Acts 27

Paul sails as a prisoner toward Rome, and the voyage ends in a fierce storm and shipwreck. Through it all, God’s promise to Paul stands firm. Every one of the 276 people on board is brought safely to land, even though the ship is lost.

Acts 27:1

The decision is made to send Paul to Italy, to stand before Caesar. He is handed over with other prisoners to a Roman officer named Julius. The “we” shows the writer, Luke, is travelling with him. Paul goes to Rome in chains, but God’s plan is carrying him.

BSA: centurion (“a Roman military officer, commander of 100 men”): Julius holds real authority over the prisoners, and his decisions will shape the whole voyage.

See also: Acts 25:12.

Acts 27:2

They board a ship from Adramyttium, a port in the northwest of Asia Minor, which is headed for harbors along the coast of Asia. Aristarchus, a believer from Thessalonica, travels with Paul. Even a prisoner has a faithful friend beside him.

BSA: Aristarchus (“a companion, a fellow believer”): He is a brother who chooses to share Paul’s hardships rather than leave him alone.

See also: Colossians 4:10; Acts 19:29.

Acts 27:3

At Sidon, Julius lets Paul go ashore to see friends, who look after his needs. The Roman officer shows kindness to a prisoner. God’s care for Paul often arrives through ordinary people, believers and unbelievers alike.

BSA: consideration (“benevolently, humanely”): Julius treats Paul as a person to be respected, not merely as a prisoner to be guarded.

Greek: φιλανθρώπως (philanthrōpōs, G5364) — “in a kindly, humane way.” It literally means “with love for people.” It is the root of our word philanthropy, and it shows how warmly Julius treated Paul.

Acts 27:4-5

Winds blow against them, so they sail along the sheltered side of Cyprus. They then cross the open sea off Cilicia and Pamphylia and reach Myra in Lycia. Already the voyage is a struggle against the weather, and this is only the start.

BSA: lee (“sheltered side, under the protection”): The sailors keep the island between the ship and the wind, using its shelter to make slow progress.

Acts 27:6-8

At Myra the centurion moves everyone to a large ship from Alexandria bound for Italy. Progress is slow. They struggle past Cnidus, then along the southern coast of Crete, and finally reach a harbor called Fair Havens. The name is pleasant, but the trouble is only beginning.

BSA: difficulty (“and much ado”): The effort of rowing and sailing against the wind is sharp and exhausting.

Acts 27:9-10

The Fast is the Day of Atonement, in early autumn, when sailing on the open Mediterranean was widely considered unsafe. Paul warns that going on will bring disaster, not only to ship and cargo but to lives. He speaks as a seasoned traveller, a man who had been shipwrecked before.

BSA: dangerous (“perilous, hazardous”): The late season turns an ordinary voyage into a real threat to life.

Greek: νηστείαν (nēsteian, G3521) — “the fast.” This is the Jewish Day of Atonement, the one fast day in the yearly calendar. Luke uses it as a time marker, and the reader learns that autumn is already well advanced.

See also: Leviticus 16:29; 2 Corinthians 11:25.

Acts 27:11-12

The centurion trusts the pilot and the ship’s owner rather than Paul. Since Fair Havens is a poor place to spend the winter, most want to push on to Phoenix, another harbor on Crete. It is a sensible-sounding plan, chosen by the majority, but it is the wrong one.

BSA: persuaded (“to convince by argument or evidence”): Julius is swayed by the expert opinion, which sounded reasonable, and sets Paul’s warning aside.

Acts 27:13-14

A gentle south wind seems to open the way, so they weigh anchor and hug the coast of Crete. But very soon a violent wind, called the Northeaster, rushes down from the island’s mountains. The calm breeze proved a deceptive invitation.

BSA: gentle (“soft and quiet, blowing softly”): The soft breeze lulled them into thinking they could risk the sail. swept down (“beat down, came down with force”): The storm falls on them suddenly from the heights, with no time to prepare.

Greek: Εὐρακύλων (Eurakylōn, G2148) — “Northeaster (a wind from the east-northeast).” The word joins the Greek name for the east wind with the Latin name for the north wind. It names a fierce, stormy wind.

Acts 27:15-17

The ship cannot face into the wind, so the crew lets it run before the gale. Near Cauda they hoist the lifeboat aboard, wrap ropes around the hull to hold it together, and let down gear to slow the ship, fearing the sandbars off Africa.

BSA: undergird (“support, stabilize”): The ropes were passed beneath the hull to hold the strained timbers together. gave way (“let her drive, surrendered control”): The crew stops fighting the storm because they have no more strength to resist it.

