The departure for Rome - Acts 27:1-44 - N. T. -

When it had been decided that we should sail for Italy, Paul and some other prisoners were handed over to a centurion called Julius, of the Augustus cohort. We boarded a vessel from Adramyttium bound for ports on the Asiatic coast, and put to sea; we had Aristarchus with us, a Macedonian of Thessalonika. Next day we put in at Sidon, and Julius was considerate enough to allow Paul to go to his friends to be looked after.

From there we put to sea again, but as the winds were against us we sailed under the lee of Cyprus, then across the open sea off Cilicia and Pamphylia, taking a fortnight to reach Myra in Lycia. There the centurion found an Alexandrian ship leaving for Italy and put us abroad.

For some days we made little headway, and we had difficulty in making Cnidus. The wind would not allow us to touch there, so we sailed under the lee of Crete off Cape Salome and struggled along the coast until we came to a place called Fair Havens, near the town of Lasea.

Storm and shipwreck

A great deal of time had been lost, and navigation was already hazardous since it was now well after the time of the Fast, so Paul gave them this warning, 'Friends, I can see this voyage will be dangerous and that we run the risk of losing not only the cargo and the ship but also our lives as well'. But the centurion took more notice of the captain and the ship's owner than of what Paul was saying: and since the harbour was unsuitable for wintering, the majority were for putting out from there in the hope of wintering at Phoenix - a harbour in Crete, facing south-west and north-west.

A southerly breeze sprang up and, thinking their objective as good as reached, they weighed anchor and began to sail past Crete, close inshore. But it was not long before a hurricane, the 'north-easter' as they call it, burst on them from across the island. The ship was caught and could not be turned head-on to the wind, so we had to give way to it and let ourselves be driven. We ran under the lee of a small island called Cauda and managed with some difficulty to bring the ship's boat under control. They hoisted it abroad and with the help of tackle bound cables round the ship; then, afraid of running aground on the Syrtis banks, they floated out the sea-anchor and so let themselves drift. As we were making very heavy weather of it, the next day they began to jettison the cargo, and the third day they threw the ship's gear overboard with they own hands. For a number of days both the sun and the stars were invisible and the storm raged unabated until at last we gave up all hope of surviving.

Then, when they had been without food for a long time, Paul stood up among the men. 'Friends.' he said 'if you had listened to me not put out from Crete, you would have spared yourselves all this damage and loss. But now I ask you not to give way to despair. They will be no loss of life at all, only of the ship. Last night there was standing beside me an angel of the God to whom I belong and whom I serve, and he said, "Do not be afraid, Paul. You are destined to appear before Caesar, and for this reason God grants you the safety of all who are sailing with you." So take courage, friends; I trust in God that things will turn out just as I was told; but we are to be stranded on some island.'

On the fourteenth night we were being driven one way and another in the Adriatic, when about midnight the crew sensed that land of some sort was near. They took soundings and found twenty fathoms; after a short interval they sounded again and found fifteen fathoms. Then, afraid that we might run aground somewhere on a reef, they dropped four anchors from the stern and prayed for daylight. When some of the crew tried to escape from the ship and lowered the ship's boat into the sea as though to lay out anchors from the bows, Paul said to the centurion and his men, 'Unless those men stay on board you cannot hope to be saved'. So the soldiers cut the boat's ropes and let it drop away.

Just before daybreak Paul urged them all to have something to eat. 'For fourteen days' he said 'you have been in suspense, going hungry and eating nothing. Let me persuade you to have something to eat; your safety is not in doubt. Not a hair of your heads will be lost.' With these words he took some bread, gave thanks to God in front of them all, broke it and began to eat. Then they all plucked up courage and took something to eat themselves. We were in all two hundred and seventy-six souls on board that ship. When they had eaten what they wanted they lightened the ship by throwing the corn overboard into the sea.

When day came they did not recognise the land, but they could make out a kind of bay with a beach; they planned to run the ship aground on this if they could. They slipped the anchors and left them to the sea, and at the same time loosened the lashings of the rudders; then, hoisting the foresail to the wind, they headed for the beach. But the cross-currents carried them into a shoal and the vessel ran aground. the bows were wedged in and stuck fast, while the stern began to break up with the pounding of the waves.

The soldiers planned to kill the prisoners for fear that any should swim off and escape. But the centurion was determined to bring Paul safely through, and would not let them do what they intended. He gave orders that those who could swim should jump overboard first and so get ashore, and the rest follow either on planks or on pieces of wreckage. In this way all came safe and sound to land. 

