READ | ACTS CHAPTER 27
Paul Sails for Rome
27 When it was decided that we would sail for Italy, Paul and some other prisoners were handed over to a centurion named Julius, who belonged to the Imperial Regiment. 2 We boarded a ship from Adramyttium about to sail for ports along the coast of the province of Asia, and we put out to sea. Aristarchus, a Macedonian from Thessalonica, was with us.
3 The next day we landed at Sidon; and Julius, in kindness to Paul, allowed him to go to his friends so they might provide for his needs. 4 From there we put out to sea again and passed to the lee of Cyprus because the winds were against us. 5 When we had sailed across the open sea off the coast of Cilicia and Pamphylia, we landed at Myra in Lycia. 6 There the centurion found an Alexandrian ship sailing for Italy and put us on board. 7 We made slow headway for many days and had difficulty arriving off Cnidus. When the wind did not allow us to hold our course, we sailed to the lee of Crete, opposite Salmone. 8 We moved along the coast with difficulty and came to a place called Fair Havens, near the town of Lasea.
9 Much time had been lost, and sailing had already become dangerous because by now it was after the Day of Atonement.[a] So Paul warned them, 10 “Men, I can see that our voyage is going to be disastrous and bring great loss to ship and cargo, and to our own lives also.” 11 But the centurion, instead of listening to what Paul said, followed the advice of the pilot and of the owner of the ship. 12 Since the harbor was unsuitable to winter in, the majority decided that we should sail on, hoping to reach Phoenix and winter there. This was a harbor in Crete, facing both southwest and northwest.
The Storm
13 When a gentle south wind began to blow, they saw their opportunity; so they weighed anchor and sailed along the shore of Crete. 14 Before very long, a wind of hurricane force, called the Northeaster, swept down from the island. 15 The ship was caught by the storm and could not head into the wind; so we gave way to it and were driven along. 16 As we passed to the lee of a small island called Cauda, we were hardly able to make the lifeboat secure, 17 so the men hoisted it aboard. Then they passed ropes under the ship itself to hold it together. Because they were afraid they would run aground on the sandbars of Syrtis, they lowered the sea anchor[b] and let the ship be driven along. 18 We took such a violent battering from the storm that the next day they began to throw the cargo overboard. 19 On the third day, they threw the ship’s tackle overboard with their own hands. 20 When neither sun nor stars appeared for many days and the storm continued raging, we finally gave up all hope of being saved.
21 After they had gone a long time without food, Paul stood up before them and said: “Men, you should have taken my advice not to sail from Crete; then you would have spared yourselves this damage and loss. 22 But now I urge you to keep up your courage, because not one of you will be lost; only the ship will be destroyed. 23 Last night an angel of the God to whom I belong and whom I serve stood beside me 24 and said, ‘Do not be afraid, Paul. You must stand trial before Caesar; and God has graciously given you the lives of all who sail with you.’ 25 So keep up your courage, men, for I have faith in God that it will happen just as he told me. 26 Nevertheless, we must run aground on some island.”
The Shipwreck
27 On the fourteenth night we were still being driven across the Adriatic[c] Sea, when about midnight the sailors sensed they were approaching land. 28 They took soundings and found that the water was a hundred and twenty feet[d] deep. A short time later they took soundings again and found it was ninety feet[e] deep. 29 Fearing that we would be dashed against the rocks, they dropped four anchors from the stern and prayed for daylight. 30 In an attempt to escape from the ship, the sailors let the lifeboat down into the sea, pretending they were going to lower some anchors from the bow. 31 Then Paul said to the centurion and the soldiers, “Unless these men stay with the ship, you cannot be saved.” 32 So the soldiers cut the ropes that held the lifeboat and let it drift away.
33 Just before dawn Paul urged them all to eat. “For the last fourteen days,” he said, “you have been in constant suspense and have gone without food—you haven’t eaten anything. 34 Now I urge you to take some food. You need it to survive. Not one of you will lose a single hair from his head.” 35 After he said this, he took some bread and gave thanks to God in front of them all. Then he broke it and began to eat. 36 They were all encouraged and ate some food themselves. 37 Altogether there were 276 of us on board. 38 When they had eaten as much as they wanted, they lightened the ship by throwing the grain into the sea.
