Chapter Twenty-Seven and Twenty Eight: Shipwrecked!

Paul begins his journey from Caesarea to Rome where he would appeal to and stand trial before Caesar. Right away they begin to have problems along their journey. To avoid sailing directly into a west wind the men sail along the shoreline up and around Cyprus until they get to Crete. We can see from the pronouns and the detail that Luke took part in this journey to Rome and provides for us an eye-witness account of the events that occured.

The voyage to Rome is made in three ships: a coaster form Caesarea to Myra, on the south coast of Turkey; a cargo vessel (carrying grain on the regular run from Alexandria in Egypt to Rome in Italy) from Myrna to Malta; and another from Malta to Puteoli in the Bay of Naples. Luke gives a superb account of the eventful passage. They start late in the season (sailing ceased for winter in mid-November) and by the time they reach Crete it would have been towards the end of October after the Day of Atonement. As they seek a safe winter harbor, the favorable south wind changes to a dreaded “northeaster”. For two weeks they run before the storm, with no means of knowing where they are. Paul, the prisoner, commands extraordinary authority, giving hope and courage to all 267 people aboard. God has promised them safety: Paul will appear before Caesar. When the ship runs aground, all make it safely to shore on an island they discover to be Malta.

The ship Paul was sailing on would not have been a tremendously large ship. It was not a big freighter and would have been susceptible to strong winds.

The Lord is Faithful.

Paul lost at sea for over fourteen days without food. Put yourself in this situation. What would you have done? The sailors and officers in charge of Paul ignored his pleas to stay in Crete for the winter. Instead they pushed on into disaster. Sometimes for us it is easy for us to feel like we have everything under control. We can be a lot like these sailors. We feel like we know what is best for our own lives and that other people don’t know as much as we do. It is easy to forget that God knows more about what we need than we could ever hope to know about ourselves. Sometimes trusting in Him means saying no to what we think will make us happy, and saying yes to what God has called us to.

When our life seems out of control it is important to remember that God is the master of the seas.

Matthew 8:23-27

Matthew 8:23–27 CSB

23 As he got into the boat, his disciples followed him. 24 Suddenly, a violent storm arose on the sea, so that the boat was being swamped by the waves—but Jesus kept sleeping. 25 So the disciples came and woke him up, saying, “Lord, save us! We’re going to die!” 26 He said to them, “Why are you afraid, you of little faith?” Then he got up and rebuked the winds and the sea, and there was a great calm. 27 The men were amazed and asked, “What kind of man is this? Even the winds and the sea obey him!”

God was faithful to Paul, and despite the danger he faced, Paul knew that he would make it to Rome in one piece.

God provides opportunity so we can share the Gospel.

In the midst of all the chaos Paul continues to have a platform to share his faith

You’re a Missionary wherever you go.

2 Corinthians 5:16-21

2 Corinthians 5:16–21 CSB

16 From now on, then, we do not know anyone from a worldly perspective. Even if we have known Christ from a worldly perspective, yet now we no longer know him in this way. 17 Therefore, if anyone is in Christ, he is a new creation; the old has passed away, and see, the new has come! 18 Everything is from God, who has reconciled us to himself through Christ and has given us the ministry of reconciliation. 19 That is, in Christ, God was reconciling the world to himself, not counting their trespasses against them, and he has committed the message of reconciliation to us. 20 Therefore, we are ambassadors for Christ, since God is making his appeal through us. We plead on Christ’s behalf, “Be reconciled to God.” 21 He made the one who did not know sin to be sin for us, so that in him we might become the righteousness of God.

As Christians we have a new way of seeing the world

We have been transformed

We have been reconciled

We have been made ambassadors

Our God is concerned about “The Least of These”.

