WWUTT 1146 The Shipwreck at Malta?

The Apostle Paul is about to make it to Rome, but he's run into some rough weather, literally.

That is, sent the ship out into the sea. But the Lord has assured him no one's life will be lost when we understand the text.

You're listening to When We Understand The Text, committed to the sound teaching of the Word of God. Find videos and more at our website, www .wutt

.com. Now here's our host, Pastor Gabe Hughes. Thank you, Becky. We continue with our study of Acts chapter 27 and picking up where we left off last week.

If you will recall, Paul is on a ship bound for Rome, but the ship has been blown off course due to a change in the weather.

The whole crew believes that they will be lost. But an angel appeared to Paul and assured him he would make it to Rome to share the gospel.

So Paul told the crew they will be shipwrecked, but not one life will be lost.

And that's where we pick up the story here, beginning in verse 27. When the 14th night had come, as we were being driven across the

Adriatic Sea, about midnight the sailors suspected that they were nearing land. So they took a sounding and found 20 fathoms.

A little farther on, they took a sounding again and found 15 fathoms. And fearing that we might run on the rocks, they let down four anchors from the stern and prayed for day to come.

And as the sailors were seeking to escape from the ship and had lowered the ship's boat into the sea under pretense of laying out anchors from the bow,

Paul said to the centurion and the soldiers, unless these men stay in the ship, you cannot be saved.

Then the soldiers cut away the ropes of the ship's boat and let it go. As day was about to dawn,

Paul urged them all to take some food, saying, Today is the fourteenth day that you have continued in suspense and without food, having taken nothing.

Therefore I urge you to take some food, for it will give you strength.

For not a hair is to perish from the head of any of you.

And when he had said these things, he took bread, and giving thanks to God in the presence of all, he broke it and began to eat.

Then they all were encouraged and ate some food themselves. We were in all 276 persons in the ship.

And when they had eaten enough, they lightened the ship, throwing out the wheat into the sea.

Now, when it was day, they did not recognize the land, but they noticed a bay with a beach on which they planned, if possible, to run the ship ashore.

So they cast off the anchors and left them in the sea, at the same time loosening the ropes that tied the rudders, then hoisting the foresail to the wind they made for the beach, but striking a reef, they ran the vessel aground.

The bow stuck and remained immovable, and the stern was being broken up by the surf.

The soldier's plan was to kill the prisoners, lest any should escape and swim away.

But the centurion, wishing to save Paul, kept them from carrying out their plan. He ordered those who would swim to jump overboard and make first for the land.

The rest would be on planks or pieces of the ship, and so it was that all were brought safely to the land.

I mentioned to you at the beginning of our study of the Book of Acts that this was an adventure story, and here we are kind of like at the climax of the story, because what happens next is

Paul makes it to Rome. That's what we have in chapter 28, which we'll begin tomorrow. But this is the shipwreck, the famous shipwreck scene in the

Book of Acts, with the ship being run aground at an island called Malta. We'll kind of read more about that tomorrow.

But if you will remember, the change in the seasons has caused a change in the weather and has blown the ship way off course.

They were not able to go the route that they wanted to go. Paul had even warned them that they needed to stay in Crete, Laecia, the port where they were at.

It was not a great city to leave the ship during winter, so they were trying to get around to Phoenix.

That was a bad idea because the wind was not in their favor. It started out in their favor, but then it changed on them suddenly, and they've been blown out to pretty much the middle of the

Mediterranean Sea. All the crew thinks that they're going to be lost. They think everybody's going to die with the way the winds are swirling.

There's no way to find any gain, and so eventually the storm is just going to overtake us, and we're going to sink, and we'll all be lost.

But an angel has appeared to Paul and said that he is going to make it to Rome, and he is going to preach the gospel there.

And so he assures them no one's going to die on this journey. Yet they didn't listen to Paul the first time, so they don't listen to him the second time either.

And that's why these guys are still in such a state of unrest that they're not even eating any food in this section of the story we've read here.

