Julius was given the responsibility of conducting a number of prisoners from Caesarea to Rome. Being a Roman centurion of a respected regiment, he was well qualified for the task and had many soldiers to aid him in fulfilling his duties. He was to secure the safe arrival of all the prisoners. Failure was not to be contemplated as an outcome. The regime of control would have been such as to remove all possibility of escape, and just how Paul was allowed to have both Luke and Aristarchus with him is unknown.
At Sidon, Paul is shown further kindness and is allowed ashore to meet, and to be comforted by, his friends, v. 3. It was Julius who was instrumental in providing this unanticipated favour for God’s servant. The reasons can only be guessed at, but the later history shows that he held Paul in high esteem, and it may well be that he had been present when Paul addressed Festus. We must always anticipate the overruling of our God, who will, in His sovereignty, use whomsoever He will to minister to His own in times of need.
Transferring to a grain-carrying vessel, meant, amongst other things, that Julius would be seen as carrying authority. Such ships were considered to be in government service. When it came to deciding whether to continue the journey, or to lay up for winter in Fair Havens, Paul was also included in the discussion for, after all, he was a seasoned traveller. Julius now received opposing advice. The opinion of ‘two against one’ weighed heavily enough for him to reject Paul’s recommendation. He decided to press on and, sure enough, catastrophe followed.
Life will never be without its moments of decision, some of them life changing. Thank God, dear saint, that you have a Saviour who loves you and wants to be involved in every part of your life. Don’t exclude Him; just ask Him to show you the way and He will.
Julius was quick to learn from his mistakes. In both matters of the sailors who wished to abandon the ship, and soldiers who wanted to kill the prisoners, he took Paul’s advice as the basis for his actions. The result was that, eventually, they did all arrive safely in Rome. Julius would have learnt much from the experience, but did he ever come to personal faith?
