’s voyages will lead us to make mention of Cnidus. (See Act. 27:7.) We shall, therefore, only say, that the extremity of the promontory descends with a perpendicular precipice to the sea, and that this high rock is separated by a level space from the main, so that, at a distance, it appears like one of the numerous islands on the coast. (f1792) Its history, as well as its appearance, was well impressed on the mind of the Greek navigator of old; for it was the scene of Conon’s victory; and the memory of their great admiral made the southwestern corner of the Asiatic peninsula to the Athenians what the south-western corner of Spain is to us, through the memories of St. Vincent and Trafalgar.

We have supposed St. Paul’s vessel to have rounded Cape Crio, to have left the western shore of Asia Minor, and to be proceeding along the southern shore. The current between Rhodes and the main runs strongly to the westward; (f1793) but the north-westerly wind (f1794) would soon carry the vessel through the space of fifty miles to the northern extremity of the island, where its famous and beautiful city was built.

Until the building of its metropolis, the name of this island was comparatively unknown. But from the time when the inhabitants of the earlier towns were brought to one center, (f1795) and the new city, built by Hippodamus (the same architect who planned the streets of the Piraeus), rose in the midst of its perfumed gardens and its amphitheatre of hills, with unity so symmetrical that it appeared like one house, (f1796) — Rhodes has held an illustrious place among the islands of the Mediterranean. From the very effect of its situation, lying as it did on the verge of two of the basins of that sea, it became the intermediate point of the eastern and western trade. (f1797) Even now it is the harbor at which most vessels touch on their progress to and from the Archipelago. (f1798) It was the point from which the Greek geographers reckoned their parallels of latitude and meridians of longitude. And we may assert that no place has been so long renowned for ship-building, if we may refer to the "benches, and masts, and ship-boards" of "Dodanim and Chittirn," with the feeble constructions of the modern Turkish dockyard, as the earliest and latest efforts of that Rhodian skill, which was celebrated by Pliny in the time of St. Paul. To the copious supplies of ship-timber were added many other physical advantages. It was a proverb, that the sun shone every day in Rhodes; and her inhabitants revelled in the luxuriance of the vegetation which surrounded them. We find this beauty and this brilliant atmosphere typified in her coins, on one side of which is the head of Apollo radiated like the sun, while the other exhibits the rose-flower, the conventional emblem which bore the name of the island. (f1799)

But the interest of what is merely outward fades before the moral interest associated with its history. If we rapidly run over its annals, we find something in every period, with which elevated thoughts are connected. The Greek period is the first, — famous not merely for the great Temple of the Sun, and the Colossus, which, like the statue of Borromeo at Arona, seemed to stand over the city to protect it, (f1800) — but far more for the supremacy of the seas, which was employed to put down piracy, for the code of mercantile law, by which the commerce of later times was regulated, and for the legislative enactments, framed almost in the spirit of Christianity, for the protection of the poor. This is followed by the Roman period, when the faithful ally, which had aided by her naval power in subduing the East, was honored by the Senate and the Emperors with the name and privileges of freedom:(f1801) and this by the Byzantine, during which Christianity was established in the Levant, and the city of the Rhodians, as the metropolis of a province of islands, if no longer holding the empire of the Mediterranean, was at least recognized as the Queen of the AEgean. (f1802) During the earlier portion of the middle ages, while mosques were gradually taking the place of Byzantine churches, Rhodes was the last Christian city to make a stand against the advancing Saracens; and again during their later portion, she re-appears as a city ennobled by the deeds of Christian chivalry; so that, ever since the successful siege of Solyman the Magnificent, her fortifications and her stately harbor, and the houses in her streets, continue to be the memorials of the Knights of St. John. Yet no point of Rhodian history ought to move our spirits with so much exultation as that day, when the vessel that conveyed St. Paul came round the low northern point (f1803) of the island to her moorings before the city. We do not know that he landed like other great conquerors who have visited Rhodes. It would not be necessary even to enter the harbor, for a safe anchorage would be found for the night in the open roadstead. (f1804) "The kingdom of God cometh not with observation;" and the vessel which was seen by the people of the city to weigh anchor in the morning was probably undistinguished from the other coasting craft with which they were daily familiar.

