Lesson #32

• MEMORY VERSE: ACTS 27:25

• PAUL, HAVING APPEALED TO CAESAR FOR TRIAL, MUST NOW BE SENT TO ROME. THIS CHAPTER IS PAUL’S VOYAGE BY SEA TO ROME AS A PRISONER AMONG OTHER PRISONERS. HOWEVER, PAUL IS PROBABLY THE ONLY ROMAN CITIZEN AMONG THE PRISONERS. THE OTHER PRISONERS PROBABLY TRAVEL TO ROME FOR EXECUTION OR TO BECOME GLADIATORS FOR THE LIONS IN THE COLISEUM.
• JUST BECAUSE PAUL IS BOUND IN CHAINS, THE WORD OF GOD IS NOT BOUND.
• READ PHI 1:12
• BECAUSE THE BIBLE TEXT USES THE PLURAL WORD, “WE”, IT CAN BE ASSUMED THAT LUKE, THE AUTHOR OF THE BOOK IS WITH PAUL ON THIS JOURNEY.
• DR. LUKE LOVED THE SEA AND SAILING IT. HE KNEW THE LANGUAGE OF SAILING AND WRITES THE BEST ANCIENT DESCRIPTION OF A STORM AT SEA ON RECORD TODAY.

• READ ACT 27:1-8 PAUL SETS SAIL FOR ROME
• THE MAIN PARTS OF PAUL’S VOYAGE TO ROME:
• VERSES 1-8 A STORMY BEGINNING
• THE CENTURION JULIUS
• THIS ROMAN SOLDIER IS PAUL’S GUARD ON HIS TRIP TO ROME
• JULIUS IS A MEMBER OF AN ELITE “IMPERIAL REGIMENT” HAVING BEEN ASSIGNED DUTY TO THE EMPEROR. .
• YOU WILL NOTICE THAT THIS MAN IS VERY NICE TO PAUL. PAUL IS ALLOWED TO LEAVE THE SHIP AND VISIT CHRISTIANS IN TYRE AND SIDON. (3)
• PERHAPS JULIUS WAS A CHRISTIAN CONVERTED BY PAUL.
• ARISTARCHUS, THE MACEDONIAN FROM THESSALONICA (2)
• HE WAS A BELIEVER ALLOWED TO TRAVEL WITH PAUL AND DR. LUKE.
• WE HAVE MET THIS MAN BEFORE. HE WAS THE MAN THE CROWD SEIZED IN THE RIOT IN EPHESUS. HE HAD TRAVELED TO JERUSALEM WITH PAUL AND THE MONEY AS A CHURCH EMISSARY. (ACT 19:29; 20:4)
• ARISTARCHUS PROBABLY DID NOT TRAVEL WITH PAUL ALL THE WAY TO ROME. HE WAS PROBABLY JUST RETURNING HOME AND WENT PART OF THE WAY.
• THE SHIP HUGS THE COAST BECAUSE OF STORMS AS THEY PROCEED UP ALONG LEBANON AND THE SOUTHERN PART OF ASIA MINOR (TURKEY).
• THEY CHANGE SHIPS A MYRA.TO ONE JUST COME FROM ALEXANDRIA IN EGYPT.
• A VERY LARGE FLEET OF LARGE ROMAN GOVERNMENT SAILED BACK AND FORTH BRINGING GRAIN FROM ALEXANDRIA, EGYPT TO MYRA FOR ROME.
• THE SEASON FOR TRAVELLING ABOARD SHIP:
• PAUL’S SHIP ENCOUNTERS HEAVY WINDS AND STORMS BECAUSE THEY ARE TRAVELLING LATE IN THE SEASON. (9) (THE TIME IS APPROXIMATELY EARLY SEPTEMBER.)
• IT WAS CONSIDERED DANGEROUS TO SAIL THE MEDITERRANEAN AFTER THE MIDDLE OF SEPTEMBER. THEN ALL SHIPPING WAS CANCELLED FROM THE MIDDLE OF NOVEMBER UNTIL FEBRUARY BECAUSE OF THE SEASONAL STORMS.
• FROM MYRA TO CNIDUS WAS ONLY 130 MILES BUT BECAUSE OF SUCH STRONG HEADWINDS, IT TOOK SEVERAL DAYS TO SAIL IT.

