Acts 27

1. It 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.
God sent another good Roman soldier to protect Paul.

When a man’s life pleases the LORD, even his enemies are at peace with him. Proverbs 16:7

2 – 6

We got on a ship and left. The ship was from the city of Adramyttium and was about to sail to different ports in Asia. Aristarchus, a man from the city of Thessalonica in Macedonia, went with us. The next day we came to Sidon. Julius was very good to Paul.

He gave Paul freedom to go visit his friends, who took care of his needs. We left Sidon and sailed close to the island of Cyprus because the wind was blowing against us. We went across the sea by Cilicia and Pamphylia. Then we came to the city of Myra, in Lycia. There the officer found a ship from Alexandria that was going to Italy. So he put us on it.

Aristarchus was one of Paul’s best helpers and even was a prisoner with him (Colossians 4:10). They sailed along the coast from Israel to Turkey and then towards Crete.

7 – 8

We sailed slowly for many days. We had a hard time reaching Cnidus because the wind was blowing against us. We could not go any farther that way. So we sailed by the south side of the island of Crete near Salmone. We sailed along the coast, but the sailing was hard. Then we came to a place called Safe Harbors, near the city of Lasea.

They knew that they could not make it to Rome because of the weather so they were looking for a good place to stay during the winter.

9. But we had lost much time. It was now dangerous to sail, because it was already after the Day of Atonement. So Paul warned them,

The Jewish Day of Atonement was in the middle of October. Sailing became more dangerous in November.

He who makes decisions too fast loses his way. Proverbs 19:2

10 – 11

“Men, I can see there will be a lot of trouble on this trip. The ship and the things in the ship will be lost. Even our lives may be lost!” But the captain and the owner of the ship did not agree with Paul. So the officer did not believe Paul. Instead, the officer believed what the captain and owner of the ship said.

It seems like a small thing, but when we make decisions by listening to people who do not know the Lord there will be trouble ahead. Psalm 1:1

12. And that harbor was not a good place for the ship to stay for the winter. So most of the men decided that the ship should leave. The men hoped we could go to Phoenix. The ship could stay there for the winter. Phoenix was a city on the island of Crete. It had a harbor which faced southwest and northwest.

They should not have started so late in the first place. Now they wanted to go to a bigger city so that they could enjoy themselves.

13. Then 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. We sailed very close to the island of Crete.

Just because something looks like a good idea does not mean that it is the best thing to do. Men who are walking with God can help you stay out of trouble if you listen to them. Do not keep going in the wrong direction just because it looks like a good idea. Make decisions by praying and reading the Word. Isaiah 58:5-9

14. But then a very strong wind named the “Northeaster” came from the island.

This storm is what we call a hurricane. Paul knew that Jesus had told him he was going to Rome. He could have thought about how God would protect him even as he did Jonah who was running from God. Paul could have also thought about this Psalm:

Men who go off to sea in ships, sailing the trade routes of the world. They see the LORD’s power in action, His powerful works on the deepest seas. He spoke, and the winds rose,
stirring up the waves. Their ships were tossed to the heavens and plunged again to the depths; the sailors cringed in terror.
They reeled and staggered like drunkards and were at their wits’ end. “LORD, help!” they cried in their trouble, and He saved them from their distress. Psalm 107:23–28

15 – 16

This wind took the ship and carried it away. The ship could not sail against it. So we stopped trying and let the wind blow us. We went below a small island named Cauda. Then we were able to bring in the lifeboat, but it was very hard to do.

Cauda is just south of Crete.

17. After 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.

They were swimming under the boat to tie ropes around it to hold it together. They were afraid that the wind would blow them to the coast of Africa and they would be trapped in the sand reefs.

18 – 19

The next day the storm was blowing us so hard that the men threw out some of the cargo. A day later we threw out the ship’s equipment.

They had to give up their dreams of making a lot of money. Luke had to help. The sailors would only throw away these things if there was no other choice.

20. For many days we could not see the sun or the stars. The storm was very bad. We lost all hope of staying alive—we thought we would die.

They lost track of time. When we are with people who do stupid things we suffer with them.

21 – 24

The men had gone without food for a long time. Then one day Paul stood up before them and said, “Men, I told you not to leave Crete. You should have listened to me. Then you would not have all this trouble and loss. But now I tell you to cheer up. None of you will die! But the ship will be lost.

Last night God’s messenger came to me. This is the God I worship. I am His. God’s messenger said, ‘Paul, do not be afraid! You must stand before Caesar. And God has given you this promise: He will save the lives of all those men sailing with you.’

The original language says, “God has given you all the men sailing with you as a gift!” This is the second time Jesus told Paul that he would be going to Rome (Acts 23:11).

25 – 26

So men, be cheerful! I trust in God. Everything will happen as his angel told me. But we will crash on an island.”
This reminds us that Jesus told His followers to get in a boat and go across the sea even though He knew that a storm was coming. If the Lord has told us to do something we do not need to worry about the storm. Mark 14:22
27 – 28

On the fourteenth night we were floating around in the Adriatic Sea. The sailors thought we were close to land. They threw a rope into the water with a weight on the end of it. They found that the water was 120 feet deep. They went a little farther and threw the rope in again. It was 90 feet deep.

A fathom is six-foot. Sailors throw ropes in the water with weights on them so that they can tell how deep the water is.

29. The sailors were afraid that we would hit the rocks, so they threw four anchors into the water. Then they prayed for daylight to come.

The pointed the boat facing the land. Maybe they started thinking about prayer after what Paul had said?

30 – 32

Some of the sailors wanted to leave the ship, and they lowered the lifeboat. These sailors wanted the other men to think that they were throwing more anchors from the front of the ship. But Paul told the officer and the other soldiers, “If these men do not stay in the ship, your lives cannot be saved!” So the soldiers cut the ropes and let the lifeboat fall into the water.

The sailors now saw Paul as the leader and the captain is not saying anything. Paul is letting them know that it will take all of them working together to save themselves. The men who were trying to take the small boat away did not trust what God had told Paul. Paul warned them that they would die if they tried to go out on their own.

33 – 38

Just before dawn Paul began asking all the people to eat something. He said, “For the past 14 days you have been waiting and watching. You have not eaten. Now I beg you to eat something. You need it to stay alive. None of you will lose even one hair off your heads.”

After he said this, Paul took some bread and thanked God for it before all of them. He broke off a piece and began eating. All the men felt better. They all started eating too. There were 276 people on the ship. We ate all we wanted. Then we began making the ship lighter by throwing the grain into the sea.

Paul was teaching them to trust God and to show that they believed His promise by letting go of their fear.

39 – 41

When daylight came, the sailors saw land. They did not know what land it was, but they saw a bay with a beach. They wanted to sail the ship to the beach, if they could. So 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. But the ship hit a sandbank. The front of the ship stuck there and could not move. Then the big waves began to break the back of the ship to pieces.

They saw a good place to bring the ship close to shore but they did not see the sandbank.

42 – 44

The soldiers decided to kill the prisoners so that none of them could swim away and escape. But Julius, the officer, wanted to let Paul live. He did not allow the soldiers to kill the prisoners. Instead he ordered everyone who could swim to jump into the water and swim to land. The rest used wooden boards or pieces of the ship. And this is how all the people made it safely to land.

If we are waking closely with the Lord He can use us to save others from trouble. As He protects us they can be protected.