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Back to the Bible. Let it be our plea, God's Word alone, our authority, every word, every step in the name of Christ back to the Bible for the way of life.
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Hello and welcome to this period of Bible study. We are delighted to have this time to spend with you in a consideration of God's Word. And as always, it is our goal to be faithful to the Word of God and to be clear as we try to express what it says, what it means, and how it applies to our life. And we hope that you find that the time that you spend together with us to be profitable and that if you have any questions or comments or concerns along the way, we would be happy. We would be thankful for you to send those our way so that we can consider them in a thoughtful way and that we can address them if need be, or that we can change our teaching that we can at least clarify as we move forward. And perhaps it would lead to further Biblical discussion, which we would be always thankful for. If you're listening to this live, this is the last Lord's Day of of the year 2025, and I feel in some ways as if the year has flown by, as we often say, and we are thankful to have had this year and these opportunities to share with you in a consideration of God's Word. And today it is my intention to go through Acts chapters 27 and 28 and finish our study of the Book of Acts. And then we'll have other plans and lessons and series that we will continue as we approach the new year, if indeed the Lord wills. We are thankful and we hope that you would reach out to us at our website backtothebiblepodcast.com and you can reach out there regarding other ideas or questions or concerns that you think need to be addressed as. And we will do the best we can to do that along the way. So we come to Acts chapter 27 and in chapter 26, I don't know if you'll remember this, but Paul stood before Agrippa. Herod Agrippa ii I think I made mention last week. I mentioned some of the Herods and the family line and I misspoke. And what we've got there is Herod the Great was the Herod that was in charge at the time of the birth of Jesus, who had the little ones executed. And then it would have been Herod Antipas, one of his sons, that would have been in charge over the trial of Jesus. But then it would have been Herod Agrippa, the first, that was responsible for the execution of James the Apostle, and was going to kill Peter in Acts chapter 12. And that died with the horrific death by worms at the end of Acts chapter 12. And then this man that we're talking about today, that or that we spoke about last week, Herod Agrippa ii. That was the Herod Agrippa. That was Herod Agrippa, the first son. So he would have been the great grandson of Herod the Great. Great. And so you've got several Herods that are referenced. This man, I don't know is referenced as Herod very much at all, but he is known as Agrippa, Agrippa II. So we come to Acts chapter 27, and Luke is recording for us, of course, by inspiration of the Holy Spirit. And remember that at the end of 26, that the. The council there decided that Paul was going to go to Caesar as he had requested, as he had petitioned. And they listened to him to hear the charges. But they really say at the end of 26, that he could have been set free if he had not appealed to Caesar. Now that sounds good. It sounds. And I think Luke is obviously honestly reporting what they said, what they had in the discussion. But the challenge is that does not seem to be the way that it was, because they were saying, we're going to send you back to Jerusalem. And so the Apostle Paul had to appeal to Caesar in order to be kept from being sent back to Jerusalem because of the ambush that was waiting on him there. Now we come to chapter 27, and the text says there, and I'm going to read through verse 12. Now, when it was decided that we would sail for Italy, they proceeded to deliver Paul and some other prisoners to a centurion of the Augustan Cohort named Julius. And getting aboard an Adramidian ship which was about to sail to the regions along the coast of Asia, we set sail accompanied by Aristarchus, a Macedonian of Thessalonica. The next day we put in at Sidon, and Julius treated Paul with consideration and allowed him to go to his friends and receive care. And from there we set sail and sailed under the shelter of Cyprus, because the winds were against us. And when we had sailed through the sea, along the coast of Cilicia and Pamphylia, we landed at Myra in Lycia. There the centurion found an Alexandrian ship sailing for Italy, and he put us aboard it. And when we had sailed slowly for a good many days and with difficulty had arrived off Cnidus, since the wind did not permit us to go Further, we sailed under the shelter of Crete off Salmone. And with difficulty, we sailed past it and came to a place called Fair Havens, near which was the city of Lycia. And when considerable time had passed and the voyage was now dangerous, since even the fast was already over, Paul began to advise them. Men, I perceive that the voyage will certainly be with damage and great loss, not only of the cargo in the ship, but also of our lives. But the centurion was being more persuaded by the pilot and the captain of the ship than by what was being said by Paul. And because the harbor was not suitable for wintering, the majority reached a decision to sail from there. If somehow they could arrive at Phoenix, a harbor of Crete facing southwest and northwest, to spend the winter there. So here we have the early part of Paul's journey, or Paul's trip to Rome. And what we have here is basically the way that sailing worked in the first century. Now, if there was a ship that was taking a prisoner to a destination, it would be a single vessel, a single ship. Now, we might think of somebody being put in the back of one of those convict vans or something like that, and delivered. But that was not how it worked in the first century. Because what you have is really. You have. What they're doing is they're taking advantage of commercial ships that are already going in those directions. And perhaps we've mentioned this when we've talked about Paul. It's not as