Acts 27:1-38

27:4-6 | Ideally, the ship would have sailed straight west across the Mediterranean to Italy. But the westerly winds forced them northward along the coast of Israel and Asia Minor, stopping at a port called Myra. There they switched to an Egyptian ship that was headed for Italy, probably a grain ship leased by the Roman government to move food and supplies around the Mediterranean in support of the Roman armies.

27:7-8 | Their best hope was not to encounter any storms on the journey. But this kind of ship was so clumsy in contrary winds that they were forced to head south toward the island of Crete and make port at Fair Havens on the southern coast of the island. Often, the Christian experience may feel the same way – two steps forward, one step back – but remembering that the Lord saves even the hopelessly shipwrecked should be an encouragement in difficult times. God is good, even when it seems He is not.

27:9-15 | Despite Paul’s cautions to the captain, the ship set sail for Phoenix further along the coast of Crete, to winter there, but the tempestuous winds drove them out to sea, away from the coast of Crete. The centurion probably wished he had listened to the counsel of Paul.

27:16-17 | The skiff was a small boat, towed behind the ship. When a large ship anchored in a harbor, the skiff was used to transport people from the large ship to shore. To keep it from breaking loose in the storm, the sailors pulled the skiff aboard and tied it down.

27:23-24 | This message was a reminder to Paul of something that Christ had told him two years prior when he was in jail in Caesarea. If Jesus said Paul must bear witness of Him in Rome, then no storm would prevent that divine appointment from taking place.

27:24-26 | All would be saved – literally, “saved from the sea” – since Paul told them they would escape the storm only by running aground on an island that lay ahead. Their situation is a picture of the Christian life: those who trust in the Lord will be saved, but it will not always be an easy journey.

27:30-32 | Because God had promised that everyone would be saved, the sailors who were trying to save themselves were fleeing from the promise of their own protection. Paul recognized what they were doing and the sailors’ plan was thwarted – for their own benefit.

27:35 | Paul modeled not only a life of faith but of wisdom and gratitude.