Let us now consider some of the details recorded in 27:1-44. Acts 27:1 says, “And when it was decided that we should sail to Italy, they delivered Paul and certain other prisoners to a centurion named Julius of the Augustan cohort.” The pronoun “we” indicates that Luke, the writer, was included. The Augustan cohort may have been an imperial cohort named by Caesar Augustus (cf. Luke 2:1). A cohort was one of ten divisions of an ancient Roman legion and was composed of six hundred men.
Verse 2 continues, “And going on board a ship of Adramyttium, which was about to sail to places along the coast of Asia, we put out to sea, and Aristarchus, a Macedonian of Thessalonica, was with us.” This is the beginning of the apostle’s fourth ministry journey, which ended in 28:31.
In his account Luke says that at Myra “the centurion found an Alexandrian ship sailing for Italy, and he put us aboard it” (v. 6). Verses 9 and 10 say, “And when considerable time had passed and the voyage was now dangerous, and also because the Fast had already passed, Paul advised them, saying, Men, I perceive that the voyage will be with damage and much loss, not only of the cargo and the ship, but also of our lives.” The Fast in verse 9 refers to the day of atonement (Lev. 16:29-31; 23:27-29; Num. 29:7).
In verse 10 Paul voiced his feeling about the danger of the voyage. The sailors were experts in sailing the ship, and they knew all about the wind and the sea, but they did not have the insight that Paul had. Although Paul warned them of the damage and loss they would face, “the centurion was persuaded by the navigator and the ship’s owner rather than by what was being said by Paul” (v. 11). The navigator and the ship’s owner convinced the centurion not to take Paul’s word. Therefore, according to their mistaken concept, they continued the voyage. Paul, of course, was neither a sailor nor a navigator. Rather, he was a preacher who at that time was a prisoner. However, he had more insight than the centurion, the soldiers, the sailors, the navigator, and the owner of the ship. Here we have a view of Paul’s character.
Acts 27:13-26 describes the storm and Paul’s prediction of safety. Verses 13 and 14 say, “And when a south wind blew gently, supposing that they had obtained their purpose, they weighed anchor and sailed along Crete close inshore. But not long afterward there beat down from the island a hurricane wind called a northeaster.” Literally, the Greek word translated “the island” means “it” and refers to Crete.
Verses 15 through 17 continue: “And when the ship was caught by it and was not able to face the wind, we gave way to it and were driven along. And running under the shelter of a certain little island called Clauda, we were hardly able to get control of the small boat, which having hoisted up, they used helps, undergirding the ship; and fearing that they might run aground on Syrtis, they lowered the gear and so were driven along.” “To get control of the small boat” was to secure on deck the small boat which, in calm weather, was attached by a rope to the vessel’s stern (Vincent). The helps mentioned in verse 17 were things such as ropes and chains. To undergird the ship with these helps was to pass the cables around the body of the ship. Syrtis, on which they feared that they might run aground, was a shoal southwest of the island of Crete. For the sailors to lower the gear means either that they lowered the sails or dropped the sea anchor.
According to verses 18 and 19, they began to jettison the cargo and throw the ship’s gear, or furniture, overboard. Verse 20 indicates that the storm was so severe that eventually they lost hope: “Now, when neither sun nor stars appeared for many days, and no small storm was assailing us, all hope that we might be saved was now abandoned.” As we shall now see, that time was a good opportunity for Paul to say something to those on the ship.
Concerning this, verse 21 says, “And when they had gone a long time without food, Paul then stood in their midst and said, O men, you should have listened to me and not set sail from Crete and incurred this damage and loss.” Although Paul was a prisoner in bonds, his behavior displayed much ascendancy with dignity. Luke’s narration, as an account of the Lord’s move on earth, does not stress doctrine but the testimony of the Lord’s witnesses (1:8). Hence, in his narration there are no details of doctrines but of the events that occurred to His witnesses, in order to portray their testimonies in their lives. It is especially so with Paul’s voyage in the last two chapters.
Here Paul was a witness of the Lord. Therefore, we should not read Luke’s account merely as a story of a storm at sea. Rather, we need to see in this story the description of the life of one of Christ’s living witnesses.
In 27:21 Paul was frank. The others on board the ship did not have a word to say. Everyone, including the centurion and the navigator, was subdued.
In verse 22 Paul went on to say, “And now I advise you to cheer up, for there will be no loss of life among you, but only of the ship.” They all had lost heart and were waiting for death. Paul, however, told them to cheer up, assuring them there would be no loss of life but only of the ship. Here Paul seems to be saying, “There will be no loss of life among us, but the ship will be lost. Because you did not listen to me, you will lose your ship.”
Verses 23 and 24 continue, “For this very night an angel of the God whose I am and whom I serve stood by me, saying, Do not fear, Paul; you must stand before Caesar; and behold, God has granted you all those who are sailing with you.” In verse 23 Paul indicated first that he belonged to God and then that he served Him. The Greek word rendered “serve” means to serve as a priest.
In verse 24 the angel assured Paul that he would stand before Caesar. This was to fulfill the Lord’s promise in 23:11 and the apostle’s desire in 19:21.
According to verse 24, God granted to Paul all those who were sailing with him. This indicates that God had given them to Paul and that they were all under him. Apart from Paul’s presence with them, they all would have lost their lives. Here Paul seems to be saying, “Because of me, your lives will be preserved. The Lord has given all of you to me.”
In verses 25 and 26 Paul went on to say, “Wherefore, cheer up, men, for I believe God that it shall be so, even in the way in which it has been spoken to me. But we must run aground on a certain island.” We may regard this word both as an insight and as a prophecy. Paul had the wisdom to see into the situation and to realize what would happen. Because he spoke such a definite word about running aground on a certain island, we may consider this word a prophecy.