Even insignificant Malta was reached for the Kingdom

Matthew 25:31-46

Matthew 25:31–46 NASB95

31 “But when the Son of Man comes in His glory, and all the angels with Him, then He will sit on His glorious throne. 32 “All the nations will be gathered before Him; and He will separate them from one another, as the shepherd separates the sheep from the goats; 33 and He will put the sheep on His right, and the goats on the left. 34 “Then the King will say to those on His right, ‘Come, you who are blessed of My Father, inherit the kingdom prepared for you from the foundation of the world. 35 ‘For I was hungry, and you gave Me something to eat; I was thirsty, and you gave Me something to drink; I was a stranger, and you invited Me in; 36 naked, and you clothed Me; I was sick, and you visited Me; I was in prison, and you came to Me.’ 37 “Then the righteous will answer Him, ‘Lord, when did we see You hungry, and feed You, or thirsty, and give You something to drink? 38 ‘And when did we see You a stranger, and invite You in, or naked, and clothe You? 39 ‘When did we see You sick, or in prison, and come to You?’ 40 “The King will answer and say to them, ‘Truly I say to you, to the extent that you did it to one of these brothers of Mine, even the least of them, you did it to Me.’ 41 “Then He will also say to those on His left, ‘Depart from Me, accursed ones, into the eternal fire which has been prepared for the devil and his angels; 42 for I was hungry, and you gave Me nothing to eat; I was thirsty, and you gave Me nothing to drink; 43 I was a stranger, and you did not invite Me in; naked, and you did not clothe Me; sick, and in prison, and you did not visit Me.’ 44 “Then they themselves also will answer, ‘Lord, when did we see You hungry, or thirsty, or a stranger, or naked, or sick, or in prison, and did not take care of You?’ 45 “Then He will answer them, ‘Truly I say to you, to the extent that you did not do it to one of the least of these, you did not do it to Me.’ 46 “These will go away into eternal punishment, but the righteous into eternal life.”

A heart that follows Jesus longs to serve in the way Jesus served. This passage does not tell us we have to earn our salvation. What it tells us is that people that have been transformed by the Gospel live a life of gratitude and service to Jesus.

Because of Jesus’ victory we can have confidence!

After everything Paul had gone through (an arrest, a phony trial, being hungry, being beaten, being shipwrecked) he is bitten by a snake. Any normal person might have called it quits. Even the pagan islanders watched and waited to see what would happen to Paul.

Acts 28:3–6 CSB

3 As Paul gathered a bundle of brushwood and put it on the fire, a viper came out because of the heat and fastened itself on his hand. 4 When the local people saw the snake hanging from his hand, they said to one another, “This man, no doubt, is a murderer. Even though he has escaped the sea, Justice has not allowed him to live.” 5 But he shook the snake off into the fire and suffered no harm. 6 They expected that he would begin to swell up or suddenly drop dead. After they waited a long time and saw nothing unusual happen to him, they changed their minds and said he was a god.

Genesis 3:15

Genesis 3:15 “15 And I will put enmity Between you and the woman, And between your seed and her seed; He shall bruise you on the head, And you shall bruise him on the heel.””

As Paul approaches the heart of darkness he is reminded that their is an enemy doing everything he can to stop him. The serpent is a reminder to Paul that this world is broken because of Adam and Eve’s sin, but Christ has become a new Adam, and has taken our place of judgement by His death on the cross. Satan, the serpent that once deceived Adam and Eve now is powerless against Christ and His Kingdom. Paul shakes the snake off into the fire and there will come a day when Satan is bound and sent to the lake of fire forever for all eternity.

