Biblical Bytes Podcast

52. Acts 27 & 28 | Endured - Paul's Journey Through Storms to Rome

• Adam Van Arsdale and Alison Howell

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In this final episode of our series on the Book of Acts, we delve into chapters 27 and 28, focusing on Paul's dangerous journey to Rome. From shipwrecks to trials, we explore the steadfastness of Paul's faith and how God's plans prevail even in the most daunting circumstances. Join Allison and Adam as they not only discuss Paul's adventures but also bring fresh insights into how these historical events relate to us today. Additionally, the duo provides a special farewell as they prepare for a break over the Christmas season and invite your input for future topics.

00:00 Introduction: Trusting God in Life's Storms
00:19 Final Episode of the Season
00:37 Paul's Journey to Rome Begins
01:06 Seasickness Stories and Humor
03:19 Paul's Determination to Reach Rome
05:33 Setting Sail for Italy
09:21 Paul's Warning Ignored
13:59 Caught in a Tempest
19:23 Paul's Assurance of Safety
22:33 Clarifying Beliefs: Pharisees and Sadducees
22:42 Patterns in Biblical Stories: Moses, Noah, and Joseph
23:18 Paul's Faith and Encouragement
24:29 Shipwreck and Survival: Paul's Journey
26:28 A Duck Hunter's Tale: Personal Anecdote
28:19 Paul's Arrival in Malta
37:16 Paul's Trials and Parallels with Jesus
41:50 The Unfinished Mission: Continuing the Gospel
46:29 Conclusion and Call to Action


Music used in intro: "Hard Answers" by JK Productions

Adam:

What does it mean to trust God in the middle of life's storms? In Acts chapter 27 and 28, we follow Paul on a perilous journey to Rome. Through shipwrecks and trials, Paul's faith remains steadfast, reminding us that God's plans are never derailed, no matter the circumstances.

Alison:

Hey, Allison. Hey, Adam. So this is our, our last episode in the book of acts, our last time to sit across the table from each other this season.

Adam:

Yep. This year,

Alison:

this year. Yeah.

Adam:

We're taking a break. Well, I hope so. We never talked about this, but I'm assuming we're taking a break for the Christmas season. I think

Alison:

we should take a break for the Christmas season.

Adam:

Okay, good. I wouldn't have shown up anyway.

Alison:

And today we're going to be, um, The setting of the end of the book of acts pretty much I mean most of what we're gonna talk about today is on a ship

Adam:

Yep,

Alison:

and I know your fondness for the sea, right?

Adam:

I Love the sea so very sarcastically said

Alison:

yes I know you you actually hate everything about the ocean

Adam:

everything

Alison:

and I so I'm just wondering I know some of the things that you don't like so we don't have to get back to that cuz I mean I've told

Adam:

you that that's a mean or in the sea. This great sea creatures are in the sea You

Alison:

But do you get seasick is my question on boats?

Adam:

Honestly, I'm not on the sea enough to tell you, but I did. I will say there's a humorous, maybe I've even said this story. I don't remember. But when we went on a cruise, I was given a, I did get seasick one night and my mom gave me non drowsy. Um, Dramamine and it actually was drowsy and she misread and so I slept a whole day of the sea, of the sea. Uh, cruise. That was an

Alison:

expensive nap.

Adam:

It was a very expensive nap. Sleep the day

Alison:

away on a cruise. Yeah.

Adam:

It's okay. I probably enjoyed it more.

Alison:

I'm surprised you even, I was surprised by your first statement that you were on a cruise.

Adam:

Well, it wasn't, it was actually my cousin Caleb's fault. He graduated and so Wade and Kim gifted him with like a senior gift and then the whole family was like, we'll all go. Okay. Okay. And so everybody has to experience the cruise once.

Alison:

I agree. I agree.

Adam:

I mean, at that point I'm like, okay,

Alison:

I

Adam:

mean, it was fine.

Alison:

I think, I think some of them listened though. So you may have just offended some of our, uh,

Adam:

listeners. Be offended. Wouldn't

Alison:

be the first time you did. Yeah, it's

Adam:

your fault. Whoever's listening, I'm going to blame all of you.

Alison:

Well, I'm, I'm actually, I do like, we discussed, I do like the beach. I do like, you know, the water, but you know, I do get seasick.

Adam:

Do you really? Yeah,

Alison:

I, I get. Terribly seasick on boats. And when Lance and I were dating, so we were high school sweethearts and our senior year, his family went to, um, the lake, like their lake cabin for 4th of July. And so he invited me and um, did they do this big firework show? Mm-Hmm.. And, you know, I was really trying to impress him 'cause we had just started dating. Adam: Yeah. And he, he takes his family, takes. The, the boat, they had like a ski boat and they take it just a little bit offshore because that's the best vantage point for the fireworks. Right. Cause there's not trees and things blocking your view. And you're like in the middle of the lake and they just were like letting it float and we were watching the fireworks and I got so sick, all the hot dogs, hamburgers, all those things you eat on 4th of July came back for fish food, but I guess he didn't hold it against me. me too much because we still got married, but I do remember being super embarrassed. And that's not my only time to get seasick.

Adam:

It's like your body is physiologically warning you to get away from the sea. Like it's like, it's built into it. There's a warning sign in our body to tell us to get away from the sea.

Alison:

Well, it's a good thing that Paul didn't listen to that warning because um, he actually did a lot of sailing.

Adam:

There's a quite a few warning signs in, in, in his own, in this passage today.

