Walking Through Acts

Last week we ended with the account of Paul standing before King Agrippa and

Governor Festus turning that auditorium into a Church. The man standing

accused, standing on the firm foundation of the gospel and preaching it with all

clarity and sincerity. At the end of it all, Paul was found innocent and free from all

charges in the eyes of King Agrippa. But since, Paul has already appealed to

Caesar, he was bound to go there. Today, we join him on this journey that is full of

challenges and hardships, but also victories and triumphs.

Acts 27:1

And when it was decided that we should sail for Italy, they delivered Paul and

some other prisoners to a centurion of the Augustan Cohort named Julius.

Now this is a very important moment in the book of Acts that we shouldn’t gloss

over. This verse begins the longest “we” section in Acts. And of course, who is this

“we” that is spoken of here? Well, it is our author, Luke. Luke is the author of Acts

as we’ve established at the beginning of our series and have reaffirmed

periodically throughout our study. And it is here that we get firsthand experience

from Luke as he describes the events that take place right before his very eyes.

And because of this, we are able to put ourselves right into Luke’s sandals and

walk where he walked, see what he saw and experience what he experienced.

Now remember, Luke was a physician. He was a doctor. And so, you may see the

utility in having someone accompany you with that specific knowledge and

skillset. And some may think, well why would the Romans allow someone like

Luke to accompany Paul? One speculation is that it is for the very same reason

mentioned above. I’m sure a physician would be more than welcome to come

aboard for the benefit of everyone on the ship. Luke, not only a doctor by

profession, was a writer used by God to record in detail the things we have been

reading and spending much of our time in for over a year now.I want to draw our attention to something that I found quite insightful when

engaging in this historical narrative focused on Paul’s journey to Rome.

Reece,

“The account of Paul’s voyage to Rome is like no other story in all the Bible. In it

the reader’s attention is directed, not to spiritual truths and acts of devotion, but

rather to such mundane things as ships and seas, winds and waves, islands, towns,

and harbors. Altogether Luke has given a description of first century ships and

seamanship surpassing anything else in extant Greek and Roman

literature…Elsewhere in Acts he had presented the apostles as men devoted to a

single, high, and holy purpose – saints in the truest sense of the word. Saints,

however, are often thought to be impractical dreamers, helpless in the face of

hard facts and physical emergencies. Whether or not it was Luke’s original intent

to do so, this chapter answers the challenge that “saints are sissies,” finally and

firmly. It tells of a man who began a voyage as a prisoner among other prisoners,

but who gradually assumed a position of respect and even command. And his cool

courage, common sense, and resourcefulness set him apart again and again under

increasingly dangerous circumstances…The chain of circumstances by which God

accomplished His purpose of having Paul preach the Gospel at Rome was nearly

complete. The plots of the unbelieving Jews had resulted in Paul’s arrest; the quick

thinking and acting of the Roman officer Claudius Lysias, had prevented Paul’s

death. The avarice of Felix, the indecision of Festus, the prudence of Paul, and the

provision made by the empire for the protection of its citizens all operated

together to keep Paul in custody and bring him to the sea voyage that was to end

in Italy.”

This is not only a review of the events that have led us up to our reading for today,

but it also sets the stage for what is going to happen. Fellow Christians, why do I

find this account of Paul’s life so fascinating? This is basically the story arc from the

movie, Gladiator. A slave who rose in the ranks and gained the respect from all

who had an encounter with him, friend or foe.

Paul, a man, if you had first met him at this point in his life, a man in chains

probably didn’t strike you as a man of influence. Remember that in Lystra,

Barnabas was looked to as Zeus and Paul, Hermes. Barnabas was the muscle, and

Paul the spokesman. In other words, Paul was a man who was unassuming (justlike many of us.) But Paul had something in him, that spark, that conviction in his

eyes and a spirit about him that distinguished him from the crowd. It is very

reminiscent of the story we learned about when we were children. David being

chosen by God through the prophet Samuel. A kid who was unassuming, chosen

over his brothers to be the next king of Israel. And David’s brothers looked the

part, but they didn’t have the heart. God “man looks on the outward appearance,

but the Lord looks on the heart.” (1 Samuel 16:7) And it was David who stood

against Goliath when everyone else shook in their armor. Why? Because David

had God with him. Many centuries later, we see a similar thing here with this man

Paul. He was a man on a mission, and nothing shook him because he knew God

was right there with him.

Paul found himself on a ship amongst other prisoners. Now these prisoners were

distinguished from Paul with this qualifying word “other” which is translated from

the Greek word, “heteros” (other of a different kind.) So, they were prisoners like

Paul, but they were unlike Paul somehow. We can conclude that they were not like

Paul in the sense that their reason for being on this ship was not because they

stood accused and had appealed to Caesar, but that they were already

condemned men, likely headed to the gladiator arena. Such was the fate of many

prisoners in that time.

