The Gospel goes to Rome
Acts 27-28
Paul’s Journey to Rome (27 – 28:16); Paul’s Ministry in Rome (28:17-31)
Right off the bat we see that Luke, the author of Acts and the Gospel according to Luke, is once again traveling with Paul. And we see this by his use of the 1st person plural pronouns used all throughout chapters 27-28
For example:
v1 – when it was decided that we would sail for Italy…
v2 – We boarded a ship… we put out to sea… Aristarchus was with us.
v3 – The next day we landed at Sidon…
And you get the point, there’s no need for me to keep going, but all I want to emphasize is that Luke at this point – as at some other points in Acts – is claiming to be an eyewitness;
And that corroborates with the fact that Paul, in his letters, mentions Luke being with him; but it also rings true to what we read here which simply reads like an eyewitness account.
This account is certainly the most vivid, detailed, descriptive passages in the book of Acts, probably in the whole NT; and through Luke’s writing we have a front-seat view and perspective of Paul’s journey to Rome.
Paul is finally on the way to Rome; and it doesn’t turn out to be the journey you expect.
Let me just summarize:
Remember Paul is a prisoner under Roman Guard in Caesarea, having been transferred to there from Jerusalem.
And that’s where their journey begins.
vv2-5: they set off from Caesarea and the next day they make a stop at Sidon; then they sail across the eastern side of Cyprus, Luke says, because the winds were against them – so we get the first hint hat it’s not the most seasonable sailing conditions – and they land at Myra in Lycia.
v6 – There at Myra they found a ship sailing for Italy and were put on board there.
v7 – They make slow progress and arrive at Cnidus; but the wind doesn’t allow them to hold their course along the coast and they end up at Crete
v8 – They land at Fair Havens and then:
READ vv 9-12
So here, the preacher gives sailing advice; and no one listens to him – this is the first common preacher experience Paul has – his advice is not listened to; the second common preacher experience Paul has is that later after it turns out he was right he gets to say “You should have listened to me!”
The centurion, unsurprisingly, listens to the sailors rather than the preacher.
But, it’s not surprising that they don’t listen to him; The preacher is giving sailing advice – that’s like, if I try to give you car advice, and I’m saying one thing and the mechanics are saying something different, you may want to listen to the mechanics rather than the preacher.
But little do they know that at this point in Paul’s life – just in the last few years in his missionary journeys, people have estimated that has traveled at least 3,500 miles – so it’s possible that he was the most seasoned sailor on the boat.
But they don’t take Paul’s advice; they want to sail on to Phoenix because at this point they realize they aren’t going to make it to Italy, they need to spend the winter on Crete, and they think Phoenix is a better harbor to spend the winter than fair havens – I don’t know, Fair Havens sounds pretty nice to me – so they set out when the winds seem right, but the winds quickly changed.
So they want to go just about 40 miles; but they end up being driven out to sea by a hurricane-force wind, and they end up being lost at sea in a storm for 14 days until they finally beach the ship on the island of Malta – all the way over here.
Then they have some more adventures on Malta – they spend 3 months there before finding a ship that had spent the winter there which carries them to Syracuse (Sicily), then Rhegium, then Puteoli which ends their sea journey, as they travel the rest of the way by land to Rome
And the reason I say that it doesn’t turn out to be the journey you expect, is because we know that God wants to bring Paul to Rome – and so why is it such a long, perilous, bumpy, tumultuous journey?
Paul is finally on the way to Rome;
where, all the way back in chapter 19 he said he wants to go – 19:21 “After I have been to Jerusalem, I must visit Rome also.”
And we see that it’s not only Paul’s desire, but God’s will, that he go to Rome – 23:11 – Jesus says to Paul, “Take courage! As you have testified about me in Jerusalem, so you must also testify in Rome.”
And, so we see here that not only is it Paul’s desire to go to Rome but God’s will for Paul to go to Rome, so that Paul’s desire is lined up with God’s will.
