Acts 27-28, There is Hope in Every Storm
Acts 27
Sailing into a storm
1) When the time came, we set sail for Italy. Paul and several other prisoners were placed in the custody of a Roman officer named Julius, a captain of the Imperial Regiment… 2) it was scheduled to make several stops at ports along the coast of the province. 3) The next day when we docked at Sidon, Julius was very kind to Paul and let him go ashore to visit with friends so they could provide for his needs. 4) Putting out to sea from there, we encountered strong headwinds that made it difficult to keep the ship on course… 8) We struggled along the coast with great difficulty…The weather was becoming dangerous for sea travel because it was so late in the fall, and Paul spoke to the ship’s officers about it.
10) “Men,” he said, “I believe there is trouble ahead if we go on—shipwreck, loss of cargo, and danger to our lives as well.” But the officer in charge of the prisoners listened more to the ship’s captain and the owner than to Paul.
13) When a light wind began blowing from the south, the sailors thought they could make it. So they pulled up anchor and sailed close to the shore of Crete. 14) But the weather changed abruptly, and a wind of typhoon strength (called a “northeaster”) burst across the island and blew us out to sea. 15) The sailors couldn’t turn the ship into the wind, so they gave up and let it run before the gale.
18) The next day, as gale-force winds continued to batter the ship, the crew began throwing the cargo overboard. 19) The following day they even took some of the ship’s gear and threw it overboard. 20) The terrible storm raged for many days, blotting out the sun and the stars, until at last all hope was gone.
21) Finally, Paul called the crew together and said, “Men, you should have listened to me in the first place and not left Crete. You would have avoided all this damage and loss. 22) But take courage! None of you will lose your lives, even though the ship will go down. 23) For last night an angel of the God to whom I belong and whom I serve stood beside me, 24) and he said, ‘Don’t be afraid, Paul, for you will surely stand trial before Caesar! What’s more, God in his goodness has granted safety to everyone sailing with you.’ 25) So take courage! For I believe God. It will be just as he said. 26) But we will be shipwrecked on an island.”
The Shipwreck
33) Just as day was dawning, Paul urged everyone to eat. “You have been so worried that you haven’t touched food for two weeks,” he said. 34) “Please eat something now for your own good. For not a hair of your heads will perish.” 35) Then he took some bread, gave thanks to God before them all, and broke off a piece and ate it. 36) Then everyone was encouraged and began to eat…
39) When morning dawned, they didn’t recognize the coastline, but they saw a bay with a beach and wondered if they could get to shore by running the ship aground. 42) The soldiers wanted to kill the prisoners to make sure they didn’t swim ashore and escape. 43) But the commanding officer wanted to spare Paul, so he didn’t let them carry out their plan. Then he ordered all who could swim to jump overboard first and make for land. 44) The others held on to planks or debris from the broken ship. So everyone escaped safely to shore.
Acts 28
Stranded on An Island of Strangers
1) Once we were safe on shore, we learned that we were on the island of Malta. 2) The people of the island were very kind to us (ESV Translation called it “unusual kindness”). It was cold and rainy, so they built a fire on the shore to welcome us.
3) As Paul gathered an armful of sticks and was laying them on the fire, a poisonous snake, driven out by the heat, bit him on the hand. 4) The people of the island saw it hanging from his hand and said to each other, “A murderer, no doubt! Though he escaped the sea, justice will not permit him to live.” 5) But Paul shook off the snake into the fire and was unharmed. 6) The people waited for him to swell up or suddenly drop dead. But when they had waited a long time and saw that he wasn’t harmed, they changed their minds and decided he was a god.
7) Near the shore where we landed was an estate belonging to Publius, the chief official of the island. He welcomed us and treated us kindly for three days. 8) As it happened, Publius’s father was ill with fever and dysentery. Paul went in and prayed for him, and laying his hands on him, he healed him. 9) Then all the other sick people on the island came and were healed. 10) As a result we were showered with honors, and when the time came to sail, people supplied us with everything we would need for the trip.
The Lesson
GOD IS OVERFLOWING WITH KINDNESS, A REASON TO FIND HOPE IN A STORM
An Officer Shows Unusual Kindness to a Prisoner
For reasons not fully known, the Roman officer, Julius, showed Paul (his prisoner) kindness, respect, and empathy. It’s possible it was because Paul was a Roman citizen himself, however Paul could’ve just as easily been viewed as a traitor, which typically doesn’t warrant this type of sentiment. As you read further, Julius steps in to even save Paul from being murdered by the other Roman soldiers.
