Acts 27 Summary - 5 Minute Bible Study

Acts 27 in 5 Minutes

WHEN:

• Paul’s journey to Rome took place around 59 A.D., after his 2-year imprisonment in Caesarea.

CHARACTERS:

• Paul (Saul) – An Apostle who was being sent to Rome to stand trial before Caesar.

• Julius – The Roman centurion responsible for Paul’s transport to Rome.

• 276 – The number of people on board Paul’s boat when it left Fair Havens.

WHERE:

• Paul was in prison for 2 years in Caesarea. On his way to Rome to stand trial, he passed through Sidon, Myra, Cnidus, Fair Havens, and was shipwrecked in Malta.

OUTLINE:

• PAUL IS PUT ON A SHIP DESTINED FOR ROME (27:1-20):

  • When it was time for Paul to sail to Rome to appeal his case before Caesar, he was put on a ship with some other prisoners and sailed to Sidon.

  • The ship sailed by Cyprus and docked in Myra in Lycia.

  • Paul then boarded another ship departing for Cnidus.

  • The ship sailed underneath Crete because of fierce winds and stopped at a place called Fair Havens.

  • Paul advised the crew to harbor in Fair Havens for the winter, but they didn’t listen.

  • They set sail for the harbor in Phoenix, Crete but were blown off course by a “tempestuous wind, called the northeaster.”

  • The storm was threatening to damage the ship, so they lowered the sails and allowed themselves to be driven by the wind and waves.

  • The next day, they started throwing the cargo overboard.

  • After many days with no sun and no stars, they gave up hope of being saved.

• AN ANGEL APPEARS TO PAUL WITH A MESSAGE OF HOPE (27:21-26):

  • After many days lost at sea, Paul stood up and shared some good news with the crew.

  • An angel of God appeared to him and told him they were all going to survive, though the ship and cargo would be lost.

  • The angel revealed the ship would run aground on an island.

• THE SHIPWRECK (27:27-44):

  • On the 14th night, the sailors realized they were approaching land.

  • Fearing the ship would run into rocks, they let down anchors and waited for daylight.

  • Paul encouraged the company to eat something for strength because they had been 14 days without food.

  • They attempted to maneuver the ship into a bay with a beach where they could run the ship aground, but they got caught on and the ship started falling apart.

  • Everyone jumped overboard and either swam or floated on debris to the shore.

  • All 276 passengers made it to the beach alive.

APPLICATION:

• There isn’t a place where God isn’t.

• If God could keep track of a tiny ship in a giant sea with rough waves covered by a cloudy sky, He isn’t going to lose track of you.

• God guided Paul’s ship to the island using the seemly random natural forces of the wind and waves.

• God’s hand was in the wind and waves, and His hand is in the forces that impact our lives as well.