Southern Christian University
Acts Class
Session #11
James A.
Turner
Hello students.
Tonight we begin with Acts chapter twenty-seven. We just like two
chapters completing the book of Acts, and so this class session will be the
last Class Session for the book of Acts.
We will go ahead and read chapters twenty-seven and twenty-eight, and then
if I can get some help, we will go from there and trace the voyage to Rome. Paul would have been sent at liberty had he
not appealed to Caesar, but if he had not appealed unto Caesar, the Jews might
have killed him. You remember that Festus
wanted to show the Jews a favor. They
wanted Governor Festus to send him to Jerusalem for them to try him,
but they had planned to kill him in the way.
Paul told Festus in substance that was his responsibility to determine
his guilt or innocence, and he refused to go to Jerusalem to be tried again by
the Jews. He was tried first by Caiaphas and then by governor Felix, and then
by Festus, and then in chapter twenty-six by king Agrippa. Neither Caiphes, nor Felix, nor Festus had
found him guilty of any of the charges of the Council of the Jews. Paul was a
Roman Citizen, and when Festus refused to set him free he appealed unto Caesar.
Then when Festus told king Agrippa about the case he wanted to try him. After
the trial before king Agrippa, there was
a common agreement that this man has done “nothing
worthy of death or of bonds.” That is the last part
of verse thirty-one. And Agrippa said
unto Festus, this man might have been set at liberty if he had not appealed
unto Caesar. But he had appealed unto
Caesar, and so he had to go to Rome, Italy, for trial.
Chapter Twenty-seven
This chapter is about Paul’s journey to Rome for trial before Caesar. "And when
it was determined that we should set sail for Italy,
they delivered Paul and certain other prisoners to a centurion named Julius of
the Augustus' band." A centurion was over a hundred soldiers, and
Julius is in charge of the prisoners on
board the ship. Now, whether there was a hundred soldiers on board the ship Luke does
not tell us, but at least there were a number of soldiers on board the ship as
the account shows. "And
embarking in a ship of Adramyttium, which was about to sail unto places on the
coast of Asia,
we put to sea, Aristarchus, a Mascedonian of Thessalonica, being with
us." Do you remember from Acts nineteen that
Aristarchus was one of those that was in great danger when the silversmiths and
the other craftsmen caused that riot at Ephesus. Paul was ready to go in when the brethren insisted
that he not go in, and those in charge of public gatherings encouraged Paul not
to go in. Aristarchus was also one of
the messengers that carried the bounty to Jerusalem, and he and Luke go
with Paul to that first Roman imprisonment.
And it looks like they were with him during the entire period of that
two years imprisonment at Rome.
Going back to 27:1, "And
when it was determined that we."
Luke is the author, and by the pronoun we, we know that he is with Paul
on that journey. "And
Aristarchus a Macedonian of Thessalonica, being with us." Now, in Colossians 4:10, Paul sends salutations
from some of those that were with him at the time of writing, he mentions “Aristarchus,
my fellow prisoner soluteth you.” And in Philemon
verse twenty-four, he mentions Aristarchus and Luke, if I remember correctly.
Philemon verse twenty-four, "Epaphras,
my fellow prisoner in Christ Jesus saluteth thee; and so do Marcus,
Aristarchus, Demas, Luke, my fellow workers."
So notice that according to the salutation there in Philemon, Paul had a
number of helpers with him during the time of his first Roman imprisonment. And when we read those last two verses of
Acts, we see that Paul must have carried on a continuous evangelistic campaign
while he lived in his own hired house at Rome. So Mark, and Aristarchus, Demas, and Luke
were with him when he wrote Philemon, and he speaks of them as my fellow
workers. But in Colossians 4:10, he speaks of
Aristarchus as being his fellow prisoner.
Colossians 4:10, "Aristarchus
my fellow prisoner saluteth you, and Marcus, the cousin of Barnabas." And I do not believe he mentions Luke
there. Yes, he does in verse fourteen, "Luke,
the beloved physician, and Demas, salute you." So all four of them are with Paul when he
wrote the Colossian letter.
It looks like to me that Ephesians, Colossians
and Philemon were written at the same time and went forth at the same
time. Paul had converted Philemon's
slave Onesimus, and he needed to send Onesimus back to his master, because he
legally belonged to his master. And
although Paul wanted to keep Onesimus because he was very helpful in the
evangelistic work that he was doing but without the consent of his master
Philemon, he would not do such a thing. He
wanted to send Onesimus back to his master Philemon, and request in a very
appropriate way that Philemon send him back to Paul at Rome, that he needed
him. Paul wanted to give Philemon a
choice, and if Philemon sent him back, and I surely think that he did, that
would have been put unto Philemon's account.
