Now when it was decided that we would sail for Italy, they proceeded to deliver Paul and some other prisoners to a centurion of the Augustan cohort named Julius. 2 And getting aboard an Adramyttian ship, which was about to sail to the regions along the coast of Asia, we set sail accompanied by Aristarchus, a Macedonian of Thessalonica. 3 The next day we put in at Sidon, and Julius treated Paul with consideration and allowed him to go to his friends and receive care. 4 And from there we set sail and sailed under the shelter of Cyprus because the winds were against us. 5 And when we had sailed through the sea along the coast of Cilicia and Pamphylia, we landed at Myra in Lycia. 6 There the centurion found an Alexandrian ship sailing for Italy, and he put us aboard it. 7 And when we had sailed slowly for a good many days, and with difficulty had arrived off Cnidus, since the wind did not permit us to go farther, we sailed under the shelter of Crete, off Salmone; 8 and with difficulty, we sailed past it and came to a place called Fair Havens, near which was the city of Lasea.
9 And when considerable time had passed and the voyage was now dangerous, since even the Fast was already over, Paul began to advise them, 10 and said to them, “Men, I perceive that the voyage will certainly be with damage and great loss, not only of the cargo and the ship, but also of our lives.” 11 But the centurion was being more persuaded by the pilot and the captain of the ship than by what was being said by Paul. 12 And because the harbor was not suitable for wintering, the majority reached a decision to set sail from there, if somehow they could arrive at Phoenix, a harbor of Crete facing southwest and northwest, to spend the winter there.
13 And when a moderate south wind came up, thinking that they had attained their purpose, they weighed anchor and began sailing along the shore of Crete.
The Storm at Sea
14 But before very long there rushed down from the land a violent wind, called Euraquilo; 15 and when the ship was caught in it and could not face the wind, we gave way to it and let ourselves be carried along. 16 And running under the shelter of a small island called Clauda, we were scarcely able to get the ship’s boat under control. 17 After they had hoisted it up, they used supporting cables in undergirding the ship. Fearing that they might run aground on the shallows of Syrtis, they let down the sea anchor and in this way let themselves be carried along. 18 And the next day as we were being violently storm-tossed, they began to jettison the cargo; 19 and on the third day they cast the ship’s tackle overboard with their own hands. 20 And since neither sun nor stars appeared for many days, and no small storm was assailing us, from then on all hope of our being saved was gradually abandoned.
21 And when they had gone a long time without food, then Paul stood up in their midst and said, “Men, you ought to have followed my advice to not set sail from Crete and to avoid this damage and loss. 22 And now I advise you to be cheerful, for there will be no loss of life among you, but only of the ship. 23 For this very night an angel of the God to whom I belong and whom I serve stood before me, 24 saying, ‘Do not be afraid, Paul; you must stand before Caesar; and behold, God has granted you all those who are sailing with you.’ 25 Therefore, be cheerful, men, for I believe God that it will turn out exactly as I have been told. 26 But we must run aground on some island.”
27 But when the fourteenth night came, as we were being carried about in the Adriatic Sea, about midnight the sailors began to suspect that some land was approaching them. 28 And when they took soundings, they found it to be twenty fathoms; and a little farther on they took another sounding and found it to be fifteen fathoms. 29 And fearing that we might run aground somewhere on the rocks, they cast four anchors from the stern and were praying for daybreak. 30 But as the sailors were trying to escape from the ship and had let down the ship’s boat into the sea, on the pretense of intending to lay out anchors from the bow, 31 Paul said to the centurion and to the soldiers, “Unless these men remain in the ship, you yourselves cannot be saved.” 32 Then the soldiers cut away the ropes of the ship’s boat and let it fall away.
33 Until the day was about to dawn, Paul was encouraging them all to take some food, saying, “Today is the fourteenth day that you have been constantly watching and going without eating, having taken nothing. 34 Therefore I encourage you to take some food, for this is for your salvation, for not a hair from the head of any of you will perish.” 35 And having said these things, he took bread and gave thanks to God in the presence of all. And he broke it and began to eat. 36 And all of them became cheerful and they themselves also took food. 37 And all of us in the ship were 276 persons. 38 And when they had eaten enough, they began to lighten the ship by throwing out the wheat into the sea.