No view in the Levant is more celebrated than that from Rhodes towards the opposite shore of Asia Minor. The last ranges of Mount Taurus (f1805) come down in magnificent forms to the sea; and a long line of snowy summits is seen along the Lycian coast, while the sea between is often an unruffled expanse of water under a blue and brilliant sky. Across this expanse, and towards a harbor near the farther edge of these Lycian mountains, the Apostle’s course was now directed (Act. 21:1). To the eastward of Mount Cragus, — the steep sea-front of which is known to the pilots of the Levant by the name of the "Seven Capes," (f1806) — the river Xanthus winds through a rich and magnificent valley, and past the ruins of an ancient city, the monuments of which, after a long concealment, have lately been made familiar to the British public. (f1807) The harbor of the city of Xanthus was situated a short distance from the left bank of the river. Patara was to Xanthus what the Piraeus was to Athens; (f1808) and though this comparison might seem to convey the idea of an importance which never belonged to the Lycian seaport, yet ruins still remain to show that it was once a place of some magnitude and splendor. The bay into which the river Xanthus flowed is now a "desert of moving sand," which is blown by the westerly wind into ridges along the shore, and is gradually hiding the remains of the ancient city; (f1809) but a triple archway and a vast theatre have been described by travelers. (f1810) Some have even thought that they have discovered the seat of the oracle of Apollo, who was worshipped here, as his sister Diana was worshipped at Ephesus or Porga:(f1811) and the city walls can be traced among the sand-hills with the castle (f1812) that commanded the harbor. In the war against Antiochus, this harbor was protected by a sudden storm from the Roman fleet, when Livius sailed from Rhodes. (f1813) Now we find the Apostle Paul entering it with a fair wind, after a short sail from the same island.

It seems that the vessel in which St. Paul had been hitherto sailing either finished its voyage at Patara, or was proceeding farther eastward along the southern coast of Asia Minor, and not to the ports of Phoenicia. St. Paul could not know in advance whether it would be "possible" for him to arrive in Palestine in time for Pentecost (Act. 20:16); but an opportunity presented itself unexpectedly at Patara. Providential circumstances conspired with his own convictions to forward his journey, notwithstanding the discouragement which the fears of others had thrown across his path. In the harbor of Patara they found a vessel which was on the point of crossing the open sea to Phoenicia (Act. 21:2). They went on board without a moment’s delay; and it seems evident from the mode of expression that they sailed the very day of their arrival. (f1814) Since the voyage lay across the open sea, (f1815) with no shoals or rocks to be dreaded, and since the north-westerly winds often blow steadily for several days in the Levant during spring, (f1816) there could be no reason why the vessel should not weigh anchor in the evening, and sail through the night. (f1817)

We have now to think of St. Paul as no longer passing through narrow channels, or coasting along in the shadow of great mountains, but as sailing continuously through the midnight hours, with a prosperous breeze filling the canvass, and the waves curling and sounding round the bows of the vessel. There is a peculiar freshness and cheerfulness in the prosecution of a prosperous voyage with a fair wind by night. The sailors on the watch, and the passengers also, feel it, and the feeling is often expressed in songs or in long-continued conversation. Such cheerfulness might be felt by the Apostle and his companions, not without thankfulness to that God "who giveth songs in the night" (Job. 35:10), and who hearkeneth to those who fear Him, and speak often to one another, and think upon His name (Mal. 3:16). If we remember, too, that a month had now elapsed since the moon was shining on the snows of Haemus, (f1818) and that the full moonlight would now be resting on the great sail (f1819) of the ship, we are not without an expressive imagery, which we may allowably throw round the Apostle’s progress over the waters between Patara and Tyre.

