Acts 28:11-15

In Acts chapter 19 Paul was in the city of Ephesus.  He worked there and did spectacular “wow” miracles for over two years.  His work in Ephesus was so successful he actually started to hurt the local businesses which supported the worship of the goddess Artemis. Having completed his work there, we find the Spirit leading Paul to leave Ephesus and take a trip.

Acts 19:21 After all this had happened, Paul decided to go to Jerusalem, passing through Macedonia and Achaia. "After I have been there," he said, "I must visit Rome also."

All the way back in 56 AD, Paul, through the urging of the Holy Spirit, made a decision to first go to Jerusalem and then to Rome. I suspect Paul was thinking, “A couple of weeks in Macedonia and then maybe a month in Achaia, and then some travel time to Jerusalem, I drop off the contribution to the poor and I’m in Rome a month later; 6 months tops.” Well, as we have seen it didn’t quite work out like that. 

Paul did arrive in Jerusalem in 57 AD and was quickly arrested for disturbing the peace. Claude, the Roman commander, saved him from being disressembled and then took him to the Sanhedrin in an attempt to find out what was going on. Even in the Sanhedrin there is another violent ruckus, which Claude has to rescue Paul again.   The next night after being saved, Jesus appeared to Paul.

Acts 23:11 The following night the Lord stood near Paul and said, "Take courage! As you have testified about me in Jerusalem, so you must also testify in Rome."  

Paul is told he will go to Rome!  And, I still suspect, he was thinking, “A couple of more months and I will be in Rome.”  But a couple years go by as he sat in jail.  There was a change of governors from Festus to Felix and he had another trial. Paul refused to go back to Jerusalem, so he appealed to Nero. 

Acts 25:10-12   Paul answered: "I am now standing before Caesar's court, where I ought to be tried. I have not done any wrong to the Jews, as you yourself know very well.  If, however, I am guilty of doing anything deserving death, I do not refuse to die. But if the charges brought against me by these Jews are not true, no one has the right to hand me over to them. I appeal to Caesar!"  After Festus had conferred with his council, he declared: "You have appealed to Caesar. To Caesar you will go!"

Acts 27:1  When it was decided that we would sail for Italy, Paul and some other prisoners were handed over to a centurion named Julius, who belonged to the Imperial Regiment.

Finally, he was going to Rome.  A couple more weeks and he will get there. But no, the trip to Rome was scary.  In fact there was a terrible storm and a shipwreck and a rescue and three more months on the island of Malta. 

But now, early in the year 60 AD, almost 4 years after he had decided to go to Rome, he was finally getting close to his goal.  I said all that to show you how long it had been and how much trouble it had been for Paul to finally get near his goal.  You can appreciate his excitement and relief and nervousness and satisfaction; he was going to get to Rome.  That brings us to where we are in our study of Acts.  We are in the last chapter.  I’ve done pretty good?  I am going to finish Acts before the end of this year. 

Acts 28:11-14  After three months we put out to sea in a ship that had wintered in the island. It was an Alexandrian ship with the figurehead of the twin gods Castor and Pollux.  We put in at Syracuse and stayed there three days. From there we set sail and arrived at Rhegium. The next day the south wind came up, and on the following day we reached Puteoli. There we found some brothers who invited us to spend a week with them.

Imagine the anticipation!  Paul has been working for this moment for 4 years!  He is now only 130 miles from Rome.  No more ships, no more sailors, no more storms, he would walk the rest of the way to Rome.  He was getting close to home, I mean Rome. 

Acts 28:14-15  And so we came to Rome.  The brothers there had heard that we were coming, and they traveled as far as the Forum of Appius and the Three Taverns to meet us. At the sight of these men Paul thanked God and was encouraged.

The Forum of Appius was 45 miles away and the Three Taverns was 33 miles from Rome. These brothers had traveled all that way to meet Paul and then escorted him back to what is known as the Eternal City.  Paul finally got to Rome. 

Now, you may be thinking, “Well, that is a nice story, Tim.  But what are you going to do with that?  How in the world are you going to make a lesson for us from those 5 verses?  Malta, Syracuse, Rhegium, Puteoli, Forum of Appius, Three Taverns and then Rome; this is just a bunch of Google Earth places; a record of a trip. What can we learn from this except some ancient geography?”  Go ahead and ask it, “What’s the point?”  

Well, there are three things, you may or may not know, that make these 5 verses, not only meaningful to us, today, on the Sunday before Thanksgiving 2008, but make them one of the most powerful lessons you could ever get your head around.  I mean, if you can get your head around the point of these 5 verses it will fundamentally change you!  “Really?”  Say it.

1) The first thing, you may or may not know, is the Greek word; avpanthsi~ (apantasis).

avpanthsi~ means to come out and meet some dignitary and escort them back into town.  It was a way they honored important people who came to their cities.  In our culture it would kind of be like meeting someone at the airport with a lot of supporters and a band and a celebration and cheering as they stepped off the plane. It was a way of celebrating someone; of showing they were important enough for you to come out and walk with them back into town.  The brothers in Rome honored Paul by walking all the way out to 45 miles and some 33 miles and then all the way back into Rome.  Paul was celebrated into Rome.

The Greek word avpanthsi~ is only used three times in the NT.  Obviously, here in Acts 28; the 2nd in a parable by Jesus in Matthew 25.  This is really cool.  This is the kind of thing that jazzes preachers.  And I might note I figured all this out on my own; mostly.  In Matthew 25 Jesus is telling a story about a wedding. 