So I come back to verse 27, where it says, when the 14th night had come and as we were being driven across the

Adriatic Sea. Now if you're a geography buff, then you probably know that the Adriatic Sea is that enclosed body of water that's just to the east of Italy.

And then to the east of the Adriatic, you've got Albania, Bosnia, Croatia. You know, to the north, you've got

Austria. So that would be the the Adriatic, well, according to a modern map.

But in Bible times, the Adriatic was what you would probably find on a map labeled as the

Ionian Sea. That was also considered the Adriatic 2000 years ago. Pretty much any part of the

Mediterranean to the west of Crete and to the east of Sicily. That was considered the

Adriatic. It was still part of the Mediterranean, but it was the portion of the Mediterranean that was called the

Adriatic. So that's where they are. Don't think of this. You know, if you've got that, if you're that kind of person that has the map in your head, this is not

Paul's ship up in that sea. That's right around, you know, between Albania and Italy. That's not where they've ended up.

They're smack dab in the middle of the Mediterranean and there's nothing out there now. The island that they eventually run aground on is

Malta, which is just to the south of Sicily. But between Greece, I'm sorry, between Crete and Malta.

I could have said I could have said Greece to that would have applied as well. But anyway, since Crete was where they left between there and Malta, there's nothing there out in the middle of nothing.

They believe that they're going to be overtaken and sunk. But remember, Paul has assured them that they will survive, though they still do things here in the story, thinking that they're not going to.

The Lord is faithful to the word that he has given to Paul through his angel. And they are delivered ultimately, just as he said, continuing on with verse 27.

About midnight, the sailors suspected that they were nearing land. So they took a sounding and found 20 fathoms a little further on.

They took a sounding again and found 15 fathoms. Obviously, they're checking depth here.

This is a technique that is referred to as depth sounding or simply sounding. You would have a man who is responsible for checking the depth of the water, and his title would be the ledsman because he would have this rope with a weight on the end of it.

And that weight was made of lead and that generally made of lead. That's why he was called the ledsman in the rope.

About every six feet to two meters, there would be a knot tied into it. And that was the length of a fathom.

And as he's dropping that weight into the water, he's counting the knots that are going by. And when the weight hits the bottom, however many knots he's counted, that's how many fathoms it would be.

So then he would call out, you know, 20 fathoms, sir, which that would be 120 feet.

And then he counts again and is 15 fathoms. That would have been about 90 feet. I don't know if you've seen the movie

Master and Commander with Russell Crowe, but there's a couple of scenes in the film where they do exactly this.

And that's depth sounding. And and they're checking to see, of course, they're doing this at midnight.

So they can't see any land in front of them anyway. So the depth sounding is giving them an idea of how shallow the water is getting and if they're getting close to land or an island or something like that.

And obviously, as the as the depth has gone from 120 feet to 90 feet, they know that they've got land approaching.

So verse 29, fearing that we might run on the rocks, they let down four anchors from the stern and prayed for day to come.

The stern is the back of the boat. So they drop four anchors to try to slow down the progress of the boat.

And they're praying for day to come so that they can see what's in front of them. Verse 30. And as the sailors were seeking to escape from the ship and had lowered the ship's boat into the sea, this is like lowering a lifeboat into the water under pretense of laying out anchors from the bow, which is the front of the ship,

Paul said to the centurion and the soldiers, unless these men stay in the ship, you cannot be saved.

So this would be worse for you. You think it's better for you to hop into a boat and get away from the big ship.

But no, the big ship is going to is going to survive. You go out a little boat, you're going to be lost at sea.

So the only way to be sure that you are going to live is if you stay in this ship.

Fortunately, the centurion at this point has decided to listen to the apostle

Paul. They haven't listened to him at any at any other time up to this point. But now he does.

And the soldiers cut away the ropes of the ship's boat and let it go. Once again, securing that everyone on board would be saved.

