Paul Sails For Rome
(Not a Missionary Journey)
Acts 27:1-12
Paul gets his wish to go to Rome to appear before Caesar. Agrippa thought it was a bad idea. According to his logic, Paul would have been set free by the lower court if he had not appealed to Caesar. Paul and some other prisoners were handed over to a centurion named Julius.
On the second day, Julius landed at Sidon to allow Paul to see some friends so they could give him things he needed. Two ships were involved in Paul’s sailing to Rome. The first ship was much smaller. The centurion found an Alexandrian ship sailing for Italy and put the prisoners on board. This ship was much larger for the deeper seas, strong winds, and the long voyage.
Even with the larger ship, the wind was keeping the ship from staying on course and there was difficulty sailing. They lost a lot of time, and the sailing became dangerous. Paul had been fasting during Yom Kippur (the Day of Atonement). He saw in the spirit that the voyage was going to be dangerous. He warned them. The centurion refused to listen. So, they continued to sail.
The Storm
Acts 27:13-26
At first, the wind was gentle, and everyone thought sailing would be fine. Before very long, a wind of hurricane force, known as a northeaster, swept down from the island. The ship was driven along by the wind, and it was hard to keep the lifeboat secure. The storm was so violent that the ship took such a beating from the storm that they began to throw the cargo overboard to lighten the ship. This was the same thing that was done in Jonah 1:5. For many days, darkness was all around because the storm continued. Those on the ship gave up hope of being saved.
The men had gone a long time without food. Paul stood up and reminded them that they should have taken his advice not to sail from Crete. Now he is urging them to be courageous and predicted that no lives would be lost; however, the ship would be destroyed. He revealed to them that he knows this because an angel of God stood beside him and told him not to be afraid because he must stand trial before Caesar, and all lives will be spared from the storm. Paul assured those on the ship that he had faith in God and it would happen just as he had been told (Acts 27:21-26).
The Shipwreck
Acts 27:27-44
On the fourteenth night, the ship was still in the storm. About midnight the sailors sensed they were approaching land. They discovered that the water was 120 feet deep. A short time later, they took soundings and discovered that the water was 90 feet deep. Since the water was not as deep, they knew they were approaching land, but they feared they would be dashed into the rocks.
Therefore, they dropped four anchors and prayed for daylight. In an attempt to leave the ship, the sailors let the lifeboat down into the sea, pretending they were going to lower some anchors from the bow. Paul persuaded the men to stay with the ship. Paul knew if the sailors saved themselves in the lifeboat, then the soldiers and passengers left on the ship would not be able to handle the ship themselves. So the soldiers cut the ropes to the lifeboat to prevent the sailors from leaving. It was better to lose the lifeboat than to let the sailors leave.
Paul urged everyone to eat because they had been in suspense for the last fourteen days and hadn’t eaten. Paul assured them that all would be saved and no one will lose a single hair from his head. Then Paul took some bread, gave thanks to God, broke it and ate some himself. All 276 people on board took some food and ate. After they had eaten, they lighten the boat by throwing grain into the sea.
When daybreak came, they could see a bench and a bay, but they could not make out the land. They cut loose the anchors and left them in the sea. They untied the ropes that held the rudders. Then they hoisted the foresail to the wind and made for the beach. 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.
The soldiers had planned to kill the prisoners to keep any of them from swimming away and escaping. However, the centurion wanted to spare Paul’s life and kept them from killing anyone. He ordered those who could swim to jump overboard first and get to land. The rest were ordered to get there on planks or on broken pieces of the ship. In this way, everyone reached land and were saved (Acts 27:42:44).
A lot of preachers have preached from Acts 27:42-44 using the subject “On Broken Pieces.” The focus of their messages is that even though you are in storms and have been shipwrecked, you can be saved if you hold on to broken pieces.
Questions
1. Check out Jonah 1:5 to see what happened on Jonah’s ship when compared to what happened on Paul’s ship.
2. Why were two ships involved in Paul’s trip to Rome?
3. When Paul broke the bread, prayed to God and ate it, did it remind you of some other event in the Bible and in your own church?
4. Why did the soldiers consider killing the prisoners when they approached land?
5. What life application comes to your mind when you read Acts 27:42-44? If you were preaching a sermon from that passage, what are some of the things you would say considering what happened on the sea with the ship and the shipwreck?
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