The distance between these two points is three hundred and forty geographical miles; and if we bear in mind (what has been mentioned more than once) that the north-westerly winds in April often blow like monsoons in the Levant, and that the rig of ancient sailing vessels was peculiarly favorable to a quick run before the wind, (f1820) we come at once to the conclusion that the voyage might easily be accomplished in forty-eight hours. (f1821) Every thing in St. Luke’s account gives a strong impression that the weather was in the highest degree favorable; and there is one picturesque phrase employed by the narrator, which sets vividly before us some of the phenomena of a rapid voyage. (f1822) That which is said in the English version concerning the "discovering" of Cyprus, and "leaving it on the left hand," is, in the original, a nautical expression, implying that the land appeared to rise quickly, (f1823) as they sailed past it to the southward. (f1824) It would be in the course of the second day (probably in the evening) that "the high blue eastern land appeared." The highest mountain of Cyprus is a rounded summit, and there would be snow upon it at that season of the year. (f1825) After the second night, the first land in sight would be the high range of Lebanon (f1826) in Syria (Act. 21:3), and they would easily arrive at Tyre before the evening.

So much has been written concerning the past history and present condition of Tyre, that these subjects are familiar to every reader, and it is unnecessary to dwell upon them here. (f1827) When St. Paul came to this city, it was neither in the glorious state described in the prophecies of Ezekiel and Isaiah, (Ezekiel 26; 27, Isaiah 23.) when "its merchants were princes, and its traffickers the honorable of the earth," nor in the abject desolation in which it now fulfils those prophecies, being "a place to spread nets upon," and showing only the traces of its maritime supremacy in its ruined mole, and a port hardly deep enough for boats. (f1828) It was in the condition in which it had been left by the successors of Alexander, — the island, which once held the city, being joined to the mainland by a causeway, — with a harbor on the north, and another on the south. (f1829) In honor of its ancient greatness, the Romans gave it the name of a free city; (f1830) and it still commanded some commerce, for its manufactures of glass and purple were not yet decayed, (f1831) and the narrow belt of the Phoenician coast between the mountains and the sea required that the food for its population should be partly brought from without. (f1832) It is allowable to conjecture that the ship, which we have just seen crossing from Patara, may have brought grain from the Black Sea, or wine from the Archipelago, (f1833) — with the purpose of taking on from Tyre a cargo of Phoenician manufactures. We know that, whatever were the goods she brought, they were unladed at Tyre (v. 3), and that the vessel was afterwards to proceed (f1834) to Ptolemais (v. 7). For this task of unlading, some days would be required. She would be taken into the inner dock; (f1835) and St. Paul had thus some time at his disposal, which he could spend in the active service of his Master. He and his companions lost no time in "seeking out the disciples."

It is probable that the Christians at Tyre were not numerous; (f1836) but a Church had existed there ever since the dispersion consequent upon the death of Stephen (pp. 75, 109), and St. Paul and himself visited it, if not on his mission of charity from Antioch to Jerusalem (p. 118), yet doubtless on his way to the Council (p. 187). There were not only disciples at Tyre, but prophets. Some of those who had the prophetical power foresaw the danger which was hanging over St. Paul, and endeavored to persuade him to desist from his purpose of going to Jerusalem. We see that different views of duty might be taken by those who had the same spiritual knowledge, though that knowledge were supernatural. St. Paul looked on the coming danger from a higher point. What to others was an overwhelming darkness, to him appeared only as a passing storm. And he resolved to face it, in the faith that He who had protected him hitherto would still give him shelter and safety.

