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Texts -- Acts 27:1-22 (NET)

Context
Paul and Company Sail for Rome
27:1 When it was decided we would sail to Italy , they handed over Paul and some other prisoners to a centurion of the Augustan Cohort named Julius . 27:2 We went on board a ship from Adramyttium that was about to sail to various ports along the coast of the province of Asia and put out to sea , accompanied by Aristarchus , a Macedonian from Thessalonica . 27:3 The next day we put in at Sidon , and Julius , treating Paul kindly , allowed him to go to his friends so they could provide him with what he needed . 27:4 From there we put out to sea and sailed under the lee of Cyprus because the winds were against us. 27:5 After we had sailed across the open sea off Cilicia and Pamphylia , we put in at Myra in Lycia . 27:6 There the centurion found a ship from Alexandria sailing for Italy , and he put us aboard it . 27:7 We sailed slowly for many days and arrived with difficulty off Cnidus . Because the wind prevented us from going any farther, we sailed under the lee of Crete off Salmone . 27:8 With difficulty we sailed along the coast of Crete and came to a place called Fair Havens that was near the town of Lasea .
Caught in a Violent Storm
27:9 Since considerable time had passed and the voyage was now dangerous because the fast was already over , Paul advised them, 27:10 “Men , I can see the voyage is going to end in disaster and great loss not only of the cargo and the ship , but also of our lives .” 27:11 But the centurion was more convinced by the captain and the ship’s owner than by what Paul said . 27:12 Because the harbor was not suitable to spend the winter in , the majority decided to put out to sea from there . They hoped that somehow they could reach Phoenix , a harbor of Crete facing southwest and northwest , and spend the winter there. 27:13 When a gentle south wind sprang up, they thought they could carry out their purpose , so they weighed anchor and sailed close along the coast of Crete . 27:14 Not long after this, a hurricane-force wind called the northeaster blew down from the island . 27:15 When the ship was caught in it and could not head into the wind , we gave way to it and were driven along . 27:16 As we ran under the lee of a small island called Cauda , we were able with difficulty to get the ship’s boat under control . 27:17 After the crew had hoisted it aboard, they used supports to undergird the ship . Fearing they would run aground on the Syrtis , they lowered the sea anchor , thus letting themselves be driven along . 27:18 The next day , because we were violently battered by the storm , they began throwing the cargo overboard , 27:19 and on the third day they threw the ship’s gear overboard with their own hands . 27:20 When neither sun nor stars appeared for many days and a violent storm continued to batter us, we finally abandoned all hope of being saved . 27:21 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 . 27:22 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.

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Expository Notes on the Bible (Constable)

