Acts 28:16 When we arrived in Rome, Paul was allowed to live by himself, with a soldier to guard him.
 
THE Lord Jesus promises he is preparing a place for his faithful followers to be with him in heaven: John 14:1 “Do not let your hearts be troubled. Trust in God; trust also in me. 2 In my Father’s house are many rooms; if it were not so, I would have told you. I am going there to prepare a place for you.” How sweet it is to know your trust in Jesus is the way to eternal dwelling with him.
   As we await that day, let’s also trust today he has a place for us to dwell in his purpose and power. To follow Jesus is to follow him into a place he has set aside for you to demonstrate your love for God and love for one another. That place begins in your home. If you are a husband or wife, mother or father, son or daughter, the home is a good place to live out the good news. From your home, you can also care for a neighbor and others you invite into your home. Perhaps your place is to be a teacher, a scientist, a farmer, a business owner or a politician. The world has endless places Jesus has prepared for his gospel to be taught, loved and lived – even in a prison. Recently an astronaut in the Space Station told the gospel to the world!
   Paul surely thanked Jesus that he had prepared a prison house to be Paul’s ministry place in Rome. He could have been jailed in one of Rome’s harsh and dangerous prisons, with minimal outside contact. After all, Paul was a Jew. Emperor Claudius had expelled Jews from Rome 11 years before.  Although Jews were coming back to Rome, the new Christian sect was also developing an unfavorable reputation. The Jews and Christians would not worship the emperor! You could say Paul had two marks against him.
   But if God is for us, who can be against us?
(Romans 8:31) Indeed, God was certainly for Paul. His authority was the King of Kings, who granted Paul a relatively safe place in a Rome-guarded prison house. For two years, the apostle would have a new guard every four hours. He had no freedom to go and come, but he had freedom to meet with any who came in peace. Even if the Jerusalem Jews had sent people to kill him as they had plotted in Jerusalem, Paul was safe from the storm of opposition that had sent him there.
   Paul’s friends would need to provide his food and clothing. Paul will appeal for financial help to the churches he’s pastored. God will bring him others. He’ll need writing tools, someone to help him write and friends to keep him company. He will write four epistles – Ephesians, Colossians, Philippians and Philemon – to teach the church then and now to help us know Jesus and our response to the place he has prepared for us. Paul’ life will be a day-to-day restricted life; yet his ministry will remain until Jesus returns.  
 

Acts 28:11-15 After three months we put out to sea in a ship that had wintered in the island. It was an Alexandrian ship with the figurehead of the twin gods Castor and Pollux. 12 We put in at Syracuse and stayed there three days. 13 From there we set sail and arrived at Rhegium. The next day the south wind came up, and on the following day we reached Puteoli. 14 There we found some brothers who invited us to spend a week with them. And so we came to Rome. 15 The brothers there had heard that we were coming, and they traveled as far as the Forum of Appius and the Three Taverns to meet us. At the sight of these men Paul thanked God and was encouraged.
 
FINALLY! Favorable weather and a good ship take Paul and his friends to Italy. They arrive at Puteoli, on the most southern tip of Italy, about 150 miles (240 Kilometers) south of Rome. As their journey continued toward Rome, Paul, Luke and the others discovered the fruit of the gospel spreading through Italy. Those who had learned of Jesus and confessed their faith in Jesus in Jerusalem, Antioch, Philippi, Corinth or some other gospel ministry had returned home to tell the good news of salvation in Jesus Christ to their friends!
   Evangelism is everyone’s joyful work, isn’t it? In response to so many brothers and sisters in faith, Paul thanked God and was encouraged.  
   Encouragement is one very personal way the Lord cares for his own. For the Christian worker encouragement is the power of life. In contrast, discouragement can take the life from a ministry. It is one of Satan’s “quiet” weapons against Jesus’ workers. As we follow Jesus, we may wonder, “Am I doing the right thing?” Too often there seems to be no visible response to the gospel. Many missionaries can work for years without visible fruit of their work. Pastors continually labor against indifference and criticism, seldom hearing, “Thank you.”
     To encourage is to strengthen. That’s why Paul’s epistles have 11 specific instructions for the church members to encourage one another. Indeed, encouragement is so vital in the church, Paul included it in his list of essential work in 2 Timothy 4:2 Preach the Word; be prepared in season and out of season; correct, rebuke and encourage with great patience and careful instruction. We strengthen others when we tell them, “You are a child of the Living God. Thank you for your good work. Your life matters.” Thank God’s workers for their faithfulness and tell them you pray for them. Good words and helpful actions remind someone, “Jesus loves you.” 