The Shipwreck
39 Now when day came, they could not recognize the land; but they were noticing a bay with a beach, and they were resolving to drive the ship onto it if they could. 40 And casting off the anchors, they left them in the sea while at the same time they were loosening the ropes of the rudders. And hoisting the foresail to the wind, they were heading for the beach. 41 But striking a reef where two seas met, they ran the vessel aground; and the bow stuck fast and remained immovable, but the stern began to be broken up by the force of the waves. 42 Now the soldiers’ plan was to kill the prisoners, so that none of them would swim away and escape; 43 but the centurion, wanting to bring Paul safely through, kept them from their intention, and ordered that those who could swim should jump overboard first and get to land, 44 and the rest should follow, some on planks, and others on various things from the ship. And so it happened that they all were brought safely to land. Acts 27: 1-44 LSB
Acts 27
And if you were to look in the scripture to try to find a pattern for leadership, you might ask the question, “Where would I go?” I can find a pattern for a leader who is an elder in the church, and he is to be a teacher of the Word of God and have a godly life. And it talks about his life virtues, and it talks about his spiritual giftedness, but where do I go in the Bible just to find the basic stuff of leadership? Where do I go to get an example of leadership? Well, you could go back to Moses, couldn’t you? Moses was a leader, and Moses got some great advice from his father-in-law Jethro who told him that he was going to find it absolutely impossible if, on his own, he tried to lead the whole of the nation of Israel. And so, he needed to break it all down and break it down into various groups and appoint people under him who could take care of the various groups. And he was really told to learn how to delegate. And all good leaders need to know how to delegate. So, you could look at Moses, and probably in the Old Testament you would find that Moses exercised a great amount of leadership, leading literally 2 million people probably all around the wilderness for 40 years is no easy job, but he did it. I suppose somebody might make a case that you could look at the life of David, but frankly, while David was a lot of things, he never really demonstrated that he was much of a leader. Occasionally he did. Occasionally he did something that demonstrated leadership, but for every good thing he did, on the other hand he seemed to do something that would be the antithesis of effective leadership. If you were looking into the New Testament, you were looking for someone who demonstrated leadership capability, obviously you would look to the Lord Jesus Christ, who was perfect in everything He did and was, for certain, the perfect leader. But if you want a human model, I don’t think anybody’s better than Paul. Paul is my hero as a leader. He is a true leader of people. It had nothing to do with titles, because he really didn’t have any title. He wasn’t a king; he wasn’t a governor; he wasn’t, in the social sense, any leader. He didn’t have any status; he wasn’t a statesman; he wasn’t a nobleman of any kind. He was, however, a leader. And I think the best place to see his innate, God-given leadership capability is in the twenty-seventh chapter of acts. - J Mac Sermon Acts 27 Characteristics of an Effective Leader
Vs. 1-13 But the centurion was being more persuaded by the pilot and the captain of the ship than by what was being said by Paul - This is actually logical, the centurion would be in charge, but having such a title doesn't make you the expert on everything. In order to make the best decision possible for my team I always defer to someone more intimately acquainted with the discipline associated with the obstacle. If I don't have power then I seek the Show Control, if it's high voltage then we call the electricians, plumbers, welders etc... Some will say any decision is a good decision and shoot from the hip, saying again, "I stand by my decision", but a true, good leader, finds someone more expert on the problem. People say you have to take risk to be a good leader, but a good leader doesn't gamble, the risk are calculated because we know everything has an associated risk, especially driving to work on I4, but I need a job. If you want a good leader, look for someone who plans, who studies, who is not an egotist, so he has no issue finding and recognizing someone more learned than himself to look for the solution. You want someone who is not delusional enough to think things can be accomplished without risk, but compassionate enough to mitigate as much of the risk that he can. Paul is not a captain, not even a ship's mate, and though he is well traveled, he does not hold any sort of rank that would cause them to listen to him, but it is important that he speaks up, because later he will be proven accurate, and it's not for the value of being able to say, "I told you so", but because it will matter even more that they listen to him when things get worse. He has a knowledge that they don't have. He is in communication with the Creator.
