Havasu Christian Church
October 16, 2022
Acts 27:8–28:10
Luke’s Travelogue of terror!
INTRO: In the 17 and 1800s, the enormity of our planet was becoming more commonly known. People were interested in the world around them, but most had no real ability to travel to far-away places. Books written by those who did travel were highly sought after. People lived vicariously through the travels of others.
This was also true much before this. Even without knowing anything about the continents of North America or South America, it was still a VERY big world. I have to wonder, when reading this passage today, if Luke had read the writings of some of these travelers. His description of what happened paints an amazing word picture of what it was like to have been on this ship.
a. Paul has been imprisoned by the Romans for more than two years.
i. The Jewish leaders had accused him of starting a riot in the temple.
ii. There is a plot to kill him by 40 men.
iii. In order to foil the plot, Paul is transferred at night to Caesarea to save his life.
b. Paul appears before multiple Roman officials with no relief in sight.
i. Paul decides it’s time to move things along.
ii. Paul “Appeals to Caesar.
i. Every Roman citizen had the right to make their case before Caesar.
a. Paul is sent to Rome.
i. It’s a short plane ride now. $159.00 for a one way ticket on El Al Israel airlines. It’s a 3 hour and 40 minute flight and it leaves at 2:50 in the afternoon. Sounds good! There’s even a snack on the plane!
ii. But then it was a VERY difficult journey! The voyage would take months, if you were lucky. Longer if you weren’t so lucky!
* This is where we pick up with Paul and Luke. They have already done part of the voyage, but now things are about to get “sticky!”
Acts 27:8–24 and with difficulty sailing past it we came to a place called Fair Havens, near which was the city of Lasea. 9 When considerable time had passed and the voyage was now dangerous, since even the fast was already over, Paul began to admonish them, 10 and said to them, “Men, I perceive that the voyage will certainly be with damage and great loss, not only of the cargo and the ship, but also of our lives.” 11 But the centurion was more persuaded by the pilot and the captain of the ship than by what was being said by Paul. 12 Because the harbor was not suitable for wintering, the majority reached a decision to put out to sea from there, if somehow they could reach Phoenix, a harbor of Crete, facing southwest and northwest, and spend the winter there.
(I) The voyage of terror
a. To say this ship has trouble would be a gross understatement!
i. Had I been one of these sailors, this probably would probably have been my last voyage!
1. I’d learn a safer trade, like taming lions, or wrestling bears.
b. The trip began innocently enough… no problems…
i. They make it to small bay, “Fair Havens.”
1. “Fair” havens was an accurate name. Not a good bay, just a “fair” one.
a. The bay offers very poor shelter from the sea. There is no port and the nearest town is a 2 hour walk away.
2. It’s late in the sailing season… it’s dangerous to continue on. But there is a discussion about going on, hoping to reach the port called Phoenix.
a. Paul, not a sailor, objects.
i. “I perceive” that there will be great loss if we continue, both to cargo & people.
1. This sounds to me like Paul “putting in his two cents.” Not revelation from God.
2. The Centurion, is persuaded by the Captain and the Pilot.
3. The majority of those involved in making the decision reach a decision to continue. Onward they will go!
c. Things go terribly wrong!
13 When a moderate south wind came up, supposing that they had attained their purpose, they weighed anchor and began sailing along Crete, close inshore. 14 But before very long there rushed down from the land a violent wind, called Euraquilo; 15 and when the ship was caught in it and could not face the wind, we gave way to it and let ourselves be driven along. 16 Running under the shelter of a small island called Clauda, we were scarcely able to get the ship’s boat under control. 17 After they had hoisted it up, they used supporting cables in undergirding the ship; and fearing that they might run aground on the shallows of Syrtis, they let down the sea anchor and in this way let themselves be driven along.
i. They think they have caught a break, but the wind almost immediately changes! FOR THE WORSE!
1. They couldn’t turn to face the wind… they would likely have capsized trying!
a. Instead they let the wind drive them!
i. They get a bit of a respite; they are able to bring aboard the ship’s boat, and they wrap cables around the underside of the ship to help hold her together! They let down a “sea anchor” to help slow them down.
1. This greek word, Skeuos, has the idea of “a vessel, of any material, serving a specific purpose” But apparently it’s a Sea fairing term. It’s been translated many ways. It might have been the yard arm, the beam that the sail hangs from. Others think it means to take down the sail. With its original meaning of some kind of container, I suspect the NASB has the right idea. A sea anchor is similar to a parachute, but it’s dropped in the water to slow your speed. It also helps keep the ship from turning and being capsized.
i. Whatever it means, they have done all they can to help keep the ship afloat.
d. Things go from very bad, to even worse!