Acts 28:7-10 There was an estate nearby that belonged to Publius, the chief official of the island. He welcomed us to his home and for three days entertained us hospitably. 8 His father was sick in bed, suffering from fever and dysentery. Paul went in to see him and, after prayer, placed his hands on him and healed him. 9 When this had happened, the rest of the sick on the island came and were cured. 10 They honored us in many ways, and when we were ready to sail, they furnished us with the supplies we needed.
 
BE alert! Even when you’re not on a specific mission, your risen Savior may want you to show his tender mercy to someone.
   That’s what happened on Malta. Paul and his friends first gained favor when God kept Paul safe from a viper’s bite. In response Publius, the island’s chief official, invited the Christians into his home. God then granted favor to Publius’ father when Paul placed his hands on him and healed him. The Spirit then distributed God’s grace to heal all of the sick on the island!
   God made himself known. He revealed his glory to a group of people who did not know him. Might they have learned a new song, perhaps Psalms 103:1 Praise the LORD, O my soul; all my inmost being, praise his holy name. 2 Praise the LORD O my soul, and forget not all his benefits 3 who forgives all your sins and heals all your diseases. Of course, this is only conjecture, but our point is to encourage you to notice the ways God reveals his glory to you and through you. Praise him for his tender mercies.
   In Acts each time the Spirit uses his messengers to heal the sick, he also saves people into eternal life. Luke has written of people’s responses to the healings and preaching. He has twice numbered those saved (Acts 2:4, 4:4). At other points Luke referred to people’s salvation with such language as more and more believed (Acts 5:14), many believed in the Lord (Acts 9:42) and many of the Jews believed (Acts 17:12). But we have no report here. Certainly Paul preached the gospel. Paul always preached it. We can trust the Spirit would have moved some people to confess Jesus as Savior.
    Still, not all is well for Paul. After Paul’s wisdom saved the ship and all lives on board and after his gracious healing ministry, Paul remains Rome’s prisoner. He is obligated to continue the journey under Roman guard. Luke and Paul’s friends faithfully continue with him. He has much work to do for Jesus, while he is confined under Roman guard. Even so, Paul will be confident in the Lord’s care. Psalms 103:13 As a father has compassion on his children, so the Lord has compassion on those who fear him. 

Acts 28:1-6 Once safely on shore, we found out that the island was called Malta. 2 The islanders showed us unusual kindness. They built a fire and welcomed us all because it was raining and cold. 3 Paul gathered a pile of brushwood and, as he put it on the fire, a viper, driven out by the heat, fastened itself on his hand. 4 When the islanders saw the snake hanging from his hand, they said to each other, “This man must be a murderer; for though he escaped from the sea, Justice has not allowed him to live.” 5 But Paul shook the snake off into the fire and suffered no ill effects. 6 The people expected him to swell up or suddenly fall dead, but after waiting a long time and seeing nothing unusual happen to him, they changed their minds and said he was a god.
 
PAUL didn’t sit around. Safe on shore and warmed with a fire the islanders provided, the apostle gathered brush for the fire. Some Roman guards had been concerned the prisoners would escape. Paul is helping.
   The snake bites him, and the islanders believed it was the justice of some god condemning a murderer. Note these people were entrenched in pagan idolatry. They did not know the LORD God. Still they had a sense of a superior force judging evil. For since the creation of the world God’s invisible qualities – his eternal power and divine nature – have been clearly seen, being understood from what has been made, so that men are without excuse. (Romans 1:20)
   The islanders quickly changed their view of Paul when the snake’s bite had no affect. Some see this as a fulfillment of Jesus’ prophecy in Luke 10:19 I have given you authority to trample on snakes and scorpions and to overcome all the power of the enemy; nothing will harm you. This was a particular gift to the 72 Jesus sent out for a short time during his ministry. He apparently extended that mercy to Paul.
   Years earlier at Lystra people had believed Paul and Barnabas were gods when they spoke healing to a crippled man.Acts 14:11 When the crowd saw what Paul had done, they shouted in the Lycaonian language, “The gods have come down to us in human form!” Paul’s reaction to the islanders would certainly have been identical to his reaction to the people of Lystra: Acts 14:14 But when the apostles Barnabas and Paul heard of this, they tore their clothes and rushed out into the crowd, shouting: 15 “Men, why are you doing this? We too are only men, human like you. We are bringing you good news, telling you to turn from these worthless things to the living God, who made heaven and earth and sea and everything in them.”
   Always, always, preaching God’s power, Paul had new opportunities to reveal Jesus to the people on Malta.