if they were able. Like when Paul was on his missionary journeys. It's not as if he was able to just get his own ship from here to there. But rather, there were so many trade ships going back and forth between these Roman cities that he jumps aboard one of those and goes with them. And that's what's happening here. And I wish you could see a map. But what I like to do is I like to take my hand with my four fingers pointing out to the side and my thumb down. And that creates an area that kind of looks like the coast of the Mediterranean Sea. What would be today Turkey. And then what you've got is he's going up. He goes to Caesarea, and they'll go up to Sidon, which is on the northern end of what we would think of as Palestine today. Goes up into the crevice there, which would take him above the island of Cyprus. And then he'll go over to the west and. And they will stay west all the way right to the end of what your hand would be, or right to the end of the peninsula. There, the Turkey peninsula. And what they will do is they'll land at Myra, and then they will stay pretty well along the coast there and land at Nidus. And then if you know your map well, or if you can see a map, right in between Turkey and Greece, but then further south, so about midway in between the two, but then further south, there is an island of Crete. And what they do is they go down and they are going to go underneath. They're going to go on the south side of Crete. And the idea was, was to take protection, was to take kind of weather the storm by going underneath Crete, which would allow them to be under its shelter from the wind. But it was still very difficult to make any progress. Now, in Crete, they're going to land at a place called Fair Havens. And you would think, well, that would be a great place to stay. But evidently it was not. And what you've got is you've got Paul saying, guys, I don't think things are going to go well. And I don't think he's just saying that. From his own personal experience on the seas, though he seems to have had plenty of that. So maybe he could speak to it from that place. But it seems later on that he's going to get divine revelation. And so perhaps that is what he is speaking from even on this occasion. Now, what he says is that things are not going to go well and there's going to be damage not only to the ship and the cargo, but even to our lives. Now, the centurion likes Paul, the guy who's the military person who's over. And he could tell the captain and the pilot of the ship, we're not going any further right now. But they were in the interest of moving forward, because this is not just a matter of getting something to a destination. This is a matter of profit for them. This is a matter of cost and benefit. And in their minds, the benefit is to go ahead and weather the storm and get through this and at least finding a better place to spend the winter, since they are going to have to find a place to stay for several months. Now, the harbor that they were in, even though it was called Fair Havens, was not suitable. And they try to get to Crete. Other end, they try to get to a city called Phoenix, Crete, and they just don't make it. What's going to happen is they're going to be blown off course. This is in verse 13, when a moderate south wind came up. Thinking they had attained their purpose, they weighed anchor and began sailing along the shore of Crete. But before long, there rushed down from the land. A violent wind called the Uroquiello. And when the ship was caught in it and we could not face the wind. We gave way to it and let ourselves be carried along. And running under the shelter of a small island called Clauda. We were scarcely able to get the ship's boat under control. And after they had hoisted it up, they used supporting cables in undergirding the ship. Fearing that it might run aground on the shallows of Syrtis. They let down the sea anchor. And in this way let themselves be carried along. And the next day, as we were being violently storm tossed. They began to jettison the cargo. And on the third day, they cast the ship's tackle overboard with their own hands. And since neither sun nor stars appeared for many days. And no small storm was assailing us from then on. All our hope of being saved was gradually abandoned. And when they had gone a long time without food. Then Paul stood up in their midst and said. Men, you ought to have followed my advice. Not to sail from Crete. And to avoid this damage and loss. And now I advise you to be cheerful. For there will be no loss of life among you, but only of this ship. For this very night, an angel of God. To whom I belong and whom I serve. Stood before me, saying, do not be afraid, Paul. You must stand before Caesar. And behold God has granted you all those who are sailing with you. Therefore, be cheerful, men, for I believe, God, that it will turn out exactly as I have been told. But we must run aground on some island. But when the 14th night came. As we were being carried about in the Adriatic Sea about midnight, the sailors began to suspect that some land was approaching them. And when they took surroundings, they found it to be 20 fathoms. And a little farther on, they took another sounding. And found it to be 15 fathoms. And fearing that we might run aground somewhere on the rocks. They cast four anchors from the stern. And were praying for daybreak. But as the sailors were trying to escape from the ship. And had let down the ship's boat into the sea. And on the pretense of intending to lay out anchors from the bow. Paul said to the centurion and to the soldiers, unless these men remain in the ship, you yourselves cannot be saved. Then the soldiers cut away the ropes of the ship's boat. And let it fall away. Until the day was about to dawn. Paul was encouraging them all to take some food, saying, Today is the 14th day that you have been constantly Watching and going without eating, and have taken nothing. Therefore I encourage you to take some food, for this is for your salvation, for not a hair from the head of any of you will perish. And having said these things, he took bread and gave thanks to God in the presence of all. And he broke it and began to eat. And all of them became cheerful. And