Chapter twenty-seven of the book of Acts is entirely a narrative written from the first-person eye-witness perspective of Luke, the author. It describes, through the sovereign providence of the living and true God, how the Apostle Paul was taken from Caesarea, with his ultimate destination being Rome, Italy, the imperial capital of the Roman Empire. During his trial before Festus, the Roman governor of Judea, Paul had appealed his case to Caesar, leaving the governor no choice but to send him to Rome.
At this point, Paul was a prisoner and in the custody of the Roman government. Yet as this chapter develops, Paul does not appear to be an ordinary prisoner. In fact, he seems to be the leader who is in charge of nearly everything that happens. As Luke unpacks these events, more than simply telling us the details of Paul’s trip, he shows us Paul’s leadership qualities. Clearly, Luke reveals characteristics of biblical leadership manifested in the behavior of Paul.
Our world suffers from a lack of leadership. The world around us seeks several characteristics of leadership. Leaders should be visionaries who lead through their goals and plans that reach far into the future. They should be action-oriented and always on the move and never be content with current conditions. They are marked with courage because they are willing to take risks due to their confidence in their vision. The leaders of which this world approves have the nerve to make tough decisions. They are energetic and typically work long hours. They tend to be more objective oriented than people centered. Their focus is more on tasks than on people. Like over-protective parents, they maintain control of those they lead. They are also self-centered, apparently thinking that their whole world revolves around themselves. And, they see themselves as indispensable.
Yet the world’s portrait differs from the biblical model of true leadership. The Lord Jesus intentionally makes us aware of this in Mark 10:42-45. Two brothers among Jesus’ disciples, James and John, asked the Lord to give them positions of authority in His kingdom, causing the other disciples to feel indignant. Jesus responded by saying, “You know that those who are recognized as rulers of the Gentiles lord it over them; and their great men exercise authority over them. But it is not this way among you, but whoever wishes to become great among you shall be your servant; and whoever wishes to be first among you shall be slave of all. For even the Son of Man did not come to be served, but to serve, and to give His life a ransom for many.” He declared that His principles of leadership were much different from those of the world.
As Luke tells the story of Paul’s voyage from Caesarea to Rome, he distinctly wove into his narrative these principles of leadership exhibited by Paul. As we proceed through these events, we will note seven principles of leadership shown through these verses. We will begin with Paul’s departure from Caesarea.
THE DEPARTURE. Acts 27:1-8
Julius the Centurion. During Paul’s trial, Roman Governor Festus declared, “You have appealed to Caesar, to Caesar you shall go.” (Acts 25:12) Now, Luke describes how Paul was taken to Caesar. As we go through this account, we must remember that Paul was a prisoner and would have been seen as the lowest rank of anyone on the journey. He was placed in the custody of Julius, a centurion who belonged to the Augustan cohort. Julius arranged for Paul to be place aboard a ship that was headed to Myra, a port in Lycia.
Paul’s Traveling Companions. Paul was not alone. Since the narrative is written in the first person, we know Luke traveled along with Paul. Also, Aristarchus, a man whom Paul led to a saving knowledge of Jesus Christ on an earlier mission trip to Thessalonica. These two purchased their own passage aboard the ship to assist Paul. We also note that Julius had been placed in charge of an unspecified number of other prisoners and it is likely that Julius had several other Roman soldiers of the Augustan cohort to help him manage these prisoners during the voyage.
Julius Treated Paul with Consideration. The ship followed the coastline closely and after a day, landed at Sidon, a port north of Caesarea about seventy miles. As the centurion in charge of the prisoners, Julius would have paid with his life if he had lost such an important prisoner as Paul. Yet, for some reason, Julius chose to treat Paul with consideration and when they docked at Sidon, he allowed Paul to leave the ship and go to his Christian friends to receive care. There must have been a reason for Julius to allow Paul the prisoner to go free in Sidon. There was, and that brings us to our first quality of biblical leadership:
Quality One: A Leader Is Trustworthy. We are not told how long Julius had been acquainted with Paul, but he had come to recognize that Paul was trustworthy. He knew Paul was a man of his word, and if he promised to return to the ship, Julius knew Paul would be there. He knew Paul would not do anything to bring harm to him. People will trust a person whom they believe has others interest at heart and not merely their own. Paul cared about people like Julius and Julius knew it. Paul had the heart of a servant and embraced the Lord’s command to serve others. Paul returned to the ship before it sailed, and the ship landed at Myra in Lycia. Julius found a commercial grain ship from Alexandria, Egypt, and procured passage for the soldiers and prisoners. The ships of that day were completely dependent upon the wind, and evidently, the lack of good winds forced the ship to proceed slowly and they finally docked at Fair Havens, a small port on the southern coast of the island of Crete.