Acts 27:39-44 When daylight came, they did not recognize the land, but they saw a bay with a sandy beach, where they decided to run the ship aground if they could. 40 Cutting loose the anchors, they left them in the sea and at the same time untied the ropes that held the rudders. Then they hoisted the foresail to the wind and made for the beach. 41 But the ship struck a sandbar and ran aground. The bow stuck fast and would not move, and the stern was broken to pieces by the pounding of the surf. 42 The soldiers planned to kill the prisoners to prevent any of them from swimming away and escaping. 43 But the centurion wanted to spare Paul’s life and kept them from carrying out their plan. He ordered those who could swim to jump overboard first and get to land. 44 The rest were to get there on planks or on pieces of the ship. In this way everyone reached land in safety.
 
THE seasoned sailors knew what to do to guide the ship to shore. Wisdom prevailed as the ship broke apart. People did as they were told. All survived the terrible ordeal as God had promised. With his instructions to Paul, the LORD had shown them the way home. Even those who had sought to escape on the lifeboat and the soldiers who wanted to kill the prisoners arrived safely.
   We could ask, “Why the storm?” God’s plan is to put Paul in Rome. Why did the Lord not simply direct a safe, quick passage?
   The answer to “Why?”’ doesn’t matter. We don’t need to know or debate on God’s reasons. To ask, “Why the storms?” you could also ask, “Why did Jesus say, “If anyone would come after me, he must deny himself and take up his cross and follow me. 25 For whoever wants to save his life will lose it, but whoever loses his life for me will find it.”  (Matthew 16:24-25) 
   The Christian life is not asking God, “Why?” it’s asking God, “What do you want me to do?” To follow Jesus means you will often find yourself in some degree of turmoil. The natural world wants to shipwreck your life, even drown your faith because you stand for the firm ground of God’s righteous commands.
   We can think God created that storm on Paul’s voyage for a certain purpose. But we may be more accurate to understand the storm was a natural response to atmospheric conditions at the time. The ship and its occupants were at the storm’s mercy. Then God stepped in to reveal his mercy. He instructed. The apostle obeyed. All lived.
   When Paul wrote, “I can do everything through Christ, who gives me strength.” (Philippians 4:13) he was not merely looking at daily challenges. He had triumphed through the lashings, stonings, persecution and imprisonment to point people to Jesus. He understood God did not create each crisis. Corrupt hearts had stormed against him. But God had given him the words to stay safe in Jesus. Paul had obeyed to stay safely under God’s eternal care.
   The storms come. God gives you the way to safety. Heed his commands, and you will stand on Jesus, your firm foundation.
 
 

Acts 27:33-38 Just before dawn Paul urged them all to eat. “For the last fourteen days,” he said, “you have been in constant suspense and have gone without food – you haven’t eaten anything. 34 Now I urge you to take some food. You need it to survive. Not one of you will lose a single hair from his head.” 35 After he said this, he took some bread and gave thanks to God in front of them all. Then he broke it and began to eat. 36 They were all encouraged and ate some food themselves. 37 Altogether there were 276 of us on board. 38 When they had eaten as much as they wanted, they lightened the ship by throwing the grain into the sea.
 
276 people on this ship meant this was a diverse group of people. Regardless of their age, social and economic standing, they all were nearly helpless in the storm. Fourteen days of little sleep, food or comfort would cause deep weariness and despair. Paul became God’s gift to them. Paul urged them to eat in a manner similar to his Lord Jesus’ compassion for the thousands: Mark 8:3 “If I send them home hungry, they will collapse on the way, because some of them have come a long distance.”
   Paul gave thanks. He broke the bread. And they ate. Didn’t Jesus do that? John 6:11 Jesus then took the loaves, gave thanks, and distributed to those who were seated as much as they wanted. He did the same with the fish. 12 When they had all had enough to eat, he said to his disciples, “Gather the pieces that are left over. Let nothing be wasted.”   
   The people on the plain had all they wanted. The people on the ship ate all they wanted. They then tossed the remaining grain overboard to lightened the boat’s load to prepare to direct the boat to the shore. 
   Remember, God had promised their survival. They had to follow Paul’s instructions. God’s promise came through God’s messenger. How is God speaking to you? Is there something you need to tell others?

