The Lord Jesus Builds His Church - Lesson 30

Paul Sails for Rome

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 And when it was decided athat bwe should sail for Italy, they deliveredPaul and some other prisoners to a centurion of the Augustan cCohortnamed Julius. 2 And embarking in a ship of Adramyttium, which was about tosail to the ports along the coast of Asia, we put to sea, accompanied bydAristarchus, a Macedonian from Thessalonica. 3 The next day we put in atSidon. And eJulius ftreated Paul kindly and ggave him leave to go to his friendsand be cared for. 4 And putting out to sea from there we sailed under the lee ofCyprus, because the winds were against us. 5 And when we had sailed across theopen sea along the coast of Cilicia and Pamphylia, we came to Myra in Lycia.6 There the centurion found ha ship of Alexandria sailing for Italy and put us onboard. 7 We sailed slowly for a number of days and arrived with difficulty offCnidus, and as the wind did not allow us to go farther, we sailed under the lee ofCrete off Salmone. 8 Coasting along it with difficulty, we came to a place calledFair Havens, near which was the city of Lasea.

9 Since much time had passed, and the voyage was now dangerous becauseeven ithe Fast1 was already over, Paul advised them, 10 saying, “Sirs, I perceivethat the voyage will be with jinjury and much loss, not only of the cargo and theship, but also of our lives.” 11 But the centurion paid more attention to kthe pilotand to the owner of the ship than to what Paul said. 12 And because the harborwas not suitable to spend the winter in, the majority decided to put out to seafrom there, on the chance that somehow they could reach Phoenix, a harbor ofCrete, facing both southwest and northwest, and spend the winter there.

The Storm at Sea

13 Now when the south wind blew gently, supposing that they had obtainedtheir purpose, they weighed anchor and sailed along Crete, close to the shore.14 But soon a tempestuous wind, called the northeaster, lstruck down from theland. 15 And when the ship was caught and could not face the wind, we gave wayto it and were driven along. 16 Running under the lee of a small island calledCauda,2 we managed with difficulty to secure the ship’s boat. 17 After hoisting itup, they used supports to undergird the ship. Then, fearing that they would mrunaground on the Syrtis, they lowered the gear,3 and thus they were driven along.18 Since we were violently storm-tossed, they began the next day nto jettison thecargo. 19 And on the third day they threw the ship’s tackle overboard with theirown hands. 20 When neither sun nor stars appeared for many days, and no smalltempest lay on us, all hope of our being saved was at last abandoned.

21 Since they had been without food for a long time, Paul stood up among themand said, “Men, oyou should have listened to me and not have set sail from Creteand incurred this oinjury and loss. 22 Yet now I urge you to ptake heart, for therewill be no loss of life among you, but only of the ship. 23 For this very night qthererstood before me san angel of the God tto whom I belong and uwhom I worship,24 and he said, ‘Do not be afraid, Paul; vyou must stand before Caesar. Andbehold, wGod has granted you all those who sail with you.’ 25 So take heart, men,for I have faith in God that it will be exactly as I have been told. 26 But xwe mustyrun aground on some island.”

27 When the fourteenth night had come, as we were being driven across theAdriatic Sea, about midnight the sailors suspected that they were nearing land.28 So they took a sounding and found twenty fathoms.4 A little farther on theytook a sounding again and found fifteen fathoms.5 29 And fearing that we mightzrun on the rocks, they let down four anchors from the stern and prayed for dayto come. 30 And as the sailors were seeking to escape from the ship, and hadlowered athe ship’s boat into the sea under pretense of laying out anchors fromthe bow, 31 Paul said to the centurion and the soldiers, “Unless these men stay inthe ship, you cannot be saved.” 32 Then the soldiers cut away the ropes of theship’s boat and let it go.

33 As day was about to dawn, Paul urged them all to take some food, saying,“Today is the fourteenth day that you have continued in suspense and withoutfood, having taken nothing. 34 Therefore I urge you to take some food. For it willgive you strength,6 for bnot a hair is to perish from the head of any of you.” 35 Andwhen he had said these things, he took bread, and cgiving thanks to God in thepresence of all he broke it and began to eat. 36 Then they all dwere encouragedand ate some food themselves. 37 (We were in all 2767 epersons in the ship.)38 And when they had eaten enough, they lightened the ship, fthrowing out thewheat into the sea.

