Acts 27:1-12 - Corps Notes - January 13, 1977
Acts 27:1-12 January 13, 1977 This record in Acts 27 historically, from a historian’s point of view, is the finest record of a travel aboard ship and a shipwreck, in all history. There is no more detailed record in any place in secular history at all. In other words; this 27th chapter, as reported by Luke, under the inspiration of the Father, is just a fantastic piece of work. Acts 27:1 “when it was determined” - as it was decided There was more than one group of a hundred who were the emperor’s crack troops. The Pope has the Swiss Guards. Are they not his crack troops? I think so. Acts 27:2 “entering” – embarking “meaning” - being about “being” was “Aristarchus” - Luke and Aristarchus were with Paul. I think, according to Roman law, only two people, at any time, were allowed to accompany a prisoner, I forget what the detail was on it. “Adramyttium” - this city, Adramyttium, was a city in Mysia. They are going north from Caesarea along the Asian coast. Mysia was a province of Asia. Adramyttium was right at the head of the Gulf of Mysia, on the west coast of it. Acts 27:3 “touched” - landed “liberty” = the privilege The Phoenicians were the great builders of ships; the first major navigational group. Tyre and Sidon were like Minneapolis - St. Paul, where one is always in competition with the other. That is an interesting place. Even the ruins of the famous naval base there are still visible, you know, the great pillars and stuff. This area in here blessed me very much, Tyre and Sidon, I enjoyed seeing that, the excavations and so forth. Sidon was a Phoenician port. “Julius [the centurion] courteously entreated Paul” - I assume he did this because he was given orders, and was informed by Festus as to how to handle him; what to do. “gave him liberty” - he gave Paul the privilege to go to his friends to refresh himself. I imagine after two years in the “hoosegow” it would be sort of nice to have the freedom to go to your friends and refresh yourself, but he could not go
From this work
that the critics have said about it, it’s always interesting to me. When they do find it, then they say, “Well the Bible was right to begin with.” Why didn’t somebody start out with the idea like The Way Ministry; the Bible is right, then we have no problem with it. The Bible is accurate. It just takes men to get around to believing it. They would not have gone this route, you know good and well, had the weather been better. But they were going very late in the season. It perhaps was the last boat out. I’m quite confident it was, because of the time of the year. Acts 27:9 “now” - already “fast was now already past” – this is the Feast of Purim, and when that thing occurred, nobody, if he was in his right mind, sailed the Mediterranean. Only under extreme conditions would you sail it. I’ve often wondered why they sailed this particular ship of Alexandria. The owner was responsible to trav