Today's Reading: Acts 27
Setting:
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Paul just finished giving defense before Agrippa and although Agrippa believes Paul innocent and was willing to free him, since Paul had appealed to Caesar- he must be taken to Rome.
Chapter 27 picks up where they load Paul into a boat and head out…(for a three hour tour as it were).
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The plan-
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Acts 27:1–2 (ESV)
27 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. 2 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.
So they set out with a simple plan to sail to Italy along the coast but the wind does not cooperate with them and they end up on an unplanned course.
From the Matthew Henry Commentary-
It was determined by the counsel of God, before it was determined by the counsel of Festus, that Paul should go to Rome; for, whatever man intended, God had work for him to do there.
From the ESV Study Bible-
The ship of Adramyttium was probably a small coasting vessel, not adequate for the open-sea voyage to Rome. Adramyttium was a large port city of Mysia in the province of Asia Minor (opposite the island of Lesbos). Aristarchus. See note on 19:29.
When they reached Myra, the Centurian moved Paul onto a Roman ship sailing for Italy. This was a bigger boat with hundreds of passengers, some of them are prisoners.
Acts 27:9–11 (ESV)
9 Since much time had passed, and the voyage was now dangerous because even the Fast was already over, Paul advised them, 10 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.” 11 But the centurion paid more attention to the pilot and to the owner of the ship than to what Paul said.
So here Paul gives his advice to not sail on but it is disregarded…
From the Bible Knowledge Commentary-
Paul was perhaps included in the ship’s council because of his experiences in travel (cf. 2 Cor. 11:25, “three times I was shipwrecked”) and his natural leadership. Contrary to Paul’s advice the majority (Acts 27:11) decided it best to sail on to a more commodious harbor and to winter there. The authority rested ultimately in the hands of the centurion because grain ships were considered to be in government service. So they sailed along the southern coast of Crete. They hoped to reach the harbor of Phoenix.
From Wiersbe's Commentary-
Favorable circumstances.
“The south wind blew softly” (v. 13) The very wind they needed came along and seemed to prove how wrong Paul was. We must beware of “great opportunities” and “ideal circumstances” that seem to contradict the Word of God.
Each of the above factors can work in the lives of Christians today. We must be careful to obey God’s Word by faith, even when circumstances seem to prove us wrong.
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The storms will come-
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Acts 27:14–15 (ESV)
14 But soon a tempestuous wind, called the northeaster, struck down from the land. 15 And when the ship was caught and could not face the wind, we gave way to it and were driven along.
So the whole party ends up facing certain death because they did not listen to Paul's advice...
Acts 27:18–20 (ESV)
18 Since we were violently storm-tossed, they began the next day to jettison the cargo. 19 And 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 no small tempest lay on us, all hope of our being saved was at last abandoned.
From the Wiersbe Commentary-
The balmy south wind soon turned into a terrible storm, as is usually the case when we disobey the Word of God. “Euroclydon” is part Greek and part Latin, a word that means “east wind and north wind.” Note that Luke uses “we” in this section, indicating that all the crew and prisoners were busy trying to save the ship. First, they pulled in the little boat that was behind the ship (v. 16). Then, they put cables around the ship to help hold it together (v. 17). The next move was to pull down part of the sail, leaving enough to steady the ship (v. 17b). The next day they began to lighten the ship by throwing out some of the cargo (v. 18); and by the third day (v. 19) even the “furniture” (which is what the Gk. word means) or gear was thrown out. All of this was necessary because people did not believe the Word of God!
Wiersbe, W. W. (1992). Wiersbe’s expository outlines on the New Testament (353–354). Wheaton, IL: Victor Books.
From the Matthew Henry Commentary-
It was God that commanded this wind to rise, designing to bring glory to himself, and reputation to Paul, out of it; stormy winds being brought out of his treasuries (Ps. 135:7), they fulfil his word, Ps. 148:8. (2.) The ship was exceedingly tossed (v. 18); it was kicked like a football from wave to wave; its passengers (as it is elegantly described, Ps. 107:26, 27) mount up to the heavens, go down again to the depths, reel to and fro, stagger like a drunken man, and are at their wits’ end. The ship could not possibly bear up into the wind, could not make her way in opposition to the wind; and therefore they folded up their sails, which in such a storm would endanger them rather than to them any service, and so let the ship drive, Not whither it would, but whither it was impelled by the impetuous wave—on quo voluit, sed quo rapit impetus undae. Ovid. Trist. It is probable that they were very near the heaven of Phenice when this tempest arose, and thought they should presently be in a quiet haven, and were pleasing themselves with the thought of it, and wintering there, and lo, of a sudden, they are in this distress. Let us therefore always rejoice with trembling, and never expect a perfect security, nor a perpetual security, till we come to heaven.
Acts 27:21–26 (ESV)
21 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. 22 Yet now I urge you to take heart, for there will be no loss of life among you, but only of the ship. 23 For this very night there stood before me an angel of the God to whom I belong and whom I worship, 24 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.’ 25 So take heart, men, for I have faith in God that it will be exactly as I have been told. 26 But we must run aground on some island.”
So here Paul changes his tune regarding their survival. It turns out that he was given revelation from God the previous night…
From the Matthew Henry Commentary-
The encouragement Paul gave them, by assuring them, in the name of God, that their lives should all be saved, even when, in human appearance, all hope that they should be saved was taken away. Paul rescued them from their despair first, that they might not die of that, and starve themselves in that, and then they were in a fair way to be rescued from their distress. After long abstinence, as if they were resolved not to eat till they knew whether they should live or die, Paul stood forth in the midst of them. During the distress hitherto Paul hid himself among them, was one of the crowd, helped with the rest to throw out the tackling (v. 19), but now he distinguished himself, and, though a prisoner, undertook to be their counsellor and comforter.
