Today’s reading is a hair-raising tale of a huge storm at sea and a shipwreck. Paul was onboard the ill-fated ship, along with some of his friends including Luke who recorded the account.

Governor Festus decided to send some of his prisoners to Rome. Paul and Aristarchus from Thessalonica were among the prisoners, but Doctor Luke also went along as a friend. He later wrote the account of the journey.

Things began pleasantly enough. After a day of travel they landed in Sidon where Julius allowed Paul to go ashore and receive some supplies from friends living there. Then they put out to sea and ran into some heavy winds. They passed by Cyprus and landed in Myra, on the southern edge of Asia Minor where Paul had done so much missionary work.

Julius the centurion found a ship from Alexandria that was going to Italy so he transferred his prisoners to it.

Blown Off Course

The Alexandrian ship had difficulty getting away from Asia, and as they tried to sail past the southern tip of Greece, they were blown off course and around the western end of Crete. It was challenging to travel along the southern coast of the island and they had to stop in Fair Havens near Lysia in Crete.

The unsettled weather of autumn had come so Paul warned the ship’s crew:

“Men, I can see that our voyage is going to be disastrous and bring great loss to ship and cargo, and to our own lives also.” Acts 27:10

The pilot and owner of the ship decided to sail on to Phoenix, farther west in Crete. The harbor there formed a natural barrier against winter storms.

Storm at Sea

The only way the sailors could gauge the conditions for travel was by observing the weather. When a gentle wind from the south came up they left Fair Havens and started toward Phoenix. The breeze gave way to a Northeaster that swept down upon them from the island. The ship had to give way to the hurricane force winds and was carried south to a small island called Cauda.

They hauled the lifeboat onboard so they wouldn’t lose it. Sailors dove into the sea and dragged ropes under the boat and up the other side to tie around the ship and hold it together. They tossed cargo overboard to lighten the ship and they stopped trying to steer it. It was driven before the storm for days while the sun and stars were hidden behind clouds and rain.

It was impossible to eat or do anything else normal on the tossing ship; they thought they were all going to die. Then Paul stood up and addressed the crew and passengers.

“Men, you should have taken my advice not to sail from Crete; then you would have spared yourselves this damage and loss. But now I urge you to keep up your courage, because not one of you will be lost; only the ship will be destroyed. Last night an angel of the God to whom I belong and whom I serve stood beside me and said, ‘Do not be afraid, Paul. You must stand trial before Caesar; and God has graciously given you the lives of all who sail with you.’ So keep up your courage, men, for I have faith in God that it will happen just as he told me. Nevertheless, we must run aground on some island.” Acts 27:21-26

Shipwreck

Two weeks after the storm began the ship was driven wildly across the sea to the southern end of Italy, but the sailors didn’t know where they were. They sensed land might be nearby so they plumbed the depths to see if they were in danger of running aground. The water was becoming shallower so they dropped four anchors from the back of the boat to slow it down. T

Some sailors tried to lower the lifeboat and escape in it, but Paul told the centurion, “Unless these men stay with the ship, you cannot be saved.” (Acts 27:31) The centurion ordered that the lifeboat be cut loose and it drifted away.

Paul was quite sure that no one onboard the ship was going to be harmed, so he invited them to eat and regain their strength. Seeing Paul give thanks, break bread and eat it encouraged all 276 men on the ship to eat until they were full, too.

At daybreak they saw land with a sandy beach and decided to sail to it. They cut loose the anchors and hoisted the foresail to catch the wind. They didn’t reach the shore, however, because the ship struck a sandbar under the water and broke up.

The centurion spared the lives of the prisoners and ordered them to jump overboard and swim for land. If they couldn’t swim he told them to grab debris in the water and float to shore on the tide, and “In this way everyone reached land safely.” Acts 27:44

The Source of Paul’s Peace

Jesus had told Paul he would be with him wherever he went and this gave Paul great courage and peace. He was able to hear the Lord’s voice even on a wildly tossing ship in a fierce storm.  He would have been satisfied to die in that storm, but God had told him he was going to Rome so he knew this was just one leg of a journey he had yet to complete.