Revelation 20:10-21:27

Revelation 20:10–21:27 CSB

10 The devil who deceived them was thrown into the lake of fire and sulfur where the beast and the false prophet are, and they will be tormented day and night forever and ever. 11 Then I saw a great white throne and one seated on it. Earth and heaven fled from his presence, and no place was found for them. 12 I also saw the dead, the great and the small, standing before the throne, and books were opened. Another book was opened, which is the book of life, and the dead were judged according to their works by what was written in the books. 13 Then the sea gave up the dead that were in it, and death and Hades gave up the dead that were in them; each one was judged according to their works. 14 Death and Hades were thrown into the lake of fire. This is the second death, the lake of fire. 15 And anyone whose name was not found written in the book of life was thrown into the lake of fire. 1 Then I saw a new heaven and a new earth; for the first heaven and the first earth had passed away, and the sea was no more. 2 I also saw the holy city, the new Jerusalem, coming down out of heaven from God, prepared like a bride adorned for her husband. 3 Then I heard a loud voice from the throne: Look, God’s dwelling is with humanity, and he will live with them. They will be his peoples, and God himself will be with them and will be their God. 4 He will wipe away every tear from their eyes. Death will be no more; grief, crying, and pain will be no more, because the previous things have passed away. 5 Then the one seated on the throne said, “Look, I am making everything new.” He also said, “Write, because these words are faithful and true.” 6 Then he said to me, “It is done! I am the Alpha and the Omega, the beginning and the end. I will freely give to the thirsty from the spring of the water of life. 7 The one who conquers will inherit these things, and I will be his God, and he will be my son. 8 But the cowards, faithless, detestable, murderers, sexually immoral, sorcerers, idolaters, and all liars—their share will be in the lake that burns with fire and sulfur, which is the second death.” 9 Then one of the seven angels, who had held the seven bowls filled with the seven last plagues, came and spoke with me: “Come, I will show you the bride, the wife of the Lamb.” 10 He then carried me away in the Spirit to a great, high mountain and showed me the holy city, Jerusalem, coming down out of heaven from God, 11 arrayed with God’s glory. Her radiance was like a precious jewel, like a jasper stone, clear as crystal. 12 The city had a massive high wall, with twelve gates. Twelve angels were at the gates; the names of the twelve tribes of Israel’s sons were inscribed on the gates. 13 There were three gates on the east, three gates on the north, three gates on the south, and three gates on the west. 14 The city wall had twelve foundations, and the twelve names of the twelve apostles of the Lamb were on the foundations. 15 The one who spoke with me had a golden measuring rod to measure the city, its gates, and its wall. 16 The city is laid out in a square; its length and width are the same. He measured the city with the rod at 12,000 stadia. Its length, width, and height are equal. 17 Then he measured its wall, 144 cubits according to human measurement, which the angel used. 18 The building material of its wall was jasper, and the city was pure gold clear as glass. 19 The foundations of the city wall were adorned with every kind of jewel: the first foundation is jasper, the second sapphire, the third chalcedony, the fourth emerald, 20 the fifth sardonyx, the sixth carnelian, the seventh chrysolite, the eighth beryl, the ninth topaz, the tenth chrysoprase, the eleventh jacinth, the twelfth amethyst. 21 The twelve gates are twelve pearls; each individual gate was made of a single pearl. The main street of the city was pure gold, transparent as glass. 22 I did not see a temple in it, because the Lord God the Almighty and the Lamb are its temple. 23 The city does not need the sun or the moon to shine on it, because the glory of God illuminates it, and its lamp is the Lamb. 24 The nations will walk by its light, and the kings of the earth will bring their glory into it. 25 Its gates will never close by day because it will never be night there. 26 They will bring the glory and honor of the nations into it. 27 Nothing unclean will ever enter it, nor anyone who does what is detestable or false, but only those written in the Lamb’s book of life.

Paul would soon enter into the gates of Rome. He would be surrounded by darkness. He knew that there was a city greater than Rome that awaited him. He knew that the darkness would one day be replaced with the light of being in the presence of God. He needed only to shine that light until he was called home.

A story of confidence

Anecdotes and Illustrations of D. L. Moody Related by Him in His Revival Work “We Will Never Surrender”

There’s a story told in history in the ninth century, I believe, of a young man that came up with a little handful of men to attack a king who had a great army of three thousand men. The young man had only five hundred, and the king sent a messenger to the young man, saying that he need not fear to surrender, for he would treat him mercifully. The young man called up one of his soldiers and said: “Take this dagger and drive it to your heart;” and the soldier took the dagger and drove it to his heart. And calling up another, he said to him, “Leap into yonder chasm,” and the man leaped into the chasm. The young man then said to the messenger, “Go back and tell your King I have got five hundred men like these. We will die, but we will never surrender. And tell your King another thing; that I will have him chained with my dog inside of half an hour.” And when the King heard that he did not dare to meet them, and his army fled before them like chaff before the wind, and within twenty-four hours he had that King chained with his dog. That is the kind of zeal we want. “We will die, but we will never surrender.” We will work until Jesus comes, and then we will rise with Him.