Acts Chapter 27 Expository Thoughts and Considerations

Verse 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. This begins the longest “we” section in the book of Acts, demonstrating that Luke is again a part of the party traveling with Paul. It is uncertain what is meant by the words here translated “imperial regiment”. This Julius could possibly be Julius Priscus, mentioned by Tertullian as prefect under Vitellius.

Verse 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. Adramyttium was the name of a port on the coast of Mysia, just opposite the island of Lesbos. The ship will stop at many ports on the coast of Asia Minor before making the journey to Rome.

Some scholars believe that Luke and Aristarchus signed passed themselves off as Paul’s slaves to be allowed to accompany him on the ship. Aristarchus is further mentioned in Colossians 4:10 as Paul’s “fellow prisoner” – probably to be understood figuratively as one who aided Paul continuously in his imprisonment.

Verse 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.

Verse 4 -- From there we put out to sea again and passed to the lee of Cyprus because the winds were against us. We remark here on Luke’s knowledge of shipping terms, techniques and other nautical knowledge. The Etesian winds were blowing at this time, from the west and northwest, making it necessary to sail to the east side of the island to avoid sailing straight into the wind.

Verse When we had sailed across the open sea off the coast of Cilicia and Pamphylia, we landed at Myra in Lycia. There the centurion found an Alexandrian ship sailing for Italy and put us on board.

Verse 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.

Verse 8 -- We moved along the coast with difficulty and came to a place called Fair Havens, near the town of Lasea.

Verse Much time had been lost, and sailing had already become dangerous because by now it was after the Fast. 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.“ The fast refers to the day of atonement (Yom Kippur). Paul speaks here by the power of the Holy Spirit. They have the option of turning back or finding a safe port. But to go forward will be disastrous.

Verse But the centurion, instead of listening to what Paul said, followed the advice of the pilot and of the owner of the ship. 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. The Fair Havens port was little more than a small inlet, and not any protection for the winter. Also, there was no suitable town to show hospitality to the 276 people on board for the whole winter.

Verse – When a gentle south wind began to blow, they thought they had obtained what they wanted; so they weighed anchor and sailed along the shore of Crete. 14Before very long, a wind of hurricane force, called the "northeaster," swept down from the island. 15The ship was caught by the storm and could not head into the wind; so we gave way to it and were driven along. 16As we passed to the lee of a small island called Cauda, we were hardly able to make the lifeboat secure.

Luke himself seems to be involved in the work of trying to secure the ship’s boat. The experienced sailors were busy and there are obviously no unassigned passengers on board. The ship’s boat would have usually been towed behind the ship. Now it is likely mostly full of water and nearly impossible to get aboard the ship to save it from the storm.

Verse When the men had hoisted it aboard, they passed ropes under the ship itself to hold it together. Fearing that they would run aground on the sandbars of Syrtis, they lowered the sea anchor and let the ship be driven along. 18We took such a violent battering from the storm that the next day they began to throw the cargo overboard. 19On the third day, they threw the ship's tackle overboard with their own hands. 20When neither sun nor stars appeared for many days and the storm continued raging, we finally gave up all hope of being saved.

Strong ropes are then passed under the ship to gird it from side to side. The single mast on these wooden ships put tremendous strain on them. The girding would help strengthen the sides of the ship. It would have been akin, however, to putting a band-aid on a gaping wound. Lowering the sea anchor is a Greek phrase which is completely unclear. The KJV folks understood the phrase to mean taking down the main sail to lessen strain on the ship. There are many different views here, none of which are certain. The NAS translators understood lowering weights into the sea to slow the ship.

So strong is the storm and so battered is the ship that to lighten it and prevent it being swamped they begin to throw the cargo overboard. Here is definite desperation. The ship’s tackle follows – everything that is not absolutely essential to survival is jettisoned. Many days pass as this violent storm wreaks havoc on the ship – with neither sun by day or stars by night to show them their way. Even Luke joins in the desperation of the crew in fearing that there is no hope for survival. Every person aboard expects to die.

Verse After the men 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. 22But now I urge you to keep up your courage, because not one of you will be lost; only the ship will be destroyed. There is no opportunity during the desperate fight for survival for them to even eat a meal. Paul reminds them of his superior counsel.