The time spent at Tyre in unlading the vessel, and probably taking in a new cargo, and possibly, also, waiting for a fair wind, (f1837) was "seven days," including a Sunday. (f1838) St. Paul "broke bread" with the disciples, and discoursed as he had done at Troas (p. 256); and the week-days, too, would afford many precious opportunities for confirming those who were already Christians, and for making the Gospel known to others, both Jews and Gentiles. When the time came for the ship to sail, a scene was witnessed on the Phoenician shore like that which had made the Apostle’s departure from Miletus so impressive and affecting. (f1839) There attended him through the city gate, (f1840) as he and his companions went out to join the vessel now ready to receive them, all the Christians of Tyre, and even their "wives and children." And there they knelt down and prayed together on the level shore. (f1841) We are not to imagine here any Jewish place of worship, like the proseucha at Philippi; (f1842) but simply that they were on their way to the ship. The last few moments were precious, and could not be so well employed as in praying to Him who alone can give true comfort and protection. The time spent in this prayer was soon passed. And then they tore themselves from each other’s embrace; the strangers went on board, (f1843) and the Tyrian believers returned home sorrowful and anxious, while the ship sailed southwards on her way to Ptolemais.

There is a singular contrast in the history of those three cities on the Phoenician shore, which are mentioned in close succession in the concluding part of the narrative of this Apostolic journey. Tyre, the city from which St. Paul had just sailed, had been the seaport whose destiny formed the burden of the sublimest prophecies in the last days of the Hebrew monarchy. Coesarea, the city to which he was ultimately bound, was the work of the family of Herod, and rose with the rise of Christianity. Both are fallen now into utter decay. Ptolemais, which was the intermediate stage between them, is an older city than either, and has outlived them both. It has never been withdrawn from the field of history; and its interest has seemed to increase (at least in the eyes of Englishmen) with the progress of centuries. Under the ancient name of Acco, it appears in the book of Judges (Jud. 1:31) as one of the towns of the tribe of Assher. It was the pivot of the contests between Persia and Egypt. Not unknown in the Macedonian and Roman periods, it re appears with brilliant distinction in the middle ages, when the Crusaders called it St. Jean d’Acre. It is needless to allude to the events which have fixed on this sea-fortress, more than once, the attention of our own generation. (f1844) At the particular time when the Apostle Paul visited this place, it bore the name of Ptolemais, (f1845) — most probably given to it by Ptolemy Lagi, who was long in possession of this part of Syria, (f1846) — and it had recently been made a Roman colony by the Emperor Claudius. (f1847) It shared with Tyre and Sidon, (f1848) Antioch and Caesarea, the trade of the eastern coast of the Mediterranean Sea. With a fair wind, a short day’s voyage separates it from Tyre. To speak in the language of our own sailors, there are thirteen miles from Tyre to Cape Blanco, and fifteen from thence to Cape Carmel; and Acre — the ancient Ptolemais — is situated on the farther extremity of that bay, which sweeps with a wide curvature of sand to the northwards, from the headland of Carmel. (f1849) It is evident that St. Paul’s company sailed from Tyre to Ptolemais within the day. (f1850) At the latter city, as at the former, there were Christian disciples, (f1851) who had probably been converted at the same time and under the same circumstances as those of Tyre. Another opportunity was afforded for the salutations and encouragement of brotherly love; but the missionary party staid here only one day. (f1852) Though they had accomplished the voyage in abundant time to reach Jerusalem at Pentecost, they hastened onwards, that they might linger some days at Caesarea. (f1853)

