Read or listen The Acts of the Apostles Chapter 27-28 online (ESV, Bible Gateway)

Luke's historical book is nearing its end. However, Paul's sea voyage to Rome has yet to be told. The journey is again told in the "we" form, meaning that the author himself was involved in the events.

The journey to Rome begins – Acts 27:1-12

Paul’s journey to Rome took place in a convoy of prisoners led by a centurion named Julius. Apparently, the other prisoners were condemned to death, bound for the arena to be killed by wild beasts.

Julius seems to have trusted Paul, for he allowed him to visit his friends in Sidon (verse 3). If Paul had escaped, Julius would have been responsible for the prisoner with his own life.

The voyage had begun on a coastal ship from a city called Adramyttium (verse 2, the city in question was located southeast of Troas), but Julius found a larger ship at Myra, which was on its way from Egypt to Rome. Egypt was the granary of the Roman Empire, so the ship was loaded with grain (verse 38). Ships carrying grain were large, sometimes over 300 tons, and could carry up to hundreds of passengers in addition to cargo. But their large size had its drawbacks: they were difficult to sail.

The description in verses 7-9 gives us an idea of ​​the difficulty of sailing at that time. The fast day (verse 9), or the great Jewish day of atonement (Leviticus 16:29-31), was already over. The fast day (or Yom Kippur) is celebrated in September-October, so the sailing season was also beginning to end. Usually the sailing season ended in mid-September, but at the latest in early November. The ships set sail again in early March.

The easternmost tip of Crete, Salmone (verse 7), had been passed, but Fair Havens (verse 8), despite its name, was not a suitable place for wintering. Discussions were held about continuing the journey, and Paul was also allowed to express his opinion (verse 10). There may be two reasons for listening to Paul: he had inspired confidence in others besides Julius, and secondly, he was an experienced sailor (compare 2 Cor 11:25 and Paul’s missionary journeys). After all, people usually only went to sea out of necessity, because sailing was dangerous - it was even considered a deliberate mockery of the gods. However, Paul’s warning was not heeded, and attempts were made to continue the journey towards a better wintering port.

The storm begins – Acts 27:13-20

Everything seemed to be going well. A favorable south wind was blowing. But it was a sign of a dangerous storm that had arrived from the Atlantic to the Mediterranean, preceded by a south wind. When the storm broke out, the sailors were helpless. There was nothing they could do but let the ship drift.

The island called Klauda provided enough shelter that the ship's boat could be pulled aboard. Usually it was towed behind the ship, but in a storm there was a danger that it would fill with water and sink or be thrown against the side of the ship. At the same time, the ship was strengthened with ropes (verses 16-17).

As the storm continued, the ship had to be lightened. Some of the cargo and the movables (verses 18,19), i.e. some of the sails and other ship's equipment that were not necessarily needed, were thrown into the sea. Unloading the cargo in a storm was difficult work.

There was a danger of drifting into the Gulf of Syrtis. Although the distance was 600 km, if the storm continued, it was possible to run into those dangerous shallows. They tried to prevent this by lowering the sails, which slowed down the "journey". Storm clouds covered both the sun and the stars, making it impossible to navigate (verse 20).

Paul must meet with Caesar – Acts 27:21-26

When all hope was lost, an angel of God appeared to Paul (verse 23) and told him that he would be brought to Rome to stand before Emperor Nero (verse 24). All the passengers and crew on the ship would also be saved.

Paul was by no means scornful or bitter when he recalled his previous advice to avoid being caught in the storm (v. 21). Rather, he sought to inspire confidence in his message and, above all, in the God from whom he had received it. There was no reason to lose hope.

There are not many islands in those parts of the Mediterranean Sea, but hitting one was the only hope for the ship's passengers (verse 26).

Shipwreck and salvation – Acts 27:27-44

After two weeks of storm, the sailors sighted land (verse 27). Some manuscripts mention that the sailors heard the roar of the waves on the shore. The Adriatic Sea at that time referred not only to the gulf between Italy and the Balkan Peninsula, but also to the sea to its south, the sea between Crete and Sicily (verse 27).

The depth of the sea was measured. The first time it was 20 fathoms (about 36 meters) and the second time only 15 fathoms (about 27 meters). So the ship was approaching land. But there was a danger that there would be rocks or sandbanks before the shore, so the ship was anchored and left to wait for dawn (verses 28-29).

The sailors knew that they would almost certainly be able to reach shore by boat. On the other hand, the chances of a large ship being successful were much smaller. So they tried to escape. The reason given for launching the boat was the desire to lower more anchors from the bow. For the bow anchor to be of real use, they would have had to be taken further away from the ship by boat. But Paul revealed the sailors' intentions and the ship's boat, important for salvation, was lost.

Paul understood that they would almost certainly have to swim to shore. Therefore, everyone should eat so that they would have the strength to do it. Following Paul’s example, everyone ate, and then the rest of the grain cargo was thrown into the sea (verse 38).

Only now does Luke announce the number of travelers: 276. A remarkable coincidence is that in Greek letters (= numbers, because the letters had numerical values) the number is written as SOS.

When morning dawned, the anchors were left in the sea and the rudders tied up for the storm were released. The attempt to reach the shore began. What had been feared came true: there was a sandbar or reef ahead. The literal translation would be: "two-sea place" or "the junction of two seas", that is, a place with deep water on both sides.

The soldiers were going to kill the prisoners. They were condemned to death, so there was no point in risking their own lives by letting one of the prisoners escape. However, the centurion Julius wanted to save Paul and at the same time let the other prisoners live.

Paul’s prophecy (verse 22) was fulfilled: the ship was destroyed, but all the passengers were saved (verse 44). The planks may refer to the planks that covered the cargo of grain. Thus ended one of the best descriptions of a sea voyage in antiquity.

