One of the things we like best about living in Alaska is the outdoors. The Chena River, which flows placidly through downtown, is a little powerhouse of rapids in its upper courses. Although we are not white-water canoeists, we enjoy an occasional momentary thrill as the Chena reaches Class 3 in some spots. One Memorial Day weekend we decided to take advantage of an early spring and a hot day to canoe the Chena from just below Chena Hot Springs to a campground near the highway to Chena Hot Spring. We were floating along, commenting on the warm sun when we hit rapids. No sooner were we in the center of the river aiming for the best slot then we saw two men up to their chests in the rushing water trying to pull their overturned power boat out from under a submerged log. Our Lab, who wasn’t water-rescue trained but never missed an opportunity to get wet, immediately went over the side of our canoe to “rescue” these men, swamping us, which turned us sideways to the current and flipped us.

Alaskan water is COLD!!  Even on a warm day in the middle of summer, it takes your breath away and numbs your hands and feet quickly. We surfaced gasping and sputtering and worked for the next couple of minutes to retrieve our canoe from a sweeper and beach it. Our Lab had decided that her allegiance was owed to us, but she was still concerned about those men we had passed in the slot, so we slogged back there to investigate. Both were blue and hypothermic, but determined to get their boat free.  I built a fire while BJ and Girl Dog, who thought she was a water-loving freight puller, tied off to their boat and pulled it free of the log. The men stumbled to the fire so cold they couldn’t talk without biting their tongues. One man was babbling about stuff that wasn’t there. When he came to, for a moment, he hollered. Later he told us that the fire and the pain in his hands and feet as blood returned had made him think he was in Hell.

I think Paul knew how he felt as his party came ashore on Malta. There were probably some islanders who turned out for the shipwreck – shore people have for millennia made money off sunken treasure and it’s best to keep the survivors distracted so they don’t know you’re stealing from them. They probably built a fire and offered warm drinks around. Those passengers who recovered quickly no doubt lent a hand gathering firewood. Paul, apparently, was one.

“After we had safely reached shore, we learned that the island was called Malta.  The local inhabitants showed us extraordinary kindness, for they built a fire and welcomed us all because it had started to rain and was cold. When Paul had gathered a bundle of brushwood and was putting it on the fire, a viper came out because of the heat and fastened itself on his hand. When the local people saw the creature hanging from Paul’s hand, they said to one another, “No doubt this man is a murderer! Although he has escaped from the sea, Justice herself has not allowed him to live!”  However, Paul shook the creature off into the fire and suffered no harm. But they were expecting that he was going to swell up or suddenly drop dead. So after they had waited a long time and had seen nothing unusual happen to him, they changed their minds and said he was a god.” Acts 28:1-6

While gathering sticks and brush, Paul found more than wood. A viper was apparently lying dormant among the sticks, and did not come to life until the heat of the fire roused it, whereupon it fastened itself to Paul’s hand. Paul’s reaction was simple and decisive: he shook the creature into the fire. (Growing up without snakes in Alaska, I am amazed that he didn’t panic and endanger others by flinging the creature away from him; I would have!). Just as during the shipwreck, Paul didn’t do anything “spiritual”. He seems to have gone on with what he was doing.  He didn’t kneel in prayer or make some pious last speech or preach a sermon. The man who had gotten up off the ground and walked back into Lystra after being stoned seems to have continued gathering wood. He didn’t act like he was about to die. There are commentators who will assure you that this viper was not venomous at all because present-day Malta, a small and overcrowded island no longer has such snakes. They will insist that the islanders and passengers, including Luke were merely mistaken about the risk to Paul’s life. Let’s set aside the idea that God’s inspired writer, empowered by the Holy Spirit, could be mistaken. Luke was a doctor who may well have treated snake bites in the past. Doctors were not then as they are not now careless about the identification of snakes which might have a fatal bite. Far from being primitives who knew nothing of herpetology, people in Paul’s day knew more about nature than we do today, who live in paved cities. Their lives depended upon knowing the difference between a venomous snake and one that was not. They knew Paul had been well and truly bit for the snake clung to his hand. They waited for Paul’s hand to swell and for him to die. This was the natural course of events from such an encounter.