• READ ACT 27:9-12 SEEKING A SAFER HARBOR
• THE MAIN POINTS OF PAUL’S VOYAGE TO ROME:
• VERSES 9-12
• BECAUSE OF SO MUCH LOST TIME TRYING TO SAIL AGAINST THE HEADWINDS, THE “DAY OF FAST” HAS PASSED.
• THIS IS THE JEWISH DAY OF ATONEMENT, WHICH NOW MAKES THE TIMING OF THEIR JOURNEY IN MID-OCTOBER.
• AT FAIR HAVEN AT THE EASTERN TIP OF THE ISLAND OF CRETE, PAUL OFFERS HIS ADVICE.
• WHAT DID PAUL KNOW ABOUT SAILING IN THE MEDITERRANEAN SEA?
• PAUL SAYS HE HAD SUFFERED 3 SHIPWRECKS (2COR 11:25), AND WE HAVE FOLLOWED HIM ON THREE MISSIONARY JOURNEYS ACROSS THIS SAME AREA.
• IT WAS NOT UNCOMMON FOR A SHIP’S CAPTAIN TO HOLD COUNSEL OF THOSE ABOARD AS TO PROCEDURE IN BAD WEATHER.
• PAUL ADVISES THAT THEY SPEND THE WINTER (3 ½ MONTHS) IN FAIR HAVEN.
• HOWEVER, THE SHIP OWNER AND THE CAPTAIN ARE AFRAID THE SHIP WILL NOT STAND UP IN PORT TO THE WINTER STORMS.
• THE CENTURION, JULIUS, HAS THE HIGHEST GOVERNMENT RANK ON BOARD, SO HE MAKES THE FINAL DECISION. THEY WILL SAIL ON TO PHOENIX.

• READ ACT 27:13-20 RIDING THE TYPHOON
• THE MAIN POINTS OF PAUL’S VOYAGE TO ROME:
• VERSES 13-20
• PHOENIX
• THIS WAS A WELL-PROTECTED HARBOR 60 MILES TO THE WEST ON THE SOUTH SHORE OF THE ISLAND OF CRETE.
• TYPHOON-TYPE WINDS BLOWING DOWN FROM 7,000 FT. PEAKS ON THE ISLAND OF CRETE SUDDENLY SURPRISED THE SHIP’S CREW.
• MEDITERRANEAN SAILORS HAD A NAME FOR THESE DESTRUCTIVE TYPHOON WINDS, EUROCLYDON, MEANING A NORTHEASTER:
• EURA = EAST WIND (GREEK).
• THE WIND COMES DOWN FROM OUT OF EUROPE.
• CLYDON (QUILO) = NORTH WIND (LATIN).
• THE WIND COMES FROM THE NORTH.
• THERE WAS NO GUIDING THE SHIP, AND THERE WAS NO TURNING SUCH A LARGE SHIP INTO THE WIND, SO THEY LET THE SHIP RUN BEFORE THE WIND.
• THEY MADE REPAIRS AT A SMALL ISLAND SOUTH OF CRETE CALLED CLAUDA.
• THE SHIP’S DINGHY HAD TO BE BAILED OF WATER AND BROUGHT ON BOARD SHIP.
• THIS WAS A SMALL BOAT FOR GOING ASHORE THAT WAS TIED TO THE MAIN VESSEL AND TRAILED THE SHIP TO SAVE DECK SPACE.
• BRACING CABLES WERE ADDED TO THE HULL PASSING THEM UNDER THE SHIP AND MAKING THEM TAUT ACROSS THE BEAM.
• THIS WAS STANDARD PRACTICE FOR REINFORCING THE HULL AT THAT TIME.
• THE GALE FORCE WINDS CONTINUED FOR MANY DAYS.
• THEY FIRST THREW THE CARGO OVERBOARD. WHEN THAT DID NOT HELP, ON THE THIRD DAY, THEY BEGAN TO THROW THE SHIP’S TACKLE OVERBOARD.
• ACCORDING TO DR. LUKE, THIS IS “NO SMALL TEMPEST”.

• READ ACT 27:21-26
• THE STORM CONTINUED ABOUT 12 DAYS. WITHOUT SEEING THE STARS AT NIGHT OR LAND BY DAY, THEY HAD NO IDEA WHERE THEY WERE. THEY COULD NOT NAVIGATE OR GUIDE THE SHIP. THEY WERE AT THE MERCY OF THE SEA. NEITHER COULD THOSE WHO WERE NOT SEASICK TAKE TIME TO EAT.
• BUT GOD IS IN CONTROL!
• THE ONLY HOPE FOR ALL THE SOULS ON BOARD WAS GOD THROUGH THE WORDS OF PAUL.
• WHAT IMPORTANT THINGS DOES PAUL SAY IN VERSES 21-26?
• PAUL TELLS THEM THEY SHOULD HAVE LISTENED TO HIM AND NOT LEFT CRETE.
• PAUL SPEAKS HIS FAITH IN A SOVEREIGN GOD:
• “…WHOSE I AM AND WHOM I SERVE…” (23)
• A PROPHETIC WORD:
• THE SHIP WILL BE LOST BUT NO LOSS OF LIFE. (22)
• THE PROPHETIC WORD OF HOPE COMES FROM THE WORDS OF AN ANGEL THAT VISITED PAUL IN THE NIGHT.
• THE ANGEL CONFIRMS THAT PAUL WILL REACH ROME.
• THE ANGEL CONFIRMS THAT ALL THOSE ON THE SHIP WILL BE SAVED FROM THE STORM TO BE CAST ONTO AN ISLAND.

