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Acts 27:13–20
“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” (v. 20).
Julius, the centurion who had charge of Paul and other prisoners being transported to Rome, followed the majority opinion of those counseling him regarding the next steps on their journey after they landed in the port of Fair Havens on the southern coast of Crete. Seeing that winter was approaching, Julius and his advisers made the decision to set sail for Phoenix, another port on Crete. Winter was no time to be at sea in that part of the Mediterranean, and Phoenix offered better natural shelter from hazardous weather than Fair Havens. Although Paul advised them otherwise, they decided to try to make it to Phoenix, where they could be housed in a safer port until spring arrived (Acts 27:1–12).
In today’s passage, we read that things went well at first when they set off from Fair Havens. Having retracted the anchor into the boat, they left the port and continued to sail west along the southern shore of Crete, hoping that the island would provide some shelter from inclement weather. A “tempestuous wind, called the northeaster,” however, soon blew south from the island of Crete. Specifically, it would have blown from Mount Ida, a mountain on the island with a peak eight thousand feet high. The sailors attempted to steer the ship into the wind so that they would not be blown off course, but their attempts did not meet with success, and soon the wind was driving them along and they were carried farther out to sea (vv. 13–15).
The wind took the boat to the island of Cauda, about twenty-three miles west of Fair Havens, where they were able to get some control of the boat again. The men needed to act fast, however, since they were on course to run aground on the Syrtis, a group of sandbars and shoals just off the coast of North Africa where many ships met their end. In desperation, the sailors jettisoned the cargo of the ship and then its tackle, which consisted of pulleys and other important equipment needed to hoist sails and steer the boat. No sailor would have taken such actions except as a last-ditch effort to preserve the ship and the lives on board (vv. 16–19).
Tempestuous storms darkened both night and day, obscuring the sun, moon, and stars, making it impossible for the crew to know exactly where they were. Despite the best efforts of the sailors, it increasingly looked as though they would never make it out alive, and they lost hope (v. 20). God, however, would make sure that this group arrived in Rome.
Coram Deo Living before the face of God
John Calvin comments on today’s passage that “things were so far out of order, that there was no safety to be looked for at men’s hands.” God sometimes allows us to encounter dangers and struggles from which we can find no rescue except from His hand. This helps us understand even better that He is our only Savior.
For further study
- Exodus 14
- Psalm 56
- Jeremiah 15:19–21
- 2 Timothy 4:18
The bible in a year
- Daniel 5–6
- 1 John 4