If Paul had just written to Philemon and said, I have converted your
former slave, Onesimus, but I have decided to keep him, Philemon might have had
a little different attitude, and said, well, that old preacher, he did not have
any right to keep my slave, but by sending him back he was giving Philemon a
choice. And he pleaded with him to
receive Onesimus in a good way and to send him back to him. My guess is that he surely sent him
back. But I got a little sidetracked
there.
But, anyway, if these all went forth at the same
time, Ephesians, Colossians, and Philemon -- See, those are two of the churches
of Asia that were evidently established during that period of time that Paul
was at Ephesus. Look on the map and see
how that would have given him an opportunity to send those two epistles. Philemon's home was at Colosse, and so it
would have given him an opportunity to send that epistle to the church at Ephesus and then another one to
the church at Colossi and that short epistle to Philemon. Note that Aristarchus is spoken of as a
fellow prisoner in Colossians 4:10 and a fellow worker
in Philemon twenty-four. Was he actually
a prisoner or was Paul just speaking of him as a fellow prisoner in that he was
willing to go with Paul and be there? It
is possible that in the work that he was doing of going out and inviting people
to go and hear Paul, it is possible that some charges could have been brought
against him, but it is strange still that he would be spoken of as a fellow
prisoner in one and just a fellow worker in Philemon.
So back to Acts twenty-seven. I believe we were just on verse two. "And
embarking on a ship of Adramyttium, which was about to sail unto the place on
the coast of Asia,
we put to sea. Aristarchus, a
Mascedonian of Thessalonica, being with us.
And the next day we touched at Sidon."
Remember they are leaving from Caesarea, so they are going up
the coastline there for a little while.
"And the next day we touched at Sidon. And Julius treated Paul kindly, and
gave him leave to go unto his friends and refresh himself." Don't you guess that Julius had heard about
Paul. I guess he had gotten news that
there were really no formal charges against Paul. And, of course, Paul was such a man of
character that a wise man could have disconcerted that they would not have any
problems with this man, and so Julius treated him kindly and let him go visit
his friends at the church at Sidon. "And
putting to sea from thence, we sailed under the lee of Cyprus,
because the winds were contrary. And
when we had sailed across the sea, which is off Cilicia and
Pamphylia, we came to Myra,
a city of Lycia. The centurion found a ship of Alexandria
sailing from Italy,
and he put us therein."
The ship from Alexandria, I think surely would
have been from Alexandria of Egypt, and it was loaded with a cargo of
wheat. After the shipwreck on the island of Melita, the centurions put
them on another ship of Alexandria (Acts 28:11). There must have been a lot of commerce
between Egypt and Rome. It must have been Alexandria of Egypt
carrying the wheat to Rome, Italy. It must have been the bread basket for Rome. There must have been ships going almost
continually during the seasonal months to carry wheat to Italy. "And he put
us therein. And when he had sailed
slowly many days, and were come with difficulty over against Cnidus,
the wind not further suffering us, we sailed under Crete, over
against Salmone; and with difficulty, coasted along it, came unto a certain
place called The fair havens; nigh whereunto was the city of Lasea. And when much time was spent, and the voyage was
now dangerous, because the Fast was now already gone by, Paul admonished them." Notice that Fast is capitalized, because it
was considered the day of annual atonement.
In Leviticus chapter sixteen, that whole chapter talks about what was
done on that day of annual atonement which came in the seventh month and the
tenth day of each year. It speaks of how
that they were to afflict themselves on that day, and that is commonly
recognized as being that they fasted on that day. That was the tenth day and the seventh month
of the Jewish calendar, which would be the early part of October for our
time. The Fast was now already gone by,
and so Paul knew by experience that it was very dangerous to go any further, and
he is evidently telling them that on the basis of his experience. He had been shipwrecked already more than
once. He states in II Corinthians eleven
that he had been a day and a night in the deep, and I guess he did not want to
have that experience anymore.
We will turn to II Corinthians chapter eleven
and read about some of those things that Paul had suffered by the time he wrote
that second epistle to the Corinthians in about 57 AD. Let us begin with verse twenty-two, II
Corinthians chapter eleven, "Are they
Hebrews? So am I. Are they Israelites? So am I.