One day’s traveling by land (f1854) was sufficient for this part of their journey. The distance is between thirty and forty miles. (f1855) At Caesarea there was a Christian family, already known to us in the earlier passages of the Acts of the Apostles, with whom they were sure of receiving a welcome. The last time we made mention of Philip the Evangelist (p. 74) was when he was engaged in making the Gospel known on the road which leads southwards by Gaza towards Egypt, about the time when St. Paul himself was converted on the northern road, when traveling to Damascus. Now, after many years, the Apostle and the Evangelist are brought together under one roof. On the former occasion, we saw that Caesarea was the place where the labors of Philip on that journey ended. (f1856) Thenceforward it became his residence if his life was stationary, or it was the center from which he made other missionary circuits through Judaea. (f1857) He is found, at least, residing in this city by the sea, when St. Paul arrives in the year 58 from Achaia and Macedonia. His family consisted of four daughters, who were an example of the fullfillment of that prediction of Joel, quoted by St. Peter, which said, that, at the opening of the new dispensation, God’s Spirit should come on His "handmaidens" as well as His bondsmen, and that the "daughters," as well as the sons, should prophesy. (f1858) The prophetic power was granted to these four women at Caesarea, who seem to have been living that life of single devotedness (f1859) which is commended by St. Paul in his first letter to the Corinthians (1 Corinthians 7.), and to have exercised their gift in concert for the benefit of the Church.

It is not improbable that these inspired women gave St. Paul some intimation of the sorrows which were hanging over him. (f1860) But soon a. more explicit voice declared the very nature of the trial he was to expect. The stay of the Apostle at Caesarea lasted some days (v. 10). He had arrived in Judaea in good time before the festival, and haste was now unnecessary. Thus news reached Jerusalem of his arrival; and a prophet named Agabus — whom we have seen before (p. 117) coming from the same place on a similar errand — went down to Caesarea, and communicated to St. Paul and the company of Christians by whom he was surrounded a clear knowledge of the impending danger. His revelation was made in that dramatic form which impresses the mind with a stronger sense of reality than mere words can do, and which was made familiar to the Jews of old by the practice of the Hebrew prophets. As Isaiah (Isaiah 20.) loosed the sackcloth from his loins, and put off his shoes from his feet, to declare how the Egyptian captives should be led away into Assyria naked and barefoot, — or as the girdle of Jeremiah (Jeremiah 13.), in its strength and its decay, was made a type of the people of Israel in their privilege and their fall, — Agabus, in like manner, using the imagery of action, (f1861) took the girdle of St. Paul, and fastened it round his own (f1862) hands and feet, and said, "Thus saith the Holy Ghost: So shall the Jews at Jerusalem bind the man to whom this girdle belongs, and they shall deliver him into the hands of the Gentiles."

The effect of this emphatic prophecy, both on Luke, Aristarchus, and Trophimus, (f1863) the companions of St. Paul’s journey, and those Christians of Caesarea, (f1864) who, though they had not traveled with him, had learnt to love him, was very great. They wept, (f1865) and implored him not to go to Jerusalem. (f1866) But the Apostle himself could not so interpret the supernatural intimation. He was placed in a position of peculiar trial. A voice of authentic prophecy had been so uttered, that, had he been timid and wavering, it might easily have been construed into a warning to deter him. Nor was that temptation unfelt which arises from the sympathetic grief of loving friends. His affectionate heart was almost broken (f1867) when he heard their earnest supplications and saw the sorrow that was caused by the prospect of his danger; but the mind of the Spirit had been so revealed to him in his own inward convictions, that he could see the Divine counsel through apparent hinderances. His resolution was "no wavering between yea and nay, but was yea in Jesus Christ." (f1868) His deliberate purpose did not falter for a moment. (f1869) He declared that he was "ready not only to be bound, but to die at Jerusalem for the name of the Lord Jesus." And then they desisted from their entreaties. Their respect for the Apostle made them silent. They recognized the will of God in the steady purpose of His servant, and gave their acquiescence in those words in which Christian resignation is best expressed:"The will of the Lord be done."

The time was now come for the completion of the journey. The festival was close at hand. Having made the arrangements that were necessary with regard to their luggage, (f1870) — and such notices in Holy Scripture (f1871) should receive their due attention, for they help to set before us all the reality of the Apostle’s journeys, — he and the companions who had attended him from Macedonia proceeded to the Holy City. Some of the Christians of Caesarea went along with them, not merely, as it would seem, to show their respect and sympathy for the Apostolic company, (f1872) but to secure their comfort on arriving, by taking him to the house of Mnason, a native of Cyprus, who had been long ago converted to Christianity, (f1873) — possibly during the life of our Lord Himself, (f1874) — and who may have been one of those Cyprian Jews who first made the Gospel known to the Greeks at Antioch.