they themselves also took food. And all of us in the ship were 276 persons. And when they had eaten enough, they began to lighten the ship by throwing out the wheat into the sea. Now, when the day came, they could not recognize the land, but they were noticing a bay with a beach. And they were resolving to drive the ship onto it if they could. And casting off the anchors, they left them in the sea, while at the same time they were loosening the ropes of the rudders and hoisting the foresail to the wind. And they were heading for the beach, but striking a reef where two seas met. They ran the vessel aground, and the bow stuck fast and remained immovable. But the stern began to be broken up by the force of the waves. Now the soldiers plan was to kill the prisoners so that none of them would swim away and escape. But the centurion, wanting to bring Paul safely through, kept them from their intention and ordered that those who could swim should jump overboard first and get to land, and the rest should follow, some on planks and others on various things from the ship. And so it happened that they were all safely brought to land. Well, here we see the difficulty of the journey. And notice there's several places along the way where things change. This was in verse 20 where Luke himself says that their hope of being rescued was gradually being abandoned. That's when Paul is going to speak to the group and say that the Lord spoke to him and said that he's going to be in Rome. Remember, In Acts chapter 21, the Lord had promised him that he would be with him. Excuse me. This is Acts chapter 22. Let's see, let me drop back here. Acts chapter 21 and verse 16, 22 and 16, he is told to be baptized. But in 23:11. Excuse me. On that night the Lord stood at his side and said, take courage. For as you have solemnly borne witness to my cause at Jerusalem, so you must bear witness at Rome also. So you remember that promise. And here the story continues, because Paul says, the God and I like this phrasing here. To whom I belong and whom I worship. That God had planned for him to stand before Caesar and Rome. And there Would not be any loss of life on the ship, but they were going to lose the ship and they were going to run aground on an island. Now, two weeks later, they began to think they were getting close to land, and they anchored. And some sailors were going to take a lifeboat and get away and leave the others to fend for themselves. But Paul told the centurion that it would only be if everyone stayed together, that they could be saved. The centurion now is listening to Paul, and he had the soldiers cut that lifeboat away. Paul again encouraged the men. They hadn't eaten in days, but Paul told them to eat because they were going to be protected. So he gives thanks for the bread. He broke it and began to eat it. And that encouraged the 276 people on the ship. They ate it, and then they threw the wheat into the sea to lighten the ship. And we have the record there of all the things they are trying to do in order to not have to have the ship fighting against the wind, because that's going to break the ship apart over time. Now we come to chapter 28, because they are getting closer to an island and they can see it. And we have in verse 44, it happened that they were all brought safely to land. Now, beginning at verse one of chapter 28, when they had been brought safely through to shore, we learned that the island was called Malta. And the natives showed us extraordinary affection. For because of the rain that had set in, and because of the cold, they kindled a fire and received us all. But when Paul had gathered a bundle of sticks and laid them on the fire, a viper came out because of the heat and fastened itself on his hand. And when the natives saw the creature hanging from his hand, they began saying to one another, undoubtedly, this man is a murderer. And though he has been saved from the sea, justice has not allowed him to live. However, he shook the creature off into the fire and suffered no harm. But they were waiting for him to soon swell up or suddenly fall down dead. But after they had waited a long time and had seen nothing unusual happening to him, they changed their minds. They began to say that he was a God. Now, in the areas around that place were land belonging to the leading man of the island named Publius, who welcomed us and entertained us courteously three days. And it happened that the father of Publius was lying afflicted with fever and dysentery. Paul going to see him and having prayed, laid his hands on him and healed him. And after this happened, the rest of the people on the island who had diseases were coming to him and being healed. They also bestowed on us many honors of respect. And when we were setting sail, they supplied us with all we needed. So at the end of 24, 27, excuse me, they were going to kill all of these men because the Roman soldiers were responsible for the delivery of these men to Rome. And here you have them being willing, they were going to execute these men. But the centurion who now listens to and trusts Paul is saying, let's not do that. We don't need to kill these men. And what's going to happen is they're going to be able to make it to the island. And you see, I think God's providence is providing here for. For Paul to be able to make it to Rome, because this doesn't look like a miraculous thing. But the fact that the centurion is in the concern of Paul, has the concern of Paul allows Paul to live. And not only that, but he gets on the island and a snake bites him as they're building a fire. And this is going to cause people to view him at first as if he's a criminal who escape justice. And now he is going to be able to receive that. He won't be affected by that. And the people are going to think he's a God. Which reminds us of all the way back in Acts, chapter 14. Now, at the end of three months, they set sail on an Alexandrian ship which had wintered at the island at which the twin brothers for its figurehead, these twin brothers would have represented these Roman gods. And. And they would have. They were the Castor and Pollux up on the front. They were the sons of Zeus and they were supposed to be special protectors of