Verse Last night an angel of the God whose I am and whom I serve stood beside me 24and 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.' 25So keep up your courage, men, for I have faith in God that it will happen just as he told me. 26Nevertheless, we must run aground on some island." Paul receives a visitation from an angel assuring him that all will be well. Yet the ship will be lost.

Verse On the fourteenth night we were still being driven across the Adriatic Sea, when about midnight the sailors sensed they were approaching land. 28They took soundings and found that the water was a hundred and twenty feet deep. A short time later they took soundings again and found it was ninety feet deep. 29Fearing that we would be dashed against the rocks, they dropped four anchors from the stern and prayed for daylight. It would usually be disastrous to run aground.

Dropping anchors from the stern is an attempt to stop the ship from being driven onto the shore. The idea is to wait for morning in the hopes of being able to see the land and aim for a suitable landing place – preferably a sandy beach. The Adriatic Sea is more properly the “sea of Hadria”, and refers to the central Mediterranean, where the island of Malta sits.

Verse 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. 31Then Paul said to the centurion and the soldiers, "Unless these men stay with the ship, you cannot be saved." 32So the soldiers cut the ropes that held the lifeboat and let it fall away. The sailors try to pull a fast escape, trusting the smaller boat to survive. The soldiers listen to Paul and stop the escape.

Verse 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. They had food, but had not eaten because of their perilous situation. Fourteen days of fasting would have made them very weak for the strenuous labor of swimming to shore. This is just before dawn on the fourteenth day of their journey from Fair Havens.

Verse 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." Paul knows this through Divine revelation. He has been told by the angel that no one will lose his life – if they stay with Paul. It speaks highly of their respect and trust in Paul that they listen to him and believe in what he says.

Verse 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. 36They were all encouraged and ate some food themselves. The fact that Paul gives thanks for the food in this perilous predicament speaks volumes about his faith and practice. All onboard partake in a meal – again listening to Paul and taking his advice.

Verse Altogether there were 276 of us on board. When they had eaten as much as they wanted, they lightened the ship by throwing the grain into the sea. At this point Luke tells us the exact number of people onboard the ship. The grain is now cast into the sea to further lighten the ship. It is possible that some grain was thrown overboard in verse 18, though it could have been all other cargo – saving the grain for worst case scenario.

Verse 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. Many scholars believe this to be modern day St. Paul’s Bay. However, W. Burridge opts for Mellieha Bay at the north end of the island which actually boasts a sandy beach. Bruce records an interesting mathematical/nautical study presented by James Smith, in his book Voyage and Shipwreck of St. Paul.

Results of his study: Made careful enquiries of experienced Mediterranean navigators. They helped him estimate the average mean drift rate of a ship of the type Paul was on, in a storm of the magnitude suggested by Luke. He arrived at a mean drift rate of 36 miles in a 24-hour period. The soundings recorded in verse 28 suggest the ship was passing Koura. From Clauda to Koura at such a drift would take 13 days, one hour and 26 minutes.

About 476 miles

Verse 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 They had no further use for the four anchors, so they simply cut them off and let them fall into the sea. They then untied the rudders so they would function for steering the ship again. They hoist the main sail to get as much speed as possible to run the ship aground.

Verse 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. What they could not know of see, was that there is a prominent sandbar of mud and clay in the mouth of St. Paul’s Bay. The bow stuck fast in the miry clay and would not budge loose. Meanwhile the unrelenting surf began to tear apart the stern of the ship.

We cannot fail to see the providence of God, who held the forward ship together until each person could get safely to the beach. Had one single person perished in this shipwreck, then Paul would have been branded as a false prophet. As it is, God did exactly what Paul said he would do.

Verse 42 – The soldiers planned to kill the prisoners to prevent any of them from swimming away and escaping. The soldiers are responsible for the prisoners. If a prisoner escapes, the soldier will lose his life. Understandably, they intend to slaughter all the prisoners. Again, we see the providence of God, who moves the centurion to save all of their lives in the interest of saving Paul’s life.

Verse – 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. The rest were to get there on planks or on pieces of the ship. In this way everyone reached land in safety. Now they all abandon ship. Prisoners, sailors and soldiers alike jump into the sea. Each makes his way to the beach as he is able – some on pieces of the battered ship, some swimming. All make it without loss of life.