Paul Sails for Rome
Acts 27
1It was decided that we would sail for Italy. An officer named Julius, who
served in the emperor’s army, guarded Paul and some other prisoners. 2We got
on a ship that was from the city of Adramyttium and was about to sail to different
ports in the country of Asia. Aristarchus, a man from the city of Thessalonica in
Macedonia, went with us. 3The next day we came to Sidon. Julius was very good
to Paul and gave him freedom to go visit his friends, who took care of his needs.
4We left Sidon and sailed close to the island of Cyprus, because the wind was
blowing against us. 5We went across the sea by Cilicia and Pamphylia and landed
at the city of Myra, in Lycia. 6There the officer found a ship from Alexandria that
was going to Italy, so he put us on it.
7We sailed slowly for many days. We had a hard time reaching Cnidus
because the wind was blowing against us, and we could not go any farther. So we
sailed by the south side of the island of Crete near Salmone. 8Sailing past it was
hard. Then we came to a place called Fair Havens, near the city of Lasea.
9We had lost much time, and it was now dangerous to sail, because it was
already after the Day of Cleansing. So Paul warned them, 10“Men, I can see
there will be a lot of trouble on this trip. The ship, the cargo, and even our lives
may be lost.” 11But the captain and the owner of the ship did not agree with Paul,
and the officer believed what the captain and owner of the ship said. 12Since that
harbor was not a good place for the ship to stay for the winter, most of the men
decided that the ship should leave. They hoped we could go to Phoenix and stay
there for the winter. Phoenix, a city on the island of Crete, had a harbor which
faced southwest and northwest.
The Storm
13When a good wind began to blow from the south, the men on the ship
thought, “This is the wind we wanted, and now we have it.” So they pulled up the
anchor, and we sailed very close to the island of Crete. 14But then a very strong
wind named the “northeaster” came from the island. 15The ship was caught in it
and could not sail against it. So we stopped trying and let the wind carry us.
16When we went below a small island named Cauda, we were barely able to bring
in the lifeboat. 17After the men took the lifeboat in, they tied ropes around the
ship to hold it together. The men were afraid that the ship would hit the
sandbanks of Syrtis, so they lowered the sail and let the wind carry the ship.
18The next day the storm was blowing us so hard that the men threw out some of
the cargo. 19A day later with their own hands they threw out the ship’s
equipment. 20When we could not see the sun or the stars for many days, and the
storm was very bad, we lost all hope of being saved.
21After the men had gone without food for a long time, Paul stood up before
them and said, “Men, you should have listened to me. You should not have sailed
from Crete. Then you would not have all this trouble and loss. 22But now I tell
you to cheer up because none of you will die. Only the ship will be lost. 23Last
night an angel came to me from the God I belong to and worship. 24The angel
said, ‘Paul, do not be afraid. You must stand before Caesar. And God has
promised you that he will save the lives of everyone sailing with you.’ 25So men,
have courage. I trust in God that everything will happen as his angel told me.
26But we will crash on an island.”
27On the fourteenth night we were still being carried around in the Adriatic
Sea. About midnight the sailors thought we were close to land, 28so they
lowered a rope with a weight on the end of it into the water. They found that the
water was one hundred twenty feet deep. They went a little farther and lowered
the rope again. It was ninety feet deep. 29The sailors were afraid that we would
hit the rocks, so they threw four anchors into the water and prayed for daylight to
come. 30Some of the sailors wanted to leave the ship, and they lowered the
lifeboat, pretending they were throwing more anchors from the front of the ship.
31But Paul told the officer and the other soldiers, “If these men do not stay in the
ship, your lives cannot be saved.” 32So the soldiers cut the ropes and let the
lifeboat fall into the water.
33Just before dawn Paul began persuading all the people to eat something. He
said, “For the past fourteen days you have been waiting and watching and not
eating. 34Now I beg you to eat something. You need it to stay alive. None of you
will lose even one hair off your heads.” 35After he said this, Paul took some bread
and thanked God for it before all of them. He broke off a piece and began eating.
36They all felt better and started eating, too. 37There were two hundred seventy-
six people on the ship. 38When they had eaten all they wanted, they began
making the ship lighter by throwing the grain into the sea.
The Ship Is Destroyed
39When daylight came, the sailors saw land. They did not know what land it
was, but they saw a bay with a beach and wanted to sail the ship to the beach if
they could. 40So they cut the ropes to the anchors and left the anchors in the sea.
At the same time, they untied the ropes that were holding the rudders. Then they
raised the front sail into the wind and sailed toward the beach. 41But the ship hit a
sandbank. The front of the ship stuck there and could not move, but the back of
the ship began to break up from the big waves.
42The soldiers decided to kill the prisoners so none of them could swim away
and escape. 43But Julius, the officer, wanted to let Paul live and did not allow the
soldiers to kill the prisoners. Instead he ordered everyone who could swim to
jump into the water first and swim to land. 44The rest were to follow using
wooden boards or pieces of the ship. And this is how all the people made it safely
to land.
The Holy Bible, New Century Version
SITUATION
Paul proved to be a calming presence on board the ship as he was taken to Rome. His faith and confidence remained like a rock when trouble engulfed the ship.
OBSERVATION
Trust in God to fulfill his promises. He provides hope when there seems to be no way out.
INSPIRATION
The love of God is a subject that can never be exhausted. No human mind will ever be able to fathom it....
Think of all the hymns and poems that have been composed in praise of the love of God, the books that have been written, the messages that have been preached. And yet that is not enough. God's will is that His love be manifested in our lives! The world today is dying for lack of love, and only Christians can really fill the need.
We should never lose a sense of wonder that God's love for us is so undeserved.
We should love Him with a love that is undivided, obedient, and worshipful, allowing no rival to share the throne with Him.
We should love our brothers and sisters in Christ without regard to denominations or religious labels. John insists that if we do not love our brothers whom we have seen we cannot love God whom we have not seen.
When this is our spiritual craving, we are getting close to Calvary love. (From Alone in Majesty by William MacDonald)
APPLICATION
Imagine yourself on a plane flying through rough weather with engine trouble. Would you be bold enough to provide hope to the person next to you? Would you quickly share Christ with that person? Anyone you know could be close to death. An unfortunate accident could claim the lives of a couple of your friends. What keeps you from sharing Christ with them?
EXPLORATION
God's Love - Psalm 136; Jeremiah 31:3; John 3:16; 11:33-38; 1 John 3:1; Revelation 3:20.
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