Acts 27

CHAPTER 27THEME: Paul goes to Rome via storm and shipwreckThis sea voyage might reasonably be called Paul’s fourth missionary journey. He was just as active when he went to Rome, he exercised the same latitude, he made as many contacts, and he witnessed just as faithfully as he had on his other journeys. Chains did not hinder him even though he made this entire journey in chains. He is the one who said, “Wherein I suffer trouble, as an evildoer, even unto bonds; but the word of God is not bound” (2Ti_2:9). Also he wrote to the Philippians that the things which happened to him worked out for the furtherance of the gospel (Php_1:12). God is in all of this, friend. The trip this time will be a little different from the others. It is to be made at the expense of the Roman government because he is Rome’s prisoner. This is the fulfillment of Paul’s prayer that he might come to Rome. When Paul appealed his case to Caesar, he was moved out of the jurisdiction of Festus, the governor, and King Agrippa. As King Agrippa had said after hearing his case, “This man might have been set at liberty, if he had not appealed unto Caesar” (Act_26:32). They couldn’t do anything about it now; they must send Paul to Rome. In chapter 27 of Acts we have the record of his voyage to Rome. What we have here might be called the log of the ship. This chapter of Acts has been considered the finest description of a sea voyage in the ancient world that is on record today. Sir William Ramsay made a study of Dr. Luke’s writing, and he considers this a masterpiece and the most accurate that has ever been written. So we are coming to another great chapter in the Bible, as you can see. Those of you who have studied Caesar in Latin may recall the account of the building of a bridge. That has always been a passage that stands out in the memory of all who study Latin because there are so many new words that pertain to the building of a bridge. This chapter in the Greek corresponds to it because there are many technical terms which Dr. Luke uses to describe this voyage. Let’s take off now with the apostle Paul. We’re going to take a sea voyage to Rome. This is the final and most exciting travelog in the Book of Acts.

Acts 27:1

PAUL’S PROSPEROUS JOURNEY TO ROMEThis is the beginning of the voyage to Italy. Paul, along with other prisoners, is put in the charge of a centurion by the name of Julius. I would think it safe to say that Paul was the only one of the prisoners who was a Roman citizen. Probably the others were criminals who were sent to Rome for execution. Many of them would become gladiators and would be fed to the wild beasts. In that day there was a constant stream of human life from all corners of the empire that was being fed into the mall of this public vice there in the Colosseum in Rome.

These prisoners would be utterly hopeless men. What an opportunity this gave Paul to bring the gospel of hope to this class of men. You will remember that the Lord Jesus Himself said that one of the reasons He came was to set the prisoners freefree spiritually, delivered from their sins and delivered from their guilt. This centurion, Julius, was a very courteous pagan, as we shall see.

Acts 27:2

Again, it will be a help if you will follow this voyage on a map. You will notice that now they are going up the coast of Israel. In other words, they don’t sail directly out to sea from the point of departure and then arrive at Rome. The ship hovers close to the coastline and goes up the coast of Israel.

Acts 27:3

Sidon is a familiar place to us. Tyre and Sidon are up on the coast in Phoenicia in what is now the country of Lebanon. Notice the liberty that is granted to the apostle Paul. I am of the opinion that here is a Roman official whom Paul reached with the gospel. His treatment of Paul is gracious. Even the great apostle Paul needed the fellowship and refreshment of Christian brethren. None of us are immune to that. We need the understanding and encouragement of one another.

Acts 27:4

“Under Cyprus” actually means that they came all the way down south of Cyprus, which indicates they were encountering some north winds.

Acts 27:5

We’ve been with Paul over this water before. They are sailing along the southern coast of Asia Minor, hovering close to the shore along there.

Acts 27:6

If you check on your map, you will see that Myra is sort of a jumping-off place. This was the place at which they changed ships. The centurion found a ship of Alexandria, which means it had come up from northern Africa and was sailing to Italy.

