Acts 27

http://www.esvbible.org/Acts+27/

Finally, the time comes for Paul to go to Rome. Luke and many of Paul's other disciples, who are in Caesarea go with him. First, the travel on a ship headed for Myra in Lycia. The captain of this ship treated Paul very kindly and gave him every comfort. He was able to see his friends freely and do pretty much anything else he wanted to. Again, the captain of this ship probably saw that there was something different about Paul because he followed Jesus. Do people see you as living differently because of Jesus? It should be a good different. The only problem with the first ship was that they were sailing against the wind and had to take tough routes. When the ship arrived in Myra, the captain found Paul, Paul's followers, and the other prisoners going to Rome a new ship. This change brought problems galore. After a few days at sea, the wind stopped, rendering the ship useless. Ships back in this time could move fairly rapidly if the wind filled the sails, but even if this ship was large enough to house oars, having men row the ship was a slow process, especially over such a great distance. They finally found the southern shore of Crete, but still had trouble sailing near it. Eventually, they arrived at a port and took some time there. They had lost so much time that the day of fasting had already passed. They should already be in Rome, but they've only made in as far as Crete (consult a map for help of where these places are). While they're stopped at the port in Crete, Paul tells the shipmen that they should stay awhile longer because if they continue now, they will lose the cargo and the ship on the voyage, and everyone onboard will have their lives changed. Obviously, God does not agree with man's timing of when Paul should arrive in Rome, so He has already come up with His own time. Paul may have this information about the disastrous journey because God wanted to show that He gave them a chance to follow God's timing. The captain, however, had more powerful people pushing him from the other opinion, so he decided to sail on. They wanted to reach the northern side of Crete to spend the winter since it was a more pleasant place to spend the winter. After they set out, the wind picks up, and the men running the ship think that their plan will work; however, the next day, a huge storm blows over them. It throws them violently around the sea, and the men had to lower the sail and reinforce the life boats. Later, they threw off the cargo and finally, the shipping equipment. For days the storm tortured them. In the end, Paul stood among them and told them that they should have listened to him because he had heard an angel of God speak. The good news is that the angel said that while the ship and the cargo would be destroyed, the people would all be safe. Paul predicts that they will soon hit an island.

Two weeks passed and the company was still at sea. At midnight on the fourteenth day, they thought they were approaching land, so they let down a rope that sank 120 feet. Later, they tried again, and the rope sank only 90 feet. The shipmen were afraid they'd hit rocks, so they dropped the anchors. Some of the crew wanted to release the lifeboat in order to escape while they pretended to fix the front anchor, but you can't trick God, and when he revealed the plan to Paul, Paul and the head officer foiled it. Their only hope was to wait for morning to see if they could run the ship ashore. Before daybreak, Paul encouraged the people to eat. No one had eaten since the beginning of the storm and since God had promised not to let the storm kill them, they shouldn't let themselves die of starvation. He then took bread, blessed God in front of everyone and they all ate. After they ate, they felt better. In the morning, the people didn't recognize the island, but they decided their best bet was to run the ship ashore. They hit a sandbar before they made it. The front of the ship would not budge, and the back was destroyed by waves. The crew wanted to kill the prisoners to prevent them from escaping, but the guards would not allow it because they wanted to save Paul. Then, all of the men went ashore.