Acts 27:12 - Meaning and Application

In these verses we see, first, the ship set sail again and begin the voyage with a good wind. The reason they left Fair Havens was that they thought the harbor was not a good place to spend the winter. It may have been pleasant in summer, but in winter it was exposed and bleak. It may also have been a poor place for supplies, perhaps with food scarce or expensive. So they ran into danger to avoid an inconvenience, as people often do.

Some of the crew, or some of the council gathered to decide the matter, wanted to stay there rather than risk the sea in uncertain weather. It is safer to stay in an inconvenient harbor than to be lost in a stormy sea. But they were outvoted, and most advised them to leave. Yet they did not plan to go far, only to another port on the same island, called Phenice, perhaps because the Phoenician merchants from Tyre and Sidon used it often. It lay toward the southwest and northwest, likely sheltered by two headlands that guarded it from east winds. In this we can see the Creator’s care for those who go down to the sea in ships and do business on great waters. Nature would have offered little comfort if it had not also given safe harbors.

At first, they had every reason to feel hopeful. A soft south wind blew, so they sailed close along the coast of Crete and felt no fear of rocks or shoals. But those who go to sea with a fair wind do not know what storms still lie ahead. They should not become secure, as if the journey were already won. No one should boast as if he had already taken off his armor.

Then the ship was suddenly caught in a terrible storm. They had looked only at the outward signs and judged by the favorable breeze, as if it would last forever. They trusted the smiling wind more than the warning God had given through Paul. Soon they learned their mistake.

A violent wind rose against them, directly in their face and strong enough to batter the ship. It was the kind of wind the sailors called Euroclydon, a dangerous northeast wind on those seas. It seems to have been like a whirlwind, because the ship was said to be caught by it. Yet it was God who raised that wind, intending to bring honor to himself and to Paul. Stormy winds come from his storehouses (Psalm 135:7), and they carry out his command (Psalm 148:8).

The ship was then tossed badly, like a ball kicked from wave to wave. The passengers rose to the sky and sank again into the depths, reeling and staggering as if drunk, and at their wit’s end (Psalm 107:26-27). The ship could not face the wind, so they took in the sails and let it drive. It was no longer going where they wanted, but where the waves forced it to go. They were likely very near Phenice when the storm began, and had just been thinking of a calm harbor and a safe winter. Then, all at once, they were thrown into danger. So let us rejoice with caution, and never expect perfect safety until we come to heaven.

They also saw neither sun nor stars for many days. That made the storm even more frightening, because they were in darkness and had no guide. At that time sailors did not have the compass, so when they could not see sun or stars, they had no way to steer. In the same way, God’s people may sometimes walk in darkness and have no light. They may not be able to hold on to anything that feels comforting, and yet light is still reserved for them.

They also had the misery of severe winter weather. There was a great tempest, with cold rain, snow, and all the harshness of the season, so they were nearly frozen to death. It went on for many days. This shows the hard life often faced by those who go to sea, beyond the danger to life itself. Yet people still choose it for profit. It is also an example of God’s providence, his wise care over the world, that he directs some into this work despite its hardships, so trade can continue among the nations and the islands. Zebulun can rejoice in going out as much as Issachar in staying in his tents. Perhaps Christ chose some ministers from among seafaring men because they had already learned how to endure hardship.

They used every poor means they could to help themselves. When they could not make headway against the wind, they let the ship drift, since neither oar nor sail could help. When effort is useless, wisdom is to yield. Still, they did what they could to avoid worse danger. Near a small island called Clauda, they managed not to run onto it, but to come quietly under its shelter. When they feared they might barely save the ship, they worked hard to save the boat too. It took great effort to get it aboard, but they finally hauled it up. It could be useful in an emergency, so they did all they could to bring it into the ship.

They also used the means that were common in those days, when seamanship was still far less developed than it is now. They undergirded the ship, as Acts 27:17 says, binding it underneath with strong ropes to keep it from breaking apart in the violence of the storm. They also feared the sandbars, so they lowered the sail and let the ship drift as it would. It is remarkable how a ship can survive at sea, as sailors say, even in very rough weather, if it has enough open water around it. When sailors cannot reach land safely, it is best to stay as far from shore as they can.

The next day they lightened the ship by throwing the cargo overboard, as Jonah’s sailors did (Jonah 1:5). They were willing to lose their goods rather than perish with them. A man will give up everything he has to save his life. This shows what the wealth of this world really is. However much people prize it as a blessing, a time may come when it becomes a burden, too heavy to carry safely and even heavy enough to sink a person who owns it. Riches are often kept by their owners to their own harm (Ecclesiastes 5:13), and sometimes they are better for being let go.

It also shows the foolishness of worldly people. They can be generous with their property when their own lives are at stake, yet they are stingy with it in acts of worship, charity, and suffering for Christ. And yet eternal Truth itself says those sacrifices will be rewarded many times over in the resurrection of the just. The believers in Hebrews 10:34 acted from faith when they accepted the loss of their property with joy, knowing they had in heaven a better and lasting possession. Any person would rather lose goods than life, but many will more easily risk faith and a good conscience than their possessions.

On the third day they threw out the ship’s equipment, the tools and rigging needed for the voyage, as if this were a warship. In our day, sailors often throw guns overboard in a great storm, but I do not know what heavy weapons they had then that made this necessary. I wonder whether it was not then a common mistake among sailors to throw almost everything into the sea, even things that might have been very useful in a storm and did not weigh much.

At last they reached complete despair. Acts 27:20 says, “All hope that we should be saved was then taken away.” The storm kept raging, and they saw no sign that it would ease. We have seen fierce weather last for weeks. The efforts they had made did no good, so they were at their wits’ end. Their fear was so great that they had no desire to eat or drink. They had enough food on board (Acts 27:38), but terror of death kept them from taking the support they needed to live.

Why did Paul not calm the storm by the power of Christ, in Christ’s name, just as his Master had done? The answer seems to be that the apostles worked miracles to confirm their teaching, not to help themselves or their friends in a private need.