Acts, Chapter 27
© Copyright 2007 Darroll Evans, all
rights reserved
Acts 27:1-12
1 And when it was determined that we should sail into
2 And entering into a ship of Adramyttium, we launched, meaning to sail by the
coasts of
3 And the next day we touched at
4 And when we had launched from thence, we sailed under
5 And when we had sailed over the
6 And there the centurion found a ship of
7 And when we had sailed slowly many days, and scarce were come over against
Cnidus, the wind not suffering us, we sailed under Crete, over against Salmone;
8 And, hardly passing it, came unto a place which is called The fair havens;
nigh whereunto was the city of Lasea.
9 Now when much time was spent, and when sailing was now dangerous, because the
fast was now already past, Paul admonished them,
10 And said unto them, Sirs, I perceive that this voyage will be with hurt and
much damage, not only of the lading and ship, but also of our lives.
11 Nevertheless the centurion believed the master and the owner of the ship,
more than those things which were spoken by Paul.
12 And because the haven was not commodious to winter in, the more part advised
to depart thence also, if by any means they might attain to Phenice, and there
to winter; which is an haven of Crete, and lieth toward the south west and
north west.
After Paul’s encounter with
King Agrippa, he sailed for
They sailed from Adramyttium,
a sea port in
Julius, the one in charge of
the escort, allowed Paul freedom to meet with his friends in the area. That was a refection of Paul’s status as a
Roman citizen.
Then they left, they sailed
to the leeward side of
They sailed along the coasts
of Cilicia and Pamphylia, and came to
The winds were not favorable,
and their progress was slow. Finally, they came to a place called “Fair
Havens.” It was near the city of
Here, Luke mentions, “the
fast was now already past.” That speaks
of a fasting period for the fall holy days.
It would have been during the September/October time period, and a
dangerous time to travel by sea in that time and area.
Paul gave a warning to those
in charge saying, “Sirs, I perceive that this voyage will be with hurt and much
damage, not only of the lading and ship, but also of our lives.”
The Centurion trusted the
ship’s master who was also the owner of the ship. He failed to take Paul’s warning seriously.
Because, “Fair Havens” was
not ample for winter accommodations they decided to sail on. Their objective was Phenice on
Acts 27:13-38
13 And when the south wind blew softly, supposing that they had obtained their
purpose, loosing thence, they sailed close by
14 But not long after there arose against it a tempestuous wind, called
Euroclydon.
15 And when the ship was caught, and could not bear up into the wind, we let
her drive.
16 And running under a certain island which is called Clauda, we had much work
to come by the boat:
17 Which when they had taken up, they used helps, undergirding the ship; and,
fearing lest they should fall into the quicksands, strake sail, and so were
driven.
18 And we being exceedingly tossed with a tempest, the next day they lightened
the ship;
19 And the third day we cast out with our own hands the tackling of the ship.
20 And when neither sun nor stars in many days appeared, and no small tempest
lay on us, all hope that we should be saved was then taken away.
21 But after long abstinence Paul stood forth in the midst of them, and said,
Sirs, ye should have hearkened unto me, and not have loosed from Crete, and to
have gained this harm and loss.
22 And now I exhort you to be of good cheer: for there shall be no loss of any
man's life among you, but of the ship.
23 For there stood by me this night the angel of God, whose I am, and whom I
serve,
24 Saying, Fear not, Paul; thou must be brought before Caesar: and, lo, God
hath given thee all them that sail with thee.
25 Wherefore, sirs, be of good cheer: for I believe God, that it shall be even
as it was told me.
26 Howbeit we must be cast upon a certain island.
27 But when the fourteenth night was come, as we were driven up and down in
Adria, about midnight the shipmen deemed that they drew near to some country;
28 And sounded, and found it twenty fathoms: and when they had gone a little
further, they sounded again, and found it fifteen fathoms.
29 Then fearing lest we should have fallen upon rocks, they cast four anchors
out of the stern, and wished for the day.
30 And as the shipmen were about to flee out of the ship, when they had let
down the boat into the sea, under colour as though they would have cast anchors
out of the foreship,
31 Paul said to the centurion and to the soldiers, Except these abide in the
ship, ye cannot be saved.
32 Then the soldiers cut off the ropes of the boat, and let her fall off.
33 And while the day was coming on, Paul besought them all to take meat,
saying, This day is the fourteenth day that ye have tarried and continued
fasting, having taken nothing.
34 Wherefore I pray you to take some meat: for this is for your health: for
there shall not an hair fall from the head of any of you.
35 And when he had thus spoken, he took bread, and gave thanks to God in
presence of them all: and when he had broken it, he began to eat.
36 Then were they all of good cheer, and they also took some meat.
37 And we were in all in the ship two hundred threescore and sixteen souls.
38 And when they had eaten enough, they lightened the ship, and cast out the
wheat into the sea.
As the group sailed close to
The ship was caught in the storm and could not stand up to the beating it was
taking. They were under the storm’s
pressure for several days. In the
interim, they threw much of the cargo overboard.
During the tumult, Paul had
been absent from the main deck.
When he appeared on deck, he told
them, “Sirs, you should have listened to me, and not have left from
When the fourteenth hour had
come, they were drifting about in the Sea.
About midnight they drew near to some to land. At this point, the sailors took depth
measurements.
As they drew closer to the shore, and fearing they would hit rocks, they cast
four sea anchors off the stern, and each prayed to his own god for the
dawn. In their fear, the shipmen were
about to abandon ship. They let the life
boat down pretending to put more anchors.
When Paul saw that he told
the Centurion and is soldiers, “Except all of you stay on the ship, you cannot
be saved.”
So, the soldiers cut off the
ropes holding the lifeboat, and let it fall into the sea.
Paul pleaded with them to eat
something. He said, “This day is the
fourteenth day that you have waited and fasted. So, I ask for the sake of your
personal health to eat something. I assure you that none aboard this ship shall
be harmed.”
***It was the 14th
hour on the 14th day of the fast.
After that he took bread,
gave thanks to God and in presence of them all began to eat. They all were
cheered up, and ate some food.
Verse 37 is the first mention
of how many were aboard the vessel, 276 in all.
When they had eaten enough, they cast the remaining cargo of grain into the
sea.
Acts 27:39-44
39 And when it was day, they knew not the land: but they discovered a certain
creek with a shore, into the which they were minded, if it were possible, to
thrust in the ship.
40 And when they had taken up the anchors, they committed themselves unto the
sea, and loosed the rudder bands, and hoised up the mainsail to the wind, and
made toward shore.
41 And falling into a place where two seas met, they ran the ship aground; and
the forepart stuck fast, and remained unmoveable, but the hinder part was
broken with the violence of the waves.
42 And the soldiers' counsel was to kill the prisoners, lest any of them should
swim out, and escape.
43 But the centurion, willing to save Paul, kept them from their purpose; and
commanded that they which could swim should cast themselves first into the sea,
and get to land:
44 And the rest, some on boards, and some on broken pieces of the ship. And so
it came to pass, that they escaped all safe to land.
When the dawn came, they were
not sure where they were. But, they did see a small bay and decided to beach
the ship there.
They headed for shore to run
the vessel onto the beach. But, it struck bottom before they were fully made
land.
At that point, the soldiers,
realizing their personal responsibility if any of the prisoners escaped,
decided to kill the prisoners.
However, Paul was a special case. He was
a Roman citizen, so the Centurion was willing to save Paul and he decided
against their plan. His command was that they first try to swim to shore.
And so, holding onto various
boards and some broken planks of the ship, they all came safely to land.