Are they the seed of Abraham? So
am I. Are they ministers of Christ? I speak as one beside himself. I am more; in labors more abundantly, in
prisons more abundantly, in stripes above measure, in deaths oft. Of the Jews five times received I forty
stripes save one. Thrice I was beaten
with rods, and once was I stoned, thrice I suffered shipwreck." And so he had already experienced three
shipwrecks and from one of those. "And a night and a day I have been in the
deep." Probably on some part of
the ship. And you can imagine he did not
want to have an experience like that again. "And journeyings often, in perils of
rivers, in perils of robbers, in perils from mine countrymen, in perils from
the Gentiles, in perils in the city." Paul had
suffered a lot of things prior to his voyage to Rome, and he would be going
to Rome in about 60 AD. And II Corinthians was written about three years
before this voyage to Rome.
Back to 27:9, "And
when much time was spent, and the voyage was now dangerous, because the Fast
was now already gone back, Paul admonished them, and said unto them, Sirs, I
perceive that the voyage will be with injury and much loss, not only of the
lading of the ship, but also of our lives."
Now, this must have been a big ship for the day because there were two
hundred and seventy-six men on board the ship and plus that cargo of wheat, and
the cargo of wheat would be heavy. They
did not have the wheat in large crates like we would have today, but it was loose
in the ship. And you can imagine as the
storm moved the ship over to one side, that it would shift the wheat and would
make it even more dangerous, and the ship would either be turned over or tear
apart. It looks like that the ship is
primarily a merchant vessel, big enough that they have two hundred and
seventy-six men on board other than the cargo of wheat. "But the centurion gave more heed to the
master and to the owner of the ship, than to those things which were spoken by
Paul." Actually the centurion could control whether
or not they sailed further, and I guess he wished a number of times that he had
listened to Paul and had not gone any further.
Acts 27:12, "And
because the haven was not the commodious to winter in, the more part advised to
depart from thence, if by any means they could reach Phenice, and winter
there." Phenice is on the other side of the island of Crete. "Which is
the haven of Crete,
and would be northeast and southeast.
And when the south wind blew softly, supposing that they had obtained
their purpose, they weighed anchor, and sailed along Crete close in
shore." They were hoping that they could just go down
by the shore to the other end of the island of Crete, and when the wind blew
softly, they thought they had an opportune time. But it did not turn out that way, a terrible
storm came up. "But
after a long time, there beat down from it acontemptuous wind, which is called
the Euroclydon." It is spelled differently in the King James
version, The NIV says Northeaster. It
was a very strong violent wind. "And
when the ship was caught, and could not face the wind, we gave way to it and
were driven. And running under the lee
of a small island called Claudia, we were able with difficulty to secure the
boat." That would be the life boat. They had planned just to move along very
close to the shoreline of the island of Crete to the other side of
the island, but the wind would not allow them to do that. That terrible storm pulled them away from the
island of Crete, and they have trouble
even getting the life boat up into the ship.
"And when they had hoisted it up,
they used helps, undergirding the ship."
That would be putting cables or chains around the ship to try to prevent
it from breaking into pieces during the storm.
They have another name for that, but, anyway that is what Luke is
talking about, them putting cables around the ship to try to prevent it from
breaking in pieces. "And
fearing less they should be cast upon the Syrtis."
And I believe the King James says quicksand, and that is what it would
be. "And
they lowered the gear, and so were driven." That would be lowered the sailing gear. You see that the storm is so bad that it
would be more dangerous with the sails up,
and so they lower them. "And
as we labored exceedingly with the storm, the next day they began to
throw the grain overboard." That would be
the wheat. And
the third day they cast out with their hands the tackling of the ship." The footnote in my Bible says the furniture
of the ship. "And
when neither sun nor stars shown upon us for many days, and no small tempest
lay on us, all hope that we should be saved was now taken away." Don't you know that all those who voted to
move around to the other side of the island are thinking about how that Paul
advised them not to, that it would be dangerous. And then an angel of the Lord appears to Paul
in the night and tells him that the ship will be wrecked, but there will be no
loss of lives.
Verse twenty-one, "And
when they had been long without food, then Paul stood forth in the midst
of them, and said, Sirs, ye should have hearkened unto me, and not set sail
from Crete,
and gotten this injury and loss. And now
I exhort you to be of good cheer: For there shall be no loss of life
among you, but only of the ship." So the ship
will be shipwrecked, but no loss of any lives of the people on the ship. "For
there stood by me this night an angel of the God, whose I am, and whom also I
serve, saying, Fear not, Paul: Thou must stand before Caesar." He is going to finish that journey to go
before Caesar, the ruler. "Thou
must stand before Caesar, and lo, God hath granted thee all them that sail with
thee." Now, I have not read from anybody that has
any kind of thinking near mine, but he calls attention when the sailors were trying
to get away from the ship, Paul told them they would have to remain on the
ship. I wonder if somehow those men did not have some part in Paul being set at
liberty from that first Roman imprisonment, but that is just my thinking. I do not know of anyone else that would
reason that way.