Alison:

Yeah. And, um, so one of the things I think we mentioned, maybe it was last week or the week before is there's a lot of irony in the book of Acts. And we're just going to see a lot of irony here in the ending, um, two chapters as well. So keep your eyes open for the irony in the book of Acts. Um, and because it speaks a lot about how God's moving. So let me, um, just bring our listeners up to speed. We really aren't skipping a lot, um, between last week and this week, like we've had to do, you know, in the past to get through the book of acts. But just to remind you all, cause I know it's been a week, um, We left Paul and he was demanding to go to Rome to see Caesar. And he did that because really, I think for two reasons, God told him he was going to appear before Caesar. Um, and so he knew that that was God's plans for his life, but he also understood that, um, Agrippa and Felix, who he stood before in Caesarea on trial, um, last we saw him. They wanted to just kind of turn him back over to the religious leaders. Um, they just couldn't really find anything under the Roman law that they could hold against Paul. And so they were like, this is a religious matter, just give him back. And Paul knew he was never going to get a fair trial in front of the religious leaders. And that wasn't who he had been called to. ultimately anyway. And so he demands to go to Rome and, um, that's where we're going to find him headed. Um, and these last two chapters, but I want our listeners to keep in mind, he wasn't actually, he was headed there as a prisoner, but not as a condemned prisoner. Remember, he had not actually. been condemned under Roman law of anything up to this point. So we're going to see that his travel while definitely not comfortable, um, as he's traveling as a prisoner, not necessarily like one of the chained prisoners that he was with, um, who were all traveling to Rome. To their execution, they had already been condemned. They were on, they had the death penalty and they were going to, you know, fight in the Coliseum to their death or whatever they did publicly execute prisoners in Rome. Um, and so, um, we're going to open up in chapter 27. Do you have anything to add to that context? So do you mind reading the first five verses of chapter 27? I'll kind of set the stage.

Adam:

And when it was decided that we should sail for Italy. They delivered Paul and some other prisoners to a centurion of the Augustine cohort named Julius and embarking in a ship of the a Menttium. Of course you made me say that. I know there's so many big words, which was about to say, which was about to sail to the ports along the coast of Asia. We put to see, uh, accompanied by Aris Tous and MAs, a Macedonian from Thessalonica. The next day, we put in at Sidon, and Julius treated Paul kindly and gave him, uh, leave to go to his friends and be cared for, and putting out to sea from there, he sailed under the lee of Cyprus, because the winds were against us. And when they had sailed across the open sea along the coast of Sicilia and Pamphylia we came to Myra and Lycia.

Alison:

Okay, so so far so good. Doesn't sound terrible yet. Um, it seems like Paul has some, a couple of friends traveling with him. They mentioned, the text mentions, um, Aristocrats. Aristocrats. Aristocrats. Aristarchus. That's how you say it. That's how you say it. I knew that wasn't right. Aristarchus. That's okay. And we actually met Aristarchus in Acts chapter 20. He was, um, one of the men from Thessalonica traveling with Paul. And remember, I pointed out that Aristarchus, that name sounded like aristocrat. And the other person from Thessalonica was Secundus. And they named their servants, Prime commerce or whatever, you know, first, second, basically they numbered them. And so how that was like, there was like someone probably very wealthy and someone probably very poor, um, showing that the gospel did not see along economic lines, like the Romans of the time did. And so this, um, this, um, Aristarchus, it seems like has, has stuck with Paul and is traveling now. Um, and we know that Luke was with him too, because this isn't, um, We see the pronoun we, um, and so we know Luke is the writer of Acts. And so Luke and Aristarchus are with Paul. Um, and he, it seems like this journey, you know, they're, they're going along the land so far, so good. Caesarea to Sidon. It's like a short, easy trip along land, kind of along the coast. So the coast is kind of protecting, you know, the water there. And Paul, it seems like. Connected with other Christians along the way because he had not yet been condemned, but things don't stay so good. Um, so I tell you what, I'll read what happens, um, in the next six verses, and then I'll let you give us your thoughts on that. I wonder if there's going to be any big words in minor, if I just give them to you.

Adam:

Fingers crossed.

Alison:

There the centurion found an Alexandrian ship sailing for Italy and put us on board. Sailing slowly for many days with difficulty, we arrived at Snadus. Since the wind did not allow us to approach it, we sailed along the south of Crete off Salmon. With still more difficulty, we sailed along the coast and came to a place called Fairhavens near the city of Lycia. By now much time had passed, and the voyage was already dangerous since the Day of Atonement was already over. Paul gave this advice and told the men. I can see that this voyage is headed toward disaster and heavy loss, not only of the cargo and of the ship, but also of our lives. But the centurion paid attention to the captain and the owner of the ship rather than to what Paul said. Since the harbor was unsuitable to winter in, the majority decided to set sail from there, hoping somehow to reach Phoenix, a harbor on Crete facing the southwest and northwest, to winter there.

Adam:

So Paul has some sort of a, little bit of a warning sign here.

Alison:

He does. Paul's gonna

Adam:

bring up the fact that, hey, this is not gonna work out well for you guys, but they completely ignore it. What I think it's funny, it's, as this, we, we've talked about these two storylines that are taking place throughout scripture, or throughout Acts specifically, where there, there's like, uh, the physical, um, The physical story, but then there seems to be like a spiritual aspect here. It's almost like create, the creation itself is like constantly trying to like ruin the plans of Paul to get in Rome. It's like it's fighting, fighting Paul the whole way through, uh, trying to get to Rome here. I think that's interesting. Like the

Alison:

fallen creation. And I think whenever, whenever, um, Paul, it surprised me when he stood up and was like, I don't think we should go. Because to me at first it seemed kind of. Maybe a little vain. And I know that the Lord, you know, had given Paul direction and he was speaking under God's authority, but still just on a human level. It's like, well, yeah, of course the centurion listened to the owner of the ship and the captain instead of a prisoner. But, um, I, I learned while I was studying this week that Paul had actually already been shipwrecked three times up to this point. Yeah. Second Corinthians 11 25 tells us three times I was beaten with rods. Once I was pelted with stones. Three times I was shipwrecked. I spent a day and a night in the open sea. So second Corinthians was actually written two or three years before he traveled to Rome. So I think he was probably also looking around and being like, Oh, yeah. Don't

Adam:

want to do that

Alison:

again. Exactly. Exactly. And he's like, I know it's going to happen if we set out, but you're right. They did. He was a

Adam:

seasoned traveler. He was for sure. He knew what he was talking about, even if he wasn't the captain of the ship.

