27:1, 2 Use of the pronoun we indicates that Luke accompanied Paul on this journey. Aristarchus is the man who had been dragged into the theater at the beginning of the riot in Ephesus (19:29; 20:4; Philemon 1:24).
27:1-3 Julius, a Roman army officer, was assigned to guard Paul. Obviously he had to remain close to Paul at all times. Through this contact, Julius developed a respect for Paul. He gave Paul a certain amount of freedom (27:3) and later spared his life (27:43). How would your character look, up close and personal?
27:9 Ships in ancient times had no compasses, so they navigated by the stars. Overcast weather made sailing almost impossible and very dangerous. Sailing was doubtful in September and impossible by November. This event occurred in October (A.D. 59).
27:12 Although this was not the best time to sail, the ship’s captain and the owner of the ship didn’t want to spend the winter in Lasea, or Fair Havens, so the officer took a chance. At first the winds and weather were favorable, but then the deadly storm arose.
27:17 Binding ropes around the hull of the ship meant passing ropes under the ship to hold it together. Syrtis was on the northern coast of Africa.
27:27 The Sea of Adria referred to the central part of the Mediterranean Sea between Italy, Crete, and the northern coast of Africa.
27:28 These weighted lines had marks on them so that when the weight hit the bottom, the sailors could tell the depth of the water from the marks on the line.
27:29 In the middle of a midnight squall, the passengers and crew (led by Paul) did all they could possibly do—they dropped some anchors to try to stop the runaway ship. Then they prayed. Of course, Paul alone was praying to the one God who could do anything about their situation. This is a good reminder for us. We must never rely solely on our own wisdom or skills. But it is equally wrong to sit and do nothing when there are still actions we can take to overcome certain problems. Do all that you can to fix the problem. Then trust God to do his part.
27:42, 43 The soldiers would pay with their own lives if any of their prisoners escaped. Their instinctive reaction was to kill the prisoners so they wouldn’t get away. Julius, the officer, was impressed with Paul and wanted to save his life. Julius was the highest ranking official; therefore, he could make this decision. This act preserved Paul for his later ministry in Rome and fulfilled Paul’s prediction that all the people on the ship would be saved (27:22).