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 Paul to Rome (28:16).944
Scholars have not been able to identify the Augustan Cohort (a battalion of 1,000 soldiers, cf. 21:31) with certainty. Some of them believe this was the cohort responsible for communications and service between the emperor and his provincial armies.945However this group may not have been in existence this early in Roman history.946Since "Augustan"was a title of honor that the government gave to several cohorts, this simply may have been one of the Augustan cohorts that was based in the Syrian province.947These Augustan cohorts served various police and judicial functions.948
Since he was a Roman citizen who had appealed to Caesar, Paul would have enjoyed greater privileges than the other regular prisoners.
Julius was another centurion (cf. Cornelius, ch. 10; 22:26; 24:23) who demonstrated fairness, consideration, and mercy, as this story will show.
27:2 Most likely Paul sailed from Caesarea. His ship originated from the port of Adramyttium just south of Troas opposite the island of Lesbos. It was a coastal vessel that docked at most ports along the northeastern Mediterranean shoreline.
Aristarchus, like Luke, seems to have stayed with Paul during his Caesarean imprisonment (cf. 19:29) and travelled with him all the way to Rome (Col. 4:10; Phile. 24). Their presence with the apostle probably contributed to the respect that Paul received as he travelled.949
27:3 Sidon stood about 70 miles north of Caesarea. Paul's friends were probably members of the church there (cf. 11:19). A soldier would have accompanied Paul wherever he went.
27:4-5 Prevailing winds in the Mediterranean during spring and fall blow from west to east and often from the northwest. Consequently this ship sailed north up the east side of the island of Cyprus (cf. 21:3). Proceeding north it came to the coast of Cilicia and turned west passing Pamphylia and landing at Myra in Lysia, the southernmost region in the province of Asia.
27:6 At Myra Julius transferred his party to another ship bound for Italy. This was a grain ship (v. 38) that had accommodations for at least 276 passengers (v. 37). Its port of origin was Alexandria, the capital of Egypt. Egypt was the major supplier of grain for Italy. A large fleet of these ships sailed between Egypt and Italy along the coast of Palestine, Syria, and Asia Minor carrying food. According to a contemporary description, these large ships were usually 180 feet long, 50 feet wide, and 44 feet deep from the deck to the hold.950
27:7-8 Cnidus stood on the southwestern tip of the province of Asia where the Aegean Sea met the Mediterranean. A northwesterly wind forced Paul's ship southwest to the 180-mile long island of Crete. By sailing along Crete's eastern and southern coasts it finally reached the port of Fair Havens near a town called Lasea having rounded Cape Salmone at the island's southeastern tip.