  • 1:4 Jonah subjected himself to dangers that Israel and the entire ancient Near East viewed as directly under divine control when he launched out on the sea. The sea to them was the embodiment of the chaotic forces that humans...
  • The Pharisees criticized Jesus' conduct in the previous pericope. Now John's disciples criticized the conduct of Jesus' disciples and, by implication, Jesus.9:14 The people who questioned Jesus here were disciples of John the...
  • Several factors indicate that the writer of this Gospel was the same person who wrote the Book of Acts. First, a man named Theophilus was the recipient of both books (Luke 1:3; Acts 1:1). Second, Acts refers to a previous wor...
  • 21:10-11 Luke's interruption of Jesus' teaching suggests a break of some kind in His thought. It seems clear from what follows, in verse 11 especially, that Jesus now broadened His perspective from the wars that would precede...
  • Two lines of argument lead to the conclusion that Luke, the friend, fellow missionary, and physician of Paul wrote this book under the inspiration of the Holy Spirit. First, there is the internal evidence, the passages writte...
  • Longenecker identified five phenomena about the structure of Acts that the reader needs to recognize to appreciate what Luke sought to communicate."1. It begins, like the [Third] Gospel, with an introductory section of distin...
  • I. The witness in Jerusalem 1:1-6:7A. The founding of the church 1:1-2:461. The resumptive preface to the book 1:1-52. The command to witness 1:6-83. The ascension of Jesus 1:9-114. Jesus' appointment of a twelfth apostle 1:1...
  • The key to the apostles' successful fulfillment of Jesus' commission was their baptism with and consequent indwelling by the Holy Spirit. Without this divine enablement they would only have been able to follow Jesus' example,...
  • 9:10-12 Evidently Ananias was not a refugee from Jerusalem (22:12) but a resident of Damascus. He, too, received a vision of the Lord Jesus (v. 17) to whom he submitted willingly (cf. 1 Sam. 3:4, 10). Jesus gave Ananias speci...
  • 10:1 Caesarea stood on the Mediterranean coast about 30 miles north of Joppa. Formerly its name was Strato's Tower, but Herod the Great renamed it in honor of Augustus Caesar, his patron and the adopted heir of Julius Caesar....
  • Luke recorded the events of Paul's first missionary journey to document the extension of the church into new territory and to illustrate the principles and methods by which the church grew. He also did so to show God's supern...
  • Luke recorded Paul's vision of the Macedonian man to explain God's initiative in encouraging Paul and his companions to carry the gospel farther west into Europe.". . . this section [6:6-10] makes it overwhelmingly clear that...
  • "The panel is introduced by the programmatic statement of 19:21-22 and concludes with the summary statement of 28:31. Three features immediately strike the reader in this sixth panel: (1) the disproportionate length of the pa...
  • This incident reveals more about the effects of the gospel on Ephesian society and religion (cf. vv. 13-20)."Luke's purpose in presenting this vignette is clearly apologetic, in line with his argument for the religio licitast...
  • 24:22 Felix probably gained his knowledge of Christianity from several sources: his current Jewish wife who was a Herodian, and Romans and Jews from Judea and other parts of the empire. He sought to preserve the peace by dela...
  • 24:24 Sometime later Felix, along with his current wife, sent for Paul. Drusilla was the youngest daughter of Herod Agrippa I who had been king over Palestine from 37-44 A.D. It was he who had authorized the death of James, t...
  • 27:1 Luke appears to have remained with Paul from the time he left Philippi on his third missionary journey (20:5). He may have ministered to him during his entire two-year detention at Caesarea. We know he travelled with Pau...
  • 27:9-10 Evidently the captain waited for some time for the weather to improve in Fair Havens. The "Fast"refers to the day of Atonement that fell in the fall each year, sometimes as late as early October. People considered it ...
  • Paul was a Roman citizen who had appealed to Caesar and had gained the respect (to say the least) of his centurion escort. Therefore he was able to reside in a private rented residence with a Roman guard (v. 30).This is the e...
  • 28:23 Luke's concern in this pericope was to emphasize what Paul preached to these men and their reaction to it. The term "kingdom of God"probably means the same thing here as it usually does in the Gospels, namely Messiah's ...
  • Sermons and Speeches in Acts984SpeakersOccasions and or HearersCitiesReferencesPeter (1)Selection of successor to JudasJerusalem1:16-22Peter (2)Signs on the day of PentecostJerusalem2:14-36Peter (3)Healing of lame man in the ...
  • Sequence of Paul's ActivitiesDateEventReferenceBirth in TarsusActs 22:3Early life and theological education in Jerusalem under GamalielActs 22:334Participation in Stephen's stoning outside JerusalemActs 7:57-8:134Leadership i...
  • Sequence of Paul's ActivitiesDateEventReferenceBirth in TarsusActs 22:3Early life and theological education in Jerusalem under GamalielActs 22:334Participation in Stephen's stoning outside JerusalemActs 7:57-8:134Leadership i...
  • Paul mentioned six individuals five of whom he also named in Philemon.4:10 Aristarchus came from Thessalonica (Acts 20:4), had been with Paul in Ephesus (Acts 19:29), and accompanied him to Rome (Acts 27:2). "Prisoner"(v. 10)...
  • Paul may have visited Crete more than once. It seems unlikely that he would have had time to plant a church in Crete on his way to Rome as a prisoner (Acts 27:7-13, 21). One may have already been in existence then (cf. Acts 2...
  • "The previous paragraph [2:1-10] has been a challenge to the several groups in the Cretan churches to accept the specifically Christian pattern of behavior. Its presuppositions may at first sight seem prosaically humdrum and ...
  • Peter proceeded to emphasize that the witness of the apostles, as well as the witness of Scripture, came from God. He did this to help his readers see that their choice boiled down to accepting God's Word or the word of men w...

Expositions Of Holy Scripture (Maclaren)

  • And when the south wind blew softly, supposing that they had obtained their purpose, loosing thence, they sailed close by Crete. 14. But not long after there arose against it a tempestuous wind, called Euroclydon. 15. And whe...
  • In such a time some hitherto unnoticed man of prompt decision, resource, and confidence, will take the command, whatever his position. Hope, as well as timidity and fear, is infectious, and one cheery voice will revive the dr...
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