And our desire, without God’s will, is either sin or sadness; and God’s will, without our desire, will be drudgery; whereas our desire and God’s will is the sweet spot of life
but here we have human desire lining up with God’s will; but that doesn’t mean a straight direct easy journey to Rome.
Jonah is an example of those first two – and there’s lots of circumstantial similarities between Paul and Jonah here – he’s God’s messenger on a boat surrounded by pagan sailors and a storm comes upon them – but at their core they are worlds apart –
Because Jonah – we expect Jonah to be caught up in a storm to hinder his progress to his intended destination because he is going the wrong way – he is running in rebellion from God – literally the opposite direction God commanded him to go; but we don’t expect that with Paul because Paul is going the right way!
Paul’s journey to Rome – despite that it is both Paul’s desire and God’s will: is still is fraught with difficulty, hardship, uncertainty, unexpected turns, near-death experiences and amazing deliverances – it’s an adventure!
But all throughout that difficulty, hardship, uncertainty, unexpectedness; all throughout this journey we see that Paul confidently trusts that God is in control of all that – that God is with him, watching him, protecting him, guiding him – even if it’s along a path that he wouldn’t himself choose or anticipate – he knows that it is God’s path, for God’s reasons, and that God is with him all along the way.
All else are despairing – v20
but Paul has hope. How can Paul have hope – even in this most terrible of storms and seemingly hopeless of situations?
His response to their despair and hopelessness shows us the basis for his hope, which can be the basis for our hope when we face storms in life:
vv21-26
He knows that God is with him – v23 – “Last night an angel of the God to whom I belong and whom I serve stood beside me” – Paul is given a powerful, personal reminder of God’s personal presence with him – and so what does he have to fear – a storm? The God who stands next to him made that storm – and that storm is the puff of his breath – totally under his control unable to blow and mess up his children’s hair without his permission.
He knows that he belongs to God – v23 – “an angel of the God to whom I belong” – He belongs to God; he knows that God holds on to him and so he can have utter security that nothing can rip him out of God’s hand; and nothing in all creation can separate him from God’s love.
He is God’s child – the ultimate of beloved and belonging. And nothing can change that and nothing is more important than that. How can you live like having God’s love and belonging to God doesn’t matter? And if it does, you can face anything with hope because you are his child forever.
He knows that God is in control – v25 “for I have faith in God that it will happen just as he told me.”
How could it be otherwise?
He knows that what God has said will happen, will happen. And that can only be true if God is in control of all things and all circumstances – even the storm!
Paul knew that there are no surprises or mis-steps for God – but that he is the God who is in control of every circumstance and every detail which he brings about for his glory and for our good –
He believed that God would keep all his promises – and that God would “work all things for the good of those who love him.”
And that was the basis for his courage and his faith and his hope; and God was faithful to do just as he said he would – the very last verse of this chapter is the fulfillment of God’s promise to deliver all of them from death – “In this way everyone reached land safely.”
He knows the destination – v24 – The angel of God says, “You must stand trial before Caesar.”
So, “God told Paul he was to bear witness in Rome; but he hadn’t gotten to Rome yet; and it doesn’t take an Einstein to figure out the implication of this.”
He would get to Rome – somehow, someway, the storm wouldn’t take his life and he’d get there – God was going to rescue & preserve him;
now, you and I don’t have the special revelation of such a specific nature that Paul had; we don’t know that we’ll be rescued from the physical/temporal danger or suffering of the storms of life.
We haven’t been told the specifics of our journey; but we still know the destination – and we have a promise even more sure than Paul’s – that God will bring us safely home; and that even if a storm of life takes our life we will only then be ushered into our true eternal life and brought to our true eternal home.
Because Paul knows the destination, he doesn’t have to despair.
If you know the outcome, you can have peace in the journey no matter what the storm; and that is the same for us.
But peace, doesn’t mean passivity.