18 The next day as we were being violently storm-tossed, they began to jettison the cargo; 19 and on the third day they threw the ship’s tackle overboard with their own hands. 20 Since neither sun nor stars appeared for many days, and no small storm was assailing us, from then on all hope of our being saved was gradually abandoned.
i. You don’t toss the cargo overboard unless you are pretty sure you’re going to die if you don’t!
ii. Same with the “ship’s tackle.”
1. If you don’t have ropes, pulleys, etc. how will you sail on if you survive?
iii. They can’t see the sun, they can’t see the stars. No way to navigate. They have no idea where they are at. Are they nearing the shallows, are they going to run aground?
iv. The men are losing hope!
e. Paul offers hope!
21 When they had gone a long time without food, then Paul stood up in their midst and said, “Men, you ought to have followed my advice and not to have set sail from Crete and incurred this damage and loss. 22 “Yet now I urge you to keep up your courage, for there will be no loss of life among you, but only of the ship. 23 “For this very night an angel of the God to whom I belong and whom I serve stood before me, 24 saying, ‘Do not be afraid, Paul; you must stand before Caesar; and behold, God has granted you all those who are sailing with you.’ 25 “Therefore, keep up your courage, men, for I believe God that it will turn out exactly as I have been told. 26 “But we must run aground on a certain island.”
i. Paul has an “I told you so” moment.
1. See, even Paul wasn’t always as good and kind as he should have been!
2. I’ve got good news, and bad news….
3. The good news: I’ve received promises from “The God that God to whom I belong and whom I serve.”
a. An angel is sent with a message.
i. Do not be afraid!
ii. God has a job for you to do.
iii. God has promised not only to save Paul, but everyone with him!
4. Keep up your courage!
5. The Bad news: We are going to run aground on an island!
f. Paul’s prophecy begins to come true.
27 But when the fourteenth night came, as we were being driven about in the Adriatic Sea, about midnight the sailors began to surmise that they were approaching some land.
28 They took soundings and found it to be twenty fathoms; and a little farther on they took another sounding and found it to be fifteen fathoms. 29 Fearing that we might run aground somewhere on the rocks, they cast four anchors from the stern and wished for daybreak. 30 But as the sailors were trying to escape from the ship and had let down the ship’s boat into the sea, on the pretense of intending to lay out anchors from the bow, 31 Paul said to the centurion and to the soldiers, “Unless these men remain in the ship, you yourselves cannot be saved.” 32 Then the soldiers cut away the ropes of the ship’s boat and let it fall away.
i. The crew can hear breakers and begin taking “soundings.”
1. 20 fathoms = 120 feet, 15 fathoms = 90 feet.
ii. The crew decides this is a good time to escape in the ship’s boat.
1. They make a pretense of putting out anchors at the bow, but they are going to take their chances in the boat.
a. Apparently, there was more to what the Angel said… It’s everybody or nobody.
b. The Centurion believes Paul. The ropes are cut and the small boat is gone!
g. Paul spends the entire rest of the night, encouraging everyone, even the sailors who would have abandoned them!
33 Until the day was about to dawn, Paul was encouraging them all to take some food, saying, “Today is the fourteenth day that you have been constantly watching and going without eating, having taken nothing.
34 “Therefore I encourage you to take some food, for this is for your preservation, for not a hair from the head of any of you will perish.” 35 Having said this, he took bread and gave thanks to God in the presence of all, and he broke it and began to eat. 36 All of them were encouraged and they themselves also took food. 37 All of us in the ship were two hundred and seventy-six persons.
i. There are 276 souls on board.
ii. They’ve been at this for 14 days now.
1. They haven’t been eating, they have gone without sleep!
iii. Paul tells them of God’s promise that they will all come through safely.
iv. Then Paul sets the example.
1. He gives God thanks.
2. He tears off a chunk of bread and eats.
3. People are encouraged, and they eat!
a. Now they will have some strength for what lies ahead!
h. The final preparation.
38 When they had eaten enough, they began to lighten the ship by throwing out the wheat into the sea. 39 When day came, they could not recognize the land; but they did observe a bay with a beach, and they resolved to drive the ship onto it if they could. 40 And casting off the anchors, they left them in the sea while at the same time they were loosening the ropes of the rudders; and hoisting the foresail to the wind, they were heading for the beach. 41 But striking a reef where two seas met, they ran the vessel aground; and the prow stuck fast and remained immovable, but the stern began to be broken up by the force of the waves. 42 The soldiers’ plan was to kill the prisoners, so that none of them would swim away and escape; 43 but the centurion, wanting to bring Paul safely through, kept them from their intention, and commanded that those who could swim should jump overboard first and get to land, 44 and the rest should follow, some on planks, and others on various things from the ship. And so it happened that they all were brought safely to land.
i. They spend the rest of the night throwing the last of the cargo overboard.