God intervened. Paul went on as usual and, eventually, became clear that Paul was not going to die be adversely affected. Jesus had promised as much in Luke 10:17-20. Christians should not have been surprised at Paul’s miraculous deliverance from death. The natives, however, were. Supposing he was a dangerous criminal who had escaped justice by drowning at sea, they had expected him to die from the snake bite. When he did not, they concluded it was evidence that Paul was a god. I don’t know why Luke didn’t follow up on this incident. Surely there were consequences from being deemed divine. We can be assured, based on past experience, that Paul did not allow the Maltese natives to worship him as a “god”. I think that this is similar to the experience in Lystra, where Paul used the mistaken identity to refute claims that he was a god and in so doing, proclaimed the way of salvation.

The serpent incident was the perfect entre to the gospel. The Maltese did not believe in a personal god, but in an impersonal force or divine being they called “justice” (fate, might be a better term). If they thought Paul had escaped the “sting of death”, well, they too could escape that fate through faith in Jesus Christ. Paul, the great theologian who didn’t hesitate to preach before Athenian philosophers and kings, capitalized on this opportunity, I’m quite certain.

“Now in the region around that place were fields belonging to the chief official of the island, named Publius, who welcomed us and entertained us hospitably as guests for three days. The father of Publius lay sick in bed, suffering from fever and dysentery. Paul went in to see him and after praying, placed his hands on him and healed him. After this had happened, many of the people on the island who were sick also came and were healed.  They also bestowed many honors, and when we were preparing to sail, they gave us all the supplies we needed.^”  Acts 28:7-10

The incident with the serpent brought Paul to prominence on the island and paved the way for an expanded ministry while on Malta. Publius, the chief official on the island, seems to have offered these 276 stranded, shivering souls meals and a place to stay for three days, after which they seem to have found winter accommodations on the island. Publius’ genuine hospitality allowed Paul to learn of his father’s illness and to determine that God’s power was available to heal him. Seeing the ailing man, he prayed for him and then laid hands on him for healing. This resulted in others being brought to Paul for healing. Paul did not presume that God would heal through him, any more than He would deliver those on board ship, as though Paul could turn God’s power on and off like a water faucet. Paul only acted when he was assured of God’s will in these matters. Only when the angel of the Lord appeared to Paul did he assure the passengers of their safe landing (27:21-26). I believe that Paul only laid hands on the father of Publius after he was convinced that God willed his miraculous healing. Would that Christians today would do likewise, rather than claiming to have constant power which they employ at their discretion. The inference of Luke 5:17 is that there were times when the power of the Lord was not present for performing healings; Jesus was sensitive and attentive to such times. He would not act independently of the Father, or seek to force Him to act in accordance with His own will (Luke 4:1-11; John 7:1-9; 8:28-30). Paul also seems to have performed miracles, signs and wonders, only when it was apparent that it was God’s will to do so (Acts 14:3). In addition to Paul’s sensitivity to God’s sovereign leading, Paul also took other related factors into account, such as the faith of those who would be healed (Acts 14:9-10). God’s sovereignty therefore means that He is always able to heal and perform miracles, but that He is not always willing to do so. We do not manipulate God; He manipulates us!

And so it was that Paul concluded it was God’s will to heal the father of Publius, which opened the door for many other healings. Once again, Paul had come to the forefront; he had gained prominence. This took place through the sovereign workings of God, and it likely resulted in the proclamation of the gospel and the salvation of some souls. Luke does not tell us that Paul preached, or how he did so. Neither does he give us a “head count” of the “souls won.” Such statistics are unnecessary and often inaccurate. God was at work here. This is evident. And where God is at work the results are assured. As a matter of fact, an accurate understanding of the sovereignty of God assures us that for the Christian, God is always at work, for his or her ultimate good and most importantly for the advance of the gospel and of God’s purposes.

The islanders, grateful to God and grateful for Paul’s presence, showed their gratitude in a very tangible way—they gave all the passengers provisions for the final days of their journey to Rome. Once again, the presence of but one man—Paul (not to mention the other saints with him)—was a source of blessing for the entire gathering of those on board this ship. How the presence of but a few saints can be a blessing to the rest (see 1 Corinthians 7:12-14).

We are about to leave these islanders behind, as Paul and his fellow-passengers will board ship, headed for Rome. But let us leave these Maltese natives with a final thought. They rushed to the shore, thinking that they could be of help to these shivering passengers. What they were to learn shortly was that God had sent Paul and the gospel to help them. It was not long before those who rushed to the shore to help Paul were rushing to Paul for help from God. How marvelous are His ways!

