A Study on Acts 27
It is a familiar chapter that talks about the shipwreck of Paul.
As we know, Paul undertook three missionary journeys in his lifetime. After Paul had returned to Jerusalem from his third missionary journey he was arrested and had to face charges before the Roman authorities. Since Paul was a Roman citizen, he demanded that he be tried before Caesar.
In Acts 27, he was being taken to Italy in Rome by a ship. So Paul was travelling in a ship from Caesarea to Rome. He is being taken to Italy in Rome as a prisoner. This can be considered the fourth missionary journey of Paul. And this would be his last journey as Paul would soon die as a martyr.
This is different from the other missionary journeys of Paul. In a sense, the other journeys were Paul’s choice. He was going in all freedom to preach the gospel. But not so this time. He is now a prisoner. He really doesn’t know the outcome of his trial. An unpredictable future laid ahead of him.
Along with Paul there were 276 people in the ship. And as we know, God delivered them all from the shipwreck. But the lesson for us is how God works in our lives in the midst of all the stormy situation we face or the experiences we go through.
There are four important lessons about God that we can learn through this stormy experience that Paul faced. We shall unfold them one by one.
1. GOD’S FAVOUR SURPASSES ALL BOUNDARIES
27:1-3 ¬ – “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.
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.
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.”
These three verses are easy to ignore, because they are full of names - names of places and names of men - but they have something important to tell us. These verses point to the favour of God that was so extensively available for Paul in the midst of the hardships that he was going through.
Every individual mentioned here were not there by chance. You will find that God had specially placed them to favour Paul.
1. Julius
Who is this Julius? We do not know except that he was a centurion of the Roman regiment. But he didn’t not appear there all of the sudden. God had placed him there at that time to help Paul. Scripture says he was kind to Paul. I think he showed unusual kindness to Paul. A Roman centurion showing kindness to prisoner is rather noteworthy. Verse 3 tells us that he allowed Paul to go to his friends in Sidon. The fact that Julius showed unusual kindness is a sign of God’s favour upon Paul. So many other prisoners were along with Paul in the ship, but I am not sure if all of them got the same treatment.
2. Friends at Sidon
The ship’s first stop was at Sidon. Paul was given permission to meet his friends there. Who were those friends?
Sidon was a city in ancient Phoenicia. Although there is no evidence of Paul having started the church there, a church probably began shortly after Stephen’s death. We read about that in Acts 11:19.
Those who were scattered abroad by the oppression that arose about Stephen, consequently traveled as far as Phoenicia, Cyprus, and Antioch. They spoke the word to Jews only, although some of them, men of Cyprus and Cyrene who came to Antioch, spoke to the Greeks, preaching the Lord Jesus. (Acts 11:19-20).
Paul had visited the churches in the area at least twice, and probably knew many of the disciples in Sidon. Acts 15:3 - The church sent them on their way, and as they travelled through Phoenicia and Samaria, they told how the Gentiles had been converted.
Acts 21:7 - We found a ship crossing over to Phoenicia, went on board and set sail.
There didn’t just happen to be a group of believers in Sidon who was ready to help Paul, God placed them there. God had planned it a long way back. Paul was in a hopeless, lonely situation and at this juncture, God extends his favour to him through these people at Sidon.
3. Luke
The use of the pronoun ‘WE’ in vs 2 indicates Luke’s presence in the ship, as we is the author the book. Luke apparently was with Paul during the entire journey. That is why he is able to give minute details with such precision. He talks of the wind directions, efforts they take, the names of place with such an accuracy, because he personally witnessed everything.
Scholars say Luke was travelling with him as Paul’s personal physician. Luke’s presence in the ship must have been extremely comforting and encouraging to Paul in many ways, as Luke was not just a physician, but a disciple of Jesus and was like-minded with Paul in the way they loved and lived for Jesus.
4. Aristarchus
Colossians 4:10 describes Aristarchus as Paul’s “fellow prisoner.” And in Philemon 1:24, Paul’s send greetings from Aristarchus as well. ‘And so do Mark, Aristarchus, Demas and Luke, my fellow workers.’ Both Colossians and Philemon are prison epistles written when Paul was imprisoned in Rome. This means, Aristarchus travelled with Paul all the way to Rome and was probably with him during the imprisonment.
Scholars believe that in order for Aristarchus to travel with Paul on this journey, he had to become Paul’s personal slave.
The favour of God transcends all boundaries. And when God’s favour is upon us, we will see providence and help coming from all corners, even unexpected places.
2. GOD’S WISDOM SURPASSES THE WISDOM OF THE WORLD
Much time had been lost, and sailing had already become dangerous because by now it was after the Day of Atonement. 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.”
Much time had been lost.. where did they lose the time? And the verse continues that sailing had already become dangerous because by now it was after the Day of Atonement.
Depending on the year, the Day of Atonement fell roughly between the latter part of September and the first part of October. After the Day of Atonement means probably the date that Luke was referring to is mid-October. The reason that Luke is mentioning this is the date had significance to their journey. Sources say navigation in this part of the Mediterranean was considered dangerous after September 14.
So the ship may have left Caesarea much before. But somewhere along the way, they lost time, they slowed down, and now they are into the storm season.
And that’s when Paul gives a warning. Paul was a man of God. He had been on several journey on a ship. He had been in shipwrecks before (2 Corinthians 11:25). In one of those shipwrecks, he remained in the sea a night and a day. So Paul gives a warning.
But obviously, on one wanted to listen to Paul’s advice.
Vs 11-12
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.
But there were two mistakes the centurion made here.
1. First, in verse 11, he followed the advice of the experts (pilot and owner of the ship).
And this is not surprising. Anybody would do so. Pilot/captain will have adequate experience. The owner of the ship wanted to make the ship safer by attempting to reach Phoenix, a safer port.