Thus we have accompanied St. Paul on his last recorded journey to Jerusalem. It was a journey full of incident; and it is related more minutely than any other portion of his travels. We know all the places by which he passed, or at which he staid; and we are able to connect them all with familiar recollections of history. We know, too, all the aspect of the scenery. He sailed along those coasts of Western Asia, and among those famous islands, the beauty of which is proverbial. The very time of the year is known to us. It was when the advancing season was clothing every low shore, and the edge of every broken cliff, with a beautiful and refreshing verdure; when the winter storms had ceased to be dangerous, and the small vessels could ply safely in shade and sunshine between neighboring ports. Even the state of the weather and the direction of the wind are known. We can point to the places on the map where the vessel anchored for the night, (f1875) and trace across the chart the track that was followed, when the moon was full. (f1876) Yet more than this.

We are made fully aware of the state of the Apostle’s mind, and of the burdened feeling under which this journey was accomplished. The expression of this feeling strikes us the more from its contrast with all the outward circumstances of the voyage. He sailed in the finest season, by the brightest coasts, and in the fairest weather; and yet his mind was occupied with forebodings of evil from first to last; — so that a peculiar shade of sadness is thrown over the whole narration. If this be true, we should expect to find some indications of this pervading sadness in the letters written about this time; for we know how the deeper tones of feeling make themselves known in the correspondence of any man with his friends.

Accordingly, we do find in the Epistle written to the Romans, shortly before leaving Corinth, a remarkable indication of discouragement, and almost despondency, when he asked the Christians at Rome to pray that, on his arrival in Jerusalem, he might be delivered from the Jews who hated him, and be well received by those Christians who disregarded his authority. (f1877) The depressing anxiety with which he thus looked forward to the journey would not be diminished, when the very moment of his departure from Corinth was beset by a Jewish plot against his life. (f1878) And we find the cloud of gloom, which thus gathered at the first, increasing and becoming darker as we advance. At Philippi and at Troas, indeed, no direct intimation is given of coming calamities; but it is surely no fancy which sees a foreboding shadow thrown over that midnight meeting, where death so suddenly appeared among those that were assembled there with many lights in the upper chamber, while the Apostle seemed unable to intermit his discourse, as "ready to depart on the morrow." For indeed at Miletus he said, that already "in every city" (f1879) the Spirit had admonished him that bonds and imprisonment were before him. At Miletus it is clear that the heaviness of spirit under which he started had become a confirmed anticipation of evil. When he wrote to Rome, he hoped to be delivered from the danger he had too much reason to fear. Now his fear predominates over hope; (f1880) and he looks forward, sadly but calmly, to some imprisonment not far distant. At Tyre, the first sounds that he hears on landing are the echo of his own thoughts. He is met by the same voice of warning, and the same bitter trial for himself and his friends. At Coesarea his vague forebodings of captivity are finally made decisive and distinct, and he has a last struggle with the remonstrances of those whom he loved. Never had he gone to Jerusalem without a heart full of emotion, — neither in those early years, when he came an enthusiastic boy from Tarsus to the school of Gamaliel, — nor on his return from Damascus, after the greatest change that could have passed over an inquisitor’s mind, — nor when he went with Barnabas from Antioch to the Council, which was to decide an anxious controversy. Now he had much new experience of the insidious progress of error, and of the sinfulness even of the converted. Yet his trust in God did not depend on the faithfulness of man; and he went to Jerusalem calmly and resolutely, though doubtful of his reception among the Christian brethren, and not knowing what would happen on the morrow.