Study of Acts, chapter 27, message 70, week 32, Tuesday

DAILY STUDY OF ACTS

MESSAGE SEVENTY

SPREAD IN ASIA MINOR AND EUROPE

THROUGH THE MINISTRY OF PAUL AND HIS COMPANIONS (36)

WEEK 32 – TUESDAY

Bible Reading: Lk 2:1; Ac 27:1-26  

Read and pray: "For there stood by me this night the angel of the God to whom I belong and whom I serve, saying, 'Do not be afraid, Paul; you must be brought before Caesar; and indeed God has granted you all those who sail with you'" (Ac 27:23-24).

HE HAD FORETOLD THE DANGER OF THE VOYAGE

Now let us consider some details in Acts 27:1-14. Verse 1 says: "And when it was decided that we should sail to Italy, they delivered Paul and some other prisoners to one named Julius, a centurion of the Augustan Regiment." The verb "we should sail" indicates that Luke, the author of Acts, was part of the journey.  

The Augustan Regiment must have been named after Caesar Augustus (cf. Lk 2:1). The cohort, one of the ten divisions of the ancient Roman legion, consisted of six hundred men. In verse 2, it says, "We boarded a ship of Adramyttium, which was about to sail to the ports along the coast of Asia, and we put to sea." This marks the beginning of Paul's fourth missionary journey, which ends in Acts 28:31.  

In his account, Luke reports that in Myra, the centurion found "an Alexandrian ship sailing to Italy, and he put us aboard" (v. 6). In verses 9 and 10, we read: "Now when much time had been spent, and sailing was now dangerous because the Fast was already over, Paul advised them, saying, 'Men, I perceive that this voyage will end with disaster and much loss, not only of the cargo and ship, but also of our lives.'"  

The "Fast" mentioned in verse 9 refers to the Day of Atonement (Lev 16:29-31; 23:27-29; Num 29:7). In verse 10, Paul expressed his sense of the danger of the journey. The sailors were experts in navigation and knew all about the winds and the sea, but they did not have the discernment that Paul had. Although he warned them about the damage and losses they would face, "the centurion was more persuaded by the helmsman and the owner of the ship than by the things spoken by Paul" (v. 11). The helmsman and the shipowner persuaded the centurion not to listen to Paul.  

Thus, following their mistaken judgment, they continued the voyage. Paul was obviously neither a sailor nor a helmsman. He was, at that point, a prisoner. Yet, he had more discernment than the centurion, the soldiers, the sailors, the helmsman, and the shipowner. This reveals his character.  

THE STORM AND PAUL’S PREDICTION ABOUT

THE SAFETY OF THE CREW

Acts 27:13-26 describes the storm and Paul’s prediction regarding the safety of the crew. Verses 13 and 14 say: "When the south wind blew softly, supposing that they had obtained their desire, putting out to sea, they sailed close by Crete. But not long after, a tempestuous head wind arose, called Euroclydon." Literally, the Greek term translated as "Crete" in verse 14 is "it," referring to the island of Crete.  

Verses 15-17 continue: "So when the ship was caught, and could not head into the wind, we let her drive. And running under the shelter of an island called Clauda, we secured the skiff with difficulty. When they had taken it on board, they used cables to undergird the ship; and fearing lest they should run aground on the Syrtis, they struck sail and so were driven."  

"Securing the skiff" meant pulling it aboard because, in fair weather, it was tied at the stern of the ship by a rope (Vincent). The means mentioned in verse 17 referred to ropes and chains. To "undergird the ship" meant to wrap these attachments around the hull. The Syrtis, which they feared to encounter, was a sandbank southwest of the island of Crete. To "strike sail" meant either to lower the sails or to drop anchor.  

According to verses 18 and 19, they began to throw overboard the cargo and the ship’s tackle. Verse 20 states that the storm was so violent they lost all hope: "Now when neither sun nor stars appeared for many days, and no small tempest beat on us, all hope that we would be saved was finally given up."  

As we will see, this was a good opportunity for Paul to speak to those on board. In this regard, verse 21 says: "But after long abstinence from food, then Paul stood in the midst of them and said, 'Men, you should have listened to me, and not have sailed from Crete and incurred this disaster and loss.'" Although he was a prisoner, his conduct showed great poise and dignity. Luke’s account, in narrating the actions of the Lord on earth, does not focus on doctrine but on the testimony of the Lord’s witnesses (Acts 1:8).  

Thus, in his narration, there are no doctrinal details, but events regarding these witnesses, to illustrate their testimony in their lives. That is exactly what we see in Paul’s journey in the last two chapters.  

Here, Paul was a witness of the Lord. Therefore, we should not read Luke’s account as merely a story of a storm at sea. Rather, we should see it as the description of the life of a living witness of Christ. In Acts 27:21, Paul was direct. The others on board the ship had nothing to say. All, including the centurion and the helmsman, were subdued.  

In verse 22, Paul continued: "And now I urge you to take heart, for there will be no loss of life among you, but only of the ship." They had all lost heart and expected to die. He, however, asked them to take courage, assuring them that no lives would be lost, only the ship. Here, it seems he was saying, "None of us will die, but the ship will be lost. Since you did not listen to me, you will lose the ship."  

Verses 23 and 24 continue: "For there stood by me this night an angel of the God to whom I belong and whom I serve, saying, 'Do not be afraid, Paul; you must be brought before Caesar; and indeed God has granted you all those who sail with you.'" In verse 23, he first showed that he belonged to God, and then that he served Him. The Greek word translated as "I serve" means "I serve as a priest."  

In verse 24, the angel assured him that he would stand before Caesar. This was in fulfillment of the Lord’s promise in Acts 23:11 and Paul’s desire in Acts 19:21. According to verse 24, God gave him all those who sailed with him. This shows that God had entrusted them to Paul, and they were all under him. Had Paul not been with them, they would all have lost their lives. Here, it seems he was saying, "Because of me, your lives will be spared. The Lord has given you all to me."  

In verses 25 and 26, he continued: "Therefore take heart, men, for I believe God that it will be just as it was told me. However, we must run aground on a certain island." We can consider this both as a word of discernment and prophecy. Paul had the wisdom to observe the situation and discern what was going to happen. Since he spoke so categorically about running aground on an island, we can consider it a prophecy.

Enjoy more: Hymn 333