And why would the centurion listen to Paul, when you have the captain of the ship giving a different instruction? Who is Paul? What does he know about the ship? What does he know about weather condition? Why should the centurion listen to him?
2. Second, in verse 12, the captain probably followed the majority rule.
Majority wins. Majority always have greater power to influence. Remember, when Moses sent 12 men to spy the land of Canaan, ten of the them came back with a bad report. Only two of them gave a positive report. But still, it was the 10 who were able to influence the crowd rather than two.
There is always a power with greater numbers. But unfortunately, not so with God. The familiar story of Gideon is an interesting example to prove that. After the final test, Gideon is left with just 300 men, who had to fight against 1,35,000 Midianite soldiers. The ratio is 1 against 450. One soldier of Gideon has to fight against 450 soldiers of the Midianites. Humanly impossible! But victory was Gideon’s.
God’s wisdom surpasses human wisdom, human calculation.. always! Following the experts or the majority is not always right.
That’s when discerning the mind of God is important. Seeking God’s wisdom and counsel works in every situation.
In 1 Kings 22, we read about King Jehoshaphat. His heart of discernment worked against the majority. He wanted to know whether he can go and fight against Ramoth Gilead. There were 400 prophets of God sitting before him. All of them said in one accord, Go and will surely win. But Jehoshaphat knew something was wrong. He sought one more prophet. If you read the rest of the chapter, another prophet Miciah (1 Kings 22:7) comes and proves that all 400 were wrong.
Discerning God’s counsel especially when majority would say otherwise is not easy, but it especially important when we are faced with tough and difficult choices.
Here, the captain failed to do that. He failed to listen to Paul’s warning and shortly, they get into a shipwreck.
Vs 14 and 15
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.
3. GOD’S TIMING SURPASSES HUMAN COMPREHENSION
I am sure all of us experience this in our life. Often, we are in a hurry but God is not.
20 When neither sun nor stars appeared for many days and the storm continued raging, we finally gave up all hope of being saved.
The people came to a point where they lost all hope of surviving. They literally gave up.
In tough and uncertain times, it is hope that helps a person move forward. Hope is the expectation that everything would soon be all right. But now they came to a stage where they gave up all hope.
In a way, God used the situation to show the pagan sailors their powerlessness. Till now, they used all possible efforts from their end to escape the storm. They rowed the boat with great difficulty. In vs. 18 and 19, we read about how they threw the cargo, the essentials, and lightened the ship. They did everything in their power. But now they came to a point when they realized that they needed a divine intervention. And it’s one of the best things they did! And one of the best things that all of us can ever do. Realise we need a divine intervention!
God waited until this stage.
When they lost trust in themselves, God acted. Because quite honestly they came to that point in life where they cannot do anything by themselves.
They were in in the middle of the ocean, with no idea of how long they were from dry land, surrounded by stormy waves. They can’t just jump off the ship.
And that’s when God sent the angel!
23 Last night an angel of the God to whom I belong and whom I serve stood beside me (Paul does not mention Jesus, because there were pagan sailors … instead he says God to whom I belong. In a way, He declares the supremacy of His God over the others)
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.
The timing in which God works is beyond human comprehension. He could have sent the angel anytime. He could have sent it a week before. He could have told Paul before he ever stepped on the boat.
He waited until the right time, His time.
In vs 36, they all ate food after 14 days and were encouraged by the words of Paul.
Their fears and hopelessness were slowly disappearing. They felt better and had food. Hope was rising in their fearful hearts. God’s promise through Paul somehow seemed so comforting in their desperate moment. Paul’s encounter with God in this difficult time somehow seemed very personal to everyone there. And they were all strengthened!
4. GOD’S PURPOSE FOR OUR LIVES SURPASSES OUR IMAGINATION
Vs 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.’
God did not allow Paul to sink because He had a greater purpose for Paul.
1. He had to stand trial before Caesar
2. He is the reason God would save others in the ship
Just because Paul was in the ship, God rescued all the 276 people who were along with him. His presence in the ship, although as a prisoner, was a blessing to all. He was in chains. He was a prisoner. He had no influence. No authority. In fact no one wanted to listen to his advice. But God kept him as a blessing to others. As vs 44 says, In this way everyone reached land safely (Other translations say, Not a single person on board failed to reach the land.)
Sometimes God uses our situation and circumstances so we can be a blessing to others around us.
There was something Paul could be thankful for. God used the personal storm in Paul’s life as a blessing to others around him.
Paul echoed this sentiment in 2 Corinthians 1:3-4 when he said:
”Praise be to the God and Father of our Lord Jesus Christ, the Father of compassion and the God of all comfort, who comforts us in all our troubles, so that we can comfort those in any trouble with the comfort we ourselves receive from God.”
God turns our unique experiences into platforms wherein we can encourage others who go through similar experiences.
Not only that, this experience helped Paul to experience more of God. This brought him even more closer to God.
During this troublesome time, when death was so near, Paul would have prayed really hard, really earnestly. And God listened to his prayers and sends an angel to calm him down.
The angel told Paul not to be afraid, which tells me that Paul must have prayed with great anxiety and nervousness. This was the sixth time that God had given the Apostle Paul a vision.
This was the sixth and final vision that is recorded in the book of Acts. No storm, no divine encounter! The storm provided Paul with yet another opportunity to draw closer to His Lord and Savior, Jesus Christ.
Conclusion
1. God’s favour surpasses all boundaries
2. God’s wisdom surpasses the wisdom of the world
3. God’s timing surpasses human comprehension
4. God’s purpose for our lives surpasses our imagination
