Studies in Acts
Paul's Journey to Rome – at last! (Acts 27:1-26)
The church in Rome was not established by Paul. It was in existence already when he wrote his well-known letter to the Romans from Corinth at the end of the 50s. In that epistle, he mentioned that it had long been his heart's desire and prayer to be able to meet this church and strengthen it (Romans 1:14-15). Now finally he would be traveling to Rome. Except, not as a free man, but as a prisoner, together with some criminals.
Luke has described this journey in remarkable detail. After reading his account, only one conclusion remains possible: everything looked like Paul would never reach Rome! That he finally did arrive alive and well, and proclaimed the Lord Jesus in the capital, is a miracle. It is due only to the preserving hand of "him who works all things according to the counsel of his will" (Ephesians 1:11). God wanted emperor Nero and his palace to hear the Word of God and the testimony of Jesus as well.
Luke uses the 'we' pronoun to narrate this history leading to the arrival in Rome, from which we infer that he was alongside Paul. He would have remained nearby during Paul's imprisonment. When one day several prisoners were leaving from Caesarea to Rome, Paul was added to the transport group. The commander and the soldiers guarding the prisoners were transferred to the officer Julius, a centurion of the Augusta cohort. It was decided to make the trip by sea.
The easiest route would have been by land to Alexandria, and there to board one of the large grain ships or medium-sized cargo ships that made regular trips between Rome and Egypt. The grain ships were essential for the millions of inhabitants of Rome, as Egypt was the breadbasket of the Roman empire. The grain ships were privately owned but were contracted by the state and operated under the supervision of the state. The timely and adequate transport of grain from Egypt was very important to the stability of the state and the power of the emperor. It is very possible that the centurion who brought Paul to Rome was also a frumentarius, an officer commissioned with oversight of grain transports (Latin frumentum = "grain"). The authority with which he functioned on the grain ship in Paul's shipwreck makes this assumption plausible.
Meanwhile, autumn had almost arrived, and since it was so late in the season, Julius would probably not find a ship in Alexandria that was going directly to Italy. Between mid-November and mid-April, the shipping industry was largely dormant. The Romans even had an official term for this: mare clausum ("closed sea"). As an alternative, he would have chosen a coastal ship from Andramyttium, a locale on the west coast of modern Turkey, which would serve the coastal cities of Asia. Somewhere in that port, one could find a ship headed for Italy. To his great joy, Paul's friends, doctor Luke and Aristarchus from Thessalonica, accompanied him as passengers. They would have supplied the non-perishable food needed for the trip: biscuits, cakes, salt, smoked or dried meat, cheese, and dried fruit. Water would have been included in the fare.
The ship left the harbour, and the next day reached Sidon, an ancient Phoenician port, some 170 km to the north. There the ship was emptied and obtained new cargo. Julius, who by now had shown some sympathy and respect for Paul, was exceptionally friendly toward him. He granted him permission to disembark and seek provision from his friends there and to obtain needed food and money. From this we see that there was a church in Sidon. Paul had visited there once with Barnabas (Acts 15:3). Julius called them Paul's "friends." May we infer from this that in addition to calling each other "brothers and sisters," believers also called each other "friends"? (cf. 3 John).
Because autumn was imminent at this point, and they would have faced strong headwinds if they sailed south of Cyprus, the captain decided to travel leeward along the eastern coast of this island to reach Asia Minor. This made the trip longer but followed a more navigable route.
After unloading and reloading cargo in several ports, the ship entered Andriake, the port of Myra (a city that exists still today on the southern coast of Turkey). Because the intermediate stops had taken some time, it was possible that fifteen days had passed already since their departure from Caesarea, and it was already September when they moored in Myra. Andriake was an important port from which Roman troops were regularly transported. It was a transition port for the grain ships travelling from Alexandria via the northerly routes to Italy.
From Myra to Crete
The centurion was able to locate such a grain ship, loaded with grain, en route to Italy; he had his entire transport book passage on this ship, a large freighter that could also accommodate two hundred and seventy passengers (v. 37). We assume that it was some 40-50 metres long, some 13.75 x 13.25 meters wide and deep. Apart from the ship's keel, this kind of ship weighed 1,000-3,500 tons, and had a cargo capacity of 300-400 tons. Most of the passengers would have remained on deck, protected somewhat from the harsh wind, sea spray, and the fierce sun under a canvas canopy. They would have spent the night there as well, on blankets and mats. A sea voyage was not a pleasant cruise.