Acts 27:25, "Wherefore,
sirs, be of good cheer: For I believe God, that it shall be even so
as it has been spoken unto me. But we
must be cast upon a certain island. But
when the fourteenth night was come, and as we were driven to and fro in the sea of Adria
about midnight
the sailors surmised that they were drawing near to some country; and they
sounded, and found twenty fathoms." A fathom
is six feet, so six times twenty, the water was a hundred and twenty feet deep
when they sounded the first time. "And
after a little space, they sounded again, and found fifteen fathoms." And that would be ninety feet. So you see the depth of the water decreased
thirty feet in the a short space of travel, and they had a strong indication
that they were nearing land. "And
fearing lest haply we should be cast ashore on rocky ground, they let go four
anchors from the stern, and wished for the day.” And as the sailors were seeking to flee out of
the ship. They were just going to leave everybody on
the ship, and they were going to try to flee in that life boat and seek the
land, but as the sailors were lowering the boat into the sea, under color as
though they would lay out anchors from the foreship, Paul said to the centurion
and to the soldiers, “Except these abide in the ship, ye
cannot be saved." And so the angel of the Lord had told Paul that
there would not be any loss of life of any on board the ship because God had granted
to him all of those who were on the ship. If the sailors left, that would be a
violation of what the angel had told Paul, and so he said to the centurion and
to the soldiers, "Except these abide in the ship,
ye cannot be saved. Then the soldiers
cut away the ropes of the boat, and let her fall off." So that solved that problem. "And while
the day was coming up, Paul besought them all to take some food, saying,
This day is the fourteenth day that we wait and continue fasting, having
taken nothing. Wherefore I beseech you
to take some food: For this will be for your safety: For there shall not a hair perish from the
head of any of you. And when he had said
this, and had taken bread, he gave thanks to God in the presence of all: And he breaketh and he began to eat." Don't you know that had an impression on
those people on board the ship, and
that must have been good news to them.
Luke has already said back there that all hope was gone. They did not have any hope back there. Note verse twenty, "And
when neither the sun nor stars hath shown on us many days, and no small tempest
lay on us, all hope that we should be saved was now taken away." So just a short while ago, all of them
thought that they were going to be killed in that storm, and then the good news
by the angel of the Lord to Paul that there would be no loss of life, and now
Paul gives thanks for the food, and he encourages them to eat, and they were
encouraged to eat. Verse thirty-six,
"Then were they all of good cheer, and
themselves also took food. And we were
all in the ship two hundred and threescore and sixteen souls." Now, if you are reading from a newer version,
it probably reads two hundred and seventy-six souls. Threescore, a score is twenty, so two hundred and threescore would be sixty
and sixteen, and that would surely be two hundred and seventy-six. "And
when they had eaten enough, they lightened the ship, throwing out the wheat
into the sea." I guess they had saved part of the cargo for
food, and so they threw the rest of it out.
"And when it was day, they knew not the
land: But they perceived a certain bay with a
beach, and they took counsel, whether they could drive the ship upon it. And casting off the anchors, they let them in
the sea, and at the same time loosed bands of the rudders and housed up the
foresail to the wind, and made for the beach.
And gliding upon a place where two seas met, they ran the vessel
aground; and the foreship struck, and remained unmovable, but the stern began
to brake up by the violence of the waves.
And the soldier's' counsel was to kill the prisoners." According to Roman authority, if soldiers
were in charge of prisoners and they let them escape, then their life was to be
taken because they let the prisoner escape.
You remember that this was the case of the Philippian jailer in Acts
sixteen. That centurion by now must have
had a lot of confidence in the apostle Paul,
and he does not want him to be killed.
"And the soldier's counsel was to
kill the prisoners, lest any of them should swim out, and escape. But the centurion desiring to save Paul,
saved them from their purpose; and commanded that they who could swim should
cast themselves overboard and get first to the land." If the soldiers got first to the land, they could be in
control of the situation and see that those prisoners did not escape when they
got to land. "And
the rest, some on planks, and some on other things from the ship. And so it came to pass, that they all escaped
safe to the land.