A CONSEQUENTIAL DECISION. Acts 27:9-13
Paul Admonished Them. There was a problem with the port at Fair Havens. It was completely open to the elements from the south, and the ship’s captain did not want to spend the winter there. But the winds remained contrary to sailing west across the Mediterranean, so they stayed anchored at Fair Havens. Paul had experience traveling at sea. According to Second Corinthians 11:25, Paul “was shipwrecked three times, a night and a day he had spent in the deep.” These events occurred before his arrest in Jerusalem. He knew conditions at sea had become dangerous. This brings us to the second quality of biblical leadership:
Quality Two: Leaders Take Initiative. Even though he was a prisoner, and of the lowest rank, he spoke up. From his experience, Paul knew that navigation in the Mediterranean was safe until September 14th and was uncertain until November 11th. From November 11th until March 10th, the Mediterranean was closed because of violent winter storms, fog, and overcast skies which made navigation impossible. The text tells us the “fast was already over.” The fast was the Jewish day of Yom Kippur, or Day of Atonement, that always takes place in late September or early October. This year, Yom Kippur begins at sundown on October 11. During Paul’s voyage in 59 A.D., it was on October 5. Paul knew the danger of sailing at this time and warned the captain and the centurion. His comment was a general warning of the dire consequences if the ship set sail and reflected common sense and prudence.
The Decision to Leave Fair Haven. Despite the warning, the pilot and the captain decided to leave Fair Havens. Their plan was to travel further west along the coast of Crete to reach the harbor of Phoenix, a place where the ship and crew would have been better protected during the winter. Evidently, the captain put it to a vote and the majority chose to leave Fair Havens and sail to Phoenix, ignoring Paul’s warning. But the majority is not always right.
A Promising Start. To begin with, a moderate wind from the south made the captain think they could make it the fifty miles to Phoenix, so they weighed anchor, and headed to the port of Phoenix. It should have been a voyage of just several hours. The Alexandrian grain ship was about 280 feet long and was employed by the Roman empire to supply major Roman cities with Egyptian grain. The grain was stored in the holds in large cloth bags. We are told later, than in addition to the cargo, there were two hundred-seventy-six passengers and crew aboard.
THE VIOLENT STORM. Acts 27:14-26
Euraquilo. It seems to happen from time to time, that even though conditions begin well, they often quickly turn dangerous. So it did here. Not long after leaving Fair Havens, a violent north wind began blowing against the ship. Euraquilo means “northeaster,” and means the wind was blowing the ship in the opposite direction–away from Phoenix. Ships of the first century had no means of sailing against such strong winds, so they had no choice but to allow the ship to be driven along, wherever the wind blew them.
The ship’s crew took some measures to offset the effects of the storm. First, they pulled the life boat aboard and secured it to the deck. Second, they frapped the ship–they pulled heavy ropes around the hull, thus keeping the wooden beams from separating in the storm. Third, they lowered a sea anchor from the stern to slow down the movement of the ship. Next, they jettisoned their grain cargo. In the rain and rough seas, the grain was absorbing water and making the ship heavier. They had no choice but to toss most of it overboard. The ship also had a quantity of tackle–extra sails and ropes. These too were tossed overboard. The skies were cloudy and dark and the crew had no idea where they were. Most lost all hope of surviving the storm.
The Message of God’s Angel. Being constantly tossed about, the passengers and crew were seasick and unable to cook food and they had not eaten for a long while. Paul, Luke, and Aristarchus went through all of these depravations with the rest of those on board. But, as the storm raged around them, Paul once more showed his biblical leadership skills, learned from nearly four decades of ministry for the Lord. One night, an angel from God appeared to Paul and gave him amazing news, which leads us to the third quality of biblical leadership:
Quality Three: Leaders Use Sound Judgement. This time, Paul reminded them of his previous counsel in the hopes that they would listen to him. Now imagine–Paul was on a ship with 276 people on board, and likely the only Christians were himself, Luke, and Aristarchus. The rest were most likely unbelieving pagans. As the storm howled around them, Paul told them God’s angel had come to visit him in the night. I wonder what those terrified people thought about that. Yet Paul still delivered God’s message: don’t be afraid, you will all survive, keep up your courage, and the ship will run aground on a certain island. The Lord Jesus Christ, who created the heavens and the earth and all that is in them, would protect them from the raging sea and violent wind because He desired that Paul stand before the emperor to present the gospel of salvation in Christ. Amazing.
