Paul, unusually for a Jew, was a seasoned sea traveler. He would have been under no illusions about what might await him on the long voyage to get to Rome from one of its farthest outposts. He had lived much of the last few years in that in-between stage, knowing that the sea was still
At this point in Paul’s life, he has been promised by God through his sense of vocation (Acts 19:21) and has been promised by Jesus through a vision (Acts 23:11) that he will get to Rome. Now Paul himself has to take responsibility, at one level, for making this happen.
Luke now comes to a turning point in his story. Here we are at the start of an extraordinary triple journey which will take Paul across Turkey and Greece and back again, then again once more, and finally off to Rome itself. We would much prefer the story to be one of gentle persuasion rather