Winter in Malta – Acts 28:1-10

The travelers spent three months (verse 11) on the island, which turned out to be Malta. But all danger was not yet over. The native people — in Greek, “barbarians,” which simply meant a person who did not speak Greek or Latin — lit a fire to warm the shipwrecked. As Paul brought sticks to the fire, a viper, aroused by the heat, struck Paul on the hand (verse 3).

The islanders thought that Justice, the goddess of justice, had made her decision: Paul did not deserve to live. When Paul did not die, the islanders began to consider him a god. This time Luke does not tell how Paul reacted to his "deification" (unlike Acts 14:12-18, the events at Lystra). In any case, we can see in the events the fulfillment of Jesus' promise (Luke 10:19).

Paul also healed the father of the chief official of the island, Publius, who was very sick with fever and dysentery. Here Luke uses the correct ancient medical terms. Early tradition tells us that he was a physician.

Luke does not say whether a Christian church was established on Malta. The assistance of the travelers can be interpreted as evidence of the existence of a church (verse 10), but the islanders had already been friendly upon first meeting them (verse 2). Today, Malta is a strongly Roman Catholic island.

Finally in Rome – Acts 28:11-16

A more fortunate Alexandrian grain ship had wintered in Malta, intending to reach Italy as early as possible, since grain prices were at their highest after the winter. Paul and his companions continued their journey on that ship, which had on its bow images of Castor and Pollux, the twin sons of the Greek god Zeus, the special protectors of seafarers (verse 11). This time the journey progressed well, and Paul reached Rome without difficulty.

The Jews reject Christ – Acts 28:17-28

After arriving in Rome, Paul wanted to meet with representatives of his own people, the Jews, as soon as possible. After three days, the meeting was arranged, but then only another day was arranged, when the Jews in a larger group went to Paul.

Paul was in the lightest possible imprisonment. He had his own apartment, but he still had a guard and some kind of chains. Perhaps he was chained to his guard. Thus, Paul could not go around Rome preaching the gospel. Instead, he could receive visitors. Apparently, Paul wrote at least some of his prison letters (Eph, Phil, Col, Philem) while in prison in Rome.

Paul took into account the feelings of his listeners and did not speak of Jesus as the Messiah, but said the same thing using the expression "the hope of Israel" (verse 20).

Paul knew how influential the Jews were. We remember from earlier episodes that they were able to remove the governor Felix (Acts 24:27). Even Emperor Nero’s wife Poppaea was interested in Judaism, so the Jews must have had good relations with Nero’s court. So they could make Paul’s position difficult or easy if they wanted to.

Scholars have wondered about the mention in verse 21 that the Jews in Rome had not received a letter from Jerusalem concerning Paul. There could be several reasons for the absence of the letter.

1. The ship carrying the letter may still be on its way. Paul's journey, despite all the hardships, had been quite fast!
2. The ship carrying the letter may have sunk in a storm.
3. The Jews in Jerusalem may have lost interest in Paul after he left Palestine, because Paul had no chance of returning.

Apparently, the Jews in Rome did not initially understand that Paul belonged to the same group of Christians as the Roman church (verse 22), but after more detailed discussions, they announced that they disagreed with Paul as well (verse 23).

The division of the Jews into two groups should probably be interpreted as meaning that some did not accept Paul's ideas at all, while others found Paul's ideas reasonable but still did not want to become Christians (verse 24). In any case, Paul finally quoted the same passage from the Old Testament as Jesus did in the parable of the sower (Matthew 13:14-15), namely Isaiah 6:9-10: the Jews have themselves excluded themselves from the kingdom of heaven.

It was good for Luke to end here: the gospel had passed from the Jews to the Gentiles. The Jews had rejected it, so it had to be proclaimed to the Gentiles, who also accepted it.

Some manuscripts also include verse 29: “When Paul had said this, the Jews departed, arguing fiercely with one another.” Since this verse is not found in the most reliable manuscripts, it is not included in the English Standard Version.

Was the Acts of the Apostles left unfinished? – Acts 28:30-31

The end of Acts has given rise to many theories. It seems like the book is left unfinished. Didn't Luke know more about Paul's life? Or did he not want to tell us that Paul was killed by the sword during Nero's persecution?

There are several attempts to answer.

1. Some believe that Luke intended to write a three-part work: the Gospel of Luke, the Acts of the Apostles, and the third book, but that for some reason the last book was not written or has been lost.

2. Others think that a page or more of the end has been lost.

3. Still others think that some accident, imprisonment, illness, or death interrupted Luke's writing and the book remained unfinished.

4. Some think that Luke wrote his book while Paul was still in prison. The Acts of the Apostles is even considered a defense of Paul at his trial, which was intended to demonstrate the political harmlessness of Paul and Christianity.

But the most likely explanation is that Luke deliberately ended his book this way. After all, he was not writing a history of Paul, but a history of the spread of the gospel. His solution was theological - the gospel had been brought to the center of the world at that time, Rome, and the old center of the gospel, Jerusalem, had to be left aside. This described the situation of the church. The time of the Gentile Christian churches had come, the Jewish Christian churches were now a shrinking minority.

The gospel had broken through the old barriers of Judaism and its regulations. Now freed from the burdens of the past, it was ready to leave Rome, the center of the opponents of the gospel, to conquer the whole world.

Early Christian tradition tells us that Paul was released and went to Hispania, but was soon martyred (around 64 AD) under the persecution of Emperor Nero. The task of spreading the gospel throughout the world was left to others.

Now that task is upon us. We cannot live only in remembrance of the past. Now is the time for work, just as it was in Paul's time. There are still those who do not know Jesus as their Savior! So we are living in the 29th chapter of Acts.