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Category: Acts for a 21st c. Church

Acts of the Apostles + a History of Christ’s Church

Acts of the Apostles 1-28

Acts of the Apostles:
+ The first century Church SHARED Christ while suffering severe persecution.
+ Luke records a historic account of the Church which gives 21c Christians a context to SHARE the Gospel of Jesus Christ with others.

Read more about the Early Church & add your COMMENT on Scripture.

ACT now.

+ SHARE the Gospel history witnessed in the CURRENT chronological SERIES from ACTS of the APOSTLES.

Swept asunder by the Tempest of a Euroclydon
“O you afflicted one,
Tossed with tempest, and not comforted,
Behold, I will lay your stones with colorful gems,
And lay your foundations with sapphires.

In righteousness you shall be established;
You shall be far from oppression, for you shall not fear;
And from terror, for it shall not come near you.

Isaiah 54:11,14 NKJV

“Men, I perceive that this voyage will end with disaster and much loss, not only of the cargo and ship, but also our lives.”

Acts of the Apostles 27:10 NKJV

Paul’s prediction of the Tempest

Certainly the Apostle to the Hellenist gentiles knew much about the waters of the Aegean and Mediterranean. He had sailed on various ships many times during missionary journeys of the past dozen years.

And from what we know of Paul, certainly the Apostle (who knew Scripture well) would have been praying as the Greek grain ship set sail along the coast of Crete seeking cover during the tempestuous autumn and winter months.

Perhaps Prophets such as Isaiah, who had predicted Christ as well as the new Jerusalem, would have come to mind in the Spirit calming the spirit of the Apostle Paul in comforting Scripture.

At some point in the early itinerary of this voyage: Julius and the Roman guards; Paul and Aristarchus; and the experience captain, pilot and professional sailors — ALL certainly have realized the peril of the approaching storm.

The Euroclydon – Winter Tempest of the Mediterranean

Acts 27 – a short voyage swept into a billowing sea

When the south wind blew softly, supposing that they had obtained their desire, putting out to sea, they sailed close by Crete.

But not long after, a tempestuous head wind arose, called Euroclydon.

Winter winds of the Mediterranean

Euroclydon is a term found in the New Testament, specifically in the Book of Acts, referring to a tempestuous wind that played a significant role in the Apostle Paul’s journey to Rome. The term is derived from the Greek “Eurakulōn,” which is believed to be a compound of “euros” (east wind) and “aklyōn” (north wind)

Bible Hub

Gregale, strong and cold wind that blows from the northeast in the western and central Mediterranean region, mainly in winter. Most pronounced on the island of Malta, the gregale sometimes approaches hurricane force and endangers shipping there

Britannica

Levanter, strong wind of the western Mediterranean Sea.. most common in spring and fall. Its name is derived from Levant, the land at the eastern end of the Mediterranean, and refers to the wind’s easterly direction.

The levanter reaches its maximum intensities in the Strait of Gibraltar, where it sometimes brings eastward-flying airplanes almost to a standstill… results from a merging of the clockwise winds of a high-pressure centre over central Europe with the counterclockwise winds of a low-pressure centre over the southwestern Mediterranean.

Britannica

So when the ship was caught, and could not head into the wind, we let her drive.

Καῦδα – a small island nearly due west of Cape Malta on the south coast of Crete, and nearly due south of Phoenice.

And running under the shelter of an island called Clauda,we secured the skiff with difficulty.

When they had taken it on board, they used cables to undergird the ship;

and fearing lest they should run aground on the Syrtis Sands [quicksands],

they struck sail and so were driven.

The Tempest toward Malta

The voyagers knew that the gale was bearing them in that direction, and did not dare to let the ship sail on full before the wind any longer.

Strake sail.—The English fails to give the sense of the original. Had they struck sail altogether the ship would simply have drifted in the very direction which they were anxious to avoid. Some sail was absolutely necessary to keep the ship steady. What is meant is that they “lowered the ship’s gear,” the spars and rigging, and especially, perhaps, the heavy yard and ropes which the ancient ships carried, and which would, in such a gale, make the ship top-heavy.

And so were driven.—Better, thus—i.e., in this state, undergirded and with storm-sails set.

They aimed at sailing as close as possible to the wind, making for the north-west, so as to avoid the Syrtes.

EXPOSITORY (ENGLISH BIBLE)
Ellicott’s Commentary for English Readers

a new NW heading driven by the Tempest of the NorEaster

And we being exceedingly tossed with a tempest, the next day they lightened the ship;

And the third day
we cast out with our own hands the tackling of the ship.
Acts of the Apostles 27:18-19 KJV

A Reflection of the lost…
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For the LORD is our judge, 
the LORD is our lawgiver, 
the LORD is our king; 
he will save us.

Thy tacklings are loosed; 
they could not well strengthen their mast, 
they could not spread the sail:
then is the prey of a great spoil divided; the lame take the prey.