Verse 33. As day was about to dawn, Paul urged them all to take some food.

See, Paul is completely relaxed here. Maybe not completely. I mean, there's still some anticipation of what's about to take place.

Storms after all are very scary, even if you probably know what is about to happen.

But he's at least relaxed enough that he can eat, though nobody else is. They are without appetite.

They are they fear for their lives. And yet Paul gives them encouragement, saying, today is the 14th day that you have continued in suspense and without food, having taken nothing.

Therefore, I urge you to take some food, for it will give you strength, for not a hair is to perish from the head of any of you.

They obviously have some work ahead of them after the ship is going to run aground and start breaking apart.

So they're going to need some strength to be able to get from where the ship runs aground and where they need to get onto the island.

So he's encouraging them to eat that way. They have the strength to be able to do that. Verse thirty five.

And when he had said these things, he took bread and giving thanks to God in the presence of all, he broke it and began to eat.

It's obvious that the apostle Paul has shared the gospel with everybody aboard the ship, but very few of them believe it.

Paul has his friends. He's got his group that is with him, tending to his needs, caring for him.

They encourage and support one another. All the rest of the crew don't really care much for what they are about.

You've got Roman soldiers who have their own orders and they're going to carry out those orders. When the ship runs aground, they try to kill all the prisoners.

So that way, none of the prisoners escape. They've not been listening to the apostle Paul. Their hearts are hard.

But some things are going to change here, of course, after the ship will eventually run aground and we'll read about what happens next when we get to chapter twenty eight tomorrow.

But here it is still a testament to Paul's assurance in the God who saves in that while everybody else is without appetite, believing that they are going to die.

Paul is completely calm, encouraging them. He's really kind of become the leader at this point, though the centurion is in charge of everybody.

Paul is the guy that is standing in front of them right here and saying, men, you're going to be fine.

I promise. The Lord God has told me we're going to be fine. So I know we're going to be fine. And I'm encouraging you to eat and keep up your strength.

And though they don't believe in Paul's God, he gives thanks to God in the presence of them.

And just the very fact that Paul does that is a demonstration of his faith, his trust in God, not that the skies are going to clear up and everything is going to calm down, but that the

Lord is going to protect them in the middle of the storm. And my friends, we're going to go through very, very difficult, tough times.

Because it is so very common to equate the difficulties that we face in life with being a storm.

We do it time and time again. The scriptures even do it. Psalm 57 begins this way.

Be merciful to me, O God, be merciful to me, for in you my soul takes refuge.

In the shadow of your wings, I will take refuge till the storms of destruction pass by.

And as we continue a ship and a sailing theme going on here in Acts 27, we have this word in Hebrews 6, verses 19 and 20.

We have this as a sure and steadfast anchor of the soul, a hope that enters into the inner place behind the curtain, where Jesus has gone as a forerunner on our behalf, our great high priest.

Recently, we read from Psalm 91, and I had just quoted from this psalm yesterday in my sermon as well.

Psalm 91, verses 14 through 16, because he holds fast to me in love,

I will deliver him. I will protect him because he knows my name. When he calls to me,

I will answer him. I will be with him in trouble. I will rescue him and honor him.

With long life, I will satisfy him and show him my salvation.

Now we know based on something that happened in Matthew 4, that Psalm 91 is messianic.

It is foreshadowing Jesus Christ, who is this very

Savior who is going to rescue us. But the very things that are promised there regarding the

Father and his faithfulness to the Son are the same things that we receive in our faith in Jesus Christ.

We will likewise receive salvation. We will likewise be blessed with long life, not necessarily long life on earth, but long life and an eternal, imperishable kingdom with God, who will deliver us into that place if we trust in him.

Life is going to be hard. Storms are going to come. We are going to be rocked and tossed to and fro.

But the Lord will not allow the enemy to take us. He will keep us safe.

He will keep us steadfast. I'll be real with you. There are going to be some troubles that you'll enter into in life that might actually take your life.