39 When daylight came, they did not recognize the land, but they saw a bay with a sandy beach, where they decided to run the ship aground if they could. 40 Cutting loose the anchors, they left them in the sea and at the same time untied the ropes that held the rudders. Then they hoisted the foresail to the wind and made for the beach. 41 But the ship struck a sandbar and ran aground. The bow stuck fast and would not move, and the stern was broken to pieces by the pounding of the surf.
42 The soldiers planned to kill the prisoners to prevent any of them from swimming away and escaping. 43 But the centurion wanted to spare Paul’s life and kept them from carrying out their plan. He ordered those who could swim to jump overboard first and get to land. 44 The rest were to get there on planks or on other pieces of the ship. In this way everyone reached land safely.
27 When it was decided that we would sail for Italy, Paul and some other prisoners were handed over to a centurion named Julius, who belonged to the Imperial Regiment. 2 We boarded a ship from Adramyttium about to sail for ports along the coast of the province of Asia, and we put out to sea. Aristarchus, a Macedonian from Thessalonica, was with us.
3 The next day we landed at Sidon; and Julius, in kindness to Paul, allowed him to go to his friends so they might provide for his needs. 4 From there we put out to sea again and passed to the lee of Cyprus because the winds were against us. 5 When we had sailed across the open sea off the coast of Cilicia and Pamphylia, we landed at Myra in Lycia. 6 There the centurion found an Alexandrian ship sailing for Italy and put us on board. 7 We made slow headway for many days and had difficulty arriving off Cnidus. When the wind did not allow us to hold our course, we sailed to the lee of Crete, opposite Salmone. 8 We moved along the coast with difficulty and came to a place called Fair Havens, near the town of Lasea.
9 Much time had been lost, and sailing had already become dangerous because by now it was after the Day of Atonement.[a] So Paul warned them, 10 “Men, I can see that our voyage is going to be disastrous and bring great loss to ship and cargo, and to our own lives also.” 11 But the centurion, instead of listening to what Paul said, followed the advice of the pilot and of the owner of the ship. 12 Since the harbor was unsuitable to winter in, the majority decided that we should sail on, hoping to reach Phoenix and winter there. This was a harbor in Crete, facing both southwest and northwest.
The Storm
13 When a gentle south wind began to blow, they saw their opportunity; so they weighed anchor and sailed along the shore of Crete. 14 Before very long, a wind of hurricane force, called the Northeaster, swept down from the island. 15 The ship was caught by the storm and could not head into the wind; so we gave way to it and were driven along. 16 As we passed to the lee of a small island called Cauda, we were hardly able to make the lifeboat secure, 17 so the men hoisted it aboard. Then they passed ropes under the ship itself to hold it together. Because they were afraid they would run aground on the sandbars of Syrtis, they lowered the sea anchor[b] and let the ship be driven along. 18 We took such a violent battering from the storm that the next day they began to throw the cargo overboard. 19 On the third day, they threw the ship’s tackle overboard with their own hands. 20 When neither sun nor stars appeared for many days and the storm continued raging, we finally gave up all hope of being saved.
21 After they had gone a long time without food, Paul stood up before them and said: “Men, you should have taken my advice not to sail from Crete; then you would have spared yourselves this damage and loss. 22 But now I urge you to keep up your courage, because not one of you will be lost; only the ship will be destroyed. 23 Last night an angel of the God to whom I belong and whom I serve stood beside me 24 and said, ‘Do not be afraid, Paul. You must stand trial before Caesar; and God has graciously given you the lives of all who sail with you.’ 25 So keep up your courage, men, for I have faith in God that it will happen just as he told me. 26 Nevertheless, we must run aground on some island.”
The Shipwreck
27 On the fourteenth night we were still being driven across the Adriatic[c] Sea, when about midnight the sailors sensed they were approaching land. 28 They took soundings and found that the water was a hundred and twenty feet[d] deep. A short time later they took soundings again and found it was ninety feet[e] deep. 29 Fearing that we would be dashed against the rocks, they dropped four anchors from the stern and prayed for daylight. 30 In an attempt to escape from the ship, the sailors let the lifeboat down into the sea, pretending they were going to lower some anchors from the bow. 31 Then Paul said to the centurion and the soldiers, “Unless these men stay with the ship, you cannot be saved.” 32 So the soldiers cut the ropes that held the lifeboat and let it drift away.