Acts 27:2

2 And embarking in a ship of Adramyttium, which was about to sail to the ports

along the coast of Asia, we put to sea, accompanied by Aristarchus, a Macedonian

from Thessalonica.

Here, we discover that the kind of vessel they were on was a coastal vessel. One

that could easily go from port to port without any trouble and we also see a

familiar name, Aristarchus. Aristarchus was with Paul when they brought the

offerings to Jerusalem. We don’t know for what reason he is there, some have

speculated that he is a prisoner himself being taken to Rome, and others think

that he merely accompanied Paul on his journey to Rome until they came to

Thessalonica where he would return home. None of the answers to these

questions really has any bearing on this account.One point I would like to make is what a difference it makes when you have

friends by your side whenever you’re going through trials in life. Whenever you’re

facing uncertainty, you have those who weather the storms with you, for no

benefit of their own but to show support and to give encouragement, and that is

something no one can put a price tag on.

Acts 27:3

3 The next day we put in at Sidon. And Julius treated Paul kindly and gave him

leave to go to his friends and be cared for.

Julius is the centurion of the Augustan cohort who holds the authority and is

responsible for the oversight in a successful transport back to Rome. And the text

tells us that Julius treated Paul kindly. Directly following is one example of how

this kindness was demonstrated. While at port at Sidon, Paul was allowed to go to

his friends (likely fellow Christians) to be cared for. In this use of the phrase “to be

cared for” is used in the medical sense. Perhaps being in prison for over two years

and the beatings that he had endured, it makes sense to us that this was

necessary for Paul to receive medical attention. Paul must have made an

impression on Julius, for it is very unlikely that the other prisoners were given the

same luxury and treatment. This isn’t the only time Paul has made a favorable

impression on those he was around; Gallio in chapter 18, the Asiarchs (officials) in

chapter 19; through Paul’s conduct garnered a respect that wasn’t afforded to him

many times by the Jews.

In our world today, there will always be people who are going to oppose

Christianity for whatever reason. However, there are those that we pass by in the

grocery store, or on our walks to the park, or sitting close to in the coffee shop

who don’t know Christ yet, but if given the opportunity may be won to faith in

him. Does our conduct in public, not just in church on Sundays, show the world

something different in a positive way, something to aspire to, something that they

would want for themselves? They may not be able to put words to it, but as they

observe the way in which you live, would they say, there’s something different

about you, and I want that for myself? I want that for my family?

We live in a time where Christianity is under so much scrutiny. We live in a culture

where historical Christian values are deemed immoral. There is an overall lack oftrust in the Church and in institutions in general. And perhaps, there are some

legitimate reasons for that. It didn’t used to be this way.

I heard a gentleman describe once, that as a child, his family would go to a

Christmas tree farm to buy a tree every year during the Christmas season.

Through conversation between his dad and the owner, the he found out that the

dad was a preacher. The owner didn’t hesitate to give a generous discount on the

Christmas tree from that time forward. We don’t live in that world anymore,

generally speaking. Here’s the good news. We have the ability to flip the script.

Wherever we go and in whatever we do, small and great, public perception of

Christianity is shaped, for better or worse. Just as I shared last week from

Philippians 1:27, let us live our lives worthy of gospel.

Acts 27:4-5

4 And putting out to sea from there we sailed under the lee of Cyprus, because

the winds were against us. 5 And when we had sailed across the open sea along

the coast of Cilicia and Pamphylia, we came to Myra in Lycia.

A stricter rendering of this phrase, “under the lee of Cyprus” is simply, “under the

shelter of Cyprus.” There were winds blowing from the west and northwest and so

it makes sense to take advantage of the natural barrier to sail along the island’s

eastern coast to mitigate the strength of the wind and its effect on the ship.

Acts 27:6

6 There the centurion found a ship of Alexandria sailing for Italy and put us on

board.

If you’ve ever flown, in the same way that we change planes if there’s a layover,

sometimes going from a larger plane to a smaller plane or a smaller plane to a

larger one, Julius has his crew and the prisoners disembark the small coasting

vessel to go aboard this great ship from Alexandria. This ship would have likely

been a grain transport ship as Egypt was the largest grain producer in the ancient

world. The amount of grain being transported from Egypt to Rome would have

been enormous, hence the ship would have been built for such large loads and forbeing able to weather storms. It was very common to transport prisoners on these

grain ships.