Because Paul intervenes on four separate occasions to change the course of events – and so Paul did not “let go and let God”; he didn’t simply resign himself to whatever circumstances came;
No – he grabbed onto the promises of God and worked them out in obedience and wisdom.
Second contrast to Jonah: “Because of the faith Paul had and because of what he knew of God, Paul was able to encourage others. Jonah was running away from God. So when the storm came to batter the ship, he wasn’t on deck helping. He was in the hold of the ship asleep, like so many Christians. Others were in danger, but he was no use to them. By contrast, Paul was obeying God. So when the storm broke, he emerged as the leader in the situation.”
his faith doesn’t lead him to be passive; but active.
And Paul really emerges as the leader in this situation. He leads by using wisdom to evaluate whether they ought to take risks; he leads by making sure some of the sailors don’t escape – since the fate of them all was conditional upon them all staying together; he leads by giving encouragement to those who are despairing; he leads in a practical way by making sure the sailors eat after they’ve been battling the storm and not eaten in days, he looks after their physical needs; later he leads as a servant by helping out with building the fire on Malta – and gets bit by a snake in the process.
But he also leads through his love for the people around him: v24 “and God has graciously given you the lives of all who sail with you.”
The language here – of God giving them to Paul – implies that Paul has been praying for them – praying for their safety – praying for their deliverance – that Paul is not thinking about saving his own life, but he’s thinking about saving the lives of others – and all throughout the rest of the journey you see Paul with this outward selfless concern for the lives and well-being of others.
Paul’s journey to Rome; Paul’s ministry in Rome
First thing he does is call together the Jewish leaders; and their response to him is divided – some belief, but for the most part, their response is unbelief.
And this leads Paul to quote from Isaiah 6 –
vv24-31
that quotation is from Isaiah’s commissioning when God told him that he would preach to the people, but they for the most part wouldn’t listen: they would respond with stubborn unbelief because of the hardness of their hearts.
That they have ears, but don’t hear – they listen but don’t take to heart; that though healing is theirs if they would only turn to God, they refuse to turn to him, refuse to listen – and so prove and persist in their blindness and deafness and hardness of heart.
And Paul is saying that his ministry is similar – in that, for the most part, his own people who the gospel was for, have closed their eyes and ears and hearts to it and rejected it – and so (v28) Paul concludes is that salvation has been sent to the Gentiles.
And so Paul, for 2 years, stayed there under house arrest, welcoming all who came to see him – whether Jew or Gentile – he preached to all, because the gospel is for all. All types of people, in all places and for all time.
The gospel Paul preached at the end of Acts is the very same gospel that Peter preached in the second chapter of Acts; and it’s the same gospel that we preach today – because there is no other gospel. it needs no alteration, innovation, or adaptation; it needs no help from you because it is the power of God for the salvation of all who believe.
The response to that preaching is the same – some believe; some reject. and we are called to faithfulness even when like Isaiah and like Paul among the Jewish nation we are called faithfulness even when we don’t see the fruitfulness we would like to see
and we shouldn’t be surprised when people reject it; and we shouldn’t be surprised when people believe it! because it is the power of God for the salvation of all who believe.
And even though Paul is in chains, his message is not – because nothing can bind the message of the gospel. Because it is the power of God for the salvation of all who believe.
he preaches with all boldness and without hindrance.
But the conclusion of Acts – doesn’t really bring us to the end of the story – it leaves us hanging – wondering what happens to Paul.
Paul would – most people think – be released; to continue his ministry; but then imprisoned again, and brought back to Rome and put to death for his faith in Christ.
but the reason for the cliff-hanger ending is to challenge us who read it – to consider how we will continue the story:
“Luke’s description of Paul preaching “with boldness” and “without hindrance” symbolizes a wide open door, through which we in our day have to pass. The Acts of the Apostles have long ago finished. But the acts of the followers of Jesus will continue until the end of the world, and their words will spread to the ends of the earth.”
And they continue today. What will our part in that story be?