Alison:

Yeah, they didn't heed his warning. Oh, he would

Adam:

have been smart if they let, made him captain of the ship though.

Alison:

By the end, I feel like he does almost have that role.

Adam:

Yeah, he does. Yeah,

Alison:

I think he does. But, um, so this was an Alexandrian ship that came from Egypt. And, um, I think it was headed for Italy for which Rome is in Italy. We know that was a very populated area and they imported a lot of things because they couldn't. I guess grow enough food there. Um, and they, history knows a little bit, tells us a little bit about what these ships looked like and the average, um, the average length of one of these ships would have been around 140 feet long by about 36 feet wide. So you can kind of think long and skinny. And, um, I did the, I did the math there. And it's 5, 000 square feet of a ship.

Adam:

That's a lot of people. There's a lot of people. Is that, is

Alison:

that the face? I saw the face you were making when I started explaining that. I thought I was putting

Adam:

it together going. Exactly. Right. Wow. They packed the junk out of these ships. Yes.

Alison:

They really were tight. So as we get into what happens next, I want you to think about just being like sardined with people and cargo too. Like 5, 000 square feet. That's just like maybe Two homes.

Adam:

Yeah, and

Alison:

we're gonna see in like later in the book of excuse me in this chapter There's 276 people on this boat and cargo Yeah, so it's it's like uncomfortable just to be with that many people and then alone. Yeah, all those things. Yeah Exactly. So, um, so Fair Havens doesn't end up being There's some irony there doesn't end up being a very good place to be despite its name and so it mentions that this was after the Day of Atonement in in 8059. I'm not sure how they know this exactly, but I read this, um, in, on the internet, but that the day of atonement in 8059, according to the ancient calendar was October 5th.

Adam:

Okay.

Alison:

Okay. So, um, I'm not sure if that's a super reliable source, but what I can tell you is let's think like early October, like, That's the time of year, the day of Atonement would have been. So we're like in early October and, um, Phoenix was, so it's getting close to winter and Phoenix was just like a much larger town than where they were. And it also was pretty close. It was on the same Island as Fair Havens on the Island of Crete. So it would have been like about a 40 mile journey to like the other side of the Island, basically, where they could. Whether it better, whether, whether the winter better, um, and so it actually seems really on the surface reasonable.

Adam:

Yeah.

Alison:

That they would probably try to do that, right?

Adam:

Yeah.

Alison:

But the thing is, nothing about God in the book of Acts is reasonable by human standards. Yeah,

Adam:

right.

Alison:

So do you have any other thoughts? You

Adam:

read, you want me to read this next part here? Yeah,

Alison:

that sounds good.

Adam:

Okay. Uh, let's see, starting in verse 13. Perfect. I started at 12, you stopped at 12, right?

Alison:

I stopped at 12. So if you want, you can read maybe till like verse 20.

Adam:

Okay. Uh, now when the south wind blew gently, supposing that they had obtained their purpose, they weighed anchor and sailed along creek close to shore, but soon attempt to attempt, tempestuous, my goodness, wind called the northeaster struck down from the land. And when the ship Was caught and could not face the wind. We gave way to it and were driven along. Running along the, the lee of a small island called Kaoda. The, We managed, with difficulty, to secure the ship's boat. And after hoisting it up, they used supports to undergird the ship. Then fearing, that they, would run aground on the Sirtis, they lowered their gear and thus they were driven along. Since we were violently storm tossed, they began the next day to jettison the cargo. And on the third day, they threw the ship's tackle overboard with their own hands. When neither sun nor stars appeared for many days and no small tempest lay on us, all our hope of being saved was at last abandoned.

Alison:

I know this probably brings some other passage to your mind.

Adam:

Yeah, it sounds a lot like an Old Testament book. We read.

Alison:

Tell me about it. Yeah,

Adam:

this guy named Jonah. Yeah, Jonah. He happened to be running from the Lord and ended up on this temp tempestuous Wind driven violent storm where everybody thinks they're going to die and he's sleeping below ship at the bottom of the ship And it's because he's running from God. So he's putting everybody in everybody's lives in danger and but This seems to be kind of an inverse, uh, there seems to be something happening in creation and yet Paul is clearly, uh, uh, going, uh, towards the will of God heading to Rome as we will find out.

Alison:

Yeah, it's like opposite at every point, right? Because Paul is, like you said, going towards God and his mere presence is actually going to be what, Saves. Yeah. The other people not puts them in danger. Yeah, right. Uh, like Jonah was doing and, um, the, the scientists, um, I, that, that place that they were afraid they were gonna run a chore, it was actually a very famous spot on the coast of Northern Africa. It was known for like the rocky Sand bars off the coast, and it was, it was a Bermuda triangle of sorts of, of ancient Rome in that. Yeah, it was known for being, um, a bad place for ships to wreck and they were scared of it. And, um, and they, but they were in a really bad place because. They navigated by the stars. They didn't have compasses that they use. They didn't have GPS's, you know, all that kind of stuff. So when they couldn't see the stars, they literally just had no idea where they were, where they were headed. Um, so it was definitely a

Adam:

That is my worst nightmare. Just stuck at sea. I have no idea where to go. I

Alison:

think it probably constitutes nightmare for most people listening. Yeah, we

Adam:

should just stay away from that. Also, I think it's funny as Phoenix, Phoenix said this It's off subject, but Phoenix was an island. Mm hmm. Isn't it quite ironic that we have a phoenix and it's a desert? That is very true. Interesting. Okay. Sorry. I wonder where Unrelated. But it's also

Alison:

like, isn't it also like a bird in, in Greek mythology? Something like that. So maybe they're just both named after that.

Adam:

Through the flames and ashes. Yeah. Something. Okay.