Acts 27:7-8

7 We sailed slowly for a number of days and arrived with difficulty off Cnidus, and

as the wind did not allow us to go farther, we sailed under the lee of Crete off

Salmone. 8 Coasting along it with difficulty, we came to a place called Fair Havens,

near which was the city of Lasea.

It is here in this place called Fair Havens that we witness a very important

moment. It is a scene that we should carve out a space in our memories to

remember because of the lessons we can learn from the following verses.

Acts 27:9-12

9 Since much time had passed, and the voyage was now dangerous because even

the Fast was already over, Paul advised them, 10 saying, “Sirs, I perceive that the

voyage will be with injury and much loss, not only of the cargo and the ship, but

also of our lives.” 11 But the centurion paid more attention to the pilot and to the

owner of the ship than to what Paul said. 12 And because the harbor was not

suitable to spend the winter in, the majority decided to put out to sea from there,

on the chance that somehow, they could reach Phoenix, a harbor of Crete, facing

both southwest and northwest, and spend the winter there.

Reece,

“Sailors on the Mediterranean called the days between September 14 and

November 11 as the “dangerous” season; it was a sail-at-your-own-risk” period.

From November 11 until about March 10 all navigation on the Mediterranean

ceased.”

It is still this way today (unsurprisingly), but another reminder that the things we

read in our Bibles are about real places and real people and real events that really

happened.Paul, still a prisoner, compelled to warn about the risk they would be taking if they

set sail during this time, said to everyone, “hey, if we try to make this trip now, we

could end up losing our lives.” The pilot and owner of the ship had a different

opinion. Who did the Centurion listen to? Let me ask you, who would you listen

to? Someone who had made a living sailing, or someone in chains whose

experience sailing could be called into question? Many if not all of us would have

done exactly what the centurion had done. It was to turn our attention and to

place our trust in the “experts” rather than the voice of reason. There is another

factor at play here in the decision-making process. Apparently, there was a vote of

some sort regarding the decision to sail or not sail. Let’s look at the first part of

verse 12 again. What does it say?

Acts 27:12a

12 And because the harbor was not suitable to spend the winter in, the majority

(emphasis mine) decided to put out to sea from there,

Here’s a bit of a spoiler. As we will soon discover, Paul and the crew end up

shipwrecked.

Now, have you ever experienced a time in your life when you felt the need to

speak up when it would’ve been so easy and more convenient to remain silent?

Maybe you’ve been in a spot where your convictions put you in the minority. I’m

not talking about those who simply like to be contrarians to be different for the

sake of being different. I’m talking about the times where we find ourselves at a

crossroads and we have a choice; either go with what everyone else is saying or

stick with your convictions. Either go along with the popular opinion or follow

logic and reason. And then to say something even though it may make you look

like a fool. Friends, I’d be willing to look a like a fool if it meant protecting and

safeguarding those I loved and cared about. As Christians, those we love and care

about should be everyone.

When Paul chose to offer an unpopular opinion, he wasn’t doing it for selfish

reasons, for what did he have to gain? No, he sought to preserve the lives of the

men he was with, the Centurion, the owner of the ship and the other prisoners.

When a certain decision is being made that will affect others and not just oneself,

it is much easier to speak up, because it is a selfless act. In the end it’s not aboutus. It is putting our own necks out there for the benefit of others. Who cares if I

look foolish because of it? I’m not doing it for me. I’m doing it for my son, my

daughter, my spouse, my church, whatever it may be, you fill in the blank; you

take your ego (that which is concerned about self-preservation) and set it off to

the side. A lot of times, these scenarios we find ourselves in, they’re bigger than

us.

Piano to play here.

In my estimation, living a life like this is a great picture of what it means to live as

Christ did. Jesus suspended on a cross with nails buried in his hands and feet and a

crown of thorns piercing his skull, he looked out at those who crucified him and

he said what? “Father, forgive them, for they know not what they do.” He laid

down his life for you and me. The life of a Christian is sacrificing self for the benefit

of others. Paul knew this, and spoke up even if it meant being ignored or

discarded or ridiculed.

When it comes to our own Christian walk, are we willing to be fools for Christ? I’m

not saying, becoming foolish in the strictest sense, but that which the world would

consider foolish.

And you know what? Living in this way takes courage. And courage cannot be in

the same room as pride. One will stay and the other must go. If we are to live our

lives faithfully as Christians and courageously, we need to lay down our pride. It is

knowing and internalizing and putting into practice the belief that this life is not

about me, it’s about Him.

As Christians, we must be completely willing to stand alone, to stand apart from

the majority. Not standing on a false sense of pride in ourselves, but standing on

the confidence that we find in Christ.