Acts 27:27-32 On the fourteenth night we were still being driven across the Adriatic Sea, when about midnight the sailors sensed they were approaching land. 28 They took soundings and found that the water was a hundred and twenty feet deep. A short time later they took soundings again and found it was ninety feet deep. 29 Fearing that we would be dashed against the rocks, they dropped four anchors from the stern and prayed for daylight. 30 In an attempt to escape from the ship, the sailors let the lifeboat down into the sea, pretending they were going to lower some anchors from the bow. 31 Then Paul said to the centurion and the soldiers, “Unless these men stay with the ship, you cannot be saved.” 32 So the soldiers cut the ropes that held the lifeboat and let it fall away.
 
SOME sailors did not believe God’s promise they would all survive the storm, even as the ship would be destroyed. They believed they had a better plan. A few unbelievers will affect the safety and welfare of all. That’s why God sends messengers to teach us the way to safety.
   Paul became God’s representative on the boat. The apostle has assumed all authority on the boat. Do  you think Roman soldiers would respond to a prisoner’s warning? But they did. God had granted the soldiers understanding to listen and respond, so all lives would survive.
   We can see this as a picture of God’s progressive redemptive work over the world. Because of sin, all creation is caught up in an endless storm. Paul describe this in Romans 8:22 We know that the whole creation has been groaning as in the pains of childbirth right up to the present time. Trouble rages against our lives, and the waves of opposition come from every direction.
   Then God sent a Messenger. His name is Jesus. He promises, “The Son of Man came to seek and to save what was lost.” (Luke 19:10) We believe his authority when we understand what he has done to save us from sin’s raging storm. He has died on a horrible cross. Jesus has been buried. He risen, and has ascended to heaven. The Holy God has promised his death is the end of sin’s deadly storm.
   Because Jesus has sought us, you can trust his authority to save us, “I tell you unless you repent, you too will all perish. (Luke 13:3)
   Consider this. God could have used the storm to destroy all who opposed Paul. Paul could have been free! But God’s purpose in the storm, as it is in the world, is to exalt his name among all his creation. Some on that boat would be saved into eternal life.
   As the world suffers the storm, God is revealing his promises. Those who do not believe will look for their own lifeboat, but they will perish. Those who believe will listen to the Author of Life. They will be saved. It’s as simple as that. 

Acts 27:21-26 After the men had gone a long time without food, Paul stood up before them and said: “Men, you should have taken my advice not to sail from Crete; then you would have spared yourselves this damage and loss. 22 But now I urge you to keep up your courage, because not one of you will be lost; only the ship will be destroyed. 23 Last night an angel of the God whose I am and whom I serve stood beside me 24 and said, ‘Do not be afraid, Paul. You must stand trial before Caesar; and God has graciously given you the lives of all who sail with you.’ 25 So keep up your courage, men, for I have faith in God that it will happen just as he told me. 26 Nevertheless, we must run aground on some island.”
 
WE don’t like to be told, “You were wrong.” even when it’s true. We are more comfortable to hide our errors or pretend they are another’s fault. But the men couldn’t deny Paul’s reminder he told them not to sail from Crete. This prisoner had warned them; now they were on the verge of drowning.
   Paul’s reminder was to encourage them. He had some great news! They would survive the storm! How did he know? “An angel of the God whose I am and whom I serve stood beside me last night.”
   God’s promise was very clear. Paul would go to Rome to stand before Caesar. All on board would survive. In the violent darkness came a light from heaven. The Lord assured his apostle and gave confidence to the crew. They had heard the promise. They would see the promise fulfilled. God’s messenger came with the Lord’s tender mercy to calm fearful hearts in the dark wind and ceaseless waves.
   Did they believe? The evidence is that some did and some did not. But the messenger also said the crew couldn’t simply wait and watch events unfold. They had to guide the boat onto an island. Everyone needed to do his part to see God’s promise completed.
   God’s promises often require your response. God promised to the Jews a land where they would enjoy prosperity and peace. For this to happen, the Jews had to follow his commands, to conquer the land and to worship him only. They didn’t do that, and God’s promise became an empty memory.
   In the gospel message, Jesus promises, “Come to me, all you who are weary and burdened, and I will give you rest.” (Matthew 11:28) But there’s no rest if you don’t go to him. Most of God’s promises require our response. In the storm, the sailors needed to believe, so God could save them. What was their response? What is your response in the storm?  