33 Just before dawn Paul urged them all to eat. “For the last fourteen days,” he said, “you have been in constant suspense and have gone without food—you haven’t eaten anything. 34 Now I urge you to take some food. You need it to survive. Not one of you will lose a single hair from his head.” 35 After he said this, he took some bread and gave thanks to God in front of them all. Then he broke it and began to eat. 36 They were all encouraged and ate some food themselves. 37 Altogether there were 276 of us on board. 38 When they had eaten as much as they wanted, they lightened the ship by throwing the grain into the sea.
39 When daylight came, they did not recognize the land, but they saw a bay with a sandy beach, where they decided to run the ship aground if they could. 40 Cutting loose the anchors, they left them in the sea and at the same time untied the ropes that held the rudders. Then they hoisted the foresail to the wind and made for the beach. 41 But the ship struck a sandbar and ran aground. The bow stuck fast and would not move, and the stern was broken to pieces by the pounding of the surf.
42 The soldiers planned to kill the prisoners to prevent any of them from swimming away and escaping. 43 But the centurion wanted to spare Paul’s life and kept them from carrying out their plan. He ordered those who could swim to jump overboard first and get to land. 44 The rest were to get there on planks or on other pieces of the ship. In this way everyone reached land safely.
DEVOTIONAL
This entire chapter plays out like a bottle episode of a television drama. If you’re not sure what that is, a bottle episode happens when a group of characters are trapped together in one place for an extended period of time. It could be that they get trapped on an elevator, or stuck in a cabin because of a storm, or even stuck in traffic in a car together. The idea behind writing something like this as fiction is that being trapped adds a layer of frustration, vulnerability and takes away the option to just walk away or avoid conflict and confrontation. The reason authors use this as a literary device is to dig deeper into the personalities of the characters, their viewpoints, views, and potential conflict and resolution within the group. Secrets will be revealed. Wounds may be reopened or healed. These stories are all about character development rather than plot development. We learn things about people that may have been hidden beneath the surface before.
Here in Acts 27, 276 men are trapped together on a ship hauling grain and prisoners to Italy. This is not fiction; this is real life and there are real consequences. Soldiers, prisoners, sailors, commanders, and evangelists are all stuck together on a ship under increasingly dangerous conditions. Unlike Paul, most of the prisoners were already tried and condemned to die in the Roman gladiator arenas. There would have already been a sense of dread and rising tension, both from those condemned to die horrible deaths and from the outnumbered Roman soldiers who guarded them on their way to die horrible deaths. This chapter only goes from bad to worse, but something amazing begins to happen.
At first, Paul is being sidelined; his advice is ignored. But by the end of the chapter, Paul has essentially taken command of the ship. It’s an incredible sequence to read and study. Paul had a few important advantages over every man on board which allowed him to speak with boldness and confidence that no other could match. First, Paul was an experienced traveler on the Mediterranean, having already traveled some 3,500 miles by sea over the past two decades. According to 2 Corinthians 11:25, Paul had already been shipwrecked three times in his previous travels, so the storms and possibility of calamity was nothing new for him. Second, Paul had Luke traveling with him, a man who had walked and talked with Jesus and one who had seen Jesus walk on water and calm the storms. Luke would have a contagious hope in the midst of any storm, if anything, the raging winds would only serve as a reminder of the immense power of his God. Thirdly, and most importantly, Paul had been promised by Jesus Himself that he would stand before Caesar in Rome. He knew he would not die in a storm or be stopped by whatever was thrown at him. This protection, however, did not extend to the other 275 men on board. It’s interesting to think if the storms that caused the ship to be diverted and eventually shipwrecked on the island of Malta were natural or supernatural in nature. Did the winds come from God for some purpose as a witness to those on the ship? Did the winds come from the Devil, who from the book of Job, we know has power over winds, and is described in Ephesians 2:2 as the prince of the power of the wind and air? Were these storms a way to oppose Paul and prevent him from reaching Rome, or were they God’s hand of providence and protection? Either way, we know God can take any circumstance, no matter where it came from, and use it for good.
