Acts - Lesson 39

Today we’ll study Chapter 27 of Acts in which Paul is taken as a prisoner to Rome. This was a particularly long journey in Paul’s day but the Roman Empire was remarkably large for the necessarily long lines of communication and transportation. Paul had ministered extensively in the eastern portion of the empire and would now be taken as a prisoner to Rome in the western portion of the empire.  

This sort of trip was difficult in part because there were no regular commercial passenger carriers. Passengers were added on after the commercial cargo and you needed to know geography just to figure out who would get you closer to your destination. It would often take multiple ships to get from one point to another but travel on the Mediterranean was the fast way to go.   

Acts 27:1-8 … And when it was decided that we should sail for Italy, they delivered Paul and some other prisoners to a centurion of the Augustan Cohort named Julius. And embarking in a ship of Adramyttium, which was about to sail to the ports along the coast of Asia, we put to sea, accompanied by Aristarchus, a Macedonian from Thessalonica. The next day we put in at Sidon. And Julius treated Paul kindly and gave him leave to go to his friends and be cared for. And putting out to sea from there we sailed under the lee of Cyprus, because the winds were against us. And when we had sailed across the open sea along the coast of Cilicia and Pamphylia, we came to Myra in Lycia. There the centurion found a ship of Alexandria sailing for Italy and put us on board. We sailed slowly for a number of days and arrived with difficulty off Cnidus, and as the wind did not allow us to go farther, we sailed under the lee of Crete off Salmone. Coasting along it with difficulty, we came to a place called Fair Havens, near which was the city of Lasea.  

The ship of Adramyttium was going to Adramyttium and it is near Troas. Paul probably had ministered near there before and was very close when he was headed back from his missionary activities in southern Europe.  

Acts 20:13-14 … But going ahead to the ship, we set sail for Assos, intending to take Paul aboard there, for so he had arranged, intending himself to go by land. And when he met us at Assos, we took him on board and went to Mitylene. 

Remember that “we” includes Luke, Paul, and Aristarchus. So Luke was taking care of Paul’s health and Aristarchus was likely an assistant or friend of one or both men. Of course Luke is also writing his observations and this is a unique commentary. There is essentially no other existing description of the details of sailing the Mediterranean from classical literature. Luke gives an eyewitness account from someone who was not a sailor but who was a perceptive and observant passenger of the route, navigation, ship construction, and the actions of the sailors. 

Roman prisoners didn’t get treated very well necessarily. If you wanted food and clothing, and sometimes shelter then it really helped to have friends and be on good terms with your captor. Julius allowed Paul’s friends to take care of him. 

The destination of the first ship would not get them where they wanted to go and Julius switched to a larger vessel heading for Italy when they got to a port in Lycia named Myra. It was getting late in the year and smaller ships were getting pulled out of the water and beached for the winter. It was not a good time to be out on the sea and sailing to the North and West was particularly difficult because of the winds.  

They eventually made it to the leeward side of Crete and were creeping along the southern edge. They made it to a place called Fair Havens which apparently was not fair and really had no havens. Apparently they had a chamber of commerce in charge of naming or it was Fair Havens in the summer and not in the winter.   

Acts 27:9-12 … Since much time had passed, and the voyage was now dangerous because even the Fast was already over, Paul advised them, saying, “Sirs, I perceive that the voyage will be with injury and much loss, not only of the cargo and the ship, but also of our lives.” But the centurion paid more attention to the pilot and to the owner of the ship than to what Paul said. And because the harbor was not suitable to spend the winter in, the majority decided to put out to sea from there, on the chance that somehow they could reach Phoenix, a harbor of Crete, facing both southwest and northwest, and spend the winter there.  

The sailors didn’t listen to the preacher on how to sail a boat. Well … that isn’t surprising since we generally lean to our own understanding and in particularly so in our field of expertise. They wanted to go only 40 miles west to Phoenix. That seems pretty easy but they had to round a cape and expose them to the possibility of weather. Paul was informed by God that this was a voyage that, apart from God’s mercy, would be with damage and loss of cargo, ship, and lives. Paul may have only been a preacher and not a sailor but Paul was informed by the Holy Spirit and Paul was correct.  

Acts 27:13-20 … Now when the south wind blew gently, supposing that they had obtained their purpose, they weighed anchor and sailed along Crete, close to the shore. But soon a tempestuous wind, called the northeaster, struck down from the land. And when the ship was caught and could not face the wind, we gave way to it and were driven along. Running under the lee of a small island called Cauda, we managed with difficulty to secure the ship’s boat. After hoisting it up, they used supports to undergird the ship. Then, fearing that they would run aground on the Syrtis, they lowered the gear, and thus they were driven along. Since we were violently storm-tossed, they began the next day to jettison the cargo. And on the third day they threw the ship’s tackle overboard with their own hands. When neither sun nor stars appeared for many days, and no small tempest lay on us, all hope of our being saved was at last abandoned.  

So they were in it up to their necks. They had no control and could only run in front of the wind. They were able to get the small boat secured up on the deck. It had been in the water and they started securing cables to keep the boat in one piece. They carried these to wrap around the boat’s hull for strength in case of a storm. They were afraid they were going to be driven all the way to the North African coast (Syrtis).  Everything extra went into the water and they gave up hope after being in the storm for many days. The bottom of the Mediterranean is littered with ships that were lost in storms. Remember also that a stormy sea was perceived as judgment from God. Paul had been correct and he had been praying for them since they decided to ignore him. 