Greek: ἀντοφθαλμεῖν (antophthalmein, G503) — “to look straight into the eye of.” The picture is of a ship that cannot look the wind in the face. The storm is simply too strong to meet head-on.

Acts 27:18-20

The storm batters them, so they throw cargo overboard, then the ship’s gear. For many days no sun or stars show, so they cannot steer or tell where they are. At last all hope of rescue is gone. Human help has reached its end.

BSA: hope (“expectation, trust”): Nothing visible is left for them to trust in. Only God’s word will soon give new confidence.

See also: Psalm 107:23-30.

Acts 27:21-22

After a long period without food, Paul stands up among the men. He reminds them gently that they should have listened, but his main word is courage. Only the ship will be lost, not a single life. His calm comes from a promise, not from the weather.

BSA: courage (“be of good cheer, have confidence”): Paul tells them to take heart, a settled confidence rather than a passing mood.

Acts 27:23-26

Paul tells them an angel of God stood by him the night before. The message was that he must stand before Caesar, and that God has granted him the lives of all aboard. Paul says he believes God, and he adds that they must run aground on an island.

BSA: granted (“given freely, shown kindness”): The lives of everyone on board come as a gift of God’s kindness, given because of Paul. serve (“minister, give homage”): Paul describes his whole life as worship and service to the God who owns him.

Greek: κεχάρισταί (kecharistai, G5483) — “has graciously given.” This is from the same family as the Greek word for grace. The lives of 275 other people are a gift, not something earned.

See also: Acts 23:11.

Acts 27:27-29

On the fourteenth night they drift across the Adriatic, the sea region west of Greece. At midnight the sailors sense land. Their soundings show the water shallowing, from twenty fathoms to fifteen. Fearing rocks, they drop four anchors from the stern and pray for daylight.

BSA: fathoms (“a unit of measurement, the length of a person’s outstretched arms”): A fathom is about six feet, so the water was getting dangerously shallow.

Acts 27:30-32

The sailors try to slip away in the lifeboat, pretending to set anchors from the bow. Paul warns the centurion that unless they stay, no one can be saved. The soldiers cut the ropes and let the boat fall away. God’s promise worked through sensible, practical means.

BSA: remain (“stay, abide”): Safety depended on the crew staying at their posts. God’s promise and human faithfulness worked together.

Greek: σωθῆναι (sōthēnai, G4982) — “to be saved, to be kept safe.” This is the ordinary New Testament word for being saved. Here it means rescue from drowning.

Acts 27:33-36

Before dawn Paul urges everyone to eat after two weeks of anxious waiting. He promises that not a hair will be lost. He takes bread, gives thanks to God in front of them all, breaks it and eats. Seeing him, they all take heart and eat.

BSA: preservation (“salvation, safety”): Paul speaks of their physical safety, using the same Greek word often translated as salvation. gave thanks (“expressed gratitude, praised”): He thanks God openly, before any rescue has come. encouraged (“of good cheer”): Paul’s calm, trusting act lifts the spirits of everyone watching.

Greek: εὐχαρίστησεν (eucharistēsen, G2168) — “gave thanks.” The word is a plain one for thanksgiving. Here it marks Paul’s simple prayer at an ordinary meal in the midst of the storm.

See also: Luke 22:19; Luke 21:18.

Acts 27:37-38

Luke records the exact number on board, 276 persons. Each one counted and each one was kept. After they eat, they throw the cargo of grain overboard to lighten the ship so it will ride higher in the shallow water.

BSA: us (“souls, the breath of life”): The count is of living persons, not of cargo.

Acts 27:39-41

At daybreak they do not know the coast but see a bay with a beach. They cut the anchors loose, untie the steering oars and hoist a small sail, heading for the sand. But the ship hits a sandbar. The bow sticks fast and the stern is pounded apart by the waves.

BSA: rudders (“steering devices, navigational tools”): Ancient ships were steered by large paddles at the stern, which had been tied up during the storm.

See also: Acts 27:26.

Acts 27:42-44

The soldiers want to kill the prisoners so none can escape, since they would answer for any who got away. But the centurion, wanting to spare Paul, stops them. Swimmers go first, the others follow on planks and wreckage, and all reach land safely, just as God had said.

BSA: centurion (“willing to save, desiring to rescue”): Julius’s wish to rescue Paul becomes the means by which every prisoner is spared. safely (“without harm, unharmed”): Not one life was lost, exactly as the angel promised.

Greek: διασωθῆναι (diasōthēnai, G1295) — “to be brought safely through.” The word carries the sense of being carried right through danger to the far side. It fits a rescue that passes through a wrecked ship and rough surf.

See also: Acts 27:24.