Acts 27:9-20 Much time had been lost, and sailing had already become dangerous because by now it was after the Fast. So Paul warned them, 10 “Men, I can see that our voyage is going to be disastrous and bring great loss to ship and cargo, and to our own lives also.” 11 But the centurion, instead of listening to what Paul said, followed the advice of the pilot and of the owner of the ship. 12 Since the harbor was unsuitable to winter in, the majority decided that we should sail on, hoping to reach Phoenix and winter there. This was a harbor in Crete, facing both southwest and northwest. 13 When a gentle south wind began to blow, they thought they had obtained what they wanted; so they weighed anchor and sailed along the shore of Crete. 14 Before very long, a wind of hurricane force, called the “northeaster,” swept down from the island. 15 The ship was caught by the storm and could not head into the wind; so we gave way to it and were driven along. 16 As we passed to the lee of a small island called Cauda, we were hardly able to make the lifeboat secure. 17 When the men had hoisted it aboard, they passed ropes under the ship itself to hold it together. Fearing that they would run aground on the sandbars of Syrtis, they lowered the sea anchor and let the ship be driven along. 18 We took such a violent battering from the storm that the next day they began to throw the cargo overboard. 19 On the third day, they threw the ship's tackle overboard with their own hands. 20 When neither sun nor stars appeared for many days and the storm continued raging, we finally gave up all hope of being saved.
 
PAUL was only a prisoner, so we can understand why the ship’s owner, pilot and the centurion did not listen to his advice to stay in the safe harbor. But each day on the sea in winter exposed the ship and its inhabitants to extreme weather. Then it came.
   We can’t imagine the effort to wrap ropes around the tossing ship. How could one cope with the violent, unrelenting winds that blocked the sun and the stars. We understand why they gave up all hope of being saved.
   All the sailors’ skill, strength and knowledge was useless against the hurricane winds. Who could survive such a storm?
   For his purpose, God has created such storms at other times. The storm raged when Jonah ran from God (Jonah 1:4). When Galilee rolled and pitched their small boat, the disciples cried, “Lord, don’t you care if we drown?” (Mak 4:38). God used the storm to turn Jonah back to preach to Ninevah. He used the storm to awaken the disciples to Jesus’ sovereign Majesty. What would God do with this storm?  

Acts 26:30-32 The king rose, and with him the governor and Bernice and those sitting with them. 31 They left the room, and while talking with one another, they said, “This man is not doing anything that deserves death or imprisonment.” 32 Agrippa said to Festus, “This man could have been set free if he had not appealed to Caesar.”
 
FOR the third time in this lengthy account of Paul’s defense that occurred over two-plus years, the Romans – and now King Agrippa – find no cause for Paul’s imprisonment. It is unfortunate Festus had not acted on this conclusion a few days earlier before Paul had appealed to Caesar. That appeal was his only hope at the time to escape the Jews’ endless accusations and Rome’s failure to rule. Paul’s solution seems to have caused another problem.
   Good or bad, it is time to move ahead, to set one’s mind on the future. Paul cannot change what has happened. The good thing is he will no longer languish in a jail in Caesarea. The time has come to move forward.
   How do we encounter obstacles as a Christian? To go forward we should assess how the LORD God has prepared us for the challenge: What do we know? What skills do we have? Who can help us? How can we help others? Are we prepared to see God’s kindness through the difficult days?
   As we read Acts 27, we will learn how Paul answers all of those questions through the storm, a shipwreck and suspicion. Let’s begin:
 
Acts 27:1-8 When it was decided that we would sail for Italy, Paul and some other prisoners were handed over to a centurion named Julius, who belonged to the Imperial Regiment. 2 We boarded a ship from Adramyttium about to sail for ports along the coast of the province of Asia, and we put out to sea. Aristarchus, a Macedonian from Thessalonica, was with us. 3 The next day we landed at Sidon; and Julius, in kindness to Paul, allowed him to go to his friends so they might provide for his needs. 4 From there we put out to sea again and passed to the lee of Cyprus because the winds were against us. 5 When we had sailed across the open sea off the coast of Cilicia and Pamphylia, we landed at Myra in Lycia. 6 There the centurion found an Alexandrian ship sailing for Italy and put us on board. 7 We made slow headway for many days and had difficulty arriving off Cnidus. When the wind did not allow us to hold our course, we sailed to the lee of Crete, opposite Salmone. 8 We moved along the coast with difficulty and came to a place called Fair Havens, near the town of Lasea.
 
Luke’s first-hand account helps us understand God’s care on this group. One way God helps Paul is to add Aristarchus, a Macedonian from Thessalonica, to accompany him. Aristarchus will be with Paul through his time under Roaman guard (See Colossians 4:10 and Philemon 24). Junius, too, is a kind Centurion, another Roman who helps Paul. He allows Paul’s friends at Sidon to care for the prisoner.
   The prisoners get on a Alexandrian ship in Lydia. It is a large grain ship from Egypt. But it is very difficult to travel east to west on the Mediterranean and Adriatic Sea in winter. For a time they find a quiet port to be safe from the winds.