We’re coming to a section of Acts that I think is often overlooked by commentators. At least, I had to search for commentation on Acts 27:1-44 and a couple of my support team weren’t enthusiastic for the passage either. I found it a nice change of pace to see Paul as something other than as a scholar and zealous servant of the Lord. In this section we see Paul in action, buoying his credentials for the practical advice he offered in his epistles. Paul proved to be a very wise man in practical matters, a leader of men, and someone whose counsel was taken seriously because he knew what he was doing.

In all honesty, you’d think Paul was out of his element on a ship. He was a tentmaker and theologian, not a sailor, but his leadership emerged aboard the ship as he was headed toward Rome. As the journey continued, his wisdom was recognized and his counsel sought, all without any formal leadership or position of authority. Not bad for a prison on his way to stand trial before Caesar in Rome.

The first several verses of Acts 27 follow Paul from Caesarea under the guard of a centurion of the Augustan cohort by the name of Julius. They sailed from Caesarea to a harbor on Crete named Fair Havens, near the city of Lasea where he boarded an Egyptian ship headed for Italy. The journey was delayed by unfavorable winds and it was decided that it was too late in the sailing season to risk a trip to across the stormy Mediterranean Sea to Italy. As they debated where to winter, Paul strongly urged them to stay at Fair Havens. It wasn’t an ideal winter harbor and sailing conditions seemed favorable at the moment, so the captain decided to head for a more accommodating port. A storm ensued and rapidly endangered the ship, so that it looked like all hope was lost. We remember as similar storm when the apostles were panicking and Jesus just wanted to sleep. The humans then as with Paul off the coast of Crete did not see that God had His hand upon them.

“Since many of them had no desire to eat, Paul stood up among them and said, “Men, you should have listened to me and not put out to sea from Crete, thus avoiding this damage and loss. And now I advise you to keep up your courage, for there will be no loss of life among you, but only the ship will be lost. For last night an angel of the God to whom I belong  and whom I serve  came to me and said,  ‘Do not be afraid, Paul! You must stand before Caesar, and God has graciously granted you the safety of all who are sailing with you.’ Therefore keep up your courage, men, for I have faith in God that it will be just as I have been told. But we must run aground on some island.”  Acts 27:21-26

An Alexandrian ship would have been heavily laden with wheat for Rome, as by this time Rome was quite dependent upon Egyptian wheat for survival and control of its population.  Winter travel in the Mediterranean can be quite dangerous. They’d already experienced great difficulty in getting this far. I don’t think it took any gift of prophesy for Paul, who had been previously shipwrecked, to know that it was best to stay where they were. Paul spoke as a seasoned traveler who had experienced dangers at sea. Why risk shipwreck when they weren’t going to make Rome that winter anyway and they were in a safe location?

The centurion respected and trusted Paul, and he took Paul’s warnings seriously, but like most of us, he figured the captain and sailors knew more about sea conditions than a missionary. After all, they had a great deal to lose, so it wouldn’t pay for them to be reckless. Would it? From what I hear of sailors, it would seem that Fair Havens didn’t have a good tarverna and they wanted better.

 Paul, on the other hand, was a Christian who believed God was in control of all things, including the sea. God had assured Paul that he would reach Rome. So why was he nervous to set out to sea? I think because, though he was assured of reaching Rome, he cared about his traveling companions and didn’t want harm to come to them.  Apparently quite a few of the passengers could not even swim. It seemed like needless endangerment to set out to sea when you didn’t have to.

Paul was overruled by a majority of the ship’s company who thought a favoring wind a good sign for travel. They were wrong. Eventually, when they thought it certain they would perish at sea, God sent an angel to Paul to assure his shipmates that there would be no loss of life when the ship sank.

Fourteen days passed on the stormy sea after they left Fair Havens. Lost, the sailors discovered they were nearing land, which is a dangerous thing for a wooden boat in a storm. Limited control and treacherous sea conditions make it almost impossible to make port under storm. Thus, they put out anchors to slow their progress and hoped for daybreak so they could visually navigate the ship. Some considered taking the skiff for land. It was risky, but they knew they might make it. Of course, without the sailors, the ship would be completely at the mercy of the sea.

Whether by divine revelation, intuition, or by learning of their plans from some human source, Paul became aware of the sailors’ intentions and informed the centurion, who ordered the skiff lines to be cut.

“As day was about to dawn, Paul urged them all to take some food, saying, “Today is the fourteenth day you have been in suspense and have gone without food; you have eaten nothing. Therefore I urge you to take some food, for this is important for your survival. For not one of you will lose a hair from his head.” After he said this, Paul took bread and gave thanks to God in front of them all, broke it, and began to eat. So all of them were encouraged and took food themselves. (We were in all two hundred seventy-six persons on the ship.) When they had eaten enough to be satisfied, they lightened the ship by throwing the wheat into the sea.