Matthew 25:1-6  "At that time the kingdom of heaven will be like ten virgins who took their lamps and went out to meet the bridegroom.  Five of them were foolish and five were wise. The foolish ones took their lamps but did not take any oil with them. The wise, however, took oil in jars along with their lamps.  The bridegroom was a long time in coming, and they all became drowsy and fell asleep.  At midnight the cry rang out: 'Here's the bridegroom! Come out to meet him!'”

The word avpanthsi~ is  the “meet him.”  The wise virgins, who had the oil in their lamps, ran out of the banquet hall to meet the groom and escort him back with celebrations into wedding hall.  avpanthsi~is this going out and bringing someone important back with celebration!

The third time avpanthsi~ is used is in one of the most misunderstood verses in the Bible, because people don’t understand avpanthsi~.

1 Thessalonians 4:13-17  Brothers, we do not want you to be ignorant about those who fall asleep, or to grieve like the rest of men, who have no hope.  We believe that Jesus died and rose again and so we believe that God will bring with Jesus those who have fallen asleep in him.  According to the Lord's own word, we tell you that we who are still alive, who are left till the coming of the Lord, will certainly not precede those who have fallen asleep.  For the Lord himself will come down from heaven, with a loud command, with the voice of the archangel and with the trumpet call of God, and the dead in Christ will rise first.  After that, we who are still alive and are left will be caught up together with them in the clouds to meet (avpanthsi~) the Lord in the air. And so we will be with the Lord forever.

What is Paul saying here in 1 Thessalonians 4:17? Jesus is coming again, like the bridegroom, like Paul entering Rome.  He is coming to this earth and those who still alive will go up to meet Jesus in the air and then return with him to this earth in celebration; where they will be with him forever!  Wow! That is preacher jazzing!   

2) That was the first thing you may or may not have known.  How many knew avpanthsi~?  The second thing, you may or may not know, is that Luke was a companion of Paul before Paul wrote 1 Thessalonians 4:17, the verse we just read.   

Way back in 51 AD while Paul was in stay in Corinth he wrote 1 Thessalonians. What is interesting is that Luke had become one of Paul’s traveling buddies some time before he got to Corinth.  I can’t be sure, but I suspect Luke was there when Paul chose the word avpanthsi~ in 1 Thessalonians 4:17 and then remembered many years later when he wrote Acts 28:15.  I do not believe it was a coincident that Luke used this same rare word in the same way Paul did.  

3) That leads us to the third thing you may or may not know. Paul was used by Luke as a model of Jesus. Several times throughout Acts we have seen eerily similar stories about Paul and Jesus.  Like Paul’s determination to go to Jerusalem; just like Jesus, who set his face toward Jerusalem..  Some of the healings were worded like Jesus’ healings.   Luke, as he wrote the Gospel of Luke, about Jesus, and as he wrote Acts, about Paul, made connections between Paul and Jesus.  

Now let’s put the three things, you may or may not have known, together to make an amazing metaphor for us, which if we can get our heads around will make an amazing point and change who we are.  Let’s put it together.    

-Paul had been looking forward to going to Rome, the Eternal City, for several years.  We should be looking forward to the Eternal City all of our lives.  This hope of avpanthsi~ is a powerful witness! What is our theme?  You will be my witness in hope!
-It wasn’t easy for Paul to get there.  There was suffering, and imprisonments, and storms all along the way.  On our way to the Eternal City we are going to have rough spots and opposition and problems.  Life on the way may be tough; amen?  But there is witness in the storm!  That was the point of the sermon two weeks ago.
-There is also hospitality along the way.  Remember last week?  We help each other along the road.  We are called to be unusually kind to each other.  There is witness in hospitality!  
 -Here is the good part.  One day Jesus will return to this earth.  If we are already dead in Christ, we will join Jesus, just like Luke accompanied Paul. Luke was with Paul as he was celebrated into the Eternal City.  Luke was with Paul as he entered Rome just like we, if we are already dead, will be with Jesus.
-If we are still alive when Jesus returns, we will be just like the guys who came out to meet Paul 45 miles from Rome.  We will go out to avpanthsi~ him in the air and escort him back to this glorified and redeemed new heavens and new earth! 

Can you get your head around that?  Luke, in his subtle way, is painting for us an amazing metaphor about our entrance into eternity!  If you can, get your head around that, two things will happen to you; the same two things that happened to Paul.

NRS Acts 28:15 On seeing them, Paul thanked God and took courage.

Thursday is Thanksgiving.  Certainly we should be thankful for all the blessings God has given us: our homes, our families, our country, our loved ones, our church, the food on our tables and all kinds of stuff.  But I want to advocate, to you this morning, that right at the top of our Thanksgiving list, should be the hope of avpanthsi~! 

Can you see it?  Can you see yourself in that scene?  Christians, who are still alive, will hear the voice of a mighty angel and the great trumpet announcing his return.  Suddenly, in the twinkling of an eye, our bodies will be changed. We will receive a beautiful, glorified body which will never age, or get sick, or hurt, or die.  We will get a body like Jesus!  We will, then, be able to fly.  We will go up into the clouds; into the air!  There we meet, avpanthsi~,   Jesus in his glorified body.  We will join all the dead in Christ who are with Jesus and there, in the air, we will form a parade, that will be the grandest of all parades, as we escort Jesus to the recently renovated earth where we will be with our Lord for all the ages.  Isn’t that a spectacular reason to be thankful! 

Can you get your head around that? More importantly can you get your heart around that?  If you can, then something else happens to you. What two things happened to Paul?  He as thankful and he took courage!  The hope of avpanthsi~ gives us courage to witness! 

Los Alamos Church of Christ
November 23, 2008