We now come to one of the most exciting chapters in Acts, if not the whole Bible: Paul’s voyage to Rome. Luke devotes 44 verses to it, in breath-taking detail. Why? Maybe because he was there, and it made a huge impression on him. Maybe because he wanted to show that getting Paul to Rome was no mean feat. (I’m going to hit only the highlights – you might want to read it all.)

As early as verse 4, “the winds were against us.” Verse 7: “We sailed slowly…and arrived with difficulty off Cnidus.” Verse 9: “The voyage was now dangerous.” At this point, “amateur” Paul provides a word of warning, most likely a supernatural word of knowledge.

Since much time had passed, and the voyage was now dangerous because even the Fast was already over, Paul advised them, saying, “Sirs, I perceive that the voyage will be with injury and much loss, not only of the cargo and the ship, but also of our lives.” But the centurion paid more attention to the pilot and to the owner of the ship than to what Paul said. And because the harbor was not suitable to spend the winter in, the majority decided to put out to sea from there, on the chance that somehow they could reach Phoenix, a harbor of Crete, facing both southwest and northwest, and spend the winter there. (Acts 27.9 – 12, ESV)

But it was Paul’s word of knowledge versus expertise (the pilot), money (the owner), and “the majority,” wrong again! The ship is caught in a brutal storm:

But soon a tempestuous wind, called the northeaster, struck down from the land. And when the ship was caught and could not face the wind, we gave way to it and were driven along. Running under the lee of a small island called Cauda, we managed with difficulty to secure the ship’s boat. After hoisting it up, they used supports to undergird the ship. Then, fearing that they would run aground on the Syrtis, they lowered the gear, and thus they were driven along. Since we were violently storm-tossed, they began the next day to jettison the cargo. And on the third day they threw the ship’s tackle overboard with their own hands. When neither sun nor stars appeared for many days, and no small tempest lay on us, all hope of our being saved was at last abandoned. (Acts 27.14 – 20, ESV)

No wonder this is a long chapter! It’s as if Luke is saying, “I had to live through this, you might as well know what it was like!” It almost feels like the storm Jesus stilled in Mark 4.35 – 41. It’s possible Satan was trying to drown Jesus before he could cast out the demons in Mark 5, and it’s possible Satan was still trying to kill Paul before he reached Rome (having failed with three riots and two plots in Acts 21 – 25).

And here comes Paul again. Most of us wouldn’t have spoken up as Paul did in verse 10, and here he comes again with an “I told you so” and a reassuring word from an angel:

Since they had been without food for a long time, Paul stood up among them and said, “Men, you should have listened to me and not have set sail from Crete and incurred this injury and loss. Yet now I urge you to take heart, for there will be no loss of life among you, but only of the ship. For this very night there stood before me an angel of the God to whom I belong and whom I worship, and he said, ‘Do not be afraid, Paul; you must stand before Caesar. And behold, God has granted you all those who sail with you.’ So take heart, men, for I have faith in God that it will be exactly as I have been told. (Acts 27.21 – 25, ESV)

“You must stand before Ceasar.” We don’t know that Ceasar believed, but we do know that God gave him a chance.

Finally, God again uses a Roman officer to protect Paul:

Now when it was day, they did not recognize the land, but they noticed a bay with a beach, on which they planned if possible to run the ship ashore. So they cast off the anchors and left them in the sea, at the same time loosening the ropes that tied the rudders. Then hoisting the foresail to the wind they made for the beach. But striking a reef, they ran the vessel aground. The bow stuck and remained immovable, and the stern was being broken up by the surf. The soldiers’ plan was to kill the prisoners, lest any should swim away and escape. But the centurion, wishing to save Paul, kept them from carrying out their plan. He ordered those who could swim to jump overboard first and make for the land, and the rest on planks or on pieces of the ship. And so it was that all were brought safely to land. (Acts 27.39 – 44, ESV)

A great story. Satan tries to kill Paul with a storm. The soldiers would have killed Paul. Satan tries again in chapter 28 using a snake:

After we were brought safely through, we then learned that the island was called Malta. The native people showed us unusual kindness, for they kindled a fire and welcomed us all, because it had begun to rain and was cold. When Paul had gathered a bundle of sticks and put them on the fire, a viper came out because of the heat and fastened on his hand. When the native people saw the creature hanging from his hand, they said to one another, “No doubt this man is a murderer. Though he has escaped from the sea, Justice has not allowed him to live.” He, however, shook off the creature into the fire and suffered no harm. (Acts 28.1 – 5, ESV)

We’ll finish our high-speed review of Acts tomorrow with one more set of healings, one more round of some believe/some don’t, and a steady state that would fit almost any of us.

But you will receive power when the Holy Spirit has come upon you, and you will be my witnesses in Jerusalem and in all Judea and Samaria, and to the end of the earth. (Acts 1.8, ESV)

And when they had prayed, the place in which they were gathered together was shaken, and they were all filled with the Holy Spirit and continued to speak the word of God with boldness…And with great power the apostles were giving their testimony to the resurrection of the Lord Jesus, and great grace was upon them all. (Acts 4.31, 33, ESV)

But the Lord said to [Ananais], “Go, for [Paul] is a chosen instrument of mine to carry my name before the Gentiles and kings and the children of Israel. (Acts 9.15, ESV)