Chapter Twenty-eight
When we
were escaped, then we knew that the island was called Melita." A footnote in my Bible says it had been
called Meline, and if you are reading from one of the newer versions, it
probably says Malta, and on the map, it is Malta. "And the
barbarians showed us no common kindness: For they kindled a fire, and received us all,
because of the present rain, and because of the cold." What is the meaning of that word barbarians
as Luke uses it there? It does not mean
that those people were wicked or uneducated, but they spoke a language that the
Romans and the Greeks did not know, and so in that sense they are spoken of as
barbarians. In I Corinthians chapter
fourteen, Paul uses the same kind of language in talking about the people at Corinth speaking in
tongues. They had miraculous gifts of
speaking in tongues, and they were speaking in a foreign language to the people
at Corinth. And, of course, those people in the church at
Corinth could not begin to understand
what they were saying, and Paul uses the word barbarian in talking about
that. I Corinthians 14:11, "If
then I know not the meaning of the voice, I shall be to him that speaketh a
barbarian, and he that speaketh will be a barbarian unto me." The problem was they were speaking a foreign
language that the brethren in the church could not understand. They wanted to demonstrate their ability to
speak in tongues. And Paul told them
that unless there was an interpreter present, for them to keep silent in the
church.
Back to Acts 28:2, "And
the barbarians showed us no common kindness."
And that shows that they were not wicked people. They treated them very kindly by building a
fire. Evidently they must have built a
big fire for them. Don't you know that
those two hundred and seventy-six men appreciated that big fire they built for
them. In the first place, that terrible
wind, they had been cold with that, and they had been in the water, and so
their clothes were wet, and my how they must have welcomed a warm fire. "And the
barbarians showed us no common kindness: For they kindled a fire, and received us all,
because of the present rain, and because of the cold. But when Paul had gathered a bundle of sticks." Now, I think that shows something about the
character of Paul. He was not going to
stand there by the warmth of the fire and expect somebody else to keep the fire
going, but he gathered a bundle of sticks.
I imagine he was one of the persons there keeping that fire going in a
big way. "Gathered
a bundle of sticks, and laid them on the fire.
A viper came out by reason of the heat, and fastened on his hand." The text shows that the people of the island
recognized that it was a very venomous snake, and they expected him to die from
it. Verse four, "And
when the barbarians saw the venomous. Venomous is added in different print, but,
anyway, it shows that they recognized that it was a poisonous viper, creature
hanging from his hand. They said one to
another, No doubt this man is a murderer, whom, though he hath escaped from the
sea, yet Justice hath not suffereth to live." In my Bible Justice is capitalized, and that
would evidently be the name of one of their gods, the god of Justice. And so they reasoned that this man must be a
murderer for him to escape this awful shipwreck, and now Justice will not allow
him to live. Of course, they are just
expecting him to swell up and fall down dead any time. "Howbeit,
he shook off the creature into the fire, and took no harm."
Now, I believe I read from one writer that the
snake or viper never did bite him. Well,
remember that the apostles had miraculous powers. And as given in Mark the sixteenth chapter,
Jesus, in talking to the apostles about how such things would not harm them,
reading from Mark 16:17, "And
these signs shall accompany them that believe in my name shall they cast out
demons: They shall speak with new tongues. They shall take up serpents. And if they drink any deadly thing, it shall
in no wise hurt them. And they shall lay
hands on the sick, and they shall recover." Those
were the words of Jesus just before he ascended, “then
the Lord Jesus after he had spoken unto them was received up into heaven and
sat down at the right hand of God. And
they went forth and preached everywhere (the
twelve apostles) and
the Lord working with them and confirming the word by the signs that
followed. Amen." The apostles with all the miraculous power
that they were given by the outpouring of the Holy Spirit on that day of
Pentecost, as we read about in Acts chapter two, certainly such things would not
harm them. And remember that they could
bestow nine different miraculous gifts on other Christians by the laying on of
their hands. Those miraculous gifts are
listed in I Corinthians 12:4-11.
Back to Acts twenty-eight. They are expecting Paul to fall over
dead. Verse five, "Howbeit
he shook off the creature, into the fire, and took no harm. But they expected that he would have swollen
or fallen down dead suddenly: But when they were long in expectation, and
held nothing of this come to him, they changed their minds, and they said
that he was a god." But, of course, they
regarded him as being like one of their idol gods. "Now in the
neighborhood of that place were lands belonging to the chief man of the island,
named Publius; who received us, and entertained us three days courteously."
And I wonder, does that just mean Paul and those
companions that were with him or did Publius entertain all of those
people? It looks like that there would
have been a problem if he entertained all of them. He at least entertained Paul and his company
courteously for three days. "And it was
so that the father of Publius lay sick of fever and dysentery: unto whom Paul entered in, and prayed, and
laid his hands on him, and healed him.
