Acts of the Apostles (54)
Introduction
As we have gone through the book of Acts, we have had numerous occasions to notice just how tough the apostle Paul was. The shipwreck recorded in this chapter occurred about four years after the writing of 2 Corinthians. And in that book, Paul mentions three times he had been in previous shipwrecks, including one night and day adrift on the sea (2 Cor. 11:25). And that means that this shipwreck was his fourth one.
The Text
“And when it was determined that we should sail into Italy, they delivered Paul and certain other prisoners unto one named Julius, a centurion of Augustus’ band. And entering into a ship of Adramyttium, we launched, meaning to sail by the coasts of Asia; one Aristarchus, a Macedonian of Thessalonica, being with us. And the next day we touched at Sidon. And Julius courteously entreated Paul, and gave him liberty to go unto his friends to refresh himself. And when we had launched from thence, we sailed under Cyprus, because the winds were contrary . . .” (Acts 27:1-44).
Summary of the Text
When it was time to sail to Italy, Paul and some other prisoners were entrusted to a centurion of Caesar’s band named Julius (v. 1). They got on a ship from Adramyttium, and set off to sail past Asia—Paul, Luke and Aristarchus (v. 2; see Phile. 24; Col. 4:10). They stopped at Sidon in Phoenicia, and Julius let Paul go ashore to see friends (v. 3). Leaving there, they sailed under Cyprus because of the winds, perhaps a sign of trouble (v. 4). They arrived at Myra, where they changed ships (vv. 5-6). It might interest you to know that Myra was the city of the later fourth century bishop, St. Nicolas . . . so, the hometown of Santa Claus. They sailed west on the south side of Crete, again because of trouble with the wind (v. 7). With difficulty, they made it to Fair Havens near Lasea, in Crete (v. 8). Time was slipping away and sailing was now dangerous because it was early October, and so Paul warned against continuing (vv. 9-10). But Julius believed the shipmaster, and because Fair Havens was not commodious, they made for Phoenix, which was only about 50 miles to the west (vv. 11-12). A south wind came up and so they went for it (v. 13). But the weather turned vicious and they were caught by a sudden northern gale (v. 14). They had to just let the ship drive, had difficulty securing the skiff, and ran ropes under the hull (vv. 15-17). The next day they starting throwing things overboard (v. 18), and the day after that, they threw away the ship’s tackle (v. 19). After many days of no sun, no stars, they gave up all hope (v. 20). But then Paul addressed them all—he started by establishing his authority, then told them all to cheer up, as an angel had appeared to him. As Paul had to appear before Caesar, God had graciously granted the lives of all with him. So cheer up, he said, my appearance in Rome is going to happen, and so we will come upon a certain island (vv. 21-26).
So after two weeks in this storm, the sailors detected they were approaching land, and a couple of soundings showed it was getting shallower (vv. 27-28). They threw anchors out the stern for fear of hitting rocks, and longed for daylight (v. 29). The sailors pretended like they were going to place anchors off the bow, but they were actually going to abandon ship (v. 30). Paul saw through it and said that if they didn’t remain, then all would be lost—so the soldiers cut the ropes of the skiff (vv. 31-32). As daylight was breaking, Paul encouraged everyone to eat, and blessed the food (vv. 33-35). They all cheered up, 276 of them, all ate, and then threw the remainder overboard (v. 36-38).
When it was day, they didn’t know where they were, but decided to just drive toward the shore (vv. 39-40). The ship ran aground and then the stern started to break up in the waves (v. 41). The soldiers wanted to kill the prisoners to prevent any from escaping, but Julius said no in order to spare Paul (vv. 42-43). The centurion commanded that some of them should swim for it, and the others should float in with a plank (v. 43). And so it was that they all made it (v. 44). They had been blown in that tempest for almost 500 miles.
Paul’s Experience
Now Paul was an experienced sea traveler, and his cautions about sailing from Fair Havens were based on more than just jitters. He had been wrecked three times before, and so he had likely traveled successfully many more times than that. His advice was not followed in Fair Havens, and when he speaks again to the passengers, he is not boasting (“I told you so.”). He is establishing his credentials to speak because he is going to ask them to trust him about something new. First, he wants them to take courage (v. 22), and then a number of days later, he wants them to cheer up and to eat something (v. 34). All of this contributes to the increase of Paul’s authority.
Transfer of Authority
The centurion Julius was already a kindly man, as we can see in how he let Paul go visit his friends in Sidon (v. 3). However, although he is kind to Paul, he does not take his advice about remaining in Fair Havens (v. 11). But by the end of this episode, Paul is essentially in command of the ship. He tells all the people that they need to eat, and they do (vv. 34, 38). He tells the centurion that he must not let the sailors leave the ship, and the centurion follows his orders (v. 31). The centurion makes his plans around Paul (v. 43).
Before Caesar
The book of Acts ends with Paul under house arrest in Rome. Luke did not record an appearance before Caesar because when the book ends, that appearance has not happened yet. But we know that it did happen because an angel of God told Paul that he “must be brought before Caesar” (v. 24). So it is likely that Paul was released, especially considering the lameness of the charges against him, and continued to minister. A few years later, he was arrested again, brought back to Rome, and according to reliable historical accounts was there beheaded. Clement was Paul’s friend (Phil. 4:3), and in an extant letter that he wrote to the Corinthian church, he said that Paul made it to the westernmost part of the Empire. We know that Paul wanted to minister in Spain (Rom. 15:24, 28), but the westernmost part of the Empire was technically England—so that is also a possibility.
Foreordination and Free Agency
There are many examples of this kind of thing in Scripture, and in our daily lives, but this episode gives us a clear specimen of it. Paul knew, and told the passengers, that not one of them would perish (v. 22). There would be no loss of life. But later, when the sailors are attempting to escape, Paul tells Julius and the soldiers that if the sailors got away, then they could not be saved (v. 31). Notice how something can be settled—it is going to happen, they are going to be saved—but God still uses our decisions and actions as instruments that He uses toward that end.
So we should never confuse secondary causes with the Lord of all causes, who would be Christ. The fact that Christ is Lord of all providences does not make those providences superfluous.