Alison:

Um. Good thought, Adam. No,

Adam:

no, not a good thought. It has nothing to do with anything. That was a squirrel moment. But that's okay. What other

Alison:

thoughts do you have about this passage? No,

Adam:

that's all. I don't have much to add to this until we get towards the end. Okay, well let's just keep going because I want

Alison:

to get to what you have to add.

Adam:

Yeah.

Alison:

Okay, so I'm gonna, I'll tell you what, I'll read 21 through 26 and then I'm gonna summarize the rest of the chapter. Is that okay?

Adam:

Of course. Okay. Wait, wait. I should do it.

Alison:

What?

Adam:

Come on. Can we tell this story?

Alison:

Sure. Sure. What is

Adam:

the famous line that you've said for how many years teaching?

Alison:

Okay. So I have my kids in Sunday school look up the reference for the Bible story that we're talking about because I want them to know that it's a true story. And then because it can be a little much for kids to understand, you know, the big words and things in the Bible and for them to follow along while I'm reading, I say, Is it now that you see that this is a true story in the Bible? Is it okay with you? If I tell it in my own words,

Adam:

you have utilized that on this podcast.

Alison:

I have, I have a, so much. I just don't even know. And so I've been teaching Sunday school for over 20 years and every single time the smiling faces look back at me and they say, yes, miss Allison. You know,

Adam:

every time.

Alison:

No, two weeks ago, I said the same thing. And it's like second nature. I don't even think I'm like, now that you see that this is a true story in the Bible, is it okay if I tell it to you in my own words? And this little girl said, no, it's not okay. I want to read it from the Bible. And which, I mean, how do you not know? And so we broke up the, the Bible verses and we read the chapter and um, they loved it. Oh,

Adam:

I'm going to have to catch you every time you say it and just say no.

Alison:

I know, right? Even if I

Adam:

do still want you to summarize it. I don't

Alison:

know, how should I go into, you're a discipleship pastor, what do I do next week? Do I say that?

Adam:

Say it again. And if they say it, you

Alison:

did the right thing. Yeah. Okay. Now I feel like, gosh, definitely do not compare to, to the words right out of this page, just a scripture. Maybe I should stick to that. Oh, you're

Adam:

okay. We've been reading,

Alison:

but, um, all right. So I'll, I'll see. Let's start out with reading five verses and then I'll summarize the rest, because I do have just a couple things I want to tell you about, verses 21 through 26 in chapter 27. It said, Since they had been without food for a long time, Paul stood up among them and said, You men should have followed my advice not to sail from Crete and sustain this damage and loss. Now, I urge you to take courage, because there will be no loss of any of your lives, but only of the ship. For last night an angel of the of the God I belong to and serve stood by me and said, don't be afraid, Paul. It's necessary for you to appear before Caesar. And indeed, God has graciously given you all those you are sailing with. So take courage, men, because I believe God that it will be just the way as he told me. But we have to run the ship aground, but I love this passage because we'll take like so many things. One, like he said, I told you so. Like, what is that? Like, I love that. There's just this human element still to Paul. And, and I know like he was probably just like reminding them of the credibility he had because he served the one true God and he had the truth, you know, and things like that. But still, I mean, He stood up and said, I told you so. Like, I like that. Um, but also notice that he said that God graciously gave him those he's traveling with. And to me, that implies that Paul had been praying, not just for himself or for Luke or, um, his traveling companions, but everybody on the ship. And it really made me wonder, like, you know, I know that he's confined. On a ship in tight quarters with all these people, um, doing life with them right now. But I wondered like, how concerned am I with the people I'm doing life with? You know, am I praying for them, um, as well as myself?

Adam:

Just, just like the Jonah story. This, this is a, a mirror of what, as well as of Moses because Moses is on a ship and, and salvation is brought to all those. Who are connected to Moses, who are around Moses at that point. And so they go through the waters and a run of ground on Mount Ararat. Yeah. And so there's some sort of a connection here with that specifically that he's

Alison:

Noah or

Adam:

did I say Moses works too? He's in the, he's in a, he's in an arc by himself.

Alison:

See how you misspoken. I corrected you. Last week, you didn't do that for

Adam:

me. Yo, explain that too, because I found, I found that you weren't wrong though. You, you were right. Jesus and Paul, both state that the Sadducees don't believe in.

Alison:

I

Adam:

know, but I

Alison:

said, so last week we're kind of getting off topic. Okay. So last week. Okay. So we're just going to take a. Brief pause from Acts 27 and go back to last week. I said that Paul dropped a bomb in the religious trial when he said that, um, Jesus was resurrected, the hope was in the resurrection. And I told you that that was something that the Sadducees and the Pharisees disagreed on. And so it caused this, it took the focus off of Paul and just got them into an argument and all that was true. But what I said was they didn't agree on the resurrection of Jesus. Neither. Neither the Pharisees or the Sadducees believed that Jesus resurrected. Hey

Adam:

Allison, neither one of those guys believed that Jesus resurrected.

Alison:

It was the Pharisees that believed in resurrection, that that was possible, and the Sadducees did not. Which you pointed out is why they were sad,

Adam:

you see.

Alison:

And so, anyway, to clarify that, neither the Pharisees nor the Sadducees believed in the resurrection of Jesus. There we go.

Adam:

I'm glad you set the record straight. Okay,

Alison:

thank you. That really bothered me. So Moses,

Adam:

anyone who goes down an arc in the Nile River, and then who all wants to listen to him as a remnant, will walk out, uh, in freedom, too. So I've, so Moses fits that same pattern. Okay, so you are wrong. Just Noah's on a boat,

Alison:

okay?

Adam:

With a whole bunch of people.

Alison:

There is a lot of patterns. And if you want, I throw another pattern in there. Yeah. You know, Joseph was imprisoned, and his imprisonment in Egypt brought favor to his family because they were able to go to Egypt during the time of famine and be fed. And we're gonna see Paul's imprisonment is actually going to be a source of life for all kinds of people. Boy, they are

Adam:

packing it into these two chapters.

Alison:

They are packing it in. I like it. And so, okay, my favorite, my favorite part of this chapter is verse 25. So Paul has just said, I told you so. And he's reminded them that no one's going to get hurt, that God's given all their lives, um, are going to be saved. And he says, so take courage men, because I believe God that it will be just the way he told me. And here's what I love about this. It doesn't say, I believe what God told me. It doesn't even say I believe in God. He just says, I believe God. And we see that play out in Paul's life so much. It's not, it's not that it even has to be reasonable what God said. It's not that it has to be easy. It can be very difficult and seemingly impossible. And Paul says, I believe God, like God has proven himself faithful. I believe God.

Adam:

It's the faith of Abraham that he will provide.

Alison:

And, and that should be prescriptive to us, um, that we should be in a place to say, you know, I don't, I don't know, it doesn't matter what God tells me. It doesn't matter what God asks of me. It doesn't matter what circumstances I believe God

Adam:

and,

Alison:

um, and that is a place that no, no shipwreck, no tossed at sea can, can, um, falter that. And so they, um, so they listen to Paul and they start taking soundings and they realize that the water's getting a little shallower. Now I'm summarizing the rest of the chapter so we can get to Adam's good part. And, um, some sailors try to take the lifeboats and abandon the ship. And they, they're pretend they're like taking care of something with the anchors. And Paul realizes what? It's happening, and he reports it to the sailors and, um, to the soldiers, excuse me, and the soldiers just cut the lifeboats away. And so Paul reminds them again of God's promises, and then he encourages them to take something to eat. And at this point, the grain is probably wet and moldy, but I think you're, I think you're probably going to want to read verse 35 for us. Okay, so Paul has said, guys, you're not gonna, you're not gonna die. Um, we've thrown a lot of stuff over, but we've got some wet, moldy grain left and let's go ahead and, and get our strength up and take and eat it. And how does he, how does he lead that meal in verse 35?

Adam:

And when he had said these things, he took bread and giving thanks to God in the presence of all, he broke it and began to eat. Well, that sounds familiar. What do you think about that? It sounds like Jesus. It sounds like the Last Supper. Sounds like, uh, communion. It sounds like he's doing something very similar to what Jesus did before his, uh, trial.

Alison:

And so, um, do you think that that pattern is on purpose?

Adam:

I do. Yeah. Yeah? Yeah, but I'm not going to go into it. Not yet? Okay. Not yet. I'm just going to keep teasing it.

Alison:

Okay, okay.

Adam:

I'm going to keep letting you speak. I'm enjoying this.

Alison:

I mean, I feel like I want, I want to hear about it, so I'll get, I'll speak quickly to get to your, to your good pattern. So, um, So it wasn't good food, but it did give them strength and they threw the rest of the grain overboard and the next morning they spot land. And so they decide, okay, this is it. We're going to run the ship up on the beach. They cut the anchors, they loosen the rope that held the rudders, they hoist the fore sail and they head for the land. I don't know

Adam:

if that means anything to me, by the way. If you hate the ocean, okay. Yep. Sounds good.

Alison:

Okay. Let me put it in perspective of experience that I had with Lance. So Lance is a duck hunter. And I was very pregnant with Mackenzie and he wanted me to go out on a boat with him to put, like, fix up this duck blind. And it was just going to be this leisurely little Sunday afternoon ride. I don't know if he'll like

Adam:

this story because he

Alison:

knows Lance, so he knows exactly where this story is probably headed. So we're like, If you don't live in Southeast Texas, you should know that our rivers are like, what, half mud, half water. They're, they're gross. They stink like mud. I mean, they're good for duck hunting, but they're not great for swimming or whatever. And so he has this boat that like can go in really shallow water, but I mean, it is a boat. It still needs water, right? So we're going up to his duck blind and we get on this like, we hit this like patch of mud. So I almost want you to imagine like if ice on a road kind of situation. Um, and our boat just starts like skidding on this mud and we have gone to like do a few things to his duck blind. Instead, we just fly up onto the bank and take out the duck blind. The pieces are everywhere. And that's when, that's

Adam:

when Mackenzie was born.

Alison:

And Lance said, if you have the baby right now, we'll name her Marsha. I'm like, I will kill you before I have the baby out here. But anyway, um, and it really, it was a very like short. Time that we ran aground. You know what I'm saying? Like it was just a short distance and short time, so it wasn't super violent. But I can just imagine doing that in this very large ship for like a long way. Like that was scary.

Adam:

You, you ended up floating on pieces of a duck blind, not a boat at that point.

Alison:

We ended up on the shore. Oh, you and Paul

Adam:

are mimicking each other.

Alison:

And so, um, so they, but first, before they get all the way to the main beach, they hit a sandbar and the boat begins to break up. And so they, um, they actually all 276 of them either swim or float in on debris. And they land on this little spot. Beck in the middle of the Mediterranean Sea called Malta.

Adam:

Mm. This is crazy. This is such a crazy story. It's like an action story. Everything is just ramped up and it's like just jam packed action.

Alison:

I was actually thinking, I wonder why, like, we should, they should, someone should make a movie over this. Like, and I'm sure they have, like, small scale, but I mean, like, this would be like, this would rival, like, the big screen movies that, you know, make a big money in the box office. I agree. It's that exciting. Why don't you

Adam:

go do it?

Alison:

No, I'm not in that. Just take your phone. You're, you're the movie guy. Not me. No, I'm not. Mackenzie's taking film appreciation this year. There, she can do it. There you go. She's hated the class, so I doubt that.

Adam:

So all of that, and they all just float gently on a shore.

Alison:

Yeah, and they get to, and this won't surprise you, but Malta, it's directly south of Rome. So they were headed south. Towards Rome

Adam:

the whole time. So close.

Alison:

Yeah. Um, and so have I gotten to the good part yet? No,

Adam:

you're gonna have to finish 28. I'm gonna have to wrap the whole thing up. That's the thing. I think that's the best way to do it.