THE DESTRUCTIVE SHIPWRECK. Acts 27:27-44
The Sailors Tried to Escape. For two entire weeks, the passengers and crew had been blown by this violent storm across the Mediterranean Sea. They had no idea where they were. They could be close to submerged reefs or sandbars. There could be under water rocks that would tear open the ship’s fragile hull. This weekend a hurricane, another violent storm, blew ashore in Florida, causing billions of dollars in property damage and costing dozens of lives. That hurricane lasted several hours and moved on. As Christians, we should pray for those affected by that storm. Paul and his companions were actually in the storm fourteen days and at sea the whole time. At midnight, the sailors recognized they were nearing land. They took soundings and found the sea was getting shallower. Casting four anchors over the stern slowed the ship down and all prayed for daylight. However, the sailors were terrified the ship would run aground on rocks and they would die. They did not trust Paul’s words. They planned to let down the life boat, leave the ship without any crew and save themselves. This brings us to the fourth quality of biblical leadership:
Quality Four: Leaders Speak with Authority. Remember, once more, Paul was merely a prisoner. Other saw what the sailors were doing, but only Paul did or said anything. Unless they obeyed God’s Word given to Paul by the angel of the Lord, nobody on board would be saved. With that, the soldiers cut the ropes that secured the life boat and let it fall into the sea. And that brings us to the fifth quality of biblical leadership:
Quality Five: Leaders Never Compromise Absolutes. Paul obeyed God’s Word revealed to him by the angel and he insisted that everyone else remain obedient as well. A crisis is no time to question God’s Word or choose to be disobedient. God always measures our faith by our obedience to His revealed Word, revealed to us, that is, in the Bible. Paul had no hesitation to call these pagan unbelievers to obedience because he knew it would save their lives, and if they believed in Jesus when the storm was over, He would save their eternal souls.
Paul Encouraged All on Board. As dawn began on the fourteenth day of being caught in the storm, Paul displayed the sixth quality of biblical leadership: Quality Six: Leaders Strengthen Others. Three times he had encouraged the terrified passengers and crew–twice to not lose hope and this time to eat. Paul urged them to eat in order to regain some strength for the swim to shore once the ship had been wrecked. They all took some of the food remaining onboard and threw the rest into the sea. Paul, as all of them were looking on, ate some of the bread himself, thus showing the seventh quality of biblical leadership:
Quality Seven: Leaders Lead by Example. Paul believed God would do exactly as He had promised He would. So, he set the example for the others by remaining calm and confident. Knowing they had taken no food for fourteen days, “he took bread and gave thanks to God in the presence of all, and he broke it and began to eat.” He did not simply order them to eat, he did it himself. True leaders do not push from behind; they lead them from the front.
All Were Brought Safely to Land. As the sun rose, no one recognized the land, but it had a beach so they decided to drive the ship onto the land. However, they struck a reef and the bow stuck fast and the stern began to break apart under the force of the waves. Some of the soldiers wanted to kill the prisoners, but Julius the centurion would not allow it, and ordered all to jump overboard. Some of the passengers and crew swam to shore, while others hung on to planks from the wooden ship, but all of them were brought safely to shore, thus validating God’s promise.
These seven biblical leadership principles are timeless and must characterize every leader who chooses to effectively lead God’s people. Here they are once more:
Quality One: A Leader Is Trustworthy.
Quality Two: Leaders Take Initiative.
Quality Three: Leaders Use Sound Judgement.
Quality Four: Leaders Speak with Authority.
Quality Five: Leaders Never Compromise Absolutes.
Quality Six: Leaders Strengthen Others.
Quality Seven: Leaders Lead by Example.
Biblical leadership principles are different from the world’s because Christians follow the example of their Savior, Jesus Christ, who said that He “did not come to be served, but to serve, and to give His life a ransom for many” (Mark 10:45). To apply these principles, it is necessary to first choose obedience to the Lord, abandon our own self-centered ways and model our lives after our Savior.
Those on that Alexandrian grain ship learned to trust in the Lord’s apostle as he had learned to completely trust in his Lord and Savior. Have you come to completely trust in the Lord Jesus Christ? Have you asked Him to forgive your sins and grant you everlasting life? If you have not, please allow me to urge you to do that right now.