And when this was done, the rest also that had diseases in the
island, came, and were healed. Who
also honored us with many honors; and when we departed, they laded us with such
things as were necessary." Some of
those honors could have been their telling how that they appreciated what Paul
had done for all of those sick people on the island, and how much they appreciated them being with
them. And, of course, it could have also
included that they were giving Paul, and I would think especially those
companions of Paul and Luke and Aristarchus too a lot of things. But note that it not only would have included
them, but the latter part of the verse would have included all on board that ship. "And when
they sailed, they put on board such things as we needed." And again that shows that those people were
kind-hearted people and a liberal people that they would put on. board that
ship enough supplies to take care of the needs of two hundred and seventy-six
men aboard that ship. "And
then after three months we set sail in the ship of Alexandria." See, we have the
ship named Alexandria again, and it is going
to Rome. "Which had
wintered in the island." The master of that ship must have used good
sense and stopped at the proper time. A
brief recess was taken.
We are ready to begin again with Acts 28:11, "And
after three months we set sail in a ship of Alexandria,
which had wintered in the island, whose sign was the twin brothers." And, see, three months, then winter would
have been over, and it would have been safe to travel again. So the master of that ship had used good
wisdom to stop at the right time. But notice
that it also was a ship of Alexandria of Egypt that evidently was carrying
wheat to Rome. "And
touching at Syracuse,
we tarried there three days. And from
thence we made a circuit, and arrived at Rhegium: And after one day the south wind sprang up,
and on the second day we came to Puteoli."
It
looks like they were moving pretty fast because of that south wind. "Where we found brethren, and were entreated
to tarry with them seven days: And so we came to Rome." Don't you think that meant that those
brethren wanted them to stay? They must
have gotten there on Monday, and they wanted them to stay and worship with them
on the first day of the week, the brethren at Puteoli. “And from
thence, the brethren when they heard of us, came to meet us as far as the
market of Appii, and the Three taverns." I
believe one of those places would have been thirty or more miles and the other one
forty
or fifty miles. So the brethren came a
considerable distance to meet Paul. And
when they met him, Luke says that he thanked God and took courage. Let us read that verse again. "And from
thence, the brethren when they heard of us, came to meet us as far as the
market of Appii, and the three taverns.
Whom when Paul saw, he thanked God, and took courage."
Does that statement not imply that Paul was
lacking in courage? He was going to Rome as a prisoner. He had
told them in that letter to Rome, as he was ready to
carry that bounty to Jerusalem, that he knew that he
would come to them in the fullness of the blessings of Christ, which thing he
did, but not in the way he expected, but as a prisoner. Don't you know that that must have been
embarrassing to him, thinking about what will the brethren think, here I am
counted as a criminal. "And
when we entered into Rome,
Paul was suffered to abide by himself, with the soldier that guarded him." So Paul has a lot of freedom during this
first Roman imprisonment. It is very
different from the second Roman imprisonment.
He has gone to Rome and there are not any formal
charges against him. That evidently is
the reason why he is given such freedom.
"And it came to pass, that after three
days he called together those that were the chief of the Jews: And when they were come together, he said
unto them." He wants to explain to them that he does not
have anything against the Jewish people, and he wants to explain to them how it
occurred. They heeded his request. "When
they were come together, he said unto them." They
were his Jewish brethren according to the flesh.. "Though I
had done nothing against the people or the customs of our fathers, yet was delivered
prisoner from Jerusalem
into the hands of the Romans. Who, when
they had examined me, desired to set me at liberty, because there was no cause
of death in me. But when the Jews spake
against it." He must be speaking of what occurred when
Festus wanted him to go to Jerusalem to be tried by the Jews
again. Festus wanted to show the Jews a favor (Acts 25:9-12). "When the
Jews spake against it, I was constrained to appeal unto Caesar; not that I had
ought to accuse my nation. For this
cause therefore did I entreat to see you, and to speak with me: For because of the hope of Israel
I am bound with this chain. And they
said unto him, We neither received letters from Judaea
concerning thee, nor did any of the brethren come hither and report or speak
any harm of thee. But we desire to hear
of thee what thou thinkest: For as concerning this sect." They are referring to Christianity
as a sect "It is known to us that everywhere it is
spoken against. And when they had
appointed him a day, they came into his lodging in great numbers."
