St. Paul Shipwrecked by Gustave Dore (Wikipedia Commons)
Did you know the apostle Paul met an angel?
Everyone knows angels filled the sky when Jesus was born, and they turned up from time to time in the Bible to encourage believers in the one true God.
But Paul?
He met Jesus on the road to Damascus.
He was given visions and breathless escapes.
Why did he need an angel?
Acts 27
The meeting was described in Acts 27:23, with Paul providing the information to a group of terrified sailors as they endured a horrific storm in the Mediterranean Sea.
Paul stood in the midst of them and said, “Men, you should have listened to me, and not have sailed from Crete and incurred this disaster and loss.
And now I urge you to take heart, for there will be no loss of life among you, but only of the ship.
For there stood by me this night an angel of the God to whom I belong and whom I serve, saying, ‘Do not be afraid, Paul; you must be brought before Caesar; and indeed God has granted you all those who sail with you.’
Therefore take heart, men, for I believe God that it will be just as it was told me. (Acts 27: 21b-25; NKJV)
They were on their way to Rome. Despite Paul pointing out the weather was bad and they would lose all if they sailed in October, the ship’s captain took the risk.
His Egyptian ship–with 276 passengers and crew–was filled with wheat.
The captain didn’t want to linger in Fair Haven, Greece, through the winter.
When Paul, who had been shipwrecked several times before, pointed out disaster would befall them if they sailed, he refused to consider it.
A mere prisoner
And why would he? As far as he knew, Paul was a mere prisoner, though an important one judging by the Roman centurion who escorted the man, not to mention the two men traveling with Paul.
Paul knew God wanted him in Rome and didn’t fear sailing–he knew he would get there–but 275 other people might not.
Bible Illustrations by Sweet Media (Wikipedia Commons)
Three days later found them bailing and crying for their lives after a monster storm, a Euroclydon. blew up.
The experienced sailors went to work immediately. They secured their skiff “with difficulty.”
(Traditionally, a ship towed the skiff behind them with a rope [line]. If the storm filled the skiff with water, it served as a dragging anchor and was likely to sink, possibly compromising the big ship itself.)
Once they got the skiff on board, they used cables to undergird the ship and took down their one sail.
Removing the sail was a last-ditch effort to keep the ship from breaking up. They gave themselves to the winds and the waves, come what may.
Tossing things overboard
They tossed overboard all that precious Egyptian wheat–to lighten the load and so the ship would sail higher in the water–making it less likely to run aground and break up.
On the third day, they tossed all the ship’s tackle overboard–the lines.
They knew their ship was blown off course–but the skies never cleared long enough for them to check the navigational stars.
They gave up hope and left their fate “to the gods,” the superstitious sailors hoped would come through.
Think of all the men down in the hull–probably including Paul–tossed about by the waves for two weeks. They were so seasick they couldn’t eat.
By Frank Vincentz (Wikipedia Commons)
But after 14 days, perhaps even Paul needed a little encouragement from an angel.
Paul had confidence God would get him to Rome somehow.
But, the frightened men did not share his faith.
To help Paul and perhaps encourage him, too, God sent an angel.
How could Paul be sure he saw an angel?
The angel’s first words: “do not be afraid!”
He also brought the good news Paul’s prophecy would come to pass for all who remained on board with him: all would be saved.
A mighty big promise and assurance in the midst of a mighty big storm.
Paul passed the word on to the sailors–those superstitious sailors–as well as to his Roman guards.
And you know what happened?
God’s word came to pass.
In Acts 28, all 276 people on board the ship made their way, shipwrecked and storm-tossed, to the island of Malta.
It took Paul 15 months to travel from Caesarea to Rome.
He took good care to give Jesus the glory at every spot and to tell the good news.
An angel helped when he needed him.
Tweetables
Apostle Paul meets an angel. Click to Tweet
An angel arrives in the hull of a ship. Click to Tweet
Even St. Paul needed an angel to say, “fear not.” Click to Tweet
Interesting to see this after hearing a sermon on the passage this past Sunday. The final point the pastor gave was, “Be an ‘angel’ of faith and hope to others also going through a storm.”
Also, the pastor made reference to the humbleness of Paul in that he had no, “I told you so,” regarding the choice to go ahead despite Paul’s first warning and advice. There is a lot to consider in this passage!
Surprisingly meaty–as usual! 🙂