the sailors. And so they were on the front of the ship and they put in to Syracuse and stayed there for three days. Now, this is going to be on the island there of Cilicia Sicilia, excuse me, which is going to be right at the boot of Italy. And then they go up and they go to Rhegium, which is on the boot of Italy at the very south side. And then they're going to sail all the way up to Pituoli, which is nearer Rome, but they will station there, and they're going to walk from there to the market of Appius. And then they're going to go to the three inns, and then they're going to go all the way to Rome. Verse 16. We entered Rome. Paul was allowed to stay by himself with the soldier who was guarding him. But what you've got is these brothers. They come all the way down to the market of Appius, which is a good ways outside of Rome, to meet Paul, to walk with him back to the city. And it says that when Paul saw them, he thanked God and took courage. And now I don't think that Paul was, you know, desperate in this situation, but I imagine that this was quite a long and expansive, challenging journey. And when he gets there, he's thanking God certainly for his provisions all the way through this trip, but that he's finally made it to the destination. Now let me read the end of Acts 28. And then we'll make some comments, and then we'll be done for the morning. And it happened that after three days Paul called together those who were leading men of the Jews. And when they came together, he began saying to them, brothers, though I had done nothing against our people or the customs of our fathers, yet I was delivered as a prisoner from Jerusalem into the hands of the Romans. And when they had examined me, they were willing to release me because there was no ground for putting me to death. But when the Jews objected, I was forced to appeal to Caesar. Not that I had any accusation against my nation. For this reason, therefore, I requested to see you and to speak with you, for I am wearing this chain for the sake of the hope of Israel. And they said to him, we have neither received letters from Judea concerning you, nor have any of the brothers come here and reported or spoken anything bad about you. But we desire to hear from you what you think. For concerning this sect it is known to us everywhere that it is spoken against. And when they had set a day for Paul, they came to him at his lodging in large numbers, and and he was explained to them by solemnly bearing witness about the kingdom of God, and trying to persuade them concerning Jesus from both the law of Moses and from the prophets, from morning until evening. And some were being persuaded by the things which were spoken, but others were not believing. And when they disagreed with one another, they began leaving. After Paul had spoken one word, the Holy Spirit rightly spoke through Isaiah the prophet, to your fathers, go to this people and say, you will keep on hearing, but will not understand. You will keep on seeing, but will not perceive. For the heart of this people has become dull, and with their ears they scarcely hear. And they have closed their eyes, lest they might see with their eyes and hear with their ears, and understand with their heart in return. And I heal them. Therefore let it be known to you that this salvation of God was sent to the Gentiles. They will also hear. And when he had spoken these words, the Jews departed, having a great dispute among themselves. And he stayed two full years in his own rented quarters and was welcoming all who came to him, preaching the kingdom of God and teaching concerning the Lord Jesus Christ with all confidence unhindered. So he finally makes it to Rome and he is imprisoned. And there he is going to have opportunity to talk to the Jews there in the city of Rome. Now, as earnest as the Jerusalem Jews had been in accusing Paul and trying to have him charged and found guilty, they had not sent any word ahead to Rome, which perhaps would have been a challenge to do. But here Paul has arrived and it's a long delay in his arrival, months after he had set out from Caesarea. And now he has not been able. They have not received any word about him but what he does, because they want to hear about the sect, remember, that's what they had called it, the sect of the Nazarene. They want to hear about that. And so here he has an opportunity. And I love the way that this is summarized. He was bearing witness about the kingdom of God, God's rule, God's reign, and trying to persuade them concerning Jesus. From both the law of Moses and the prophets. He was trying to make the case that Jesus was indeed the fulfillment of those Old Testament promises, both the promises from the law and from the prophets. Now, what you have in verse 24 is what we see all along the way. Some were being persuaded and some were not believing. I believe it's the King James version that says some believed and some believed not. And that is the way that the sharing of the message of the kingdom of God goes. Now, Paul says, this is what Isaiah said, that you were going to speak to the Jewish people and you were going to keep telling them, and they were not going to believe. They were not going to understand. They would see but not perceive. Now he says, verse 28, Let it be known to you that this salvation of God will was sent to the Gentiles. They will also hear. This is another instance where Paul says, you have not listened. But the Gentiles, oh, they will listen. Now, Paul is going to stay there in that prison for two years. Of course, I assume that Caesar has quite the backlog of cases that he has to hear and other responsibilities. So it will be two years before he will be able to stand before Caesar. But what he's going to be able to do is there in that prison cell, perhaps in these rented quarters, whatever that might look like he is able to preach concerning Jesus with all confidence unhindered. And we will talk more about Paul when we come back together. Until then, we bid you a pleasant good day.
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Back to the Bible. Let it be our plea. God's word alone, our authority, every word, every step in the name of Christ. Back to the Bible for the way of life.