Acts 27:7

They were headed for the island of Crete. Apparently they were still having difficulty sailing. Contrary winds were the great difficulty for sailing vessels of that day. They passed on the south side of the island and came to Lasea, which is on the south shore of Crete.

Acts 27:9

This means that it was late in the season and that winter was coming on. They had been hoping to get to Rome before the stormy season. It is interesting to note that Paul takes a moral ascendancy at this point. When the sailing became dangerous, Paul admonished them.

Acts 27:10

One can certainly understand the centurion. After all, you would expect the captain of the ship to know more about sailing than Paul. We see Paul under a real testing here. He certainly stands out. He makes a suggestion which, they will find later, should have been followed. The spiritual superiority of Paul is evident at this point. There is no confusion in the life of Paul, no uncertainty, no frustration. He is what would be called a poised personality. Paul knew the way he was going. “This one thing I do” was his declaration when he got to Rome. We can observe these qualities in his behavior throughout the voyage. Paul lived his life as a man in touch with God.

Acts 27:12

Crete is an island that lies off the coast of Asia Minor and also off the coast of Greece. It is the largest island and contains several good harbors. Events are going to prove that Paul was right. Throughout this voyage the captain, the soldiers, and the sailors were depending on human speculation alone. Paul was looking to God.

Acts 27:13

To them the voyage was guesswork. The south wind blew softly, so they “supposed.” The captain was a man who looked to self and to the wisdom of men. Paul was looking to God. Later on Paul would tell these men, “I believe God” (v. Act_27:25). Notice he would not say that he believed in God, but “I believe God.” Life is a great sea and our lives are little boats. We can sail our boats by human supposition if we so choose. Friend, there is a storm blowing out there, a bit of a gale. The tragedy is that, amid confusion, world chaos, and darkness, most men are still guessing. There are a thousand human plans for building a better world. Yet everywhere we look we see failure. We need men who know God. It was Gladstone who said, “The mark of a great statesman is a man who knows the way God is going for the next fifty years.” We don’t seem to find many such men around today.

Acts 27:14

THE STORMWhat is Euroclydon? Dr. Luke is using a very technical navigational term of that day. It has to do with the north wind, and it actually came north by east. In other words, the storm came down out of Europe. This was wintertime and the stormy season. It was a “tempestuous wind” and it is in this storm that Paul and all those on the ship with him are caught. Now I want to stop here to point out something very interesting. You will remember that when Paul was in Ephesus, which was a time of triumph for the gospel, he expressed a great desire to visit Rome. It was the great yearning of his heart. “After these things were ended, Paul purposed in the spirit, when he had passed through Macedonia and Achaia, to go to Jerusalem, saying, After I have been there, I must also see Rome” (Act_19:21). The hour of darkness came for Paul in Jerusalem. It looked as if he would never see Rome at all. In that hour of darkness, despair, and defeat, God appeared to him to reassure him. “And the night following the Lord stood by him, and said, Be of good cheer, Paul: for as thou hast testified of me in Jerusalem, so must thou bear witness also at Rome” (Act_23:11). The Lord had assured Paul that he would go to Rome.

Acts 27:15

They were out there in the Mediterranean Sea being driven westward from the island of Crete. It looked very much as if they would be wrecked on the little island of Clauda, which, by the way, is a very small island south of Crete. They had to let the wind take the ship. They threw all the cargo overboard to lighten the ship.

Acts 27:19

They completely stripped the ship of everything that had any weight.

Acts 27:20

Dr. Luke says that “no small tempest” lay on them. We have already seen how Dr. Luke likes to use the diminutive like this. He means that it was really a terrible storm. In fact, they did not think they would escape from it alive. It was in the storm that the voice of the Lord was heard through the lips of Paul. After fourteen days of wave and wind, the folk on the ship felt that they would not come through alive. They felt like this was it. However, the Lord had appeared to Paul and assured him that he was going to see Rome. With this assurance Paul was able to stand out above the others.

