“Men, I perceive that this voyage will end with disaster and much loss, not only of the cargo and ship, but also our lives.” Acts 27:10
Paul was not a sailor, but he had plenty of experience in the sea. Prior to this event, he had been shipwrecked 3 times (2 Cor. 11:25), spending a day and a night in the deep. So even though he wasn’t a captain of a ship or a helmsman, he had enough bad experiences to be able to make sound judgments on the ship that would soon be shipwrecked on Malta.
As the ship was being beaten down by the storm, Paul stands (after Luke wrote that all hope had been given up that they would be saved, implying to me that the captain of the ship was at a loss, too) and says:
“Men, you should have listened to me…” Acts 27:21
After recounting what the angel told him, he then said:
“Therefore take heart, men, for I believe God that it will be just as it was told me.” Acts 27:25
As I read through Acts 27, I wonder why there’s such detail about Paul’s journey on the sea. It’s interesting reading for sure, but is it significant in another way? Then I think it’s possible that the event was detailed in writing because it illustrates a bigger picture. God wasn’t ONLY interested in telling us about Euroclydon, the Syrtis Sands, etc. Perhaps He’s using the actual event to demonstrate something much more significant.
As a whole, I believe the chapter illustrates Paul’s “journey” throughout Acts and during the transition period where God is casting away the chosen nation and working through/with the Body of Christ. God said in Isaiah:
“But the wicked are like the troubled sea, when it cannot rest, whose waters cast up mire and dirt.” Is. 57:20
Paul’s long “journey” from his conversion all the way to Rome was through a sea of wicked opposers who attempted everything they could to stop him from preaching to Gentiles. It started in Damascus and doesn’t end until Rome. And during this time, he writes things like:
For though you might have ten thousand instructors in Christ, yet you do not have many fathers; for in Christ Jesus I have begotten you through the gospel. Therefore I urge you, imitate me. I Cor. 4:15-16
Paul received revelation directly from the risen Christ on several occasions. He received a message that could have some application to people of all time, but it was specifically intended for the Body of Christ. So when he says “imitate me”, he is not placing himself above the Lord. He is stating that his audience needs to follow him in the instructions that he received from the Lord Himself.
Millions today want to attempt to follow Peter or James (e.g.), yet Paul said, “Imitate me.” Paul’s statement aboard his ship-without-hope was a message that blasts through the worldwide church today but is disregarded in the mass confusion. To the virtual ears of competing denominations everywhere, Paul yells out: “You should have listened to me! I believe God that it will be just as it was told me!”
So do we press on and [continue to] wreck the ship, or do we believe God just as he has instructed Paul for us and heed his cry? If we would just believe Paul today, so much confusion would go away. Paul’s not always an easy read, so there would still be confusion. But the denominational mess we have today??? I don’t think so.
My 2 cents…
RA :chicken:
oly:
