STUDY THIRTY: ACTS 27 & 28

© Rosemary Bardsley 2026

All of Acts 27 and 28:1 – 16 report Paul’s journey to Rome, accompanied by some of his companions, including Luke and Aristarchus (see Acts 19:29 & 20:4; Colossians 4:10 and Philemon 24), and guarded by the Roman centurion, Julius. The second half of Acts 28 reports Paul’s immediate and on-going activities in Rome.

A. THE JOURNEY – ACTS 27:1 – 28:16

Luke’s report of the journey to Rome is a report of God bringing his sovereign purpose to pass, regardless of anything that happens that threatens to prevent it – that is, despite the danger of the seas and storms through which they were sailing, and despite the stupidity and obstinacy of men. Without that stupidity and obstinacy, they would not have been in danger from the storm. They would have stayed in a safe harbour until the wild winter weather was over. But, because of all that happened, some people saw the power of the name of Jesus, who would not otherwise have seen it at that time.

Various aspects of the journey:

A.1 The weather – the wind and the waves
The first ship they boarded was scheduled to sail for ‘ports along the coast of the province of Asia’ – 27:2. That is, it was going north from Caesarea, then heading west along the southern coast of what we know as Turkey. This was a route that Paul had travelled more than once. The journey took them to Sidon, past Cyprus (visited on his first mission trip), Cilicia (Paul’s native province) and Pamphylia (where he had landed on his first mission trip). Note that even this early in the journey they had had to alter their course ‘because the winds were against us’ (verse 4).

At Myra, they boarded a ship bound for Italy. From there on the weather and the seas became worse. Luke uses various words to describe their experience: ‘made slow headway’, ‘had difficulty’, ‘wind did not allow us to hold our course’, ‘with difficulty’, ‘sailing had already become dangerous’. All of this was not abnormal. People who knew the winds and the weather in that area knew that you did not sail in those waters from the beginning of November to the middle of March. It was simply too dangerous. This is the background behind Luke’s comment ‘because by now it was after the Fast’ – verse 9.

Albert Barnes comments about this:

‘By the “fast” here is evidently intended the fast which occurred among the Jews on the great day of atonement. That was on the tenth of the month Tisri, which answers to a part of September and part of October. It was, therefore, the time of the autumnal equinox, and when the navigation of the Mediterranean was esteemed to be particularly dangerous, from the storms which usually occurred about that time. The ancients regarded this as a dangerous time to navigate the Mediterranean.’ Notes on the Bible, Public Domain, published 1847 – 1885.

A decision had to be made whether to winter in Fair Havens, on the southern shore of Crete, or to attempt to sail around Crete to Phoenix on the western shore of Crete.

Paul, either calling on his existing understanding of sailing, or given insight by God, warned of the disaster to come (verse 10). The fact that he began his warning with the words ‘I can see …’ could indicate that God had given him this insight into what lay ahead.

But no one would listen to him – not the centurion, nor the pilot, nor the owner of the vessel. Any of these could have given an authoritative order to stay in Fair Havens. But they didn’t. In their desire to reach a better harbour to winter in, they preferred to face the potential danger. For a little while, it seemed that they had made the right choice, for a gentle wind began to blow, so off they sailed (27:13). Soon, however, they were at the mercy of a storm, driven along by hurricane force winds.

Their situation became worse and worse. Note again the phrases Luke used to tell the story: ‘caught by the storm’, ‘gave way to it’, ‘were driven along’, ‘hardly able to make the lifeboat secure’, ‘passed ropes under the ship itself to hold it together’, ‘violent battering’, ‘gave up all hope of being saved’. They felt so desperate that they threw the cargo overboard, and the ship’s tackle. They didn’t eat anything for quite a long time.

A.2 Paul’s advice at various stages of the journey
Paul gave his advice at various stages of the journey, but, initially, no one would listen to him. He was, after a prisoner and a preacher; he was not a seaman. Nor did he have any authority.