Acts 27:21

You can understand that this was a very encouraging word to all those who were on board the ship. In fact, it was the only thing they had to hold onto. Notice the wonderful testimony of the apostle Paul: “Whose I am, and whom I serve.” His confidence was in God: “Be of good cheer: for I believe God, that it shall be even as it was told me.” It was revealed to Paul that they would be cast upon an island. We will learn later that the island was Melita, which is just south of Sicily. So they had traveled quite a distance across the Mediterranean from the island of Crete. Melita is the island we know today as Malta.

Acts 27:27

“Adria” is the Adriatic Sea. The Adriatic Sea lies between Italy and Macedonia or Greece. Apparently they have been driven up and down the Adriatic in the storm, passing between Crete and Sicily. They are out in the deep, out in the open sea. On the fourteenth night about midnight it becomes apparent that they are being driven near some land.

Acts 27:28

Their sounding showed that they were moving in closer to the land. Each sounding showed that the water was becoming more shallow. Perhaps I should mention here that I have heard sermons on “Four Anchors,” and those anchors have been labeled about everything under the sun. Let us not fall into the trap of trying to spiritualize something which is very practical and very realistic. These men were in a ship and they were approaching land. Since they didn’t want to be cast upon the rocks, they threw out four anchors. It required all four to hold the ship. If you started to guess how many anchors it would take to hold you or to hold me, you would be trying to spiritualize this passage. In my judgment, that is a very foolish way to handle the Word of God.

Acts 27:30

The crew was trying to abandon the ship, you see. They acted as if they were dropping anchor, but actually they were going overboard. They were leaving a sinking ship as the rats leave it. They were doing something which they should never have done. Paul tells the centurion that the only assurance of safety is for all to remain with the ship. Paul has put his trust in God. What a wonderful thing it is to trust the Word of God. The angel of God had told Paul that he and the men would be saved. But they couldn’t be saved their way. They must be saved God’s way. God’s way was for them to stay with the ship. It was a question of believing that God would save them or not believing and taking matters into their own hands. Paul had told them that he believed God. And he tells them that if they want to be saved, all will need to stay on board the ship.

Acts 27:32

Paul has given the information to the centurion. The centurion is beginning to listen to Paul now. He gives the command and the soldiers cut the ropes to the life boats. Now everyone must stay on board.

Acts 27:33

You know very well, fourteen days of fasting would weaken even the hardiest men. Now Paul urges them all to eat. Apparently they had all fasted. The pagans had fasted because they were scared to death. Paul and the Christians may have fasted because they were doing it unto the Lord. Now they are near land and they all need their strength to make it to shore. So Paul uses sanctified sanity in the Lord’s service. He uses good sense. In Christian work we need just good, common, sanctified sense more than in any other area of life. How foolish people can be and at the same time excuse it by saying they are simply trusting the Lord. My friend, the Lord expects us to use some common sense.

Acts 27:35

Paul gave thanks to God in the presence of them all. This again is a wonderful testimony. This is Paul’s prosperous journey to Rome. Perhaps you are saying, “It doesn’t sound very prosperous to me! It seems to me he is out of the will of God!” No, my friend, Paul is not out of the will of God. Do you remember another instance back in the Gospels when the Lord Jesus put His own disciples into a boat one night and sent them across the Sea of Galilee? He told them to go to the other side, and on the way over a storm arose on the sea. He sent them right into a storm. Now don’t say that Jesus didn’t know the storm was coming. He deliberately sent them into the storm! He is God.

He knew about the storm, and He knew what He was doing. I personally believe that oftentimes the Lord deliberately sends us into a storm. We need to remember that we can be in the storm and still be in the will of God. He has never said we will miss the storms of life, but He has promised us that we will make the harbor. And He will be right there with us through the storm. That is the comfort that should come to the child of God in the time of the storm.

Acts 27:36

There were 276 people on boardso it was a sizable ship.

Acts 27:38

They had previously thrown all the cargo overboard. Now they throw all their food overboard.

Acts 27:39

Their landing could be considered miraculous, although I am not going to insist that it was a miracle. However, God certainly fulfilled His promise that Paul and all the 276 people on the ship would get to land safely.