Acts 27:1

V. PAUL'S VOYAGE TO ROME

This great chapter is an immortal work of the inspired Luke, worthy in every way as one of the great narrations in all literature, giving, as Dummelow said, "The most detailed account of an ancient voyage which we possess, and is our principal source of knowledge of the ancient art of navigation."[1] Even scholars inclined to be critical here confess that "Luke's whole account may be assumed to be accurate and entirely trustworthy."[2]

The occasion of the voyage recounted here was the transfer of the apostle Paul to Rome, pursuant to his appeal to Caesar. God's angel had assured him that he would testify in Rome (Acts 23:11); and now that was to be accomplished. Paul did not come to Rome, however, in any manner that might have been anticipated by him, multiple providences having worked together in fulfilling the prophecy. As McGarvey said:

The machinations of the Jews, the avarice of Felix, the indecision of Festus, the prudence of Paul, and the Roman statute for the protection of its citizens, very strangely but very naturally combined to fulfill a promise of God made in answer to prayer.[3]

Still other providences are visible throughout the voyage itself.

Regarding the issue of the voyage in the fulfillment of its purpose, Ramsay was doubtless correct in the affirmation that "The result of his trial before the supreme court of the empire was that he was acquitted, and a decisive verdict was thus pronounced in favor of the free teaching of the Christian faith."[4] This was one of the key victories in the early propagation of Christianity. Later, the situation was to change; but this initial victory was decisive.

The intriguing story of this voyage and shipwreck is that of an eyewitness, its vividness, wealth of detail, and vocabulary making this certain. It may be demonstrated that the narrative is produced by one in possession of a medical vocabulary, unfamiliar with nautical terms, describing every maneuver of the whole voyage in such a manner as to require the conclusion that the narrator saw what he related. This is "almost universally recognized."[5]

Boles has given an excellent outline of this chapter thus: (1) aboard the ship of Adramyttium (Acts 27:1-5), (2) aboard the ship of Alexandria (Acts 27:6-12), (3) the storm (Acts 27:13-29), and (4) the shipwreck (Acts 27:30-44).

We shall avoid presenting this chapter as a travelogue, interesting as that would be, and refrain from proving that Luke is accurate and his critics wrong on every point of geography and navigation that we find. Whole volumes are available on both subjects. This writer's experience with water transportation includes a day or two as the "crew" on J. Lewis Foster's SNIPE, two weeks aboard the battle carrier USS MIDWAY (CVB 41), a week on the USS WISCONSIN, a channel crossing on the DUKE OF YORK, an overnight crossing of the Bay of Fundy on the BLUE NOSE, and two North Atlantic crossings on the EMPRESS OF BRITAIN (accompanied by "Sissy" on the latter three). Our "seamanship" is therefore insufficient to justify any other approach to this chapter. However, for the sheer delight of it, we shall depart from this rule two or three times.

[1] J. R. Dummelow, Commentary on the Holy Bible (New York: The Macmillan Company, 1937), p. 851.

[2] G. H. C. MacGreggor, The Interpreter's Bible (New York: Abingdon Press, 1954), Vol. IX, p. 331.

[3] J. W. McGarvey, Commentary on Acts (Cincinnati, Ohio: Standard Publishing Company), 2p. 260.

[4] Sir William M. Ramsay, Pictures of the Apostolic Church (Grand Rapids, Michigan: Baker Book House, 1959), p. 310.

[5] Ibid., p. 309.

And when it was determined that we should sail for Italy, they delivered Paul and certain other prisoners to a centurion named Julius, of the Augustan band. (Acts 27:1)

They delivered ... The antecedent of this pronoun is Festus and Agrippa and Bernice, indicating that Luke construed Agrippa's outspoken verdict of innocence as a contributing factor in Paul's being sent to Rome. Of course, Festus alone "delivered" Paul in the sense of issuing the necessary orders.

Sail for Italy ... has the same meaning today as then.

Certain other prisoners ... Ramsay believed these to have been:

Criminals, who were being taken to Rome to amuse by their death in the arena the idle populace, habituated to enjoy such cruel sights. Few people, like Paul, had the distinction of being remitted for trial before the highest court of the Empire.[6]

Julius ... For a list of centurions mentioned in the New Testament, see my Commentary on Luke, Luke 7:2. Invariably, these Roman officers are presented by the sacred authors in a favorable light.

The Augustan band ... This was the title of a cohort, just as "The Rainbow Division" is the title of a unit in the US Army. "Augustus" by this time had become a title of the emperor, and thus the meaning is similar to that of the "Queen's Lancers" in British terminology.