1. You can’t sell it if you are dead.
a. They are doing all they can.
ii. They are able to see a beach and cut loose the anchors to beach the ship.
iii. Instead, they hit a “reef.”
1. Where they likely went in, there is a channel between an island and the mainland. It moves silt into the bay that is near the surface and is very easy to get stuck in.
2. They do get stuck.
iv. The soldiers plan to kill the prisoners.
1. Prison reform had not yet come to Rome.
a. If you lost a prisoner, you could wind up serving his sentence. Most likely death.
i. If you killed a prisoner, it wasn’t that big of a deal.
1. The Centurion has evidently become a friend to Paul and orders them not to do this. Instead, he has the soldiers who can swim go first, so they can round up the prisoners when they come ashore.
a. Everyone else was told to grab something to help them float and follow.
(II) Even the aftermath of the storm has it’s scary parts!
a. Things start out well enough…
28:1-10 When they had been brought safely through, then we found out that the island was called Malta. 2 The natives showed us extraordinary kindness; for because of the rain that had set in and because of the cold, they kindled a fire and received us all.
i. As the Angel said, everyone comes through unharmed!
1. Pretty amazing!
ii. The natives of the island are kind.
1. Folks are warming themselves around a fire.
b. We have trouble again!
3 But when Paul had gathered a bundle of sticks and laid them on the fire, a viper came out because of the heat and fastened itself on his hand. 4 When the natives saw the creature hanging from his hand, they began saying to one another, “Undoubtedly this man is a murderer, and though he has been saved from the sea, justice has not allowed him to live.” 5 However he shook the creature off into the fire and suffered no harm.
i. Paul, being a helpful person, gathers a bunch of fuel for the fire.
1. He manages to grab a snake, a viper, along with the wood he’s scooped up.
a. He is bitten on the hand, and he shakes the snake off into the fire.
ii. The natives see all this, they assume that they know what’s going on.
1. This guy is obviously a murderer, and the “g” gods are out to get him.”
2. Poseidon blew his chance, but the goddess Justice, has come to take him out.
a. In Greek mythology, the goddess Justice lived up to her name. She was believed to administered justice where it was due.
iii. The natives are disappointed.
6 But they were expecting that he was about to swell up or suddenly fall down dead. But after they had waited a long time and had seen nothing unusual happen to him, they changed their minds and began to say that he was a god.
1. Not that they necessarily wanted Paul dead, but their expectation was not met.
a. He suffered no ill effects from the poison.
b. The natives decide that he must be a god.
c. The story ends on a happy note!
7 Now in the neighborhood of that place were lands belonging to the leading man of the island, named Publius, who welcomed us and entertained us courteously three days. 8 And it happened that the father of Publius was lying in bed afflicted with recurrent fever and dysentery; and Paul went in to see him and after he had prayed, he laid his hands on him and healed him. 9 After this had happened, the rest of the people on the island who had diseases were coming to him and getting cured. 10 They also honored us with many marks of respect; and when we were setting sail, they supplied us with all we needed.
i. Can you imagine a better ending?
1. Paul, Luke and probably the whole crew and the whole group of passengers are cared for by Publius, leading man of the city.
2. Paul is given the chance to heal the father of Publius.
a. Paul prays. (to see if God wanted this healing to take place?)
i. Paul lays his hands on the man.
ii. The man is instantly healed.
3. Word gets around!
a. “This guy who got bitten by a poisonous snake and didn’t even swell up, just healed a VERY sick man!”
i. “Maybe he can heal my aunt Sophie!?!?”
b. People come from all over the island to be cured of diseases.
c. Luke does not specifically say this, but I cannot imagine that Paul and Luke shared the Gospel, right along with treating and healing the sick.
i. According to Maltese Christian tradition, Publius' conversion led to Malta being the first Christian nation in the West.
CONCLUSION: What lessons should we learn from this “scary, true story?”
* Tragic circumstances befall pagans and Christians alike!
Being a Christian doesn’t protect us from the world around us!
In fact, sometimes bad things happen to help us grow, to allow us to be an example, or to put us in a situation where we can Minister to someone else.
* As Christians, no matter how dire the circumstances, we have no need to fear!
Just as Paul was told “Do not be afraid” by the Angel, we can trust that we will live to fulfill what God has for us to do, and that when we are ready to “retire from Service” that God will bring us home!
* Don’t get too comfortable.
Just when things seem “sorted out,” remember, there’s probably a snake in the bundle of wood!
This life is training for the next one… the one that will last for eternity. Don’t expect things to get easier. There’s more coming!
* God does however, give us times of refreshing when we really need them!
Paul and Luke spend 3 months on Malta, being well treated, and helping people. If Maltese history is to be believed, a church was started there and grew until the whole island was full of believers!
WHAT DOES GOD HAVE FOR YOU TO DO BEFORE YOU DIE AND GO HOME?