Acts 28:23, That hired house, or
hired dwelling must have been a large house to accommodate the number of Jews
that went on that occasion to hear him. "And
when they had appointed him a day, they came to him in his lodging in great
numbers; to whom he expounded the matter, testifying the kingdom of God,
and persuading them concerning Jesus, both from the law of the Moses, and from
the prophets, from morning till evening." He may have even referred to Genesis 3:15, the first promise
concerning the savior, after man had sinned that the seed of woman would bruise
the head of the serpent, the devil. And
then Moses had said as recorded in Deuteronomy eighteen, that a prophet shall
the Lord your God raise up from among your brethren likened to me. And when you consider all the prophecies that
are given in the Old Testament prophets, as usually counted there are more than
three hundred prophecies concerning Christ in the Old Testament
scriptures. Paul must have used a lot of
them in talking to the Jewish leaders, and showing that Jesus was the
fulfillment of the Old Testament scriptures.
So he was testifying of the kingdom of God, and persuading them
concerning Jesus, both from the law of Moses, and from the prophets, from morning
till evening. It looks like they gave
him respect and were at least very polite to him, that they stayed there and
listened to him from morning till evening.
Paul of course was able to carry through in a straight course showing
them so many things from the scriptures.
Acts 28:24, "And
some believed the things which were spoken, and some disbelieved. And when they agreed not among themselves,
they departed, after that Paul had spoken one word, Well spake the Holy Spirit
through Isaiah the prophet unto your father, saying, by
hearing ye shall hear, and shall no wise understand; and seeing ye shall see,
and shall in no wise perceive." Why? "For
this people's heart is waxed gross, and
their ears are dull of hearing, and their eyes they have closed; lest haply
they should see with their eyes, and hear with their ears, and understand with
their heart, and should turn again, and I should heal them." Is not that the same reference that Jesus
quoted when he began to teach the people in parables? When the disciples asked why, he told them,
Matthew chapter thirteen. "Be
it known therefore unto you, that the salvation of God is sent unto the
Gentiles, and they will also hear."
Now, do you remember Acts 1:8, “ye
shall be my witnesses in Jerusalem,
Judaea,
Samaria,
and unto the uttermost parts of the earth.” But you
see everywhere Paul went, even in Gentile territory, if there was a Jewish
synagogue, it was his custom, as we have studied from Acts seventeen, to use
the synagogue first. And here he speaks
to the leaders of the Jewish people first, and he tells them that the Gentiles
are going to hear.
And for that whole two-year period, verses
thirty and thirty-one tell us that he carried on an evangelistic campaign. With good and capable brethren like Luke, and
Aristarchus and Timothy and Demas and Mark, and Onesimus part of the time, he
surely had a lot of good helpers during that two years' imprisonment. Evidently they were going out and bringing in
people to hear Paul. "And
he abode two whole years." Does verses thirty and thirty-one not show
that that two years' imprisonment was up when Luke completed the book of
Acts. "And
he abode two whole years in his own hired dwelling, and received all that went
unto him, preaching the kingdom of God,
and teaching the things concerning the Lord Jesus Christ, with all boldness,
none forbidding him." And remember that
not only did he carry on that evangelistic campaign during that two years
period of time, but he wrote four more epistles. He wrote Ephesians, Colossians, and Philemon,
that I strongly believe went forth at the same time, and then at a later date
during the end of that two years' imprisonment, he wrote that letter to the
Philippians.
When he wrote to the Colossians, he asked them
to pray that a door might be opened, and evidently he was standing in that open
door all the time, but had not recognized it.
Well, let us notice from Ephesians, he asked them to pray for him. Ephesians 6:19-20, "And
on my behalf that utterance may be given unto me, that opening my mouth to make
known with boldness, the mystery of the gospel, for which I am an ambassador in
chains: that if it I may speak boldly as I ought to
speak." And in the Philippian letter, it comes next,
notice that he states that his bonds have turned out for the furtherance of the
gospel. Philippians 1:12, "Now
I would have you know brethren, that the things which happened unto me have
fallen out rather unto the progress of the Gospel; so that my bonds
became manifest in Christ, throughout the whole palace guard." The guard of the emperor. "And
to all the rest; and that most of the brethren, in the Lord, being confident
through my bonds, are more abundantly bold to speak the word without fear." So evidently Paul had done more for the cause
of Christ as a prisoner then he would have been able to have done as a free
man. When he wrote the Philippian
letter, he was expecting a showdown almost immediately, and told them that he
would send Timothy to them as soon as he learned how it would go with him. But in the Colossian letter, Colossians
chapter 4:2, "Continue
steadfastly in prayer, and watching therein with thanksgiving; withal praying
for us also, that God may open unto us a door for the word, to speak the
mystery of Christ, for which I am also in bonds: That I may make it manifest, as I ought to." Don't you know that Paul was in that open
door, but had not recognized it at least to the point that he did when he wrote
the Philippian letter.