After leaving the port of Myra, they encountered difficulties. The captain had wanted to chart a course below the southern coast of Greece via Cape Spartivento, the southeasternmost point on the boot of Italy, in order to sail from there via the Strait of Messina to Ostia, the port of Rome. But because of the necessary tacking against a strong wind from the northwest, the heavily loaded ship that sailed deep in the water could make only slow headway for several days, and finally reached Cnidus.
Once they had travelled beyond the lee of the mainland of Asia Minor, without any protection they would have had to deal with the powerful north-western winds. Therefore, the captain decided to change course and sail via a longer, south-westerly route south of Crete. He was apparently hoping to reach Italy before the autumn storms came. To spend the winter halfway would have meant a severe financial loss, for that would delay his future grain transports from Egypt. So they sailed past Crete on its leeward side, along the cape of Salmone (now called Cape Sideros). With immense difficulty, the ship rounded this cape and moored in Fair Havens, near the city of Lasea on the southeast coast of the island. There they found shelter, and the wind posed less trouble for the ship.
Meanwhile, the time for sea travel was largely past. By mid-September, sea travel began to become dangerous. By this time the fasts associated with the Great Day of Atonement - in the year 59, this was around October 5 - were already past. People expected dangerous autumn storms throughout November. Cloudy skies would have made navigation by sun and stars either difficult or impossible (v. 20). The issue became pressing whether people would be able to travel safely south of the coast of Sicily and Italy. Though it meant loss of income for him, the captain and ship owner decided to look for a harbour on Crete to spend the winter. But which one? Fair Havens or one more suitable? When the shipmates consulted together about this, Paul gave them a warning.
By that time already, Paul had travelled many kilometres by sea (cf. 2 Corinthians 11:25) and had thereby gained a wealth of experience. He knew all too well that continued travel was irresponsible. They could resume travel in the beginning of March at the earliest. "Men," he said, "traveling any further would be reckless. I foresee great risks, not only for the ship and its cargo, but also for our very lives." The Lord showed him two weeks later that God would spare the lives of everyone (v. 23). Paul's unexpressed advice was to stay for the time being in Fair Havens.
He did not obtain agreement, however. The centurion had an important voice during the journey (perhaps as an officer of the state food supply), and although he was well disposed toward Paul, understandably chose to follow the nautical expertise of the helmsman and the captain rather than what Paul had said.
They thought Fair Havens was also less suitable for wintering, with such a large grain ship. The majority therefore decided to consider travelling to Phoenix, which was also on the southern coast of Crete. In those days it had a bay that faced southwest and northwest. Because there they would be protected very well from the northerly and easterly winds that prevailed during this time of year, they wanted to spend the winter there. When a light breeze arose from the south, they thought they had a good chance of making it. They lifted anchor and sailed cautiously as closely as possible south of the coast of Crete. For Paul, the departure from Fair Havens was a difficult moment. He had set his sights on Rome, but the prospect did not look good.
In the Grip of The Storm
Phoenix lay twenty-five nautical miles from Fair Havens - with a favourable south wind, people could travel that in a few hours. Normally, the rise of a south wind around this time of year signalled a change in weather. The captain knew that, but the quickness of the wind change took him by surprise. It didn't take long before the weather changed. Suddenly a typhoon (Greek, typhōnikos) came up from the mountains of Crete, from the northeast, hitting the ship with hurricane force. The sailors recognized this kind of storm: it was the feared euraquloon, a fierce typhoon that arose suddenly and lasted a long time. This time it would last some fourteen days (vv. 27-33).
The heavy vessel was pushed about, and although it was being manned by expert mariners, it could not keep the bow headed into the wind, so that the ship became unnavigable, and the waves came against the side of the ship. Luke, who experienced this frightening tension and uncertainty himself, writes: "Wehad to surrender in the battle against the elements, and allow ourselves to be carried along powerlessly by the gale. It drove us further from the safe harbour of Phoenix, into the raging Mediterranean Sea."