Alison:

Okay. Okay. So you want me to just finish 28 and wrap the whole thing up? Yes. Okay. So they get to, um, they get to Malta and, um, they are met with, they're met by the natives of Malta. With kind of read all those

Adam:

names. I'm just kidding.

Alison:

And actually their kindness, it says like they fed them and all these nice things. It kind of surprised me. I'm sure it was part of their culture, but keep in mind, like there were 276 of them. And some of them were prisoners, like not all of them. Some of them were, you know, probably business people, like. With the cargo, some of them were sailors, but some of, some of them were soldiers, but some of them were prisoners. And I do want to read just one little part because I don't feel like I can summarize it as well as now, I guess I'm doubting myself on the whole summary thing, thanks to my third graders, but, um, I'm going to go ahead and read what happens to Paul right when he gets to Malta in verse 4 of chapter 28, it said when, oh, excuse me, hold on, let me start in verse 3. So as Paul gathered a bundle of brushwood and put it on the fire, a viper came out because of the heat and fastened itself on his hand. And when the local people saw the snake hanging from his hand, they said to one another, this man no doubt is a murderer. Even though he has escaped the sea, justice has not allowed him to live. But he shook the snake off into the fire and suffered no harm. They expected that he would begin to swell up or suddenly drop dead and after they waited a long time and saw nothing unusual happen to him, they changed their minds and thought maybe he was a god. Oh, yeah,

Adam:

that's

Alison:

a

Adam:

logical conclusion to make, yeah.

Alison:

But I really think I wanted to point this out because here this is another ironic thing to me, but it speaks so much, um, to the love of Jesus. They assumed he was a murderer and we think, well, no, he wasn't because he wasn't even a con, he hadn't really done anything wrong. He wasn't even condemned at this point. He wasn't really a prisoner like the other prisoners on the ship. Yeah, but he was a murderer.

Adam:

He had

Alison:

murdered in his life. They weren't wrong. Right. So ironically, they actually assumed right. What they didn't understand though, and I think it's interesting because in my Bible, Justice is a capital J. Um, what they didn't understand is that Justice's venom hadn't been poured out on Paul because it had been poured out on Jesus. Yeah. On Paul's behalf. And, um, I think that's so powerful.

Adam:

So this is just such a random story too. But if you're looking at it through the line, through the eyes of, of all these different Old Testament connections that we've ramped up like crazy here in the last two, uh, two, uh, chapters, we see a lot of, uh, snake imagery and snake bite type stuff in the Old Testament specifically, um, with the Israelites wandering in the desert and Moses, not Noah, Moses, Moses. Haha. Uh, that they, uh, come across fiery serpents that are biting and killing the Israelites. And then God instructs Moses to, you know, create a bronze serpent in anyone and lift it up. And anyone who looks at it will be saved. This is, it's so random, but there seems to be a connection here. And I think. I think a lot of it is, again, Paul is continuing this mission and ministry of Moses, ultimately, and that, um, when people are going to look at him and go, Oh, he is a God, um, ultimately he's going to point them to the true, uh, the true, one true God. So anyone who will look at the one true God, um, will ultimately be saved. And they'll, they're utilizing this. It's that like, Oh, the, the sea's not going to destroy you. It has no power. The chaos sea has no power. Like the old Testament, the God of the sea is can control the sea. And in the outcome of it, the serpent has no power anymore because that power has been given back over to, uh, the son of God, you know, who, um, has been hoisted up himself and any who look upon him will be saved.

Alison:

Yeah. And, um, and so Paul's going to go on now that, um, and it doesn't say in the text that he's like, no, no, I'm not a God, but we can infer because he's done that repeatedly through the book of Acts when people look to him and try to treat him like a God, he's quick,

Adam:

even

Alison:

to the point of like upsetting people, he's quick to say, no, he's not. And so we can assume that he did that as well. And that he goes on to tell the, the people of Malta about Jesus and he heals, um, he heals a man named Publius's father.

Adam:

Such a great name. I know. Publius.

Alison:

And, um, and so we see that, but the, the, the crazy thing is we don't actually see anyone believing on the island of Malta. I'm not saying it didn't happen.

Adam:

Yeah.

Alison:

I hope that it did. And I think that history would show that it did because there's actually, um, a church in Malta. That is attributed to Publius. Um, history says that Publius started a church in Malta. Can you just say

Adam:

it one more time? I know, you love that name. Publius. If I ever get an animal, I'm gonna name it Publius.

Alison:

That, yeah. It just

Adam:

sounds cool.

Alison:

Pub, the pug.

Adam:

Yeah. Ugh, I hate pugs. No.

Alison:

But um, Publius was a person, not an animal. No offense to anyone

Adam:

listening with a pug. And he was

Alison:

a, he was He was probably the leader of a church in Malta because of the witness of Paul and Luke and Aristarchus.

Adam:

So do you want to summarize the finality and then we can read the final verse? Yeah, that sounds good. I love

Alison:

that. How about I summarize till chapter, I mean till verse 31. Is that good? Okay, so they stay in Malta for about three months and then another Alexandrian ship comes and picks them up and takes them all the way to the rest of the world. So the way to Rome. So I'll told you Montez directly south of Italy. Um, and they had about 150 miles to reach the coast. Um, and then they could travel up to Rome along the coast of Italy. It was like a couple of days journey across the sea, but they go pretty slow. I think they've taken a cruise. Yeah, exactly. Mediterranean cruise. And they, uh, they're, they, um, they're in Rome, I think. Maybe like two weeks or so after this they make it to Rome and Paul gets settled for three days He gets settled in for three days and he's actually allowed to live on his own because remember he is he has not actually been Condemned he's a Roman citizen who has not actually been condemned for a crime yet So yeah, they can they can hold him like in custody, but they can't treat him like a condemned prisoner. Yeah And so he's allowed to live, um, at his own place and he, he's kind of on this house arrest situation. Um, and he starts doing what he's done every time he goes to a new place. He starts with the Jewish leaders and he calls them into his home because he wants to share the hope of Israel with them. And as the pattern is, and we see, as we see in the book of Acts, they consider his news until they hear something they don't like. And at the end, uh, kind of towards the end of chapter 28, we see that. They're considering what he's talking about, but then they disagree among themselves. And they began to leave after Paul made a statement about the Holy Spirit. Um, saying was right to say in the book of Isaiah, basically that they weren't going to listen. So in other words, he says, yeah, you guys are fulfilling a prophecy in the book of Isaiah. You know, the Jews weren't gonna listen.

