The Strand Study Bible

ACTS 26:29  27:5

1834

Paul Stands Before King Agrippa

29 And Paul said, I would to God, that not only thou, but also all that hear me this day, were both almost, and altogether such as I am, except these bonds. 30 And when he had thus spoken, the king rose up, and the governor, and Ber- nice, and they that sat with them: 31 And when they were gone aside, they talked between themselves, saying, This man doeth nothing worthy of death or of bonds. 32 Then said Agrippa unto Festus, This man might have been set at liberty, if he had not appealed unto 1 Caesar. Acts 27 Paul’s voyage to Rome Date - AD 60 1 And when it was determined that we should sail into Italy, they delivered Paul and certain other prisoners unto one named Julius, a centurion of Augustus’ band. 2 And entering into a ship of Adramyt- tium, we launched, meaning to sail by the coasts of Asia; one 2 Aristarchus, a Mace- donian of Thessalonica, being with us. 3 And the next day we touched at Sidon.

And Julius courteously entreated Paul, and gave him liberty to go unto his friends to refresh himself. 4 And when we had launched from thence, we sailed under Cyprus, because the winds were contrary. 5 And when we had sailed over the sea of Cilicia and Pamphylia, we came to Myra, a city of Lycia.

1. that is, “Nero Drusus” - Acts 25:10 2. Acts 19:29 & 20:4

BLACK SEA

• Adramyttium

GALATIA

CILICIA

• Myra

Crete

Cyprus

Sidon •

MEDITERRANEAN SEA

Caesarea •

Paul sails from Sidon to Myra - Map #62 27:2 Life can be compared to a voyage ( And entering into a ship of Adramyttium, we launched ). Sometimes the sailing is smooth. Other times, due to natural causes (circumstances in life - Lk 21:1-2 and Jn 9:1-3), spiritual causes (demonic interference - Gen 3:1-8, Job 1:6-22, Dan 10:1-13 and Mt 4:1-11 & 8:28-33 & 15:21-28), human causes (people interference - II Sam 11:1 - 12:18 and Acts 27:1-14), or personal causes (bad choices - II Sam 13:1-15 and I Cor 15:33), bad weather moves in and storms begin to brew. That’s just the way life is. For example: * parents pass down addictions to their children (human causes) * people choose to follow the wrong crowd (personal causes) No matter what the reason, whether natural, spiritual, human, or personal, storms are inevitable. Vernon Brewer in Why ? Notes: Let’s face it–the reality of life is that you are either entering a storm, going through a storm, or coming out of a storm. Some storms are worse than others… but they are all inevitable. 1 NOTE – In order to “lessen” the damage that storms can generate, the following lessons need to be learned: 1. Learn not to be compulsive (Acts 27:9 - Now when much time was spent ) – Just because you’ve been “sitting too long” in one place doesn’t mean you should move (Exo 13:21-22 and Num 9:15-23). Learn to “wait” on God where you are (Psa 27:14 & 46:10 and Isa 40:31). Learn be “content” with where God has you and don’t move until He moves you (Phil 4:11-13). 2. Learn not to consult the wrong crowd (Acts 27:10-11 - Nevertheless the centurion believed the master and the owner of the ship, more than those things which were spoken by Paul ) – Just because someone “says it’s so” doesn’t mean it’s so. Learn to know what God says and you’ll learn to know whom to consult ( Mt 5:21 ). 3. Learn not to get comfortable (Acts 27:12 - because the haven was not commodious to winter in ) – Just because life can be “comfortable” somewhere else doesn’t mean you should be there (Jonah 1:1-17). 4. Learn not to take a consensus (Acts 27:12 - the more part advised to depart ) – Just because a group of people all agree doesn’t mean they’re always right. Sometimes the majority simply means that all the fools are on the same side ( I Ki 18:22 ). 5. Learn not to let your circumstances control what you do (Acts 27:13 - And when the south wind blew softly, supposing that they had obtained their purpose, loosing thence, they sailed… ) – Just because things are “peaceful” doesn’t mean you’ve found peace. God’s Word, not circumstances, determines God’s will (Mt 14:22-31). 1 Brewer, Vernon. Why? Forest, VA, World Help, 2006. Print * a doctor mistakenly prescribes the wrong medicine (natural causes) * children grow up without godly influences in their life (spiritual causes)