Anchors In the Storm
Notes
Transcript
When it was decided that we would sail for Italy, Paul and some other prisoners were handed over to a centurion named Julius, who belonged to the Imperial Regiment.
We boarded a ship from Adramyttium about to sail for ports along the coast of the province of Asia, and we put out to sea. Aristarchus, a Macedonian from Thessalonica, was with us.
The next day we landed at Sidon; and Julius, in kindness to Paul, allowed him to go to his friends so they might provide for his needs.
From there we put out to sea again and passed to the lee of Cyprus because the winds were against us.
When we had sailed across the open sea off the coast of Cilicia and Pamphylia, we landed at Myra in Lycia.
There the centurion found an Alexandrian ship sailing for Italy and put us on board.
We made slow headway for many days and had difficulty arriving off Cnidus. When the wind did not allow us to hold our course, we sailed to the lee of Crete, opposite Salmone.
We moved along the coast with difficulty and came to a place called Fair Havens, near the town of Lasea.
Much time had been lost, and sailing had already become dangerous because by now it was after the Day of Atonement. So Paul warned them,
“Men, I can see that our voyage is going to be disastrous and bring great loss to ship and cargo, and to our own lives also.”
But the centurion, instead of listening to what Paul said, followed the advice of the pilot and of the owner of the ship.
Since the harbor was unsuitable to winter in, the majority decided that we should sail on, hoping to reach Phoenix and winter there. This was a harbor in Crete, facing both southwest and northwest.
When a gentle south wind began to blow, they saw their opportunity; so they weighed anchor and sailed along the shore of Crete.
Before very long, a wind of hurricane force, called the Northeaster, swept down from the island.
The ship was caught by the storm and could not head into the wind; so we gave way to it and were driven along.
As we passed to the lee of a small island called Cauda, we were hardly able to make the lifeboat secure,
so the men hoisted it aboard. Then they passed ropes under the ship itself to hold it together. Because they were afraid they would run aground on the sandbars of Syrtis, they lowered the sea anchor and let the ship be driven along.
We took such a violent battering from the storm that the next day they began to throw the cargo overboard.
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 the storm continued raging, we finally gave up all hope of being saved.
After they had gone a long time without food, Paul stood up before them and said: “Men, you should have taken my advice not to sail from Crete; then you would have spared yourselves this damage and loss.
But now I urge you to keep up your courage, because not one of you will be lost; only the ship will be destroyed.
Last night an angel of the God to whom I belong and whom I serve stood beside me
and said, ‘Do not be afraid, Paul. You must stand trial before Caesar; and God has graciously given you the lives of all who sail with you.’
So keep up your courage, men, for I have faith in God that it will happen just as he told me.
Nevertheless, we must run aground on some island.”
On the fourteenth night we were still being driven across the Adriatic Sea, when about midnight the sailors sensed they were approaching land.
They took soundings and found that the water was a hundred and twenty feet deep. A short time later they took soundings again and found it was ninety feet deep.
Fearing that we would be dashed against the rocks, they dropped four anchors from the stern and prayed for daylight.
In an attempt to escape from the ship, the sailors let the lifeboat down into the sea, pretending they were going to lower some anchors from the bow.
Then Paul said to the centurion and the soldiers, “Unless these men stay with the ship, you cannot be saved.”
So the soldiers cut the ropes that held the lifeboat and let it drift away.
Just before dawn Paul urged them all to eat. “For the last fourteen days,” he said, “you have been in constant suspense and have gone without food—you haven’t eaten anything.
Now I urge you to take some food. You need it to survive. Not one of you will lose a single hair from his head.”
After he said this, he took some bread and gave thanks to God in front of them all. Then he broke it and began to eat.
They were all encouraged and ate some food themselves.
Altogether there were 276 of us on board.
When they had eaten as much as they wanted, they lightened the ship by throwing the grain into the sea.
When daylight came, they did not recognize the land, but they saw a bay with a sandy beach, where they decided to run the ship aground if they could.
Cutting loose the anchors, they left them in the sea and at the same time untied the ropes that held the rudders. Then they hoisted the foresail to the wind and made for the beach.
But the ship struck a sandbar and ran aground. The bow stuck fast and would not move, and the stern was broken to pieces by the pounding of the surf.
The soldiers planned to kill the prisoners to prevent any of them from swimming away and escaping.
But the centurion wanted to spare Paul’s life and kept them from carrying out their plan. He ordered those who could swim to jump overboard first and get to land.
The rest were to get there on planks or on other pieces of the ship. In this way everyone reached land safely.
Once safely on shore, we found out that the island was called Malta.
Approximately 590 miles as the crow flies.
98 miles:New York, NY
104 miles:Philadelphia, PA
154 miles:Baltimore, MD
247 miles:Boston, MA
393 miles:Columbus, OH
439 miles:Quebec City, Canada
505 miles:Charlotte, NC
556 miles:Indianapolis, IN
The Ship
The Ship
Grain ship from Alexandria Egypt.
rome had over 1,000,000 people and needed regular shipments of grain.
The Storm
The Storm
travel was dangerous from September 14 to November 11, and extremely dangerous from November 11 to March 10.
Emperor Claudius “took all possible steps to import grain, even during the winter months—insuring merchants against the loss of their ships in stormy weather (which guaranteed them a good return on their ventures).”
Clinton E. Arnold, Acts, ed. Clinton E. Arnold, vol. 2B, Zondervan Illustrated Bible Backgrounds Commentary (Grand Rapids, MI: Zondervan, 2002), 255.