But the next day, when the storm was still raging at full strength, new precautionary measures had to be taken. In order to improve the stability of the ship that with every crashing wave lurched violently with its heavy cargo, the captain decided to throw some of the baggage and merchandise overboard. This would have included baggage and merchandise belonging to the passengers. This method was often followed in emergency situations at sea to preserve the seaworthiness of the ship. The vessel rose a bit higher in the water and encountered less resistance. The expensive grain was left in the hold for the time being. That would be thrown overboard only as a last resort (v. 38).
On the third day after departing from Fair Havens, they saw the situation as virtually hopeless. In a panic the crew members reached the point of throwing overboard various pieces of the ship's equipment: spare belts, hoist equipment, rigging, and perhaps even the yard (a horizontal beam) to which the square sail was affixed. Because this heavy, rounded spar hung high above the ship's centre of gravity, it made the vessel lurch even more. Throwing the yard overboard was a very radical emergency measure. Later, there would still be still anchors and oars available (v. 29).
Since the mariners did not yet have the compass, they depended on the sun and stars for determining position and direction. But since those had not been visible for many days and nights, they didn't have the faintest idea where they were. The mariners, who preferred to avoid the open sea and sail along the coast, must have been scared out of their wits! Because the storm continued unabated, the hope for rescue was gradually disappearing. Was Luke here giving expression, with the word "we," (v. 20) a general sense of hopelessness on board, or was he too at the end of his rope? Later the angel would say to Paul: "Do not be afraid, Paul" (v. 24).
Paul encourages those on board
After the lifeboat had been taken on board, people took one more safety precaution. Since they were sailing in the lee of Cauda, the mariners decided to undergird the ship with supports for the purpose of fortifying its structure and preventing leakage. Swelling wet grain could cause the ship's sides to burst. It is not clear how they stretched the cables, whether several times around the ship's length, or its width. Or lengthwise inside the ship itself, pulling the supports together, as we see in the images of Egyptian ships? Or crosswise to the keel? This latter method was still being used in the eighteenth century in large sailing ships. In any case, this measure indicates that the situation was critical. The passengers watched with dismay as the mariners implemented these precautions.
Fear was growing among everyone that within a few days they would be stranded on the sandbars of Syrte along the north coast of Africa. Living there were pirates who made short shrift of the crew of stranded ships or sold them into slavery. To prevent this, they lowered a skeuos, a kind of sea anchor. If only the wind would either turn or diminish! The upheaval was so intense that most of the passengers had not eaten anything that day. Under normal circumstances, seafarers would prepare their own food on small stoves, but this was impossible now. Had many become seasick from the continual pitching and rolling of the ship? Had baskets filled with food been thrown overboard, or become spoiled by the splashing salt water? Drinking water was supplied in the form of rainwater. In these circumstances, Paul, who had also experienced all this misery from the very start, went among the despairing passengers and crew members to encourage them as God's ambassador.
"Men," he said, "you should have listened to me! Then we would not have left Crete and would have been spared these problems and losses, for I predicted this outcome" (v. 10). He did not say this to justify his earlier comments, but to show them that they could put their confidence in him. For he came with a new prediction:"But though you yourselves are responsible for being in this situation, nevertheless I urgently appeal to you not to surrender to hopelessness, for nobody's life [literally, "soul"] will be lost, but only the ship! I am telling you this not on my own authority, but I know this based on a message that I have received from God. For last night an angel stood alongside me, sent by the God to whom I belong and whom I worship. He told me, 'Do not be afraid, Paul, you must appear before the emperor. God is graciously sparing the life of all your fellow passengers.' So, keep your courage, men, for I have confidence in God and I am certain that things will go precisely as I've been told. You too must do that—trust in him alone!" Presumably Paul had also prayed to the Lord for the deliverance of all of them, and this was God's answer to his prayer. From now on, he showed that he felt responsible for them (vv. 30-35).
We get the impression that no one mocked the appearance or the message of the angel, but that all of them took God's word seriously and recognized Paul as God's envoy. In this way the Lord has often employed catastrophes and the threat of death to make human hearts receptive to his Word. "Nevertheless, we must run aground on some island." By mentioning this detail, Paul ensured that later no one would be able to ascribe their landing on Malta to chance.
Questions:
Not everyone receives direct Divine guidance in critical situations. How might we know when to be prudent, and when to "step out in faith"? Is there a contradiction?
Paul says "I told you so" – but there was no going back (vv.10 and 21). Nevertheless, he comes with a word of life to those in trouble. How does this apply to the contemporary church and the issues it faces today?
- Alida Sewell
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