Either way, I'm stoked that we're continuing to move on through this 2-year trek through the Bible!
Let's set sail!
Acts 27 (Read it here)
As you could note in verse 1, Luke is accompanying Paul again on his incarcerated voyage to Rome. (v. 1) Aristarchus, who is also with Paul, (v. 2) is mentioned twice in Paul's letters; Paul tells the Colossian church that Aristarchus is in prison with him and he tells Philemon, bishop of the church in Gaza, that they are in ministry together.
The ship that they are on will make several stops before reaching Rome. Remember Asia is not the continent that we know today. The province of Asia is modern-day western Turkey.
I won't mention details about every city that is mentioned here in Acts 27. If you would like to see a map to give you a better idea about the journey by sea that Paul experienced, look here.
Side note: Sidon, and its people the Sidonians, got their name from Canaan, the grandson of Noah.
From Sidon strong winds began to make the sailing quite difficult. The reason why Luke would mention that they sailed north of Cyprus between the island and the mainland (v. 4) was because going north around Cyprus instead of going south made the trip considerably longer. But they had to do what they had to do because of the circumstances.
Side note #2: Like in Ephesus, Artemis was passionately worshiped in Myra. (v. 5)
Paul, Luke and Aristarchus were transferred to another ship, with another Roman commander and soldiers, that was heading for Italy. (v. 6) After departing from Cnidus, headwinds forced their ship to go south to Crete. They rode the coastline to get temporary shelter from the strong wind. (v. 7) But once they started heading west again, the winds had not died down at all. It was slow sailing to Fair Havens. (v. 8)
Side note #3: A church was built in Paul's honor sometime during 300-400AD in Fair Havens. Other scholars believed that during this stop in Crete, Paul actually preached and baptized many Cretans.
Somehow Paul, even though a prisoner, is able to give advice to the ship's captain about the treacherousness of continuing travel by sea. (v. 9) Whether Paul had a vision or was just wise is debatable but he tries to tell them that he believes trouble lies ahead if they continue. (v. 10)
He predicts:
- Shipwreck
- Loss of cargo
- Potential loss of life
It seemed to be a good decision at first. Only a light wind was present from the south (which would be beneficial because they intended to ultimately go north). The captain pulled up the anchors and sailed full speed ahead along the shoreline. (v. 13) Suddenly, a hurricane-like storm blew the ship helplessly out to sea (vs. 14-15, the Mediterranean to be exact).
The wind blew the lifeboats from the ship's deck. It was a struggle getting them back on board. (v. 16) The ship was moving so fast that the captain ordered additional ropes be used and anchors to be dropped to slow the ship down. They were being pushed south to the northern coast of Libya, or Syrtis. (v. 17)
The storm raged on the next day. In order to make the ship more nimble the crew decided to throw cargo overboard. (v. 18)
One of Paul's predictions has come true.
The next day they threw any non-essential nautical equipment overboard, too. (v. 19) ....they kept the GPS, lol.
Luke describes the storm lasting for many days. Its almost like darkness consumed the day and night. They never saw the sun nor stars. They felt utterly hopeless. (v. 20)
In verse 21 we find out that no one onboard had ate anything for awhile. They could've been fasting, praying for help. However, there could have been a more practical excuse. Perhaps they were so focused on their livelihood that they had ignored eating or maybe they were trying to conserve food. Who knows how long they could be out to sea?
Paul also says, "I told you so."
But Paul makes a brand-new prediction! No one's gonna die! (v. 22) This time, though, he shares that he got this information from a vision he had in which an angel assured him that he would stand trial before Caesar. (vs. 23-24) Even though Paul is encouraged (and encourages all those onboard), he still says that they will be shipwrecked! (vs. 25-26)
Hmm, be encouraged. "Easier said than done," everyone must have thought.
The storm had lasted FOURTEEN days (no noreaster or hurricane has ever stayed in one place that long, just so you know)! The crew hadn't seen land in almost two weeks! And they were in the Adria, literally in the middle of nowhere in the Mediterranean!(v. 27)
They sensed they were close to land so they dropped a line in the water to measure the depth. The first time it was 120 ft deep, the second time it was 90 ft. Land (most likely an island) was indeed close by! (vs. 28) That was a good and bad thing. Bad because it was dark and they wouldn't be able to dodge any rocks before crashing into them! So they threw out four anchors to slow the ship down and prayed for sunlight to appear. (v. 29)
The crew wanted to get off the ship and rough it in the lifeboats (v. 30), but Paul (either in following the vision or in common sense) told the officer that everyone would die if the crew left ship. (vs. 30-31) Duh! Then who would man the sails?! However, when the crew heard this they cut the ropes and let the lifeboats drift away. (v. 32)
Paul urged everyone to eat, saying that they had been worried for long enough. The Greek word that we get for worried (prosdokao) literally means to to wait for danger to occur with apprehension and extreme suspense. (v. 33) Yeah, that sounds about right.
When they saw Paul's serenity in eating, everyone was relaxed and ate. (vs. 35-36)
For some reason, Luke decides to tell us now that 276 people were on board. (v. 37) That's a lot of food to be eaten. But whatever food was leftover after that meal was thrown off the ship. (v. 38) That must have been a sign from the captain that he was encouraged in Paul's advice.
They survived through the night. But when they woke up in the morning they saw land (who cares if they didn't recognize where they were)! There were no rocks to be found, it was simply a beach! Perhaps they could just run the ship right up to the shore. (v. 39)
They went for it; cutting all the anchors loose! They steered the boat directly for shore! (v. 40)
BAM! The ship runs aground with so much force that it is immediately immobile. The waves began to tear the ship apart! (v. 41)
Paul is three-for-three with his predictions, by the way.
It was going to be every man for himself so the Roman soldiers wanted to execute the prisoners to make sure they didn't get away. (v. 42) However, the commanding officer overruled the soldiers since Paul had been such a great help. He gave the command for all the swimmers to jump out first. (v. 43) The swimmers made it to land while all the others survived by clinging to boards or debris from the ship. (v. 44)
Good news is that everyone was alive. Bad news? They landed in Malta; still more than 400 miles from Rome. They would have to board yet another ship to conclude their journey.
Oh joy.
Questions
1.) God gives Paul two uncommon abilities in this story. First, he is able to get an audience with the most influential people and, secondly, he is calm and confident in the face of danger and uncertainty. Do you have either of these gifts? Do you believe that God gives these particular gifts to those who are closely following Him? Why or why not?
2.) The storm lasts for 14 days, which is a miracle. Yes, a miracle. Even though this "miracle" had the potential to kill all those onboard the ship, it showcased Paul's discipline and closeness with God. Also, if Paul did preach and baptize in Crete, it would have never happened without God causing the winds and storm! Do you believe bad and potential lethal circumstances are put in people's lives to route them to something great? Why or why not? If something like that has happened to you, tell me about it!
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