• READ ACT 27:27-38
• THEIR LOCATION: AFTER 14 DAYS, THEY ARE IN THE ADRIATIC SEA (27), ALSO CALLED THE IONIAN SEA. THIS IS THE SEA BETWEEN GREECE AND ROME.
• THE LOCATION OF THE ISLAND: THIS IS ISLAND OF MELITA (NOW CALLED MALTA).
• THEY KNOW THEY ARE NEAR LAND BECAUSE THE DEPTH OF THE WATER DECREASES DRAMATICALLY, AND PROBABLY THEY CAN HEAR THE WAVES AGAINST THE ROCKY COAST.
• THEY WEIGH ANCHOR TO WAIT UNTIL MORNING.
• SOME OF THE CREW SECRETLY DECIDED TO TAKE THE DINGHY AND ABANDON SHIP TO SAVE THEIR OWN LIVES. PAUL INFORMS THE CENTURION OF THEIR PLAN.
• WHAT IMPORTANT THINGS DOES PAUL SAY IN VERSES 27-32?
• PAUL TOLD THEM IF THEY LEFT THE SHIP THEY WOULD DIE AT SEA. ONLY THOSE WHO STAYED IN THE SHIP WOULD BE SAVED.
• IT IS INTERESTING THAT THEY ALL LISTENED TO PAUL. WHY?
• HERE WAS A MAN WHO WAS NOT AFRAID. HE HAD THE CONFIDENCE OF THE PRESENCE OF GOD, AND THE CONFIDENCE OF HAVING SUPERNATURAL KNOWLEDGE.
• WHEN THE SOLDIERS CUT THE SMALL BOAT FREE TO FALL INTO THE SEA, THEY HAD NO OTHER CHOICE.
• WHAT IMPORTANT THINGS DOES PAUL SAY IN VERSES 33-38
• PAUL ENCOURAGES THEM ALL TO EAT A FULL MEAL, AS THEY WILL NEED THEIR STRENGTH IN THE MORNING.
• PAUL GIVES THANKS TO GOD BEFORE HE EATS.
• THE TOTAL NUMBER OF PEOPLE ON BOARD THIS SHIP = 276.
• AFTER EATING THEY FURTHER LIGHTENED THE LOAD OF THE SHIP SO IT WOULD RIDE FURTHER UP THE BEACH WITHOUT BREAKING UP.
• THE SIZE OF THESE HUGE GRAIN SHIPS WAS ABOUT 180 FEET LONG, 45 FEET ACROSS, AND 44 FEET IN DEPTH.

