seekeroftruth
Well-Known Member
Acts 27:1 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.
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.”
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.
a. Acts 27:9 That is, Yom Kippur
b. Acts 27:17 Or the sails
c. Acts 27:27 In ancient times the name referred to an area extending well south of Italy.
d. Acts 27:28 Or about 37 meters
e. Acts 27:28 Or about 27 meters
Well this is really exciting.... Shipwrecked on a beach no one recognizes.... lost at Sea..... the commentary is from blueletterbible.org.
Julius, a centurion of the Augustan Regiment: We don't know much about this specific Augustan Regiment (several held that title), but it was common for Roman soldiers to accompany the transport of criminals, those awaiting trial, and merchant ships filled with grain going from Egypt to Rome.
Aristarchus, a Macedonian of Thessalonica, was with us: Paul was accompanied by Aristarchus and Luke (notice the us of verse 2 and beyond) on this voyage. While some have thought that they went "undercover" with Paul as his "slaves," it is just as likely that Aristarchus paid his fare as a passenger and that Luke was on board as the ship's doctor.
Sailing was now dangerous because the Fast was already over: The Fast date in question here was probably October 5, which was the date of the Day of Atonement in A.D. 59. The idea is that now as winter approaches, the weather will become more dangerous for sailing.
"The dangerous season for sailing began about September 14 and lasted until November 11; after the latter date all navigation one the open sea came to an end until winter was over." (Bruce)
Therefore, take heart, men: Paul used his belief to strengthen the hearts of others. Most all of the people on this ship were not Christians, yet Paul still cared enough to strengthen their hearts by telling them about his belief in God. If Paul had the attitude of some people today, he would have thought, "Hey, they're all going to hell anyway - who cares?" But Paul loved more than that.
On a certain island means that God did not tell Paul everything about what was going to happen. Paul had to trust that God knew which island they would run aground on!
Since not a hair will fall from the head of any of you: Paul had a word of faith and confidence from the Lord for the frightened crew and passengers. But this word only benefited those who believed it.
This is from bibletrack.org.It's a tough boat ride to Rome...and it's over 2,100 miles. What's more, we see that the wind was not very cooperative. After about a thousand miles of travel, Paul warned that the rest of the trip would be treacherous if they did not wait for better weather. What does a Pharisee-turned-Christian-preacher know about the weather? Luke doesn't report that Paul's warning came as a result of prophetic insight, but rather states that Paul said in verse 10, "I perceive that this voyage will be with hurt and much damage." The Greek word used there for "perceive" is "theoreo," which simply indicates information obtained by observation. Good observational skills, Paul! However, he was ignored, and they proceeded on - bad move!
It is interesting to note that Julius, the centurion in charge of Paul's transport, was very kind to Paul in verse 3 - gave him liberty to go see some friends while docked there. It would certainly appear that the Romans were not sympathetic with the mission of the Jewish leaders to see Paul put to death. Nevertheless, a soldier's job is a soldier's job.
I don't see anything that needs commentary in this chapter.... it's about the horrible trip Paul and Luke survived to get to Rome so Paul can testify in front of Caesar. Paul had been traveling all over Asia so he was aware of the season of travel. I think Paul was looking forward to testifying in front of Caesar.... that would be a huge conversion. Paul was so sure he was destined to testify in front of Caesar himself that he was sure everyone on the boat would be ok.... because otherwise the trip would be stopped or delayed. Paul figured it was God's plan so God was going to get him there.