The fastest way – I tell young pastors this often – the fastest way to lose your credibility and lose the trust of your people is not to preach a bad sermon – they’ll forgive that – the fastest way is to make a stupid decision that leads them down a blind alley or off the end of the pier. It is foolish leadership decisions. Good leaders are analytical. They understand there’s a calculated risk, but they do a good job of assessing and evaluating direction. They bring into account all the factors, and they make wise choices. Leaders use good judgment. So, he makes his speech, “Guys, we ought not to keep going; there’s an awful lot at stake: we lose the ship, we lose the cargo; we lose our lives.” That’s a pretty complete disaster. Verse 11, “Nevertheless, the centurion was more persuaded by the helmsman and the owner of the ship than by the things spoken by Paul.” Well, what does he know? He hears the other side of the story, and the other side of the story’s being told by the owner of the ship and the pilot of the ship or the helmsman of the ship. The owner of the ship wants to get the cargo there so he can get paid. He helmsman wants him to get the cargo there so he can get paid so he can get paid. And so, “Because the harbor was not suitable to winter in” – they didn’t like Fair Havens; they didn’t want to spend the winter there; it was not suitable to winter in, so they did something that people still do today, they took a poll. That’s right; they took a poll, and guess what? “The majority advised to set sail from there also.” Give me a great, careful, thoughtful, analytical, wise leader anytime over the majority. Anytime. But they took a vote; they had a poll. And nobody wanted to stay there. They didn’t like the place to winter in. - J Mac
…13A gossip reveals a secret, but a trustworthy person keeps a confidence. 14For lack of guidance, a nation falls, but with many counselors comes deliverance. 15He who puts up security for a stranger will surely suffer, but the one who hates indebtedness is secure.… Proverbs 11: 13-15
…25But Jesus called them aside and said, “You know that the rulers of the Gentiles lord it over them, and their superiors exercise authority over them. 26 It shall not be this way among you. Instead, whoever wants to become great among you must be your servant, 27and whoever wants to be first among you must be your slave—… Matthew 20: 25-27
Vs. 14-20 All hope of our being saved was gradually abandoned - Luke really captures the moment. It is no small thing to lose your cargo, but they want the ship to be light enough so it rides higher and doesn't hit reefs or sink quickly when taking on water. One of the reasons for leaving, to bring your goods to the intended port, to get paid, is now sitting on the ocean floor or being carried about as drift. Some things cost too much to hold onto.
…36What does it profit a man to gain the whole world, yet forfeit his soul? 37Or what can a man give in exchange for his soul? 38If anyone is ashamed of Me and My words in this adulterous and sinful generation, the Son of Man will also be ashamed of him when He comes in His Father’s glory with the holy angels.”… Mark 8: 36-38
Vs. 21-26 An angel of the God to Whom I belong - Angel means messenger, and God has told Paul that he will have to appear before Caesar, so as bleak as this is, yet it is not the end. They should have listened to them, but they didn't, and now it is even more vital that they do. Paul has shifted from being an unrecognized leader who speaks up against the popular view, to being a recognized leader, born of adversity. Here he states where the source of his information comes from. It is always good to be surrounded by men and women who are smarter than you, and especially men and women who are godlier than you.
…6Now I know that the LORD saves His anointed; He answers him from His holy heaven with the saving power of His right hand. 7Some trust in chariots and others in horses, but we trust in the name of the LORD our God. 8They collapse and fall, but we rise up and stand firm.… Psalm 20: 6-8
18Let no one deceive himself. If any of you thinks he is wise in this age, he should become a fool, so that he may become wise. 19For the wisdom of this world is foolishness in God’s sight. As it is written: “He catches the wise in their craftiness.” 20And again, “The Lord knows that the thoughts of the wise are futile.”… 1 Corinthians 3: 18-20
Vs. 27-32 Then the soldiers cut away the ropes of the ship's boat - The sailors panicked and thought they could save themselves in the dinghy, but Paul caught them, and the soldiers listened to him and cut the ropes. Their safety was only promised if they stayed together.
Vs. 33-38 He took bread and gave thanks to God in the presence of all - A good leader knows what his people need; he looks to their basic needs, recognizes the want of food and water for the body to be strengthened and the mind cleared.
Vs. 39-44 But the centurion, wanting to bring Paul safely through, kept them from their intention - That would have been protocol to kill the prisoners rather than having them escape, but the Centurion is now becoming a leader, taking a calculated risk in order to save life. He would actually be in hot water if any of them escape, but he is leading by following Paul's lead in this, and keeping him alive. He also listened carefully, because Paul said, "not a hair from the head of any of you will perish". They all made it safely to land.