O thou afflicted, 
tossed with tempest, 
and not comforted..
```
Isaiah 33:22-23;54:11a KJV :

Will we be tossed into the sea?

ACTS of the Apostle Paul

– To Be Continued…

Comment on Scripture – Share the Gospel
September 18, 2025
Julian and Paul: Passengers on a grain-laden slow-sailing ship

When we last left Paul beginning his long journey to Rome, the Apostle had boarded a small ship of Adramyttian sailing from Caesarea along the coast north of Cypress to Myra in Lycia.

There the centurion found an Alexandrian ship sailing for Italy, and he put us aboard it.

Acts of the Apostles 27:6 LSB

Now the Roman Centurion Julian boards a larger Alexandrian ship with Paul and other passengers in the Lycian port setting sail for Crete and the open Mediterranean beyond.

Roman Sailing Ships

Thus far, the Centurion Julian has sailed a little less than 500 nautical miles away from Judea with many more miles to sail across the Mediterranean. The next ship is a cargo ship designed to transport grain long distances to Rome.

Rome, with a population of about a million, required about 800 shiploads of grain each year.

The Romans built and operated a variety of cargo ships (naves onerariae, literally “ships of burden”). A typical Roman merchant vessel was a broad, sturdy sailing ship with one to three masts carrying large square sails. These ships relied almost entirely on wind power; unlike war galleys, they had no banks of oars (at most a few oars or sweeps for maneuvering in harbors).

If the wind died, crews might resort to warping – rowing a small boat out with an anchor and then hauling the ship forward by capstan – or else wait for a tow.

Ancient history sites .com Roman Cargo Ships

Acts of the Apostles 27:

And when we had sailed slowly for a good many days, and with difficulty had arrived off Cnidus, since the wind did not permit us to go farther, we sailed under the shelter of Crete, off Salmone; and with difficulty, we sailed past it and came to a place called Fair Havens, near which was the city of Lasea.

Acts of the Apostles 27:7-8 LSB

Paul notes the headings of this ship loaded with grain still quite distant from Rome. Thus far they had sailed a mere 350 nautical miles in windless waters .

More about Roman ships

In sum, the Roman Empire,, had no interest in vertical integration of the supply chain .. its principal interest was the incorporation of private shipping activities deemed useful to the public good into the mechanisms of control exercised by the state.

By contracting out the transport of grain, the Roman Empire also ensured quality service by experienced seafaring professionals, and an avoidance of the costly maintenance, staffing costs and continual provision of suitable vessels – ancient ships, owing to their ‘shell-first’ construction were presumably more expensive to build than later ‘frame-first’ vessels.

source: Ancient Ports Antiques .com THE ROMAN EMPIRE AND THE GRAIN FLEETS:

Waiting for fair winds

And when considerable time had passed and the voyage was now dangerous, since even the Day of Atonement Fast [late September or October] was already over, Paul began to advise them..

Acts of the Apostles 27:9 LSB

What’s going on here?

Julian, a Roman centurion in charge of Paul and any additional prisoners, is an ARMY man.

The Roman Army contracts professional sailors to man and navigate their ships (which could be commandeered, if required, for transport of Roman troops). These professional sailors are NOT in any sense like a unified Roman Navy.

The Centurian Julius has had plenty of time to get to know Paul – a Roman citizen.

Aristarchus (a Macedonian likely of the ruling class of Thessalonica) also accompanies this imfamous Apostle as he had recently on Paul’s third missionary jouney.

Julius had actually allowed them to briefly meet with other Christians at an earlier stop in Sidon.

In a sense, Julius is in charge, but cannot take full responsibility for this grain-hauling merchant ship.

His citizen prisoner Paul, like the grain, is manifested for Caesar in Rome. An entrepreneurial owner of this or any cargo ship would have much at stake, consequently commissioning himself (or a trusted family member) as captain of his ships.

Paul addresses the leaders of his voyage

“Men, I perceive that the voyage will certainly be with damage and great loss, not only of the cargo and the ship, but also of our lives.”
Acts of the Apostles 27:10b LSB

But the centurion {Julius} was being more persuaded by the pilot and the captain of the ship than by what was being said by Paul. And because the harbor [Fair Havens] was not suitable for wintering, the majority reached a decision to set sail from there, if somehow they could arrive at Phoenix, a harbor of Crete facing southwest and northwest, to spend the winter there.

Acts of the Apostles 27:11-12 LSB

When a gentle south wind began to blow, they saw their opportunity; so they weighed anchor and sailed along the shore of Crete.

Acts of the Apostles 27:13 NIV

Voyage of the Apostle Paul to Rome — To be continued…

Talk of JESUS . com

Comment on Scripture – Share the Gospel

September 17, 2025
Transporting Paul – Citizen Prisoner of Caesar- Acts 27
The Apostle Paul, a Jew among Jews commissioned by Christ to go into all the world of the gentiles — after taking the Gospel to the Greeks since A.D. 47 — is now a prisoner sent to Rome.
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In the year of our Lord 59:
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Roman Prisoners (Chattel of Caesar)

