ACTS 27
Read Acts 27:1-44
At last, after all the legal difficulties, Paul has got his wish and heads off, under tight military guard, to go to Rome. Chapter 27 is a very detailed report of the journey and all its mishaps, which I think gives it credibility. This is not a made up story, but an eye witness account of what actually happened. Throughout the narrative Luke says ‘we’, which suggests that Luke was there sharing Paul’s journey. And that journey was a bit complicated because the officer in charge, a centurion named Julius, had to get a series of ships to get Paul and everyone else to Rome.
There were several problems on this voyage. There was a delay because of strong winds blowing in the wrong direction (v7) and eventually a storm drove the boat off course (v15). The storm was so bad that the ship was in real danger and the crew had to throw both cargo and fittings overboard to lighten the load to give them a chance of survival (vv18-19). It was at this moment of extreme peril that Paul came forward. Remember that he was a prisoner and had no authority to speak, but he was an experienced sea traveller from his earlier missionary journeys. Paul had advised them earlier but was ignored (v21). This time, with disaster imminent, they took notice. Paul told all on board to “keep up your courage, because not one of you will be lost” (v22). How could he be so sure; how could he know that? The reason for Paul’s confidence was that he had been visited by an angel who had assured Paul of his survival and repeated God’s promise from before that he would get to Rome for trial before Caesar (Acts 23:11) and said that all Paul’s sailing companions would be saved.
Paul’s faith in God’s word again gave him the courage to speak up and convince all those around him who was really in charge. It wasn’t Caesar, it wasn’t the centurion, it wasn’t the captain of the ship; it was the one true God. Whatever the situation, whether a court of law or on board a ship in a raging storm, Paul took the opportunity to speak about God. He was also concerned about everybody’s physical welfare. No-one had eaten for a while because of the severity of the weather, and Paul, knowing that they were soon to be shipwrecked, encouraged them to eat to build up their strength for the coming ordeal. Paul was always very practical. He combined spirituality with practicality; faith with works. In this world, people generally think that if you do good things you will be rewarded by entering heaven. The Bible teaches us that this is back to front thinking. You enter the Kingdom of Heaven by believing in Jesus; your response to that is to do good works. Paul believed and trusted God when he said that all the ship’s complement would be saved. But he also recognised that certain practical measures had to be taken.
Paul was a man of faith, but also a man of action. Faith does not mean that we have to throw out common sense!