Paul was arrested on his visit to Jerusalem and ended up sitting in jail in Caesarea for two years, awaiting a fair trial. Finally he used his right as a Roman citizen to appeal to Rome, so off he goes to Rome.

Paul isn’t the only prisoner taking the ship to Rome. Some of the prisoners may have been others appealing to Caesar like Paul, but others may have simply been condemned criminals destined as public amusement in the gladiator games.

An officer over 100 soldiers. The Augustan band was an elite set of troops.

Adramyttium was a port city south of Troas in northwest Asia Minor. This was probably a smaller vessel, one that would hop and skip along the coast.

One of Paul’s traveling companions (Acts 19:29; 20:4). Luke is apparently also along for this trip. It has been suggested that Luke and Aristarchus may have been allowed to accompany Paul on the condition that they were his slaves.

Sidon – 67 miles north of Caesarea. The ship is most likely stopping to trade its cargo. Though this is Paul’s first visit to Sidon, he apparently has some friends there.

courteously – philanthropos ("philanthropic") – humanely, kindly. We’re going to see that Julius treats Paul with great respect and kindness throughout the voyage.

the winds were contrary – the winds would have been blowing from the northwest, so they couldn’t go from Sidon straight to Cyprus.

Myra – one of the major harbors of the area, this was a place to find the large ships, the 747’s to cross the sea with.

Julius finds a large Egyptian grain ship heading for Rome and transfers his prisoners. Egypt was a major supplier of grain to Rome.

The wind is against them, they are possibly tacking back and forth to make progress.

Fair Havens = "goodly ports"; a bay of Crete, near the small city of Lasaea

the fast – nesteia – a fasting, fast. Luke is referring to the main Jewish fast, the Day of Atonement. In AD 59, it fell on October 5. Sailing in the Mediterranean was considered dangerous from early October to mid March because of the weather. It is probable that Julius had expected to be in Rome by this time, but the bad winds have made the trip last longer than expected.

admonished – paraineo – to exhort; from aineo – to praise, to recommend

hurt – hubris – insolence, impudence, pride; injury inflicted by the violence of a tempest

Paul may not be the most experienced sailor on board, but he’s had quite a bit of experience for a land lubber. He’s already been through three shipwrecks:

master – kubernetes – steersman, helmsman

owner – naukleros – a ship owner, the captain

believed – peitho – persuade; to trust, have confidence

Apparently the centurion Julius was the one making the decisions on the ship. I hate to pick on this poor centurion, but we can see in him an example of how we often make decisions. He bases his decision to sail solely upon the advice of the experts. Though this would be an appropriate way to decide much of the time, there are going to be times when it’s the wrong decision.

not commodious – aneuthetos – not convenient, not fit, "not" + "well" + "placed"

Phenice – "Phoenix". Only 35 miles west of "Fair Havens"

blew softly – hupopneo – to blow underneath; to blow softly. It started out looking as if they made the right decision, but the test of a good decision isn’t whether things start off well, it’s how they finish.

tempestuous – tuphonikos ("typhoon") – like a whirlwind

Euroclydon – Eurokludon – "a violent agitation". The winds start up in the Cretan mountains, 7,000 feet high, and come swooping down onto the sea.

caught – sunarpazo – to seize by force and carry away. Seized as if by a giant monster.

boat – skaphe ("skiff") – anything dug out, hollow vessel, trough, tray, tub; of a boat. This is a different vessel from the larger ship. This was a small boat that was used for various tasks around the larger ship. Luke writes as if he was pressed into service to help bring up the small boat.

undergirding – hupozonnumi – to undergird; to bind a ship together laterally in bad conditions like this to help hold it together.

quicksands – surtis – Syrtis, well known sandbars where a boat could be caught and destroyed.

To keep from getting caught on the sandbars, they lighten the load so the ship rides higher. They did it to save their lives, though I’m sure the merchants weren’t thrilled that they did it. Could you imagine the UPS man tossing all the boxes out of his truck every time he got in a traffic jam? Dave can.

tackling – skeue – any apparatus, equipment of a ship. Luke apparently helped too.

They stopped eating.

A polite way of saying, "I told you so".

exhort – paraineo – to exhort, admonish (same word used of Paul’s original advice, "admonished", vs.9). Let’s see if they listen this time.

serve – latreuo – to serve for hire; used of the priests offering worship through sacrifice and ritual.

given – charizomai – to do something pleasant or agreeable (to one), to do a favour to; to give graciously, give freely, bestow

If God has promised to give Paul the lives of all those with him, it seems to me that Paul must have been asking for them, praying for them. Jesus said,

be of good cheer – euthumeo – to put in good spirits, gladden, make cheerful. Paul told them to be encouraged because HE believed in God. Can you say this to your friends?

sounded – bolizo – to heave lead, to measure the depth of the sea with a line and a sinker.

fathom – orguia – fathom, 5 to 6 feet (2 m). 20 fathoms = 120 feet. 15 fathoms = 90 feet. They’re going to run aground if they aren’t careful.

The story they gave was that they were going to put more anchors out. They weren’t.

I don’t take this as some kind of super spiritual advice. It’s plain common sense. Paul knows that these guys are going to abandon ship, and they won’t make it without the sailors on board. The prisoners and the soldiers need the sailors in order to survive.

Who does it sound like is in charge? Paul!

besought – parakaleo – to call to one's side, to ENCOURAGE.

meat – trophe – food, nourishment

I pray – parakaleo – to call to one's side, to ENCOURAGE.

Though it doesn’t seem that Paul led the passengers in communion, I can’t help but wonder if Paul, Luke, and Aristarchus were thinking of it.

Paul got things going by setting the example.

276 people.

eaten enough – korennumi – to satiate, sate, satisfy.

The rule for a Roman guard was that if your prisoner escaped, you would be punished with their punishment. It seemed better to just kill them now.

God answered Paul’s prayers.