And now let me see if I can get some help so
that I can trace the journey on the map, the journey to Rome. What I would like to do, I would just like
for us to begin again and trace the voyage to Rome. Turning back to chapter twenty-seven, notice
that Luke and Aristarchus are going with Paul to Rome. And remember they are leaving from Caesarea. Paul has been in prison at Caesarea for about two
years. And reading from verse two,
"And embarking in the ship of
Adramyttium, which was about to sail unto the places on the coast of Asia, and be
put to sea, Aristarchus a Mascedonian of Thessalonica being with us. And the next day we touch at Sidon."
And so you see from Caesarea to Sidon is not very far. And then from there they go into the Mediterranean sea then. And the centurion Julius showed Paul no
common kindness and let him go and visit the brethren at Sidon seemingly without even
soldiers with him. "And
putting to sea from thence, we sailed under the lee of Cyprus,
because the winds were contrary."
The lee of Cyprus, it looks like to me they
would have been coming over here and coming around, because of the wind. The
lee of Cyprus would have been
protection from the strong winds. But this
map is showing it by going a more direct route.
If the winds were very strong, there would have been protection from the
land there from the wind. "And
when he had sailed across the sea."
Which is off of Cilicia. This is Cilicia. "And
Pamphylia."
Here is Pamphylia. "We
came to Myra,
a city of Lycia." Myra is right here. And then they really have trouble with the
storm. And I am having trouble looking
at my Bible and following the map too.
"And when we had sailed slowly many
days, and were come with difficulty over against Cnidus,
the wind not further suffering us, we sailed under Crete, over
against Salmone." And from Myra over to Cnidus is on the map there,
and said it took many days. And so you
can see that the travel was very slow because of the winds being contrary. And then they go from there, they go down to
The Fair Havens.
And that is where they were when Paul advised that
they better winter in The Fair Havens, that it would be dangerous for them to
go any further. Evidently Paul was not speaking
by inspiration, but by his own experience.
And remember that we turned and read from II Corinthians eleven, he had
already been shipwrecked three times, and a night and a day he spent in the
deep, and he did not want to be shipwrecked again. But they did not listen to him. They wanted to get around to Lasea that was
considered a better place to winter. And
when the wind blew softly, they thought they had an opportune time, and they
planned to stay close to the island. And
they didn't even take up the boat, the life boat. And then the storm came up almost
immediately, and it threw them off course, and for fourteen days and nights
neither sun nor stars shinned. Luke
states that all hope was gone that any of them would be saved, and they end up
being shipwrecked on the island of Malta. The people of the island showed them no
common kindness as we discussed.
Please remember that Paul healed all the
diseased people on the island. And three
months later when the ship was ready to leave, another ship from Alexandria of
Egypt carrying grain to Rome, they got on board the
ship three months later. That ship had
spent the winter at that small island,
and so we are picking up there.
Chapter twenty-eight, "And after
three months we set sail in the ship of Alexandria,
which had wintered in the island, whose sign was the twin brothers." If you are reading from a newer translation,
it will probably give the names of those twin brothers, or twin gods. "And
touching at Syracuse." So from Cyprus they go up to Syracuse right here. And they tarried three days at Syracuse. And then they went up to Rhegium right
here. “And
touching at Syracuse
we tarried three days. And from thence
we made a circuit, and arrived at Rhegium: And after one day the south wind sprang up,
and on the second day we came to Puteoli."
That south wind must have pushed them on to Syracuse in a hurry. See, it was a great distance there in that
short period of time. And the brethren
of Rome then came to meet
Paul. Well, at Puteoli there were
brethren there, and they wanted them to stay there seven days, as we talked
about, evidently and worship with them on the first day of the week.
Verse fifteen, "And from thence,
the brethren when they heard of us, they came to meet us as far as the market
of Appii." That is up here, and also there is the three
taverns. I believe it would have been
forty or fifty miles from Rome to
Appii and thirty or forty to the three taverns.
But that shows that the brethren were interested in Paul. And Luke says that when they came to meet
him, that he thanked God and took courage.
And so that pretty well shows the course that they went in going to Rome. But if they had listened to Paul, that
shipwreck would have been avoided. Thank
you for your kind attention. I surely
hope you have learned a lot in this study of the book of Acts.