Acts 21:1

Paul's third journey continued from Miletus to Tyre (Acts 21:7-15), and was concluded in Jerusalem (Acts 21:17-26); and Luke's account of these events, although very brief, is of keen interest. The great feature of the chapter, however, is that of Paul's being mobbed in the temple and rescued by the Romans who took him into protective custody, beginning a long period of imprisonment for the apostle Paul, an imprisonment that would not end until Satan had enlisted the Roman Empire as a persecutor of the church.

And when it came to pass that we were parted from them and had set sail, we came with a straight course unto Cos, and the next day unto Rhodes, and from thence unto Patara. (Acts 21:1)

FROM MILETUS TO TYRE

The places touched on this phase of Paul's trip were all places of historic interest and attraction for tourists. For example, Rhodes, a tiny island famous for its cultivation of roses (whence came the name), was also noted for "the giant Colossus of Greek fame, with conquering limbs astride from land to land."[1] This member of the Dodecanese Islands boasted the mighty Colossus of Rhodes, "One of the seven wonders of the ancient world,"[2] a giant bronze statue astride the harbor on its eastern extremity. It stood 105 feet high, having been erected by Chares of Lindus in 300 B.C. After standing only 56 years, it was tumbled and fragmented by an earthquake in 244 B.C.; but the ruins of this enormous wonder were a notable attraction until they were finally sold as scrap metal to a Jewish dealer in 656 A.D.,[3] who required 900 camels to transport "the remains"![4]

The above is a fair example of the interest which attaches to every point mentioned by Luke in this passage; but we shall follow the example of the inspired author in passing over the others in this list without comment on them. After all, the journey outlined here was not a tourist excursion.

Before leaving "The Colossus," it should be pointed out that "The notion that it once stood astride over the entrance to the harbor is a mediaeval fiction."[5]

When ... we were parted from them ... Many have noted the Greek text here which has the meaning of "When we had torn ourselves away,"Acts 2p. 169.">[6] indicating the intense emotions of the parting from Miletus. Luke was sensitive to the deep emotional ties which bound the apostle to his converts.

[1] Emma Lazarus, Sonnet (bronze plaque on Statue of Liberty, New York Harbor, placed in 1886).

[2] Funk and Wagnalls New Encyclopedia (New York: Funk and Wagnalls, Inc., 1972), Vol. 20, p. 282.

[3] The Encyclopedia Britannica (Chicago: William Benton, Publisher, 1961), Vol. 19, p. 262.

[4] Albert Barnes, Notes on the New Testament (Grand Rapids, Michigan: Baker Book House, 1953), Acts, p. 301.

[5] The Encyclopedia Britannica, op. cit., p. 262.

Acts 2p. 169.">[6] A. C. Hervey, Pulpit Commentary (Grand Rapids, Michigan: Wm. B. Eerdmans, Publishers, 1950), Vol. 18, Acts 2p. 169.