Adam:

Boy, I'm sure they love that. They

Alison:

get mad, and they begin to leave.

Adam:

And, uh, verse 28 says this, Therefore let it be known to you that this, that this salvation of God has been sent to the Gentiles. They will listen. He lived there two whole years at his own expense and welcomed all who came to him, proclaiming the kingdom of God and teaching about the Lord Jesus Christ with all boldness and without hindrance. And then Luke just ends. That's it. That's the end of the book. I

Alison:

don't like it. I'm kind of mad. I was mad at Luke for a little while.

Adam:

It is interesting that it's like this. And, and at first, you know, of course here in our Western culture, we like things to be nice and tidied up and tied. All loose ends are, you know, just put together. We can go see the movie in two hours and it all makes sense and you walk away and excited, but he needs to be acquitted at all what happens. Yeah. And I think there's multiple reasons for that. But one of the. Um, the first thing that I, that I want our listeners to recognize that maybe you didn't recognize and this goes back, um, to Acts 19 on what you don't realize until you zoom out and you begin to see what's happening through all these crazy trial narratives is there are, um, Luke is brilliantly and masterfully Tying all the elements that are taking place with Paul in the midst of the second half half of Acts to what he laid out For Jesus in his gospel of Luke And so I've got just ten and there's multiple of these and there's there's actually a really good book named Literary patterns theological themes and genre of Luke Talbert. He wrote this in like the 70s He was the first one to really Um, kind of put this down in writing. It had been talked about for a long time, but he really did a good job of putting it down in writing. And what, what he begins to do is he starts to paralyze, paralyze, parallel, uh, Jesus's, um, trials and, and, and the, these things with what happens in Paul. And here, here are 10 things that I'll lay out that are, there's multiple, but this is just 10. First of all, they both journey to Jerusalem. Jesus in Luke nine, uh, tells, tells us that he set his face to go Jerusalem. Go to Jerusalem, and then emphasizes it seven times in this narrative. Paul, in Acts 19, Paul decides that he's going to go to Jerusalem despite warnings, and his journey is referenced to Jerusalem seven different times. Wow. They both receive, uh, a very positive reception once they get to Jerusalem. In Luke 19, Jesus receives praise upon entering, and Paul, in Acts 21, it says that he was received by the apostles and elders in Jerusalem. They both confront opposition centered on the temple, highlighting, uh, its contested significance. So Jesus, in Luke 19, it says Jesus teaches in the temple and faces a whole bunch of opposition there. And then in Acts 21, Paul is AC accused in the temple leading to his arrest. They're both arrested by a mob, by a mob, um, captured by a ho hostile crowd. Jesus. In Luke, uh, 22, it says that Jesus is seized by a mob in Gethsemane. This is, Luke is actually the only gospel that says it's like a mob of people. Ultimately, the other gospels just say it's, uh, uh, some of the, uh, Roman. Um, you know, uh, soldiers. Thank you. Uh, Acts 21, Paul is seized by, by the mob in the temple courts. They both go through three different instances, uh, or at least narrative instances or four, four, um, instances of trials. So Jesus goes before the Sanhedrin, um, he goes before Pilate twice and he goes before Herod and this is in Luke chapter 22 and 23. Paul undergoes four trials before this, uh, Sanhedrin Felix Festus, which would be Uh, came after, uh, Pilate, uh, and, uh, Agrippa, who is also a Herod. And so they both, uh, parallel, uh, four different trials, both of which face false accusations. Jesus is accused of misleading people, opposing Caesar, and claiming to be the Messiah, whereas Paul is accused of defiling the temple, violating Jewish law, and causing unrest. Both of which have Roman, uh, authority to recognize them. as innocent, both of which, um, uh, experienced the rejection by the crowd and it, uh, and bring up hostility. So obviously Luke 23, the crowd shouts Jesus to be crucified and the mob calls for Paul's death, shouting away with him, uh, both of which have a significant role. Uh, for a Roman centurion to play. You'll recognize that, uh, he declares Jesus righteous man, uh, at his crucifixion in Luke 23 and in Acts 27, a Roman centurion actually shows kindness to Paul, ensuring safety during shipwreck and that safety is actually really important because they want to just murder all the, all the condemned. Um, you know, uh, prisoners because the ship's about to break away and they can't have them escape if they escaped and, you know, it's no good. So they want to murder him, but the centurion's like, no, you know, uh, stands in, in his place and both moments, like we had brought out earlier in Luke 22, Jesus breaks bread with his disciples at a last supper. And Paul breaks bread with those aboard the ship during the storm, praying and giving things. So. This is just 10 of several, but when you start to see, Luke is brilliantly interweaving Paul's actions with, with Jesus's actions. And it's, we're not saying that Paul is a greater Jesus or anything like that, because what, what we see is we actually see a variation at the end. And I think that leads to the second point, which is why Paul or why Luke ends act acts this way. If you recall, um, Luke or Acts one starts discu a discussion with about the kingdom of God. Mm-Hmm.. Um, and it, and this is where Jesus shows up and speaks for 40 days and he is teaching 'em all about the kingdom of God and that and, uh, the kingdom of God. Ultimately, they're to go out and preach to all of Jerusalem and Judee as Sumerian all the outer edges of the earth. Well, they're not at the outer edges of the earth. They are in the heart of the kingdom of the earth, ultimately, but they're not at the outer, there's still Spain out there, there's still multiple regions that have not been met. So, Luke i i is paralleling Jesus's experiences with Paul's. In Jesus, where his ends, um, in the death, burial, resurrection, and ascension, he's now passed the torch on to Paul, who will not, he will not experience like the death and the, uh, that, that Jesus did, but he will, and then, begin to pass that torch off to the next believers who will then continue on the work of Paul and will ultimately reach the outer edge of the earth. So it's a dot, dot, dot on the end of, of, uh, of Acts. It's a, Hey, there's still something missing. And it's, it's the fact that the gospel will continue. So the reader is kind of invited into this aspect of, uh, Discipleship, true discipleship is mimicking, um, Jesus's life and that it requires total surrender. And you're going to go through trials. You're going to go through tribulations, sometimes shipwreck if you're dumb enough to get on the ocean, you know, uh, but all the while God's sovereignty is going to. Ensure that his plan will continue to move on, which Paul will know real well. If you know Romans 8, 28, that's right. That's the whole purpose of, you know, all these things work together for good for those who are called according to the purpose, like God's goodwill will move on forward. And will you be a part of that dot, dot, dot mission of reaching the outer edges of the earth with the gospel?

