Lechem Panim #236 “Setting Sail for Rome” (Acts 27:1-20) Pastor Cameron Ury

Hello and welcome to the show today! It is such a pleasure to have you with us again today as we study the Word of God together. In our study of the book of Acts, you will remember that Paul has recently stood trial before Festus in Caesarea. And (not getting justice) Paul has been forced to appeal to Caesar. And so he’s going to be transferred to Rome to be tried in Caesar’s court. And so it says in our passage today in…

Acts 27:1 (NKJV)— 1 And when it was decided that we should sail to Italy, they delivered Paul and some other prisoners to one named Julius, a centurion of the Augustan Regiment. 

Luke Returns— Now the word “we” here in the opening verse signals to us that Luke (who has been absent since 21:18) has now re-joined Paul and is accompanying him on this journey. Luke [had likely been living near Caesarea so he could care for Paul during his imprisonment.] But now he is with him again on his voyage to Rome. And you know, that can make all the difference in your life when you go through a trying time; somebody to walk with you. He’s kind of to Paul what Samwise Gamgee was to Frodo in Lord of The Rings. He was willing to walk with him through the worst of circumstances out of love for Paul. And it must have been such a strength to Paul to have Luke there with him. Now we see here that Paul is just one of many prisoners being transported to Rome. Some of these other prisoners may have appealed to Caesar like Paul did, or it could also be that these were prisoners were under the sentence of death and were therefore on their way to Rome to die as combatants in the Colosseum. We don’t know for sure. But it says in…

Acts 27:2 (NKJV)— 2 So, entering a ship of Adramyttium, we put to sea, meaning to sail along the coasts of Asia. {[Adramyttium was a city on the northwest coast of Asia Minor (modern Turkey) near Troas, where the centurion planned to find a ship sailing to Italy.] And it also says…} Aristarchus, a Macedonian of Thessalonica, was with us.

Aristarchus— Now if you don’t remember Aristarchus, he was the Christian who [had been dragged {by the crowd} into the theater at the beginning of the riot in Ephesus (19:29; 20:4; Philemon 1:24)] [while accompanying Paul to Jerusalem with the offering (20:4).] He would also be with Paul during his first Roman imprisonment. So both he and Luke are definitely fellow sufferers with Paul for the sake of Christ. Paul had some good friends. Now it says in…

Acts 27:3 (NKJV)— 3 And the next day we landed at Sidon. And Julius treated Paul kindly and gave him liberty to go to his friends and receive care. 

Julius— Julius was the Roman officer who had been assigned to guard Paul and would therefore have had to remain close to Paul at all times. But, as we can see, as he witnesses the kind of man Paul is, he comes to respect Paul deeply and gives him a generous degree of freedom. And we will see in verse 43 that he even spares Paul’s life. And that kind of makes you wonder, if someone was bound to you (day and night) for any significant period of time, would they (based on your righteous character) be moved into awe and respect, both of you but also of the God you claim to follow? That person stuck at the desk near you at work or beside you at school; your boss or whoever you are chained to daily (so to speak). Does your chain upon them pull them up to Christ or down and away? Or, for us married folks, how is your spouse drawn closer to Jesus because of you? If you are a spirit-filled, devoted, and loving person as Paul was, you will; marriage is a means of grace, ideally for both husband and wife.

Acts 27:4-8 (NKJV)— 4 When we had put to sea from there, we sailed under the shelter of Cyprus {(which means they sailed between it and the mainland)}, because the winds were contrary. {(And so they used Cyprus to help block the wind.)} 5 And when we had sailed over the sea which is off Cilicia and Pamphylia, we came to Myra, a city of Lycia. {And Myra was [One of the main ports of the imperial grain fleet, whose ships brought Egyptian grain to Italy.]} 6 There the centurion found an Alexandrian ship sailing to Italy {(which would have been one of the grain ships part of that fleet), significantly larger than their first ship}, and he put us on board. 7 When we had sailed slowly many days, and arrived with difficulty off Cnidus {(which was [on the southwest tip of Asia Minor, some 130 miles from Myra, which would have been their last port of call before sailing across the Aegean Sea to the coast of Greece), it says}, the wind not permitting us to proceed, we sailed under the shelter of Crete off Salmone {(so [again using the island to break the force of the wind])}. 8 Passing it with difficulty, we came to a place called Fair Havens {(a small port)}, near the city of Lasea.

A Dangerous Time To Sail— Now they have lost a lot of time, which was not good when you consider what time of year it was. You didn’t want to travel in the open sea between mid-September and mid-November if you could avoid it. In fact, all sea travel would cease between mid-November and February. And that was both because of sea conditions, but also because of sky visibility. Keep in mind that they didn’t have GPS or guidance systems or even compasses. No, ancient ships navigated using the stars. And if the weather is overcast, sailing would be both impossible and dangerous. And here we see that the Fast (which was Yom Kippur, the Day of Atonement) is already over; so early October (of A.D. 59, if you’d like to know) has already passed. The season for sailing is now over; and continuing on their journey would be very very perilous. And so it says…

Acts 27:9-10 (NKJV)— 9 Now when much time had been spent, and sailing was now dangerous because the Fast was already over, Paul advised them, 10 saying, “Men, I perceive that this voyage will end with disaster and much loss, not only of the cargo and ship, but also our lives.” 