Cf. - Acts 19:29+ -

Cf. - Jonah 1:4-16 - O. T. - But Yahweh unleashed a violent wind on the sea, and there was such a great storm at sea that the ship threatened to break up. The sailors took fright, and each of them called on his own god, and to lighten the ship they threw the cargo overboard. Jonah, however, had gone below and lain down in the hold and fallen fast asleep. The boatswain came upon him and said, 'What do you mean by sleeping'? Get up! Call on your god! Perhaps he will spare us a thought, and not leave us to die.' Then, they said to each other, 'Come on, let us draw lots to find out who is responsible for bringing this evil on us'. So they cast lots, and the lot fell to Jonah. Then they said to him, 'Tell us, what is your business? Where do you come from? What is your country? What is your nationality? He replied, 'I am a Hebrew, and I worship Yahweh, the God of heaven, who made the sea and the land'. The sailors were seized with terror at this and said, 'What have you done?' They knew that he was trying to escape from Yahweh, because he had told them so. They then said, 'What are to do with you, to make the sea grow calm for us?' For the sea was growing rougher and rougher. He replied, 'Take me and throw me into the sea, and then it will grow calm for you. For I can see it is my fault this violent storm has happened to you.' The sailors rowed hard in an effort to reach the shore, but in vain, since the sea grew still rougher for them. They then called on Yahweh and said, 'O Yahweh, do not let us perish for taking this man's life; do not hold us guilty of innocent blood; for you, Yahweh, have acted as you have thought right'. And taking hold of Jonah they threw him into the sea; and the sea grew calm again. At this the men were seized with dread of Yahweh; they offered a sacrifice to Yahweh and made vows.

Cf. - Matthew 8:23-27 - N. T. - Then he got into a boat followed by his disciples. Without warning a storm broke over the lake, so violent that the waves were breaking right over the boat. But Jesus was asleep. So they went to him and woke him saying, 'Save us, Lord, we are going down!' And Jesus said to them, 'Why are you frightened, you man of little faith?' And with that he stood up and rebuked the winds and the sea; and all was calm again. The men were astounded and said, 'Whatever kind of man is this? Even the winds and sea obey him.'

CF. - Acts 27:33-34; 10:3+; 18:9; 23:11; 27:21-24 - 

Cf. - Matthew 10:30-31 - N. T. - Why, every hair on your head has been counted. So there is no need to be afraid; you are worth more than hundreds of sparrows.

Cf. - Acts 12:19+; 16:27 - 

                                                         -  PAGE  140  - 

Waiting in Malta  

Once we had come safely through, we discovered that the island was called Malta...

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 -     WELCOME TO SACRED SCRIPTURE / WORD OF GOD / HOLY BIBLE READER'S COMMUNITY     - 

Wishing you, 'Happy Reading', and may God, the Father, the Son of the living God, Jesus Christ, fills your heart, mind, thoughts, and grants you: The Holy Spirit, that is, Wisdom, Knowledge, Understanding, Counsel, Piety, Fortitude, Fear of the Lord, and also His fruits of the Holy Spirit, that is, Love, Joy, Peace, Patience, Kindness, Goodness, Trustfulness, Gentleness and Self-Control. Amen! God blessing be upon you!

Why do you call Me, "Lord, Lord" and not do what I say?' "Everyone who comes to Me and listens to My words and acts on them - I will show you what he/she is like. He/She is like a man/woman who when he/she built his/her house dug, deep, and laid the foundations on rock; when the river was in flood it bore down on that house but could not shake it, it was so well built. But the one who listens and does nothing is like the man/woman who built his/her house on soil, with no foundations: as soon as the river bore down on it, it collapsed; and what a ruin that house became!" - Luke 6:46-49 - 

If we live by the truth and in love, we shall grow in all ways into Christ Jesus, who is the head by whom the whole body is fitted and joined together, every joint adding its own strength, for each separate part to work according to it function. So the body grows until it has built itself up, in love." - Ephesians 4:15-16 - 

I still have many things to say to you but they would be too much for you now. But when the spirit of truth comes, he will lead you to the complete truth, since he will not be speaking as from himself, but will say only what he has learnt; and he will tell you of the things to come. He/She will glorify me, since all he/she tells you will be taken from what is mine. Everything the Father has is mine; that is why I said: all he/she tells you will be taken from what is mine." - John 16:12-15 -

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