In the darkest part of the night, everyone needed to hear some encouraging words. Paul again stepped forward with that, persuading his fellow travelers to prepare for the rigors ahead. He’d told them several days before that they could have hope that they would all be saved, although the ship would run aground. Whether from seasickness or fear, nobody had eaten in the last two weeks. Paul gave them practical advice here.  He was essentially saying “You’re not going to die, but you need to help yourselves. Eat something!” Paul then led them in eating a small meal.

Paul’s faith and his courage were contagious. The others—276 sailors, passengers and soldiers—followed his example. Strengthened, they were ready for the day’s activities. They started by dumping that precious and burdensome Roman wheat overboard. A light boat sits higher in the water, meaning it can get closer to shore, meaning a shorter swim (or float). Though they weren’t exactly sure where they were, they decided to run the ship aground in a bay. Cutting the anchors loose, they surfed the ship toward land. Ship and cargo disappeared into the stormy seas, but all the passengers and crew survived.

With the requirement to abandon ship, the soldiers faced a serious problem. At least some of the prisoners were in chains. If they weren’t going to drown, the soldiers would have to release them which would risk escape. The sensible solution, from a Roman soldier’s point of view, was to kill them all. The centurion does not seem to be concerned with any of the prisoners, except Paul. He wanted to spare him, resulting in all the prisoners being saved. Not a single soul was lost; God’s promise was fulfilled.

I think Luke’s central purpose in writing this to Theophilus was not to show Paul’s leadership skills. Remember, Luke was a Christian writing to a Christian. He was most likely trying to show God’s divine hand in all of this. What were the odds of everyone surviving such a shipwreck? Yet, Paul’s leadership shines through in the narrative. What were the odds that a prisoner would become the de factor leader of this shipwreck?

I think there are some important elements to recognize in this change from lowly prisoner to leader. Paul didn’t strive to become a leader in this situation. He was simply trying to help. Leadership should perhaps not be seen as a status so much as a service. Leadership works best when it is not a prize to grasp to your chest, but a humbling responsibility. Christians should work to serve others and let leadership develop (or not) on its own. Paul did not take a position of formal leadership, but he did function as leader. People followed him because he knew what he was doing, not because he had politically maneuvered himself into a position of authority. His leadership emerged in a time of crisis when no one else had any answers. Functional leadership often works that way, particularly in a democratic society (a ship whose company votes on its itinerary is indeed a democracy in microcosm). 

Paul’s leadership was probably not perceived as “spiritual” by the ship’s company. However, his practical advice and proven ability enhanced the preaching of the gospel. His competence in this time of crisis surely made his fellows more willing to listen to him about faith in Jesus as the Messiah. His skillfulness gave the gospel credibility it would not otherwise have had.

We see God’s sovereignty once more, but we also see His care for human beings. There is no place safer than the place of obedience to the Word of God. In human perspective, Paul lived in constant danger, but he was never more safe or secure than when he was on his way to Rome. God’s mission for Paul was to go to Rome and preach the gospel. The angry mob in Jerusalem, the Sanhedrin’s plot to kill him, the two years imprisoned by Felix, the bungling of Festus – all were used by God to bring Paul to this point. Paul’s safety and deliverance were so certain that it was sufficient for those with him. For Paul’s sake, all the passengers on board his ship were spared from the storm and all of the prisoners were spared from execution by the soldiers. How often, I wonder, are others benefited by the presence of a believer? If there were but 10 righteous in the city of Sodom, God would have spared the city for the sake of those righteous (Genesis 18:22-33). Is this principle of extended “deliverance” perhaps an explanation of Paul’s comments in 1 Corinthians 7, that the unbeliever is sanctified on account of the believer?

If you are a Christian, the same safety Paul experienced is yours, when you are walking in obedience to God’s commands and within His purposes. Whatever God has promised to do, He will do. When you are walking in accordance with God’s purposes, whatever obstacles to the accomplishing of His will are encountered, He will overcome. Whatever dangers might arise, He will protect His people, in accordance with His purposes and promises.

“But God demonstrates His own love toward us, in that while we were yet sinners, Christ died for us. Much more then, having now been justified by His blood, we shall be saved from the wrath {of God} through Him. For if while we were enemies, we were reconciled to God through the death of His Son, much more, having been reconciled, we shall be saved by His life.” (Romans 5:8-10).