The solemn profession Paul makes of relation to God, the God from whom he had this favourable intelligence: It is he whose I am, and whom I serve. He looks upon God, [1.] As his rightful owner, who has a sovereign incontestable title to him, and dominion over him: Who I am. Because God made us and not we ourselves, therefore we are not our own but his. His we are by creation, for he made us; by preservation, for he maintains us; by redemption, for he bought us. We are more his than our own.
God has given thee all those that sail with thee, that is, spares them in answer to thy prayers, or for thy sake. Sometimes good men deliver neither sons nor daughters, but their own souls only, Eze. 14:18. But Paul here delivers a whole ship’s crew, almost three hundred souls. Note, God often spares wicked people for the sake of the godly; as Zoar for Lot’s sake, and as Sodom might have been, if there had been ten righteous persons in it.
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Stick Together!-
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Acts 27:30–32 (ESV)
30 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, 31 Paul said to the centurion and the soldiers, “Unless these men stay in the ship, you cannot be saved.” 32 Then the soldiers cut away the ropes of the ship’s boat and let it go.
From the Bible Exposition Commentary-
But others of the crew tried to escape from the ship in the dinghy that had been brought on board (Acts 27:16). This was not only an act of selfishness and revolt on their part, but it was also an act of unbelief. Paul had told everybody God’s promise that He would keep all those safe who sailed with him on the voyage (Acts 27:24). For the men to abandon ship was to take their lives in their own hands and threaten the lives of others. Whether the soldiers acted wisely in cutting the boat free, it is difficult to determine; but in an emergency, you take emergency measures.
From the Matthew Henry Commentary-
Paul speaks humanly, when he says, You cannot be saved except these abide in the ship; and he does not at all weaken the assurances he had divinely given that they should infallibly be saved. God, who appointed the end, that they should be saved, appointed the means, that they should be saved by the help of these seamen; though, if they had gone off, no doubt God would have made his word good some other way. Paul speaks as a prudent man, not as a prophet, when he says, These are necessary to your preservation. Duty is ours, events are God’s; and we do not trust God, but tempt him, when we say, “We put ourselves under his protection,’ ’ and do not use proper means, such as are within our power, for our own preservation.
From the ESV Study Bible-
the sailors were seeking to escape. They knew they were nearing land, so they decided to take the ship’s only small boat and get themselves safely to shore. But such a selfish action would have left no one on the ship with the skill to handle it, leading to much loss of life. So Paul warned the centurion of the sailors’ plan, and he stopped them (vv. 31–32). Paul’s action shows the compatibility of divine sovereignty (see vv. 22–24) with human responsibility. God will fulfill his promises, but that doesn’t negate the importance of human actions as the means God uses to carry out his promises (cf. note on 18:9–11).
Crossway Bibles. (2008). The ESV Study Bible (2143). Wheaton, IL: Crossway Bibles.
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God is sovereign in his authority over heaven and earth and all that are within them-
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Acts 27:41–44 (ESV)
41 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. 42 The soldiers’ plan was to kill the prisoners, lest any should swim away and escape. 43 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, 44 and the rest on planks or on pieces of the ship. And so it was that all were brought safely to land.
From the Wiersbe Commentary-
God spared 276 people because of one man—the Apostle Paul! How precious His saints are to Him! God was willing to spare Sodom and Gomorrah for ten righteous people (Gen. 18), and He did not send His wrath until Lot and his family had safely escaped. God holds back His judgment on this wicked world because the church is still in the world; but when we are taken away, His judgments will fall (2 Thes. 2). Satan tried to prevent Paul from getting to Rome, but God’s Word prevailed. “There has not failed one word of His good promise” (1 Kings 8:56, NKJV).
From the Bible Knowledge Commentary-
The centurion, however, wanted to spare Paul’s life. He saw the value and trustworthiness of this prisoner and so forestalled the soldiers’ plan. Obviously God was sovereignly at work to spare Paul for ministry at Rome and to guarantee the fulfillment of his prediction (v. 24). In the cold rain (28:2) the passengers (soldiers and prisoners) and crewmen who could swim were urged to swim ashore, while the rest held onto the ship’s debris.
From the Bible Exposition Commentary-
Before leaving this exciting section of Acts, we should note some practical lessons that it teaches us. First of all, storms often come when we disobey the will of God. (Jonah is a good example of this truth.) However, it was not Paul who was at fault, but the centurion in charge of the ship. We sometimes suffer because of the unbelief of others.
Second, storms have a way of revealing character. Some of the sailors selfishly tried to escape, others could only hope for the best; but Paul trusted God and obeyed His will.
Third, even the worst storms cannot hide the face of God or hinder the purposes of God. Paul received the word of assurance that they needed, and God overruled so that His servant arrived safely in Rome.
Finally, storms can give us opportunities to serve others and bear witness to Jesus Christ. Paul was the most valuable man on that ship! He knew how to pray, he had faith in God, and he was in touch with the Almighty.
Application and prayer:
Heavenly Father- let me hold fast to your Word as Paul did here and fear not my circumstances but rather be an encouragement in difficult times and one who is level headed in my dealing in the midst of danger or trouble. Let me be certain to not let those I love take their fate into their own hands but may we bind ourselves together and walk with faith into your promises. Let us stick together Lord and wait upon you. Please grant me the faith I need in you to weather such storms in life in such a manner as Paul did here. I ask this in Jesus name, amen.
Soli Deo Gloria!
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Thanks for commenting- I will probably post it if you dont seem to be a crazy person!