[1] His first warning: Because of the time of the year when sailing was dangerous, he warned them that if they continued the voyage would be disastrous, with great loss to the ship, the cargo, and their lives. But his warning was not heeded – verses 9 – 12. As noted above, Paul’s ‘I can see’ could indicate that God had revealed this to him. In any case, God, through Paul’s warning, gave them the opportunity to avoid such an outcome, but they were intent to do what they wanted to do. Their choice took them right into the danger that Paul had spoken of.

[2] His message of encouragement: After a brief mention of his previous advice which would have spared them from the storm, if they had taken it, Paul gave them a reassuring message. This time it is very clear that what Paul said was a message sent by God.

Read 27:21 – 26.
How did God communicate with Paul? – verse 23

How did Paul describe his relationship with God? – verse 23

What did God promise Paul about himself? – verse 24

What good news did Paul give the people on the ship?

What bad news did he give them?

What did he tell them to do? – verses 22a, 25a

What was the basis of Paul’s confidence? – verse 25b

[3] Another warning: When some of the sailors attempted to escape from the ship Paul told the centurion and the soldiers that if anyone left the ship no one would be saved. This time, Paul was believed, and the soldiers foiled the attempted escape – verses 29 – 32.

[4] Paul’s fourth intervention. This time Paul’s advice was plain common sense. Everyone had been so anxious and afraid that they had not eaten for two weeks, so Paul urged them to eat, because they would need strength to survive the shipwreck that was about to happen. Taking some bread, he gave thanks to God for it, and ate it. They followed his lead, eating as much as they wanted. Then they threw all the grain overboard to lighten the ship. Verses 33 – 38

A.3 The shipwreck – 27:39 – 44
In these verses, Luke describes the final moments of the voyage – the sailors’ efforts to sail the ship up to the beach (39, 40), how the ship struck a sandbar, and how the pounding surf started breaking the stern to pieces (41).

As Paul had told them, the ship was lost, but every human life was saved, one way or another (43b, 44).

A.4 The centurion Julius
Paul’s official escort to Rome, as a prisoner, consisted of a centurion, Julius, and a number of soldiers.

What do you learn about Julius from these verses?
27:3

27:9 – 11

27:31, 32

27:43 – 44

It was Julius’ responsibility to get Paul to Rome. Whether he acted as he did because of this, or whether he felt a particular kindness towards Paul, he was used by God to ensure Paul’s comfort and safety. With the exception of his failure to heed Paul’s first warning, everything we read about him in Luke’s report is positive. Without his intervention, Paul would not have survived the voyage.

Apart from Paul’s reference to the God whom he served (verses 23 – 25) Luke does not report anything about Paul preaching or teaching either the crew or the sailors or anyone else on the ship. He may have done so, but we simply don’t know. Nor does Luke report any miraculous healings.

B. ON MALTA – ACTS 28:1 – 10

On Malta, where the shipwrecked people swam or paddled to from the shipwreck, Luke’s silence about God was forcibly broken, even though ‘God’ is not mentioned.

An uncalled for, unexpected miracle occurred (28:3 – 6).

At first the islanders concluded that ‘justice’ had finally had its way with Paul, a prisoner. The storm did not give him the death he obviously deserved, but the snake bite would. But it didn’t. So the islanders assumed Paul was a ‘god’.

Obviously, it was God who saved Paul from the snakebite, and here was an opportunity to teach these people about the Lord Jesus. But nothing is reported, and maybe nothing was said.
Similarly, in the home of Publius, the chief official, Paul miraculously healed Publius’ father; and then, as Paul prayed and laid hands on them, ‘the rest of the sick on the island’. God was obviously at work through Paul, but there is no record of Paul grasping the opportunity to proclaim the name of the Lord Jesus Christ.

Maybe he did. But, maybe, he and his companions were completely exhausted from the dangerous and frightening journey they had just endured for several weeks. And that is okay.

B.1 The kindness of the inhabitants of Malta
What do these verses teach about the kindness of the islanders?
28:2

28:10

C. ON TO ROME – ACTS 28:11 – 30

After three months, which took them beyond the dangerous time for sailing in the Mediterranean, they left Malta. Interestingly, it was on a ship with the Greek/Romans gods Castor and Pollux as its figurehead. [These were, among other things, considered ‘gods’ of sailing. Luke doesn’t tell us what Paul thought about travelling in a ship that honoured false ‘gods’. He was not in a position where he could do anything about it, in any case.]