• READ ACT 27:39-44 FINALLY ON LAND
• AT DAYBREAK, THEY SAW THE ROCKY COAST AND A SMALL BAY, NOW CALLED ST. PAUL’S BAY. THERE WAS A NARROW ENTRANCE TO THE BAY AND A SANDY BEACH BEYOND THE ENTRANCE. IF THEY COULD MANEUVER THE SHIP INTO THE SMALL ENTRANCE TO THE BAY, THEY WOULD HAVE A BETTER CHANCE.
• WHAT THEY DID NOT KNOW WAS THAT THERE WAS A SUBMERGED SANDBAR IN THE MIDDLE OF THE BAY.
• THE SHIP BEGAN TO BREAK UP IMMEDIATELY. NOW EVERYONE MUST SWIM FOR HIS LIFE TO SHORE.
• HOWEVER, THE SOLDIERS WERE AFRAID THAT ALL THEIR PRISONERS WOULD ESCAPE AND THEY WOULD LOSE THEIR JOBS AND PERHAPS THEIR LIVES ONCE THEY GOT TO ROME. THEREFORE, THEY WANT TO KILL THE PRISONERS BEFORE THEY SWAM FOR SHORE.
• JULIUS, THE CENTURION, PREVENTS THE KILLING OF ALL THE PRISONERS. HE WANTS TO MAKE SURE PAUL STAYS ALIVE.
• JULIUS EVIDENTLY WAS HIGHLY INFLUENCED BY PAUL’S PROPHECY THAT ALL WOULD MAKE IT ALIVE.
• AS A RESULT, EVERYONE ON THAT SHIP OWED HIS LIFE TO PAUL, AND OF COURSE TO GOD.
• APPLICATION:
• WHAT DO YOU LEARN IN THIS CHAPTER ABOUT:
• FAITH
• FAITH IS A TWO SIDED COIN.
• ON THE ONE SIDE OF THE COIN OF FAITH IS THE PROMISES OF GOD.
• THESE PROMISES WE FIND IN HIS WORD.
• THESE PROMISES ARE SOMETIMES FOUND BY SPECIAL REVELATION AS WE HAVE HERE IN ACTS 27 BY AN ANGEL.
• ON THE OTHER SIDE OF THE COIN OF FAITH IS MAN’S RESPONSIBILITY TO ACT ON THOSE PROMISES.
• READ JAM 2:14-26
• DISCUSSION: WHAT WERE PAUL’S WORKS BASED ON HIS FAITH IN THE PROMISE THAT ALL ON THE SHIP WOULD BE SAVED?
• GOD’S PROTECTION:
• GOD’S PROTECTION IS PART OF GOD’S SOVEREIGN WILL. HE WILL PROTECT WHEN THAT PROTECTION IS PART OF HIS SOVEREIGN PLAN.
• GOD ALWAYS PROTECTS HIS PEOPLE TO FULFILL HIS PLAN FOR YOUR LIFE.
• GOD ALWAYS FULFILLS WHAT IS THE VERY BEST FOR YOUR LIFE.
• WHEN GOD DOES NOT PROTECT, WE CAN KNOW IT WAS NOT A PART OF GOD’S SOVEREIGN PLAN.
• NEITHER WAS IT THE VERY BEST FOR THAT PERSON’S LIFE.
• NEITHER WAS GOD UNABLE OR UNWILLING TO PROTECT.
• HOWEVER, WE CAN BE ASSURED THAT GOD IS SOVEREIGN AND NOTHING CATCHES HIM BY ACCIDENT.
• PROPHECY
• PROPHECY LIKE HEALINGS AND MIRACLES IS OFTEN AN ADVERTISEMENT OF THE GOSPEL.
• IT PROVES GOD’S ALL-KNOWING CHARACTER.
• IT PROVES GOD’S SOVEREIGN POWER TO CONTROL AND BRING ABOUT EVENTS.
• IT PROVES THAT GOD’S LOVE AND CONCERN FOR MAN IS SUFFICIENT ENOUGH TO WARN PEOPLE.
• LIFE ON EARTH IS A TEMPEST TOSSED SEA WITH MANY DANGERS ON EVERY SIDE. WE ARE LIKE THAT ONE SMALL BOAT RIDING OUT THE STORMS OF LIFE. WE NEED TO STAY ON BOARD WITH JESUS CHRIST AS THE CAPTAIN OF OUR SALVATION (HEB 2:10) AND NOT PANIC AND BAIL OUT LIKE THE CREW ON PAUL’S SHIP. IF WE HAVE FAITH IN JESUS CHRIST AS THE ANCHOR OF OUR FAITH (HEB 6:19) TIED TO GOD’S THRONE ROOM, WE WILL COME THROUGH THE STORMS OF LIFE, VICTORIOUS AND SAVED!

HOMEWORK
ACTS 28
THIS IS A SELF-STUDY. PLEASE DO NOT SEND HOMEWORK ANSWERS TO THE TEACHER FORCORRECTION.

• APPLICATION FOR ACT 27
• WHAT FEARS IN THE STORMS OF LIFE DO YOU WANT TO PLACE AT JESUS’ FEET TODAY?

• PRAY AND ASK HIM TO TAKE THESE FEARS AND GIVE YOU PEACE IN THE MIDST OF THE STORM.

• PREPARATION FOR ACT 28
• READ ACT 28:1-31
• OF WHAT SIGNIFICANCE IS THE MIRACLE WITH THE SNAKE?

• HOW DOES PAUL USE THE PHRASE, “THE HOPE OF ISRAEL” (20)? 

• NOTICE THE REFERENCE TO “THE KINGDOM OF GOD” IN VERSE 23. HOW DOES THE REST OF THE VERSE EXPAND ON THE MEANING OF THIS PHRASE?

• WHAT WORDS IN VERSE 31 EXPAND ON THE MEANING OF THE “KINGDOM OF GOD”? 

• WHAT DO YOU THINK THE “ONE WORD” WAS THAT PAUL SPOKE? (25)

• WHAT DOES THE OLD TESTAMENT QUOTATION OF ISA 6:9-10 TEACH?

• IN THINKING ABOUT THE WHOLE STUDY IN THE BOOK OF ACTS, WHAT ONE LIFE-CHANGING THING DID YOU DISCOVER?

• MEMORY VERSE: 2COR 4:10