There could be some grave illness that you are diagnosed with and you don't recover from it.

It ends up being the thing that ravages your body and you die.

But you have nothing to fear of that because the grave is not your resting place.

Your soul will dwell forever with God in glory. And then we're even promised a day on which

Christ returns and our lowly bodies will be transformed to be like his glorious body by the power that enables him to subject all things to himself.

So we have no reason to despair of death. It is the end of this life. But we enter into God's presence and dwell with him forever there.

He will save us. He will deliver us up just as the father raised his son from the dead.

So he is likewise going to raise us from the dead. We need only to trust in God.

Our sins are forgiven by faith in Christ because of his sacrifice on the cross for us and his resurrection from the dead by trusting in the

Lord Jesus Christ. We likewise will receive a resurrection like his.

The apostle Paul demonstrates his faith and his trust in the promises of God here in the presence of those who are in fear by giving thanks to the

Lord for bread even in the midst of a storm and breaking it and feeding those who are around him.

And then they all were encouraged and ate some food themselves. We were in all 276 persons in the ship.

So we know the ship was about 100 feet long. That would have been the size of a ship that had that many passengers aboard.

We also know that it was a grain ship because of what is said in verse 38. When they had eaten enough, they lighten the ship, throwing out the wheat into the sea.

So we go to verse 38 here. Now, when it was day, they did not recognize the land, but they noticed a bay with a beach on which they planned, if possible, to run the ship ashore.

So they cast off the anchors and left them in the sea at the same time, loosening the ropes that tied the rudders, then hoisting the foresail to the wind.

They made for the beach, but striking a reef, they ran the vessel aground. The bow stuck and remained immovable the front of the ship.

So it's stuck in there. It's not going anywhere. And the stern was being broken up by the surf.

You have the ship literally being ripped in two. The soldiers' plan was to kill the prisoners, lest any swim away and escape.

That wasn't an uncommon thing to do. If the ship was going to be breaking apart, there was no way to rescue the prisoners.

Well, they were all going to be killed because they were prisoners anyway. And then the soldiers would try to swim to safety.

That way, none of the prisoners could escape. So this was standard practice for a Roman soldier.

But the centurion, wishing to save Paul, kept them from carrying out their plan.

He ordered those who could swim to jump overboard first and make for the land, and the rest on planks or on pieces of the ship.

And so it was that all were brought safely to the land, just as the

Lord had said. My friends, we are told that all who are in Christ will be saved.

Not one of the Lord's children will be lost. And so we have this comfort and this security, no matter what struggles or trials in life may come our way.

We put our hope and our faith in Jesus Christ, and we will be delivered. Now that doesn't mean that we're not going to go through some difficult things.

As I said earlier, our ship may very well be dashed against the rocks and split apart.

And it's going to feel like the world is coming down around you. But our Lord God is holding fast to us.

Just as Paul, standing in this ship, was saying to this crew, hey, we've got some disaster that is on the way.

We're going to have a shipwreck. It's going to be bad, but no one is going to die. So the

Lord God has promised us the same thing. As he said to his disciples, in this world, you will have tribulation, but take heart.

I have overcome the world. Let us close in prayer. Heavenly Father, we thank you for the goodness and grace that you show to us in Christ Jesus our

Lord. He is our hope and peace. He is the promise of resurrection that we have been given, that our sins are forgiven, and we will have eternal life with God forever in glory.

So with this in view, our eyes fixed on Jesus, our hearts set forth to the kingdom that has been promised to us in Christ, let us not despair the things that may happen to us in this life, for it doesn't even compare to the glory that awaits us if we endure to the end.

Keep us strong and steadfast, filled with hope, looking to the future, as we pray these things in Jesus' name.

Amen. Thank you for listening to When We Understand the Text with Pastor Gabe Hughes. If you'd like to support this ministry, visit our website, www .wutt

.com, and click on the Give tab in the top right corner of the page. Join us again tomorrow as we continue our