The Shipwreck

39 Now when it was day, gthey did not recognize the land, but they noticed abay with a beach, on which they planned if possible to run the ship ashore. 40 Sothey cast off the anchors and left them in the sea, at the same time loosening theropes that tied the rudders. Then hoisting the foresail to the wind they made forthe beach. 41 But striking a reef,8 hthey ran the vessel aground. The bow stuckand remained immovable, and the stern was being broken up by the surf. 42 iThesoldiers’ plan was to kill the prisoners, lest any should swim away and escape.43 But the centurion, jwishing to save Paul, kept them from carrying out theirplan. He ordered those who could swim to jump overboard first and make for theland, 44 and the rest on planks or on pieces of the ship. And so it was that kallwere brought safely to land.

Paul on Malta

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 After we were brought safely through, lwe then learned that mtheisland was called Malta. 2 nThe native people1 showed us unusualokindness, for they kindled a fire and welcomed us all, because it had begun torain and was cold. 3 When Paul had gathered a bundle of sticks and put them onthe fire, a viper came out because of the heat and fastened on his hand. 4 Whenpthe native people saw the creature hanging from his hand, they said to oneanother, q“No doubt this man is a murderer. Though he has escaped from thesea, rJustice2 has not allowed him to live.” 5 He, however, sshook off the creatureinto the fire and suffered no harm. 6 They were waiting for him to swell up orsuddenly fall down dead. But when they had waited a long time and saw nomisfortune come to him, tthey changed their minds and usaid that he was a god.

7 Now in the neighborhood of that place were lands belonging to the chief manof the island, named Publius, who received us and entertained us hospitably forthree days. 8 It happened that the father of Publius lay sick with fever anddysentery. And Paul visited him and vprayed, and wputting his hands on him,healed him. 9 And when this had taken place, the rest of the people on the islandwho had diseases also came and were cured. 10 They also honored us greatly,3and when we were about to sail, they put on board whatever we needed.

Paul Arrives at Rome

11 After three months we set sail in xa ship that had wintered in the island, aship of Alexandria, with the twin gods4 as a figurehead. 12 Putting in at Syracuse,we stayed there for three days. 13 And from there we made a circuit and arrived atRhegium. And after one day a south wind sprang up, and on the second day wecame to Puteoli. 14 There we found ybrothers5 and were invited to stay with themfor seven days. And so we came to Rome. 15 And ythe brothers there, when theyheard about us, came as far as the Forum of Appius and Three Taverns to meetus. On seeing them, zPaul thanked God and took courage. 16 And when we cameinto Rome, aPaul was allowed to stay by himself, with the soldier who guardedhim.

Paul in Rome

17 After three days he called together the local leaders of the Jews, and whenthey had gathered, he said to them, “Brothers, bthough I had done nothingagainst our people or cthe customs of our fathers, yet I was delivered as aprisoner from Jerusalem into the hands of the Romans. 18 When they hadexamined me, they dwished to set me at liberty, ebecause there was no reason forthe death penalty in my case. 19 But because the Jews objected, I was compelledfto appeal to Caesar—though I had no charge to bring against gmy nation. 20 Forthis reason, therefore, I have asked to see you and speak with you, since it ishbecause of ithe hope of Israel that I am wearing jthis kchain.” 21 And they saidto him, “We have received no letters from Judea about you, and none of lthebrothers coming here has reported or spoken any evil about you. 22 But we desireto hear from you what your views are, for with regard to this msect we know thateverywhere nit is spoken against.”

23 When they had appointed a day for him, they came to him at his lodging ingreater numbers. From morning till evening ohe expounded to them, testifying topthe kingdom of God and qtrying to convince them about Jesus rboth from theLaw of Moses and from the Prophets. 24 And ssome were convinced by what hesaid, but others disbelieved. 25 And disagreeing among themselves, they departedafter Paul had made one statement: t“The Holy Spirit was right in saying to yourfathers through Isaiah the prophet:

26  u“‘Go to this people, and say,

v“You will indeed hear but never understand,

and you will indeed see but never perceive.”

27  wFor this people’s heart has grown dull,

and with their ears they can barely hear,

and their eyes they have closed;

lest they should see with their eyes

and hear with their ears

and understand with their heart

and xturn, and I would heal them.’

28 Therefore let it be known to you that ythis zsalvation of God ahas been sent tothe Gentiles; bthey will listen.”6

30 He lived there two whole years at his own expense,7 and cwelcomed all whocame to him, 31 dproclaiming ethe kingdom of God and teaching about the LordJesus Christ fwith all boldness and gwithout hindrance.