Act 27:6 | KingComments | STEP | In Myra, there must be a change of ship. The centurion goes in search of a ship sailing for Italy and finds a ship from Egyptian Alexandria. The centurion and his prisoner are transferred to an Egyptian ship. That means that this ship becomes the ship of the Christian testimony. In Scripture we generally see in Egypt a picture of the world. By moving the prisoner Paul to that ship, we see how the world influences the church. The world takes in the church. This ship becomes the great trust of the entire crew, but how that trust is shamed. A great storm comes over this ship and it is eventually lost. Until it is no longer possible to save it, all kinds of things have been tried to keep it sailing or afloat. The first characteristic of sailing with this ship is the slow progress, because they don’t have tailwind. Spiritually applied we see that in the church slowness, headwind and difficulty are caused by a clinging to religious forms ( ) and false doctrine ( ). These things put a brake on spiritual growth. Then it is time to reflect and not to continue, but to let ourselves be warned of imminent dangers. This is the moment Paul admonishes. The time has come when it becomes dangerous to sail. Because of the headwind a lot of time has been lost. Luke mentions that “the fast was already over”, by which he means the fast of the day of atonement. This fast is at the end of September / beginning of October. That is a period in which it becomes dangerous to sail on. The following winter period is even more dangerous. We have not heard Paul speak on this trip before, but now he is making himself heard. He says what he foresees will happen if there is any further sailing. He can say this because he has heard this from the Lord in his dealings with Him. He can also say this because of his great experience with sea voyages. He is used to travelling by ship. He has learned the dangers of the sea and on three voyages he has even been shipwrecked ( ). So he really knows a thing or two about sailing. Paul doesn’t say or think that all will go well, or that he will be saved anyway because he has the guarantee of the Lord to come to Rome. This doesn’t say anything about the crew and he is concerned about the crew as well. Here too the application is obvious with regard to the development of the Christian church. Paul warns in his letters of storms tugging at the ship ( ; ; cf. ). He who does not let himself be warned will suffer great damage in his life of faith and his faith may even be shipwrecked.

‏ Acts 27:6

A Difficult Voyage

In Myra, there must be a change of ship. The centurion goes in search of a ship sailing for Italy and finds a ship from Egyptian Alexandria. The centurion and his prisoner are transferred to an Egyptian ship. That means that this ship becomes the ship of the Christian testimony. In Scripture we generally see in Egypt a picture of the world. By moving the prisoner Paul to that ship, we see how the world influences the church. The world takes in the church. This ship becomes the great trust of the entire crew, but how that trust is shamed. A great storm comes over this ship and it is eventually lost. Until it is no longer possible to save it, all kinds of things have been tried to keep it sailing or afloat.

The first characteristic of sailing with this ship is the slow progress, because they don’t have tailwind. Spiritually applied we see that in the church slowness, headwind and difficulty are caused by a clinging to religious forms (Heb 5:12) and false doctrine (Eph 4:14). These things put a brake on spiritual growth. Then it is time to reflect and not to continue, but to let ourselves be warned of imminent dangers.

This is the moment Paul admonishes. The time has come when it becomes dangerous to sail. Because of the headwind a lot of time has been lost. Luke mentions that “the fast was already over”, by which he means the fast of the day of atonement. This fast is at the end of September / beginning of October. That is a period in which it becomes dangerous to sail on. The following winter period is even more dangerous.

We have not heard Paul speak on this trip before, but now he is making himself heard. He says what he foresees will happen if there is any further sailing. He can say this because he has heard this from the Lord in his dealings with Him. He can also say this because of his great experience with sea voyages. He is used to travelling by ship. He has learned the dangers of the sea and on three voyages he has even been shipwrecked (2Cor 11:25-26). So he really knows a thing or two about sailing. Paul doesn’t say or think that all will go well, or that he will be saved anyway because he has the guarantee of the Lord to come to Rome. This doesn’t say anything about the crew and he is concerned about the crew as well.

Here too the application is obvious with regard to the development of the Christian church. Paul warns in his letters of storms tugging at the ship (1Tim 4:1-3; 2Tim 3:1-9; cf. Acts 20:29-30). He who does not let himself be warned will suffer great damage in his life of faith and his faith may even be shipwrecked.