SHIPWRECKED
SHIPWRECKED
ACTS 27:33-44
Were they going to make it through the surf? It seemed impossible, but God had promised, and they all managed to reach land safely.
The apostle’s leadership is again seen, and among a crew and passenger list of 276 men he stands out as a man of practical faith and sturdy common-sense (27:34). The angelic vision (27:23) and the divine promise of safety (27:24) were food enough for him, and he was prepared to act upon the assurance which had come to him (27:34b). With his splendid example to encourage them (27:35), the rest of the ship’s complement took fresh heart (27:36).
The shipwreck scene is dramatically painted in the remaining verses of the chapter (27:39-44). The sailors severed the cables and left the anchors in the sea, at the same time unleashing the steering-paddles, and hoisting the foresail to catch a wind, they drove the ship on to the shore (27:40).
The beaching operation worked. The ship struck a spit of land which jutted out where the two seas met (27:41, RSV margin), and the prow became embedded in the sandbank of the promontory, while the stern was broken up by the force of the sea (27:41).
The soldiers’ plan to kill off the prisoners lest they should escape in the confusion of the shipwreck was thwarted—for Paul’s sake, to whom everyone owed a great deal. We can only guess by what method—swimming, clutching a plank or holding part of the ship’s spar—Paul and Luke reached land.
Notes 27:34: the Greek term, elsewhere rendered “salvation,” here means physical well-being (as in Philippians 1:19). The next sentence is an Old Testament proverb (1 Samuel 14:45; 2 Samuel 14:11; 1 Kings 1:52; cf. Luke 21:18). 27:35: an acknowledgment of God’s goodness in providing food, though the Western text adds that Paul shared this meal with “us” (presumably Luke and Aristarchus) and understands it as a sacramental meal (so Ramsay). 27:37: RSV margin gives smaller numbers, but the figure of 276 is only half the complement of a ship on which Josephus traveled to Rome, so there is no inherent difficulty in the larger figure. 27:44: the Greek may mean “some on the backs of members of the crew”—a vivid touch!