Acts The Voyage to Rome and Shipwreck (27:1–44)
typhōnikos
Acts The Voyage to Rome and Shipwreck (27:1–44)
Euraquilo is actually a bilingual compound formed from a shortened form of the Greek euronotos (east wind) and the Latin Aquila (north wind).
Although at one time critical scholars claimed that this hybrid word is found nowhere else and took it as a sign of Luke’s literary creativity, the term has been discovered on a Latin inscription found in the city of Thugga in proconsular Africa.525 It appears on a wind-rose inscribed on a pavement that bears the names of the wind in each direction. Beginning with the north and moving clockwise it reads: septentrio (north wind), aquilo (north wind; apparently slightly northeast), euroaquilo (northeast wind), vulturnus, eurus (east wind), etc.526
Today this wind is called a “Gregale” and can approach hurricane force and endanger shipping. In 1555 it is reported to have caused waves that drowned six hundred persons in the city of Valletta, the principal port city of the island of Malta.
The Fear
The Fear
passing ropes under the boat
lowering the anchor to slow the ship
sandbars of Syrtis (off the coast of Africa)
Threw cargo overboard
3rd day - threw tackle overboard, possibly the anchor and securing rigging
When neither sun nor stars appeared for many days and the storm continued raging, we finally gave up all hope of being saved.
On the fourteenth night we were still being driven across the Adriatic Sea, when about midnight the sailors sensed they were approaching land.
They took soundings and found that the water was a hundred and twenty feet deep. A short time later they took soundings again and found it was ninety feet deep.
Fearing that we would be dashed against the rocks, they dropped four anchors from the stern and prayed for daylight.
In an attempt to escape from the ship, the sailors let the lifeboat down into the sea, pretending they were going to lower some anchors from the bow.
Then Paul said to the centurion and the soldiers, “Unless these men stay with the ship, you cannot be saved.”
So the soldiers cut the ropes that held the lifeboat and let it drift away.
Not eating
Just before dawn Paul urged them all to eat. “For the last fourteen days,” he said, “you have been in constant suspense and have gone without food—you haven’t eaten anything.
The Anchors
The Anchors
But now I urge you to keep up your courage, because not one of you will be lost; only the ship will be destroyed.
Last night an angel of the God to whom I belong and whom I serve stood beside me
and said, ‘Do not be afraid, Paul. You must stand trial before Caesar; and God has graciously given you the lives of all who sail with you.’
So keep up your courage, men, for I have faith in God that it will happen just as he told me.
Nevertheless, we must run aground on some island.”
The Anchor of Belonging
The Anchor of Belonging
“The God to whom I belong and whom I serve”
The good shepherd, we are his sheep
Know that the Lord is God. It is he who made us, and we are his; we are his people, the sheep of his pasture.
His rich and glorious inheritance
I pray that your hearts will be flooded with light so that you can understand the confident hope he has given to those he called—his holy people who are his rich and glorious inheritance.
The Anchor of Presence
The Anchor of Presence
“Stood beside me”
Good to have someone with you, even better, to have someone who is capable with you.
Have I not commanded you? Be strong and courageous. Do not be afraid; do not be discouraged, for the Lord your God will be with you wherever you go.”
Then Jesus came to them and said, “All authority in heaven and on earth has been given to me.
Therefore go and make disciples of all nations, baptizing them in the name of the Father and of the Son and of the Holy Spirit,
and teaching them to obey everything I have commanded you. And surely I am with you always, to the very end of the age.”
The Anchor of Promise
The Anchor of Promise
and said, ‘Do not be afraid, Paul. You must stand trial before Caesar; and God has graciously given you the lives of all who sail with you.’
The following night the Lord stood near Paul and said, “Take courage! As you have testified about me in Jerusalem, so you must also testify in Rome.”
When you pass through the waters, I will be with you; and when you pass through the rivers, they will not sweep over you. When you walk through the fire, you will not be burned; the flames will not set you ablaze.
and said, ‘Do not be afraid, Paul. You must stand trial before Caesar; and God has graciously given you the lives of all who sail with you.’
So keep up your courage, men, for I have faith in God that it will happen just as he told me.
Nevertheless, we must run aground on some island.”
“I have told you these things, so that in me you may have peace. In this world you will have trouble. But take heart! I have overcome the world.”
The Anchor of Faith
The Anchor of Faith
Finally, be strong in the Lord and in his mighty power.
My flesh and my heart may fail, but God is the strength of my heart and my portion forever.
The Lord is my strength and my shield; my heart trusts in him, and he helps me. My heart leaps for joy, and with my song I praise him.
I pray that out of his glorious riches he may strengthen you with power through his Spirit in your inner being,
I can do all this through him who gives me strength.
I thank Christ Jesus our Lord, who has given me strength, that he considered me trustworthy, appointing me to his service.
That is why I am suffering as I am. Yet this is no cause for shame, because I know whom I have believed, and am convinced that he is able to guard what I have entrusted to him until that day.
Anchors in the Storm:
Belonging
Presence
Promise
Faith
A psalm of David.
The Lord is my shepherd, I lack nothing.
He makes me lie down in green pastures, he leads me beside quiet waters,
he refreshes my soul. He guides me along the right paths for his name’s sake.
Even though I walk through the darkest valley, I will fear no evil, for you are with me; your rod and your staff, they comfort me.
You prepare a table before me in the presence of my enemies. You anoint my head with oil; my cup overflows.
Surely your goodness and love will follow me all the days of my life, and I will dwell in the house of the Lord forever.
Anchors in the Storm:
Belonging
Presence
Promise
Faith