Alison:

I love that. So, cause I see this picture that you painted for us with the patterns that Jesus passed to Paul and now dot, dot, dot. The baton is passed to us, to you, to me, to all of those listening and reading, um, the church of all places and all times. And I, I was right along there with you. I wanted so much, I Googled it. I Googled what, what happened to Paul in Rome. Did he see Caesar? You know, there's no like exact answer. I mean, I know there's ideas, but. Um, and then I've kind of got, I got, I got a little convicted about Googling that because I realized as I read, um, you know, that is not the primary question that the text is meant to answer.

Adam:

So

Alison:

why am I Googling it as it is

Adam:

not being set up as the hero, Paul is pointing Jesus as the hero. And he, his life is just like, Oh, it was a blip. There you go. He did his thing.

Alison:

Exactly. I think the primary question. Hmm. of Acts is, who is the gospel for? And it more than enough answers that question. The gospel's for everyone. And, um, for the ends of the earth and it's up who, who's to take it with boldness. We are.

Adam:

Yeah,

Alison:

absolutely. Um, and so I agree with you. I think Acts should encourage believers of all times and all places to take the gospel forward with hindrance, with boldness and let God take care of the perceived hindrances, because here's the truth that we see in the Throughout the book of acts and in many other places in scripture and throughout history is that God's worth God's word is most Unbound when man tries to bind it

Adam:

Yeah, it's like my I think of my kids whenever I want them to sit still and be quiet that's when they're

Alison:

More like Difficulty arises

Adam:

Yeah. These weren't setbacks. These were opportunities.

Alison:

Yeah.

Adam:

Opportunities for Paul to continue to do the exact same thing. And that was to bear the image of God. People should make the statement and it can be controversial if you misunderstand it. But like Daniel, after he, um, does his fast thing and, uh, ultimately ends up, you know, stronger than the ones who were in the courts of Nebuchadnezzar. It says that, uh, Nebuchadnezzar fell down and worshiped Daniel. It does not say he fell down and worshiped God. And Daniel does not. Correct him just like Paul here is not necessarily correcting him And I think this statement is true. If you are truly bearing God's image people should look to us and worship God Yeah ultimately They should see God through us not that we are gods because we're gonna do exactly what Paul does and point them to the true source But they should look at us and see or in want to worship God

Alison:

Yeah because at the end of the day people want to live for something worth dying for and You And so, um, you're

Adam:

full of t shirts again. I like this. So if you want new merch, well, you can tell them where to get those. You

Alison:

do. I don't know if you're volunteering to make that, but you don't need another job. No, I'm not

Adam:

interested.

Alison:

Um, and so I think, um, so this wraps up the book of acts.

Adam:

Yes.

Alison:

And not every question is answered, but the important ones are.

Adam:

I, I totally agree. I think there's a, I think as if we were to go back through and start again, we just find a new vein of something else exciting to read and, and it's always a journey just like, uh, just like we see all throughout Acts. Anytime that you're spending in scripture is a journey and, uh, we, we need to take a break for the, for the holiday season, but, but we do need to also figure out what in the world we're going to come back and talk about, but maybe we can, maybe our listeners can give us some input on that. Okay. All

Alison:

right. Bye. That sounds good. So you're inviting them to make suggestions for the spring.

Adam:

Yep. Yep. You can do that multiple ways on our Facebook page. If you know our phone numbers, you can text that. Uh, you can also, uh, if you're listening and you have, uh, on your phone, you'll notice in the top of the description, a fan mail section, you can submit it through that. We can see, uh, who writes on that as well. So if you have a suggestion on what we should study next in the spring, let's do it.

Alison:

Perfect. All right. You want to close this? Yeah, I will. Dear Jesus, thank you so much for the opportunity to journey through the book of Acts and help us in our faith walk to be as, as faithful and committed as we see Paul was. Um, Lord, he believed you, like the Bible says he believed God. It wasn't that he believed in what you said. It wasn't that he believed everything, um, was going to be reasonable or easy. He just believed you, unabandoned faith, because you are faithful. And I just thank you God, um, that you are a God worth living for, you are a God worth dying for, but in your goodness, in your grace, um, you made a way for the impossible. You made a way for us to have a relationship with a perfect God through your son Jesus. Um, and you made a way to give us eternal life with you and help us to go forward with that message boldly, just like we see Paul doing in the book of Acts and, and how we see Peter doing in the other, um, Bible people at the beginning of the book, Lord. That we might have that same kind of fervor for sharing your word to the ends of the earth that the apostles did Um, they believed jesus that you were coming back any day And I think this far away from that point in redemptive history where you were crucified and resurrected Sometimes we get a little dull to the fact that you could return at any moment And so god help us to have that kind of urgency um, not just Um for the gospel, but also for your imminent return that it could be at any moment help us to take the gospel Let us accept the baton That the book of acts is passing and be willing to take the gospel with boldness to the ends of the earth In jesus name. Amen

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Adam Van Arsdale

Host
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Alison Howell

Host