After 14 days of being driven by the storm, the occupants of the ship are losing all hope. It’s amazing how the threat of death brings all men together; young and old, prisoner and guard, Jew and gentile, wealthy or poor. They were all in the same boat. Each man on board began to see Paul (and Luke) as beacons of faith and hope in a situation that seemed hopeless. They didn’t know where they were, where they were heading to, or what would happen to them. Therefore, they set their eyes on the men who remained confident in the face of the storm. By the end of this chapter, even the Roman commanders and owners of the ship are listening to Paul and following his instructions. They listened when Paul spoke and urged them to take heart. They ate when he told them to eat. The soldiers cut the lifeboat loose when Paul told them they would die if they did not stay with the ship. In verse 29, we see that they even became people who prayed in the midst of the storm and in verse 35 they took communion together and were encouraged. There is an important lesson in this story. Faith in God gives us influence, even over powerful men and women, people of worldly influence and vast wealth. Military power wouldn’t save them from drowning, great wealth or status wouldn’t save them. Suddenly, when people are scared and feel their life is in jeopardy, they begin to think about what will happen after they die. There is a shift of focus to things that have eternal significance and feelings long kept dormant are revealed. It is in dark times like these that we as followers of Jesus can shine brightly and be a light to those in need.
Here in Acts 27, 276 men are trapped together on a ship hauling grain and prisoners to Italy. This is not fiction; this is real life and there are real consequences. Soldiers, prisoners, sailors, commanders, and evangelists are all stuck together on a ship under increasingly dangerous conditions. Unlike Paul, most of the prisoners were already tried and condemned to die in the Roman gladiator arenas. There would have already been a sense of dread and rising tension, both from those condemned to die horrible deaths and from the outnumbered Roman soldiers who guarded them on their way to die horrible deaths. This chapter only goes from bad to worse, but something amazing begins to happen.
At first, Paul is being sidelined; his advice is ignored. But by the end of the chapter, Paul has essentially taken command of the ship. It’s an incredible sequence to read and study. Paul had a few important advantages over every man on board which allowed him to speak with boldness and confidence that no other could match. First, Paul was an experienced traveler on the Mediterranean, having already traveled some 3,500 miles by sea over the past two decades. According to 2 Corinthians 11:25, Paul had already been shipwrecked three times in his previous travels, so the storms and possibility of calamity was nothing new for him. Second, Paul had Luke traveling with him, a man who had walked and talked with Jesus and one who had seen Jesus walk on water and calm the storms. Luke would have a contagious hope in the midst of any storm, if anything, the raging winds would only serve as a reminder of the immense power of his God. Thirdly, and most importantly, Paul had been promised by Jesus Himself that he would stand before Caesar in Rome. He knew he would not die in a storm or be stopped by whatever was thrown at him. This protection, however, did not extend to the other 275 men on board. It’s interesting to think if the storms that caused the ship to be diverted and eventually shipwrecked on the island of Malta were natural or supernatural in nature. Did the winds come from God for some purpose as a witness to those on the ship? Did the winds come from the Devil, who from the book of Job, we know has power over winds, and is described in Ephesians 2:2 as the prince of the power of the wind and air? Were these storms a way to oppose Paul and prevent him from reaching Rome, or were they God’s hand of providence and protection? Either way, we know God can take any circumstance, no matter where it came from, and use it for good.
After 14 days of being driven by the storm, the occupants of the ship are losing all hope. It’s amazing how the threat of death brings all men together; young and old, prisoner and guard, Jew and gentile, wealthy or poor. They were all in the same boat. Each man on board began to see Paul (and Luke) as beacons of faith and hope in a situation that seemed hopeless. They didn’t know where they were, where they were heading to, or what would happen to them. Therefore, they set their eyes on the men who remained confident in the face of the storm. By the end of this chapter, even the Roman commanders and owners of the ship are listening to Paul and following his instructions. They listened when Paul spoke and urged them to take heart. They ate when he told them to eat. The soldiers cut the lifeboat loose when Paul told them they would die if they did not stay with the ship. In verse 29, we see that they even became people who prayed in the midst of the storm and in verse 35 they took communion together and were encouraged. There is an important lesson in this story. Faith in God gives us influence, even over powerful men and women, people of worldly influence and vast wealth. Military power wouldn’t save them from drowning, great wealth or status wouldn’t save them. Suddenly, when people are scared and feel their life is in jeopardy, they begin to think about what will happen after they die. There is a shift of focus to things that have eternal significance and feelings long kept dormant are revealed. It is in dark times like these that we as followers of Jesus can shine brightly and be a light to those in need.
