Romans 16 | Acts 20:2-21:16

Even though Paul did not found the church in Rome, there were many there that he knew, and had ministered together with in previous times, including Priscilla and Aquilla, in whose home the church was meeting at that time.  Paul warns them, just like he did with many other churches, to guard against divisions within the church, and to be on the lookout for wolves (men) who would come in to create disagreements and arguments within the body of Christ.

Prior to sailing back to Syria, Paul makes another quick trip through Greece (Macedonia and Achaia).  After sailing from Troas, they stop in Miletus, on the coast of Asia Minor, and Paul sends for the elders in Ephesus to come and meet with them there.  Paul didn’t want to go to Ephesus because he would end up staying there too long, and he wanted to be in Jerusalem for the Feast of Pentecost.  He meets with the Ephesian elders, and gives them parting instructions, knowing that it was very unlikely that he would ever see them again.  He tells them to shepherd the people in their church like Jesus, and warns them that wolves will rise up even within their own group, so they must be on guard.  He told them that chains awaited him in the near future, and he left them after many tears, since they would never see him again.  They then set sail for Tyre, in Syria, where they stayed a week before traveling south to Judea, and they stayed with Philip (the deacon) in Caesarea.  In every place they went Paul kept getting warnings of his future arrest, and people tried to talk him out of going to Jerusalem, but he knew that all of that was going to happen according to the Lord’s will.