“{For I am} confident of this very thing, that He who began a good work in you will perfect it until the day of Christ Jesus.” (Philippians 1:6).

“Blessed be the God and Father of our Lord Jesus Christ, who according to His great mercy has caused us to be born again to a living hope through the resurrection of Jesus Christ from the dead, to {obtain} an inheritance {which is} imperishable and undefiled and will not fade away, reserved in heaven for you, who are protected by the power of God through faith for a salvation ready to be revealed in the last time. In this you greatly rejoice, even though now for a little while, if necessary, you have been distressed by various trials, that the proof of your faith, {being} more precious than gold which is perishable, even though tested by fire, may be found to result in praise and glory and honor at the revelation of Jesus Christ; and though you have not seen Him, you love Him, and though you do not see Him now, but believe in Him, you greatly rejoice with joy inexpressible and full of glory, obtaining as the outcome of your faith the salvation of your souls.” (1 Peter 1:3-9).

Paul was kept safe, and as a result, all of those with him were saved. Their safety was contingent on the presence of Paul and the patience of God. There will come a time, however, when God will take His own to the final safety of heaven and then there will be no protection for the lost. The sovereignty of God will result in the overthrow of His enemies and in the judgment of the wicked. If God’s sovereignty is the source of comfort to the Christian, it is the source of terror for the unbeliever, for God has warned of His coming judgment. It is as certain as the salvation of His own. Flee today to the safety that only in Christ. He has weathered the storm of God’s wrath on the sinner, been battered by the storm of God’s anger toward sin, and He has come forth from death and the grave, to give us new life. If we are not in Christ, Who has weathered the storm, then we must endure the storm ourselves, which leads to our eternal destruction.

The sovereignty of God is not an excuse for our sloppiness. It was the crew of the ship who lived dangerously, foolishly risking the ship, the cargo, and the lives of all on board, just to “get ahead” a little. The potential gains were minimal, while the potential loss was great. I see something of a parable here. Men do those things which they know to be risky, partly for the love of the risk, and often due to some small gain we wish, prompted by a false sense of assurance, and by the hope for some small profit or happiness. Think about drug use or sexual immorality. People pursue these recreations seeking a little pleasure, often at the cost of the loss of their lives and sometimes their souls. The one whose fate was sure and certain on Paul’s ship was the most cautious; those whose ultimate fate was most uncertain were those who lived most dangerously. Paul was a man whose personal safety was assured, and yet who lived with care and caution. The sovereignty of God is no excuse for reckless living.

Some Christians live their lives sloppily, believing that God is sovereign and will, on demand, produce a miracle to deliver us from the fruits of our own foolishness. Paul believed in the power of God and in His infinite control over all things, in heaven and on the earth and he was frequently the instrument through which God’s power was manifested. He spoke prophetically of the fate of the ship and its passengers. He would later, on the island, work signs and wonders. Nevertheless, he did not presume that God would intervene in this instance.

The doctrine of God’s sovereignty is multi-faceted, something which careless and thoughtless Christians often forget or ignore. The sovereignty of God means that God is able to intervene supernaturally, but He is also able to work naturally, through human instruments (like the Roman soldiers and the centurion). Beyond this, God is free to act (or not to act) in any way that He chooses. He is not at our disposal, to carry out our whims or wishes, but we are at His disposal. We dare not presume that God will work a miracle for us, at the time and in the way we choose, due to our foolishness, carelessness, or sin. Paul never presumed that he had God’s power at his command to use when and how he chose. He did not expect a miracle nor did he even ask for one. To Paul, the sovereignty of God was not an excuse to avoid his human obligations or his personal responsibility; it was the motivation for him to live responsibly. The safety of the ship, according to Paul’s words, required the presence of the crew while the safety of the passengers involved their actions in eating a good meal, lightening the ship, and swimming to shore or clinging to some wreckage as it floated to shore. The sovereignty of God is no excuse for us not to work, but the assurance that our work is not in vain as long as it is in the Lord.

Paul and the passengers were saved for the sake of the gospel. Paul was headed to Rome to proclaim the gospel. The passengers lived, I suspect, so that they could hear the gospel and experience the hope the gospel gives to unworthy sinners. These people saw first hand the hope of the gospel in Paul, when all hope was lost. Christianity is not a “fair weather” religion. The gospel sustains men in the greatest storms of life. The gospel would have meant less to the hearers if the trip to Rome had gone quickly and smoothly. The storm brought men and women face to face with death, and with the truth of the gospel.