Make no mistake about it: ROME rules the world! Their ships have captured it since the days of Julius Caesar and although Judea claims a King, Jerusalem is no exception to Rome’s rule.

Paul – a citizen under Roman rule

In Paul’s lifetime thus far Caesar Augustus had been Emperor when he was a boy in Cilicia;Tiberius during his years studying under Gamaliel in Jerusalem and when Jesus was crucified and up until the day Christ appeared to Saul near Damascus.

Paul had begun preaching the Gospel to the gentiles near the end of the reign of Caligua, who had declared himself a god in A.D. 37.

The Emperor Claudius had made Judea a province of Rome after the death of Herod Agrippa I in A.D. 44, ruling the empire during many martyrdoms of several saints and some Apostle’s during the time of Paul’s missionary journeys.

and he set sail from Ephesus.

In the civil administration, many measures demonstrate Claudius’s enlightened policy. He improved in detail the judicial system, and, in his dealings with the provinces, he favoured a moderate extension of Roman citizenship by individual and collective grants..

.. during a period of troubles Claudius expelled the Jews from Rome for a short time; Christians may have been involved. Elsewhere he confirmed existing Jewish rights and privileges, and in Alexandria he tried to protect the Jews without provoking Egyptian nationalism.

Source: Britannica

Claudius had ruled Rome and the world up until just five years ago, but Paul’s appeal is to a new Caesar.

Nero Claudius Caesar Augustus Germanicus

Up to the year 59, Nero’s biographers cite only acts of generosity and clemency on his account. His government forbade contests in the circus involving bloodshed, banned capital punishment, reduced taxes, and accorded permission to slaves to bring civil complaints against unjust masters.

Source: Britannica

The Apostle Paul is about 54 years old now. He is a Roman citizen of Tarsus, Cilicia who would have been set free by the Roman Governor (with approval of the Judean King) had the Apostle not earlier appealed to Caesar — the 22 year old Nero now ruling Rome under his mother’s tutelage.

Acts 27:

Now when it was decided that we would sail for Italy, they proceeded to deliver Paul and some other prisoners to a centurion of the Augustan cohort named Julius.

And getting aboard an Adramyttian ship, which was about to sail to the regions along the coast of Asia, we set sail accompanied by Aristarchus, a Macedonian of Thessalonica.
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Doctor Luke, the historian recording the Acts of the Apostles, tells us a few details of Paul's journey to Rome as a prisoner. 
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We will proceed on this 2200 mile [3500 km] voyage taking into account the perspective of Iulius [Julius], Paul’s Roman Centurio Augustus’ responsible for all prisoners of Caesar Nero.

The Writ of Porcius Festus

Two more years and another administration – Porcius Festus

Before sailing to Rome, the Centurion representative of Caesar —Julius would have been given an official writ of Paul’s court proceedings and judgment.

Porteus Festus may have given written instructions and verbal administrative recommendations as the current Governor of Judea transferring this prisoner Paul into the direct jurisdiction of Nero.

Julius probably would not have known that Paul had been rescued from the Jews two years ago by Judea’s former governor. Antonius Felix, you may remember, had left Paul in prison in Caesarea for two years after another Centurion had rescued the Apostle from an assassination plot of the Jews.

Paul is a Jew (as one might expect of a resident of Judea). But the Governor would want this Centurion Julius to know that his prisoner being sent to Nero is a Roman citizen acquited of the Jewish charges.

BUT, Paul had appealed to Caesar and could not be released until the Emperor agreed to hear or dismiss Paul’s case.

Roman roads and shipping routes

The Centurion Julius would have to plan a route to Rome to deliver his cargo — Paul, a prisoner and Roman citizen. Caesarea Maritime is a port and administrative center of Rome’s eastern army. Like any port ships arrive and depart with cargo and supplies for Rome’s army. Some smaller ships sailed from port to port on what you might call ‘the milk run’ delivering essentials for further transport inland along the extensive Roman roads.

Julius gained passage on such a ship that sailed along the coast, first with a stop in nearby Sidon, with a terminus destination of Myra.

Stop One of a long Voyage
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486 Nautical Miles [~ 900 KM or 660 Miles]
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.. aboard an Adramyttian ship, which was about to sail to the regions along the coast of Asia, we set sail..

The next day we put in at Sidon,

and Julius treated Paul with consideration and allowed him to go to his friends and receive care.

And from there we set sail [leeward] and sailed under the shelter of Cyprus [to the south of us] because the winds were against us.

And when we had sailed through the sea along the coast of Cilicia and Pamphylia, we landed at Myra in Lycia.

Finding a bigger ship in Myra

The Centurion Julius, probably knowing not only the Mediterranean ports and Roman administrators but also which ships sail further to Rome, will book passage on a larger ship capable of sailing into deeper waters to continue their long voyage.
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To be continued... 
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September 12, 2025