Seen a Thing or Two— And Paul no doubt said this because he was anticipating their wanting to move onwards. But why would they listen to him? I mean he’s just the prisoner. Now he won’t be by the end of the story. At the end of the story roles become so reversed, everyone by that time will be following his leadership; but not yet. However, they probably should have listened to him. He had traveled by sea many many times before this and had actually already been shipwrecked at least three other times, which are accounted for in his writings (2 Cor. 11:25). And so that likely makes this one number four. Now I love the Farmer’s Bank slogan. Anybody know what it is? “We know a thing or two because (what?) we’ve seen a thing or two.” Well Paul would have been a good spokesperson for Farmer’s Bank, because “He knows a thing or two because he’s seen a thing or two.” Right? But unfortunately, they don’t listen to him. It says in…

Acts 27:11-12 (NKJV)— 11 Nevertheless the centurion was more persuaded by the helmsman and the owner of the ship than by the things spoken by Paul. 12 And because the harbor was not suitable to winter in, the majority advised to set sail from there also, if by any means they could reach Phoenix, a harbor of Crete opening toward the southwest and northwest, and winter there.

On To Phoenix— Now Phoenix wasn’t too far from there (some 40 miles). And that was a better place to winter in both because the harbor there [provided better shelter from the winter storms], but also because keep in mind that they have all this grain on board the ship. And so the owner’s probably thinking that if he can get the ship to a larger port, he can sell it. And the centurion is also looking at Phoenix as a much more suitable place for his men to winter in. And ultimately ([Because the ship was part of the imperial grain fleet…, Julius, not the helmsman nor {even} the ship’s owner, was the ranking official on board.]); and so the decision was ultimately his. And he’s said basically “Let’s go!”, so they went. And things seem pretty good at first. It says in…

Acts 27:13-14 (NKJV)— 13 When the south wind blew softly, supposing that they had obtained their desire, putting out to sea, they sailed close by Crete {(in other words, hugging it for protection. However, it says…)}. 14 But not long after, a tempestuous head wind arose, called Euroclydon.

Euroclydon— And this word, which kind of sounds like a creature you’d encounter in Jurassic Park 6, was the name given to [a strong, dangerous {northeasterly} windstorm greatly feared by those who sailed the Mediterranean.] In fact, that Greek word translated as tempestuous that is used to describe it [is the root of our word typhoon.] If this ship had been the Millennium Falcon, some crew member somewhere would have been saying, “I’ve got a bad feeling about this.” And rightly so, because the ship gets caught in this tempestuous typhoon. And it says in…

Acts 27:15-21 (NKJV)— 15 So when the ship was caught, and could not head into the wind, we let her drive. 16 And running under the shelter of an island called Clauda {(which was [An island 23 miles southwest of Crete])}, we secured the skiff with difficulty. {So they take advantage of the shelter of the island and [rig the ship for the storm by hauling the ship’s dinghy on board.]} 17 When they had taken it on board, they used cables to undergird the ship {(and this was a [procedure know and frapping. The cables, wrapped around the hull and winched tight, helped the ship endure the battering of the wind and waves.]}; and fearing lest they should run aground on the Syrtis Sands, they struck sail and so were driven. {The Syrtis Sands is a reference to the sandbars of Syrtis, a place of sandbars and shoals just off the northern coast of Africa, which was [much feared as a graveyard of ships.] You didn’t want to hit those.} 18 And because we were exceedingly tempest-tossed, the next day they lightened the ship. {So they are throwing overboard all unnecessary gear and cargo in order to lighten the ship.} 19 On the third day we threw the ship’s tackle overboard with our own hands. 20 Now when neither sun nor stars appeared for many days {(once again, meaning no navigation)}, and no small tempest beat on us, all hope that we would be saved was finally given up. 

Pulled With You— And next week we will see how they are ultimately delivered; and how God uses Paul to be the means of their deliverance. And he’ll deliver the ultimate “I told your so.” But what we are going to see emphasized over and over again is the fact that the reason they are saved is because of how they have become attached to Paul. And so, like I said before, I think that raises the question of what happens when people attach themselves to you and to me? Are they lifted up closer to Jesus? Are they pulled along with you on the mission God has given you? That is what Jesus meant when he called us to be the salt of the earth and the light of the world; we help lead people to redemption. And so my encouragement to you today is to be that redeeming force. Let every one of our interactions with people be tempered with the desire and intention to draw them closer to Jesus. Let’s do so. Amen.