”…Julius was very kind to Paul and let him go ashore to visit with friends so they could provide for his needs.” Acts 27:3
“The soldiers wanted to kill the prisoners to make sure they didn’t swim ashore and escape. But the commanding officer wanted to spare Paul, so he didn’t let them carry out their plan.” Acts 28:42-43
A Prisoner Shows Unusual Kindness to His Arresting Army
The scripture suggests Paul had God’s favor on him every step of the way. When the ship was likely to sink, Paul could have attempted to escape at any point, having faith God would supernaturally rescue Him from death. However, Paul prayed and shared God-given instruction on how to guide the ship to safety, so all the prisoners and Roman soldiers could be spared.
“…take courage! None of you will lose your lives, even though the ship will go down. For last night an angel of the God to whom I belong and whom I serve stood beside me, and he said, ‘Don’t be afraid, Paul, for you will surely stand trial before Caesar! What’s more, God in his goodness has granted safety to everyone sailing with you.’” Acts 27:22-24
An Island Shows Unusual Kindness to Prisoners and Roman Soldiers
Picture this, you and your family live in a small farm house, in a farming community, about an hour from any major city. You’re enjoying a nice dinner together by a warm fire; it’s cold, windy, and icy outside, so you decided to prepare a large pot of chili, enough to feed your family dinner and leftovers for the rest of the week. You hear a commotion outside of your window and notice a bus broken down in front of your house, but this isn’t just any bus, it’s a prison bus. You see a couple of officers, big unfriendly looking guys, escorting prisoners (unchained) out of the bus. An officer knocks on your door, he removes his hat-holding it against his chest in a gesture of humility and says “sir, our bus just broke down, it has no heater, and help isn’t coming until the following morning.”
What would you do? Would you be so concerned for your family’s safety that you would say “sorry, we can’t help” or since you have a warm fire and week’s worth of chili, would you invite them all in for a warm meal. This is a modern-day picture of what happened on that chance day on a beach in Malta.
”Once we were safe on shore, we learned that we were on the island of Malta. The people of the island were very kind to us. It was cold and rainy, so they built a fire on the shore to welcome us.” Acts 28:1-2
”Near the shore where we landed was an estate belonging to Publius, the chief official of the island. He welcomed us and treated us kindly for three days.” Acts 28:7
”…when the time came to sail, people supplied us with everything we would need for the trip.” Acts 28:10
A Prisoner Shows Unusual Kindness to an Island of Strangers
“…Publius’s father was ill with fever and dysentery. Paul went in and prayed for him, and laying his hands on him, he healed him. Then all the other sick people on the island came and were healed.” Acts 28:8-9
Final Thoughts
Unpacking Acts 27-28, one could recognize God working everywhere, at every hour, in very abnormal ways, and ultimately prepared an entire island to be healed from various sicknesses. Before Paul’s shipwreck, the island of Malta practiced Roman Mythology and worshiped Phoenician gods (Caananite religion). Following the healing of Publius’s father, Publius converted to Christianity, and became the country’s first bishop. Today, Malta is home to over 550,000 people, 95% of which identify as Christian. It is believed Paul’s shipwreck brought Christianity to the tiny island off the coast of Italy. But before all of this could be realized, God was at work stirring the sea (literally).
Here’s the questions that come to mind after reading this scripture: was this story scripted by God, was it totally a set up? Did He intentionally bring a storm, knowing that a ship carrying a man named Paul, who was filled with the holy spirit, and could perform miracles, would shipwreck in Malta? When the snake bit Paul, the people thought he would die, however he didn’t. Did God allow this to happen so the people of Malta would have faith in Paul when he offered to pray for people’s healing?
“The Lord has made everything for its purpose, even the wicked for the day of trouble.” Proverbs 16:4
The Takeaway
We have no excuse to withhold kindness from anyone, whether they’ve earned it or not. Ask yourself this, is there someone in your life that you’ve been cold to? Maybe someone who’s offended you? Is there a family member you’ve been ignoring over the years? Let’s relinquish our pain, our wounds, and our stubborn spirit to God and start displaying kindness to everyone, even to the barista that totally botched your favorite, much-needed early morning coffee. And if they respond with kindness, we should accept it with thanksgiving. When you display kindness to others, it gives them hope. When others display kindness to you, it gives you hope.
We have no excuse to lack faith, even in a storm, because God is always working. We all understand sometimes unfortunate things happen unexpectedly. People that we love die, dream jobs are lost, and most of us have been through a challenging period when money was tight. We have to remember that when we’re in the weeds, God is in the weeds with us. When we’re mourning a loss, God is by our side. We must never lose faith in God and always remember He is working, even when we can’t clearly see it, and He is working in ways that we may not always understand. ““Why are you afraid, O you of little faith?” Then he rose and rebuked the winds and the sea, and there was a great calm.” Matthew 8:26