Rhodes – The Preacher Pollard Blog

The city and harbor of Cos is mentioned in passing as a brief stopover made by Paul and perhaps also his large crew of fellow laborers (Acts 20:6), including Luke. Luke simply writes, “When we had departed from them (the Ephesian elders at Miletus, 20:17-38) and had set sail, we rain a straight course to Cos and the next day to Rhodes and from there to Patera” (Acts 21:1). Cos was apparently a night’s stay for the missionaries making their way to Jerusalem.

But, to the ancient world, Cos was a place of great importance. Consider what Allen Myers says about it:

Settled by the Greeks ca. 1500 B.C., Cos became one of the most beautiful harbors of antiquity. As a Greek city-state it played a significant role in the Delian League during the Peloponnesian War (fifth century), and in 354 succeeded in its revolt against Athens. The island was renowned for its medical school, of which Hippocrates was a member, and a sacred shrine dedicated to Asclepius, the god of medicine (Eerdmans Bib. Dict., 239).

What’s more, Cos was the birthplace to the aforementioned Hippocrates, the “father of medicine” (and namesake of the Hippocratic Oath). “Under King Herod’s rule Cos received perpetual revenues, and a statue was built there to honor his son Herod Antipas” (Elwell and Beitzel, Baker Ency. Of The Bible, 527).

It was a literary center, home of Philetas and Theocritus, and also a place noted for its fine weaving in the few centuries before the birth of Christ (McKay, New Bible Dict., 229). The emperor Claudius even exempted it from taxes (ibid.).

But, it is a divine footnote on one of three missionary journeys made by Paul. He stopped and worked in important imperial cities like Ephesus, Philippi, Athens, and Corinth, but the Holy Spirit through especially Luke is not blind to the existence of other important ancient places. Noting sites like Cos, these writers were showing us historical and geographic markers that puts the Bible in a context revealing its accuracy. This remarkable understatement regarding such a historic place reflects the many layers to be discovered by the Bible student reading through this sacred book. Just in Luke’s writing alone, there are literally dozens more like Cos. What a testimony to the sacred authorship of Acts and the other 65 books!

Neal Pollard

This morning, John Moore gave us great perspective on what we were to see on the island of Rhodes today. He showed how the various attempts at unification in the Roman Empire led to the rise of the west and the east and how that eventually gave rise to the western (Catholic) and eastern (Orthodox) church several hundred years after the New Testament. Those churches adopted the structural organization of the empire and filled the power vacuum that arose after the disintegration of the western half of the empire (Rome). The east, whose capital was Byzantia, gave rise to the time known as the Byzantine period (the city was renamed Constantinople after the Roman empire who moved his base of operation there). Following the beginning and rise of Islam, there were efforts made to stop the spread of that religion and retake Jerusalem and Palestine.

Our trip into Rhodes helped give us an appreciation for efforts in these periods of time. Also, up at Lindos at the very north end of the island, tradition has arisen that this was the port where Paul landed en route to Rome. The port in this village is known as St. Paul’s Bay. John believes the port city where our ship is docked in the more credible site given its position to the route Paul would have taken from Rhodes to Antioch. We know from Luke that Paul spent time on Rhodes, but how long is uncertain (Acts 21:1).

It is fascinating to think about the amount of ground Paul covered spreading the gospel. He embraced his role as the apostle to the Gentiles and took the good news far and wide. That includes the island of Rhodes.