Acts 27:21-26 … Since they had been without food for a long time, Paul stood up among them and said, “Men, you should have listened to me and not have set sail from Crete and incurred this injury and loss. Yet now I urge you to take heart, for there will be no loss of life among you, but only of the ship. For this very night there stood before me an angel of the God to whom I belong and whom I worship, and he said, ‘Do not be afraid, Paul; you must stand before Caesar. And behold, God has granted you all those who sail with you.’ So take heart, men, for I have faith in God that it will be exactly as I have been told. But we must run aground on some island.”  

So first of all, Paul pointed out that he had told them this was going to happen. They should have listened. Fair Havens may have been the armpit of Crete but it was still a port. We know Paul was praying for the crew because the Angel told Paul that he must stand before Caesar and that God had given Paul all those who were sailing with him. However, the ship was going to be lost. This was a ship full of exhausted and hopeless individuals but Paul was now the encourager. How could Paul stand in the storm? 

1)    Paul knew God was present,

2)    Paul knew he belonged to God,

3)    Paul knew his life was submitted to God, and

4)    Paul trusted God in all things (Romans 8:28). 

This time was not pleasant for Paul, Luke, or Aristarchus. It was hard. Paul’s life was difficult and suffering was a regular part of his life. Paul wrote: 

Colossians 1:24-26 … Now I rejoice in my sufferings for your sake, and in my flesh I am filling up what is lacking in Christ’s afflictions for the sake of his body, that is, the church, of which I became a minister according to the stewardship from God that was given to me for you, to make the word of God fully known, the mystery hidden for ages and generations but now revealed to his saints.  

He wasn’t indicating that his suffering was in some way part of the atonement of Christ or had anything to do with our justification. Paul is pointing out that as we each walk through difficult times we do so as part of the Body of Christ. Christ is not separate – He does not separate Himself – from His body which is the Church. The martyrs were not accidental casualties or those with less faith. In fact, the martyrs are the capstone of the roll call of faith in Hebrews 11. 

Hebrews 11:35b-40 … Some were tortured, refusing to accept release, so that they might rise again to a better life. Others suffered mocking and flogging, and even chains and imprisonment. They were stoned, they were sawn in two, they were killed with the sword. They went about in skins of sheep and goats, destitute, afflicted, mistreated— of whom the world was not worthy—wandering about in deserts and mountains, and in dens and caves of the earth. And all these, though commended through their faith, did not receive what was promised, since God had provided something better for us, that apart from us they should not be made perfect.  

There is a certain “fiery furnace” attitude of surrender to God in which we have an “either or” surrender. Shadrach, Meshach, and Abednego’s attitude that says, "my God can save me but, even if you see me toasted, I will not commit treason against God." Paul had likewise settled these things in his mind. So much for prosperity doctrine. 

Acts 27:27-32 … When the fourteenth night had come, as we were being driven across the Adriatic Sea, about midnight the sailors suspected that they were nearing land. So they took a sounding and found twenty fathoms. A little farther on they took a sounding again and found fifteen fathoms. And fearing that we might run on the rocks, they let down four anchors from the stern and prayed for day to come. And as the sailors were seeking to escape from the ship, and had lowered the ship’s boat into the sea under pretense of laying out anchors from the bow, Paul said to the centurion and the soldiers, “Unless these men stay in the ship, you cannot be saved.” Then the soldiers cut away the ropes of the ship’s boat and let it go. 

The sailors were just trying to save their own lives. A big ship wreck was not likely to be survivable and they thought they could beach a small boat and save themselves. Of course all the other folks would then die. Paul perceives what is really going on and the soldiers cut the boat away so the sailors stay on the ship. They still needed sailors to run the ship aground.  

Acts 27:33-38 … As day was about to dawn, Paul urged them all to take some food, saying, “Today is the fourteenth day that you have continued in suspense and without food, having taken nothing. Therefore I urge you to take some food. For it will give you strength, for not a hair is to perish from the head of any of you.” And when he had said these things, he took bread, and giving thanks to God in the presence of all he broke it and began to eat. Then they all were encouraged and ate some food themselves. (We were in all 276 persons in the ship.) And when they had eaten enough, they lightened the ship, throwing out the wheat into the sea.  

Paul was an encourager and kept speaking the promise that he had from God. He talked them all into eating a real meal and when they had all eaten then they lightened the ship by throwing more cargo overboard. 

Acts 27:39-44 … Now when it was day, they did not recognize the land, but they noticed a bay with a beach, on which they planned if possible to run the ship ashore. So they cast off the anchors and left them in the sea, at the same time loosening the ropes that tied the rudders. Then hoisting the foresail to the wind they made for the beach. But striking a reef, they ran the vessel aground. The bow stuck and remained immovable, and the stern was being broken up by the surf. The soldiers’ plan was to kill the prisoners, lest any should swim away and escape. But the centurion, wishing to save Paul, kept them from carrying out their plan. He ordered those who could swim to jump overboard first and make for the land, and the rest on planks or on pieces of the ship. And so it was that all were brought safely to land.  

The sea anchors were cut loose and they made a run for a reef or sandbar. This is a place between the island of Malta and Salmonetta. They currents there make sandbars and today it is called St. Paul’s Bay. I think it is amazing that we know with a fairly high degree of confidence where they wrecked. The centurion was risking his life at least and perhaps some of the soldiers. If they went home with the prisoners dead then it would be OK. If they went home having lost the prisoners then they would likely lose their lives. But as the angel said, everyone was brought safely to land.