From Malta they travelled to Syracuse, which is on the western coast of Sicily, staying there three days. From there they sailed to Rhegium, on the southern tip of Italy, then up the southern coast of Italy to Puteoli.

Rome had been on Paul’s heart for a long time, and his desire to proclaim Christ in Rome was confirmed by God.

What do you learn about this in these verses?
Acts 19:21

Acts 23:11

Acts 27:24

Romans 1:9, 10

Romans 1:11 – 13

Now Paul’s long-term desire and God’s purpose were about to be fulfilled.

C.1 How Paul was received – 28:14 – 16
As they came close to Rome, Paul was encouraged by the way he was received.

What do you learn about how Paul was received …
By ‘the brothers’ at Puteoli? – verse 14

By the ‘brothers’ from Rome? – verse 15

How did Paul respond? – verse 15b

If you look at a map of Paul’s journey from Malta to Rome, it will help you to understand how encouraging this initial reception of Paul by the ‘brothers’ in Rome was. These men, hearing that Paul was on his way, travelled almost 40 or 50km (c 25 or 30 miles) to meet him – ‘as far as the Forum of Appius and the Three Taverns’.

Having had no idea of what kind of reception awaited him in Rome, Paul thanked God for this positive encouragement from fellow-believers – ‘brothers’ – in Christ.

C.2 Paul and the Jewish leaders in Rome – 28:17 – 22
Three days after arriving, Paul took the initiative and called together the leaders of the Jews.

Read the verses. Answer these questions
How did Paul explain His innocence? - verse 17, 18

Why did he appeal to Caesar? – verse 19

Why did he want to talk with these Jewish leaders? – verse 20

How did the Jewish leaders respond? – verse 21

What did they want to hear? – verse 22

Why? – verse 22

This initial meeting with the Jewish leaders in Rome seems quite positive. At this point, there is no pre-existing antagonism; they have not heard anything of the controversies and accusations about Paul that had been simmering in Jerusalem for some years. And because they knew that ‘people everywhere’ were talking about the Christian ‘sect’, they wanted to hear Paul’s views.

C.3 The second meeting with the Jews in Rome – 28:23 – 28

Answer these questions about this second meeting:
Who came to the meeting?

How long did Paul teach?

What did he teach? – verse 23

How did he try to convince them about Jesus? – verse 23

What were the two results? – verse 24

What made them leave? – verse 25ff

What is there in Paul’s quote from Isaiah 6:9 & 10 that would make them leave?

Having fulfilled his responsibility towards the Jews, what did Paul intend to do? – verse 28.

C.3 Paul and the Gentiles in Rome – 28:28, 29
Several years previously Paul had written a letter to the Romans. From that letter it is obvious that already there were believers in Rome – some Jews and some Gentiles. We have seen above (in Luke 28:14, 15) that some of the believers from Rome travelled quite some distance to meet him on the way. It is quite likely that they were among those whom he welcomed into his house.

Note what Luke tells us that Paul did for two whole years:

He stayed in his own rented house (see also 28:16, 20 for the conditions that applied).
He welcomed all who came to see him.
He preached boldly and without hindrance.
He preached the kingdom of God.
He taught about the Lord Jesus Christ.

Note that his core message – the kingdom of God and the Lord Jesus Christ – was the same for the Gentiles and it was for the Jews (compare 28:23 and 31).

God, the sovereign God, had accomplished his purpose for Paul. Over and above all the human sins and stupidity along the way, over and above the conflicting messages believed to be from God, over and above the Roman legal system, over and above the dangers of winds and waves, the will of God, the power of God, had the final say. That God accomplished his purpose for Paul to go to Rome and witness there about the Lord Jesus Christ, does not validate any of the human actions that contributed to that end. All it means is what Paul himself affirmed: ‘that in all things God works for the good of those who love him, who have been called according to his purpose’ – Romans 8:28. On that we can depend.